Still laughing, he shook his head and bent at the waist to catch his breath.
“You. Totally. Suck.” I whirled around and went back to Izzy, tugging at the tiny braids in my hair.
There were several.
She pressed her lips together as I approached. “You looksopretty.”
“Don’t even, Spice Girl. We’re in this together.” I finally spotted a makeup wipe on the counter, noting that it was the only one while the rest had mysteriously disappeared. “Here.” I tore it in half and handed a piece to her.
“Where’d you find that?” Vivian’s shrill voice snapped my head to the left.
And suddenly, it was all worth it.
I cackled. “Oh my god. Are those butterfly clips?”
Vivian narrowed her eyes before her head practically spun around on her neck. Her sleek, jet-black hair flew over her shoulder. Except it lacked her usual dramatic flair.
Rainbow-colored butterfly clips had been clamped in neat rows from her hairline to the crown of her head. Spaced about every two inches apart, they shackled most of her hair, flattening it to her skull.
And calling it beauty.
When Vivian spotted Max in the mirror, she glared harder at the doorway, where he wasstilllaughing. “Max, what the fuck is this?”
He wheezed again and cleared his throat, jerking upright.
“Bonding Day.” His eyes met mine, and he smirked before he turned to the group. “Alright, Besties! Follow me.”
Vivian shrieked in outrage. “I am not going out there!”
“You can’t be serious!”
“But someone mightseeus!”
A chorus of angry female voices mobbed Max, and if they’d had pitchforks, he would’ve been in serious trouble. They didn’t stop even when he put his hands up in front of him, like he might ward off the evil of hairspray and glitter eyeshadow.
“Hey, I don’t make the rules, and if you think this is bad, just wait until the next one.” He caught my eye. “When you decorate your very own pledge paddles.” When my eyes widened, Max winked before proving he was the worst kind of tease. “Now, you can thank the King when you see him later. Grab your stuff and meet me in the limo. We have shit to do.”
He left the salon without another word.
Frowning, I lifted the makeup wipe to my face. But when I spotted something on it, I wrinkled my nose, thinking it was used. I almost tossed it away, but as I looked closer, I saw something written in the corner.
Tears pricked my eyes as I read the three tiny words.
Forgive me, love.
I walked out of the salon, clutching the wipe in my hand. Unable to use it, since it might risk destroying the message.
Even as my eyes burned, I held onto that secret note from Kingston. And the reminder that once before, my faith hadn’t been misplaced and an explanation awaited.
Maybe it wasn’t meant to send that message.
Maybe he hadn’t left it because of our conversation, and after planning our day at the salon, he’d always intended to leave it for me. A reprieve from the worst of it, before the truth came out.
As I climbed into the limo, my mind wouldn’t rest. I hated not knowing the reason behind it.
But either way, he’d still done itfor me.
One limo ride filled with bitching and moaning later, we arrived at a thrift store.
