Page 40 of Half Notes and Highlights
The other guys laughed, but Wolf’s brows pinched together.
Food arrived and the five of them sat down at the perfectly prepared table with place cards in front of silver domed lids, so they knew which meal was which. It was a beautiful evening, still warm but with a cool breeze.
Everyone lifted the lids on their plates at the same time. Tyler’s eyes lit up and his stomach rumbled at the scallops and risotto on his plate, but he heard a gasp from across the table, then everyone started laughing. Except Marshall, who was staring at his plate in disbelief as he still held the silver dome in his hand.
“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked Marshall, and then eyed the laughing trio of Ethan, Harris, and Wolf.
“You fucking guys!” Marshall exclaimed. “Where the fuck is my steak?”
While the rest of the guys laughed hysterically, Tyler looked at Marshall’s plate. Instead of his steak, his meal was replaced with a square slice of tofu and a small kale salad.
“You mean you didn’t want the vegetarian meal?” Harris asked, laughing so hard he barely got the words out.
“Very funny. Where’s my food?” Marshall headed back into the suite with his dish when a server approached carrying a new dome-covered plate.
“Sorry, sir. It wasn’t my idea.” The server placed the plate in front of Marshall’s empty seat and lifted the lid. “Filet, medium rare, with truffle butter and shallots, baked potato, and roasted summer squash.”
“That’s more like it!” Marshall handed his tofu and vegetable plate to the server, who also removed the rest of the silver domed lids from the table, and sat down to enjoy his meal.
“What made you decide to be a hairdresser?” Harris asked.
“I love making people beautiful,” Tyler replied. “I’m not just a hairdresser. I’m a stylist.”
“You certainly have style,” Harris replied.
“Thank you. But I meant, I style hair. I can do your hair before the record store thing tomorrow, if you want. I’m also a makeup artist.”
“Thanks, I never do anything with my hair. I just let it dry naturally, so I’m curious what you’d do with it.”
“That’s how your hair dries naturally?” Tyler’s brows rose in disbelief. Harris’ hair fell in gorgeous waves that looked wild and free, but Tyler assumed it took work to get it that way.
Harris nodded. “I’d love it if you could do something to make my hair more edgy. I don’t have the time or patience to style it, or deal with products, so this is it.”
Tyler blinked, shaking his head. “You can’t be bothered to style your hair or put product in it? Are you sure you’re gay?”
Everyone laughed. Even Wolf, who looked as if he checked out of the conversation before it started.
“I can assure you, I am.” Harris grinned. “Just ask the guy leaving my hotel room this morning.”
“I can vouch for him,” Marshall said. “My room is right next to his, and my walls were shaking.”
While another short rumble of laughter filled the table, Tyler studied Harris’ hair, envisioning a plan of action. “I’d love totry something different, if you’re up for it,” he told Harris. “I specialize in highlights. How do you feel about color?”
“I don’t know.”
“I like color,” Marshall interrupted, running a hand over his short buzz cut. “What can you do with this?”
“A lot. We can turn that into a mohawk or just dye it. Do you like blue?”
“Yeah, but not in my hair. I was joking. My Gilette’s got it covered.”
“You’re no fun,” Tyler teased. His gaze shifted to Wolf, who was focused on his plate and checked out of the conversation again. “Do you want me to style your hair as well?” When Wolf didn’t look up, Tyler repeated the question, this time addressing Wolf by name. “Wolf? Do you want me to style your hair too?”
Wolf stopped eating and sat back in his chair. “No. Why would I want you to do that?”
“I was just asking,” Tyler answered, his defenses kicking in.
“I do my own hair.”
