They had made good time that day, making it all the way through the small part of Pennsylvania, all of Ohio, and halfway through Indiana before they stopped for dinner and a hotel room. Not once had Lance let Marie drive and he was definitely paying for it.
Lance walked stiffly into the hotel room and carefully laid down on the nearest bed, groaning. Marie stood in the doorway, smirking. Lance opened one eye and glared at her. �Go ahead and say it.�
�I wasn�t going to say anything,� she answered, smiling.
�Oh yeah you were,� he retorted. �You were going to say how I should have let you drive and if I had of that my neck wouldn�t be hurting so much.�
Marie dropped their bags next to the table and sat on the other bed, grinning over at him. �Well, since you�ve already said it for me��
Lance let out a whiney sound and sat up, rubbing at the back of his neck. �God, my neck shouldn�t hurt this much. I can go through a four hour concert and not be this sore.�
Marie patted his knee comfortingly. �It�s all right. You�re just not used to driving for such long periods of time. Mine would probably be hurting if I�d been the one to drive for two days straight.�
He peered up at her. �You�re just saying that.�
She nodded and giggled. �Yeah, you�re right.�
He glared at her. �You�re so not helping my situation.�
�I wasn�t aware that I was supposed to help it,� she retorted, grinning.
Lance groaned and flopped back down on the bed. Marie shook her head laughing. She got up and went into the bathroom to take her shower. When she came back out Lance was in the same position. She padded around quietly, not wanting to wake him.
�I�m not asleep,� he mumbled, �so you don�t have to be quiet.�
Marie jumped when she heard his voice and looked over to see him staring at her. �Your neck really hurts?�
�I told you it did,� he muttered.
�I thought you were just joking,� she said. She stuffed her clothes into her duffle bag and walked over next to the bed. �Take your shirt off.�
�Marie, I really don�t think this is the time to get busy,� he mumbled.
Marie snorted and knelt down. She poked his shoulder. �I don�t want to jump you. I took a massage therapy class in school for my health credit so I thought I�d give you massage.� She stood up and turned to walk away. �But if you�d rather just lay there in pain��
�No!� She heard a rustle and she turned to see Lance stripping his shirt and laying back down. �Go ahead and work your magic.� Marie giggled and climbed on the bed. Lance looked over his shoulder at her, brow quirked. �What�re you doing?�
�Giving you a massage,� she answered blankly. �Normally, I�d stand over you but the bed is too low to the ground. I�d give myself a crick in the neck leaning over.�
�What a pity,� he mumbled, and yelped when she sat on his butt heavily. He opened his mouth to make a smartass remark but all that came out was a satisfying groan when her fingers pressed deliciously at the tight muscles of his back.
Marie giggled and pushed the heels of her hands into his upper back, loosening the muscles. His back was well toned, tan from the sun, and sprinkled with freckles over his shoulders. The muscles shifted under her hands and she had the sudden urge to bend down and lick over the line of his shoulder.
She shook her head and thought, Where the hell did that come from?
She ran her nails lightly behind his ear and he jumped, his laughter snuffled by the pillow. �Tickles.�
She shifted, raising up on her knees, as to not rest all her weight on him and pushed her thumbs in the nape of his neck. She circled her thumbs, pressing and rubbing at the tightness of his neck.
�God,� he moaned. �Will you marry me?�
Marie giggled, her hands kneading and rubbing their way down his back. �Is that all it takes for a proposal, to rub your back?�
�Pretty much,� he mumbled. �If you can scratch or rub my back and cook then you�re a shoe in.�
Marie let out a soft snort of laughter and tickled his sides. He yelped, squirming under her fingers, and she laughed. She ran her hands up and down his back, pausing at certain spots to knead and rub the tension away before moving on to another spot and repeating the process.
Lance let out a sigh as the muscles began to loosen up a bit. Marie�s fingers worked magic up and down his back until he could barely feel anything but a soft tingle up and down his spine. He felt himself harden and didn�t fight against it. He was safe as long as he didn�t roll over. Besides, getting a massage always turned him on and this time was no different.
All the soreness that had been bothering him floated away with every press of her hands. Every squeeze of her fingers liquefied his muscles until he was so relaxed he thought he was going to become one with the bed. His eyes fell shut, heavy with sleep, and his breathing evened out.
She ran her knuckles from side to side all the way up his back and then down again. When she was sure all the knots were gone she patted him on the back. �Ok, I think you�re good to go.�
�Lance?� He let out a soft snore and buried himself deeper into the pillow. She shook her head and climbed off the bed. She looked at him a moment before whispering, �You�re so easy to please.�
He snuffled in response and shifted, curling a hand under his chin. She pushed the honey blonde spikes back and pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. She flipped the light off and climbed into her own bed. She turned over and quickly fell asleep, the warmth of his back still lingering on his fingers and the taste of his skin on her lips.