I’d started working at the East Village Amerik spa three weeks prior and I really liked my new job. A few months before, I’d completed my professional training as a massage therapist, had started my own business giving massages in work places – which was going really well –, but I hadn’t turned down my friend Vanessa when she’d called me to sub at Amerikspa because I wanted to get as much experience as I could. Plus, they had a great insurance and health care package.
That morning, Samantha, the weekend manager, had told me I’d have three clientsthat day: two guys – Carl, a businessman from Philadelphia who always came in when he was in town and was already turning into one of my regulars, and Mr. Davenport, an airline pilot who had said he was suffering from sciatica and needed a serious treatment – and one lady.
I always felt a little uneasy when massaging female clients because I didn’t want them to think that I was touching them in an inappropriate way. In class, guys were always told to be extra careful because we’re unfortunately often thought of as sex fiends or perverts who only got into massage therapy as an excuse to get into people’s pants. Female therapists, on the other hand, were always warned to watch out for perverts or sex fiend clients who would try to get a little extra or would start groping them during the massage.