This is What Happiness was all About

By Mario Garrido Espinosa

A woman invites an old-fashioned, shy man to live an adventure of strong sensory content in a Grand Hotel & Spa. Even though he is suspicious about the idea, he finally goes for it. This experience will change his life and the way he sees it. Games of seduction, relaxation, beauty, sensuality, health, lack of inhibition, eroticism, pleasure, giving up shyness. All of that becomes part of a world of emotions that will lead him to the kind of happiness he never thought it was possible. Join Theodore, the main character of this delightful and exciting adult story in an amazing journey to comfort, joy, and peace. And try to put on his shoes to feel what he is about to live because, in the end, this is what happiness was all about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mario Garrido Espinosa
• Release date: Sep 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781547594450

Book preview

Step 1. Faith

‘’Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open’’

John Barrymore

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‘’Oh, Theo’’ said Mary-Louise, sipping her beer, ‘’what you really need is a good massage with seed oil and grape pomace that embraces you with that horny feeling. And then,’’ she added, joking, ‘’when you’re all relaxed, spaced out, feeling like in Heaven, with your defenses at rock bottom and smiling from ear to ear, a Russian —with his traditional clothing, those black boots and everything— who’s 6’7’’ tall and weighs 265 pounds of pure muscle shows up to wax your groin hair, leaving your skin feeling smooth as a baby’s bottom.’’ Mary-Louise had no bad intentions towards him, at least not so many, she was just picturing the situation, and laughed about it.

However, the man who was sitting in front of her, was shocked; he also pictured the situation. She, who was more relaxed, looked at him out of the corner of her eye, with an evil smile. The woman was not serious about that, she just wanted to see his reaction, and kept looking into a massages and treatments brochure at the five star Grand Hotel, Spa & Thermal Springs La Jaromosa Real (Marcellus Claudius Senator Thermal Springs). To see how the land lies, she improvised with many phrases she read here and there, and even created a Leib Guard-looking character as the guest star to make it more interesting. But that treatment was not available in the thermal springs and massage therapists catalog; it was impossible to think that someone from the Soviet Union would be working there.   

«Let’s size up the situation...» she said to herself, even though she realized that, maybe, talking about a Russian waxing his groin hair was too much. She needed to be more subtle if she wanted to convince Theodore.

Earlier that day they went to a travel agency and took many tour brochures, but since Mary-Louise was only interested in the spa, she was trying to convince her friend to go to La Jaromosa Real.

‘’I don’t think this is a good idea’’ said Theodore Lealdini, rejecting her proposal. ‘’We should do something else. What about going on a cruise? Check this one: Wonders of the Adriatic and the Aegean Seas. They even give a tour to Venice! Fifteen days, and all included.’’

‘’You got to be kidding! Do you really want to be on a ship full of tourists, limited to a strict excursion program where you’re just running everywhere and seeing nothing at all? Following a strict schedule that forces you to check the time every time so the ship won’t leave without you? No, Theo, we’re not doing that. In fact, what you need is to forget about time, schedules and anything that stresses you out. You need to relax, to enjoy the silence and the sound of the water flowing, a little bit of peace in your life, with nothing in your mind but your well-being. I’m talking about a fancy spa surrounded by mountains. Like this one...’’

‘’Wow. I don’t remember you being such a chatterbox.’’

She laughed loudly at Theodore’s response.

‘’You got me. I took a couple of words from the first page of the brochure.’’

‘’I knew that talking about ‘enjoying the silence and the sound of the water flowing’ was not your thing.’’

‘’What do you mean? Don’t you think I have a fluent and poetic way of speaking?’’

‘’I don’t know. Do you?’’

‘’Of course I do.’’ She nodded and gave him a dramatic look of disdain ‘’But let’s leave this conversation for another day. Look at the brochure and tell me what kind of treatment you prefer.’’

The man was afraid to even touch the catalog, as if he could get a disease by doing so.

‘’I don’t know, I don’t feel comfortable by going to the thermal springs, the treatments and all that stuff. I’m not used to it.’’

‘’There’s no doubt about it.’’

‘’Besides, I don’t like that’’ he grumbled.

‘’It’s because you’re too shy, and you’ve always been like that. But it’s time for you to get over your shyness, by doing something like this.’’

‘’Yeah, I know, but...’’

‘’But nothing. Don’t be silly, you’re going to love it as soon as you try it. And there are no Russian massage therapists in the brochure. So, nothing to worry about!’’ She gave him an evil smile. She wanted to take advantage of the imaginary character from the Black Sea shore and do one last joke. ‘’I don’t see those ‘happy ending’ massages either. I bet that’s what you’re looking for. Right, mate?’’  

He raised an eyebrow. She looked at his face and laughed.

‘’Don’t worry. This spa seems to be a very serious and decent place, for the upright people like you. So distinguished and elegant.’’ Mary-Louise was being sarcastic, but also trying to calm things down. 

‘’Sure. Like one of those strict English clubs from the 1800’s.’’

‘’That’s exactly what I was thinking of.’’ She lied, and pointed at him.

‘’And I’ll have a meeting at five o’clock in the billiards room with Sir Phileas Sullivan Stuart, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, to discuss about the latest news on the Crimean War, with a cup of tea’’ said Theodore, letting his imagination run wild.

‘’Exactly’’ she agreed, and followed the story. ‘’And then these sweet, beautiful ladies in corset and thigh-highs will sweetly take you and the Duke by the hand to give you a massage that will make you forget about the war, and the tea’’

‘’And the Russian will be waiting for us in the massage room, warming up those muscles to give us what we came for’’ Theodore finished the story.

Mary-Louise started to laugh. She imagined the Devonshire man dropping his monocle —just like in the cartoons— as he saw the Leib guard-looking massage therapist of 265 pounds. But she didn’t have any intention of continuing the story, so she tried to fix the conversation.  

‘’OK, Theo, now stop thinking about weird things.’’

‘’Me? It was your idea to go to this fancy spa.’’

‘’That’s true. But you need to open your mind a little bit and stop complaining. Trust me, you’re going to love it...’’

At that moment, an ambulance with the siren on passed in front of the bar at full speed, which made everybody at the outdoors stop their conversations and take a look at the noisy vehicle.

‘’Oh, my God! What a noise!’’

‘’It’s a sign that we should forget about this’’ Theodore theorized.

‘’About what?’’

‘’The ambulance driving to the place of the accident. I mean, we must know how to decipher the signs correctly. It’s not written in the stars that I should go to those thermal springs. What a shame. It has to be another trip.’’

Mary-Louise, skeptical, laughed at his words.

‘’You’re such a fibber!’’

‘’At least I tried’’ he apologized, pretending he didn’t do anything.

‘’But it didn’t work.’’

He took a sip of beer. The stubborn woman kept looking at the brochure.

‘’Well, let’s see’’ said Theodore, picking up the thread of the conversation, much to his regret. He had no choice, his excuses were useless. ‘’Have you tried these hydrotherapies before?’’

‘’No, but everybody have told me they’re really good. I strongly recommend you to give it a try and free yourself from all that stress, Theo.’’

‘’And put myself in the hands of a 265 pound-Russian man.’’

Mary-Louise laughed again.

‘’Or in the hands of a stunning, long dark-haired lady, with mighty fine curves, and big, green eyes. Just like in a good bolero song’’ she added with a soft voice. ‘’You know, both female and male massage therapists, as well as hairstylists and computer technicians’’ she said as a reference to their jobs, ‘’are very professional. They work with all types of people. And they’re not complaining or dealing with childish shyness like yours. Men or women, for them we’re just a bunch of muscles to relax, a surface to cover up with mud, or simply someone to whom provide happiness. Sort of.

‘’But they’re humans, and in the end, you know...’’ Theodore turned pallid, he didn’t like the ‘childish shyness’ thing at all. ‘’A leopard never changes its spots’’

Mary-Louise gave him an exaggerated, dramatic look of astonishment.

‘’Don’t look at me like that, woman. I mean it’’ he excused himself.

‘’Alright, sweetie. Sometimes you think you came from that English club you mentioned before. It’s hard to believe that you work with computers and all that modern stuff. Just get used to the idea that these people are like doctors and nurses; we take our clothes off if we have to, and they’re not thinking if a leopard will ever change its spots or not. You need to relax, and enjoy yourself.’’

Theodore gave the brochure a suspicious glance; he wasn’t sure at all. He took another sip of beer, trying to clear up his mind filled with the ideas they just defined, among other things, as ‘old-fashioned’. In the end he couldn’t clear up anything, so he gave up:

‘’OK, then. But who gives the massage? A woman or a man?’’

‘’It doesn’t matter.’’

‘’Well, let’s see. They’re going to rub you here and there. And if you’re half naked...’’

‘’Or completely naked. Who cares?’’ Mary-Louise looked at him very serious and made a gesture with her shoulders that implied indifference. ‘’Alright, Theo. Are you a man of the world or not?’’

Theodore looked at her without knowing what she meant.

‘’You know, a man... Of the world... THE world... No, you’re more like a hopeless shy man to me. That’s why you need to try something like this. I insist.’’

‘’I’m not a shy man!’’ he protested, ‘’It’s just that I don’t like these kind of things. I do insist as well.’’

‘’You’re shyer than a Poor Clare from a closed convent in the 1200’s.’’

‘’Oh, wow!’’

‘’What! I know you pretty well. You need to go to a spa and give yourself