After they were done, she got back to bed from the bathroom and again didn’t tug up her panties before she did it but this time not because she wanted another round. This time, because she was out the minute her cheek hit his shoulder.
Five minutes later, she rolled, he rolled with her and he was out the minute her body settled into the curve of his.
And from her leaving him to go to the bathroom to Walker falling asleep, not once did he think of the bars, of the smells or of the feel of the institution. All that shit was gone in a way he didn’t even notice that it was.
And it was unfortunate he didn’t notice because, if he did, he’d have realized Lexie gave that to him too.
And if he’d realized this, the next day he wouldn’t have done what he would do.
Chapter Thirteen
An Hour
“What do you think?” I asked Dominic as I showed him the flier I’d painstakingly crafted on software I’d never used before considering my skills with computers were limited to e-mail, internet shopping, facebook, downloading e-books on my reader and looking up weather and movie times.
In other words, working on it between taking phone calls, ringing up services and purchases, dusting and restocking shelves, assuring every exiting customer that they looked fabulous, the flier took me five days.
And the flier was important. It announced the soon-to-be released new services Dominic’s spa was offering, making his spa that was really a salon into an actual spa.
Therefore I wanted it to be right but knew it wasn’t.
“I love it!” he cried, snatching the flier out of my hand to examine it closer.
Perhaps I was wrong.
“You do?” I asked, thinking it looked what it was, like a blind six year old with learning difficulties designed it.
“It’s brilliant!” Dominic exclaimed then shoved it back in my hand and looked at me. “Print out fifty. I’ll send Daniel out with Blue Tack, a stapler and a mission.”
I grinned at him, he grinned back then his eyes slid over my shoulder to the front window and narrowed.
“Shit! Shit! On a Saturday,” he snapped then hissed, “figures.”
I turned my head to see what he was looking at but couldn’t see anything but a figure moving at the window behind the blinds that were partially closed against the heat of the sun.
He went on, “Never calls for an appointment. Thinks she owns the town, I swear. She always waltzes in here and thinks I can do her walk-in. Do I look like a stylist who accepts walkins? Uh… no.”
Then the door opened; the figure that was obscured by the blinds moved through the door and Misty Keaton walked in.
I froze.
Shit. Shit. Fucking shit.
“Misty!” Dominic cried as if she was his bestest best high school friend who he hadn’t seen since they got shitfaced at their graduation party and they’d just locked eyes at their twenty-five year reunion and he had not been bitching about her five seconds earlier.
But Misty was frozen too, her eyes on me. Clearly, she had no idea I worked there.
I came unlocked first and moved to the reception desk, not taking my eyes off her, my mind filled with options on how to play this, so many of them, I couldn’t get a lock on a single one and all the while I moved I felt Dominic follow.
“Long time, no see, darling. What brings you to Dominic’s House of Eternal Beauty?” Dominic asked Misty (this wasn’t actually the name of the salon, it was called “Carnal Spa” but Dominic referred to it by different, inventive, hilarious names all the time).
Her body jerked and she hesitantly moved to the high front of the receptionist desk.
“Uh, here to see if you can fit me in, Dominic,” she said softly, her eyes shifting back and forth between Dominic and me. She stopped in front of the desk and locked on Dominic, sucking in breath; she gave him a shaky smile and finished, “Emergency procedure.”
She was nervous. And she was nervous because of me.
She should be. She knew I knew what she did. She knew I was standing there wanting to tear her hair out, scratch her eyes out and take her to the ground, kick her in the stomach and spit on her when she was down (amongst other things).
Unfortunately, for Ty, I could not do that.
Fortunately, she didn’t know that.
My eyes narrowed on her. Like she felt it, her eyes slid to me and I was pleased to see her face pale. Then they shot back to Dominic when he spoke.
“Girl, you know I love to have my hands in your hair. But I got a one o’clock half highlight and cut and while she’s cookin’, one of my sweet little blue hairs is comin’ in for a set. My afternoon is all decked out. Kayeleen’s on lunch but, she gets back, her afternoon is full too. We can’t help you out. Make an appointment, I think I got an opening late the week after next.”
“But, the thing I need my touch up for is Tuesday night,” she told him.
“Sorry, precious, no can do,” Dominic replied, shaking his head, her eyes slid to me and back to Dominic, her mouth working with indecision and I’d know why when she spoke again.