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I’m almost twenty seven,so it’s time to settle down. The more I get to knowmore aboutRylie, the more I want her to be the one I settle down with, but I have no idea how to get her to truly let me in. Maybe I should talk to Mum. She’s a woman. Maybe she’ll know what to do. I turn the car around and head to my parents’.
As soon as I walk in the door, my Mum walks into the foyer. “Hey Sweetie.” She says then looks at her watch. “What are you doing home so early?You never get home from a night out until closer to three in the morning.”
I shrug, “I need to talk.”
She walks up and takes my hand. We walk into the den and sit down on the sofa. “What’s wrong sweetheart?”
“It’s that woman I told you about. I think… I know that I am falling for her.” I go on to tell Mum about everything that happened to Rylie, or at least the parts that I knew.
“Like I said before, she is still healing. You have to give her time. If not, you will scare her off.”
“Bullshit.” My Dad says, as he walks into the room. “You give that girl time, she will run away. You keep at her. Every day! Don’t push her, but be there for her. Prove to her that you won’t hurt her like that bastard did. Be the man I taught you to be.”
“How do I do that without pushing her away?”
Dad shakes his head. “You be her friend, but make sure she knows that you want more. When she gives you an opening, you jump right through it.”
“Your Dad’s right about most of what he said, but I don’t agree with the friend part. Yes, you can be her friend, but she needs a woman to talk to. I know just the person.” Mum finishes with a smile.
I head back to my room and think about everything that just happened. Is this seriously happening? Why is this shit so hard? “Igotta get outta here,” I mutter. I change my clothes and throw on basketball shorts and a tee. I put on my sneakers, grab my iPod and head out.
I walk into the night and start running. Rylie’s face, her voice, everything about her runs through my mind. I can’t stop thinking about her. She’s messing with me, but I am not going to turn away from her.
Chapter 12
Rylie
It’s been a week since that night withDerek, but he hasn’t brought it up. We still see each other every day. He brings me coffee, which I always hand over to Erika when he leaves, and I always bring him lunch. I snap my head up from my appointment book when I hear the bell over the door go off.
“Rylie, your two o’clock is here,” Erika says as she walks a very pretty, middle aged woman towards my chair.
“Rylie, this is Elizabeth. She’s up next.” She says and walks away.
I shake Elizabeth’s hand and lead her into the chair.
“Hello Elizabeth, I’m Rylie. What would you liketo have done to your hair today?”
“Oh sweetie, I know who you are. I hear about you all the time. That’s why I decided to come in.” Elizabeth says with an easy smile.
“Well that’s great! I love it when clients send me new people. It lets me know that I’m doing a good job.”
“Oh it wasn’t a client. Well I guess he does get his hair cuthere, so that makes him a client, but I think that he is more of a friend to you.”
I start to get a little nervous. I do not like the idea of one of my male clients thinking of me as a friend.
“What’s his name?” I ask, although I’m not really sure that I want to know the answer.
“Derek. He’s my son, and honey, he talks about you all of the time!”
I stop what I am doing and meet her gaze in the mirror. She’s calmly sitting in the black salon chair with a warm smile on her face, patiently waiting for my response. What the hell is going on?
“Um… I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but this is kind of weird.”
Elizabeth laughs, "I wanted to come meet you, my dear. Why don't you go ahead and get started, that way I can take you out for lunch afterwards." I nod and do as she says. Suddenly feeling nervous, I remind myself that I really do not want to mess this up, and I take a deep breath. Slowly working through Elizabeth’s immaculate hair, I’m careful to make sure that each strand is perfect. Elizabeth quietly reads a fashion magazine. I still cannot believe she is here. I’m going to kill Derek! I also want to know why he feels like he can talk about me to his mum. Last I checked, I am not his girlfriend and we are nowhere near being best friends, so what gives? As if the whole situation with Derek didn’t make me anxious to begin with! I don’t think he’ll hurt me the way Caleb did, but a part of me, a big part of me, is nervous. Can you blame me? I have been through hell and back. People are always leaving my life, so I don’t have anyone to really hang out with other than Erika, who is great, and Melody, who is my bitch for life. But if I’m truly honest with myself, deep down I know that something is missing from my life, which is part of the reason I hate going home alone. The house is too quiet, and even though I want to fill the void, I need to be careful.
After almost forty-five minutes, I finish up Elizabeth’s hair. Iend up adding short layers in to her strawberry blonde hair, and after a quick chat with her about how she felt about bangs, I also added a sophisticated side bang to her already stylish tresses. Elizabeth was absolutely gorgeous to begin with, but with the volume that she’s rocking now, she looks amazing. After I add in some soft curls and spray her hair with hair spray, I double check to make sure everything is perfect. Humming my approval, I remove her cloak and start to sweep up her sheared locks. Elizabeth quietly watches me until I’m done, then gets up and gives me a hug, “Thank you, beautiful girl. Now come on. Let’s go grab some lunch.”
She loops her arm through mineas we walk out through the salon’s doors. Just like with her son, I’m starting to feel comfortable with Elizabeth, even though I’ve only known her for a short period of time. There is just something about her that makes me feel safe. While we stroll down the street, I listen to her talk about how great it is that I have my own business. She tells me how talented I am and that she sees great things in the future for me. I’m hesitant to say much, but I do listen. She goes on to tell me that Derek speaks highly of me and now she sees why. After walking a block in the hot summer heat, Elizabeth walks in to a local Italian restaurant and we are immediately greeted by a young hostess dressed in very formal attire. One look at her, and I know that this place is way out of my price range, but I’m too embarrassed to say anything to Elizabeth, since she is the one that chose to eat here. I figure I can just order the cheapest thing on the menu, but as we begin walking along with the hostess to our booth, I begin to think that this place may not know the meaning of the word “cheap.”
