Chapter Fifteen
Fallon
“Where the hell were you last night?” Blair demands as we look around the rails in the clothes shop. “I tried ringing you a billion times, and you know I'm not needy very often.”
I laugh. “Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn’t at your beck and call. I was busy sleeping and enjoying my night of freedom from you two.” I lie.
The last thing I want to do is tell them about the doctor. I'm having a hard enough time coming to terms with it myself, never mind with these two on my case about it, too.
“Bitch,” she scoffs.
“She only wanted you because she needed an excuse to go and see Jenson, and I wouldn’t go with her,” Gracie giggles and then ducks out of the way of Blair's hand, trying to swat her.
“Jenson? Is it finally getting serious between you two?” I wiggle my brows at her.
“Fuck off. No. We just like to fuck, and your girl was needy.”
“Ew, why do you have to talk like that in front of me?” Gracie complains.
“Don’t be a prude. I know what goes on behind those bedroom walls of yours,” Blair fires back. “Which I also know isn’t much right now. Are you jealous your sissy is getting some, and you aren’t?”
“Why are you like this? Leave me and my vagina alone.”
“Your dusty, dried-up vagina needs a day out. Maybe we all need to go out and get some,” Blair says.
“Speak for yourself. I’m happy all alone on my own.” I tell them. I don't know if I'm lying more to them or myself.
“I think I do need to get out there, I'm sick of having nothing to do but work and stare at the four walls of our apartment,” Gracie says.
“We could go back down to visit Maya? I’m sure she would love to help fix our empty love lives now she's found her own lover,” Blair says, pulling her phone out.
“No,” I say abruptly. “I think she needs a breather, and the less pressure from us the better.”
“I think it would do her good to take her mind off everything that's going on,” she retorts.
“Blair, we can’t leave the salon again. We were behind on last month's rent; we can't risk doing it again.”
With me being off work with my hand, then going down to Tommy’s house, the bills have been harder and harder to pay. Who would have thought that money doesn’t actually grow on trees?
“I can work overtime when we get back?” Gracie says.
“You work enough as it is. We need to focus on keeping the salon going until Maya comes home. If you work more, you’ll never meet your dream man,” I say.
She looks out of the window, pursing her lips as she studies the passersby.
I don’t know what it is about Gracie, but there is something in her that makes me want to protect her.
She couldn’t say boo to a goose. Someone this genuine and kind doesn’t need added stress.
I'd love for her to meet someone, to find her other half.
But when you are as kind as her, it's easier to get walked all over.
“I have said it before, but I’ll say it again. I have beautiful toes. All we need to do is find the right website to sell the pictures to,” Blair shrugs.
“That actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I’d be down for selling foot pictures. As long as I can keep my flower to myself, they can stare at my feet all day,” Gracie adds.
Blair picks up her phone, scrolling away.
“Are you seriously looking at foot porn websites right now?” I laugh.
“Yup,” she says without looking up. “Urg, you have to advertise it yourself on social media. Imagine what the clients would say if we started marketing for foot fetishes instead of beauty treatments.”
“No… imagine what Mrs Henry would say,” I burst out laughing at the thought.
Mrs Henry is a bitch on a regular day, never mind what she would have to say if we actually did that.
Gracie wipes away the tears from under her eyes.
“God, I would pay good money to see that,” she says.
“But you can’t, because we’re broke,” Blair shakes her head. “Unless we actually do it.”
She can’t be serious. Not that I'm against it, each to their own, but it doesn’t sound like the cleverest way to keep a salon open. As a side hustle, maybe? It’s something to think about.
“My trotters are too ugly,” I admit.
“Some fucked up person would want to see your finger toes,” Blair raises her brows.
“Oh, piss off, you.”
We’re standing at the reception desk at work, laughing, as a customer walks in.
“Well, what a greeting to walk into,” the beauty of a man says with a wide grin on his face.
“Hi,” Gracie says, a little breathless as her eyes lock on his. “Sorry about that, Freddie. Come on through.”
Freddie follows along behind her as they head towards her treatment room. All six foot five of him. His looks are giving, touch me and die vibes, but his smile was kind. What a contradiction of a man.
“You know who that is, don’t you?” Blair whispers once the treatment room door is closed.
“No? Should I?”
“It’s the guy who keeps pestering her for a date.
He books in for a massage every other week, just to see her,” she tells me quickly, her voice still low.
“You know, the one she kicked out of her room the first time he came because she thought he was jacking off under the towel, but was actually on his phone?”
“Shut up! That’s him?” I ask, my mouth opening as my eyes bounce between Blair's and the door.
“The one and only,” she smirks.
“Well, why the hell isn’t she saying yes? He is bloody gorgeous, and he seems nice!”
No wonder she hasn’t found anyone to date, if she isn’t saying yes to them.
“Honestly, I don’t think even she knows. I’ve asked her, but she just stutters and changes the conversation,” she shrugs. “It’s a pity. I’d climb that man like a tree.”
“It doesn’t take much to make you climb anything,” I say, elbowing her.
“That is true,” she admits.
“Right, enough chatting, I need to wash the bleach off my client's hair before it disintegrates. Shouldn’t you be with someone now?”
“Yep, I left to make her a drink, then you distracted me. Are you still coming round ours for food later?”
“Yes, as if I'd ever turn down food.”
“There is no way in hell that you aren’t giving that man more than just a massage,” Blair says to Gracie when we finish eating our take-away Chinese.
“Oh, my God. Do you really think I’d do such a thing?” She replies, mortified.
“Well, I would. And I'm pretty sure Fallon would too.”
“Yep, I most definitely would. He is one hunk of a man. Why won't you go on one date with him? Surely you're not ready for a pet cat already,” I add.
“I will not be a cat lady, and I also won't be unprofessional. If he weren’t my client, I'd think about it.” She says with a sad look on her face.
“Behave, since when has our salon ever been classed as professional. People come to us for our sparkling personalities; we’re not boring bastards like most places in town.” Blair stares her down.
“True, but I don’t know. I just feel, like…”
The vibrating of my phone steals my attention from their conversation. Looking down, I try to hide the smile at the name that has popped up on the screen.
Luke – Roses are red, violets aren’t blue. When I’m on my bike, all I think about is you.
I snort, which makes the girl's heads spin towards me. I shrug them off, telling them it’s just a meme I came across.
Fallon – Aren't you supposed to be working? Is it quiet tonight?
Luke – Fallon, never say the Q word when I’m at work. It’s a bad omen. I said it to a nurse on my first day of placement, and got a slap across the back of my head.
Fallon – Shut up, really? I wouldn’t want to jinx you, so I apologise.
Luke – You will have to make it up to me.
Fallon – I can think of a few ways to do that.
Luke – Oh yeah? Tell me.
Well shit. I need to start thinking before I type. I can't exactly send a dirty message to him while he’s at work, can I? Oh, I know…
Fallon – Or… I could show you.
I watch the text thread as the three dots bounce away at the bottom of the screen.
Luke – Fuck, now I have to spend the next nine hours imagining what that could be.
I laugh out loud at that. I love having this effect on him, and usually, it would piss me off if someone were this invested. Another message comes through before I have the time to reply.
Luke – Are you free tomorrow? Dinner at my place?
Shit, shit, shit.
What have I got myself into? Of course, I want to see him, so why do I have to feel like this? I'd love to be a normal girl who can fall easily in love with a beautiful man like him. But oh no, I have to be the fuck up with half a heart.
“What's so funny?” Blair asks. “You are doing the creep face at your phone. That isn’t just a video or meme. That, is a man. Spill.”
“Oh, it’s nothing, just a hook up, nothing serious,” I say, trying to evade the questions.
“Liar. Who is it?”
“Someone I went home with the other week, asking for round two, leave me alone,” I snarl at her.
“Aw, leave her be. You never tell us anything either. Let her look at her phone all googly-eyed.” Gracie says, her head tipped to the side whilst she eyes me dreamily.
My phone buzzes again, and I fight the urge to look. But after approximately seven seconds, I give in.
Luke – Stop running from me. You think too much. I’ll pick you up at six. Be ready.
Well, it looks like the choice has been taken out of my hands. And the most shocking thing is, I like it. He seems to know me better than most of my friends do. It’s such a simple thing to understand, how I can’t let myself enjoy the moment, but he does.