A Beautiful Forever(7)
Drumming his hands on the counter he nods. “That’s fine. I'll wait.”
A small blonde girl walks up behind him and touches his shoulder, “Um, what are you doing?” she asks, looking slightly irritated.
He inclines his head to me slightly, “I’m getting a haircut,” he tells her as a matter of fact.
I stop listening and call my next client, a chubby redhead named ‘Christine’, leaving Elliot to deal with his friend. As I shake out the black cloak to drape over her, I glance at Andrea, who raises her eyebrows at me and mouths, He’s gorgeous! Do you know him? Nodding I make the ‘sort of’ sign with my hand. She glances at him again and nods appreciatively, practically licking him with her eyes. Laughing at her, I shake my head and turn to focus on my client.
Elliot
“You don’t have to wait for me,” I tell Naomi, who is standing next to me with her arms crossed over her chest. “I can find my way back on my own.”
“It’s fine. I can wait,” she says.
“Naomi, I’m fine. Go home.”
“Oh, um… ok,” she says hesitating a little before starting to leave, regret rises within me as I start to feel bad for dismissing her so rudely.
“Listen, thanks for joining me today Naomi. It ended up being nice having someone to sight see with,” I tell her. She smiles brightly, happy with my acknowledgement and tells me she’ll see me at home.
Nodding, I look over at Paige, who is pinning up a woman’s hair so she can cut underneath. She cuts with great concentration and skill, only speaking when she needs to. I’m impressed she’s functioning so well, right now I feel like I could pass out.
Chapter 6
Paige
“You know that guy you don’t really know?” Andrea says behind me as I blow dry my current client’s hair. I nod in response, still focusing on curling the brush to create enough volume.
“Well… he’s asleep.”
“What?!" I laugh incredulously, turning my head slightly to spot him in a chair with his head slumped forward on his chest.
When I finish up with my client, I walk her to the counter, quickly offering her some product, but not caring if she takes any. I can’t seem to stop my eyes from flitting constantly to the sleeping figure in the waiting area.
The moment she leaves, I walk over to Elliot and stand in front of him as I contemplate how best to wake him.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Andrea calls out in one of those whispers that might as well be a yell, as she dashes towards me. “I want to witness this!” She stands beside me and adjusts her shirt as she prepares herself.
“What are you doing?” I ask her. She looks like she’s getting ready to catch a ball or something.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs, laughing a little. “Just wake him.”
Elliot
I jerk my head up as a loud clapping sound startles me awake. Slowly, my eyes focus and I’m met by the sight of Paige and her co-worker standing in front of me smiling their arses off.
“Jetlag can be a bit of a bitch huh?” Paige comments. “You still want that haircut?”
I scratch my head and stand up, stretching to try to bring myself fully awake. “Yeah, I still want that haircut,” I reply through a yawn.
Paige inclines her head towards the wash basins, and I follow her over taking the seat she points to. She places a towel around my neck and gets me to lean back against the hard porcelain.
As she turns the water on and tests the temperature on the back of her hand she says, “Try not to fall asleep on me, I don’t want to have to pull your hair to wake you up.”
I laugh, “I’ll do my best, but no promises.”
God, I love getting my hair washed by a hair dresser. It's freaking awesome. The way they massage your head is brilliant, and I have to say, the fact that it’s Paige doing the massaging is making it that much better.
“Alright, sit up,” she instructs as she throws a towel over my head and starts to dry it off. Once finished, she walks me over to a chair and drapes a waterproof cape over my clothes, securing it around my neck.
“Just a trim, or you going for a whole new style?” she asks.
“I have no idea, what do you think?”
She smiles to herself, and I think I catch a bit of an eye roll. “Well, if it were up to me, I’d shave it off - I like very short hair on guys,” she replies, her eyes on me via the mirror.
“How short are we talking?” I ask, suddenly worried she might try and shave my head bald.
“A number four,” she tells me, and I can see the challenge in her eye.
I look at my hair in the mirror. It's gotten long to the point that it gets in my eyes and almost touches my shoulders. “Number four it is,” I say seriously, holding her eyes in the mirror.
She raises her eyebrows slightly and nods, preparing the clippers to buzz all of my hair off. I’m a little nervous, but hair grows back… right?
Paige
I really didn’t think he’d go for it, so I’m a little surprised right now, and impressed. Truthfully, I do truthfully like guys with super short hair. I love the way it feels when you run your hand over the spikes. I just didn’t think an Adonis like Elliot would contemplate cutting off his locks on a whim.
As I lift the clippers towards his hair, I look at him in the mirror. “Are you sure?” I ask. He looks at me and nods confidently, so I take the strip of hair away straight down the middle of his head.
“Can’t change your mind now,” I tease.
He laughs, “I don’t want to.”
I run the clippers slowly through his hair, watching as his locks cascade over his shoulders and slide down the cape towards the floor.
“Where are you staying?” he asks.
“Heathrow, near the airport. I’m there for a couple of weeks until I find a share house. First stop was a job though.”
“You got a job in a day?”
“I got a trial in a day.”
“She got a job in a day,” Andrea interrupts. “As long as she wants it of course.”
I pause and smile at Andrea, “Really? Thank you Andrea.”
“Well, you’re good and I need help. It’s a win win.” She winks at me and carries some wet towels into the back room.
“Congratulations,” Elliot says to me smiling.
“Thank you,” I can’t help but smile back. I am so glad the job part is sorted out now.
“Can I take you to dinner to celebrate?”
“Oh… I don’t know about that,” I hesitate as I finish neatening his hair and put the clippers down. I reach for a soft powdered brush to flick away the excess hair on his neck. Gliding my hand over the short spikes, a delicious chill runs through me as I touch him, perhaps a little more than I should. I take a deep breath, knowing I need to put a stop to this. “Listen, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here Elliot. I can see the way you look at me, and I can’t give you what you want. You’re a great-looking guy. I'd be a fool not to notice that, but I need to be clear - I’m not the girl for you.”
He sits up and spins his chair so he’s facing me now, “Paige, while I’m flattered that you think I’m so great-looking – you’ve got the wrong idea yourself. I think it would be pointless to start anything with anyone. Especially with you, I only have three months, and you are here indefinitely. However, you’re the first girl I’ve met in a long time that doesn’t giggle every time I speak, so I like you, I’d like to get to know you… if you’ll let me - as friends.”
I narrow my eyes slightly at him, not sure that I believe him, but I have to admit that there is logic in his reasoning…, and I am hungry. “Alright, fine. We can have dinner.”
Elliot
“I’ll tell you what,” I say. “I’ll take you to the flat I’m staying in, and we can see what everyone else is doing, it can’t possibly be a date that way. Plus, you’ll get to meet some new people.”
I can see the wheels turning in her head as she considers my proposal, “Where are you staying?”
“About a five-minute walk from here.”
“Ok, fine, just give me time to finish up, and I’ll meet you outside.” She walks me to the register, and I pay for my haircut. I can’t stop running my hand back and forward over my head. It feels strange and awesome all at the same time.
She’s smiling as she watches me do it, “See, feels good huh?”
“It does,” I admit. “I’ll see you when you’re through.” She nods, and I walk out the door as she flips the sign to ‘closed’ behind me. I’m waiting maybe ten minutes before she comes out with her bag.