Page 59 of Twice the Rivalry

“Huh, that was fast,” Harlow said. “We thought you guys would be hours yet.”

“Apparently they didn’t have much to talk about,” Glitch remarked, shooting them all a cool look before getting back to spreading whatever was on her brush onto Wren’s roots.

“To answer your question, Glitch decided it was time to change things up with her hair, and anyone not preggers wanted to do theirs too,” Esme added with a wicked grin.

“What the hell do you need to change your hair for?” Rogue asked, stepping further into the room and giving Scarlett a hard look.

“Relax, it’s temporary,” she told him with a reassuring smile. “Besides, it can be fun to change things up.”

“I like your hair how it is,” Rogue continued.

“That may be, but it’s her hair, and you, Mr. Grump, don’t get a say,” Glitch said in a saccharine voice, but her blue eyes dared him to contradict her. Rogue glared at her.

“Glitch is helping us put some extra pink in our hair,” Win added excitedly.

“Pink?” Rogue repeated, making Code grin. He had a feeling that the pink involved was the exact same shade as Glitch’s.

“Yes, pink,” Wren sniffed. “What, you don’t think we’re girly enough to have pink in our hair, Ro-Ro?”

“Not very progressive of you, Ro-Ro,” Glitch added, her lips pulling up into a sardonic grin.

“Fucking hell,” Rogue muttered. “I’m going to get some work done at the garage. Let me know when you’re done.” Then he turned and stalked out.

“Is he mad that we’re changing our hair?” Win asked curiously.

“Nah,” Karissa said with a reassuring smile. “Rogue doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who does well with abrupt change.”

Scarlett sighed. “I don’t think it’s the hair,” she admitted. “It’s more that he’s still not quite accepting that you both are growing up, when he’s only just found you and had you in his life. Once he sees it done and how happy you are, he’ll be fine.”

Wren and Win glanced at each other, and Code saw the relaxation in their shoulders. As much as they loved to bug the man, it was clear they loved and didn’t want to disappoint Rogue. He glanced at Glitch and saw her smile softly, obviously realizing the same thing. When her eyes lifted and connected with his, they held on for a moment before finally looking away and focusing back on her task.

The girls all started talking again, and Code followed the rest of the men into the kitchen to grab a beer. He wasn’t sure why he was staying, considering that it was clear the women weren’t getting up to anything dangerous, but for some reason he didn’t want to head to the door. He blamed it on wanting to be around in case Glitch did start any trouble, but even he couldn’t quite buy that.

I wonder what hair color she chose this time, he wondered silently to himself as he took a long gulp of beer. Would it be pink again? Or would she change it up? He couldn’t see her in anything other than pink, so it was intriguing to think about. He doubted she was going to go with a dull color. No, Glitch was too vibrant, too in your face for plain, ordinary hair.

She expertly applied more dye to Wren’s hair before proclaiming her finished, then headed out of the room to the bathroom down the hall. Esme followed her after a moment, having finished with Win too. When they emerged a few minutes later, they were both smiling and laughing, and Code had the thought that it was nice she got along so well with the other women. Though, maybe that wasn’t such a good thing with so many strong personalities. Still, maybe things would settle down a bit with more babies coming along.

He glanced at Karissa, who was grinning at something the twins were saying to her. Or not. He had heard her say a few times that she wasn’t having any babies for a while, and Razor seemed fine with that. Scarlett was much the same, but out of the two of them, he had his doubts it would be long before Scarlett and Rogue had a few more kids running around.

I wonder if Glitch wants children, he wondered. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he shut it down so fast he was surprised that his beer bottle didn’t crack under the pressure of his hand. What the hell was he thinking thoughts like that for? What, now that they had slept together once, he was thinking about all that sappy shit? Fuck that. Wasn’t going to happen, not with Glitch or any other woman. He was perfectly happy being footloose and fancy free, as they said.

He forced himself to look away and focus on the conversation between his brothers. Still, he couldn’t help himself from glancing over at the women whenever they would laugh and talk animatedly. Damn it, he needed to get a grip on himself.

Finally, after another hour, Glitch announced it was time to rinse everyone off, which of course got their attention. Code glanced over sharply, and saw Scarlett, Karissa, the twins, and Glitch all heading down the hall to the bathroom. “No peeking either,” Glitch ordered, giving him and the other men a hard look. “Esme, you want to come help?”

“Sure,” Esme said, standing.

“How come you didn’t ask me?” Harlow pouted.

“Do you want to come help?” Glitch asked easily. “You looked pretty comfy, and as much as I love your kid, I’ve already been in a shower with that cute little shit bomb, and I really don’t want a repeat when I have this fantastic color in my hair.”

Harlow snickered. “Nah, you go ahead. I want to be surprised as much as the rest of them.”

“No one asked me,” Royal sulked.

“Girl, could you even haul yourself out of that chair right now?” Harlow laughed.

“No, but my man could carry me,” Royal sniffed.

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