Page 30 of Show Me How to Heal
That was my answer!
“Yeah… could we start with your hair soaps?”
“Yes!” Zayne almost shouted, a fire lighting in his eyes. “You see, I didn’t even sell them up until two years ago. I always used one of my soaps for my hair, but I thought there wasn’t that big of a market. But one day one of my regulars — her name’s Christie, and she’s been a loyal customer almost since day one — asked me if I had hair soaps or soaps she could use for washing her hair because she wanted to try them. And I didn’t. I mean, technically, you can use basically all of my soaps on your hair, but for many hair types, the superfat percentage is too high. You see, superfat is…”
And off he went — literally — he started walking towards the storage area, and I followed suit, intently listening to everything he had to say about superfat percentages, misconception about greasy hair, and special ingredients like algae.
“Have you ever been to Addy’s?” Zayne asked, standing in front of said place and looking a little pale. And nervous. He was in constant motion, stepping from one foot to the other and fiddling with his bun or his leather necklace.
“No.” I shook my head. “And if you’d rather eat somewhere else, we absolutely can. Kickstart’s still open if you want coffee.”
“No, I don’t… I don’t want that,” he said, letting out a deep sigh. “You realized I’m a little…”
“Nervous?”
“Yeah. That. Maybe.” He sighed again, scrubbing a hand over his face.
I didn’t like seeing him like that. We’d had a lot of fun today. He’d been so free, so happy telling me all about his business, the various types of soap and other products he sold.
I would have never thought I’d be interested in soap and solid shampoo or bath bombs and stuff, but Zayne was so passionate about it I’d found myself wanting to learn more — and to actually try the products myself. I was even a little giddy at the prospect of getting all these divine smelling soaps.
Maybe accepting this job offer wasn’t that bad after all. It gave me a purpose, routine, an incredibly nice boss, and maybe even a chance to learn something about myself.
“We can always grab a pizza,” I offered, though I really didn’t want to. This was a date, kinda, and I didn’t want to grab take-out as a date. Especially since I couldn’t take Zayne home with me.
“Oh yeah, my cabin in the woods? It’s a cabinbythe woods. And the cabin is so big it’s more like a wooden mansion. How can I afford it? Well…”
Nope.
Not going to happen.
“No, it’s fine. The food here’s great. You won’t find a better restaurant in town,” he said, yet he still seemed apprehensive and didn’t make a move to actually open the front door.
“But?” I asked. It sounded like there was a but coming.
“The restaurant belongs to one of my best friends… former best friend? I don’t even know anymore.”
His face fell, the light fleeing his eyes.
I wanted to grab his hand to comfort him with touch, but I had the stupid crutches in hand, so I had to make do with carefully rubbing my upper arm against his.
“Did you guys fight?”
“No. Not really. He’s got this boyfriend.” Zayne looked around as if he wanted to make sure said boyfriend wouldn’t suddenly pop up next to us. “I’m sure he’s abusive. Ever since they got together, Adam’s been pulling away from us — that’s Avery and me. The last time I saw him, his boyfriend was screaming at him, and I think he shoved him and threw a pot of soup on him… here.” He nodded towards the restaurant. “Avery and I intervened and Marc — the boyfriend — didn’t like it. That was six months ago, and that was the last time Adam even talked to us.”
Fuck.
Zayne looked close to tears. And lost. So fucking lost.
“Let’s just go somewhere else.”
Who said ordering mediocre pizza for takeout wasn’t a great way to spend a date? Certainly not me. If it made Zayne happy, I’d even eat bad takeout pizza.
“No.” He sucked in a big gulp of air. “No. He probably won’t see me, anyways. And I… I’m trying to show him I still care, you know? Just in case he ever wants to get out of that relationship. My friend Corey recently got out of an abusive relationship, and he told me one of the reasons he finally found a way out was because he knew he could count on me. So… let’s head inside. Just… stay by my side, okay?”
I nodded.
As if I’d ever leave him alone after he told me something like that!
