But best to keep those last few descriptors to myself.
“Really?” Charlotte seemed surprised, and her gaze didn’t hesitate at all to slide over those few inches to study Drew.
I collected a section of hair from her crown and made a long, slow pull upward, sweeping the strands toward my face. “Yep.” On an angle, I closed the shear’s blades and the cutting edge did its job.
“You know he’s into you, though, right?”
The hand with the comb paused over her head before descending back into her damp locks. “He just takes immense pleasure in annoying me.”
“Exactly.” Her eyes gleamed.
If annoying me equaled interest, then half the population must have a massive crush on me.
Charlotte snickered. “My husband is the same way, so trust me on this. He always says he only teases the people he likes, and he is unceasing in his teasing of me.” She gave me a long-suffering look that didn’t hide her secret delight. “Aren’t I a lucky woman?”
Did boys not grow up to be men and leave behind the playground antics of pulling the braids of the girls they liked?
Greg had never been the type of guy to wink and flirt. When I’d met him, I’d thought to myself,Finally, a man mature enough to not play games.And I hadn’t meant Monopoly. So many of my friends were getting hurt by the dating game. Greg had been refreshingly serious and straightforward. He’d never made my knees go weak or chased thoughts from my head, but I’d liked that about him. Not until later did I learn that wasn’t who Greg was…just who he was with me.
Camille emerged from the breakroom, her arms raised and hands behind her head to adjust a bobby pin in her updo. “I’m back,” she announced.
Stacy took a hair foil from the box. “We’ve got a walk in. He’s waiting if you want to take care of him.”
“Sure.” She went and greeted Drew, leading him back to her station, which just so happened to neighbor mine. As he passed behind me, the air shifted. A change in the atmosphere. What other reason would I have to lift my gaze? His eyes met mine and something within those ginger flecks put me on alert.
He stepped behind the divider, and a few seconds later the click of the metal snaps of the cape being secured at the back of his neck filled the void he’d left behind.
“Great weather we’re having today, isn’t it?” Camille’s voice floated over the partition separating our spaces.
“Makes me glad I don’t live up in Minnesota or Wisconsin. I saw on the news that they’ve already been hit with their first major snowstorm. So early, too.”
Even if I hadn’t known Drew sat just feet away, I’d have been able to recognize the voice as his. Somewhere between a baritone and a tenor, the timbre held a unique quality—deep, strong, and pleasant. A person didn’t have to concentrate to hear the smile in his words. His good humor saturated every syllable.
“That sounds awful,” Camille agreed.
Drew chuckled, the sound not quite sincere to my ears. “And the environmentalists want us to believe climate change is a real threat,” he scoffed.
Camille gave a nervous chuckle, but didn’t offer any form of rebuttal.
“I know some sources are calling it ‘extreme weather’”—even with his disembodied voice, I could hear his air quotes—“but there’s been extreme weather on this planet for as far back as there’s been a record.”
Was he serious? And could a person actually feel their blood pressure rising? Each vertebra in my spine locked in place, one after the other. And that “extreme weather” brewed in my gut, swirling like the beginning of a funnel cloud.
“I heard that Mars was warming, and it doesn’t even have an atmosphere or people to produce greenhouse gasses to destroy it,” Drew continued his monologue. “Also, that greenhouse gases aren’t even the cause of climate change—if we even admit to such a thing—but that the increase in temperature is really a result of the sun, volcanoes, and other natural sources.” He paused.
Around and around my middle spun.
“But seriously, the meteorologists can’t even predict next week’s weather. How in the world can they make future predictions accurately? And not that I believe everything scientists say, because they’re only out for personal gain and those with any dissenting beliefs are being stifled, and, I mean, hello, Climategate scandal, but I read an article by a scientist the other day—”
Touchdown. I couldn’t contain the force of the fury within me a minute longer. Two stomps to the side and I planted myself in Drew’s line of sight through the mirror’s reflection.
“First, over ninety-five percent of climate experts agree that humans are abusing this planet and causing climate change.”
A slight twitch tugged at Drew’s cheeks.
“Second, climate and weather are two different things. Cold temperatures and snowfall levels do not negate climate change.”
His lips settled into a smirk.
