Chapter Three

The ringing of bells on the door handle broke me out of my thoughts. I placed the broom and pan against the wall and bent down to grab the trash, only gazing at the door. “I’m sorry we’re closed.”

“Oh �" I’m sorry. Nina told me to come in at 7:30 for a haircut.” A male voice echoed through the emptiness of the salon.

 

I turned my head to look at him and my cheeks immediately flushed pink. I went back to cleaning, hoping to hide my embarrassment and silently cursed my cheeks for always alerting me and everyone else in the room whenever I was attracted to a member of the opposite sex.  I tied the trash into a knot before finally standing to look at him. “Nina left about a half an hour ago. She didn’t mention any more appointments for the day. Would you like me to call her for you?” 

 

He ran a hand through his messy brown hair sheepishly and smiled. “She finally talks me into coming to her salon to get a real haircut and then she forgets. Classic Nina.” He laughed as he spoke.

 

“A real haircut? As opposed to the fake kind you usually get?” I questioned, returning his smile while willing my cheeks to return to their normal color.

“Nina has been trying to convince me that going to any other hairdresser besides herself won’t qualify as getting a real haircut.” His hands were tucked in his pockets shyly as he hovered in the doorway.

 

“That is what I lovingly refer to as Nina logic.” I joked as I walked behind the counter and looked at her appointment book. Sure enough, I saw the name “Lark” scribbled lazily next to “haircut” in her 7:30 slot. I shook my head and smirked. “Looks like she forgot about you. Let me give her a call.” I said as I picked up the phone and cradled it between my ear and shoulder.

 

He stepped closer to the desk. “No, that’s not necessary. I’ll just figure something else out until I see her again.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. You’re already here and she lives nearby. Besides, I don’t think she’d forgive me if I let you walk out of here without getting a real haircut.” I winked and smiled. He smiled back and rested his keys and hands on the front desk counter.  

 

Am I flirting? I thought as I dialed Nina’s number. It’s hard to tell as my only male interaction lately has been with Frank (my pug) and the incredibly gay hair care vendors. I consider the fact that I didn’t call him ‘Momma’s best boy’ or tried to talk his shampoo prices down a vast improvement in my social skills.

 

Loud music and talking blared from the salon phone. “HELLO?” Nina shouted from the other end. I held the phone away from my ear, remembering that Thursday night always meant that happy hour extended until 2am for Nina and the rest of the salon girls. Sadly, I used to be included on this tradition until I began avoiding any late night social activities that required clothes that weren’t flannel pajamas.

“Nina, you forgot you had a haircut appointment before you left. He’s here waiting for you.” I shouted into the receiver.

 

“Who? What appointment? I thought I had the night off in my book.” She let out a groan of aggravation.  “I’m way too inebriated to be trusted with scissors. Can you just do it Luce?” I chewed on my lip nervously. Extend my interaction beyond my charming and strangely out of character small talk? I think not.

“It’s for your friend Lark. I think he’d prefer you to cut his hair. Do you want me to reschedule him?” I smiled up at him and his wide green eyes were staring back at me. My stomach flipped as he smirked at me. Oh boy. I quickly looked away from him and doodled busily in my appointment book. My eyes shifted back up sheepishly to meet his stare again but he had moved himself off the counter and was slowly walking around looking at the shelves of hair care products.

“Ohhhh! Shoot.” I heard the music in the background fade as I assume she walked outside. “I’m such a moron.”

 

 “No argument here.” I said and laughed quietly.

 

“Alright, alright.  Your reputation as superior stylist remains in tact. But listen Luce, I really can’t come back now due to the three martinis I just drank. Can you just do this for me? He’s my brother’s friend and I owe him a haircut. Besides, I’m completely booked tomorrow. Please!”

I looked up at Lark and took in his features. His cheeks were rosy from the cold and he was absentmindedly playing with the fringe on his plaid scarf. He had a slightly crooked smile that never seemed to leave his face. He had the kind of unassuming and humble good looks that I would typically fall for sight unseen. Now, with my London departure looming on the horizon and my romance capability at an all time low, I had to put on my professional face.

 

“Can’t you just book him for next week?” I whispered as I spun my swivel chair around so my back faced Lark.

“That’s the thing �" I think he needs the haircut for something this weekend. My brother was telling me all about it but you know how much I pay attention to him when he talks.” She paused.  “I dimly recall something about a local music show? Anyway, Lark is way too nice to make a big deal about it. But I’ll feel awful if he leaves without one. Please Luce. Just this once? For me?”

 

Well that explains my attraction to him. I have been a magnet for musicians since I was thirteen. Granted that counted my first boyfriend who played the clarinet in band and had a special retainer holster strapped to his belt but hey, a musician is a musician.

 

I sighed. “Fine. But you owe me.” I hung up on her before she began her predictable drunken ode to our friendship.

Lark’s back was to me, a gray hood peaking out over his leather jacket. I took a quick look in the mirror next to me and tried to straighten the stray blonde hairs that had come apart from my messy side braid. 

 

“Lark?” 

He turned around and smiled, placing a tube of hair gel back on the shelf. “Is she coming in?”

 

“No…she’s out at a bar actually and if you care anything about the way you look, then she’s probably not the most qualified to cut your hair right now. But, I’m also a hairdresser and I’d be happy to give you a haircut if you want.”

 

“Sure. That sounds great. As long as you don’t mind…it sort of looked like you were closing.”

 

I waved my hand in dismissal at him. “Not at all. Believe me; I have hours of work ahead of me. This will be like a welcome break.” I smiled and gestured to the shampoo station.

 

“Cool. I appreciate it.” He took a seat in the chair and leaned his head back into the sink. I managed a shaky exhale as I pumped shampoo into my hand. I usually handed off our younger male clients to Nina or our resident flirt, Jen. It’s incredibly unusual for an adorable guy to be sitting in my chair unless he carried along a teddy bear or wore suspenders and subscribed to AARP.  Lark certainly didn’t fit into either category.

 

“So are you the owner?” Lark asked as I massaged the suds that had formed on his head.  His eyes looked up at me, momentarily stopping all function of my knee caps.

 

“Yeah … It still feels weird being called the owner but I guess that’s what I’ve been for the past two years now.” I stopped myself from explaining Nina’s perpetual takeover of the salon and my departure to London. It’s best to keep conversation short and strictly hair related.

 

“It’s a nice place. I’ve driven by it a bunch of times but I never actually came in. Nina’s been trying to get me in here since it opened.” 

I carefully cupped my hand over his forehead as I washed the shampoo out of his hair. His eyes closed as the hot water ran down towards his neck. I had never noticed how intimate hair washing could be until this very moment. 

“Well I’m glad you came in tonight.” I said as I ran conditioner through his scalp. His eyes opened and he smiled up at me. “I mean, you know,” I cleared my throat and rubbed my forearm across my nose nervously, “so you could finally see what Nina was talking about.” I knew my charisma was bound to wear off. It was only a matter of time before I became a stuttering, rambling and hopelessly pink cheeked mess.

 

“Me too.” He agreed, rolling his shoulders in an attempt to get comfortable.

 

“So how do you know Nina?” I asked as I pulled the conditioner through to his ends. 

“I met her brother Chris a few years ago through different local musicians. I recorded an album at his studio and I met Nina there. She’s definitely a trip.” 

I nodded in realization of Nina’s connection to Lark. Her brother operated a small recording studio from the basement of the house he bought a few years ago. As soon as he moved in, Nina and I quickly learned that where you find Chris, you’ll also find a group of good looking young musicians. I’ve avoided his house lately specifically for that reason.

 

I couldn’t help but agree with his assessment of Nina. Being friends with her has supplied me with twenty years of endless situational comedy.  “She certainly is a trip. That’s why I love her.” Lark grinned and closed his eyes again as I continued to massage his scalp.

 

I finished rinsing in silence and furiously scrubbed his hair with a towel before walking over to my station.  My cowboy boots clicking on the hardwood floor was the only sound echoing through the salon. I quickly flipped the music switch on the wall and acoustic guitar filled the spaces the silence had left behind.

 

“Do you mind if I take my coat off?” He asked as he followed me to my station.

 

“Not at all. Here, let me take it for you.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket and handed it to me. A comforting smell of outside air and pine met my nose as I hung his coat in our hallway closet. I silently scolded myself for letting my attraction to Lark seep through the impenetrable wall I constructed against members of the opposite sex. I mean, what is it with me and my attraction to the smell of men’s jackets anyway? They hand it over to me, and boom, one whiff and I’m sold.

I turned back around to see Lark standing at my station, bending forward slightly to look at the pictures I had taped to the edge of the mirror.

 

“Is this your dog?” He asked as he pointed to a picture of Frank with Santa. I laughed and grabbed a cape from my cart. 

“It definitely is. That’s Frank. He’s a big Santa fan.” I joked, hoping to deflect the lame fact that I actually took my dog to see Santa dressed in a Christmas sweater. Lark laughed as he sat back in my chair. I pumped the chair up so his head was closer to my torso.

 

“He’s a funny looking guy.” Lark observed, smiling at me in the mirror. 

“Oh yeah, don’t let the crooked teeth and misshapen eyes fool you though. He’s a ladies’ man.”  

 

“I believe it. I have the world’s ugliest bulldog but he gets some serious female attention when we go to the dog park. Guy’s a stud.”  I smile, keeping my focus on the back of his head as I assess his hair. Yes, and I’m sure none of that female attention is directed toward the owner of the dog. However, I’m sure Lark doesn’t notice the attention because he’s tragically loyal to his beautiful, super model girlfriend who brings along her tiny, perfect looking Chihuahua and they hold hands while talking about how charmed their lives are. I bite down on my lip and bring my bitter thoughts back to the head of hair sitting in front of me. 

 

“So what are we doing here Lark? Do you just want a trim? Do you need a new style?”

 

“You know, I wasn’t aware I had a style. I just kind of,” He ran his hands through his wet hair and shook his head. “do that and I’m done.”

 

“I would believe that style is called bed head. I can work with that.” I replied with a smile as I mentally decided to give him a quick, low maintenance trim.

 

“So do you ever go with Frank?” Lark asked as I began cutting his hair. 

“To see Santa?” I asked. Does he think I would actually go and sit with Frank on Santa’s lap in a matching outfit? That would make me some kind of psychotic, obsessive dog owner. (As were Nina’s exact words to me as she demanded I change before I left the house that day).

 

Lark smiled. “Well, sure…to see Santa or to the dog park by the beach.”

“Oh!” I covered my mouth with my hand and laughed. “No, I’ve never been. Isn’t it kind of too cold to go now?”

His eyes were glued to me in the mirror. An amused expression registered on his face as he watched me giggle. I immediately brought my hand back to his hair, pretending to concentrate on his part as a wave of self consciousness crashed over me.  Gavin always thought my habit of covering my mouth whenever I laughed made me look childish, or ‘juvenile and immature’ as he so lovingly put it. After a year away from him, I can finally laugh without having to worry about keeping my hand away from my face. Although it’s proving to be hard to shake the doubt that maybe Gavin was right.

 

His eyes broke away from me and focused on the ring he twisted around his middle finger. “It’s definitely cold but it’s still a good time. Bug will run in any weather.”

 

“Bug’s a cute name. He does sound like quite the catch.”

 

“He is. You know, I’m sorry �" I feel like a moron but I never caught your name.” 

“I’m Lucy.”

 

“Lucy and Frank huh?”

“Lark and Bug huh?” I replied jokingly as I moved around to the front of the chair to trim his bang area.

“Well Lucy, you and Frank should come to the dog park some time. I’m sure Bug would like to meet you both.” His eyes peeked through my hands and scissors to meet mine. My heart beat quickened as I stood there. Was he asking me out? I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. This isn’t going to happen. Not now. I don’t care how good his coat smelled.

 

Lark was looking at me expectantly for a response as I stepped back and shook out his spikes.

 

“I think you’ve officially just gotten your first real haircut.” I said as I quickly walked behind him and took the cape off his shoulders. I may not be able to flirt but I can master the fine art of avoidance.

Lark nodded and looked down at his lap for a moment. A momentary flash of rejection registered on his face before he quickly recovered, stood up and brushed his jeans off.

 

“Looks great. And look,” he ran his hand through his hair and looked in the mirror. “I can style it.” 

I laughed as I watched his messy brown hair settle around his head. My eyes squinted in thought.

“Do you trust me to try something?” I asked, eyeing the bottle of wax I had on my station.

“You’re the professional.” 

I walked up to the counter and squirted some product in my hands before rubbing them together.

 

“I’m assuming that’s not what I think it is.” Lark said as he eyed my hands suspiciously.

 

“That depends. What do you think it is?” I asked, smiling as he flinched away from my attempt to style his hair.

“Honestly…it kind of looks like Elmer’s glue.”  

I immediately went into a fit of giggles as I took in his startled expression.

“Wow. You guessed it. It’s actually my own personal hairdressing secret. So just keep this between you and me, OK?” I joked as I finally reached high enough to catch his hair in my hands. His eyes were straining to see what I was doing in the mirror as his shoulders shook with easy, raspy laughter. I felt my stance ease as I stood inches away from him, my eyes firmly locked on the tips of his hair. I knew his eyes were watching mine as I styled and his smile had relaxed into a sideways smirk. When I was done, I lowered my arms and met his stare. With his hair styled in messy spikes, he lost the boyish look he walked in with and an incredibly sexy man stood in front of me. I smiled at him.

 

“Yep. Elmer’s glue did it again.” I joked as I stepped backwards to let him see his reflection in the mirror.

“Hey, look at that. Maybe I can be some sort of competition to Bug now.”

 

“I’m sure you gave him a run for his money before I intervened.” I sucked in a breath. This is bad. He needs to go.

 

He smiled and picked up the bottle of wax, turning it around to examine it. “So do you sell this stuff or do I have to come in here every day for you to style my hair? Because I’m not opposed to that.”

 

I moved behind the desk, hoping to create some distance between us. My eyes scanned the product shelves. “Yes, we do actually. It’s right over there.” I pointed to a small shelf of men’s hair care products and busied myself entering his haircut into the computer.

 

“I can’t promise I’ll know how to use it as well as you do. I may end up looking like I used actual Elmer’s glue in my hair.” He said as he placed the product on the counter in front of me.

“Just use a teeny, tiny amount and run it through your hair. It’s easy as pie, I promise.” I assured him. “So Nina charges thirty five for her haircut but I’ll give you a deal because you had to settle for me. It’ll just be twenty for today.”

 

“I can pay full price. You don’t have to give me a deal. I did make you stay later.” He pulled out his wallet and took out his credit card.

 

“I’m the owner. You can’t argue with me.” I said as I ran his card through. “Besides, I’m the only one who can enter the price in the credit card machine.” We both laughed as I handed him back his card.

 

“Well then I owe you one.” He said as he signed the receipt.

“Sure, you owe me one.” I agreed, mostly so he would leave and I would no longer be tempted to flirt with him, learn more about him and eventually fall asleep with his clothes on. I started walking to the closet to retrieve his coat. 

“Hey Lucy �" I um,” I turned around before reaching the closet door as Lark stood awkwardly in the center of the salon floor.  “I have a show tomorrow night at The Westminster Pub and you know if you’re not busy �" you and Nina should come check it out.” His hand was rubbing the back of his neck in what looked like nervousness. I made him nervous? That’s a change.

 

“I play guitar and sing. It’s just kind of a solo thing that I do. It’s no big deal if you can’t come. I just figured I’d extend the invitation. Maybe I can buy you a drink for….you know….for the discounted haircut.” Lark rambled on, tucking his hands in his pockets. He rambles like I ramble. How completely adorab �" no, not adorable. Lame. How completely lame.

 

I took a deep breath and contemplated my choices. I could go, see him play, become fascinated with his use of a guitar pick, fall madly in love with him, forego London and spend the next five years of my life planning our future together only to end up a sad, lonely old lady who can’t stop adopting Pugs. Or I could avoid him, spend Friday night with Nina for our usual dinner and a movie date, then go about business as usual for the next three months before I jet off to jolly ol’ England. I may be alone in that scenario but I’ll be happy and content with the full control I’ll have over my future. I nodded in silent agreement that there was only one clear choice in this.

 

“I’d love to Lark but I have other plans tomorrow night. I’ll let Nina know though. I’m sure she’d like to see you.” I said as I turned back to the closet and grabbed his coat. Do not smell it. Do not smell it. I commanded myself as I handed it over to him.

“Well if you change your mind, I’ll be there.” He smiled and extended his hand. I shook it and was overwhelmed by how warm and comforting his hand shake was. He looked me right in the eye and I felt my whole body relax, like I had just gotten out of the ice cold ocean and Lark was a warm blanket, basked in the sun.  In other words, it was completely awful. 

 “Thanks for the haircut. Hopefully I’ll see you around.” He said as he put his coat on and walked out the door. 

Reviews

[Meat of Dog]

It was nice to see Lucy cheering up a bit! I got a kick out of her interactions with Lark and her shyness. I'm getting a good guy/ bad guy feeling between him and Gavin that could turn out pretty interesting. I also liked Lucy's description of Lark's assumed girlfriend and her 'perfect looking chihuahua.' It was funny. Alas I was sad to see her turn him down for the concert date. I hope so see him in chapter 4 :)

other suggestions:
-"He had the kind of unassuming and humble good looks that pre-Gavin, I would have immediately fallen for. " This sentence confused me a little bit. Is something missing from it?
-"I smile, keeping" I think you meant to say smiled here, because at the end of the sentence you used the past tense word assessed.

[Steve]

I really like this story so far....or book i mean. I like that is it not such work to read it. The story flows and I have no idea of what will happen next either and THAT is a good thing!