Chapter Twenty-Seven
Milo – Friday
This sucked. This sucked so damn much. I could not get used to being in this cabin without Eliza. I wanted to call her, to speak to her, to see her, but I wasn’t sure how to do that without looking like a desperate loser. I had no idea how she was feeling about the whole thing, and I certainly hadn’t heard anything from her, so it felt a little too needy to start contacting her after only two days.
“What am I going to do?” I asked Veil, who seemed to give me an odd look. He was getting much more used to me trying to communicate with him now that I had no one else to talk to, but he still wasn’t giving me any useful answers. Man’s best friend, my ass! “Ugh, I just want to see her.”
I poured the coffee into a mug, hating the taste of it now, and I wandered outside to take a seat in the warmth. I loved the scenery here, I did, but it was much blander without anyone to share it with. It just didn’t have the same sparkle without Eliza here to share it with me. She didn’t even care about the view particularly, since she was totally used to it, but she made it look better to me.
Maybe I could wander through the town and hopefully bump into her... Although she’d be at work...
Oh, my God!
I jumped up in my seat, a realization hitting me in the face. Eliza owned a hair salon. I had told her that I’d go in there to get my hair cut. This was the perfect opportunity to do so. It was a totally casual way to get my fix of her, without giving myself away. Yes! This is brilliant! I could totally do this.
I raced back inside to grab my jacket, happiness bursting inside of me. I knew how slow business was for her, which was normally a bad thing, but today it worked out well for me. I wouldn’t get turned away.
“I can’t take you with me, but I won’t be long, promise.” I gave my dog a hug, acting much more like Eliza around him that I used to, but I felt sorry for him. He was about as lost without her as me. “And I’ll ask her to come and visit you, okay? I’m sure she will; you know she loves you!”
He turned away and went to settle in a ball on the floor, looking more content than he had over the last couple of days. Maybe he did get what I meant!
With that, I went outside with a spring back in my step, warmth inside of me all over again. I knew this was crazy, but I felt so good about it that I didn’t even care. I wanted to see the salon anyway. I wanted to get to know every aspect of Eliza’s life, so this was awesome. She spent so much of her time at work, she’d put so much of herself into it, and I wanted to get a glimpse at what she’d achieved.
I flicked the radio on the second I stepped into the car and turned it up loud. I sang as I drove into town, actually sang. It was loud and out of tune, but it felt good. I was freer in Florence. I felt like I could shake off the inhibitions that Nevada gave me.
It was just a shame that it wasn’t home.
By the time I actually arrived at the salon, I felt on top of the world, and that mood carried me right on inside... Where I found Laynee and Eliza playing some sort of weird baseball game with a broom. The girls were both shrieking with laughter, screaming loudly, and the music was booming so they didn’t even hear me come in.
I didn’t alert them to my presence right away. I wanted to just watch Eliza for a couple of seconds. Her happiness made her even more beautiful, making my heart melt and ache for her all at once.
“Oh, my God!” She eventually spotted me and her whole body turned beetroot red. “Milo, we weren’t expecting you.” She rushed over to the stereo and flicked it off. “We don’t... We aren’t usually like that, we just...” She was back to a bumbling mess. That familiar trait of hers made me so happy. I’d missed that side of her.
“Hi, Milo! We’ve been slaving our guts out all morning, pouring over our business plan, so we decided to take a time out.” Laynee was much more straightforward, which caused a chuckle to burst from my chest. Between them, they made a cool team.
“Business plan? You wanted to expand?” I couldn’t help picking up on that part – it was the businessman within me.
“Well, more just grow things really,” Laynee explained, flashing a document at me. “This place could be amazing, it just needs a little more, and we’ve been thinking of some ways to expand outward. Not growing, just evolving, I suppose.”
“I’d love to take a look at your ideas,” I told her honestly. “I’ve seen some businesses do some cool things in my time. Maybe I could help you.”
“That isn’t why you’re here, though, right?” Eliza interjected, pride seemingly getting the better of her. “Did you... want something?”
“My hair cut, actually,” I ran my fingers through it automatically. “It’s been so long since I last had it done.”
“I think Eliza has some time.” Laynee smirked. “That should be just fine.”
As I sat down in the chair and trained my eyes in the mirror, my heart kicked up a notch. I was starting to see the downside to this plan. This was so intimate, it almost felt like we were closer than when we actually had sex. Her eyes were fixed on the back of my head, her fingers touching my hair, and I couldn’t stop the shiver from tearing down my spine.
“So, how have things been?” I asked in a weird tone of voice, just trying to cover up my feelings. “I know it hasn’t exactly been long since we hung out, but it feels a little like forever.”
“Oh, I know what you mean,” she answered, but she was distracted, focused on the job. “Yeah, it’s been okay. Just doing the usual, you know.”
“No pipe issues? That’s all fixed?”
“All good.”
Oh, my God. The more she touched me, the weirder I felt. It was so intense, so overwhelming, it was going to be very difficult to not jump up and grab her, wrap my arms around her. My mind was already lovingly crafting all kinds of dirty fantasies about this place.
“You’ve created something amazing here,” I told her, wanting her to know she should be proud of herself. “This place is so cool and so well designed. I’m sure things will get much better for you. I bet the plans you and Laynee have created are fantastic.”
“We want to do parties,” Laynee jumped in, not giving Eliza the chance to be all modest again. “And tanning, the sorts of things that are popular at the moment. We’ll get there. By the end of this year, I think things will be looking up. It’s hard, drawing in a new crowd in such a small place, but I’m sure once we get started, things will be wonderful.”
A million and one ideas popped into my brain, but it only took one look at Eliza to see that the idea of being so vulnerable in front of me made her uncomfortable, so I shut myself down before I could even get started. This was her company, not mine. I would only offer my help if she wanted it.
“I bet it will,” I agreed simply instead. “So, Laynee, what’s going on with you? Heard anymore from that asshole?” She’d told me a bit about Marc on that night out, not that she could probably remember a lot of it, but it’d made me feel bad for her. She was a nice girl, one who didn’t deserve to be treated like crap...
Wait!
As Laynee complained about Marc and all men in general, an idea crept into my brain. Landon was about the same age as her, and from what I’d gleaned, he didn’t have anyone special in his life. They would be so good together; they suited each other well – it was amazing they hadn’t gotten together already.
Maybe before I left, I could work a little cupid magic and get them together. Maybe there wouldn’t be any chemistry between them, maybe it wouldn’t work out, but it would be good to try. At least Landon would treat her well; I could tell that much about him.
“Yeah, so I’m swearing off men for a while. We both...” She stopped herself rapidly in her tracks and stared at Eliza. Obviously, they’d had some sort of conversation. Clearly, they’d talked about her and me, and they’d decided to keep away from dating. I didn’t know whether to feel pleased or disappointed about that. “Anyway, I’m off guys. They’re all assholes.”
“Not all guys are the same,” I did my best to reassure her. “Some of us are okay. In fact, some of us treat people well.”
“They’re usually the ones who have had their hearts broken,” Laynee replied with a pout. “Have you? Had your heart broken, I mean?”
Veronica’s face burst into my mind, and I was pretty sure that my expression portrayed that. “Kind of,” I admitted, feeling cold and vulnerable. “But it was a long time ago now.”
“Did that make you want to treat people better?” she persisted, seemingly oblivious to my discomfort.
I couldn’t exactly say, “No, not really. The whole nearly dying thing did that,” so in the end I just agreed. It felt like the easiest option.
“Yeah, I suppose so. I mean, I never went out of my way to hurt anyone, but I suppose I could have been insensitive without realizing it. I don’t think most guys go out of their way to hurt anyone. Some do, I suppose, but for the most part, it’s just accidental selfishness.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” As Laynee talked, I dared to dart my eyes back to Eliza, who was concentrating hard on my hair, probably not even listening to us. She looked stunning as she worked, in her element. She was so dedicated, like Landon, and she deserved to have her company succeed.
I wanted to offer her my investment, but I already knew she wouldn’t take it. She wouldn’t want to feel indebted to me.
“There,” she finally announced, stepping back away from me. “I think you’re done. What do you think?”
I examined myself carefully, liking the cleaner cut. She had done a good job! “I love it!” I gasped loudly. “Thank you.”
“Well, obviously, it’s on the house.” She waved her hand dismissively at me, but I wasn’t going to take that. I shot her a wink and handed the money to Laynee, who happily snatched it from me and stuffed it into the till in a heartbeat. “Oh, you didn’t have to...” But she could see that it was too late. “Well, thanks.”
I stayed chatting to the girls for a bit, not quite feeling ready to leave, but eventually, the time came around where I had to go. I hated leaving; it made that sad feeling come over me all over again because I wasn’t sure when I’d get to see Eliza again, and my one excuse had been used up. But at least she was still happy around me. At least the strain was gone.