Page 7 of Half Notes and Highlights
“Me? You’re the one telling me to rub things between my palms and bend over.”
“So I can dry your hair. And people tell meIhave a one-track mind.”
“You were thinking the same thing. Don’t deny it.”
Tyler hadn’t thought of it, but surely would have if Ethan hadn’t made the remark first. He raised the hair dryer, determined to get through with styling Ethan’s hair before things went too far. “I’m going to finish drying your hair, and I’m not saying anything else. Just pay attention to what I’m doing.” He took a second to fan himself, because he was beginning to sweat.What happened to the damn air conditioning?
He finished drying Ethan’s hair, demonstrating how to style it with his fingers. Then he leaned in front of Ethan to adjust the strands of hair that framed Ethan’s face. The guy really did have the most exquisite cheek bones, and that strong jaw was to die for.
With their faces only inches apart, they locked eyes. Tyler froze, and his throat went dry. A hot tingle ran down his back, and he held his breath.
Ethan’s throat bobbed, and his tongue darted out to lick those plump, rosy lips. It was an inviting gesture that sent Tyler’s blood racing.
This. Wasn’t. Good.
He suddenly stood up straight. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Ethan acted surprised and brought one hand to his chest. “I’m not doing anything. What areyoudoing? You’re supposed to be showing me how to do my hair. Instead, you’re batting your eyesat me like a schoolgirl and throwing around phrases like bend over.”
“Flirting like a schoolgirl?” Genuine laughter flowed from Tyler’s mouth. “If I was flirting with you, I’d get to the point. I wouldn’t be running my fingers through your hair. I’d be running them down your—”Oh, fuck.Tyler stopped speaking and gulped. Rolling up the cord to his hair dryer and stuffing everything into his bag, he said, “I’m done here. You can handle styling your hair as long as you have the right product. It’s very simple. Here.” Tyler picked up the mousse, showed it to Ethan and left it on the bathroom counter. “Use this. If you need anything else, have your manager call me. It’s been a pleasure.”
When Tyler was about to exit the bathroom, Ethan said, “We both know you’re not done here. Not by a longshot.”
Tyler stopped for exactly three seconds but never turned around, and then shot out of the hotel room before the two of them ended up on the bathroom floor.
Ethan watched Tyler sprint out of the hotel room like his pants were on fire. Hopefully they were, because Ethan’s sure were. Tyler was the cutest, funniest, and most captivating person he’d ever met. And he was one hell of a hairstylist. Ethan’s hair looked awesome. He admired it in the mirror and was beginning to like his hair this length. It seemed easy enough to style now that he had the right product. His gaze drifted to the mousse that Tyler left on the bathroom counter and then to the jar of sticky, clear gel Wolf had given him. “That fucker,” he muttered again.
He marched out of his hotel suite and pounded on the door across the hall. “Wolf! You’re a dead man. Open the fucking door.” It swung open, but Marshall was standing there with a huge grin on his face.
“What’s up?” his friend asked.
“You know exactly what’s up.” Ethan pushed past Marshall and into the suite. He found Wolf sitting on the couch with Harris, who was twirling a drumstick between his fingers and staring intently at the TV. “What the fuck?” Ethan asked, his arms spread wide.
“Hey.” Harris never looked up, but Wolf broke into hysterical laughter.
“You fucking suck.” Ethan picked up a throw pillow from the side chair and tossed it at Wolf. “I had to wash my hair three times in the shower to get that junk out.”
“What about the burn on your arm?” Wolf asked, concern obliterating his laughter.
“I had to wear a giant rubber glove over my bandage. I looked like I was about to birth a calf.”
Wolf burst out laughing again, Harris remained focused on the TV, and Marshall came up beside Ethan smiling like a moron. “It was my idea,” Marshall admitted. “To get you back for putting all that hot sauce on my taco last week.”
“That was different. This is my hair.” The pranks they played on one another were ridiculous and childish, but for the most part, they were fun, unless you were the one on the receiving end. “Did you forget that I was in a fucking accident and had to chop it all off?”
Wolf stood up and cupped Ethan’s face in his hands and kissed his cheek. “Aw. Sorry, buddy. I was just having a little fun. I just wish I was there to see your face when you put that junk in your hair.”
Ethan gave Wolf a light shove in the chest, a smile breaking through now that the ordeal was over. “You still suck. But you better watch your back. Payback’s a bitch.”
“Payback? It’s all good. Look at your hair.” Wolf motioned to it with his hand. “It looks just as good as when you first got it cut and styled the other day.”
“Yeah. Because I got that hot hairstylist to come back and fix it for me.”
Intrigued, Wolf raised his brows. “He’s hot? How hot?”
“Very hot. It’s Tyler Kennedy. You know who he is, right?”
Wolf nodded. “Yeah, but I never saw a picture of him.”
