Chapter 123: Lingering Touch
After Emily introduced Yohan to the staff, she even went ahead to instruct them to take special care of him.
It was clear that she wasn't just treating him as one of her son's friends, but Yohan didn't call her out on it.
'Maybe this is just how she is' he considered.
"Yohan, do you want to get a cup of coffee? I would love to hear about how you have been doing all this while," Emily asked after they had finished.
"Sure, I don't have anywhere else to be," he replied.
This was probably why Yohan had been following her around—to have an opportunity like this—but he hadn't thought that she would end up asking him herself.
At this point, Yohan was almost certain
that Emily didn't just see him as a kid. He suspected that it was because she had seen him with an older woman like Vivian before.
Introducing his Aunt as his woman had probably left an impression on her, one that made her look at him differently.
He wasn't complaining; in fact, this was a very good situation. This way, she wouldn't find it too difficult to see him as her man.
He accompanied her to her private office. It was like an entire house with a sitting room and a bedroom. It was probably one of the executive suites.
Yohan could understand why the owner had a very special suite; she probably spent just as much time here as she did at home.
Freddie probably had a special room like this, too, after all, it was a very big hotel with more than enough rooms.
"But then the only day I came around, there was no room available," he chuckled at the irony.
Soon, a staff member came over with a slice of cake and coffee.
"So, Yohan, tell me, how have you been? I heard you lost your parents a few years ago," her voice carried sincere concern.
"Yeah, they had an accident," he said casually, trying not to kill the mood.
"Then who do you live with now?" she wondered.
"Well… I used to stay with my uncle, but he recently got arrested, so now it's just me and my Aunt and her daughter."
"That's sad, but thank goodness you had good people around. I would have felt so guilty for not checking up on you all these years if you had said you had no one else," she exhaled.
Yohan could see that the expression on her face showed genuine relief. For some reason, this woman seemed to care about him, and it didn't seem like she was faking it.
"So, are you in college now?"
"No, I decided to work instead," he replied.
"Why? Is it because of the money?" she inquired, her tone softened with concern.
Normally, he would have considered it a bit disrespectful, but he knew she was only asking because she was concerned.
"At that time, maybe, but now I don't really think it's a good fit for me," Yohan admitted.
"I don't know why young people these days always say that, but college is more than just the degree. It's also about the experiences, you get to meet new people and make new friends..." she mused.
"Well, I don't really mind all that. I'm making new friends either way. You've already met one of my friends, remember?" Yohan countered cheekily.
It took Emily a few seconds before she realized just who Yohan was referring to.
"I mean friends your age," she stammered, a slight blush rising on her face.
"I do have other friends my age, but I think I prefer them a bit older," he said in a distinctly flirty manner.
"So, what do you do now?" she anxiously tried to change the topic.
Yohan knew she understood what he was implying, but he didn't press any further.
"I'm a massage therapist," he stated.
"A massage therapist?" she repeated, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, I give professional massages. I actually run a parlor downtown; you can drop by one of these days,"
"I don't really know about that," Emily began, hesitant. "You know we also have professionals here, so I normally just go to them."
"I assure you, Emily, you don't have anyone as good as me," he asserted confidently.
She laughed a little, thinking he was just joking. "Yohan, it's okay to be confident in your skill, but some of the massage therapists that work for me have been doing it for years."
"And I assure you, none of them is on my level... I can show you, if you'd like?" he challenged with a playful smirk.
"Show me how?" she wondered, her voice raising slightly.
"Simple," he replied. He got up and went over to her back. "I'll just give you a little taste."
Yohan began giving her shoulders a little rub. At first, she didn't really feel it, but then it started to feel good, and then it became something even more—something she couldn't even describe.
She hadn't even taken her clothes off, and yet it felt like Yohan was pressing into her very soul. It was as if he was pulling off every weight in her body just through her shoulders.
Yohan continued for a few minutes until he felt he had done enough. He made sure to use the new technique he had learned, the Lingering touch, so that she would feel it even more.
After he finished, Emily was left in awe for more than a few seconds.
To use it, he had to channel deep calm and empathy through his fingertips, synchronizing his breathing with her heartbeat. Every movement was slow, deliberate, and filled with intent.
This way, even after the touch ends, the body remembers—a warmth that lingers on the skin, a pulse of comfort in the chest, and a phantom trace of fingers across the soul.
He couldn't properly implement it because of her clothes, but he managed to shift her shirt to the side and make contact with her skin. Hopefully, just this alone was enough to leave a lingering touch on her.