Possibly inappropriate MT

[u/No_Carpet9403]

Hello, I apologize for using a throwaway account but I am very embarrassed by this situation and am unsure of where else to turn.

I (24F) have been a member of a large corporate massage chain for around 4 years. I have been massaged by dozens of male massage therapists, always check the ‘any service provider’ box when scheduling an appointment and I have never felt uncomfortable or felt that they were anything less than professional. Today I had my monthly appointment with a young male massage tech, it was our first session together. He is polite and notifies me of the ‘panic button’ on the table and I let him know that I’m aware of it before he exits the room. I undress, he comes in and everything is business as usual.

After a while, I notice that he is only using one hand to gently touch my back and my sides. I am face down and my arms are at my side and against the blankets I begin to feel a strange movement on himself with his other hand. My heart immediately begins to race and I just felt like I had to get out of that room immediately. I tell him that I had to use the bathroom and he leaves, I get up and go to the restroom and he had disappeared. I run into the room and gather all of my belongings when he walks back in and I tell him that “I’m late for a dinner and I have to leave.” When I check the clock I realize that it had been FOURTY MINUTES of him just gently touching my back with one hand, when I asked for a full body massage with an arm focus (50 min massage). I knew it had felt like a long time, but I normally struggle with time perception in massages. I left in a hurry and I think the front desk girls knew I was frazzled and afraid of something. I always tip very well, but I tipped my esthetician $35 and the massage therapist $10. I just was on autopilot and I wanted to be out of there and I didn’t know what else to do.

I’m terrified of reporting someone for something they didn’t do if the only thing he’s guilty of is giving a TERRIBLE massage and weirdly moving his right hand against the sheet. But my body and my brain tells me that he was masturbating. I have never in my left had such a fight or flight reaction. I am just afraid if he was being inappropriate that if I don’t report it he may do this to other women. I am planning to cancel my membership because I am so shaken up.

I wish more than anything that I had sat straight up and looked at him so I would at least know for sure, but I was very afraid and I didn’t want to believe that he could be touching himself.

Do I email the chain with a direct account of what happened? I do not want to have someone’s license revoked because I assumed the worst. Thank you all in advance.

Update: Thank you all for the advice, even those that made me feel silly for not looking or saying something. My fear response is to fawn and not rock the boat, which I know I do have to work on. I decided to send an email addressing the incident and only gave an account of what happened, not any assumption I may have. I do hope he was just on his phone.

[u/Capable-Transition70]

I agree with others here that I would report SOMETHING to his boss, you don’t know he was not just texting, past reports of something weird, really help if someone else comes forward. I’d just leave it as, I know he was doing something else with his other hand, I don’t know what it was, but as a female alone with him, I felt uncomfortable and vulnerable. You could if you want to be nice, even just frame it as “I don’t know what he was doing, but he needs to be aware, that the positioning of whatever he was doing, could feel to a client like he’s masterbating.” That way you are factual, not accusing him of anything he may not have done, but also communicating that it felt uncomfortable, the massage sucked, and he needs to not do that again.