This story appears other places under the pen name JD Dunne.
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Lindsey always opened the salon for a few hours every Saturday and each time it was slow. She made time for clients who couldn't make it in during the work week. Occasionally she had a wedding party but today was a very slow Saturday. She had a few walk-ins but no appointments. She was finishing up a trim on a kid while his mother rummaged through her purse at the register. She saw Geoff approaching from the sidewalk as the mom and her son were leaving. Lindsey thanked the pair as they stepped out the door, Geoff was holding it open for them. She was glad to see him. He never came by the salon, she did his haircuts at home.
"What are you doing here, honey?" she asked, smiling at him.
He pretended not to know her. "I'd like a haircut, please. Do you have time?" She noticed that he took his wedding ring off. The stark band around his finger was hard not to notice. He didn't betray his ploy with any familiarity. Oh, he was going to play this out. He did that sometimes, it was a fantasy of his. He would pretend they were strangers and she would play along.
"I think I can squeeze you in," she said, gesturing toward a chair.
"We'll see about that," he said under his breath. He walked over to the chair and sat down.
She ran her fingernails through his hair, lightly scratching his head. "Are we going to take a little off the top this morning?"
"Yeah, something to make me look nice for the missus."
"I can do that. She is going to go wild for you when you get home, guaranteed." She smiled at him in the mirror. She broke character and winked at him.