Unraveling (Second Chances) - By Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,89
you going to be bored?” she asked. “You don’t need to stay here with me.”
“Karlie,” I said, lightly, “Don’t worry about me. I’m here for you. Just because I’m not getting anything done, doesn’t mean we can’t still talk.”
“Are you sure?” she questioned and I could sense her hesitation.
“Yes, Karlie, I’m sure. Go ahead and pick out your polish,” I told her.
She stared at me uncertainly for a moment and then turned to the racks of polish.
She picked a shade of purple with a bunch of different shades of glitter.
A woman motioned her to the back where they had a closed off area for the pedicure station.
I grabbed a chair and sat beside Karlie.
“You’re not getting anything done?” the woman asked.
“No,” I politely shook my head and sipped my coffee.
“If you change your mind, let me know,” she said and began to add hot water to the small tub. Karlie rolled up the ends of her leggings and then plopped into the black leather seat. The woman handed her a remote and a moment later, Karlie had turned on the massage chair, moaning in pleasure.
“I’m going to fall asleep,” she warned us, handing the lady the bottle of polish. “For your sakes, I hope I don’t snore.” She pointed at the nail technician and me, before relaxing back into the seat.
I chuckled, taking another sip of my caramel flavored coffee.
I felt my phone vibrate from inside my purse and pulled it out.
Missing you. It read.
A gooey smile spread across my face and I quickly typed back a reply.
Same here.
“My brother?” Karlie asked, a smirk on her lips.
I blushed. “Yes.”
She giggled. “I would say, ‘that’s cute,’ but since it’s my brother, it’s more gross than cute.”
I laughed and put my phone away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have grabbed my phone. I am the one that said no more boy talk.”
“I don’t mind,” Karlie wiggled, relaxing back into the seat and closing her eyes. “Like I said, I’ll probably fall asleep and you’ll have to drag my sleeping butt out of here.”
“Go to sleep, if that’s what you want,” I picked up a gossip magazine from a nearby table, “I’ll just be here, reading about dumb celebrities.”
~***~
I don’t know if Karlie actually fell asleep, but she did keep her eyes closed the whole time her toes were painted. Another technician came in and painted her nails with the same color, while her toes dried.
I paid and then nudged her shoulder.
Relaxed brown eyes greeted mine. “It’s time to get out of here.”
A tranquil smile lifted her lips. “I don’t want to go.”
“We better get out of here or they might never let you come back.”
That got her moving. She slipped her flats on over her dry toes and put her jacket back on.
Two hours had passed and it was now the afternoon.
“Wanna get an early dinner?” I asked Karlie.
“Yes!” she said, sliding into my car.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Hmm,” she thought. “I’m not super hungry, the frozen yogurt filled me up, but I could eat Panera.”
I drove the two miles to Panera Bread. Luckily, at this time of day, they weren’t that busy.
We both ordered turkey sandwiches and took a seat while we waited for our order.
“Thank you for today,” Karlie said, a big smile on her face and I noticed that she had dimples in both of her cheeks. “And thank you for staying with me this weekend. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Seriously, Karlie, it’s no problem at all,” I hung my purse on the back of the chair so that I didn’t have to sit with it in my lap.
They called our number and I retrieved our tray.
“I can never get Jared to come here,” Karlie said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “He calls it chick food, and yet he makes himself a sandwich at home. I just don’t get it.”
“Men are impossible to understand,” I informed her.
She snorted. “Oh, I know.”
“So, what’s going on with Rodney?” I asked.
“I thought we weren’t going to have any more ‘boy talk’?” she joked.
“Holden and Jared are boy talk, Rodney’s not,” I reasoned.
“You do realize he’s a boy, so I think he is included.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I was just wondering if he’d made any more… advances,” I explained. “I may not have much experience, but I was in high school once and it wasn’t that long ago. I might have some insight.”
“Rodney’s been my dance partner for years,” she picked up her napkin and wiped