Cigarette Smoke

Chapter Ten

After eating Ashley's half burnt pancakes, Andy and I set off. We were determined to find a local hair cuttery. About Thirty minutes of driving passed when Andy spotted a place off the side of the road. "There! Make a right... No a right!" The car reared left, causing me to cut off some really old lady who shouldn't have been driving.

When I swung into the parking spot, the car came to a halt, jolting us forward. Andy broke into laughter. "You may be nineteen, but you definitely don't drive like it!" "Come on, that was totally your fault!" Andy's jaw dropped. "Nah uh! I wasn't the one who cut off little old Gertrude!" I was hysterically laughing. "That was an accident!" I managed to catch my breath after a few moments.

I opened up the car door and got out, Andy followed behind me. As we approached the salon, Andy scooted next to the door, holding it open for me. I smiled at him and nodded, silently saying "Thank you."

I approached the front desk while Andy took a seat in the waiting room. The hair dresser looked at me up and down, clearly judging my appearance. "Your name?" She had an obnoxious Boston accent. "Alexandria." I gave her a small smile as she typed on the computer. "It'll be about ten minutes." I nodded and took a seat next to Andy.

We sat in silence while we waited, and I couldn't help but notice the woman who checked me in checking Andy out. She started to walk towards us, and I assumed it was to tell me that it was my turn, but it was really so she could flirt with Andy.

"Have we met? I swear I've seen you before, I'm Dolly." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh, I don't think so. Maybe you've heard of my band, Black Veil Brides?" Andy tensed up, he was obviously uncomfortable. "Oh my gawd, you're Ashley, the bass player! I knew I recognized you, remember me, from the Hot Box club? I used to be a dancer there until I started cuttin' hair. I danced for you all the time!" 

I could barely hold back my laughter. "It must've been really dark in that club." I whispered to Andy, he cracked a smile before responding to the desperate woman. "Um no, I'm Andy, the singer. Ashley is my uh... band mate." Andy stated awkwardly, Dolly's cheeks burned red with embarassment. "Oh gawd, I am so sorry..." Her accent seemed to get heavier with every word.

"Well this is awkward... let's say we get your haircut, alright love?" I stood up and followed her over the sink. "That's a nice boy you got over there." Dolly teased and she placed a towel beneath my head. "Oh, hes' not my boy, just a friend." I shrugged as she started to rinse my hair. "Well if I were you, I'd snatch that up in a heartbeat. I have no idea how I mistook such a gentlemen for Ashley." She shook her head as she played with the ends of my hair.

"Did you and Ashley have a..." I felt awkward asking about her personal businesss, but she chimed in quickly. "Relationship? Oh gawd no. We might've hooked up a few times, but that's only because he was a good tipper." She winked and I couldn't help but laugh. 

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you two? I can't help but notice that a lot of people aren't too fond of him." Dolly drenched my hair in shampoo. "He was just seeing a lot of people at one time and it caused a lot of drama, especially with Andy. It's not my business to tell, so if you wanna know the tea, I would ask him yourself." I nodded as she rinsed off and dried my hair.

-o-

After sitting in a salon chair for forty five minutes, my hair was finally cut. I called Andy over, swiveling  around in the chair to face him. "Well..." I raised my eyebrows waiting for some sort of response. He stood still while he tapped his foot, his hand tucked underneath his chin. He examined my face.

"It suits you." He finally replies. "Really? You like it?" A cheesy smile creeped across my face. "Very much so." He smirked, a shade of pink painted his cheeks as he continued to stare at me. I had gotten a pixie cut, so I didn't have to worry about putting my hair up at the most inconvenient times. I was just glad that Andy  liked it, but that didn't matter... Right? 

I shook myself from my thoughts and walked over to the cash register with Andy. "How much?" I pulled out my wallet that carried only twenty six dollars and ninety three cents. Dolly typed quickly on her keyboard. "Twenty, even." She obnoxiously chewed on a piece of gum. "I got it." Andy pushed my wallet away. He handed her a twenty dollar bill and gave her a five dollar tip.

"See, I told you he was a gentleman." Dolly winked at me and gave Andy a toothy smile. "It was nice to meet you Andy, tell Ashley to give me a call sometime." She teased as Andy and I walked out of the salon.

We got back into the car, but this time Andy decided that it was best if he drove. "You didn't have to do that." I played with a piece of my freshly cut hair. "I wanted to." He smiled and placed his hand on top of mine unexpectedly, sending shocks up my arm.

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" He asked, surprising me yet again. "Yeah, I'd love to." I smiled, butterflies fluttering in my stomach, his hand still rested on top of mine.