101 Degrees Fahrenheit

An eBook By Eva Gale.

"Shit! I can't believe this!" Kathy Roberts screeched at the broken air conditioner jutting out of the wall. She smacked the archaic machine one more time before she walked away.

Her last customer at Great Headz Barber looked at her with a smirk.

"Murphy's Law right?" she said as she put down the buzzer and walked to prop open the front door with a brick. Hot air wafted in and it felt as if she'd opened an oven door. She coughed.

"This heat wave sucks," the man said. "Too hot to do anything."

At one hundred and one degrees Fahrenheit, the sweat trickled down the back of her neck and between her breasts in minutes. The short pieces of hair that came off the buzzer stuck to her making her itch and dream about a cool shower. She sauntered back over to her counter and picked up the buzzer, flipping it on.

"Yeah, just my luck too, that stupid thing crashing. At least you're my last customer today, and I'm almost done. Just a few minutes more. I have to head over to my sister's for a BBQ tonight, so I decided to close up early today. Too hot anyway." She passed the comb over the crown of his head, lifting it up for the man's flat-top. He'd been in many times before and got better looking each time she saw him. The crinkles around his eyes were more pronounced this time, and he now had some silver at his temples. Not much, just a smattering.

She glanced at his neck and shoulders as she trimmed the hair at his nape. The clippers revealed pale skin as hair fell away, leaving a dark tan-line. He probably worked outside. His shoulders were broad under the barber cape, and his fingers and nails were banged.

"So what do you do?" She hated such general questions, but some men never liked to chitchat while they got their hair done.

"I'm a mechanic."

"Oh? Where?"

"Over on the corner at the Mobil station."

"I thought with your tan you worked outside."

"No, I've owned the place for thirteen years now. I got the tan at the beach last week."

"Must be hell this week working in there. All those fumes."

"Yeah." He wiped his hands on the black nylon cape.

"So," he paused, "How'd you come up with the name for your shop?"

She chuckled. Every man got around to asking her that. It always made for some sparky conversation.

"Well, I was inspired. A double entendre, you know? I figured guys would like the name, and I'm a barber."

She caught glimpses of his face in the mirror while she spoke to watch his reaction. He was adorable. His hair lay thick and dark brown, his Levi's hung low enough to make her check him out when he walked in. She watched the corner of his mouth hitch. He wanted to ask her more, she saw the questions flowing in his eyes. Kathy could tell when he made a decision and gathered his courage. His shoulders heaved with a deep breath.

"So which one are you great at?"

Wow. She never thought he'd be so bold.

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