“Oh I definitely will,” Lake says, too amused, and I only have myself to blame. He shuts the door, then asks, “Shoes off?”
At this rate, seeing his socks would probably arouse me, so does it even matter? “Yes, please.”
He toes off his sneakers, then pads quietly into my home.
“Sit, please,” I say, gesturing to the chair.
I’d really better keep this businesslike. Friendly. Co-worker-y. I don’t want to cross any lines with him. He asked for a haircut, not a blow job.
Great. Just great.Now I’m thinking of getting down on my knees and my brain can seriously screw off.
Before he sits, he nods to the windowsill with my family of succulents. “Looks good there.”
“It does,” I say, a little warm all over again as I glance at the Ruby Glow. “It was sweet of you. And, in retrospect, it’s helpful for the whole backstory.”
“I wanted to cheer you up.” He holds my gaze in that intense way he has. It’s so disarming, the steadiness in his eyes, and the passion too.
“It definitely made me feel good. Someday, my plants will become real pets. Four legs and all.”
“I like that plan.” He glances at the plant, then me. “And this one suits you. Ruby lips and all.”
Heat roars inside me once more as his gaze drifts to my mouth, to my lips outlined in ruby red.
We’re talking about a succulent, and I’m definitely wet. The irony.
He parks himself in the chair at last, relaxing casually, legs slightly spread, smirk in full force. “Want to make sure it’s wet enough?”
I close my eyes briefly, fighting off another onslaught of inappropriate lust, fighting off the urge to take him up on his offer. Trying to figure out, too, if he’s just taunting me.
But whatever the answer is, I want to do a good job. I want to earn an A-plus in cutting his hair. I open my eyes. “Yes, the scissors will slide so much more easily through a nice wet head of hair.”
After I set a towel around his shoulders and neck, I grab the water bottle, move behind him, and spray his locks, dampening them once more and taking control at last.
When I’m done, I set the bottle down, grab the scissors, then say, “What’s the plan, Mr. Hockey? Buzz cut? Undercut? Messy and short? Just a couple of inches off the bottom? Or stylist’s choice?”
He cranes his face, looking up at me, his eyes glimmering darkly. “Surprise me, Remy.”
This man and his love of surprises. He’s hard to keep up with. But when someone sayssurprise me,you ought to deliver. I drag the comb through his hair, making sure everything’s even as the ends hit his shoulders. As I’m sliding the teeth through a chunk near his ear, I try to remember a time when Lake had short hair. I’m coming up empty though. “So tell me, what inspired you to chop off thefinest flowin hockey?” I ask as I set down the comb and reach for the scissors.
“Just trying to impress my girlfriend,” he says, all cocky and nonchalant.
I move around him to meet his gaze. “And you think she likes short hair?”
“I don’t think she wants to ever picture her wedding date in a man bun, so…yeah.”
I huff out a laugh. “What makes you think that?”
“Call it a hunch. My hunches are usually right.” He pauses. “You a man bun fan?”
I snap the scissors open and closed. If he’s going to have fun I am too. I move behind him once more, line up the scissors at the nape of his neck, and slice off a healthy four inches. I hold up the chunk of wet hair to his face. “What do you think?”
I can feel him smile, rather than see it as he says, “I think I was right. You like short hair.”
That fluttery feeling descends on me once more. Like butterflies are setting up camp in my chest.Must ignore.I open the blades again, position them against another section, then snip. “Maybe I do,” I say, as the hair falls to the floor.
I move along the back of his head, working meticulously, painstakingly as I cut his hair, giving him a neat, trim look. Then I move to the front, where his hair falls in a swoop near his ear.
“Time to trim this up too,” I say, but then pause, standing in front of him, assessing where it’s best to position myself. The problem with trimming the front of his hair is I need to get a little closer to him.
