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When he released my feet and eased them to the side so that they stayed out of the water, I watched him warily. "I’m going to wash your hair now if that's okay."
"I'll wash it myself."
"Sure, I'll let you do that if you can lift your arms up."
I managed to try and then groaned. Fucking hell. I couldn't. The idea of having to detangle and comb through my hair made me feel like I was swimming upstream with no hope of shore on either side.
"I've got you. You don’t have to do everything alone. I’m here. Use me. Especially since you’re hurt because of me. Reginald helped me to get you some things."
He rummaged through the bag and pulled out a hair mask, shampoo, and a moisturizing conditioner.
I eyed the brands. Briogeo. Well, that was fancy. With Grans bills, I never splurged on anything that nice.
He muttered a curse. "Is it the wrong stuff? Fuck, I’ll go back straight away. What brand do you use? The lady at the store said it was luxurious or bloody something so I thought…" his voice trailed off.
I shook my head. "No, it's perfect." Why was he so worried? A swell of emotion I didn’t understand built up in my chest. First, last night, and now this? Why was he doing this? He’d tossed me in the boot last night. He didn’t care about me.
"The girl at the store said I’d need some brushes and wide-tooth combs for detangling. I didn't know what to get, so I got several different things."
I recognized the tapered and then flared-out brush as one of the ones I used at home. "That one is fine. Um, I need to wash it first, or at least rinse out the mud and things."
"Yeah. I've got a bucket for that. Just sit back against the headrest."
I eyed him dubiously. I didn't exactly think he had any experience with my kind of hair.
"I told you I have you. I’m taking care of you. Whatever you need, I can give you. Whether it’s a hair detangler or a shadow to chase away your nightmares. I’m the one to do it. Considering I'm the reason that your hair looks like a literal bird's nest, I need to put it right. Please let me. I want to."
“I…” I needed the help. I couldn’t do this on my own. And he was here with the right comb and conditioner so expensive it might as well have gold dust in it.
Let him help.
I nodded because I had no other solution. My hair would be an awful, tangled afro nest, but at least it would be clean. “Okay, thank you.” I settled back like he asked. “So the client thing. That was a fake job, obviously."
He hesitated so long I didn’t think he would answer for a moment. "Not really. The company does exist. I do have an LLC setup for the company when I get started."
"Right. Let me get this bucket filled."
He used the shower to fill the bucket. He also had had a big plastic cup with a spout.
"If this is too hot, tell me."
The whys of today were burning a hole in my tongue. But hell would he even answer me? "I know you said that you have to put it right, but why? Why not just leave me to it?"
He pressed his lips together. "You were never supposed to be hurt."
I furrowed my brow as I watched him, and he swallowed hard. "I didn't expect you to run. And that was my underestimation of you. So let's get this show on the road, yeah?"
When he peeled off his shirt, my eyes went wide. He held up his hands. "I'm not going to touch you. I just imagine that there's going to be some mud splatter and stuff, right?"
"Lay back."
The water was the perfect temperature, and his hands were fucking massive. As he poured water into my hair, letting it drain down into an empty bucket, I almost wept with joy as I could feel all the grime and stickiness, the twigs, leaves, and mud pouring out.
Despite his size, his touch was gentle. Just like it had been when he cleaned my feet. The rinsing out of debris probably took the longest as he saturated my hair. And then when he opened the deep conditioning mask, the scent of jasmine and hibiscus filled the air. Sweetly scented and relaxing. He gently parted my hair into sections with his fingers, massaging the scalp. It was so relaxing my lids started to close and my muscles started to unknot.
"Your hair is a lot longer than it looks." He gently eased my head from side to side to make sure that he got the back of my hair.
"Yeah, the shrinkage is real."
