The point is to get you groomed before you go out there on the prowl again.
Another thing I was not looking forward to. Hmm, I’d only been in Salem a couple of days and thus far I’d almost killed my vampire tenant, had agreed to pose as his fake girlfriend, signed up to pay for the pain of having hair lasered of my body, and possibly being roped into some freaky ass speed dating event.
After I pulled up beside the white brick building and found a metered spot on the road, I went to face step one of getting my groove back on.
I entered and descended to the basement level where there was only one door. Once I stepped inside, I entered a small waiting room, decorated with the standard white walls, chairs pushed to the edge of said walls, and a table with magazines spread on display. It seemed like a hole-in-the-wall salon. I swallowed my reservation and told myself to believe Gianna. After all, it didn’t have to look like some fancy boutique to do the job properly, right?
“I’ll be right there,” a woman’s voice called out from behind the partially ajar door.
I sat in one of the chairs and picked up a magazine on a side table, absently flipping through it. Before I flipped past the ridiculous amount of ads, a blond woman, who appeared to be around my age, walked out of the room and extended her hand.
“You must be Nova, Gianna’s friend,” she said with a warm smile. “I’m Sadie.”
“Yes, that’s me.” I glanced at her, quickly assessing her for unruly body hair. If I worked in a place like this and had access to a laser, I’d zap every unwanted hair off my body.
Anyway, Sadie didn’t have a stash or unibrow. Anything like that would make me question her abilities.
She motioned for me to follow her into that room she stepped out of. “We can talk in there.”
Once I stepped inside, I sat on a cushioned seat. I glanced around the wall, scanning a poster depicting the stages of hair growth, and then the bloodthirsty machine that fed on unwanted hair.
“Have you ever had laser hair removal before?” Sadie asked.
I mashed my lips together. “No, and I am a little scared.”
“That’s natural. Most people are. Many report that it doesn’t hurt as much as they expect.”
“I hope you’re right.”
For the next several minutes, Sadie described hair growth and cycles. She explained the risks, which made me wrinkle my nose. Who wanted permanent scarring? But, that was rare, she assured me. She then described the different packages and promotions they had, starting with six visits several weeks apart. What? I wasn’t planning on being in town that long. Gianna knew this. Did she have some ulterior motive to have me come back to visit town more often? Or think I would stay?
I chose to go for armpits and bikini line today, but insisted on only one visit, explaining how I didn’t expect to be in town long. Then again, the house situation could require more visits. Whatever, I’d deal with it then.
“Laser away,” I said with a flourish of my arms.
Several minutes later, I lay on my back wearing nothing but a hospital robe. What was it about these flimsy materials that made me feel even more vulnerable? All my confidence vanished to a layer as thin as the fabric.
Sadie put on some cream to help desensitize me.
“I hope it numbs me,” I said. “I don’t want to feel a thing.”
“It’s not that strong,” she said. “You will feel a slight burning sensation.”
My face scrunched up. That did not sound like fun.
“Where do you want to start first?”
Underarms or bikini? Neither body part stepped up to volunteer.
Time to suck it up. “My underarms.” At least I wouldn’t be naked for that part.
Deep breath, deep breath. Women do this every day. Stop being a wuss.
Sadie gave me a pair of odd yellow glasses to protect my eyes and she put on a similar pair. Now everything was masked in a strange amber hue.
She adjusted things on the machine. With each second that passed, my anxiety rose.
Sadie held the white device in her hand and stepped to my side. “Are you ready?”
