That was my problem—I was a man, she was an attractive woman.
And now I was going to have to suck it up and act indifferent while I washed her hair.
“I can wrap the towel around my body while you do it, but it’ll be soaking wet.”
“I’ve got—” I stopped and cleared my throat when the words croaked out of it. “I’ve got more towels, and I can easily wash and dry that one.”
To prove it, I pulled another two out of the cupboard in the bathroom, placing them next to the stall.
What followed was a lesson in being a hairstylist.
I got schooled through how many shampoos long hair needed, how it was necessary to dig my fingers into it down to her scalp to make sure it was all clean, how to put conditioner on the strands and comb my fingers through it to get rid of any knots, and then how to put her hair in a turban.
Jesus, I just washed it and rinsed mine. Women didn’t have it easy.
After that, I waited while she swapped her towel out, then lifted her back into the chair and pushed her to her bedroom.
“I’ve unpacked your stuff into the drawers, and I made sure to use ones that only came up to waist height on me so you can reach them all. Is there anything else you can think of?”
“Uh, I have a lot of hair products because my hair’s an asshole,” she said quietly.
Holding a finger up, I lifted a basket out from under the bed. “I went into your bathroom and swept everything I could find into a bag. I figured putting it into a basket was easier for you.”
Smiling gratefully at me, she picked out a couple of items and put them on the bed.
I kind of wanted to do this part of her routine, too. It was weird, and I couldn’t understand why, but I was intrigued by it all.
“Can I do it?”
“I need to spray some of this stuff in because I normally brush my hair with the conditioner in it, and we forgot to do that.” She held up a yellow bottle, and I laughed when I saw the name of the brand on it.
“You use hair products by a company called Milk_shake?”
Shrugging the shoulder of her good hand, she handed me a weird-looking brush. “My hair loves them so I don’t question it. This is a detangling brush, and after it’s all done, you need to swap out to the wide-toothed comb for when you put this stuff in.” She held up a white bottle, and it hit me all over again how easy I had it.
If I was going out, sure, I styled it. Otherwise, I just left it the fuck alone.
Following her instructions, I worked the products through her hair, making sure to be gentle on the spot that she’d bumped when she fell.
As I was combing the long strands, I asked, “How’s your head feeling?”
“Not bad. I’ve got a bit of a headache, but nothing like it was before. The shower’s kind of helped me wash away some of the pain in it, too, and what you’re doing feels amazing.”
All I was doing was combing her hair, but if it helped, I’d do it until the comb melted from overuse.
“Do you blow-dry it?”
“Sometimes,” she admitted. “But most of the time, I leave it to dry naturally because it’s better for my hair.”
Once all the knots were gone and I’d exhausted my arm, I ran my fingers through it, making sure it was tangle free and had to bite down on my lip when I felt how soft and silky it felt.
“I think that’s it all done.” I was oddly disappointed by this fact. “How about I go and make dinner while you get dressed?”
“Shit,” she sighed, hanging her head. “I can’t even wheel myself over to the drawers to look through them. I’ve got the stuff I had on earlier, but I don’t want to put dirty underwear back on.”
I hadn’t thought of this hurdle, so I moved quickly over to where I’d put her stuff.
“Okay, what are you needing?”
“Panties and my deodorant,” she started, then looked back at the basket. “If I don’t put moisturizer on, my skin gets all irritated with the sun and heat. Maybe I should just skip it and—”
Dropping her underwear and deodorant down on the bed beside her, I lifted the bundle of clothes she’d worn earlier out of her lap and tossed the underwear in the direction of the laundry basket.
Sasha blushed, but I found the whole thing amusing for some reason.
Laying the remaining items down next to her clean panties, I pulled the basket closer.
“If you have to moisturize, you moisturize. I’m not kidding, Sasha, I’m here to help you out. It’s not a problem for me, so just say what you need.”