Page 10 of Secret Admirer

Rolling my eyes at her, I walk over to the cash register to check out my client. “YouknowI don’t volunteer for every homeless person who’s wandering the streets to come in here.”

“I know. I’m just giving you shit. I missed you this week.”

“Aww,” I smile wide at her sweetness. Trixie doesn’t let it show often but she has a heart of gold underneath all that pink hair of hers. “If I had time to miss anyone, I would have missed you. Figuring out where I wanted everything to go took a lot of time. I guess I should have thought about it before I moved and had the movers put boxes in the correct rooms so I wouldn’t have had to lug everything back and forth.”

“Bitch, you know you could have called me and asked for me to help.” She waves at a passerby and then focuses on me. “I guess since I haven’t heard from you since the night you moved in that you didn’t have any problems or see anything else?”

My shoulders slump at the memory of my security lights going off every night. “I didn’tseeanything, but the lights went off every night. Thank God for the state-of-the-art security system. I spent half of one day trying to figure it out.”

Trixie’s eyes go wide, and I instantly shrink back, afraid of how mad she’ll be that I didn’t call her when I freaked out every time the security lights turned on. To my surprise, she grabs my arm and starts to guide me to the back. “Oh shit! Don’t look now.”

So, what do I do? I turn around only to spot my ex-boyfriend strolling toward Tricks. He’s decked out in designer clothes that surprisingly look a little worse for wear. It always drove me crazy how much importance he put on his appearance. He’d spend more time looking for what to wear than I ever did.

The bell over the door jingles and he strides in like he owns the place. “Hey, babe, can I talk to you in private?” His eyes narrow on Trixie. From day one they never got along and now that we’re not together Trixie isn’t going to hold back.

“She’s not your babe so why don’t you turn around and slither back to where you came from,” she sneers.

Dwayne takes a menacing step toward us and Trixie’s arm blocks him from me. It’s sweet she’s so protective, but she’s a little thing and with the seething look on Dwayne’s face I’m scared what he might do if she doesn’t let him talk to me.

Placing my hand on her shoulder, I try to sound more confident than I am. “It’s okay. Let him say what he has to say and then we won’t ever have to see him again.”

Dwayne’s eyes narrow for only a moment. I’m sure he didn’t want me to see he didn’t like what I had to say, but I caught it.

“I’ll be up front if you need anything.Anything.” She gives Dwayne one last withering look before her eyes widen at me.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him.

Taking a step closer, he smiles an oily smile just like a used car salesman who’s about to rip you off. “I went by your apartment and you weren’t there.”

And I’m not going to tell you why I wasn’t there either.I like the thought that he wouldn’t have my new address, and I want to keep it that way.

“What do you want? I thought we cleared up everything when you showed up at my apartment and I said I never wanted to see you again.” How could I have made that any clearer?

“Babe, I thought if I gave you a little time you’d reconsider. We were good together. Remember?” He smiles that same used car salesman smile thinking it will win me over.

“Remember? All the times you didn’t show up when we were supposed to go out or the lack of communication. Or how about all the times you put me down and told me I wasn’t good enough. Yes, good times.” I try to use every ounce of sarcasm in me, but his eyes soften. He’s delusional; that’s the only way he could not get the clue.

“I’ve changed. I promise. I…I know I wasn’t perfect, but if you’ll give me a chance to show you, I’ll treat you like the princess you are.”

I scoff. “Do you really think I want to be treated like a princess? That’s not who I am.”

Taking a step closer, he tries to grab one of my hands, but I shove them behind my back. I don’t want him to touch me. After my parents' deaths, I’m too vulnerable and afraid I’ll cave at the human contact even if I don’t want it to be from him.

“Oh please, who are you kidding, Coco? You were raised to think the world was yours. Your parents gave in to your every whim. I mean look at where you are.” His face contorts into a look of disgust as he scans the salon.

“Don’t you ever mention my parents again. Do you hear me?” I hiss. My hands fist at my sides. “You have no right. No right, at all. Now it’s time for you to leave.” He opens his mouth, I’m sure to try to convince me, but he’s only been his usual asshole self from the moment he walked in the door. He has no chance. “Don’t bother coming back. I’m not going out on a date with you. If you couldn’t bother for the last few months we were together, why bother now?” I step back and grip the sink behind me to ground me. “Not now or ever will there ever be a chance in hell that I’llevertake you back.”

With each word, his eyes narrow until they’re the barest of slits. I don’t even know how he can see me, but that’s his problem, not mine. He stands to his fullest height and puffs out his chest.Is he trying to intimidate me?We hear Trixie clear her throat all the way from the front and he slowly takes a step back.

“I understand that you’re upset by your pa…their death, so I’ll give you a little more time to grieve and we’ll talk then.”

“Dwayne,” I sigh out his name in annoyance. I want to stomp my foot, but I know that won’t get me anywhere with him. He’ll probably just refer to me as a princess again. “It doesn’t matter if you give me a week, a year, or a thousand years. I’m not going to change my mind. Once you step out that door, I’m putting you out of my mind. You won’t exist in my world, so don’t bother coming back. You’re not welcome here.”

Dwayne’s face becomes a blotchy red mess as his cheek ticks in time with my words. For one moment, I think he might stomp his foot or explode. Instead, I watch as he slowly looks around the salon again. This time there’s a glint in his eyes. A look that I’ve never seen before and one I don’t like. Turning back to look at me, he grins the most wicked smile I’ve ever seen, and a shiver runs down my spine. My fingers clutch the sink behind me even harder.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he says and turns to walk out as if our conversation never occurred.

I want to say something. Anything. But I’m too stunned and by the time my brain starts functioning enough for me to come up with a comeback, he’s gone. His retreating form weaves down the sidewalk like a drunk. Only, I know he isn’t drunk; I would have smelled it.

---