Free Tangled Beauty by K. L. Middleton

doubt in my mind that he’s straight. Or,” I smiled.  “If he was gay, you must have certainly converted him.”
    She chuckled. “I doubt I could convert Jesse into anything.”
    “Believe me, if anyone could convert a gay man, it would be you.”
    Sinclair stepped back and looked at me , her full lips forming into an amused grin. “Are you flirting with me?”
    “ Who me? I’m just telling it like it is. You’re a beautiful girl.”
    “Well, thank you,” she said, raising the scissors , again. “Sela is also very beautiful.”
    “ Yes, she is.”
    She frowned. “She doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
    “ Don’t take it personally. Sela feels threatened by most other women, one way or the other.”
    “That’s too bad. She seems to have everythin g- beauty, a successful career, a nice guy.”
    I cocked an eyebrow. “You think I’m nice?”
    “Aren’t you?’
    “If it gets me what I want,” I teased. “Otherwise I’m a real prick.”
    She smiled . “Oh, really?’
    “Why do you think I’m being so nice to you? Obviously, I wanted something.”
    She stopped cutting and took a step back. “I …um…”
    I chuckled, enjoying the way I kept making her cheeks turn pink.  “A haircut.”
    She smirked. “Well, I guess being nice does pay off.”
    “So, what are your plans until the party?” I asked as she concentrated intently on the front of my hair.
    “We’re doing a little shopping and then I’m not really sure,” she said.
    My cell phone started chi rping and she stopped cutting.
    “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It can wait.”
    “Oh, okay.”
    “So, tell me a little about yourself,” I said , as she resumed cutting. “Where are you from?”
    “Well, I grew up in Stanton, that’s where my parents still live.”
    “Are your parents normal or fucked up like mine?”
    She laughed. “Fucked up?”
    “I guess Jesse didn’t tell you?”
    “Well, he mentioned they were difficult.”
    “That’s an understatement.”
    “Well, they’ve been pleasant to me, so far.”
    “Good. Just be careful around Jack.”
    “Why?”
    “Let’s just say, he doesn’t always remember he’s married.”
    “Oh. That’s not cool.”
    “No, it isn’t .”
    “Poor Mimi.”
    I stared out towards the ocean, thinking about how many times I’d wanted to pound the shit out of Jack. Once, when I was in my early twenties, I almost did. Unfortunately, Mimi had treated me like the asshole that night. She had stepped between us and had actually told me to mind my own business. “She’s known for years but…”
    “Lives with it.”
    “Unfortunately.”
    She was silent for a while and then said, “I had a ‘Jack’ in my life once. One time was more than enough for me.”
    “He cheated on you?”
    She looked me in the eyes. “Yeah, and it hurts like bloody hell. That’s why I’m not going to give my heart away again, not that easily.”
    The message was clear and I started feeling like an asshole. Although my current situation was complicated, I was still engaged and had no right to flirt with her. Not until I got my shit together and figured out what I really wanted. But, it wasn’t easy, every time I looked into those pools of green, I was captivated.
    “I don’t blame you. Giving yourself to someone should never be done, lightly,” I said.
    So, what in the hell was I doing with Sela?
    “I’m not in a hurry , anyway.”
    “So, I take it Jesse isn’t the one?”
    She gave me a lopsided grin. “Like I said, we’re just having fun.”
    “How old are you?” I asked.
    “Twenty-four.”
    “Well, there you go, you have plenty of time.”
    “That’s what I keep telling myself.”
    My phone started chirping, again.
    “You should probably answer that,” she said, bending down to clean up some of the hair on the ground. “I’m finished, anyway.”
    I ran a hand across my head . “Okay, thanks.”
    She smiled up at me. “Don’t thank me until you’ve looked in the