Page 4 of Somewhere We Belong

“You choose,” he said, pushing the phone towards me.

I had no idea what to play for him, looking through my playlists, getting more and more nervous.

“I’m not picky,” he said softly, his piercing blue eyes looking up at me.

They were as blue as the sky, trapping me for a moment before I tore my gaze away from him. I settled on Colter Walter Radio before I second-guessed myself. He nodded, closing his eyes as I put my phone in my back pocket, grabbed the cape and draped it over him. Grabbing my comb, I sectioned out his hair, clipped the top, glancing at him to make sure he was ok. Before I shaved the sides, I had to cut his hair to make it easier on me. I turned on the clippers, and rested the back of my hand against his neck so he could get used to the vibrations.

I worked quickly, cutting his hair as I checked on him every so often. He was stoic, giving nothing away as I finished up the sides. Taking the clip off, I brushed the top part, a little sad to be cutting off so much hair. The more I cut, the more excited I became to see this transformation, and nothing was more satisfying than trimming his beard.

When we came back from the shampoo bowl, I made sure he sat away from the mirror so he could get the full effect after I styled him. He was starting to fidget as I combed his hair back and that’s when I noticed how quiet the salon had become. Guests and hairdressers were looking at us and I scowled at them, hoping they didn’t make this a big deal.

I turned his chair slowly, grinning because hot damn, Theodore was sexier like this. His eyes widened slightly as he turned his head side to side.

“Whatcha think?” I smoothed his hair back one more time.

He nodded with a small smile on his full lips. “I… I think Atlas will like it.”

“I think he will love it,” I said, softly patting his shoulders. “He won’t know what to do with himself.”

“Damn, sugar, I have a granddaughter who is single, wanna take her out?” Blanche said, standing next to the mirror.

“He’s gotta go, Blanche, leave the poor man alone, “I said, growing nervous and wondering what else was going to come out of this woman’s mouth that might make him uncomfortable.

“Well, son, you sure do clean up nice,” she said, waggling her eyebrows. “You should stop by more often and give these ladies something nice to look at while we get our hair done. I’m here every Monday just in case you were wondering.”

Theodores face turned pink when he stood.

“Ma’am, I work on the ranch,” he said matter of factly. “I don’t think I could afford to be here that often and I don’t think I would want to, either.”

I grinned at his bluntness.

“Well, honey I do a lot of stuff I don’t want to do, but we have to take one for the team eventually,” she said, and I glared at her. “Nova here is also single. Maybe you can take her out and show her a good time.”

“Blanche, go back to the dryer and when I’m ready, I’ll come get you,” I said, giving her a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look.

While I don’t usually get sassy with Blanche, if you show that woman any fear, she would pounce like a lioness and this was one time I would fight back. Not physically, of course, but these old gossiping ladies were passive aggressive like it was an Olympic sport.

“Alright, darling,” she smirked at me, and I didn’t like that look either. “I hope we see you again soon.”

I walked Theodore to the front desk, admiring him one more time.

“Thank you,” he said, pulling his wallet out.

“Of course, let me know how he likes it,” I said, with a knowing smile. “I hope you have a good visit.”

It was a damn shame Theodore had a boyfriend, but I loved that it gave him an excuse not to entertain all these pushy ladies.

“He’s back for good,” he said with a soft smile that always made my heart beat a little faster.

“That’s amazing.” I said, getting nervous. “I hope you guys have a great night.”

“He’s back this week but I…I will,” he said, handing Michelle his card. “Thank you for fitting me in. Imma… I’m sorry if I put you behind.”

“You didn’t, Blanche needed to stay under the dryer,” I said walking backwards. “Bye Theodore.”

“Bye Nova.”

I turned around, cleaned my chair quickly as a wave of emotions hit me. Atlas was coming home to them, but why did italso feel like he was coming home to me too? Since Sol was born, he had always been attentive. If I’m honest, they had all been attentive and now it felt like I couldn’t run anymore.

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