Repeating his words, Alexis said, “I love you too.”
“Are you sure that it’s not too short?” Alexis asked as she stared at her reflection at the town salon named Clipped. Shaking her head, her once long wavy tresses brushed the top of her shoulders.
Behind her, the Connelly women beamed in the mirror. Cassidy, Sydney, Everleigh, Avery, Nikki, Norah, and Poppy formed a semicircle around the worn leather chair.
“It’s gorgeous.”
“I want to cut mine like that.”
“No way.”
“I’m so jealous.”
“That is perfect.”
The compliments rung out from their smiling faces and Alexis couldn’t help but glance at herself once more.
The first step of the plan the group concocted at the Connelly’s barbeque was to give Alexis a makeover of sorts, even though she was pretty sure the women forced that point because they were itching at the bit to get their hands on her for girl time.
“How will this help bring out my father?” she asked them and as their eyes darted off to various points of the room, she had her answer. “You know, if you just wanted to get together, then you could have just asked.”
“Except Cliff doesn’t let you out of his sight,” Cassidy explained.
“So, we had to do something drastic. This seemed like the best bet. And we wanted a chance to get you alone so we could learn all about what you’ve been doing to occupy your time,” Nikki added, definitely pinning herself as the most devious of the group.
The girls began peppering her with questions about her love life before and after Carson, laughing when she answered them with a question of her own.
“What love life?”
The shop owner, Kelsey, a young woman with cropped hot pink hair, closed and locked the front door, then proceeded to hand out glasses of Champagne to the group. At Avery’s decline, the woman handed her a bottle of water.
She joined their group just as Everleigh questioned Alexis about Cliff. She couldn’t help herself, never being “one of the girls,” this feeling of being part of a tribe was something she’d craved since she was younger.
“He’s. . .just. . .incredible. I don’t have any other words to describe it. I mean, I knew that there was this passionate man lying beneath his hard surface, but I definitely underestimated him.”
“And how is the sex?”
“Wait,” Nikki called out, setting down her glass and grabbing a notebook from her purse. “I want to write this down; it may go in my next book. And please feel free to be as detailed as you want.” She winked at Alexis causing her to laugh, the glass of wine sloshing over the edge of the glass.
“He’s an amazing lover. And not that I have many to compare him to, but I can say with certainty he will always be at the top of the list. He always makes sure that I’m taken care of at least once or twice before we get to the good stuff, you know? Foreplay is never forgotten.”
“Ah, foreplay is the best. I can’t believe so many men try to skip over it. Like, if you want a blow job, I want you to play with my pussy and finger fuck me, am I right?” Sydney announces to the group, startling them all into silence. Whenever they’re together Alexis always noted how quiet she seemed around her family. Maybe the sips of Champagne were loosening her up. Sydney glanced around the room, taking in the women’s stared.
“You,” Alexis said, breaking the silence as she pointed via the mirror to Sydney, “Are abso-fucking-lutely correct.” They shared a smile and the group began sending more questions her way about Cliff, Alexis answering as many as she could.
“You know that isn’t his real name – Cliff,” Kelsey pointed out drawing confusion from the women. Alexis was aware of that fact, but apparently, she and Kelsey are the only ones. And now she couldn’t help ponder how the bright-haired beauty knew.
“Do you know what it was?”
“I know he never looked like a Cliff.”
“I swear that man is as mysterious as Pandora’s box.”
Turning in her chair, Alexis ignored everyone’s chattering and looked at Kelsey who stood beside her. “How do you know?” Someth
ing inside her tightened as she asked. Something that Alexis didn’t want to pinpoint, but could only describe it as an underlying hatred. Was this what jealousy felt like? Surely Cliff and Kelsey didn’t have a relationship like the one that she had with him.
“Oh. . .Oh!” Kelsey’s eyes widen as she began to understand the uncertainty in Alexis’ question. “Cliff and I. . .no way. . .My uncle is the leasing agent for this building. I don’t even know what it is, just that it is not signed to a Cliff.”