A Ghost of a Chance

"Let's bill them for this session, then! It's only fair. Okay, on the table, on your right side."

Cal submitted to Annie's care. For the next forty-five minutes, Annie's hands efficiently stretched and kneaded Cal's left shoulder area. Annie was pleased that she was able to quickly return some mobility to the joint; it was one of her favorite parts of her job.

For Cal, the experience was much more profound: being touched so intentionally was wonderful -- and destabilizing. It had been a long time since Cal had come into physical contact with anyone other than her family and her children. She had not realized how much her body had been craving to be touched. Throw in the fact that Annie was super easy on the eyes, it was all Cal could do to stay still. She tried to keep her eyes closed; she was afraid they would give away the seismic activity going on in her body due to Annie's proximity. Her senses were going haywire, processing thrills that sprinted all over her skin every time Annie's fingers made contact.

"Okay Cal, why don't you shift onto your back for me. We need to re-align your hips -- you're kinda lopsided right now."

Annie placed her hands on Cal's iliac crests, and pushed firmly. Cal almost flew off the table when Annie's palms made contact with her hips. Oh fuck. How am I this turned on? Dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies.

Unfortunately for Cal, her predicament did not improve. "Knees up and apart, please," Annie placed her forearm between Cal's knees, "Now squeeze. Come on Cal, harder. Five... four... three... two... okay. Release."

Annie leaned forward and patted her own right shoulder, "Hook your right knee here, Cal."

When Cal's hamstrings rested against Annie's chest, Cal stopped breathing.

"Okay perfect, now push against me." Annie leaned forward more, providing resistance -- and a jaw-dropping view of her ample cleavage. Cal's hands flew to cover her face. Get a hold of yourself, Warner. Thank god I'm not a guy. I'd have a raging hard-on that she would be able to see right now.

"I know, Cal, it's going to hurt a little, but we're almost there."

Cal almost laughed at how off the mark Annie was. Thankfully, Annie released Cal's leg and placed it back on the table.

Annie reluctantly moved on to the last stretch of the session. She was selfishly grateful that Cal's eyes were shielded during that last exercise. The alluring friction and pressure from Cal's leg had caused Annie's nipples to swell. She quickly grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on, hoping it would be enough to hide them from view.

Returning to the table, Annie placed both hands on the nape of Cal's neck, "We're just going to do a stretch -- you're carrying a lot of stress here."

Cal felt Annie's hands supporting her neck and skull and then, with an eroticism Cal was not expecting, Annie's fingers applied sweet pressure against the base of her skull and the nape of her neck. For the first time in a long time, Cal felt the urge to give in to her libido's appeal for relief: it had flared again and again during Becca's illness and since her death, but Cal had always suppressed it. She gripped her hands into fists, willing her body back under control. Get a hold of yourself, you sex-deprived idiot!

And then, with timing only children are capable of, "Mommy -- we're done with the video. Can we go out and look at the fish tank?" Jamie and Adrian stretched, dropping their headsets unceremoniously onto the floor.

Cal dragged her mind and body back to reality, "Okay, but pack up your stuff, and when you go out there, don't break anything."

The kids threw their stuff into the backpack.

"Before you go, how about some stickers?" Annie pulled a stack out of her desk drawer.

Cal propped herself up on her elbows, "Wow, Annie, that's going to win you some major points. These guys are sticker fanatics. Guys -- just one each, okay?"

The kids picked out their stickers and bolted out, yelling quick 'thank yous' as they ran. Annie propped the door open, "We'll keep the door open guys. Okay, Cal, one more thing and you'll be done with me." Annie helped Cal sit up.

"Done with you? Are you breaking up with me?" Cal didn't realize fully what she'd said until it came out of her mouth. Oh my god, am I trying to flirt with her? What's wrong with me??

"Not by a long shot," Annie smiled, glad to see the return of some of the feistiness that Cal used to have when they first met, "I'm not so easy to get rid of. Now, pay attention; let's go through the exercises you need to do at home."

Cal tried to focus, but it was a difficult task: spirals of arousal were licking tantalizingly around her sex. Annie was unaware of Cal's plight, and unintentionally exacerbated the issue by touching Cal here and there as she walked through the exercises.

"And that, Ms. Warner, is all I got!" Annie smiled as Cal hopped off the bed. Annie started stripping the table of its linens. Cal just stood there for a moment, staring at Annie, trying to process the effect Annie had on her. Cal had not been captivated like this in a long time.

"Any big plans for tonight?" Cal asked, surprising herself with the boldness of the question. Warner, stop talking.

Annie didn't seem to find the question untoward. "Dinner with my best friend who's in town from the UK," she replied as she picked up her phone and started typing.

"Sounds like fun," Cal was grateful for Annie's momentary distraction. Stop checking her out, Cal, she admonished herself when she realized she had been raking her eyes up and down Annie's body.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Sorry," Annie indicated to the phone as she put it down, "Just adding some notes to your file."

Happy to not have been caught staring, Cal stuck her head out into the reception area, "Okay guys, two minute warning. Say 'I heard you' if you heard me."

Jamie and Adrian had their faces plastered against the side of the fish tank.

Cal looked at Annie with resignation when she was met with silence. Annie smiled and patted Cal on the arm, "Good seeing you. Set up some time with Pri and I'll see you next week!"

Cal grabbed her kids' stuff, walked out into the reception area and bent down between her children, "We are going to go in a minute, ok?"

The twins nodded, "Are we still meeting Uncle Torrey at the playground?"

Cal checked her phone, "Yep! He just texted to say he's on his way there. One sec, guys," she walked over to Priyanka.

"Hi, Annie said I should check in with you about next week?"

Priyanka pulled up Cal's file on the computer, "Yep, when do you want to come in? Oh, wait, Annie made a note here... um, do you want her to make a house call next session?"

A series of extremely inappropriate thoughts sprung up in Cal's mind. Goddamit Cal, shake it off! She looked at the now closed door of Annie's treatment room and tried to speak coherently, "Uh, okay, if she can manage it, that'd be really helpful. Thanks. That would be amazing."

Priyanka looked at the computer screen, "Okay, then it'll have to be the last session of the day. Annie has the five p.m. slots free Tuesday and Friday next week."

Tuesday comes sooner than Friday... "Tuesday works! Thanks so much. Say thank you to Priyanka guys, let's go!"

"Thank you!" yelled two little voices.

"You got it," Priyanka waved goodbye and clicked through Annie's appointment schedule as Cal herded the kids out.

Annie tentatively peeked out when she heard them leave. Priyanka crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow, "House call? You never make house calls."

"She just moved back to the city. Her wife died. She's in pain. She has two kids," Annie explained as she pulled off her sweatshirt.

"And you think she's hot."

"Pri! Stop it. Did you not hear me say that her wife passed away? That one is a non-negotiable no-fly zone."

"You want to jump her bones. I can tell," Priyanka waved her hands in the general direction of Annie's body, "Your aura is, like, flipping out."

Annie blushed, "It's flipping out because you're being inappropriate in eight different ways."

Priyanka shrugged, "Inappropriate? Maybe. Inaccurate? Nope. Your nipples could cut glass right now."

Annie looked down and quickly covered her chest with her sweatshirt. Priyanka squealed with laughter. Annie glared at Priyanka in protest before stomping back into her treatment room and slamming the door shut.

--Chapter 2: The Second PT Session (One Week Later - July)--

Cal opened the cooler bag and showed its contents to the twins. Adrian grabbed a stick of string cheese, and Jamie chose to start with an apple. "Okay guys, when we get home, Annie is going to come work on my shoulder. You guys can play some Uno or do some coloring, and then we can go out for dinner. I also have a surprise for you."

"WHAT?" Both kids said at once.

"Uncle Brandon and Uncle Torrey are at our apartment right now putting together a new bed for me!"

Jamie's eyes widened, "So this means they'll stay for dinner, right?"

Adrian looked up eagerly, "Really, mom?

Since Becca's death, both kids have been on a mission to have any and all family members and friends join them for dinner each night. Cal knew it was their way of coping with Becca's absence, and Cal's heart broke each time the three of them sat down for dinner without company.

"Hmm, I don't know. I think Uncle Brandon has to go home for dinner with his family." Cal gritted her teeth, the word 'family' was like a knife in her heart. Becca, this doesn't work without you.

"Maybe Uncle Torrey can stay, let's ask him!" Jamie exclaimed.

The moment the elevator deposited the three of them onto their floor, the twins tore ahead, tumbling into their apartment and yelling their uncles' names. By the time Cal stepped through the threshold, Torrey was on the floor under both her children, all of them laughing hysterically.

"Brandon left?"

Torrey nodded, "I have to get going too..."

The twins groaned with disappointment.

"Oh yeah?" Torrey grabbed the kids, "That just sounds like you guys want more tickles..."

Jamie and Adrian squealed with happy terror. Of her two older brothers, Cal was closest to Torrey, not just in age, but also in terms of personality and interests. He was the one she came out to first, and she was the one he sought out when he needed advice and honest feedback. Brandon, the oldest of the three by seven years, always seemed far older and disinterested in the antics of his younger siblings.

Cal shouted over the cacophony, "My PT's coming any minute now. Thanks again for helping with the bed. I couldn't have done any of this with my shoulder acting up."

As if on cue, the intercom blared and Cal buzzed Annie up. Cal ducked into the bathroom quickly before heading to the front door.

"Did you just re-style your hair?" Torrey raised his eyebrows as Cal walked past. His sister's hair was no longer tied up in a careless knot.

"Shut up, Torrey," Cal backhanded him across the shoulder. Torrey was about to respond, but the doorbell rang.

Cal opened the door and it was all she could do to not go slack-jawed with awe. In the five days since she last saw Annie, Cal had wondered if her initial reaction to her physical therapist was due to Cal being unaccustomed to receiving attention and care. Becca's decline after being diagnosed with Gliobastoma had been so rapid, and the needs of her care and of the children's care were so all-consuming that Cal never had time to really think about how and what she was feeling. It was as if her brain had figured out a way to anesthetize her emotions and needs, just so she could get through each day. Her reaction to Annie the week before was such a shot out of the blue that Cal couldn't quite trust it. But there it was again, the surprising and curious giddy pulse sitting in the base of her stomach that had started up the moment Cal laid eyes on Annie. Annie was dressed simply in a white polo and sweat pants. The outfit was just form-fitting enough to hint at the body underneath. Her wavy brown hair was tied up in a simple pony-tail, her brown eyes were warm and bright.

Torrey looked back and forth between his sister and Annie, clocking Cal's obvious attraction to the brunette. "Hi, I'm Torrey -- Cal's brother," he stepped forward when neither woman moved, and extended his hand.

"Annie," Annie smiled.

"Nice to meet you," Torrey smiled back, "The twins wouldn't stop talking about you last week. What kind of weird kid magic did you work on them?"

"I have a stash of stickers and a tank full of tropical fish at my office, so I can't really take credit."

"ANNIE!" The twins wrapped their arms around her legs, "Come look at our room!" Adrian tugged at Annie's shirt.

"Okay buddy, hold on, let me bring the table in." Annie set it against the wall and allowed herself to be led away.

Torrey looked at Cal, whose eyes followed Annie into the twins' room, "Oh, you like her."

Cal felt her face flush, "Shut. Up."

Torrey broke into a wide smile, "Is she gay?"

Cal rolled her eyes. In addition to awkward 'I'm so sorry for your loss' conversations, Cal has also had to contend with friends and family seeing potential dates around every corner. "I have no idea; it's irrelevant and it's way too soon. Even if the adult reincarnated version of Becca were to walk up to me right now, it'd be too soon."

Torrey gave Cal's arm a squeeze, "Okay. I get it. But be honest, you did something to your hair... Hey!" Torrey ducked as Cal elbowed him in the ribs, "Okay, okay! I'm going to go say bye to the kids."

Once Torrey left, and hearing that Annie was still being monopolized by the twins, Cal looked at the folded-up treatment table leaning against the wall and decided to move it into her room. The folly of her decision was immediately apparent; the table was heavier than she expected, and its weight was not distributed evenly. Her left shoulder could not sustain the force needed to balance it as she walked.

Cal ended up half carrying, half pushing the table into her room. The pain radiating from her shoulder was sharp and unremitting. She clenched her teeth, cursing herself for being so foolish.

"... and this is Mommy's room!" sang Jamie as she and Adrian walked in with Annie.

Annie immediately noticed Cal's distress, looked at the table, and guessed what had happened, "Hey guys, I need to help Mommy's shoulder feel better now."

"UNO!" Adrian yelled. The two bolted out of the room, arguing about who was going to deal first.

Annie set up the table, and patted it, indicating that Cal should hop on, "Face down."

Annie started systematically seeking out the adhesions in Cal's shoulder.

"Sorry," muttered Cal.

"Hey, it's not my shoulder," Annie said, injecting just a little irritation in her tone to toy with Cal.

Cal tensed, wishing she hadn't upset Annie, "Sorry. Really."

Annie's heart softened and she chuckled, "Nah, you're fine," she playfully ruffled Cal's hair, "We're good. Just don't move heavy objects for a little while longer, okay?"

More! Cal's body begged as Annie moved her hand back to Cal's shoulder area. Cal nodded, rendered mute by Annie's small gesture of affection.

Annie patted Cal's shoulder, "Roll onto your right side for me. And I need you as close to the edge of the table as possible. I get more leverage that way."

Cal shifted as she was told. Lying on her right side as Annie instructed put Cal's face about three inches from Annie's left hip. Cal had to remind herself to keep breathing steadily. She lost track of time as she -- once again -- tried to control her body's reactions to Annie's touch. Annie lifted Cal's left arm so it was at a ninety degree angle to Cal's body. Annie placed her other hand just below Cal's armpit, and applied pressure to the latissimus dorsi. Annie's thumb edged the underside of Cal's breast.

Oh Jesus. Cal let out a breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted -- but failed -- to ignore the half square inch of contact that Annie's thumb was making with her body.

"Too much?" Annie backed off the pressure slightly.

"Sorta." Cal bit out.

Annie quickly shifted to the topside of Cal's arm, raking her fingers through Cal's delts and around to the top of her pec. "Not bad. Feels pretty loose."

Annie did a couple more stretches on Cal before ending the session, just as Jamie came padding into the room. "Mommy, Uno's boring."

Cal sat up and rotated her shoulder, amazed at how much better it felt. "Boring? You guys played it for an hour straight each day this week. Annie, this feels amazing. Thank you."

"It seems like we are playing the same game over and over." Jamie reported morosely.

Annie let out a quiet chuckle, "Are you shuffling the cards?"

"Mommy usually does it."

Annie smiled, "Want me to show you an easy way to shuffle?"

"YEAH! YEAH!" Jamie ran out of the room, announcing the news to her twin.

Cal started to get off the table.

Annie put her hand on Cal's sternum and shook her head, "Na-uh. You stay and do your exercises."

Cal loved the feel of Annie's hand on her chest. She pretended to look perplexed, "You are volunteering to play with my Uno-obsessed children?"

"I'm taking one for the team. Don't think I didn't notice -- I know you haven't been doing your exercises. So do 'em now." Annie pressed her hand into Cal's chest for emphasis, feeling slightly guilty that she was using her job as an excuse to touch Cal.

Cal couldn't decide what she liked more: Annie bossing her around, Annie touching her, or Annie saying she was one of the team. "Fine, okay, fine," Cal said with mock surrender.

Fifteen minutes later, Cal stuck her head into the kids' room, "Okay guys, shoes on please. Let's go to dinner."

"Can Annie come to dinner with us?" Adrian asked, his big brown eyes shining with hope.

Cal looked at Annie, "She probably has other plans, guys."

Annie knew the professional thing to do was to say she had other plans, but she found herself shrugging and saying, "Actually I don't! I'd love to have dinner with you!"

The kids cheered.

"Seriously?" Cal smiled.

Annie nodded, "Seriously, if you'll have me."

Cal nodded back and her face broke into a devastatingly beautiful smile. Annie was dazzled. Oh boy. Cal's got me but good.

"Where are we going?" Annie asked as the four of them walked southeast from the apartment building.

"Right there," Cal pointed at an Indian restaurant diagonally across from them.

"Chennai House! It's one of my favorites! I go to the one in Murray Hill all the time."

Cal and Annie conferred over the menu and ordered a good mix of dishes to share.

"There's a party in my tummy and the dosa's invited!" Adrian declared as the food arrived.

Annie laughed, "Adrian, that's the best thing I've heard all day!"

Cal loved hearing Annie's laugh. She liked seeing Annie laugh even more: Annie's eyes crinkled in the cutest way. It filled her with a joy that moved through her like a waterfall, and it was terrifying. Cal sat as still as she could for the rest of the meal, trying to calm the tempest that was beginning to swirl in her mind. You don't even know her. It's too soon to feel this happy. It's too soon.

"Can we do this again?" Jamie asked as they headed home.

"We'll see," Cal said, "Depends on whether you guys can show me how good you are at getting ready for bed after a late dinner out."

"Nicely done, Cal," Annie complimented Cal as the kids went through their bedtime routine without a hitch.

"It was a good day today. This past weekend was hard -- it would have been Becca's thirty-ninth birthday, and it's coming up to our fifteenth wedding anniversary. We've all been a little shredded emotionally -- more than usual, that is. So thank you for sticking around tonight. It helped -- all of us."