Page 57 of Trapped In You: A BWWM Romance

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SHANEL

My alarm goes off.

Catherine springs up from the couch. “It’s eight o’clock.”

“Okay.” I run my fingers over my braids. I took down my curly weave and left my braids in without refreshing them with water or products. I’m not too worried about reinstalling since I used to put in my own wigs and weaves back home anyway.

A glance in the mirror shows a character that could walk straight out of Orange Is The New Black.

This should be enough to get my point across.

Turning to Catherine, I spread my arms wide. “How do I look?”

“Cute.”

“Seriously?” I pout. “I still look cute in this baggy shirt and over-alls?”

“Yeah.”

I frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“I wasn’t going for cute.”

“Oh.” Catherine bats her thick lashes and says genuinely, “Well, you look beautiful.”

“Catherine!”

“What?”

I turn to the mirror again and frantically pinch my cheeks, considering my naked face. My nose splays out in all its broad glory, free from my contouring makeup. “What can I do to look less attractive?”

“Surgery?”

I glare at her.

“Maybe a hairy mole?” She taps her chin and surveys me from head-to-toe. “No, not even that would work.”

“That’s not what I want to hear,” I bawl.

She shrugs sorry.

The door thuds.

“Shanel, I’m here.”

Hawk’s voice.

Panic builds in my body.

I’m still nervous about this. Even though it’s my own plan, I’ve never let a man see me in my natural, don’t-give-a-damn state.

This is the real, unfiltered me.

No wigs.

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