Page 20 of Depraved Desires

Unfortunately, it was over as fast as it had begun, and she was toweling me off. The fresh feeling that followed was well worth it though. My gaze snagged on the brunette’s lanyard andswept down to her driver’s license that hung from it.Savannah Barlow.Wait…

“Are you related to Rocky?” I questioned. Now that I was thinking about that being a possibility, the resemblances between them were uncanny. They had the same shade of skin and the same-colored hair.

A small smile graced her lips, revealing a dimple on either side of her face and my eyes widened. “He’s my twin. We grew up here but were born in Tennessee.”

Shock barreled through me. I never would have guessed. “I have a twin too,” I admitted. “I haven’t seen her in years though.” My gaze dropped to the floor as I thought about her. This life was hard, and she’d always been more naïve to things. Hopefully she wasn’t as messed up as me.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I don’t know what I’d do without Rocky. He’s my best friend.” Her gaze dropped down to her expensive-looking watch and her smile faltered. “Shit,” she muttered. “I’m sorry to cut this conversation short, but if I don’t get you done in time, my next appointment will be stuck waiting.”

I nodded and followed her over to the chair, sinking down into it. She pulled out the blow-dryer and put it to my hair until it was completely dry. Afterwards, she started painting my hair with something else. Thankfully, it didn’t burn. Once it was all on my hair, we played the waiting game again, and then she rinsed me…again. When my hair was dry from that, she started threading extensions in, which had my heart racing. I didn’t know a lot about hair, but I did know that extensions were expensive, and this would be a drastic hair change for me.

It felt like hours had gone by and boredom and curiosity were gnawing at me. Especially when she started clipping away at my hair with a pair of scissors.

“All done,” she chirped. “Ready to see it?”

I didn’t even hesitate before nodding. I was going to have to have a serious talk with Rocky about surprises. Savannah turned me around to face the mirror and my jaw went slack. My hair was now purple all over and it was darker than it had been before. The extensions went down to my ribs, and they framed my face nicely. You couldn’t even tell that it wasn’t my hair.

“I don’t even look like me,” I whispered. “You did amazing.” I tilted my head to look at her and she smiled at the compliment.

“Thank you.” She removed the cape for the last time and set it off to the side. “Rocky must really like you to be spending all this money on you,” she said suddenly, catching me off guard.

My eyebrows furrowed. “It isn’t like that. He’s just helping me after…something traumatic happened.” I didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell her exactly what happened, and I hoped Rocky would respect that too.

A look of confusion crossed her features, but thankfully, she didn’t press it. Instead, she had me sign out on some piece of paper and sent me on my way with a few instructions on how to keep my hair healthy. Once I reached the parking lot, my eyes widened in surprise upon finding Rocky’s vehicle in the same spot it had been in. I figured he’d get bored and drive around or go grab some food. We hadn’t eaten since this morning.

Slowly, I approached the car and peered in through the window. His sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose, preventing me from seeing his eyes. But by the way his head was tilted back and by how steady his breathing was, I could tell he was sleeping.

Opening the car door, I slid inside and pulled it closed behind me. As soon as I did, his body jerked, and he was tearing his glasses from his face. Wide, frantic eyes peered back at me and after it registered to him that it was only me, relief visibly settled into his shoulders.

“Did I scare you?” I asked cautiously.

“A little. I didn’t recognize you at first.” A breath of laughter slipped from his lips as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

I smirked in response. “Isn’t that the point?”

Blowing out a breath of air, he ran his hands through his hair. My gaze skipped down to where his hoodie rode up, revealing a sliver of olive skin right around his abdomen. I’d convinced myself that I was going to stay far away from guys and while I still intended on sticking to that, this boy was also irresistible. It was impossible not to look at him.

“You look great,” he praised. “I mean…you’ve always looked great, but the new hairstyle definitely enhances your beauty.”

Warmth spread through me like wildfire at the compliment and I was sure it was showing on my face. What’s gotten into me? I’ve never really given a shit about what guys thought of me, but for some reason, I wanted Rocky’s approval. I hadn’t felt this way about him a week ago, so I’d just chalk it down to some pathetic trauma-bonding scenario. It made the most sense.

“Thanks…” I trailed off, not knowing how to really accept the compliment.

“You hungry? There’s this nice diner just down the road.” I was relieved by the change in subject and nodded eagerly. Who knew that sitting in a chair for hours on end could work up an appetite?

Rocky put the car in gear, and in seconds, we were tearing out of the parking lot. Questions invaded my mind instantly. Why didn’t he go in and see his sister? Maybe he saw her often enough with the extra academic power he’d been granted. It didn’t seem like an appropriate question to ask seeing as how it wasn’t my business, so I bit my tongue on that. Some things were better left alone; I wouldn’t want anyone prying into my personal life—especially if there could be a whole lot more to the story. For example, my situation with my sister.

As children, Avery and I were inseparable. She was so bright, bubbly, naïve to the things happening around her. Most people would call it ditzy. I called itinnocent. The promises we made as kids still lingered in the back of my mind. We made vows that couldn’t be kept—they were completely out of our control. For some reason, we thought that if we made those promises, then nothing bad could happen. How stupid we must have been.

My thoughts came to a halt as we pulled up to this small-looking diner. Glancing around the parking lot, it became apparent that we were one of the only ones here.

“Come on, gorgeous.” Rocky shot me a wink right before cracking his door open. Rolling my eyes at how fuck-boyish he was being, I opened my own door and stepped out onto the pavement.

Gravel flew from beneath my shoes as we walked, and the cool air seeped into my exposed flesh. This weather reminded me too much of that fateful night. Too bad I wasn’t blessed with amnesia after that fall. Maybe I wouldn’t have felt so torn up inside. Blowing out a breath, a cloud of smokey looking substance flew into the air and disintegrated into nothing.

Rocky opened the door for me like he had at Spencers, and this time I didn’t question it. Striding into the warm building, my gaze roamed around the restaurant. Brown, leather booths adorned the walls with a few square tables scattered around the center. Over on the right side of the building was a bar with stools lined in front of it and what appeared to be an ice-cream station near it.

“Wow,” I muttered, taking it all in.

---