Page 13 of Refuel

I took another bite of my sandwich, ignoring her underhanded comment.

“Between you and Essence, I can’t win, no matter what.”

Tisha closed the door of my office after setting everything out.

“The best way to be a best friend is to keep you on your toes, babe,” Rylee replied.

“Just wait for when Essence gets with somebody; I can see her obsessing over every little thing,” I mentioned.

“Essence would probably have us following the guy if he doesn’t call her after a day or two of meeting,” Rylee joked.

I howled at her comment because Essence would be the type. We continued talking and planning the charity event for later in the month.

Later in the day, I pulled up to the salon to get my hair touched up. The braids were pulling apart too early, and I needed to be prepared for my race. Grabbing my keys and purse and stepping out of my car, I headed up to the door, pulled it back, and stepped inside. Scanning the room, I noticed my stylist was finishing up with someone in her chair. I waved to the owner and receptionist of Just Cutz by Justine. I’d been coming to her shop since I was sixteen years old. She was a longtime family friend and stylist of our family.

“Hey, Justine,” I said.

“Hey, Arianna. How are you?” she replied.

“I’m good. How are you doing?”

“Working as usual, keeping these crazy girls in check,” Justine announced loudly.

“Don’t hurt them too much.” I chortled and sat in Louise’s chair, placing my purse on top of her stylist desk.

“What’s going on with you?” Louise asked.

“Nothing,” I responded.

“Arianna, I’ve seen your face plastered on all the blogs,” Louise replied.

The door chimed, and a group of three girls walked inside, laughing and whispering together. Louise placed a cape around me, grabbed my hair to rebraid as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to send a text.

“OMG! I can’t wait to get my hair done for my date with Kash,” some woman said, sitting in the chair next to Louise’s booth.

“This party is going to be epic,” her friend replied.

“Merit Rum is going to have it VIP tight. Make sure our names are on the list,” the short red-haired girl said.

“Already taken care of, Brittney. I’m sleeping with the bartender,” her friend said, slapping hands with the redhead.

“So, tell me about this boy who’s a car racer?” Justine commented, and the three girls looked over at us.

“Nothing to tell, Justine,” I answered, shifting in my seat.

“He’s cute but looks like trouble. I mean his name is Kash, right?” Justine asked, watching Louise clip my ends.

“Excuse me, are you talking about Kamden Kash Coleman?” the redheaded girl named Brittney called out toward me.

“No,” I told her.

She stood, walked over to me, and crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the left. I narrowed my eyes, waiting for her to say something. Fighting over a guy I wasn’t involved with was laughable.

“Good, because after this party, he’s going to be mine.”

“Uhm… I think you should get your friend. I think she’s confused,” I responded.

“Brittney, take a seat if you want me to do your hair. I suggest you go back to your seat,” Justine demanded, pointing to the couch in the lobby.

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