Tangled Beauty (6 page)

Sela
looked across the table at me. “So, what kind of shop do you have?”

“
I’m a hairstylist,” I replied. “I work for
Tangled
.”

“
Tangled
?” She looked up at my hair. “Do you cut and style your own hair?”

“No. I leave that up to my co-workers.
I
have
cut and colored Jessie’s, however. Many times. ”

From the haughty look that flashed through her eyes, she was far from impressed.
She turned to Reed. “Reed, if you really want your hair done right, I recommend Milan. He is
my
personal stylist.”

“Excuse me?” retorted Jesse, with a look that would melt an iceberg in less than
a second. “What is that supposed to-,”

“No, I think I’d like to give Sin a try,” interru
pted Reed. “I have faith in her abilities.”

I grinned.
“I’d love to give you a haircut. In fact, I brought my scissors. I can cut it before tomorrow’s party, if you’d like?”

He smiled broadly
. “I’d really appreciate that. Thank you.”

“
No problem,” I said and turned to Sela. “You know, I can touch-up your hair a little, as well. Even-out some of those areas that Milan seems to have missed.”

Jesse pointed towards
her head. “He did, look over to the right. She should really get that fixed.”

“My hair is fine,” snapped
Sela, glaring at the both of us. “It is supposed to look like this.”

“Oh, of course,” I answere
d with a wide-eyed grin.

“I’m sure it’s all the rage i
n Paris,” smirked Jesse.

“It is,” said
Sela, twirling her massive engagement ring around on her finger, angrily. “Of course, we are usually ahead of you in regards to fashion and style.”

“Clearly
,” said Mimi. “You look very lovely, dear.”

“Thank you,” replied
Sela. “Obviously, you have great taste.”

Jesse and Reed talked about their careers during dinner while the rest of us sat silently. Then,
as Gretchen served our main-course of prime-rib, Spinach Rockefeller, and some kind of delicious finger potatoes, Sela proved to be even more viscous.

“I’ll just have
a little of the spinach,” said Sela, as Gretchen tried offering her some of the prime-rib.

I stared down at my plate of food, which had
healthy portions of everything.

What could I say, I liked to eat.

Sela noticed my plate of food and sneered. “You should reconsider. Eating like that makes a girl fat.”

Be
fore I could respond, Reed said, “Actually, Sela, you should consider eating
more
food. You’re getting much too thin. It isn’t healthy.”

She gave him a scathing look.
“I’m a model.
I
can’t afford to look fat.”

I cleared my throat.
“Actually, I should probably stick to smaller portions, myself,” I said, thinking about the extra few pounds I’d put on in the last year. I still needed to lose those before I’d feel comfortable in any kind of bathing-suit.

“Nonsense,” said Jesse
. “You look great. You obviously know how to eat right.”

“Oh, I think we can all agree that Sinclair knows what she’s doing,” piped in
Jack, his eyes glossy as he stepped back into the dining room, swaying slightly. “If she fills out a swimsuit as well as she does that dress…”

“Jack!” gasped
Mimi.

“Oh, chill out Mimi,” said Jack
, with a lopsided grin. “You still fill out your swimsuit nicely too, my dear.”

Mimi
smiled, her cheeks pink. “Oh, Jack.”

“Speaking of swimsuits,” said
Jesse. “Sin and I were thinking of leaving ours here and going for a little skinny-dip in the ocean around midnight. Anyone else game?”

“
Seriously?” asked Reed, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head, vehemently. “No, he’s just kidding.”

“The hell I am,” spouted Jesse. “We’re going to that spot you used to bring all your women, Reed.”

Sela’s
eyes narrowed. “Your women, when was that?”

“
Don’t worry, it was long before you,” said Reed, patting her hand.

“I’d join you but something tells me I’d get in trouble from
the
boss,” chuckled Jack as he nodded towards Mimi.

“Don’t you
dare
go skinny-dipping anywhere on the beach,” said Mimi, with a look of horror. “None of you. I simply forbid it.”

Jesse wa
ved his hand. “Oh, you’re so paranoid, mother.”

“Sounds like fun,” smiled
Sela. “I love skinny-dipping.”

“And you
’re French,” said Jesse. “You people love walking around nude, flaunting your bodies.”

“
Because we know how to eat right and take care of them,” she said, again, staring directly at me. “We have nothing to be ashamed of.”

I thought about drowning her
in the ocean and wondered if skinny girls sank or floated in saltwater.

Mimi shook her head
, still upset. “Goodness, I can’t believe any of you are actually considering this.”

“Mother, it’s in a
spot where nobody will even notice us,” said Jesse.

“But it must be someone’s private property. What if they catch you?” asked Mimi.

“Then we’ll just have to ask them to join us,” joked Jesse.

“I don’t want to know anything more,” said Mimi. “The less I know the better.”

“So, are you in or out Reed?” asked Jesse.

“He is
in,” replied Sela.

Jesse raised his wine glass. “Then here’s to swimming with the sharks. Hopefully non
e of our bobbers catch a bite.”

“Sharks?”
I gasped.

Reed

After dinner, Sela suddenly claimed to have developed a raging headache as I followed her back to the bedroom.

“It’s been a long day,” she said
, sitting down at the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes. “You know, Reed, I think I would just like to take a bath and go to sleep. No swimming.”

I sat down next to her and began rubbing her
slender, tan shoulders. “After a ten-hour flight, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

She sighed.
“Mm…yes.”

I kissed the back of her neck. “Why don’t I run you a bath and join you?”

She shook her head
. “No. Not with this pain,” she raised her hands to her temples.  “I think it’s turning into a migraine.”

“Take some aspirin.”

She turned around and looked at me like I was an idiot. “I need something stronger than that. It’s a
migraine
.”

“
Right. Well, I’m sure my mother has something stronger,” I said standing up. “I’ll go check with her.”

She smiled.
“Thank you.”

I went
upstairs to my parents’ bedroom, and was about to knock when I heard them arguing, on the other side. 

“It was her
, wasn’t it?” hollered my mother. “You’re still with her- don’t lie to me!”

“Mimi, I don’t have time
for this,” snapped Jack. “I told you I stopped seeing her over a year ago.”

She laughed, bitterly
. “Why should I believe you?”

Backing away from the door,
I turned around and left. It was the same old song and dance with my stepdad, Jack, not being able to keep his dick in his pants. I learned years ago, to just stay the hell out of it. The worst thing was- she’d always known about his escapades, even before they were married, yet she remained with him. If she couldn’t see he’d never change, then that was her problem. I wasn’t about to get involved, I had enough on my plate with Sela’s emotional meltdowns.

When I arrived b
ack at the room, she was laying against the pillows, talking on her cell phone.

“I have to go,”
she murmured, looking up. “I’ll see you when I fly back.”

“Who was that?”
I asked when she dropped the phone onto the bed.

She shrugged.
“My agent.”

“Oh. Well, u
nfortunately, I couldn’t find anything stronger for that migraine. Do you have some kind of a prescription for those types of headaches?”

She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up.
“Not here. Don’t worry about it, Reed. Once I finish my bath and get some sleep, I’m sure I will feel better.”

I walked over and pulled her into my arms. “Are you sure you don’t want me to join you?”

Her cell phone began to vibrate.

She pushed me away, grabbed the phone, and read the message, her lips curling up in pleasure.

“
What, did you win another free movie rental?” I asked, dryly.

“No.
Just my agent, again. She’s keeping me up-to-date on things.”

Her agent
, a raging bitch named Delia LeFevre. She didn’t care much for me and the feeling was mutual. Ever since I’d asked Sela to marry me, she’d been trying to talk her out of it. Claimed I was a player and would break her heart. But that was bullshit. I
was
a player, but that was before I’d slid my ring on Sela’s finger. Unlike my father, I was determined to be faithful and make our marriage work. 

“Wonderful,” I muttered. “She’ll be bugging us all weekend, I’m sure.”

She studied me for a minute and then shoved the phone into her purse. “Reed, could you draw me a bath?” she asked, moving towards me. She slid her arms around my waist and rested her cheek against my chest. “Please?”

“
Of course,” I said rubbing her back.

“Thank you, my love.”

I raised my eyebrows.
Love
wasn’t in Sela’s vocabulary. The only time she ever mentioned the word was when I went down on her.

“Hey,” I said, tilting her chin up so I could stare into her eyes. I smiled. “I’ve really missed you.”

“Me too.”

Something about her response didn’t sit well. I wondered if she was still angry with me. “Is there anything wrong?” I asked.

She shook her head.
“No, why?”

“You
just seemed a little distant.”

“It’
s been a long day.”

“You’d tell me if there was anything wrong?”

She shrugged. “Of course.”

Staring into her eyes, I lowered my mouth and kissed her softly. As I slid my tongue between her lips, she pulled away. “Reed, please… the bath?”

I sighed.
“Fine.”

She opened up a smaller suitcase a
nd handed me a bottle of bubble-bath. “Thanks.”

I went into the bathroom and began
filling the tub, pouring some of the pink liquid into the water. I thought about her body, wet and glistening with suds, and decided to try one last time to persuade her into letting me wash her back. Putting the bottle down, I turned and walked back into the bedroom. “What in the hell are you doing?” I demanded, stopping in my tracks.

She lifted her face from the line
of white powder and rubbed her nose. “What does it look like?”

I clenched my jaw.
“You said you gave that shit up.”

“I did but…”

“But what?”

She stared at me for a min
ute and sighed. “For God’s sake- what’s the big deal? I’m an adult. I shouldn’t have to explain this or answer to anyone.”

I grabbed the tray of coke and stormed
back into the bathroom.

“Reed!” she hollered, moving
behind me, trying to grab my arm. “Give that back. I wasn’t finished!”

“
Oh,” I sneered,” yes, you were.”

“Reed!”

I shook my head. “No, Sela, absolutely not. Not this shit, not here and definitely, not you.”

“You can’t tell me what to do!” she cried.

I emptied it into the toilet and flushed it. “Bullshit,” I said, slamming the tray down. “You know how I feel about drugs. We talked about this
many
times before!”

“
You
talked about it,” she hollered back, walking out of the bathroom. “I never promised anything.”

I followed her.
“Obviously, I was the only one coherent during that particular conversation. Sela,” I said, grabbing her by the shoulders.  “Listen, I f
orbid
you to even consider doing that shit again, or
any
drug for that matter. You got that?”