“Mmmm, cheddar cheese is great on pie.”
“You’re hopeless,” Josh said.
I was hopelessly in love with him and the beautiful smile that he gave only to me.
“THAT’S YOUR RENTAL CAR?” Chaz asked the next morning when he arrived to work.
“More like rental tank,” Meredith amended. “I bet Gabe approves of you being surrounded by all of that metal. Does it have airbags to cover every part of your body?”
We were all staring at the gleaming red monstrosity in my driveway through the window in the kitchenette. I had been shocked the day before when the rental car agency pulled up. I saw the Big Red pull in followed by a sleek sedan. I perked up thinking I’d look mighty fine driving that sleek number so you can imagine my shock when they handed me the keys to the giant SUV that looked big enough to transport Blissville High’s soccer team. They informed me it was the only rental left when they presented the rental agreement to me.
“Why can’t I drive that?” I asked, pointing to the sedan.
“That’s my personal car, sir,” Car Guy 1 said. “I followed behind Jerry so I could give him a ride back to the office.” I referred to Jerry as Car Guy 2.
“Hmmm,” I said looking down at the daily rate for rental. “You’re going to make sure you don’t charge my insurance company for the higher rental price or try to get me to pay the difference between a car and SUV rate though, right? It’s not our fault you had insufficient inventory to meet our needs.”
“We wouldn’t dream of doing so, sir,” Car Guy 2 responded, but I noted he sounded more surprised I would know the difference than insulted I would suspect something like that.
I was used to people thinking I was a “dumb blond” and it didn’t help them take me seriously when they found out that I worked at a salon. I more than worked there, I owned it. You can’t be a successful business owner and be gullible at the same time. “Then let’s mark out these rates and write in the correct ones, fellas.” I slashed through the figures like I meant serious business, and I did.
“Of course,” Car Guy 1 said, but he was looking a bit nervous.
I knew damn well that big giant monster wasn’t the only vehicle left to rent off their lot and I had half a mind to drive over there after we were done and prove it. Still, I had better things to do, like bake Gabe’s pie, and it turned out to be one of my favorite memories in our youngrelationship. So, I let them off the hook with a simple rate change and their initials on the form. Well, I did give a copy of the revised rates to my adjuster so he would know how much to pay them when they sent the bill. My days of playing the fool were over!
“I didn’t read the owner’s manual,” I told Meredith. “I’m hoping like hell not to drive that big bastard.”
“You and everyone else who lives in this town,” Chaz muttered.
“Again with the damn driving remarks.” I threw my hands up in the air and walked away. “It was one parked car,” I said referencing the only accident I had, “and there was an inch of ice on the streets.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t have been out,” Meredith said.
I was saved by my first client of the day who just happened to be Gabe’s ex. “Good morning,” I said cheerily to Kyle. I got immense pleasure by overhearing Chaz choking on his own fucking saliva when Doctor Feel Me Good walked in the door.
“Well, it is for some,” Kyle replied with a smirk. He walked over to my chair and had a seat. “Not all of us started off our morning the way you probably did.”
I know it wasn’t deliberately said to remind me that not that long ago he was the one waking up beside Gabe and getting morning… I killed the thought before it went there. Regardless, that’s exactly where my brain went.
“I didn’t mean that the way you’re taking it.” Kyle sounded extremely contrite and uncomfortable, which I felt was only fair since I was also ill at ease right then.
I met his eyes in the mirror and I saw how sorry he really was by the grimace he wore on his face and the way he bit his lip. It was actually a great look on him; it made him appear more human. Kyle was the type who always came across as confident, as if nothing or no one bothered him. Having known Gabe, I could see where that would irritate him. Gabe wanted real and honest responses from me at all times, whether it be anger and annoyance or joy and happiness. Kyle was a person who was sometimes hard to read. His smiles and responses came across as generic, or at least in public they did. I had no way of knowing what he was like privately.
“I know you didn’t,” I replied honestly. Kyle had told me on more than one occasion that I was good for Gabe. I wasn’t sure what he’d said to Gabe about me and I honestly didn’t care. What mattered was what Gabe thought about me and he really, really liked me. A lot. I could’ve teased Kyle about how silly that would’ve been since I was about to hold his hair in my hands, but I let it go. Instead, I wrapped the cape around his shoulders and asked, “Just a trim today?”
“Yep.” Kyle entertained me with stories from veterinary school like he always did since he started coming to my salon when he moved back with Gabe. He’d never talk about his clients in Blissville because that would’ve been unprofessional and unethical and he was an upstanding guy–one Chaz would give his left testicle to be pinned beneath on the closest firm surface. I tried my best not to let my overactive mind wander there. That didn’t stop me from smirking when Kyle greeted Chaz when he walked by on his way to his post at the front door. “How’s Harry doing?” Kyle was referring to the hairless cat that Chaz owned.
Chaz’s eye bugged out of his head and he choked on his own saliva again, as if Kyle was talking about his cock and not his cat. “Um, he’s doing good,” Chaz finally squeaked out.
“You feeling okay?” Kyle asked, completely unaware of the effect he had on my best friend. I had never seen two more clueless people than them. If Chaz had been paying any bit of attention, he would’ve noticed how Kyle sat a little straighter in his chair–as if he needed any more height–and how his eyes brightened.
“You need to sit still,” I admonished Kyle with a light whack of my comb on his beefy shoulder. “You’ll end up with a crooked cut or much shorter hair than you’d prefer. People will either think I’ve lost my touch or that you started going back to Burt’s Butcher, um…BarberShop.”
“Neither of those things will do,” Kyle replied good-naturedly. “Speaking of Burt’s, when do you suppose Gabe will trust you to cut his hair?”
“That’s a good question,” I replied. “He’s due for one.” I decided I would suggest a trim that night and see where it got me. The worst he could say was no and it would only hurt my feelings, but no big deal. I could take it. Maybe.
I was glad my day started with an easy client like Kyle because it allowed me to ease into my day rather than be thrust into chaos right out of the chute. It turned out that Kyle was definitely the calm before the storm.
