Chapter 25
Erica
The colorful shop reminds me of one I used to go to near LA, that Vann had practically forbidden me from going to. He always hated that I loc’d the underside of my hair, just like he hated everything I did that made me, me.
Pushing the thoughts away, I beam at the beautiful girl behind the counter with warm, topaz skin and kind eyes. All of her hair hangs down her back in the most stunning and gloriously long locs that I’ve ever seen.
She takes a sip of her water and makes her way back to where I stand, still taking in everything around me. I order my products online when I run out, but with all the travel, I’ve truthfully been a bit worried about how I’ll get more. It couldn’t hurt to stock up.
“Can I?” she asks with her hand extended toward my locs.
Nodding and smiling, I reply, “Oh, of course! They’re nothing like yours, but I love them.
” I didn’t expect the sudden tinge of insecurity.
No one’s ever asked to see them specifically.
I’ve gotten plenty of kind comments or unsolicited advice, but never attention from anyone who had locs themselves.
I can feel her hands combing over the locs and where they meet my scalp before she finally says, “You’ve done a really good job with these. You should be proud of them.”
The praise is warm and I never know what to do with compliments from others, so I do what I always do and offer an awkward, “Thank you.”
She comes back around to face me, Ari also returning to my side from his perusal of the shop when she says, “I was just going to offer you an escape out the back exit, but did you need anything before you go?”
I nod, looking over at Ari, whose eyes are doing that sparkly thing they do when he looks at me sometimes.
“I’d say she’ll take one of everything, but I don’t even know what she needs or wants.”
We both laugh at him before I tell her I actually do need to restock. As she leads me around the shop, I can’t stop smiling and squeal to Ari, “Look at all this stuff. Isn’t it neat?”
He smiles and happily accepts everything we hand him as we pick out shampoo and oils, aloe gel, and some new rings to decorate my locs a bit more when I’m in the mood.
After spending an ungodly amount of money, the woman grows a bit bashful for the first time.
“Is there any chance I could get you to sign a few things for my wife before you leave? She’ll never believe this whole story otherwise.
” She laughs under her breath when she finishes, Ari already accepting the marker to sign whatever she wants.
“I’ll do you one better,” he starts, signing the water bottle she said was the only thing she really had. “If you’re both free tomorrow night, we have our show. Do you have tickets?”
She nods, though her eyes are a little downcast before she explains that she had bought her wife the tickets for their anniversary, but the only ones she could afford were at the top of the grassy hill above the amphitheater.
“Can they hang out with me?” I whisper in Ari’s ear. “Like, is that allowed?”
He nods and smiles warmly at me. “How about you give me both of your full names and when you get to the venue, go to will call and they’ll bring you in for the full VIP experience?”
Her jaw drops and eyes fill with tears as she frantically tries to blink them away. “Are you sure?”
She was asking him, but I butt in. “He doesn’t make offers he doesn’t mean. We’d love to have you, and not just because you saved our butts.”