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“It’s like, the most perfectly conditioned hair I’ve ever seen in my life. You could side-gig as a model for shampoo commercials. Do you use hair masks?”
“Yeah, sometimes I’ll do a hair and face mask.”
“Can we do them together?”
I grinned. “Yeah, of course. I also have those really good pimple patches. Not that you get pimples.”
“I get pimples. I’ve got one right now.” She leaned down until her face appeared right beside mine and pointed at her chin. “See?”
My breath caught as I turned my head, my eyes almost crossing as I tried to focus on the little red pimple on her chin from so close. Her mouth was right there. Clearing my throat, I said, “Oh.”
“That means my period’s on its way,” she said with a sigh, leaning back and raking her fingers through my hair again.
I quickly tried to catalogue what was in the millions of boxes in my Room of Shame. “I might have a hot water bottle you can use when you get it.”
“Thanks, Greid,” she said with a smile in her voice, squeezing my shoulders before returning to my hair. “Sure you’re not bored sitting there? This is harder than I thought it’d be.”
“No, I’m fine,” I said quickly. Please don’t stop playing with my hair. “Totally comfortable.”
“Good. Oh shit, I missed what Ashi just said.”
I focused on the TV. “She told Huna that she’s going out for dinner with her girlfriends, but she’s actually going to meet Golir for a sexy rendezvous.”
Beryl huffed in annoyance. “How does Huna not realise she’s boning Golir like, all the time?”
“Because he’s too busy boning Loty and conspiring to take out Marish with her.”
We hadn’t finished Our Neighbours the Humans yet, but we’d decided to watch Gloom Falls while we hung out before Beryl went to work. She’d been working at the bar for almost two weeks now, and she loved it more and more with every shift. I could see her confidence returning and growing, and I knew she liked having a routine, even though her shifts were at different times depending on the day.
I was really proud of her, but she didn’t need me to tell her that. She knew it. She was proud of herself too, and that was what mattered.
“Okay, they’re probably gonna be messy and uneven, but I’m just gonna do it.” Beryl gathered one side of my hair up and started securing it again. “I’ll make your hair all greasy if I keep playing with it like this.”
“I don’t mind. We can do the masks later if you want, when you get home, so I’ll wash it then.”
“Sounds good.” She tied up the other side and fussed with them for a bit. “Okay, let me see.”
I shifted around in the cradle of her legs to face her, and Beryl’s face lit up.
“They look really good.” She reached out and adjusted one. “A little uneven, but they suit you. You look pretty.”
My ears fluttered wildly as I grinned at her. “Thanks.” I bobbed my head side to side so they’d wobble, just to make her laugh.
She did. And then she cupped my face in her small hands and leaned in to kiss my cheek.
We both froze. My hearts started pounding, sweat beading under my arms as my entire body grew warm. I went light-headed for a second, but maybe the space buns were just too tight.
Quickly dropping her hands, Beryl sat back as her freckled cheeks turned bright pink. “Sorry, I-I shouldn’t have done that without asking you—”
“It’s okay,” I croaked, resisting the intense desire to clutch her legs and beg her to do it again. “I…”
We stared at each other in silence. My breath caught in my throat when Beryl’s green eyes drifted down to my mouth.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck—
“Greid,” she said hoarsely, one of her hands slowly lifting toward my face again.
The doorbell made us both jump violently, and Beryl dropped her hand with a little laugh, eyes darting to the living room door.
