Last week was romance, but y’know, some boys wait until the last minute to pull something out of the hat. It happens in my family every year at Christmas, maybe yours too. That’s a big holiday. Valentine’s day is not so big…to you, perhaps. To the new girl or old lady in your life, different story.

If it’s getting down to the wire and you haven’t made dinner reservations at that swanky new joint, haven’t made floral arrangements, can’t see buying a crummy box of chocolates (well, you should always have chocolate handy, that’s dating 101), there is still something that you can do for her that will thrill her beyond all measure. In this case what’s good for her is equally good for you: give her a long, luxurious, sensual massage.

Yes, I know—you give her backrubs all the time, what makes this one special? Well, a rudimentary amount of planning for starters. The setting arrangements are key. On the ready you should have candles, oils, the right sheets, some appropriately relaxing, yet romantic music, some towels, and something cool to drink.

One hint: Avoid serving anything with bubbles. You don’t want either of you to have gas trapped inside while you’re horizontal and being pressed. That could turn into sketch comedy fast.

I’m going to assume that you’ve done most of this before; we all tried to mack it up in college, and offering a co-ed a backrub is a classic way to get her shirt off. Now that you have her but good, Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to treat her like a first date again. Put all the moves on her, let her know that she still drives you crazy.

A really good, tantalizing massage will have her melting, and in the moment it’s better than diamonds. In case you need the primer, this is a particularly useful and straightforward article on the preparations and technique you’ll want to be on top of, complete with a section on what we in the provinces refer to as the “happy ending”. However, one factor that I’ve found to be essential is missing form this article—the very first thing you need to do is start with the feet, and stay down there for at least five minutes per foot. It’s all about pressure points and what they release. Do this part correctly and half the job is done, especially if she likes to wear heels regularly.