Because Chad was still the leading man in her life.
I didn’t miss the fact that she was basically saying that they weren’t really the best-friends sort of couple, either.
She ran a comb through my hair a few more times, checking to see if everything was even. Then she stepped back to inspect me from the front. After running her gaze along my face and hair one more time, she slipped her shears into the pocket of her black apron and said, “I think I’m done.”
“Yeah?” I asked.
She grabbed a handheld mirror from the table and handed it to me.
I stared at my reflection. My hair was definitely shorter and it would probably take me a while to get used to it, but I looked good.
Dang good, if I didn’t say so myself.
“So, what do you think?” Arianna bit her plump bottom lip, eyeing me anxiously.
“You really want to know?” I raised an eyebrow.
She nodded.
I ran my fingers through the top, surprised at how it felt. Then I said, “I actually really like it.”
“Really?” The look on her face told me she wasn’t quite sure she could believe me.
So I put the mirror back on the table and gave her my most convincing look. “You did great. It’s actually way better than I imagined.”
“You thought I was going to butcher your hair, didn’t you?” She stuck her hands on her hips.
“I may have had a nightmare or two about it last night.” I grinned wickedly at her.
She smacked my shoulder. “Oh, ye of little faith.”
Then she removed the cape from my neck—the soft touch of her fingers sending tingles racing across my skin.
I bent forward and ran my hand through my hair a few times, to get out all the stray hairs the clippers had left behind. While Arianna took care of the haircutting tools, I grabbed the broom and dustpan nearby and started sweeping up all the dark hair that had been a part of me thirty minutes ago.
Once everything was all cleaned up, I followed Arianna inside for a glass of ice water.
“So,” Arianna said after taking a sip of water. “Now that we’ve taken care of the hair, it’s probably time for you to start asking girls out.”
“You think?” I set my glass on the counter and leaned against the cupboards. “Because I was thinking I might just look a little too good for anyone right now.”
She rolled her eyes, but I noticed her gaze catching on my face a moment longer than usual—like she was actually noticing how I looked for a change.
“So you’re going to be that guy now?” she asked.
I laughed. “You know I’m just kidding.”
“Should we go through your app now? Or do you want to try meeting someone in person this week?”
I didn’t really want to do either of those things, but I said, “I suppose I could try meeting someone the old-fashioned way.”
Her whole face lit up. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Why?” I asked, feeling slightly confused since she had been the one pushing me toward the online dating app in the first place.
But she got a sneaky look on her face and said, “Because if I’m going to be a proper dating coach, I really should watch the whole process so I can know what to help you work on in our coaching sessions.”
Well, no pressure there.
“You’re going to spy on me?”
“Not in, like, a creepy way,” she hurried to say. “But the girls from the salon invited me to go with them to the club on Tuesday night. So if you came along and just happened to find someone you were interested in while I was close by to watch, it would give me some good insights into figuring out why you’ve been single for so long.”
“So you’re already planning on me bombing the date?”
“It’s been almost a year since you’ve been on one. While I know what an amazing catch you are for any girl, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that you might be a little rusty.”
My mind wanted to linger on the way she’d said I was an “amazing catch” but I pushed it to the side for later dissection. “Okay. Just tell me the time and place, and I’ll try to put my best date face on.”
6
Arianna
“Are you doing another live video tonight?” Cole asked me as he came out of my bathroom and into the kitchen, toweling his dark hair dry after giving it a quick wash in the tub.