I would say this is tricky territory, speaking from experience. For me,
when I develop a friendship with someone, it feels gross emotionally when things slip back into transaction mode. When I hear the implied message “ I’ll spend time with you if you’re paying for it.” It’s just hard.
e.g. “hey let’s grab a coffee this week” (we’ve had coffee several times in the past) and now, no reply. But “hey let’s book a massage” there’s an immediate response. Ugh.
when your time is how you make your living, it can be hard to “carve out” time off to just be friends with a client — so I’m not judging anyone
And I’m not saying it’s *impossible* to have a friendship with a favorite Masseur — but in my experience, it can be very challenging to feel good about the relationship/friendship if certain expectations start to naturally arise. (Like actually responding to an invitation for dinner or coffee)