Back at your apartment, you pace around for a bit thinking about what to wear. "What are you even supposed to wear for massage" you think out loud. You end up putting on a pair of jeans, your sneakers and a dress shirt. You call an uber, grab your jacket and leave for Mark's.

It's 8:30 on the dot. The uber dropped you off outside of Mark's building 10 minutes ago and you've been nervous to go in. You knew Mark did well for himself from the fancy Mercedes he drives but you didn't know he was this loaded. The building he lives in must be 50 stories high. The text he sent you says "47th floor. Tell Tony you're here to see Mark". You walk in to the lobby and the security gaurd gives you a strange look. "Can I help you?" he says suspiciously. "Tony?" You say. "Anthony" he mutters. "Sorry, Anthony" you apologize "I'm here to see Mark?". "Oh, sure!" Tony's demeanor takes a jovial turn "The elevator's right there" he walks you over, types in the code for Mark's floor and sends you off.

On the way up, you try not to overthink the situation and just look forward to getting to know Mark better. You fiddle around with your jacket pockets just to pass the time on your way up and you pull out a small pink circular tin. Its your ex's favorite cherry lip balm. You got it for her on your lunch break today as one of your many apologies. You shake your head and put it in your jeans pocket with your phone. You arrive at his floor and the elevator opens up to a spacious corridor with marble floors, grey and white walls and soft lighting. You note the minimalist but elegant features of the place. "Kind of like Mark" you chuckle to your self. You walk to the large black door at the end of the hall and ring the doorbell. A few seconds pass and the door is opened by the most strikingly beautiful woman you've ever seen. She's probably in her mid to late 30s, tall, has flowing voluminous strawberry-blonde hair that she's wearing to the side. She's has a lowcut black dress on and mathching black heels. As you take her in, all you can think to yourself is [My god, am I underdressed].

"oh hi, dear" she says with deep and pleasingly raspy voice that puts you at ease "Mark told me all about you. It's wonderful to finally meet you". She gives you two friendly kisses on the cheeks and guides you into the apartment. Of course, 'apartment' is an understatement here. It feels like an entire city block in the sky, especially with the view from the full-height windows that surround the giant living space that you're in. "I'm sorry" she says as she sits down on the leather sofa next to you "I forgot to introduce myself, I'm..." just then, Mark walks in dressed in an old t-shirt that hangs loosely off of his broad shoulders and pair of comfortable looking shorts "you made it!" Mark shouts in his familiar booming voice "Did Tony give you any trouble?. He can be grumpy sometimes"

Before you get a chance to answer, he leans in to the woman sitting next to you and gives her a kiss "Thank you, sweetie" he says with a loving tone "I see you met my wife, Olivia". "Please, call me Liv" she adds. "Ah, yeah" you nervously reply "It's nice to meet you, Olivia... sorry, Liv". [He's married] you think to yourself. You realize that today was the first time either of you had spoken about your relationships. You can't be too surprised about not realizing he's married since all he knows about your girlfriend is that she broke up with you today.

"Well, boys, I have a party to get to and I'm running late" Liv bows out. She gives Mark another kiss. "Say hi to Ted and Rebecca for me" he says as he walks her out the door. Mark shuts the door and turns to you. "Not a big fan of Ted and Rebecca, are you?" You chuckle. Mark bursts out with laughter "you can tell?!". "Ted's decent enough" Mark continues "but he's the driest person you'll ever meet with all the charm of a bowl oat bran going in and coming out" You both share an innocent laugh at poor old Ted's expense. "Your place is nice, by the way" you shift away from the Ted subject. "Thanks" he replies "Liv and I've had this place for five years now. We always wanted a bigger place but didn't want to leave the city". "It's a gorgeous place. It must've cost an arm and a leg, though" you add. "I sold my cyber security company six years ago and made a pretty penny. Now I'm free to work as a consultant and invest without the hassle of running a company". "Wow, I'm jelous" you giggle "but you know, it's kind of weird". "What's weird?" Mark replies. "I mean, this building has to have a state of the art fitness center, why go out of your way to work out at our low-tech gym?" You ask. "I just like the atmosphere there, I guess" he replies. "Ok" mark claps his hands "time to get to work". [Work?] You nearly forgot why you were there. "Oh, the massage! right" you remember. Mark walks to the other room "I'll go get the table and you get out of those clothes and into one of the towels in the bathroom"

You change out of your clothes and wrap a towel around your waist. You neatly fold your clothes and stack them on the coffee table near the sofa you were sitting on. Mark walks back in carrying a large black massage table and a stool. He sets them down for a moment to move the adjacent sofa out of the way with just one hand. You sit there mesmerized as usual by his strength. [Those arms are going to massage me] you think to yourself with a mixture of curiosity and fear.

He's done setting up the table. "Alright, hop on" he says with excitement to match your own. As you get on, he puts your things on the stool he brought out next to the table. "I'll keep this close by in case you get a phone call or something" Mark notes. "thanks, Mark" you reply "you really think of everything, don't you?". "Well, I've given Liv enough massages to know a thing or two" he titters. You lie down on your stomach and put your head on the cushioned head rest at the edge of the table.

With your head facing down and eyes on the floor, you notice Mark move to the side of the table and adjust the height of it to keep you at waist level. Mark moves to the short side of the table, where your head is. Looking at his bare muscular legs, you can't help but get a little excited. You hear a plastic bottle cap pop open and your nose is flooded with a pleasant floral scent. "Lavender?" You ask. "Sorry" Mark apologizes "all I have is the scented massage oil that Liv likes. I haven't really massaged anyone else since we met" he says with the smallest bit of nervousness in his tone. [He doesn't do this for ANYbody?] Your heart flutters. Just then, you feel the stinging cold of the oil drops on your back and you visibly wince. "Cold?" Mark asks "I'm sorry, I'll keep bottle in my pocket to warm it up".

Part 4