Kai
IT’S THIRTY MINUTES after the salon’s opening hour when the white van Rachel drove yesterday arrives in the parking lot.
I watch from my spot next to the salon’s door as the vehicle parks and Rachel exits with her friend.
They start walking my way when I see her freeze midway.
I chuckle at the sight of the girl who kidnapped me yesterday frozen in the middle of the parking lot, clearly panicking.
She is having a mental breakdown right there in the parking lot while her friend says something, but I am too far away to hear.
Finally, it looks like she has decided there is nothing else to do but walk, as she starts moving again.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she yells the moment they reach me, but I ignore her question.
Instead, I offer her the coffee cup I’m holding, the dark liquid already getting cold since she is clearly late for work and I have been standing here since before the salon was supposed to open.
We need to work on your timing, little criminal.
“Coffee?” I ask with a smile, but she pushes my hand. The cup slips from my grip and lands in front of my feet, spilling perfectly good coffee on the ground.
“What did you say earlier?” Noah asks her as they enter the salon. “Oh, yeah. ‘We won’t be seeing him again.’ That’s what you said.”
“Shut up, Noah,” Rachel spits back as she closes the door in my face before I can walk inside. Rude.
I open it with a smirk and walk inside. “Is this how you treat customers, little criminal?” I whisper in her ear as she stands there watching me, frozen in place again.
It looks like that’s an effect I have on her.
Making her freeze. Losing her words too.
Imagine how badly I can make her lose her mind once I get to play with her the way I want to.
“How can I help you, sir?” a blonde woman calls from the reception counter. I turn to her, smiling. I was fully planning to give my little criminal her coffee and leave. Now that I’ve seen how she reacts to my presence, I want nothing more than to stay and see how far I can push her.
“Do you have time for a haircut?” I ask, but my eyes are locked on Rachel.
She walks slowly to a nail station and puts her stuff under the desk before she sits in the nail technician’s seat.
I guess that’s her role here. I am considering asking for a nail appointment instead, but then I notice Noah as he sets up his station in area designated for hair and decide it would be a better use of my time to try to get some information from her friend.
My little criminal is not going to talk to me now.
I have to earn her trust first. Her friend, on the other hand, seems easy to get along with and also appears to like Leo.
Leo definitely likes Noah; I know that much.
I could use that to my advantage. Maybe pimping out my best friend isn’t the best idea, but right now, it seems like the best way to go about it.
Besides, you never know. They might hit it off.
I would be making their lives better if they do.
“Sure, Noah has an opening if you can wait for him to set up,” the blonde woman, whose name tag says her name is Charlotte, tells me. She is polite, but even her voice makes me bored.
“I’m happy to wait,” I say, leaning on the counter and watching my little criminal as she rubs her temples with her fingers. The poor soul looks like she’s going through a very bad hangover.
I walk toward her. “My coffee would have helped with that hangover you seem to have going on,” I joke, but she pretends to ignore me. Before I can talk again, Noah approaches me.
“Come with me, sir.” He feigns a politeness in his voice that sounds more like he wants to punch me.
“Please call me Kai,” I say in return with a smile and walk to where I saw him set up a few minutes ago.
“I’m Noah. Nice to meet you, Kai,” Noah says with less anger now. “Did you hear that, Rachel? His name is Kai. Isn’t that a pretty name?” He winks at her, and now I’m sure I’ll like this guy.
“Shut up, Noah, and do your job,” she responds, annoyance clear in her voice.
“Does she bite?” I joke to Noah, who follows me to his station. I sit down, and he grabs a cape and places it around my neck. His movements are soft, delicate, and professional. A stranger witnessing this interaction wouldn’t think we had met before.
“Sometimes,” he laughs. “But don’t worry, she’s actually warming up to you.”
It’s clear that somewhere between walking inside the salon and to this chair, Noah has decided to stop being angry with me. “Good, because I plan to have her at a very hot temperature soon.” I wink through the mirror, and he nods with a smirk on his face.
“I personally wouldn’t chase after my kidnapper, but to each their own kinks,” he says in return, and we both burst into laughter.
I notice Rachel through the mirror as she greets a customer; her eyes lock with mine.
I smile and nod at her, then return my attention to Noah.
Because as much as I would love to give her all of my attention, Noah might have information I can use to get closer to her. It’s all about the approach.
“So, what are you looking to get done?” he asks in a professional tone.
“A quick haircut. I washed my hair this morning, so don’t bother to shampoo it.
Just thin the top a little; it’s too hard to manage with the curls,” I say, deciding I do need a haircut and this is a great opportunity to spend more time in his chair.
“If you could buzz the rest to the lowest setting the trimmer has, that would be great.”
“Of course, Kai. That’s not a problem at all.” He takes a spray bottle and wets my hair before he starts working in silence, but then he decides he needs some intel of his own. “So, what’s Leo’s deal?”
I smile. “He’s single, if that’s what you’re asking.
” It looks like I don’t need to play matchmaker after all, which is a good thing since I’m horrible at it, but at the same time, I would love nothing more than for my friend to find someone special.
Noah, even though I just met him, seems like the perfect guy for Leo.
I would know; I have a sixth sense for these things.
I know Rachel is perfect for me, and I also just met her.
“Part of it,” he admits. “Is he into women or men?” he asks.
It’s easy to talk to Noah. He’s pleasant and continues the conversation.
There’s nothing I hate more than one-sided conversations.
The fact that he’s showing interest in one of the people I love the most in this world is just an added bonus.
Leo is my family. He’s not a blood-related family member, but family nonetheless.
“He’s into everyone, to be honest with you.
” I’m happy to offer the information; earning Noah’s trust will get me in a better place with Rachel than fishing for information about her.
“He’s dated women in the past, but men too.
” I can already tell he’s protective of his best friend, just as I am of mine.
And if the key to Noah’s good graces is to help him get with Leo—which will also benefit Leo—what’s the harm?
It’s a two-birds-with-one-stone situation, if you ask me.
“That’s good to know.” My answers seem to have satisfied his curiosity.
Silence falls between us while he continues working on my hair, and it’s not long before it starts to look as it should.
I’ve truly neglected it lately. He smiles and holds a mirror for me to see the back of my head.
“Tell me if this is okay,” he asks, and I smile, giving him a thumbs-up before I verbally confirm it.
“It’s actually great. Thank you.” It’s not a lie; he is good at his job. I haven’t looked this good in a while. He has done an amazing job. Maybe that’s the key to Rachel’s heart: good hair and a friendship with her best friend.
“I’m glad you like it.” He grabs the blow-dryer and turns it on.
I decide that this is enough conversation for this morning, so I focus my eyes on Rachel as she works on her client.
She smiles and laughs at what the client is saying, occasionally asking questions of her own or saying something I can’t quite hear.
“You're all set. You can follow me to the front to check out.” Noah removes the cape, and I do as I’m told, following him to the front desk. He tells Charlotte something, then smiles at me. “It was nice to officially meet you, Kai. Have a wonderful day.”
“Thank you for the haircut. It was great meeting you as well, Noah.” I turn my back to him and take some bills from my wallet, enough to cover the price of the haircut and the tip. Charlotte smiles as she takes the money and thanks me.
I’m about to leave when my eyes catch Rachel slipping into the back, probably for a quick break. I turn to Charlotte, keeping my voice as polite as possible, and I smile before I speak, trying my best to maintain an innocent act. “Can you show me where the bathroom is before I leave?”
Charlotte points at the door Rachel walked through. “Right through that door, you’ll see a hallway with two doors. The second door to the left is the bathroom. It’s next to our break room.”
“Thank you, Charlotte. I appreciate it,” I say and walk toward the direction she pointed.
I notice Noah looking at me with a knowing smile, and I wink at him as I pass his station and open the door.
The hallway is empty, and I close the door behind me as I step inside.
I go straight for the door Charlotte said is the break room; if anyone is there except Rachel, I’ll pretend I didn’t understand the directions I was given.
I don’t knock; I just open it because it will be more believable.
If it were the bathroom and someone were inside, it would be locked.