“She told you.”
“Oh, yeah,” Kalen said with a note of satisfaction. “Are you
insane? She’s straight.”
“Well, that might be debatable because for a second, she
kissed me back.”
“Angela doesn’t strike me as the experimental type. You
must’ve been mistaken.” Kalen pinched at my arm with her toes.
“I didn’t mistake her tongue in my mouth,” I said, slapping
her away.
Kalen’s eyes went wide. “She didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, honey, she did.” Sometimes, Kalen was so easy.
“When she was telling you about the kiss, did she also mention
that she had my ass in both hands? Her breasts are so firm.” I held
up my hands. “They fit perfectly in these—”
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Pitifully Ugly
“You are such a liar,” Kalen shouted and dissolved into
laughter.
“Okay, yes, we didn’t grope each other, but she did slip me
the tongue.”
Kalen pinched the shit out of me with her toes. “Did you get
all tingly from that kiss?”
“Not in the least. It was all for show. Zoe didn’t bother me
again after that,” I said with a triumphant air.
Kalen looked at me with a serious expression. “Have you
kissed Hailey?”
I felt my smile slide from my face. “Yes.”
Kalen’s eyebrows rose. “Spark?”
“Fireworks.”
Kalen grabbed my leg and squeezed. “Is that all you did?”
“What can I say? Passion took control and we were rolling
around in the courtyard… No, I haven’t slept with her,” I said
when Kalen’s mouth dropped open. “Well, I did sleep with her,
but we didn’t have sex. The night you called me about Dad, I was
at her place.”
Kalen made a face like she didn’t believe me. “You slept
in the same bed but didn’t do anything, hmm. She didn’t try
anything?”
I rolled my eyes, earning myself another pinch. “I was worried
about Dad and she held me. That’s all that happened.”
Kalen rolled her eyes then. “Sweet.”
“She is sweet, jackass.” I pinched her on the wrist with my
toes until Kalen squealed.
“You could hurt the baby,” she said as she slapped me away.
“Rub my feet now, I need a nap.”
“Call Todd, I’m not touching those nasty things.”
“I just washed them with your loofah, they’re clean.” Kalen
threw her foot up on my chest. “Rub for five minutes, and I’ll
shut up.”
The five-minute rub was actually ten, five minutes each nasty
foot. Kalen was snoring when I pushed her foot off me. We dozed
for about an hour when I heard Kalen fooling with the pizza box.
I opened one eye and watched her inhale two slices before she
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Robin Alexander
caught me watching her and informed me that I would be driving
her home.
When I pulled back into the garage, my headlights swept
over the back of Hailey’s SUV. A new Louisiana license plate
had taken the place of the Georgia tag. Apparently, she had plans
to stay in New Orleans. Part of me was pleased. The other part
sort of wished I didn’t have to run into her. The saying “absence
makes the heart grow fonder” was very true in my case.
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Pitifully Ugly
Chapter 23
Duty cal s.
On Monday morning, my phone rang at five thirty. No one
called at that hour unless it was an emergency. “Hello, hello?”
I said into the alarm clock before I realized the phone was still
ringing. I managed to grab it just before the answering machine
picked up.
“Hey, what’re you doing?” Kalen said groggily.
“Are Mom and Dad okay? What’s wrong?” I scrambled out of
bed and fumbled around until I found the light switch.
“They’re fine. What’s wrong with you?”
My frantic search for clothes stopped. “What do you mean
what’s wrong with me? You called me at five thirty. I thought
there was an emergency.”
“Did you set your clock to Pacific time?” Kalen asked,
annoyance tempering her tone. “It’s seven thirty.”
I staggered into the living room as the adrenaline rush faded.
My cell phone confirmed what Kalen said—it was seven thirty.
“Our power went off and on last night, apparently yours did,
too.” Kalen yawned loudly. “Time to replace the backup battery
in your clock.”
“It’s still early. Why are you calling?” I asked as I set up the
coffeepot.
“The flu is going around, and my doctor says I need to avoid
sick people if I possibly can. We have three people out at the Canal
Street salon, and they need some help.”
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Robin Alexander
I wanted to whine and complain, but I couldn’t. I knew that
Kalen would gladly step in and help if she could. “What do I need
to do?” I asked with a sinking feeling.
“Answer phones, wash a head or two. Blitz will help you
with anything you need.” Kalen yawned again. This time, she
apologized. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, sis, but I’m out of
options.”
“No need to apologize. I’ll hit the shower and be there for
opening.”
“Thank you. I owe you big.”
Blitz looked stunned when I walked in. She glanced down at
her watch and back up at me.
“Kalen asked me to come in and help,” I said. “Where do you
need me?”
She took in my black slacks and turtleneck sweater. “You’re
dressed too nice to clean tanning beds.” She shrugged her
shoulders. “Wanna be the receptionist for the day?”
“Sounds easy enough.” Something in the way Blitz arched an
eyebrow told me it was anything but.
She picked up a headset and cleaned it liberally with alcohol
before she handed it to me. “Bonnie has the flu,” Blitz said as she
went to work on the mouse and keyboard. “If I were you, I’d keep
a bottle of hand sanitizer close and use it often.” Blitz looked at
me skeptically. “Can you multi-task?”
“I can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Blitz’s eyebrow arched again. From the look on her face, if I
were anyone else, I’d be out on the sidewalk at that moment. She
wiggled the mouse, and a colorful calendar appeared on the screen
in front of us. “Anything related to tanning or nails is transferred
to those departments. They handle their own scheduling. You’re
strictly hair.”
I nodded as I looked at the screen. Hailey Morgan at eleven
o’clock jumped out at me like a snake. Blitz looked at me oddly as
I recoiled. “Is that today?” I pointed at her name.
Blitz nodded. “You won’t have to do much with today’s
schedule unless someone calls to reschedule. Matter of fact, you
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Pitifully Ugly
really don’t have to worry about Tuesday or Wednesday, we’re
booked. Don’t worry about trying to fill a slot if someone cancels.
We pack ’em in tight, and the stylists will be grateful for the
wiggle room.”
Blitz went on to explain how to use the computer program.
It seemed fairly easy to handle. My brain began to scramble as
she explained how to book each type of appointment. “Claire