Page 38 of Hairpin Curves

“Thanks.” Megan’s neutral expression didn’t change.

“You looking forward to Nashville?”

At that, Megan’s lips twitched up. “Yeah. It was a good idea.” Then, after a pause, she added, “Thanks.”

Scarlett smiled out the window, and Megan sped up to pass another car. Scarlett waved enthusiastically to the confused driver as Megan laughed, and they headed on to Nashville.

Nashville. Megan was nearly vibrating with excitement as her old Camry rolled through the city, with its distinctive architecture and music culture thrumming through every aspect of the space. She had never thought about going here, never really put it on her list of places, saw it as something distinctly different from herself.

Her excitement was almost enough to help her put aside the unsettling realities of her feelings for Scarlett. Sex of any kind had always been fun, always a good way to pass the time, even if she always felt like she was holding part of herself back in bed. Somehow it was different to fool around with Scarlett. Not that she’d been fooling around with Scarlett...but she’d been thinking about it pretty much nonstop since they’d gotten on the road. At least now she’d have Nashville to distract her.

Their hotel room was a chain hotel, which had at least the reliability of a standard name. It was good to be out of the car, and Megan flopped facedown on one of the beds and let all her muscles relax.

“You can’t sleep now!” The bed dipped as Scarlett sat next to her, and Megan’s pulse quickened at the touch of her hand on Megan’s back. Scarlett rubbed a gentle circle first, then shoved her affectionately. “We’ve got to go eat and head to the show.”

“We have time, right?” Megan rolled over to lie on her back instead, which was a mistake. Scarlett was now propped up over her, leaning across her prone form.

Maybe Scarlett was thinking the same thing, because her gaze dropped briefly to Megan’s mouth, and Megan remembered being pinned down in the snow this morning. But then Scarlett grinned and gave her another shove, this time from the side. “Not a lot of time. The curtain goes up at six, and I want to eat something other than fast food.”

Megan made a face. She didn’t want to get up off this bed, but she was excited about seeing the show. “Okay. Okay, fine. I’ll get dressed.”

Megan hadn’t brought a lot of clothing on this trip, anticipating getting to do laundry at some hotel along the way, but she had a couple of nice outfits in addition to the dress she planned to wear for the wedding. She selected an emerald green sweater dress from her suitcase. She was normally more of a jeans kind of girl, but this dress made her feel cute, and it felt very Nashville when she paired it with some knee-high boots. She gathered up her clothes and undergarments and headed for the bathroom.

When she left the bathroom, Scarlett was pinning up her curls into two buns up near the top of her head. It was one of the cutest hairstyles she wore, and one that always made Megan wish for something other than her own super-straight brown hair. Scarlett looked away from her hair when Megan entered the room, her gaze skimming down Megan’s body in a way that made Megan burn up inside.

Before Scarlett could say something, whether it was going to be a compliment or not, Megan blurted out, “I don’t know what to do with my hair.”

Scarlett tapped her lips, studying her like she was an interesting painting. “You want me to curl it?” Scarlett asked.

“My hair doesn’t curl.” Megan had never had any luck with that. “It’s too fine.”

Scarlett tucked the final bobby pin into her own style and walked over to Megan, running her hand through Megan’s hair. The contact sent a chill all down Megan’s spine. Oh, she wanted Scarlett to keep touching her like that.

“It’s pretty fine.” Scarlett gathered up a bunch of Megan’s hair in her hands. Megan shivered. Hopefully Scarlett wouldn’t notice the shiver. “It would curl if you didn’t wash it so much. You need it to get dirty.”

Megan laughed, and it sounded breathless coming out. “I don’t really do dirty.”

Scarlett still had the hold on her hair, and she tipped Megan’s head back to look at her. “You sure about that?”

The unspoken after last night hung in the air between them. Megan sucked in a breath, her lips parting, and their gazes locked. Then it was like Scarlett had suddenly realized what she said, and she slid her hands out of Megan’s hair and backed away. “Your hair is cute just like it is. You don’t need to do anything to it.” She turned toward the mirror again and fumbled with her makeup bag. Was it Megan’s imagination, or were Scarlett’s hands shaking? “You, uh, ever think about cutting it?” Scarlett asked.

Megan was still rattled and warm all over. It took her a moment to process Scarlett’s words. “Oh. Yeah, actually. Sometimes I think about a pixie cut. Cutting all of it off. But I get nervous.”

“It’s a big step. But you’ve got the perfect heart-shaped face for it.” Scarlett glanced over, then back at the mirror. “If you ever want to do it, there’s probably a million great salons along our road trip. Could be a fun change. And it grows back.”

She was talking fast. Megan was having a hard time thinking. “Yeah. Maybe. I’ll...do my makeup.”

She had the new makeup from Sephora to try, and while it wasn’t her area of expertise, she put together what she hoped was a good look—not super fancy, but she didn’t end up looking like a clown, either. When she returned from the bathroom, Scarlett was done.

“What about lipstick?” Scarlett asked.

“I’m wearing some.” Megan resisted the urge to touch her lips in reflex.

Scarlett frowned. “Nude?”

“It’s light pink.”

“You need a bold lip. Something really red. It would bring the whole look together.”