Page 37 of Collin: Episodes 4-6
Collin leaned over to Ash and whispered, “Just show the stylist the picture you showed me. Do you still have it?”
Ash paled and quickly pulled out his phone. A few seconds later, he held it up with the picture.
Their stylists were out a few moments later. Collin made introductions for Ash and explained he wanted what was in the picture on his phone. Ash held it up, and the stylist who was going to be cutting his hair, a short guy with a blond mohawk, grinned and rubbed his hands together. He gave Ash an encouraging nod. “That’ll look great on you. I think we should go a little darker on the red, just to match your skin tone.”
Ash turned to Collin. “Does he mean that undertone architecture heat thing you were talking about?”
Collin nodded. “He’s matching you to your red.”
Ash pressed his lips together and nodded, glancing at his stylist.
“He’s going to need all the instructions on how to care for it,” Collin added. “We’ll just buy the product here.”
Discussing Collin’s own style took a little longer as he hadn’t brought a picture. His habits ran conservative, but his stylist pushed back, suggesting something a little younger. In the end, they settled on something in between with highlights for texture rather than a more aggressive cut. That had the added benefit of Collin also getting color along with Ash.
Partway through, Collin looked up from dazing off to see Damian ambling toward him. Damian grabbed a stool from an empty station across the way and dropped down. Collin glanced over at Ash. The teen was away at the shampoo bowl.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see how you were getting along.” Damian gave an easy smile, hands in his pockets.
Collin grimaced. “Ash is here. If he sees you, he’s going to run.”
Damian grimaced. “He really needs to get over that.”
“I don’t know what you did, but just saying your name made him run out of the room.”
“Why did you say my name to him?”
“I threatened to have you take him shopping.”
“Oh.” Damian stood up slowly. “And he ran out of the room?”
“I had to bribe him to see me later with pizza, just to get my phone set up.”
Damian ran a hand over his face. “I didn’t realize I’d scared him that bad. I just wanted to keep him out of jail. I’ll…head back home. Was going to ask if you wanted to join me on a walk.”
“Sorry.” Collin glanced back. Ash was still gone. “I’ll text you when Ash goes home? Besides, Mr. Reevesworth gave me a route.”
“Yeah, no worries.” Damian slipped out of the salon.
Ash stared at his reflection at the end with both hands gripping the sides of his chair. Collin held his breath and mentally crossed all his fingers and toes.
The stylist set aside his comb. “So, how do you like it?”
Ash raised his hand and touched the long drape in front of his face. If he wanted to hide his face, he could, or he could pull it back behind his ear. He snagged a black face mask out of his pocket and slipped it on over his ears, then turned to Collin. He gave a thumbs-up.
Collin grinned. “Perfect. You’re ready for Comic-Con, for sure.”
Even behind the mask and the hair, it was obvious Ash was smiling.
Collin turned back to the mirror and looked at his own hair. The highlights were nice. They made his hair look fuller and healthier, and the cut made him look professional but not boring. The sides were fairly short, but the top was long enough that Mr. Reevesworth still had plenty to play with.
And that was the important thing.
Collin made a face at himself. Mr. Moreau and Mr. Reevesworth were getting into his head. Now he was thinking of himself as their kitten.
He got up out of the seat and motioned Ash to join him. Like Damian had instructed, he left a hefty tip for both stylists before seeing Ash out the door.
