Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Now he wished he hadn’t intervened, but at the same time, he now knew why Darlene was doing it, and although he didn’t quite agree with her methods, he could see that they did in fact work.
“Good,” he said.
“If you’re wanting her to get a free ride, you’ve got to tell me. If she is just a passing fancy and you don’t want her to have a spot at the end of this, tell me. I can treat her differently, but she won’t be what we need here.”
“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Hawk said.
“Have you thought about why you’re looking out for her?” Darlene asked, stopping him in his tracks toward the door.
He had his hand on the doorknob, and he turned to look at her. “What?”
“Come on, Hawk. You won’t allow her near any party. I know she tries to steer clear of the club women, and I know that is because of you. I’ve heard the warning about one of her friends, but I was busy here to come and help. That letter that was left on her windshield. If you stake a claim on her, she’ll be protected by the club.”
“Nikki and I, it’s just fun. She doesn’t need the club, because it’s not going to change anything, and if you want to keep entertaining Dan and not get replaced, I suggest you keep your fucking opinion to yourself.”
And with that, he left.
Chapter Ten
Night school started, and Nikki spent a great deal of time studying. Just like working at a beauty salon, learning about beauty was not easy. The first part of the study was learning about the health and safety aspects of the beauty industry.
For nearly two months, she had been working at Darlene’s place, and she hadn’t really paid much attention to her surroundings, but now she did. She saw all the relevant signs and the protocols that were followed. There were different sterilizing units, and multiple chemicals were used. She saw that Darlene also got inspections as well, and the woman listened and learned. There were always new ideas.
In between her studies and work, she started to pay attention to the beauticians before, during, and after treatments to absorb the knowledge. It was amazing to watch and finally understand. At the end of each segment, there was a test she had to complete. She managed to pass the health and safety aspect, and then the course moved onto the practice of beauticians. The first element of the course was makeup application and techniques. First, it was learning about all the products, what they meant, along with the complexity of the skin, the hair, and nails. There was human biology in the course, which completely blew her mind.
She had her own work, and Darlene allowed her to study during lulls, but she answered all the questions she had. It was amazing.
Darlene still had her good and bad days, but she didn’t take any of it personally. Sure, on a bad day it sucked, as she felt like Darlene was starting to be her friend, and then, bam, she’d do something wrong.
She came to realize that Darlene never spoke to her disrespectfully in front of anyone. She wasn’t trying to demean her. It took Nikki some time to realize that, but when she did, she stopped taking it personally.
Arriving at the motel, she saw Hawk hadn’t gotten there yet. She still had time for her man, but that had resulted in her having to clean out her fridge again since he was always hungry.
He didn’t come around to the trailer anymore, and when it was her cycle, she expected not to see him as much. Only, he surprised her by bringing her back to the motel. They didn’t have sex, but he massaged her stomach and fed her chocolate ice cream. They talked about their favorite books. There were a few classics they both liked, but she had a feeling if she were to reveal that he liked a romantic classic, he’d kill whoever she told, possibly even her.
She was falling for him. Nikki knew this was bad news. She shouldn’t be falling for him because he was not hers. They were just having a good time, and she didn’t need him to constantly be telling her they were just having fun, she already knew that. It didn’t stop her from falling in love with him. She didn’t know if he acted differently with her, or if this was who he was, but it didn’t matter. Just being with him was like a breath of fresh air.
Every time she saw him, he made her smile. Of course, waking up next to him was entirely surreal as well. They spent most of their nights at the motel, and she found herself waking up more often to find his arms wrapped around her. She used to be plagued by the nightmares of her past, but no more. There was no doubt in her mind it was because of how close she had gotten to Hawk. He pushed all the bad things away.