Massage Mat Ch. 09

Jason shook his head in disbelief.

"Look, Jason, I'm not telling you what to do. And for sure, you and Leah would have to be really honest about your true feelings about something like this. All of that has to come from your hearts—and even my radar can't help with that. You guys have to sort that out," Angie told him seriously.

Jason nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. "We already sort of talked about this." When Angie looked at him questioningly, Jason continued. "Leah talked to me about this before you guys arrived—she said we needed to clear this up before my mom got here. And she sort of said the same things you just did."

Angie shook her head, marveling. "Ok. Now I know where the 'quite a girl' line comes from." She looked at him. "She's one in a million, Jason," she said sincerely. "What did she say?"

"Basically that we should live as who we are and with the feelings we have—and that I shouldn't have to choose between her and my mom. Except that she was worried that you wouldn't like the idea," Jason told her.

"Well, that's why I wanted to talk with you. It's important for you to know—and I'm 100 percent confident of this—that I'm ok with it. Your mom and I have a—a, er, complex relationship physically. It's wonderful, but I know an experience with you would make her happy. I'm ok with her being happy in that way. And you need to know that." She smiled. "Ok. I'm done talking now."

"Well," Jason told her, "When I first met you, I thought you were pretty shy, and that you'd never say anything. I guess I was wrong. You've said a lot."

"Well, I've been wrong before, too," Angie told him, cautioningly. "A while back, I told your mom that she was going to ruin you both if she was physical with you. Having got to know you both a lot better, I think that was completely wrong." She shook her head. "The short story is that I just think you both need to come to terms with your feelings and to be honest with me and Leah."

Jason smiled at her. "I will. Be honest about it I mean. I promise." He ruffled her hair again. Angie hugged him, and, impulsively he kissed her on the cheek. "Shit. I probably shouldn't do that," he said instantly. "You probably don't—"

Angie shushed him. "There are a lot of things that I would never have done before I was with your mom," she told him and kissed him back. She paused as if considering something.

"Hm," she said after a minute, "not too terrible—for a man." Jason looked at her, shocked, then burst out laughing. "Ok. Let's get home. I've got to get cooking," Angie said, grabbing a bottle of wine.

After Angie and Jason had left, Leah laid down on the sofa.

"How are you feeling?" Beth asked her.

"I feel good," Leah told her, "just a little tired." Seeing that Beth looked concerned she added quickly, "But I'm really happy that you guys are here. I've been looking forward to this for a while."

"Is that true?" Beth asked, sitting down.

Leah raised three fingers. "Scout's honor," she averred. Her brow furrowed. "Ok. To be completely honest, I've been a little conflicted, but mostly really happy."

"And you're conflicted because of me, right?" Beth asked, smiling. "I mean because of me and Jason. Like—what will we be feeling for each other, and what will we do?"

Leah sat up, smiled and shook her head. "Well, it didn't take long for us to get to that elephant in the room, did it?" she asked.

"No," Beth said simply, "because it's a big damn elephant. And we need to figure this out, Leah. Not just for this visit, either. We need to find a way to love and to trust each other for the long haul."

Leah nodded. "Took the words right out of my mouth," she said. "And not just for us—I mean we have to—um—"

"We have to sort this out for us—and for Jason," Beth completed her sentence for her. "Is that what you meant?"

Leah nodded again. "Yeah," she said softly. "I don't want him to feel, er, trapped or conflicted between us. And I don't want to have to walk on eggshells every time we see each other. I like you too much for that."

Beth went to Leah and hugged her. "You are the best daughter-in-law I could have wished for," she told her. "You love him so much. I will always love you for how happy you make him."

Leah started to cry. "I do love him so much," she said, sniffling. "It's just been a little rough lately."

"Rough?" asked Beth, surprised. "You both seem really happy together."

"We are," Leah replied, "But I'm pretty sure Jason is having a difficult time with—I mean—I haven't been very good—I haven't been feeling very, ah..." she paused. "Oh fuck," she said, wiping her eyes. "I haven't felt like having sex. And he's been amazing about everything—so helpful and taking care of me and never complaining or even hardly asking for it. But you know—he's, um—"

"He's horny as hell," Beth again completed her sentence. Leah giggled. "Don't forget that I know my son," Beth reminded her. "Unfortunately I know him intimately far too well," she added sadly. She hugged Leah and then became serious.

"Leah, I want to promise you that I will never do anything to harm your marriage. I want you to be happy, and I would never do anything to damage that. I swear it," she said sincerely. "So don't worry for one second about anything like that, ok?"

Leah nodded, a tired smile crossing her face. Beth looked at her, puzzled, but continued, "And Jason wouldn't ever be unfaithful to you. I do know him well enough to know that. And not to sound egotistical—he wouldn't even be unfaithful to you with me—and I hope you understand why I say it that way."

Leah hugged her back. "I do, and you're right. I know that about Jason too." She paused and took a deep breath. "But," she added looked directly at Beth, "that doesn't mean that he doesn't feel anything for you." Beth cast her eyes downward. "And it doesn't mean that you don't feel anything for him, right?" Beth could only smile weakly and nod.

"But what if I told you that there's room in my heart for you guys to be happy?" Leah asked softly.

Beth looked up. She sat motionless, scarcely daring to breathe.

"I know you want us to be happy together—and we are," Leah told her. "And I want Jason to be happy—completely happy." She took Beth's hands. "And I want you to be happy. That's really important to me, too."

"What are you saying?" Beth asked her. "I think I could understand your words in several ways," she added quickly.

"Well," Leah said, "to be completely honest, I'm not totally sure what I'm saying—I mean—I'm sure I want him to be happy, but..." Her voice trailed off, and her brow furrowed as she thought.

"Ok," she said finally, "I'm not really good at being touchy-feely, so let's just look at this logically." She paused and scratched her nose. "Number one. He needs to get laid. Number two. At this point I'm not a good candidate for that. Number three. He loves me and will never leave me—shit, I hope that's true..."

"Number three. He's insanely in love with you. You can count on that," Beth interrupted.

"Ok, we'll go with that," Leah picked up, "but he still wants to—um—" she paused.

"He still wants to fuck me?" Beth asked with a wry smile.

Leah sniggered. "Yeah," she said, and an impish grin crossed her face. "Indelicately phrased, but right on. Number four. He still wants to fuck you. And it's probably worse now than ever, cuz he hasn't fucked anyone in about 6 months." She saw the look on Beth's face. "Yeah," she said, "it's had to have been horrible for him. But I just couldn't fucking hardly move for a while."

"Has your pregnancy been that bad?" Beth asked her, suddenly concerned.

"Fucking Christ," Leah said with a sigh. "It was a surprise in the first place—I fucked up with my pills I think—and I'm sorry for the swearing, but it was horrible." Beth took her hand, urging her to continue.

"Well, I felt like shit about messing up and getting pregnant when we were just starting to get past some of the other struggles. I mean, we were kind of looking forward to just having some time together for ourselves, and I—well, shit, you know," Leah said glumly.

Beth squeezed her hand. "You know, I hear that it takes two people to make a baby," she said comfortingly. "It's not fair for you to take the blame like that"

"I know—that's what Jason keeps telling me," Leah said. "And he's really excited and happy about being a dad—well, we're both really happy and excited about that, so it's not like the worst tragedy. But I wish the timing were better for us."

She shook her head and looked at Beth. "Anyway, then it turned out that my body apparently doesn't like to be pregnant. I spent about three months barfing like mad—I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, kept waking up to puke. I can't tell you how many times I threw up in bed, and he'd clean everything up. He's been so..." her voice trailed off and she started to cry again.

Beth wrapped her arms around her and held her as she cried. "He's been so good, and I've been horrible. I feel so bad," Leah whimpered.

"You can't help it, honey," Beth assured her. "You're feeling sick. That's not something anyone can control."

"I know," Leah sobbed. "But I still feel like shit about it." She sniffed and continued, "Anyway about as soon as the morning sickness passed—and who the fuck named it that?" she said angrily. "It's fucking, morning, noon and night sickness. Anyway, then I got killer headaches. And now my body constantly feels like I've been beaten with a baseball bat. I'm sore all the time."

Beth rubbed Leah's back as she continued to hug her. "I'm so sorry you don't feel good," she told her. "Jason's right, though, the main thing is to take care of you right now."

"He is," Leah told her, "he's taking care of me great."

"Well, if he doesn't, let me know and I'll straighten him out," Beth told her, smiling.

"But he needs—I want to do something nice for him," Leah continued. "I want to take care of him—even for just a little while." She stopped and looked at Beth. "Is it so wrong—or depraved? Am I just so fucked up to think that if you would just—you know—make love with him—it would make him happy. And probably make you happy too."

"Well, of course it would make me happy," Beth told her, "very happy, in fact. I miss that—I miss being with a man—with him. "But it has to be his idea."

Leah nodded. "Yeah. It does, she agreed." Then her face darkened. "What about Angie?" she asked with concern. "I mean, it feels like I'm—I don't know—but she..."

"We've already talked about it," Beth reassured her, "and she said almost exactly what you did." She rested her hands on Leah's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "I do have strong feelings for Jason, but I love Angie with all my heart. I would never hurt her. Ever." Her face softened and she thought for a moment. "But I know that she's ok with it. Really."

"Jesus," Leah said, shaking her head. "This is going to be a different sort of visit." She got an impish grin. "I think Jason is going to enjoy your visit a lot more than he thought," she said with a giggle.

Beth blushed. "Only if it feels good to everyone," she said. "But I may be a lot busier this week than I had planned, that's for sure." She laughed. "So," she continued, "that could take care of Jason, but what about you? I think you could use a good massage. What do you think?"

"Wow. I really could," Leah told her.

"Great. Well, I can share, too," Beth said with a smile. "Angie's massages are amazing. In fact, that's how we first met." Leah smiled.

"Well, if I'm getting massaged by Angie, that would leave you alone with my husband, wouldn't it?" she asked with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Yes. The seductive mother—suddenly alone with her son," added Beth, getting into the spirit of Leah's teasing.

"Who knows what wicked things they would do while the innocent wife relaxes with a massage?" Leah said with a giggle.

"Hm. Not so innocent, I think," chuckled Beth. "Besides Angie's massages are very relaxing—but far from innocent," she added with a significant glance at Leah. "That is, if you are still open to the idea of a woman's touch."

Leah opened her eyes and mouth in mock astonishment. "Why, whatever do you mean?" she teased, "Your young, innocent daughter-in-law doesn't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Beth gave a throaty chuckle, then took Leah's face in her hands. "Bullshit," she said as she kissed her. "Total bullshit."

As Angie cooked, Beth found a few minutes to talk with her alone. They shared their conversations, and made a plan for the evening.

"One last time," Beth had said to her. "You're absolutely sure you're feeling good about this?"

Angie kissed her. "Darling, the time I've spent with everyone today has made me more sure that this is good. I feel wonderful. It will give me great joy to take care of Leah—and I know you and Jason will be very happy."

Beth dressed up a bit for dinner, choosing a top that showed a bit of cleavage and putting on a little makeup. Jason did his best not to stare, but it was pretty clear that he noticed.

Angie had made a nice vegetable soup and salad and everyone ate well. Her cooking was excellent and the wine left everyone feeling relaxed and happy. Leah abstained both for her child and to keep her stomach calm, but just seeing everyone so comfortable together made her happier than she had been in a long time.

After dinner, Beth said, "Jason darling, how about if you help me clean up the kitchen? Angie gives great massages, and I think Leah would feel a lot better after a massage." Jason looked over at Leah who just gave him a thumbs-up.

"Hell yeah. A massage sounds awesome," Leah said, winking at Beth.

"We'll start face up," Angie said lightly. Then she clucked her tongue, vexed. "Damn, I left my lavender oil in the car. I'll be right back," she said, closing the door behind her.

When Angie came into the living room, Beth and Jason were on the sofa with Beth lying against her son. They started up, surprised, but Angie gave them a smile and wave.

"Don't mind me," she told them, "I just forgot something in the car"

Angie's casual acceptance of their physical closeness relaxed them both. In spite of all of the conversations, it was still a relief to have the words put into practice.

Angie quickly retrieved the oil from the car, and when she returned, Jason had his arm around Beth. Beth stroked Jason's chest, and it seemed like they were reminiscing about their past experiences.

Angie returned to the bedroom. In the candlelight, she could see that Leah had completely undressed and was lying on her back. Her naked body glowed softly as the candlelight danced in the room, and Angie took a moment to look at her. Her breasts had filled out and the nipples and areolas had darkened, but they were still pert and well-shaped. Her muscular body had gained a little fat, but it was still graceful and feminine. Her hips were full and fertile-looking and her belly bulged with her unborn child. Angie was struck by her beauty and naturalness.

Leah's eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, trying to relax. Angie crossed to her and gently touched her arm.

"Are you ready to begin?" she asked. When Leah smiled and nodded, she continued, "We'll start with some aromatherapy. Lavender—to promote relaxation." She put some oil on her hands and rubbed them together briskly, releasing the scent. She placed them closer to Leah's face and let her breathe the pleasant, relaxing aroma. Angie watched carefully as the corners of Leah's eyes and mouth relaxed, signaling that she was beginning to let go.

Angie began massaging Leah's face and neck, working her way down onto the shoulders with practiced ease. "How has your pregnancy been going? It seems like you've been having a difficult time," she asked.

"Yeah. Difficult is the word for it," Leah said with a sigh. "We weren't planning on having a kid right now, so the whole thing was a shock. Then I had really bad nausea for months, then a round of killer headaches, and now I'm so tired and sore all the time that I can hardly stand it. Plus Junior keeps trying to kick my uterus apart."

Angie slid her hands under Leah's shoulders, and massaged down onto her back, using the weight of Leah's body to help work the muscles. Leah sighed as she felt Angie's comforting touch.

"Wow. I can feel that your back has been under a lot of strain. It's very tight," Angie said as she massaged. "Well, I can't stop 'Junior' from kicking, but I can help your back," she added brightly. "Let's have you on your side—I don't want you lying face down while you're pregnant."

Leah rolled onto her side and Angie arranged pillows to support her. When she had been securely tucked in, Angie began massaging her back. Angie was an excellent masseuse, and Leah quickly relaxed under her strong, skillful hands. She spent a long time working out the kinks in Leah's back, as she could tell that this had been a big source of Leah's fatigue. When all of the knots had been released and the back muscles seemed fully relaxed, Angie moved to the arms, carefully making sure that every trigger point was addressed. When she finished the upper body, Leah's face was noticeably more relaxed and she radiated an air of peace and contentment.

Angie next moved to Leah's feet, eliciting an "Oh wow, that feels great." She worked her way up the legs, again marveling at their musculature.

"How are your knees feeling?" she asked soothingly.

"Fine," Leah replied, her voice thick. "My legs have held up pretty well—it's been my back and upper body that felt so bad. I can't tell you how much better I feel already," Leah mumbled in a sleepy voice.

"I can imagine," Angie replied. "Your back was a mess. We should make these massages a daily thing for a while. Carrying all that tension isn't good for either you or the baby."

Angie's hands worked their way to Leah's upper thighs and ass.

"I think there's another source of tension you're carrying, though," she said matter-of-factly as she massaged Leah's thighs firmly. Leah became more awake as she felt herself becoming slightly aroused by Angie's touch.

"Wow. I haven't felt that in forever," Leah sighed. "If by 'source of tension' you mean 'horny' I think you're right," she grumbled. "Junior has really thrown our sex life out of whack. I try to make sure that Jason gets enough release to stay on an even keel, but it's hard—and then I never seem to feel like it when—well, let's just say it's been rough."

"Well," Angie spoke softly but meaningfully, "like Beth said, we're here to help you in any way we can. We talked about this a lot and it's something we're ok with." She paused, resting her hands on Leah's side. "Did Beth talk to you about Jason?"

"Yes she did," Leah told her, reaching up and patting her hand. "And I told her to go ahead." She raised her head and looked at Angie. "I think it would be good for both of them, actually," she added. Angie nodded.

"I wouldn't have said that a year ago, but I agree," Angie told her. "And it will take that stress away from you for the moment." Her hands resumed their work on Leah's thighs. "So that just leaves your needs for us to address, doesn't it?" she added with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah," Leah said with a smile. "You know anyone who can help me out?"

Angie chuckled. "Well, it depends on how open-minded you are," she quipped.

"Beth obviously hasn't told you about the night Jason got injured," Leah said with a giggle.

"She told me about the injury and how great you were with everything," Angie said. "Is there more?"

"Yeah. There's a lot more. I'm pretty 'open-minded' as you phrased it. Want to hear about it?" She unfolded the whole story to Angie, who continued to massage her. About halfway through, Angie paused long enough to remove her shirt, and moved so that Leah could see her body. Leah's arousal increased as she saw that Angie's nipples had become erect.