Bet on It (19)

She also recognized how much she hated being pushed when she obviously didn’t want to talk about something though. Trying her hardest to extend Miri the same courtesy, she bit down on her words.

“I saw some on your page that were kind of like … marbled?” She thought back to Miri’s Instagram. Out of all the gorgeous designs, those had stood out.

“Oh yeah, I did those for my friend Jade. I was inspired by a picture of this tacky-ass bathroom that was floor-to-ceiling marble,” she snorted. “I wanted to take that idea and make it … not shitty, I guess. They’d be real pretty on you. What are you thinkin’ in terms of color? We could do a white base or … maybe red, but I think I like pink for you. We could put some gold and gray in there, glam it up a bit.”

Aja wouldn’t have described herself as glamorous, but Miri sounded so excited at the prospect that Aja probably would have agreed to mini portraits of Big Bird if it looked like it would make the other woman happy.

“Let’s do it,” she said.

Miri grinned, big and white, and Aja’s stomach flipped. Was there a word for something that felt an awful lot like a crush but wasn’t? Something that didn’t connotate romance but felt similar in so many ways? Whatever this feeling was, Aja hadn’t felt it in a long time. Not since she’d been young and found herself on one side of a budding new friendship. It was exciting and scary, and she was probably going to spend an inordinate amount of time later making sure her brain understood that Miri was only being nice because she had to. She wasn’t trying to be Aja’s friend. Aja had come for a service, and Mira was providing it—and doing an excellent job, no less.

Miri was diligent. She prepared the tools she needed for the designs as Aja soaked her hands. During the hand massage portion they decided that instead of acrylic tips, they would just strengthen Aja’s natural nails and do the art on top, using gel polish.

Aja watched in awe as Miri worked, constantly surprised that the other woman was able to carry on a conversation as she created spectacular artwork on such a small scale. Aja sat as still as possible, her eyes glued to the marbled nails slowly coming together in front of her. They spoke some about Aja’s work—Miri seemed incredibly tickled that she was working as the manager of an account she’d definitely seen on Twitter. They also talked about how Miri had gotten into her career. Aja admired the story of the little girl who’d started cleaning up in her aunt’s salon to make extra money to take home to her mother and became enamored with the beauty of nails. Her own career was born out of necessity rather than passion. And while that was perfectly fine with her, she enjoyed seeing people who did something they felt called to do.

For all the problems Fresh Coat may have had, Miri obviously loved it. She was warm and funny and her passion for her work was infectious. Even before they’d finished, Aja had decided that making regular trips there would be a regular part of her schedule. She might not make friends, but she could have this. It was a connection, even if it was temporary and transactional.

When she was finished, Miri took time to inspect her work. Her eyes were sharp as she looked over each of Aja’s nails. Aja wasn’t sure what she was searching for, nor did she see anything she would change. Still, Miri would go back with more polish in some spots or gold dusting in others. The result was more stunning than Aja had imagined.

Each nail had a pale pink base. The faux marble design was darker pink and gray in some spots, and white and gold in others. The designs were incredibly cohesive, but clearly done by hand rather than a stencil. Each nail had slight differences, little cracks or shades, making each one unique. Aja wasn’t sure how she was going to tear her eyes away from them long enough to get anything done.

When Miri was finally satisfied, she made sure Aja was happy before guiding her hands underneath a UV light to dry. They were quiet as Miri went about sanitizing the station.

“You got any plans tonight?” Miri asked almost absent-mindedly. “A hot date?”

Aja snorted. She was excited but nervous as hell about her plans with Walker for the night, and she sure as hell wouldn’t have called them “hot.” “I’m uh … I’m going to bingo actually.”

“Bingo?” Miri made no effort to hide the mirth on her face. “Like, real bingo, or are you talking about some new club I don’t know about?”

“Yeah, actual bingo.” Aja cleared her throat. “I go every week. It helps me get out of the house.”

Miri’s full lips turned down, along with her eyebrows. “Baby girl, if you need to get out the house there are tons of things you can do besides sitting around with them mean old ladies that go to the Greenbelt City Bingo Hall. You know … they ran my granny out after accusing her of cheating by screwing one of the bingo callers. As if my granny would mess around with one of them boring old duds,” she scoffed.

They shared a laugh. Aja understood where she was coming from. There was a reason she was the youngest person there, but bingo had saved her sanity more than once, and she wasn’t ashamed of it.

“I’m … not really outgoing.” That wasn’t the whole story, but it was the only explanation she was willing to give. “I get anxious around new people, and I don’t know that many people in town, so … bingo is what helps me socialize right now.”

Miri eyed her for a few silent moments before her gaze went soft.