Back to You

“You’re not a brat,” he said. “You just know what you want, and you’re not afraid to express that. It’s admirable, not bratty.” He lowered his pelvis to the floor and turned to look at her. “But I do want you to do these exercises, okay?” he said, his expression serious.

“I will. I promise,” Lauren said, lowering her pelvis and pressing her palms against her stomach. “Whew, I can feel that already.”

He smiled. “Good. A few weeks of this, and your back will be good as new. Then you can get back to all that pleasurable physical activity,” he added with a wink before he patted her knee and hopped up off the mat.

“God,” Lauren groaned, covering her face with her hands. “Are you ever going to let that go?”

“Eventually,” he smiled. “Alright, up you go. Back to the exam room for a quick adjustment and then you’re free to go.”

“Thank God,” she said as she stood, and Adam clutched his heart with stage-worthy skills.

“Ouch,” he said, turning to walk back to the exam rooms. “Tough day with the kiddies?”

“Actually, today was surprisingly uneventful,” Lauren said as she followed him back down the hall. “Although in saying that out loud, I’ve just thrown down a gauntlet with the universe, and tomorrow will probably be unspeakable.”

Adam’s hearty laugh carried back to her as he walked through the door of the exam room, and Lauren smiled. He had the best laugh: wholehearted and genuine and completely infectious.

“Alright my dear, if the universe is going to have its way with you tomorrow, then let’s get you in fighting shape.”

Lauren climbed up on to the table and laid on her side, and immediately Adam came up beside her, placing one hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder. But instead of aligning her the way he always did, his hand slid over her hip and came to rest on her lower back, just above the curve of her bottom. She lifted her eyes to his face.

It was strange, because these procedures were strictly medical. He was never inappropriate with her, never crossed any lines, and yet she couldn’t deny how intimate it seemed: his hands on her body, moving her, manipulating her, speaking to her softly and making eye contact with her as he m a little tighter around herself23soade her body yield to his will. She inhaled slowly as she watched him.

His brow was furrowed, his eyes downcast, and she felt his fingers curl against her lower back. Just as he applied slight pressure, she winced slightly.

“Mm-hm,” he nodded. “After I adjust you, I want to work a little on that trigger point on the right side.”

“Okay,” she said softly, looking away from him, because he was her doctor, and he was touching her this way because it was his job, and she needed to pull it together.

Adam adjusted her with his usual efficiency and precision, and then he asked her to lie on her stomach.

“I’m going to put direct pressure on the trigger point and hold it there. It will break up the lactic acid and help release the muscle. This is going to be a little uncomfortable, but I don’t want it to be excruciating, so tell me if it gets to be too much, okay?”

“Okay,” she said again, and she felt his hand run over her back until he found the area he wanted and applied the pressure. She couldn’t tell if he was using his thumb or his knuckle, but the pressure was instantly intense, and she curled her hands into fists at her sides.

“Too much?” he asked gently.

“No, it’s okay,” she said through bated breath.

“Alright. Hang in there, you’re doing great. About ten more seconds,” he said, rubbing her shoulder with his free hand.

When he released the pressure, the instant relief almost made her laugh, and then she felt Adam take the pad of his thumb and gently rub across the knot.

“Oh, that’s already much better,” he said softly, and she closed her eyes at the gentle pressure that now felt so good. “Ideally, you should do this three or four times in a row. Can you handle one more, do you think?”

She whimpered softly. “Fine, one more, but only if you do this again afterward.”

She heard his quiet laugh before he soothingly laid his palm over the trigger point. “Okay, try to keep breathing this time,” he said, and when she felt the firm, concentrated pressure again, she pulled her brow together and focused all her energy on taking slow deep breaths.

After what seemed like forever, he finally released his hold. “Okay, that’s enough for today,” he said in a soothing voice as he rubbed his thumb gently over the now-weakened knot, causing Lauren to sigh.

“That feels really good,” she mumbled into the table.

“From this side too,” he said. “It’s almost completely broken up. You should keep doing this over the next couple of days. Have your boyfriend or your roommate do this for you.”

“I don’t have one,” Lauren sighed into the table, and she felt his thumb stop on her back.

“What, a roommate? Or a boyfriend?”

Lauren pushed off the table slightly so that she could turn to look at him, fighting her smile when the hope she thought she heard in his voice was written all over his face.

“Either,” she said before she lay back down on the table, burying her face like a child to hide her grin.

“Okay,” he said, resuming his ministrations. “Well then I can just keep doing it for you for the next few visits.”

“Okay then,” she said through her smile.

“Okay then,” he echoed.

And she could tell he was smiling too.

“So you’re not go

“Make you ask what?” she said casually as she perused the menu.

Je

Lauren glanced up at Je

“Oh, stop it. I asked you last time because he’d just shown back up in your life like two days before that. And now, it’s four weeks later. And you see him every day. You don’t expect me to be curious about how that’s pa

“If something had happened, don’t you think you would know? I talk to you on the phone all the time.”

“Ah, yes, but I can’t see your eyes then.”

Lauren shook her head and laughed. “You’re an idiot.”

“An idiot who knows her best friend,” she said, placing her glass down and leaning across the table. “So I repeat, what’s going on with you and Del?”

Lauren sighed and placed the menu on the table, looking her friend in the eye as she answered, because she knew Je

“Nothing?”

“Sorry to disappoint,” she said with a shrug.

“How is it that you haven’t addressed anything with him yet? You talk to him everyday.”

“Just like I talk to every other parent,” Lauren said nonchalantly as she took a sip of her wine. “A quick update on their kid, answer any questions, and off they go.”

Je

Lauren shook her head, but Je

“Well, there’s no need to worry about me. I’m wading safely in the shallow end. Strictly professional.”

Je

“I’m not acting,” she said, opening her menu again. “What happened was a long time ago. We’ve obviously both moved on with our lives. What would be the point of dredging up something painful from when we were kids?”