Home > Hair Balls(9)

Hair Balls(9)
Author: Tara Lain

Rick took another sip, half imagining that he could smell the light scent of some cologne that Jimothy wore. “So, uh, how long have you had your, uh, salon?”

“The one you were in, for only a year. I relocated there from Costa Mesa, where I had a salon for four years.”

“You’re in a real upscale location now. Must be pretty successful.”

“Yes. I decided to move because we were already attracting so many customers from Laguna and Newport, I figured we could do well closer to the beach.” He smiled and sipped. “I’m not much of a Newport-type guy, so I picked Laguna. A friend who’s a realtor knew that amazing location was about to open up, and I grabbed it. The move’s been more than worth it for the word of mouth alone.”

“You must have started pretty young.”

He nodded. “Right out of college. I’ve always had a head for business, and my dads gave me a small investment to help get me started.” His face lit up. “I’ve been able to pay it back ten times over.” Then his face sobered. “Before Jim died.”

A lot about that description was confusing. “You’ve got two dads?”

He nodded, his eyes shiny. “Had. Jim passed last year. He’d had health problems for a while. I moved Timothy to Laguna with me, so he’d have a fresh start. We miss Jim something awful though.”

“So, you’re—”

“Adopted, yes. When I was ten.”

“Jim and Timothy. That’s how you got your name?”

He nodded. “I was so grateful to be out of the system, I wanted to honor them in some way, so I changed my name to Jimothy. Kind of crazy since I always have to explain it, but I’ve never wanted to change it back.”

“Here’s your artichoke.” Cheryl placed a plate occupied by a large green thing with leaves between the two of them and then gave them each small plates. Next to the artichoke, there were two little bowls, one full of butter and the other with some kind of white sauce.

Jimothy held out Rick’s napkin. “I’d suit up if I were you. This can get messy.” He giggled. No other description for it, and the sound tingled in Rick’s nerves.

With a deft twist of the wrist, Jimothy extracted one of the leaves, dipped it in butter, leaned forward over the small plate, and scraped his teeth along the leaf. He dropped it on the little plate and went for another one. “Umm. Lots of garlic today. You better have some quick or you’ll die if I breathe on you.”

Rick’s lips parted, but nothing came out. There were simply too many ways he could imagine Jimothy breathing on him.

 

 

Chapter Six

 

 

Jimothy tried not to stare at Rick. He really did seem like a stranger in a strange land. Funny, he’d imagined Rick would be all studly and self-assured when he got away from the unfamiliar surroundings of a hair salon, but he wasn’t at all, and his uncertainty was super cute. He also wasn’t eating the artichoke.

Okay, let’s give this guy some lessons in good.

Jimothy grabbed an artichoke leaf, dipped it in the mayonnaise sauce, and held it out to Rick. “Try it. Which sauce do you like best?”

Rick blinked. “I’m not much of an artichoke eater.”

“Well, that has to change. The only man who doesn’t like the Flying Fish artichoke is one who’s never had one. Come on. Scrape your teeth over the inside and you’ll get all the yummy part.”

Instead of taking the artichoke leaf from Jimothy, Rick leaned forward and captured it between his teeth. Jimothy got a glimpse of tongue as he pulled backward, which made him shiver. Stupid. Rick didn’t realize he was being sexy. Hell, he’d probably have done that with any guy friend.

“Wow, that’s good, but not much reward for all that work.” His teeth flashed out of the surrounding fur, and a little white sauce clung to the tips of his beard.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Jimothy took his napkin and dabbed at the offending mayonnaise.

Rick’s eyes got big, and he glanced around as if everyone must be watching and pulled back.

Oh, Jimothy, you idiot. “Why don’t you try some butter on your next bite?” He grabbed a leaf and drowned it, then scraped, never looking Rick in the eye.

For a second, things felt awkward, but then Rick took another leaf, keeping his napkin close at hand, and by the time Jimothy cut up the heart and gave Rick half, he was smiling again.

When Cheryl came back, they both ordered fish, Jimothy getting escolar and Rick asking for swordfish.

Jimothy asked, “Do you like wine? I thought I’d get us a bottle of wine as my treat.”

Rick frowned. “No. This is on me. But yeah, you order something you like.” He looked kind of relieved.

Jimothy asked for a bottle of sauvignon blanc, which usually went down well with new wine drinkers. When Cheryl left with the order, Jimothy said, “Tell me about your family. I mean, I know you have a sister who’s getting married, right? It must be great to have siblings.”

Rick smiled. “Yeah, Alice. She’s my kid sister, and she’s great. The brains of the family. Hell, she’s got a PhD in physics.” He shook his head and chuckled. “I can barely spell it. Plus, she’s marrying a brainy guy who really seems to appreciate her.”

“Your parents must be proud.”

His smile faded and he seemed to plaster it back on. “My mom died when Alice was ten. Uh, my dad’s not real aware of much but his business. I mean, he doesn’t work in it anymore, but he keeps tabs.”

“What type of business does he do?”

“Construction.” Rick moved his fork around on his empty plate. “He owns most of the company I work for.”

Jimothy clapped his hands. “Oh, how wonderful. A family business.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rick looked kind of startled.

Jimothy sighed. “I think both of my dads would have loved it if I went into their fields. Jim was a teacher, and Timothy still keeps his hand in advertising, although he’s semi-retired.”

“You weren’t interested in those fields?”

Jimothy shook his head. “I never wanted to work for someone else. It’s hard for a guy like me to give somebody that much control over my livelihood and my income.”

“A guy like you? You mean an entrepreneur?”

Jimothy looked up and met Rick’s eyes. “No. I mean a queen.”

Rick froze with his mouth open.

Jimothy smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It’s just that guys who come across effeminate still get discriminated against quite a lot, even in the gay community.”

Rick’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I, uh, guess I never thought of that.”

Jimothy smiled, though it felt a little forced. “Really? You’ve never heard construction workers catcalling at guys like me?”

“Yeah. I guess I have.”

Jimothy shrugged. “I could never disguise my sexual orientation, nor did I want to, so it always behooved me to control my own destiny as much as possible. Fortunately, I’m really good at doing hair and really good in business, so I have the luxury of working in a field where being”—he shrugged—“how I am is accepted and even celebrated.” He smiled. “Thanks for the entrepreneur comment, by the way.”

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