3. Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Kora
I blew through the door of Shear Perfection like a tornado on a path of destruction. God, I hated being late and hated the attitude Summer always got when she was held up. “Hey, Summer. So sorry.” I plopped my ass into her chair and pulled the scrunchy from my hair, letting my wavy mass of auburn hair fall past my shoulders. I had to suck in deep to get my breathing under control.
“You’re fine. I need to finish up in back really quick. Get comfortable, and for God’s sake, try to stop sweating.”
I chuckled at Summer. She was as sarcastic as a wasp was mean, but she made a perfect friend. She was always honest and wouldn’t let you walk around looking ridiculous.
“Hello there, Kora honey.” My Aunt Tonya was at the salon as usual on a Saturday morning, more to feed her best friends the local gossip she’d heard during the week than get her hair or nails done. She wrapped me in a one-arm hug, then backed up with a grimace. “You’re as sticky as a strip club floor at closing time. What the hell have you been doing?”
My mouth dropped, and Tonya laughed, which always sounded more like a cackle than a laugh. Everything about her was loud, and she was always the life of any party and the perfect aunt. “Tonya,” I said, shaking my head. Yes, Tonya was my aunt, but she always said aunt made her feel old, so she banned me from using the term early on.
“You do know we have customers in here, right? You need to find a filter.” Summer appeared from the back room, her hands filled with towels.
I took some of the towels from her and helped her put them in the cabinets above the sinks. “You know we should be used to her by now.”
“Yeah, you should,” Tonya agreed. “Sometimes, Summer, you act older than me. No wonder you’re still single. You need to relax a little,” Tonya said as she sat in Kaye’s chair, a stylist and co-owner of the salon.
“T, be nice,” Kaye replied. “Not everyone needs to be as eccentric as you.”
“Eccentric?” Summer’s face scrunched up with disgust. “Tonya is far from eccentric. She’s just loud and obnoxious. Adding a filter once in a while would make her more bearable.”
“Oh, pooh, Summer.” Tonya tilted her head mockingly. “Better?”
Summer rolled her eyes and turned to me.
“Sorry.” My shoulders met my ears. “That color’s new and looks amazing on you.” Maybe I could get Summer’s attention on something else. Change the subject. “You really pull it off.” It was true. Summer’s hair was an out-there color—as usual. Her naturally brown hair was dyed midnight black with blue tips, but in true to Summer form, her petite five-foot-three frame easily looked natural with the short choppy cut and colorful locks.
Summer always was the unorthodox one and stood out like a sore thumb in our conservative, small-town high school, and that was how she liked it. She was loud, boisterous, and unpredictable, and had been since we were kids.
Darlene and I had been friends with Summer since kindergarten, but neither of us would put her in the class of bestie. Summer didn’t do besties. She just did friends. If she had to pick a best friend, though, she’d probably choose Rowan, my cousin and Tonya’s youngest son of her three boys.
“Thanks. I did it last week.” She pulled a brush through my hair. “I liked it then, but now I don’t know. Rowan wasn’t a fan. That’s for sure.”
“Seriously? That’s a surprise. He loved the blonde with blue tips you did last year.”
“I know, but he said this color is too dark and makes me look like I’m going back to my Goth stage. He hated my Goth stage.”
“No offense, Summer, but we all hated your Goth stage. You were a little depressing and scary.”
Summer bopped her head back and forth. “True. That was my way of getting back at my parents for their divorce.”
Summer was a freshman in high school when her dad came home, told her mom he had stopped loving her, and packed and moved out to California with his young secretary. Summer took her parents’ divorce hard and went immediately into a rebellious stage and became a little much to deal with. Rowan, though, could always keep her from doing something totally stupid and regretful. She’d had nothing to do with her father since then.
“So, how is Rowan? Military still treating him well?”
“So far, but I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be in. It’s already been eleven years, and he was only planning on two enlistments and he’s on his third.” Rowan graduated from high school with Summer, Darlene, Trevor—his best friend—and me. We all hung out daily, and even though Rowan was my cousin, he was always closer to Summer than we ever were.
“I can’t wait till he gets home. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, well, you know how things were when he left. So, whatever.” Summer pulled at a knot in my hair.
My hand went immediately to my hair in defense. “Ouch. What the hell, Summer?”
She slapped it away. “What happened to you this morning? You’re never late, and your hair is all matted. Were you hanging outside in this heat?” She grabbed her bottle of detangler and carefully brushed out my matted mess.
“You know me too well. Yes, I was.” I cringed as she worked. “It was a fucking nightmare.”
“Language, niece. We all need filters so we don’t upset any customers.” Tonya’s voice dripped with sarcasm from across the salon.
Summer squatted by my ear. “Can I shoot her a bird?”
I muffled a laugh. “She’d enjoy it too much. I’ll handle this. Sorry Auntie ,” I sang in the sweetest and most condescending voice I could muster. I scrunched up my mouth and made a face at Summer. Like Tonya wasn’t the one I learned that kind of language from.
Summer chuckled. “So, what happened to cause the effing nightmare?”
“My tire was eaten by one of those pothole craters back on Old Fort Road, and when I tried to call you and Darlene . . . nothing. Not even one bar.”
“Not surprising. That’s the county dead zone.” Summer placed a towel over my head.
“You should tell Mayor John. He needs to know,” Tonya said.
“You should mind your own business, old lady. We aren’t talking with you,” retorted Summer.
“Enough, you two.” Kaye turned Tonya’s chair to face the other direction.
Summer wiggled her brows at me in the mirror.
Those two were always on each other’s case and were very entertaining. “The county wouldn’t do anything about it. It doesn’t bother them any,” I said as I followed Summer to the shampoo chairs and laid my head back on the sink. I closed my eyes. This was the best part of getting my hair cut and colored. I loved the hair wash and scalp massage.
“I bet he’d listen to you, T, if you pull John to the side and give him a little gift,” Kaye answered as she wiggled her shoulders.
“You’re so right. You know he’s always asking for a little something, something,” Tonya whispered loudly.
Summer and I flinched.
“Oh, my God. I really need to find a new place to work. Hearing their sex talk all the time is so cringey,” Summer whispered.
“You need to learn how to whisper, girlie. We aren’t so old that our hearing’s going,” Tonya said.
“Sorry, Ms. Tonya.” Summer’s voice oozed with sarcasm.
“The girl’s not wrong though, T. You were quite explicit last weekend with your dating experiences.”
“Well, I’m no longer interested in John, anyway. He and I are yesterday’s news.” Tonya caught Kaye’s gaze in the mirror. “Go easy on the blonde. I don’t want the young bucks in town to think I’m too hot.”
“I gotcha, T. Light on the blonde but heavy on the sexy.” Kaye chuckled as she started to prepare Tonya’s hair.
“Do you think we’re going to be that . . .” I sat up as Summer wrapped a towel around my head.
“Crazy?” Summer said.
“No, I was going to say young at heart.”
Kaye spoke to Tonya in the mirror. “I’ve always liked your niece, T.”
“Yeah, I think she’s a keeper.” Tonya blew me a kiss.
I air-kissed her back and sighed. “You could have given me a longer scalp massage, Summer. With the morning I had, I deserve it.”
“Yeah, well, with the morning you had, I’m now running behind and have an eleven o’clock coming in like thirty minutes, so let’s get your hair cut and styled ASAP. I’m gonna be playing catch-up all day and starving by the time I’m done with my last cut. I want to join y’all at Jerry’s tonight as soon as possible.”
Jerry’s was short for Jerry’s Pub, the best place for sandwiches and beer in the county. Jerry no longer owned it, as he passed away years ago, but a group of local firemen purchased the pub, added on, and what used to be a small hole in the wall had become a place to hang out all weekend and take part in one of the many tournaments going on. On this particular evening, it would be cornhole.
“That’s right, Bryson and Patrick are playing tonight, aren’t they?”
“Yep,” Summer replied as she passed a comb through my hair, much easier this time. “So, what are we going to do with this stringy mess?”
I made eye contact with Summer in the mirror and put up my middle finger.
“Not smart. I have scissors in my hand.”
“Ha ha,” I said as I ran my fingers through my wet locks. “Honestly I was thinking of adding layers, framing it around my face, and cutting it just below the shoulders.”
Summer leaned back. “Are you sure? That’ll be a big change. You’re not one for big change.”
“True, but I’m also tired of dealing with it just hanging and having to put it up all the time.”
“Okay then. Let’s do this.” Summer combed some hair up, measured a length to take off, and made eye contact.
It was a little longer than what I suggested but shorter than usual. She knew me too well. I nodded.
“Good. I’d rather go a little longer at first, and if you still want to go shorter, we can take more. We just can’t put it back on if you don’t like it, and I don’t want to hear you bitch till it grows back out.”
“You sounded so genuine at first. I wondered if you were abducted by aliens. But no.”
Summer made a duck face in the mirror, and I returned it. “So, you never finished your story. Your tire was eaten by one of those craters.” Summer encouraged me to continue as she combed and snipped.
“Well, I pulled over because I ended up getting a flat, had no service, and was wondering if I would die from dehydration if I walked into town when this truck pulled over to help.”
“Who was it?”
“Someone new. Anyway, he helped me out, but was such a jerk and a sexist pig. You know—it was like he expected me not to know how to change a tire.”
“Well, you don’t.”
“Not the point. And then he was rude when I told him I didn’t have a spare because I took it out to make room for Christmas shopping.”
“You still hadn’t put it back?”
I shook my head.
“Didn’t your dad tell you to take care of that before he moved?”
“Again, not the point.”
“Interesting. So, where’s the old tire?”
“In the back of my car. I’ll take it to Bubba’s. He’ll dispose of it for me when he puts on some new tires.” Bubba owned Tyson’s Brakes and More.
“It was nice of this stranger to put the tire in the back of your car.”
“He didn’t. I did.”
“I’m guessing that would explain the smudge I noticed on your shirt.”
“Yep. It’ll come out with dish soap.”
“Okay, so a guy stopped by and was a gentleman, and helped you out, which you ladies nowadays don’t like. But was he a looker?” Tonya asked.
Nothing was ever sacred in this hair salon. Not with the town gossips, slash book club, slash my aunt and her best friends, always within ear shot. “Yeah, he looked good, but looks aren’t everything, you know. Personality and respect are number one, Auntie ,” I replied.
The bell over the door jingled, announcing the presence of another in the salon.
“Yeah, and helping a woman in distress isn’t very gentlemanly,” Tonya mocked.
“T, leave the ladies alone,” Kaye answered. “They’ll figure out how to find a gentleman when they’re ready.”
“Hey, everyone.” It was Darlene, my best friend since birth. “Don’t put me in the same category as my friends here. Remember, I’ve already figured things out. I have my husband.” She was married to Bryson, Tonya’s middle son. “And he’s pretty amazing.”
“Thank you, honey.” Tonya blew her a kiss. “His wife’s pretty amazing as well.”
Darlene placed a coffee on the counter in front of me.
“God, you’re a lifesaver. Thanks, Dar.” I leaned over to pick up the coffee, but Summer yanked my head back by the handful of hair she held. “Ouch. Crappy customer service,” I said as I reached up to rub my head.
Summer smacked my hand away.
“Jesus, Summer. That’s the second time this morning you smacked me. Your customer service truly sucks.”
“If you want me to take out a big chunk of your hair, fine. But I don’t want to hear you complain about it forever, so sit still.”
Darlene chuckled and sat in the neighboring chair and crossed her legs. “You better take her seriously, Kor. We don’t want a repeat of senior year.”
Yeah, that sucked. I had always been Summer’s guinea pig when it came to needing a model for cosmetology school. Senior year, Summer was pissed at me for something that happened on the volleyball court and “accidentally” cut off all my hair. We didn’t talk for months after.
I met Summer’s gaze in the mirror and raised a brow.
Summer winked. “Don’t worry. I’ve matured since then.”
Darlene let out a loud, hearty laugh, and Summer got a snort from me. One thing we knew as a fact—Summer would never grow up.
“So, get back to this mysterious stranger who helped you this morning,” Summer replied.
“Mysterious stranger?” Darlene leaned forward in the chair; her brows raised intently.
“Yeah, I got a flat tire, and a hot guy helped me.”
“Oh, so now he’s hot.” Summer pursed her lips. “Earlier he was just good looking.”
“Hot, good looking. Whatever. He helped out and was especially annoying.”
“Interesting.” Darlene stared at me intently. I knew her too well. Her mind was grinding. “Did you get his name?”
“Yeah, Kai.”
“Nice name.” Darlene leaned back and sipped her coffee.
“Hot name,” Summer answered.
Darlene nodded slowly. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the silent discussion going on between the two of them. They were always looking to set me up with someone even though I had just broken up with Patrick four months ago. It was annoying how Summer got away with never being bothered about dating someone. It was always me.
Well, one thing was for sure, Kai was not going to be the next guy in my bed. Nope. Wasn’t gonna happen. Not even with his sexy body, or those crystal eyes, or that seductive voice. I forced my eyes open to get his picture out of my mind.
Darlene’s gaze met mine. She had a shit-eating grin on her face, and her head continued the annoying bobbing up and down.
Friends were so much trouble sometimes. I rolled my eyes and tried my best to ignore her.
Thirty minutes later, my hair was cut and styled. It felt much lighter and already looked so much healthier. “It looks amazing. I love it, Summer.” I shook my head from side to side. My hair flowed gently and lightly touched my shoulders.
“If you would get your hair cut more often, it wouldn’t be such a mangled mess.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Any time. Now, in two weeks come to get that color we’ve been talking about.”
“Yep. I will.” I grabbed my coffee and took a big drink. “Shit. It’s lukewarm.”
“Like your heart.” Summer blew me a kiss.
“Maybe a mysterious stranger could warm that heart a bit.” Darlene wiggled her brows.
“I’m sure a night of amazing orgasms would do the trick,” Summer agreed.
“Oh, my God. Y’all.” I stood and held up my hands to stop them. “Why do I even talk to y’all?”
“Because you love us,” Darlene said.
“And we’re your only friends,” Summer answered.
“Whatever.” I grabbed my purse. “Dar, if we’re still going shopping, then to the pub, I suggest you stop this crazy talk now, or I’ll just go home and spend a quiet night with my goats.”
“The only guys she spends time with are those damn goats,” Summer said as she swept her station.
“You’re right,” I spit back. “Percy, Jackson, and Baby Goat are sweet and expect nothing but food, petting, and unconditional love. They are the perfect men.”
“As far as I can tell, all men want is food, petting, and unconditional love. Goats seem to be no different.” Summer swept the hair into the wall vacuum.
“I don’t know, Summer. My man enjoys my company and is one of my best friends,” Darlene interjected.
“Exactly like Kora’s goats.”
An older woman, Mrs. Ledbetter, entered the salon.
“Hello, Mrs. Ledbetter,” Summer greeted her next customer sweetly, then turned to us, her sweet demeanor evaporated. “Now you two get out of my salon so I can make some real money, and I’ll meet you at the pub when I’m finished.”
“We should be there around five. Maybe if Bryson and Patrick win the first round, they’ll celebrate with some free drinks,” Darlene said.
“Perfect. I have my final cut at four. I’ll show up after.” She turned to Mrs. Ledbetter. “Hi. Take a seat, Mrs. Ledbetter.”
“Hello, girls. It’s so good to see you.”
Mrs. Ledbetter had been our first-grade teacher. She had to be about seventy by now, but she still looked good. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Ledbetter,” I answered.
“Yes, ma’am. it is,” Darlene agreed.
I turned to Summer. It had been a while since we had all been out together. Summer always bailed at the last minute, giving some lame excuse. I knew it was because she wasn’t a fan of Bryson and tried her best to avoid him. “We’ll save you a seat, Summer. You can’t back out this time.” I pointed at her.
“I won’t,” Summer answered as she placed a cape around Mrs. Ledbetter.
“Friendship swear?” I asked.
“You’re serious?” Summer stood with her hands on her hips and looked more than irritated, as I knew she would be. She was downright pissed.
“I’m always serious.” I held out my arm.
Summer rolled her eyes but linked elbows. We crossed our arms, kissed our palms, then tapped each other’s cheek.
Summer hated this friendship swear the three of us made up in elementary school. Well, Darlene and I made it up, and Summer just had to follow. “Perfect. See you tonight.”
Summer turned to Mrs. Ledbetter, our cue to leave.
We said goodbye and gave Tonya and Kaye quick hugs.
Shopping, then margaritas at the pub. No better way to spend a Saturday night.