I let Naomi go first, following behind her.
“Can I offer you tea or water?” the woman asks.
“Yes, please,” Naomi says. “Tea for me.”
She glances over at me, and I decide, What the heck?
“Tea would be great. Thanks.”
She takes us to two desks in the back, so we can sit next to one another.
“Here are the colors,” the woman says, placing the ring with nail-color swatches onto my table. “I’ll be back shortly with the teas.”
I nod at her and then look over to Naomi. “What color are you going to get?” I ask, handing her the ring of polish options.
She holds up her hand, examining it. Her nails are long and rounded, painted gold and pink. She purses her lips, narrowing her eyes in on the colors.
“I was thinking a pink,” she says, turning to look at me.
I take in her cream-colored sweater and distressed high-rise jeans. Her blonde hair is curled, falling softly over her shoulders, and a light-pink gloss highlights her lips.
I smile at her. “I think pink suits you,” I say, agreeing.
She laughs, nodding her head. “I think it does too.”
Her gaze comes up to mine, and she holds my eyes for a minute.
“Let me see your fingers,” she says, grabbing on to my hand. She examines my short and clean nail beds, pursing her lips. “Nikki is going to have her work cut out for her.” She laughs, flicking her gaze back up to mine.
“I’ve never been good about getting my nails done,” I say, withdrawing my hand from hers.
“I think you should get extensions. Nothing too long but just enough, so they look feminine,” she states, looking again at the color swatches.
“You think?” I ask, not really sure.
“Of course. You can still get a darker color,” she confides. “I’m guessing you’re more of a gray or blue person.”
“You guessed right,” I admit, letting out an easy laugh.
“It’s funny, the colors we’re drawn to. See, I always go for golds and pinks because of my complexion,” she starts. “But with your hair and grayish eyes, I can see why you would choose something darker.”
I smile at her as two nail technicians sit down opposite us.
“I’ll do this one,” Naomi says, pointing out the pink she wants. “And my friend Mallory wants this one,” she says, pointing to an almost stormy blue.
Her eyes flash up to me, checking, and I nod my head in agreement.
“I am also thinking about extensions,” I add, furrowing my brow, unsure of what I’m getting myself into.
Naomi’s eyes brighten, and she nods, obviously excited for me.
The technicians get to work, soaking our fingers and buffing out our nails.
“I appreciate you taking pity on me today,” I say, looking over at Naomi. “I really needed to get out of the house.”
“How is it going? I’m sure it must be … different, living with a host family,” she says.
“You know, I’ve actually gotten used to it. The Williams are great, and their house is warm and welcoming. I literally have nothing to complain about. But sometimes, with it just being Noah there and how I’m always hanging out with the guys at school, I miss girl time.”
Naomi laughs, her eyes softening. “I can imagine. I have two younger brothers, and sometimes, I can’t handle it.”
“Aww,” I coo. “I’m an only child, and I’m usually home alone. It’s been kind of strange, constantly having people around.”
“But you like it more than you thought, don’t you?” she asks, studying me.
“Yeah. It’s nice. I thought I might feel suffocated, but I don’t.”
“I’ve heard Noah’s family is like that. Olivia,” she says, glancing over at me, “used to tell me about how Harry was always over there. She made it sound like Harry was really close with them.”
“He is,” I confirm. Naomi doesn’t add anything, so after a minute, I ask, “Are you close with your family?”
“Yeah. My parents are usually busy, and my brothers take a lot of time and attention, but they always put in effort to spend time with me. I think I’m pretty lucky to have a good relationship with them.”
I nod at her, thinking that maybe we have even more in common than I thought. I glance down at my nails, seeing one full hand with extensions, the other ready for its makeover.
The things we do for friends.
“What do you think about Noah?” she says, grabbing my attention.
I glance over at her, but her eyes are on her nails.
“What do you think about him?” I ask, smiling at her. “You’ve known him a lot longer than I have.”
“Noah’s a dish.”
My mouth practically falls open at her statement.
“What?” She laughs, her eyes sparkling. “He is. And I won’t believe you for one second if you try to tell me you haven’t noticed.”
She’s smirking at me now, and I want to roll my eyes at her, but she has a point.
“He’s not the worst thing to look at,” I agree, letting go of a breath. “But he’s infuriating. We argue all the time, and he’s so up and down. He has more mood swings than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Naomi smiles, her nose scrunching up. “He’s always been one of the smartest in our class. For a long time, Olivia wanted me to date him, so that way, we could double date together. But I don’t know. We used to hang out, but we’ve never really hit it off. It sounds like you two are close though.”
“Are you dating anyone now?” I ask, curious.
She shakes her head. “I’ve been talking to this guy, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere. He was at my party last week. I’m not sure if you remember him. He has short, dark hair and beautiful brown eyes.”
Her eyes practically glaze over, and I can tell she’s got it bad.
“Well, where do you want it to go?” I ask. “Do you want a boyfriend? Or are you just looking for some fun?”
“I guess a boyfriend. I don’t know. I wasn’t really looking, but we met at a party, and he’s a bit of a dish. He’s shown interest, but we always end up only seeing each other with other people around.”
“Do you get nervous?” I grin at her, watching her blush.
“Yeah. It’s hard because we text, but he hasn’t initiated, like, a date. He’ll just ask if I’ll be places and say that he’s excited to see me. I don’t know …”
“All right,” I say, turning toward her, “if he’s texting you, he’s obviously interested, especially if he isn’t just texting you for … well, you know. He’s asking if he’ll see you, stuff like that. So, the next time you talk, invite him over. Something that’s just chill and casual. Let him know what you’re doing and that you want to see him. If he comes just because you asked, you’ll have your answer.”
Naomi’s eyes go wide. “That’s brilliant. Then, I’ll know if he actually likes me or is just talking to me as a friend.”
“Yep.” I smile at her.
“I would have never thought of that. You’re really good with this stuff.”