Free Drive by Karina Gioertz Page B

“What?”
                  Sawyer’s hand reached up to twist a strand of her long black hair between his fingers.
                  “You’ll have to do something to alter you appearance. Your face has been all over the news. People are going to get confused if they see you walking around alive and all.” He dared half a grin and Jordan hated the fact that it was contagious enough to make her smirk in spite of herself.
                  “What do you expect me to do with this?” she asked, grabbing a fist full of her thick dark hair. “I mean, I can dye it every color under the rainbow, but it’s not likely to show up, unless I bleach it, and honestly, I’d rather people think I’m a walking corpse than a blonde.”
                  Sawyer just shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Be creative.”
                  “Oh, okay,” Jordan replied in a sarcastic grumble. She turned to face her reflection as if the mirror would tell her what to do. She knew she had at least one option. Cutting her hair would make a big difference. Few people knew that her straight hair actually had quite a bit of natural curl to it which only increased the shorter she wore it. It was a start, but it wouldn’t be enough. Jordan took three long strides to reach her bag on the other side of the room. She could feel Sawyer’s eyes resting on her as she searched through her stuff, but she didn’t look up. The first thing she pulled out was a pair of scissors. Next, she located the hydrogen peroxide. Jordan made a face just thinking about the prospect of becoming a blonde. Not that there was anything wrong with that particular hair color, it just wasn’t her. It had never been her. And it wasn’t about the associations people made between blonde women and stupidity that made her feel so adamantly about not wanting to dye her hair that color. In her mind, there was a softness about a shade so fair that she simply couldn’t relate to and rather than keep her hidden from view, she feared her own awkwardness and feelings of inadequacy would make her stand out so much so, she might as well just dye each strand of her hair a different  color.
                  About to succumb to the prospect of becoming what she feared, she suddenly caught sight of the iodine. She had no idea if it would work, but it was certainly worth a try. Feeling encouraged by her unexpected triumph over the hair fiasco, Jordan grabbed her supplies along with a fresh set of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. When she emerged an hour and a half later, her hair had been chopped up to her shoulders causing it to curl wildly around her head. While her roots were still as black as they had ever been, she had successfully bleached and then dyed her tips a rusty red. While it was eye catching in a way, it still managed to change her general appearance enough to make her less recognizable. Sawyer gave a loud whistle of approval when he saw her.
                  “Wow.”
                  “You told me to be creative,” Jordan shrugged.
                  “Indeed I did,” said Sawyer coming closer to get a better look. Jordan noticed that he was wearing a new shirt. This one wasn’t ripped or bloodstained.
                  “Where did you get that?” she asked tugging at the material with her fingers.
                  “I might have wandered into a room or two while housekeeping had the door open. Found a new jacket too,” he said pointing at a leather coat on the bed.
                  “Thief,” Jordan muttered.
                  “Enabler,” Sawyer mumbled back. He was resting both of his hands on her waist, steadily holding her against him as he leaned in and kissed her. Jordan closed her eyes, drowning out the real world and numbing herself to everything else. Sawyer was a drug, a damn good one at that.

Chapter 7