56

Over the next few weeks, Miss Mia and Fake Cyrus talked often. The more they interacted online, the closer they became. It was odd for them both, but somehow they had become a comfort for each other. They had even started chatting about more intimate subjects, and Cyrus had started subtly flirting with her to see what her reaction would be little-by-little.

After he found out she was a trained wrestler, his curiosity got the best of him. He found her wrestling videos online and discovered she was fantastic on the mic. She had some good physical talent in the ring as well, and a beautiful singing voice. She was perfect for a wrestling manager and could even work a match if the situation called for it.

Although it was a strange relationship, she came around to invite him to meet in person. She welcomed him to come to her salon when he was in town. It was obvious through conversations that whatever he did for a living; he traveled often. She wasn’t comfortable meeting any place else alone.

Reality struck that she still didn’t know this man. She knew if he was a stalker, it wouldn’t matter if she invited him or not. He could easily find her. She had enough business information online that he would find her salon with little effort. It was exciting and unsettling all in one.

Mia was running around Tease and Kink Salon cleaning and getting ready for her next client. The name her silly co-owner came up with to get a shock out of customers, made her giggle. To their surprise, it brought more customers to the salon out of sheer curiosity. A play on words about teasing hair and kinky curls. They had hung subtle sexy posters on the walls with a red, black, and white boudoir inspired decor. Her co-owner was not a very modest lady and sometimes had a very crude sense of humor.

Mia instructed her assistant to get the next client shampooed and ready while she took a short break. She hadn’t heard from her Fake Cyrus in a couple of days. He had said a few flirty things to her online recently but was always a gentleman about it. She had started thinking of him as a true friend. Secretly, she wished it were her dream guy. Even though she had no idea who he was, they seemed to have a lot in common. They talked about love, life, and everything in between. It filled a small void in her life she had been feeling for so long.

Equally, the lonely void was being filled for him as well. Cyrus was finally feeling a little hope that this woman could care for him, despite his scars. She was the first woman he had ever met that didn’t care about money. Mia had told him that money meant nothing to her. She just wanted to find someone who wanted her for who she was. Not the chubby girl people saw her as.

He could see her insecurities were just as much as his own. Maybe they could remedy that together.

MissMia: Hey, Fake Cyrus! I have a few seconds to chat. Wanted to say hi. Do you want to talk tonight? Miss my chat buddy.

FakeCyrus: Look forward to it, my pretty flower.

“Mia! Your client is waiting in your chair,” the older receptionist yelled.

The older lady had retired from teaching and Mia gave her a part-time job helping around the salon to keep her busy. The lady was classy and hilarious. Clients loved her.

“This one is a hottie, Mia. If I were your age, I would hit on him. Heck, I’d have him in my bed in a New York minute. Get you some of that, girl!” The older lady laughed.

“Gladys! You’re a dirty old lady, you know that?” Mia joked.

“Well, there is some snow on the roof but still fire in the oven. My oven is ready to warm me up some sexy man-meat if you don’t want him,” Gladys teased.

“That was disturbing, G.” Mia shook her head while the lady snickered at her jokes.

Mia headed to her chair, looking over her schedule, ignoring the salon crowd around her. She noticed that the people in the salon were all abuzz this morning and the whole salon was roaring with chatter.

“Gossip day, ladies?” Mia looked over her phone, trying to block out the sound of rattling voices.

It was suddenly silent as she reached the chair. She had been so busy that day she hadn’t chatted with anyone, keeping in the work zone headspace. She didn’t even take notice that everyone in the salon was watching her.

“Alex. Can you go clean up the spa area? Someone left some water on the floor in the massage room. Thank you, sweety!” Mia instructed her employee.

“Sure, Mia. Right after your client, I’ll get right to it.”

Mia got to her station and went to grab her shears and comb from the cleaning solution. Wiping it on a towel, she tried to regain her focus. It was a Friday, and she was ready to get out of the crazy salon and straight to her comfy apartment. She had finally made it to her last client for the day and had to pull some last-minute adrenaline to get through the last few minutes of her shift.

“Hello, I’m Mia. Your client card I have here says we are doing a light trim? I see you’re a new client. Welcome to Tease and Kink. I’m sorry for the delay, sir. It’s been a crazy afternoon. Everyone wants to look good for the weekend, I suppose.” She looked over to her desk, finding a dozen roses in a large vase.

“Excuse me for just a moment. Apparently, I have roses. I’ll be right with you.”

She picked up the card feeling eyes on her from all around as she read.

My beautiful kitten. And so, we meet.

- The Real Cyrus

Mia looked confused, shifting her eyes around the salon while trying to understand. She was still not looking at the client in her chair as soft snickering echoed over the room. She assumed this was some sort of joke from her salon sisters by their amusement of their expressions.

Ignored it, she put the card back in its place.

“Funny girls! Remind me to never tell you anything personal ever again. This is not cool.” Mia went behind the client as snickers of soft laughter surrounded her once more. “Sorry sir, my salon sisters think they are cute sending me flowers, saying it’s from someone else.”

She spun the salon chair, turning the man to face the mirror and start the consultation. Looking over at her friends with a snarl, they gathered around at the next booth smirking at her.

Mia rolled her eyes. “You bitches are evil. It’s not funny.”

She went back to moving the man’s hair and feeling the texture. “Nice hair. So, are we doing a cut or trim? Alex, we still need him caped and shampooed please.”

Mia looked over to her assistant, who was covering a smirk with her hand. Mia finally looked up in the mirror to make eye contact with her new client. She saw the man’s dark brown eyes piercing through her with a sly smile on his face. Her eyes got wide as Mia almost fainted to the floor.

“AHHHH!” She screamed and dropped her comb on the floor, grabbing her mouth and jumping backward. “OH GOD! You’re… you’re him! You… you’re him... You’re you!”

“I sure hope I’m me. Even though some people think I’m fake,” he laughed.

Cyrus stood up to face her, pulling the cape from his shoulders. He reached over and took her hand, removing the shears from Mia’s grip and sitting them down on the desk. “Nice to meet you, Miss Mia. You are much more beautiful in person than online.”

Shocked, Mia asked, “What are you doing here? How do you know my name?”

Cyrus laughed, “Well, flower, you said you wouldn’t believe it was me until I walked in your salon and gave you flowers. The only thing left to do now is to ask you on that date.”

She looked around to see if everyone in the salon was seeing what she was. “Is this for real? Am I being punked? Is this a prank?” She couldn’t breathe and her eyes were wide with shock.

“No, beautiful. I’m here to take you on that date. That is if the ladies here approve of me taking you away from here for the rest of the day. Your assistant said I was your last client. You’re in hot demand, flower. It took me two weeks to get this appointment. I need that trim though,” he winked.

“Um…Okay.” It’s all she could say as she trembled from the sight in front of her.

Her assistant had already picked up the comb, cleaning it as Mia just stared at Cyrus, trying to figure out if it was real or not.

Alex placed a comb in her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. It was obvious her boss was too nervous to function. “Mia, do you need me to shampoo and drape?”

Trying to hold back a laugh, Alex moved her to sit down in the salon chair, as Mia just continued to stare at Cyrus with her mouth gaped open. It was clear Mia couldn’t put a proper sentence together at the moment.

“Uh-huh? Shampoo.” Mia still was in shock and couldn’t move from the chair for fear she would wake from this crazy wonderful dream she was having.

Cyrus rubbed his chin with amusement, contemplating what he should do to relax her. “Is it safe for her to have scissors in her hand right now? Should I be worried?”

Cyrus laughed as he looked over at the women at the next booth. The clients and other stylists joined in the laughter as Mia came back to reality. Her cheeks burned the deepest red as she blushed from embarrassment.

“I’ll take care of it, Alex. Thank you. Follow me, Mr. Evans.” Mia smiled shyly.

Thoroughly shaken, she headed to the shampoo area leading him away from the prying eyes of the salon patrons.