I was glad I did.
The bell jingled when the door opened, and in walked Freddie, the department of corrections officer who fitted me with my ankle monitor.
I plastered the biggest smile on my face as I walked toward him.
“Hello. Freddie, right?” I purred. “Are you here to cuff me?”
I ignored the snarl I heard behind me, but when Tony’s hands landed on my waist, I yelped as he pulled me back against him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked Freddie.
“Came to get a haircut,” Freddie said, his eyes on where Tony was holding me.
I expected him to let go of me and step away, but Tony tightened his grip on me, and I clamped my lips shut to suppress the moan barreling its way up my chest.
“The shop’s closed,” Tony growled.
That was all it took to pull me out of my stupor. “It’s not,” I countered. “We’re open until seven. Come with me.”
I turned to glare at Tony as I walked past him and grabbed a cape. I placed my hands on the back of the chair and smiled at Freddie in the mirror as he sat down.
“High and tight?” I asked with a seductive lilt in my voice.
“Yes, sir,” he answered with a smile of his own.
I leaned down and stage-whispered, “I believe that’s my line.”
Tony grabbed my arm and said, “Simon, a word,” as he dragged me toward the back room.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I work for tips. You don’t have a problem when I flirt with Goliath.”
“Because Gunner isn’t fucking gay. And for the record, I absolutely have a fucking problem with it.”
“Well, too fucking bad,” I hissed. “I’m single, or haven’t youheard? Fucking at a sex club and ignoring a person every other fucking day of the year does not make a relationship.”
I stormed back out to the salon and plastered a smile on my face.
“I can come back,” Freddie said.
“Nonsense. I was just reminding mylawyerthat I’m well aware of my rights.”
I heard his footsteps following behind me. I expected him to sit at the table in the corner where he had been working all day. Instead, he planted his ass against the mirror in Sadie’s station, which was right next to me.
He crossed his arms and locked his eyes on mine. I rolled my eyes at him and did my best to ignore his caveman attitude that he wasn’t even entitled to have.
He doesn’t want a life with me!
“I’ll start with the clippers, while I tidy everything up, then we’ll move to the shampoo bowl.”
Freddie kept his eyes on me in the mirror and smiled. “Sounds good.”
The only sound in the room was a rhythmic hum of the clippers as I trimmed Freddie’s hair. When I switched them off, the silence was deafening. I hadn’t realized how awkward the salon could get without Sadie and Carly here to fill the void.
“Follow me,” I said when I was done brushing the loose hairs from Freddie’s neck.
He sat down at the shampoo bowl and leaned back with his head in the bowl. I turned the water on, testing it until it was warm but not too hot. Freddie stared at my face the entire time.
