“Uh, wel , I’m here with some guys, yes.”
“He’s mighty handsome, I must say.” Mannie looked over obviously. Cort sent them a friendly wave. “Mighty handsome.”
Lily strained to see. “And what’s his name?”
“His name is Cort.”
Mannie patted her hand. “What a fine couple you’d make. Oh, look. Here he comes.”
“Hi.” Extending his hand, Cort careful y shook each of the elderly women’s hands. “I’m Cort.”
“We’ve heard so much about you,” Lily beamed.
Cort shot Rachel two raised brows. “You have?”
Mannie grabbed his hand, held it firmly. “You take care of our girl now, you hear?”
Rachel wanted to dissolve into the floor.
“I most definitely wil ,” Cort said.
“You come visit us with our lovey,” Lily said. “I’m hungry, where’s Charlie?”
“I’d better go.” Rachel stood, kissed their cheeks. “See you soon.”
Mannie squeezed her hand before she left. “Bye now.”
Rachel walked back to the table with Cort without saying anything. Too bad if he was blown away by her senior friends, but if he was then that was something she had to accept. Her friends at Countryside, her time spent with them, was more important than some flying leap with a guy.
She listened to Ticia flirting with Chad, who responded likewise. Surely Cort was man enough to handle a few old people, Rachel thought, stirring her straw in her drink. When he sat quietly for a time, she wondered if she’d final y add a strike against him.
After lunch, the boys walked them to the car. Ticia was al smiles and giggles when Chad opened her door and leaned through the open window to talk to her.
Rachel paused before she got in. “Guess I’l see you later.”
She saw nothing tel ing in Cort’s eyes.
“Yeah.” Cort held her door open and the breeze carried his scent into her car. She took in a deep breath and he shut the door.
Ticia was euphoric on the drive back to school. “I think Carmel’s going to ask me out.”
Absently, Rachel put her thumb nail between her teeth. Even with the hard acrylic she stil chewed. Messages, looks, secrets—why did guys have to be so confusing and frustrating? Why did they have to play this game? She wondered if Mannie and pretty Lily had played games when they were young. Maybe Martin had never found anybody because he hadn’t been wil ing to.
When did playing end and real begin?
Miss Chachi’s was packed. Girls waited outside. Cort sweat under the pressure. There was no way he could do al of the fil s, pedicures and anything else the clients wanted by himself.
He asked Miss Chachi to help him deflect some of the girls to Misu, Tiaki, Abby and Jasmine but she was reluctant, tel ing him he was the reason the girls had come. He needed to work faster so their clientele would grow.
He hadn’t gotten up for any pee breaks and his back teeth were beginning to float.
Some of the waiting girls ran out of time and had one of the other nail technicians do their jobs. Cort tried to ignore Miss Chachi’s glares of displeasure when that happened, but she paced the center aisle like a dril sergeant, watching everyone work.
Loud laughter by the door caused Cort to look up from his current nail job. Bree flounced in, fol owed by Shaylee and Megan. They pushed their way through the crowd until they were at his table.
“Hi, Cortie.”
She was dressed in a white tube dress that glittered from head to toe. Her curvy body looked just the way he imagined she wanted it to look—everything shockingly outlined.
“Hey.”
“I broke a nail,” she whined. “Can you fix it real quick?”
He looked around at those waiting. “Does it look like I can fix it?”
Bree didn’t even glance. “I’m al ready and they stil have to get dressed. I should go first since I’m closer.”
He jerked his head toward the front where the seats were al taken. “Get in line, Bree.”
Beads of sweat sprouted at his hairline, down his spine.
His pits were drenched.
Bree shot a saccharine smile at the girl whose nails he was doing. “Can I just cut in for a quick sec?”
Cort looked up, annoyed. “Bree, I’m in the middle of an appointment.”
“I see that, but she can go to the bathroom or something.
Who is she, anyway?”
The girl was speechless, staring from Cort to Bree. “It’s okay,” the girl final y said and stood.
“No.” Cort reached for her.
“Real y, it’s okay.” She eased by Bree with the respect Bree’s popularity demanded.
Bree sat with a satisfied smile and extended her hand.
“See? It’s a little chip and it’l catch on my dress and, oops—
what if it rips and my dress fal s off?”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Cort took her finger.
Bree’s bare, glittering shoulders lifted. “Would you?”
The idea shot heat through him, whether he wanted it or not. With a cotton bal soaked in acetone he wiped her nail clean. “I won’t be there to see it.”
“It could happen anywhere. Even here.”
He filed the nail and kept his mouth shut, trying not to think of Bree without a dress.
“You know, you and I should be going to this dance together,” she chattered. “It’d be fun, don’t you think? We’re like such buds and al .”
He didn’t answer.
“Sometimes I like being with friends, you know? Friends that know me and that I can hang with.” She wiggled. “And then, of course, if something
happens
with that friend, wel , that’s cool, too.
“I mean, you and I know each other wel enough that if something
did
happen, it would total y rock, you know?
Cause, we’d be like, cool with it and al .”
Cort only lifted his eyes to hers for a second, but in that second, female interest was alive and wel . The desperation in her eyes caused him to look away. He wasn’t interested, and even though Bree wasn’t his type, he wouldn’t hurt her feelings and say so.
“So you never asked the mystery girl?” Bree inquired.
“It was too late.” He buffed next. “Besides, I have to work.”
Bree looked around. “What kind of a slave driver keeps a hot guy from going to the dance?”
“As you can see, my services are an integral part of the girls going to the dance.”
“Your
services
?” Bree teased but didn’t say more when he shot a glare at her. “Maybe the mystery girl is going with someone else.”
“She’s not,” he said simply and began to paint the first coat.
Bree looked at Shaylee and Megan who had kept respectful y quiet until now. “Wel , she must not be anybody because everybody who’s anybody is going. Except you, of course.”
He blew on the wet nail, sliding her a narrowed look.
“Time to dry.” Cort flicked on the mini fan next to her, and shoved her hand in front of it.
“Hey,” she bit out, “careful there. You wouldn’t want to pay for this dress to be dry cleaned because you got some polish smeared on it.”
Cort leaned back and stretched tight muscles. Surveying the room, he saw even more of the waiting girls had final y given up and were being taken care of by other nail techs.
Then Rachel walked in. She was with Ticia and Jennifer.
He sat forward with a jerk that caused both Bree and Shaylee to turn around and look. Bree’s eyes slit.
“Wel , Jennifer’s got John. That Ticia chick is just too ugly. That leaves…I see.”
Cort grabbed Bree’s hand and looked at her nails. “One more coat and you’re good to go.”
“You know, I heard that Rachel’s a hooker.”
His polish brush froze. “You’re wrong.”
“No, seriously,” Bree continued with sordid delight. “She works the streets here in P.V. And she total y sleeps with those guys that hang with her.”
The sweat covering Cort’s back heated again. Finishing the last coat, he pushed Bree’s hand in front of the fan. “Shut up.”
“Oh, I see.” Bree grinned. “Shay, I think I know who Cort’s mystery woman is. It’s that Rachel Baxter chick.”
Shaylee leaned close. “The one that hooks?” Bree nodded.
“She does not hook,” Cort hissed. “And she doesn’t sleep around.” He looked at Rachel, checking in at the front desk with Miss Chachi. Doubt trickled into his mind—she
had
been out last night, her mother said she was working. “She’s too rich to do anything like that,” he half mumbled.
“Those guy friends of hers keep her wal et fat.”
“That’s crap,” Cort shot. Rachel wasn’t a hooker. She was perfect, wasn’t she?
“I heard her mom used to, and she wouldn’t let her do anything else but hook,” Shaylee added.
“I’m sure it’s true,” said Bree. “Just look at her. What else could she do?”
They al looked over as Rachel strode down the aisle with Jennifer and Ticia by her side. “I heard her friend hooks, too,” Bree whispered, “that Ticia one. Even though I can’t see any guy hooking up with her, not for money, anyway. They probably have, like, a two for one deal.”
Cort rol ed his eyes.
“Hey.” Rachel only looked at Cort, and that settled his whirling insides a bit.
Bree stood slowly, her eyes scanning Rachel from head to toe. Cort couldn’t wait until she and her tribe were gone.
She blew on her nails then jerked her head at Shaylee, who jumped to attention, reached in Bree’s purse, brought out Bree’s wal et and handed it to her. Bree glared at her friend before plucking out five dol ar bil and dropping it on Cort’s table. “I think five is more than enough for today. Bye, Cortie. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” She cackled out a laugh when she reached the door.
A few hours later, most of the crowd was gone. Misu sat at the base of one of the pedicure chairs, wiping the vinyl cloth clean. At another table, Jasmine finished up a ful set, while Abby swept. Miss Chachi stood dutiful y up front, counting cash.
Cort gestured to Rachel to sit in the chair facing him while he pul ed another chair alongside for Ticia. Miss Chachi had talked Jennifer into a complimentary foot massage, and she sat with bliss on her face, while Tiaki squished and pul ed her feet and toes.
“You’re busy,” Ticia said, awe lining her voice.
Cort couldn’t have made it to the dance even if he’d been set to go. He was beat. Rubbing his knuckles, Cort readied his tools for Rachel’s job and let out a sigh. “Yeah. It’s been crazy today.”
The fatigue on his face worried Rachel. “I can come back another day.” She stood but he snapped out a hand and stopped her.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. Sit.”
“You look wasted.”
He reached out for her hands and his eyes sharpened, making something inside of her heat. She set her hands in his and he began to rub his fingers over hers in a soothing, circular motion.
“Just a fil then?,” he asked.
She nodded. He examined her nails. “Pretty good job.”
Then he looked up, smiled. “But mine wil be better.” He wiped away the white tips with acetone. “How come you ladies aren’t going to the dance?,”
he asked.
“I’m going,” Jennifer piped from the pedicure chair.
“We’re just going late.”
“You and John, right?” Cort asked.
Jennifer nodded, coloring to a shade of pink.
“That’s cool. He’s a cool guy. What about you ladies?”
“Didn’t get asked,” Ticia said.
“By the right guys,” Rachel added.
“If Carmel had asked me, I’d have gone.” Ticia dug into her purse and brought out a compact. “I stil don’t know if he’s going.”
“I didn’t hear,” Rachel said. “But I know for a fact Brownie isn’t. And since—“
“Carmel. Brownie?” Cort dropped the saturated cotton bal into the trash. He took her hands again.
The girls broke out in laughter. “That’s what we cal these real y hot guys we know.”
Ticia blotted her nose. “That way we can talk about them anytime, anywhere and no one knows what we’re saying.”
Cort grabbed the electric sander. “Who’s Brownie and Carmel?”
“Like we’d tel you,” Rachel said.
He turned on the sander and sanded her nails. “Why not? Or can I guess?”
“You can guess but we won’t say.”
“Top secret,” Cort mused. “The hottest guys…wel , I’m not the one to judge that, I guess.”
“Oh, come on, let’s see who you think is hot,” Jennifer teased.
His cheeks reddened. “I don’t think we look at guys the same.”
“Obviously,” Rachel tilted her head. “Give it a shot.
Come on.”
He finished sanding, set the tool back in its holder and thought for a moment. “Hmm. Most girls I know think John’s a celebrity.”
“And he’s taken,” Jennifer piped.
Cort nodded. “Chad and Ben are pretty cool.” He watched their faces for any sign that he’d hit the target. “I mean, they’re always stocked with women, you know?”
Ticia broke into a laugh. “Yeah, we know.”
“Kevin and Eric are pretty popular too. Am I right?”
Rachel watched as he took her hands again, rubbing his thumbs over her sanded nails. “They’re nice guys,” she said.
He started the fil . “But you’re stil not going to tel me.”
“No.” Because his head was bowed, his eyes focused on her nails, Rachel took the opportunity to shoot the girls a wink.
“So,” Rachel began, to Ticia. “You coming to work with me tomorrow night?”
Cort’s head jerked up. He looked at both girls, then over at Jennifer, lying back with her eyes closed. He thought about what Bree had suggested—the outrageous idea that they were hookers. His cheeks burned with the ridiculousness of it and he got back to work.
“I don’t know if I can,” Ticia said.
“It won’t take that long. We can spend as much time as we want.”
“I know.”
“I thought you liked doing it,” Rachel said. Cort’s eyes widened.
“And I hear you’re good at it, Ticia,” Jennifer added.
Ticia nodded. “I do like it. It’s just that, wel , I was hoping to hook up with Carmel, you know?”
“How about afterwards?” Rachel asked.
“I’m usual y tired after. I mean, for some reason it real y drains me being around those guys.”
Cort kept his head low. Could it be true? They couldn’t be talking about—no way. His gut started to churn.
“But they need us.” Rachel glanced from her nails to Ticia as she talked. “Think of the service we’re providing.”