Page 42 of Baby Duke

Felix steps away, at last, eyeing my new haircut with a critical eye. I am practically squirming in my seat in anticipation. Before he had started, Felix had twirled me away from the mirror. When I protested, he shushed me and asked if I had not just said I didn't want to see my reflection any longer. He wasn't wrong, of course, so I let him do his thing. Lyn had popped her head in with a plate of sandwiches and quiches just as Felix was finishing with the dye. She complimented Felix on his color choices, which made me demand answers I was not given.

"Hot damn, Roe," Felix says suddenly, his face relaxing into a wide grin. "If I wasn't gay, I would totally take you on a date."

I snort, "so classy, Felix."

Taking a steadying breath, I nod for Felix to spin the chair around. He does.

I blink in surprise at my reflection. I barely recognize myself.

Felix has cut the back of my hair just an inch from my scalp while leaving the front longer in an edgy side fringe. It has completely changed the angles of my face. And the color… he has dyed the bulk of it a deep, crimson red, with streaks of silver adding a striking flare to the fringe.

I run my fingers through the short but smooth lengths.

Felix shuffles anxiously behind me. "Well? Say something, Roe, you’re killing me here!"

I laugh and turn to face him. "Felix, you are a fucking miracle worker, you know that?" I stand and fling my arms around him. "I love it so much!"

We spend the rest of the afternoon watching romantic comedies while Lyn totters in every now and then with nibblies and refreshments. The woman can make one hell of a mocktail.

With my stomach bloating and my romantic comedy odometer full to the brim, I flick the TV off with a groan.

Felix rolls to his side and watches me as I lay on my back, staring up at nothing and everything at the same time.

"What am I going to do, Felix?" he frowns in confusion. "About the stupid project," I elaborate.

Felix forces out a breath of air, rolling onto his back too. "I think it’s too late to change our subject. Mrs. Welsh practically had kittens when you screamed it out."

"I did notscream," I say, though not entirely convinced in myself. "And what the hell is with that saying? What does it even mean?"

Felix bursts out laughing, and I am not far behind. It has been one hell of a day. I cannot even begin to process the range of emotions my body went through. And don’t getme started on Western Mazzuchelli. His personality was volatile. He had almost had me convinced he was a good person for a little while there.

And then he proved me wrong. Fuck, did he ever.

Suddenly drained, I ask Felix to take me home, and he does without question, seemingly picking up on my sudden change of mood.

The lights are on in the house when we arrive, and Felix leaves after giving me an awkward hug over the center console. I stare up at the sky as Felix's headlights disappear down the dark drive. The stars are bright and many, not a cloud in sight. The city never had views like this. The heavens had always been clouded by smoke and smog. I take a deep breath, appreciating, for a moment, the clear and fresh air living apart from the clusters and crowds.

Sighing, I turn away from my musings and open the front door. I can vaguely hear the television playing what sounds like a raunchy romance down the hall. Katie is back.

Suddenly nervous about having to explain my makeover to her, I decide to sneak up the stairs as quietly as I can.

No such luck.

"Roe?"

I turn and look at Katie as she stands at the bottom of the stairs, her brow furrowed.

"What-" she stutters. "I mean, you look absolutely stunning, Roe, don't get me wrong. But… why the sudden change?"

The day's events are suddenly heavy on my shoulders, and I collapse to the step I'm standing on, tears streaming down my face. Katie rushes to my side, soothing me with gentle hushes and a hand on my back.

I tell her everything. Ok, notexactlyeverything. The whole blowjob thing can stay between West and I. But everything from my walk of fame to being forced against a locker, to the photo and video revelations and the unexpected scissor attack. Katie listens to it all, gasping and seething at every opportune moment.

"I stood against them, even when you warned me not to," I cry at the end.

Katie is silent as she contemplates everything I have said.

"You know," she says after a while, "You and I are more alike than you would think. I grew up in this world. I was told stories of the Dukes before I learned to walk. But that didn’t stop me from wanting to change the hierarchy, too, so to speak. The Dukes of my school years weren't as unpleasant as West, Brett, and Law seem to be. In fact, Lawson's older brother, Cooper, was one. I can't say my little acts of rebellion were as… public as yours have been," she smiles, "but I got my fair share of humiliation. Mine came in the form of spaghetti."

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