in mind?” She draped a black cape over my shoulders, the scent of her delicious perfume wafting to my nose with the movement.
And just because I wanted to keep up my whole I can’t believe you’re making me cut my glorious hair act, I said, “I was thinking it was looking pretty darn near perfect as I got lost in my reflection this morning, so maybe just a centimeter or two off the bottom will do?”
“You think you’re so hilarious.” She shook her head as she moved to stand in front of me, trying to look aggravated. But the hint of a smile playing at her lips told me she thought I was funny.
So I shrugged and said, “I’m just practicing my humor for my future girlfriend.”
I’d like to say I was practicing my humor on my future girlfriend, but I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. These things took time, and I still had a lot of obstacles to maneuver before I could make a play at finally getting out of the friend zone where Arianna was concerned.
The fact that she had only ever seen me as her best bud being one of the obstacles.
Her relationship with Chad being another.
Hopefully, me looking more her type, with a brand new haircut, would help with both of those obstacles.
“So do you need a moment to look up a hairstyle, or does your lack of preparation actually mean you were planning to let me work my magic my own way?”
I shrugged. “Since you’ve been waiting three years for this magnificent moment to happen, I figured I’d let you surprise me.”
Because if I ever wanted her to see me as potential-boyfriend material for herself, step one was letting her create the exact look that she’d find to be the most attractive on me.
And if it meant shaving my long locks and looking like a half-Polynesian Ken doll, then so be it.
“You sure about that?” She arched an eyebrow.
“Do your worst.”
I sounded dramatic, but to be honest, for a while now I had actually been considering cutting my hair off. I’d just been waiting for her to bring it up again, since I liked to put on a show for her.
“Okay,” she said, and then she stepped back behind me, grabbed the clippers, and lifted some of my hair into her hand like she was going to dig right in.
“Wait.” I held up my hands right before the clippers touched my hair, my heart hammering in my chest as I realized the moment had come and I wasn’t quite as ready as I thought. “A-aren’t you going to shampoo my hair first? Maybe give me one of those scalp massages you’re famous for?”
“Do you want me to bring out the wheelbarrow and hose and do that for you out here?” she asked, amusement in her tone. “Because if you wanted the full treatment we should have met at the salon instead.”
“No, it’s fine.” I sighed. “But could you take a photo of me first, so I’ll have something to remember my hair by?”
“You and your precious hair.” She grumbled then set the clippers back on the table and held her hand out for my phone. I fished it out of my pocket. She stepped in front of me to take the photo and said, “Okay, smile.”
After snapping a couple, she asked, “Should I gather your hair in a ponytail so you can save it?”
“Nah.” I took my phone back when she offered it. “I think the photos will do.”
I wasn’t that attached to it.
“Good.” As if that decided everything, she picked up the hair clippers again and started shaving off the bottom half of my head.
“You promise I’m not going to regret this?” I asked after she’d dropped several long locks on the ground.
“I could cut your hair in my sleep,” she said. “You’ll be thanking me when I’m done and probably wish you’d asked me to do this long ago.”
“If you say so.” I shrugged.
“And when the future Mrs. Kekoa tells you it was your haircut that first made her fall in love with you, you can take me out for dinner at The Capital Grille where I can tell you ‘I told you so’ over the most expensive entree on the menu.”
I laughed. “It’s a date.”
And hopefully, it actually would be one. A real date, that is.
Because while being her best friend for the past three years had been amazing, and I appreciated any time I got with her,