Between Boyfriends (Book 1 in the Between Boyfriends Series)

Chapter 4

After ten days of sitting on her butt in the hot, stuffy apartment, Jan's firm rationalizations for not going to the country club melted into plain old excuses. Excuses were not enough to fill the void Mike's departure had left inside of her.

Going to see Raven at the salon would give Jan exactly what she needed: non-judgmental attention. Raven was naturally secure with herself and the world around her. This quality nullified Jan's ability to care about criticism, especially her own.

After she called Raven and set up an afternoon appointment, Jan called Nichole and pinned her down for a shopping spree the next day. If Jan was going to set foot in that club again, she was not going in a cami and sweats. Her family would be banned for ten generations for committing a crime against the sanctity of the country club's dress code.

The majority of Jan's wardrobe consisted of jeans, black pants, white capris, formal dinner wear, and various tank tops in shades of gray, green, and black. She did own a pristine pair of Adidas running shoes that she had purchased the same day she had picked up her "inspiration" jeans, but nothing else in her piles resembled name-brand workout gear.

Jan did own several thousand dollars' worth of pink and red shirts, slinky black dresses, feminine skirts, beaded shawls, sparkly belts, and a vast assortment of other items that she never wore except when alone. She hid these, along with her femininity, in the back of her walk-in closet under her never-used ski suit.

It was from this rarely-disturbed pile that Jan selected her outfit for the day. She pulled on a sparkly red tank top, matching strappy Cathy Jean sandals, and a white gypsy-style skirt. Something about going to a counter-culture gothic-chic salon made Jan comfortable dressing like an all-American college girl.

At 1:45 PM, Jan headed downtown to the Siren Salon. She was supposed to be there at 2 PM, and it was a fifteen-minute drive, yet she didn't arrive until 2:18 PM. That's just the way her life worked. Detours, road blocks, and parking issues were more common to Jan than sense or courtesy.

Jan smoothed her skirt outside the entrance to the Siren Salon and checked her reflection in the glass. Deciding she looked pretty good, she walked inside with her shoulders rounded only slightly.

Customers entering the Siren Salon were greeted by a small waiting room complete with blood-red curtains, a gargoyle fountain, and an assortment of black lights. Jan navigated the fake spider webs and walked between the curtains to the main room.

She spotted Raven immediately, lounging on a divan just inside the doorway. She was barefoot, a pair of slip-on sandals sitting next to her on the floor, and covered head to toe in Bohemian black.

Raven hopped off the couch. "You're early," she exclaimed excitedly.

Jan laughed. She knew what Raven meant was, "You're not as late as I expected."

"For that, you're getting an extra big hug." Raven threw her petite arms around Jan's ribs. Her requisite raven-black hair flowed around them both. Jan experienced ten seconds of breathlessness before the arms of steel were removed. Raven claimed her unnatural strength came from her intense connection to the Earth.

Raven stepped back. She rested her tiny chin in one of her teeny hands as she analyzed Jan's hair.

Grateful for the reprieve, Jan took some deep breaths.

Suddenly, Raven lunged toward her.

"Ah," Jan yelped as Raven grabbed her choppy hair and dragged her to a chair.

"Sit," Raven commanded authoritatively.

Jan sat. She winced, waiting for the lecture about butchered hair.