5. Nova
5
nova
The salon was busy, for a Tuesday. Roller set after roller set was scheduled and I was ready to snap at the front desk for giving me so many in one day. I longed to do a big color change or even a fucking haircut would feel like paradise. Small town hair was so different from city hair, but it paid the bills, and I couldn’t say no to cold hard cash. Thankfully, at the end of the day, I did a haircut and a style with an actual curling iron, that felt like heaven.
The other hairstylists were gossiping in the break room as I entered.
“He is no longer a boy, I swear, he turned into a man overnight,” Lou Ann said, fanning herself.
“Can you believe he is going to be our doctor here?” Sally waggled her eyebrows. “Wonder if he does breast exams?”
I cringed at the thought that these women were making light of breast exams because they wanted to be felt up.
“Who are we talking about?” I asked, too curious to let it go as I opened my locker.
“Didn’t you hear Atlas is coming back into town?” Lou Ann asked like it was an insult not to know.
“Oh yeah, I heard that,” I said, grabbing my bags.
“Well, he’s going to be helping Dr. Gordon at the clinic,” Sally said. “He might be the youngest doctor we’ve ever had and I’m not complaining. That man can play doctor with me anytime.”
I scowled that they were objectifying him, but Atlas was gorgeous. I could see the appeal of playing patient with him or even his nurse, but Sally and Lou Ann sounded dirty saying it out loud.
“You know he’s gay, right?” I closed my locker, grabbing my keys. “And he’s?—”
“That man is bisexual because I see the way he’s looked at some women,” Lou Ann said confidently. “Plus, if you opened your pretty brown eyes, you would see that he’s also checked you out.”
I scowled. Atlas had not checked me out, he only had eyes for his sexy boyfriends.
“Ok, well, even if he is bisexual, he has two men who he goes home to,” I said, feeling defensive.
“Girl, that's no problem, I can share,” Sally giggled and Lou Ann giggled too. “Plus, they already know how to share, so it would be perfect. How could they say no?”
“Wait, they?” I snapped. “What do you mean, they?”
“I’m sure they do group activities,” Sally said, fanning herself. “Can you imagine how?—”
The thought of them all together wasn't a new idea, and neither was imagining what it would feel like to be at their center, but hearing Sally and Lou Ann talking about it made me angry and protective.
I slammed my locker shut and the girls stopped talking.
“You ok there, darling?” Sally looked at me with a raised brow.
“Yup, fine,” I tried to say calmly.
They weren’t mine and I had no claim to them, but my overactive brain had always wondered what it would be like if I could be with them.
Lou Ann smirked at me like she had read my thoughts.
“Alright, I gotta go pick up Sol, see you guys later.” I grabbed my things and left the salon quickly.
The last thing I needed was gossip to start that I was simping for the three guys who were practically my neighbors. God, I could already hear what people would say and it wasn’t nice. I went straight to my car, opened the door, sliding into the driver's seat and turned it on.
It started with no problem, and I realized in my haste to leave, I had forgotten my car wasn’t working. Damn fucking car being temperamental and giving me a heart attack for no fucking reason. It wasn’t until I saw a pack of batteries that said, ‘for mommy’s toys’ in front of it, that I realize that fucking Colt had broken into my fucking car and fixed it while leaving something that made fun of me.
That fucking little shit, and while I wanted to be mad, he had fix my car. I just needed to pay him back so he wouldn’t have one thing to hang over me to be a dick about it. Damn that broody asshole.
By day, I was a hairdresser, and some nights, I worked at the Boozy Bandit just out of town. It was a local favorite from the neighboring towns that weren’t too far away either. We saw a lot of people from Mountain View and even Monroe. It was a Thursday, which wasn’t a busy night, but it also wasn’t one of our slow nights either. It gave me extra money to buy things like clothes for Sol or a fucking car that broke down or a damn leaky roof.
I always wore my denim shorts with a shirt that had the bar's logo on it, and my cowboy boots that I splurged on when I lived in the city. The shorts showed enough of my legs and cupped my ass nicely to be a little sexy. If pregnancy hadn’t left stretch marks, a not-so-flat stomach and saggy boobs then I would be like the other girls here that showed their mid rifts and a lot of cleavage. I wasn’t above using my body for money even if I was older than most of these girls.
Balancing my tray above my head, I weaved in and out of the tables to one of my regulars. He was an older guy who worked in Malone. I didn’t know his name, we never really chatted, but he always came to me if he saw me working. He usually wore jeans and a shirt that looked dirty from working, so in my head, he worked construction.
“Here you go!” I put down his Johnny Walker on a coaster. “Any food today?”
He shook his head.
“Alright holler if ya need anything,” I said, knowing he would only ask for a drink if I came to him.
He nodded, taking a sip of his drink as I walked over to my other tables making sure everyone didn’t need anything. After placing a few orders, the night manager walked up to me with a girl who looked scared to be here.
“Hey, Nova,” he said.
“Hey, what’s up Joe?” I smiled.
I wasn’t his biggest fan, but I tolerated him because he gave me shifts and didn’t expect me here every week.
“Nova, this is Iris, and she will start working with us next week,” he said, bringing the girl forward.
She had dark blond hair with brown eyes and a wholesome look to her, making her look a little familiar. I didn’t know if she was going to survive the rowdy nights, but hey, the more help the better.
“Hi, Iris, it’s lovely to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.
“Nice to meet you too.” Her southern drawl was a little thick.
“I leave in about forty-five minutes so you got me until then,” I said to Joe.
“That's perfect, enough to show her the ropes without overwhelming her,” he said, giving her a smile.
His fake concern always made me want to gag.
“Come on, girl, let’s show you the ropes,” I said, pulling her into the break room quickly.
A few girls were back there gossiping as usual and probably complaining about their tips.
“This is our break room and when you start working, a locker will be assigned to you to keep all of your stuff,” I said. “Ladies, this is Iris, and she will start working with us next week.”
The girls waved, but it wasn’t friendly at all; I wouldn’t expect anything less from them.
“Hey, y’all,” Iris said, giving them a wave back.
The girls quickly went back to their gossiping as I shook my head and took Iris to the kitchen, then back to the bar as I picked up my orders.
“You can wait here, I’ll be back,” I said, taking my tray to a few of my tables asking for refills before I stopped at my quiet regular.
He nodded and left forty bucks on the table. I grabbed his money and glass, and headed back to the bar to teach Iris how to use the computers to put in orders and close them out.
“You, ok?” I asked after we closed my regular’s tab.
“Yeah, just… it’s a lot and I’ve never worked at a bar,” she said nervously.
“Neither had I when I first came here,” I said, trying to ease her worry. “It does take some time getting used to, but once you get into a rhythm with everyone, it will get easier.”
“Ok, but do I need to dress like those other girls?” She nodded to the girls who were in the breakroom.
I chuckled. “Jeans and a work shirt is the uniform, but you can also wear shorts, and nothing says you need to be as skimpy as those girls.”
She looked at my outfit, nodding.
“Ok, I’ll probably be dressing like you,” she said in relief.
“You could even wear jeans if that makes you more comfortable,” I said, feeling a little protective of her.
She didn’t seem too young, but something about her screamed, sheltered.
“Ok,” she smiled.
“I’ll see if I can try to pick up a shift next week, maybe we can work together,” I said, glancing at the tables I had left.
“That would be amazing,” she said, relaxing a little bit more.
“Hey, Iris!” Joe yelled and waved her over.
“Thanks for everything, Nova,” she said, giving me a hug.
“You're welcome, I hope I see you soon,” I said, pulling away, not used to hugging people.
“Cool,” she said, walking away.
I liked Iris, hopefully she liked it here, because I would love to have a friend here at work. My tables left shortly and after cleaning up, I made my way home. As I drove home, the box of batteries stared at me, mocking me until anger lit inside of me and I wished I could do something to get him back.
When I got home, I took the batteries down with me, like hell I would let them go to waste just because he bought them for me. I grabbed the tarp I had bought for the roof that I needed to put on tomorrow morning since it was supposed to rain. I walked into the cabin and the local babysitter, Stellar, was lying on the couch watching TV. She was in high school, and she was amazing.
“Everything good?” I asked, taking money out of my wallet.
“Always perfect; Sol is amazing,” she said, getting up and putting her shoes on.
“Thanks, Stellar. I’m glad she doesn't give you a hard time,” I said, handing her the money.
“Nah, Ms. Nova, she’s one of the best kids I watch,” she said, grabbing her things.
“That’s good,” I said, relieved. “Have a good night!”
“You, too!” she said, waving as she got into her car.
I locked up after she pulled out of the driveway ready for my date with my vibrator. As I switched out the batteries and turned it on, the vibrator didn’t work. I changed them out for another set and those didn’t work either. This fucking asshole gave me a box of dead batteries. Colt was probably laughing at me that I wasn’t able to get off. Well, jokes on him. I grabbed the remote batteries and made myself come twice.