TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1 (10 page)

I sigh.

This is a lucky break. A total lucky break.

And even though I'm pretty sure I can handle the hot and cold water at the shampoo station, I'm going to be sweet and smile for Ronin as he explains these things to me like I'm an idiot. I can do that. And then I can ditch him and eat my leftover breakfast from Cookie's and spend a nice quiet evening watching TV alone.

Ahhhhhh… I let out a nice long breath and smile. I almost feel normal.

I slip my feet into my old Converse sneakers and head to the studio. Totally ready for shampoo station training. The weather outside is so perfect and the concrete is a bit damp, like it rained last night. I didn't hear any rain, but I was pretty dead to the world. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms wafts in the crosswind and even though there are all sorts of cars and people making noise and commotion down on the street, these trees cancel it all out. They make me feel like I'm walking across an orchard out in the country.

Inside the studio is bright and cheery and when I round the corner into the salon, Ronin's mood seems to match the atmosphere of the room. "Nice," he says.

I raise my eyebrows at him. Did he just use a player word on me? Ugh… how can such a good-looking guy be so irritating? "OK, I'm ready. Lay it on me, please explain all the technical details of how the hot and cold water handles work."

He grins. "You think it's easy, don't you? That shampooing doesn't require skill."

"Oh, I'm sure it does, but am I buying your whole I'm-an-expert-in-shampooing-stations act? No. But proceed. Teach me all I need to know about sinks."

"I think you've misunderstood, Rook. I'm not here to teach you how to use the sink. I'm going to teach you how to give a great shampoo."

I laugh. "OK, I'll ignore the fact that you specifically said hot and cold water and detangler earlier, but I've been shampooing my own rather lengthy, high-maintenance hair for a while now. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"But have you ever shampooed a man's hair? Huh? Because we have male models who need a shampoo here and Elise usually does her own shampoos. She's quite good at it, I hear, so they will be expecting the same treatment from you."

Is he for real? I look for the smirk that says he's joking but I can't find it. "O-kaaaaaay," I say, drawing out the last syllable.

"So I'm going to show you how to give a Chaput Studios-worthy shampoo and then I'll test you and see if you've got it down."

"Test me how?"

"You can do me after I do you."

Again I look for the grin that will let me know he's playing around, but there is no hint of innuendo there. He seems serious. I frown. "We're going to shampoo each other's hair? Like a Gidget sleepover from the Sixties?"

This cracks his facade for a moment and he squints his eyes at me. "A what?"

"
Please
," I beg in an exaggerated manner, "do not tell me you're ignorant of Gidget? I might have to walk out."

"Do you buy it in the App Store?" he asks innocently.

A laugh puffs out through my cheeks and I smile, because this is just too much. "No," I say, shaking my head. "And since you're clueless, you get to be Larue."

He shrugs like he could care less and points to the chair. "I do you first."

And there it is. Just as I'm turning away to sit down, I catch it. The smirk.

He is totally messing with me.

I sink into the soft leather chair and relax back against the sink. My eyes want to close immediately because this position is like a relaxation trigger. I never went to the salon much back in Chicago, but I went enough to know that Ronin is right—the shampoo comes with expectations. Elise certainly delivered the other day with me because I was willing to forget all my troubles for a few moments in her care.

Ronin gathers my hair and turns the water on. He messes around to get the correct temperature and stays silent, which makes this whole thing on the edge of awkward. "So," I begin. "Are you a certified shampooer?"

"I'm a total professional, Rook."

"Is that right?"

"Mmmm," he says as the warm water runs over the crown of my head and tickles me.

"Most professionals would put that little bib thing on their clients, though. Right?"

"Only the ones who plan on getting their clients wet."

"So… you don't plan on getting me wet?"

He chokes down a laugh. "Be good, Gidget, or I'll have to spank you." The water stops and I smell coconuts. He rubs his hands together and lifts my wet hair from the basin, massaging the sweet-smelling soap into the longest strands first.

"I used to be blonde, ya know. In my other life."

"Huh," he says.

"What?"

"I can't see you as blonde at all. What idiot made you do that?"

"Why would someone wanting me blonde make them an idiot?" And more importantly, I ask myself, why did he suspect I was forced so quickly?

"Because you're probably the most perfect natural beauty I've ever seen, so anyone who wanted you to have blonde hair was looking to ruin you."

"Yeah, you're probably right about that."

He stops the massage on the ends of my hair. "I'm probably right? Or I am right?"

I shrug as he takes his fingertips to my scalp. His touch has just the right amount of pressure and he rubs my skin in small circles, starting from my temples and moving back down my head, and then under my neck.

My whole body erupts in chills.

"Feel good?"

"So good," I murmur, enjoying it to the fullest.

"When you do me," he says as he takes his fingertips to the top of my head, producing another wave of chills, "I like it up here."

I laugh. "Is that right? That's your big shampoo training tip, Larue? Do me like this?"

He leans all the way down into my ear, so close that my eyes shoot open when his breath tickles the sensitive skin. "Do me just like that, Rook. Please."

Oh, fuck.

I swallow, trying to stall for a response, but I have nothing. I take a chance and glance up at him. He's laughing at me. "You're bad."

"You have no idea. Now, close your eyes so I can rinse. I might make you wet, so I apologize ahead of time for that."

Oh, he is so bad.

And I am in so much trouble because even though he's very careful with the water as he rinses my head, I am definitely wet.

"So, you're a model now. Or you most likely will be tomorrow. What's your big plan? Got one?"

"Yeah," I answer, thankful that we're done with the sexual banter for now. "I'm gonna ride it out while it lasts."

"So you think you'll like being a model?"

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter. If it pays decent money I'm gonna do it." He shuts the water off and I turn a little to look up at him. "It's a break I really need, Ronin. You have no idea. So maybe I'll like doing this stuff or maybe I won't. But I'm gonna get as much out of it as I can and then, when it's over, I'll go do something else."

"Like what?" The strong smell of citrus permeates the air as he starts working in the conditioner.

My hair is so long and thick, this usually takes a while even when I'm in a rush, but Ronin takes his time and I sink into the chair a little more, totally relaxed. "College, maybe. I never got good grades, and I took the GED when I was sixteen so I could quit going to school, but I know you can start out in community college and then transfer into a better place. That's my dream. It'll probably never happen, but you asked."

"What would you study?"

"I dunno," I lie. I could just tell him, but I don't feel like it. It's my dream and it's personal. It means a lot to me and I'm not gonna share that with some guy I just met.

"What if you didn't get this job? Or what if it doesn't last? Models are known for having a pretty sketchy schedule. Work one day, none the next. It's not real stable."

This question is even worse than the last one. "Yeah, well, I'm used to disappointment, so no big deal. If it doesn't work, I'll move on and do something else. I might be young, but I've learned a few good lessons in my day."

He goes still so I open my eyes and look up at him. He's frowning. "What lessons, Rook?"

"Don't rely on anyone to get what you want. You just gotta go get it yourself."

"That's kinda sad," he says as the water comes on again.

"Nah, just practical." I shiver as the water rushes over my head.

"So you're not the type who looks for a boyfriend to take care of her?"

I snort. "Fuck. No. The last thing I want right now is a guy who wants to take care of me."

"Huh. Well, what do you tell them then?"

"Tell who?" I ask, looking up at him again.

"The guys you date? Do you tell them you're just interested in casual stuff, or what? I don't get it."

I'm tired of this conversation so I shut it down. "I tell them nothing, Ronin, because I don't let anyone get that close."

"Because someone hurt you?" he asks, trying to sound casual.

"Is this a psych couch or a shampoo station?"

He smiles down at me and shuts the water off, then wrings out my hair and drapes a towel over my head. "Sit up." He fluffs my hair with the towel for a few minutes, then tosses it into a basket across the room and hands me a comb. "So, was it everything you thought it would be?"

The innuendo is back and I smile as I drag the comb through my hair and stand up next to him. He's tricky, this one. Knows just when to light me up and dim me back down. "It was so much more," I gush, "I have no words to describe it."

"Try," he says, suddenly serious.

His hands begin to wander around my waist, tugging on my belt loops, a safe way to make contact but not put his whole hand on my hip.

I'm holding my breath and it comes out in a soft rush. "It was gentle."

He smiles.

"And it made me tingle."

"Tingle?" he asks. "Really? That good?"

I nod as I watch his lips. His mouth opens a little and I draw in a deep breath.

"Well, I'm not sure you're ready to step into my shampoo shoes, but give it a go, OK? And if you get nervous, just take a deep breath and I'll hold your hand the whole way through. From working the faucet to rinsing the conditioner, I have your back, Rook."

Never once does he crack a smile.

I nod and become very serious. "I really appreciate your confidence in me, Larue. Now, please, lie back in my chair and I'll do you just the way you like it."

Chapter Seventeen - RONIN

Rook's hands on me almost drive me over the edge. I take a deep breath as she sprays the water down my head, then leans down to talk in my ear, just the way I did with her. She's totally on to me and this makes me smile.

"What's funny, Larue?" she quips.

"You, Gidget. You think I don't know who Gidget is?
Please
." I say it the way she did earlier, with mock exasperation. "I fangirled on Gidget
before
she was on RetroTube every night."

"You do not watch RetroTube!"

I cross my heart with my fingertips. "I swear, Gidge was my girl back when I was a boy. She's hot."

"It's the pigtails, isn't it?"

"Mmmmm, and she did this thing with her tongue…" Rook covers her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh. God, she's beautiful when she's laughing. "… and her feet. When she talked on her little pink phone her feet had this whole other conversation going on."

"Oh my God, you
are
a Gidget fan! Who would know that?"

I open my eyes and enjoy her delight. "We have a contract coming up soon. The one you're doing is called TRAGIC, right? We have the STURGIS one and then the GIDGET one. I've been researching that little teen-flake for months now."

"So which one, Sandra Dee or Sally Field?"

"Definitely Sandy but Sally has way more episodes, so…"

"Yeah, I agree. When I was a kid I wanted to be Gidget so bad. Who's got the contract for that job?"

I look at her and it sinks in.

"Let me guess, you can't be both TRAGIC and GIDGET."

"Two totally different worlds, Rook."

She just shrugs and goes back to my hair. "How am I doing so far?"

"Magic, your fingers are magic." I close my eyes and relax again, content with how this afternoon is playing out. She's fun and easy-going. She's not offended when I flirt and she flirts back.

Water rushes down my neck and I jump out of the chair and turn back to look at her. "You got me wet!"

"Sorry, Larue. But I'm just a trainee, you can't expect me to be a professional like you on the first try."

I whip my shirt off and wipe the water off my neck. "Are you done with me?"

"I'm not sure," she replies, tilting her head coyly. "Did I do you right?"