Deflected

Chapter 2: Tiffany, Part 2

I jump in the shower to wash off the smell of s*x, even though I love his scent on me. But Quincy probably won't appreciate getting up close and personal with it, so his body wash will just have to suffice today.

Forty-five minutes later, I've kissed my husband goodbye, driven to the salon, and am still barely coherent while being manhandled by Quincy.

"Ohmygod, I'm so happy to see you! Congratulations!" She releases me from the world's tightest hug and grabs my hand. "Oh wow! Look at that rock! He did so good! It's beautiful!" Grabbing my hand, Quincy drags me to her station. She wasn't kidding when she said she'd be prepared before I got there. All her supplies are sitting out on a tray, waiting for her to mix and apply. "How was the trip? Was it amazing?" She shakes out the cape and wraps it around my neck.

"It was beautiful," I say with a smile. "It would've been better if I wasn't woken up first thing this morning to frantic texts."

She looks sheepish. "Sorry about that. I have to squeeze someone in while your color processes. She's having a hair emergency."

"I got that from your messages, but what does that mean?"

Quincy blows out a breath, like it's quite the dramatic story. "My client's five-year-old granddaughter and her parents are staying with her for a few days."

"Uh huh."

"Apparently the granddaughter decided overnight she wants to be a hair dresser."

"Oh no." I have a bad feeling I know where this is going.

"Yeah. She woke up this morning to a new set of bangs."

My eyes widen. "Oh no! The little girl gave herself bangs?"

She shakes her head and tightens her jaw, like she's trying really hard not to find it funny. "No. She gave my client bangs."

I gasp.

"Yep. The worst part is they're visiting because they have a family wedding to go to tonight. Which means family pictures they'll be in. And I have no idea if I'll be able to fix it."

"Are you talking about Sue again?" Geni, another stylist, guesses, plopping into her chair and grabbing a magazine. "I told her that child was a hellion."

"She's not that bad," Quincy quips.

"Sue has new bangs; that says she is." Geni keeps flipping through the magazine, absent-mindedly. "Anyway, how are you feeling now, w***e?" She turns to address me. "You're looking kind of tired. Your man keeping you up late at night?"

"Geni!" Quincy reprimands.

"What? You think she's been staying up late playing cards?" Geni leans forward as she asks for details. "How is he? A ferocious tiger in the sack? A gentle lover? Give me details."

"I'm not giving you details, Slutbag." Somehow insults have become our thing. We trade them back and forth constantly. The stranger, the better. "What happens in the privacy of my bedroom, stays there."

She snorts. "You're full of shit."

"I'm serious! It's different now that I'm married. It's more… I don't know… intimate. I like it that way."

Geni rolls her eyes. "Fine. I can respect that. For now. But next time you're drunk, I need to know how he compares to the others."

"Deal," I answer, knowing full well I won't be drinking around her any time soon. With any luck, she'll forget all about this conversation by then.

"Tell us more about this wedding anyway," Quincy says, as she twists part of my hair up and out of the way. "The pictures looked fabulous."

"Pictures?" My heart starts beating wildly. "What pictures?"

"The pictures online."

My breathing picks up, and I know I just went pale. Ever since that picture of me was put out for the entire first world to see, I've been adamant that my private life stays private. Nothing gets released without my approval first. No pictures. No information. Nothing. To this day, I don't know who took the nudie pic of me, so now Rowen and I are very, very careful who knows about our everyday lives or sees us in pictures. Even our wedding pictures.

"I didn't give anyone permission to post a picture online," I whisper, my hands balling into fists. I feel like I'm about to lose it.

Geni stills, and Quincy catches my eyes in the mirror.

"Relax," she says quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It was only one, and it's a nice picture."

"Are you sure?" I know it's ridiculous that I'm freaking out. But when your privacy has been violated in such a humiliating and public way, stuff like this can trigger some very unwelcome feelings.

"Here, babe," Geni says, squatting down in front of me, holding her phone out for me to see. "It was this one. It's beautiful."

When I finally focus, I realize it's actually my favorite picture from that night. The beautiful blue ocean in the background, the bouquet of native flowers held close to my thigh, my dark hair over one shoulder. Rowen's forehead rests against my head, a small smile on his lips, and I'm looking at the camera.

I nod and take a deep breath. "You're sure that's the only one?"

Geni looks at me kindly, which she doesn't do often and means she knows how badly I am freaking out right now. She gives me a reassuring smile. "I'm the biggest b***h you know. Would I be standing here calmly if there was something else you didn't know about?"

She's got a point. When she gets mad, she's a mass of inappropriate language and empty threats.

I relax a little. "How the hell did that picture get released? We didn't give it to anyone except his parents and - " I stop abruptly when it all comes together.

"What?" Quincy asks, pausing momentarily mid stroke.

"My mother."