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Seven
My damned arms hurt, and I wasn’t even finished yet.
I dropped my shoulders and tipped my head back to stare at the ceiling, grateful that I’d – finally – successfully removed the last weft of my sew-in weave, but simultaneously devastated by the knowledge that I still had to unbraid, wash, and blow dry the mass of hair that had been waiting underneath.
This shit is going to take all night.
But still, I soldiered on, as I worked on my second bottle of wine. Blake, Kora, Chloe,andNubia all had stylist recommendations for me after my fiasco earlier in the afternoon, but I’d declined all suggestions.
With my luck, the new stylist had probably been fucking my husband too.
The only safe choice was to do it on my own.
I’d convinced my girlfriends to leave me to myself, and found my way into the bathroom with my Bluetooth speaker, some wine, a pair of scissors, some hair clips, and a comb. In the mirror, I’d carefully snipped the thread holding my expensive bundles to the cornrowed hair underneath, until it was all a tangled pile on the floor. Then, I set to work taking down the braids untilmyhair – as in, the stuff that came from my scalp – was all free.
And a mess.
But, I felt lighter.
I washed and deep conditioned, taking the time to give myself a fresh mani/pedi while the products soaked into my hair. Afterward, I picked up my blow dryer, to stretch it out before I plugged up my flat iron. I didn’t make it to the straightening step before somebody knocked on the door, which brought a frown to my face.
I wasn’t expecting anybody.
Thinking quickly, I managed to tame it into an oversized bun by the time the knock sounded again, and I rushed through my suite to see who it was. I took a step back from the peephole, surprised at who was on the other side. While I was debating whether or not I wanted to answer, he knockedagain,and I took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Asher,” I said, looking up at Kellen’s best friend. “What are you doing here?”
His gray eyes widened a little, and he ran a hand over what looked to be a freshly cut fade. “A man can’t come check on a friend who’s having a tough time?”
“Is that what we are, Ash? Friends?”
He shrugged. “I mean… we used to be. You don’t call me anymore, don’t write, so maybe not.”
“Well, considering the fact that your bestie seemed to always be somewhere he shouldn’t, doing something orsomeonehe shouldn’t… I figured I’d save you the uncomfortable position of having to lie for, or defend him.”
Ash drug his full bottom lip between his teeth, chewing at it for a second before he pushed his hands into the pocket of his dark brown leather bomber. “I don’t have a rebuttal for that. Other than… thank you.”
“Mmhmm.”
Neither of us spoke for a moment, but then a slow smile spread across his handsome, lightly freckled face. “So… are you going to let me in, or not?”
I narrowed my eyes a little, considering it before I nodded. “Sure, Ash. Why not?”
I stepped aside for him to enter, not expecting the way I’d be affected by the aroma of his cologne as he passed. It wasn’t exactly the same as Kellen’s, but it was similar enough that it made my eyes water with tears I hadnointentions to shed.
“This is a nice ass hotel,” he said, looking around as I closed the door. “Pat said you were holed up in some “ten-star” hotel, but now I actually believe her.”
So that’s how he knew where to find me.
Pat was Kellen’s mother, and I’d given her my contact info at the hotel in case she needed to reach me before the funeral. Not that there was much conversation necessary between us now that Kellen was gone, but still. She was my husband’s mother.
“So you’ve talked to her? To his family?”
Ash nodded. “Yeah. They uh… wanted me to talk to the police.”
I frowned. “Talk to the police? Forwhat?”
“To… help gauge their conduct on this trip for the funeral, from what I gathered. They wanted to know… if you were guilty. If you killed him.”
