Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Kaoru laughed. A real laugh that echoed in the stairwell.
I thought about Deja. My stylist who was about to turn forty but looked like she could still be twenty-six.
Deja was a Black baddie in every sense of the word. Big ass. Big breasts. Tiny waist. Full lips that she'd enhanced with fillers, but they looked so good on her you'd never know they weren't natural.
Her hair was always perfect.
Always styled.
Always laid.
She was into look-maxing before it even had a name. That's how she'd gotten into braiding hair in the first place. She'd wanted her hair in different styles all the time, but she couldn't afford those New York prices. So she ended up learning how to braid hair, how to do wigs, how to do weave, how to do it all.
Next thing she knew, people started asking her to do theirs, and she made a whole business out of it.
Deja was one of those people I always wanted to write a book about. Anytime I got my hair braided by her, I would ask questions about her life. I was just so intrigued.
Was she single?
Definitely.
But that didn't mean she didn't have a couple of studs in her stable. Deja liked to call them studs.
Women studs.
Guy studs.
She saw them all as horses to get on and ride every now and then. Someone to treat her right, buy her things, take her out.
All of that, but nothing more.
I believed Deja was the sort of woman who didn't care about getting married. Didn't care about having kids. All she cared about was being absolutely happy, free, and financially independent for the rest of her life.
It was pretty much impossible for most people to really lock her down.
Kaoru grabbed my attention. “What about the hairstylist’s cousin? She’s cute too.”
"Nika likes women. She’s not interested in guys at all."
Kaoru's face fell, but he was still smiling.
"But there's always Zo." I shrugged. "Zo likes men and women, if you want an adventure."
All the Fangs laughed. Even Rin had a half-smile on his face before it slipped back into his usual bored expression.
My phone rang.
Heading down the stairs, I pulled out my phone and looked down at the screen.
Grandma.
I stopped walking.
The Fangs stopped with me.
I looked at them. "Does anybody have a pen and paper?"
Yoichi reached into his jacket and pulled out a small notebook and pen. "Yes. I have one."
I looked at him. "Write everything down that my grandmother says."
They all looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
Behind me, Satoshi was still scratching his neck. I could hear the scrape of his nails against inflamed skin.
Jesus. That has to hurt.
I turned on the phone and put it on speaker. "Hey, Grandma."
Her warm, loving voice came through loud and clear. "Allergic to water? Now that ain't right. That ain't nothing but the devil right there."
I saw Satoshi's eyes widen.
Grandma kept going. "Is that baby around?”
“Yes, Grandma. He’s a man—”
“Tell that poor baby to come here and listen close, because we not about to let that baby scratch himself into misery."
Satoshi went completely still. His hand stopped mid-scratch, and he just stared at my phone like it was a lifeline.
"First thing," Grandma said, "get you some plain oats and grind them up fine. I'm talking powder.”
I gestured for Yoichi to write.
He blinked, but began taking the notes.
Grandma went on. “Them oats got those avenanthramides in 'em. I think that’s how you say it. Anyway, that's what calms inflammation and settles that histamine fussing in the skin. That's the base."
Yoichi was writing furiously.
Satoshi leaned forward.
"Now stir in a good spoon of raw honey. Got to be raw. Honey's antimicrobial, keeps the skin from getting angry or infected while it's irritated. It soothes and protects at the same time."
“Okay.” I looked at Yoichi. “Did you get that?”
He nodded.
Satoshi's eyes flicked to Yoichi. Then back to the phone.
"Then add you some pure aloe vera—not that green perfume mess, real aloe. That's going to cool the skin down and reduce that itching. Aloe is like laying a cool cloth over a fevered patch."
I could see Satoshi mouthing the words, trying to remember.
"If the skin is still acting up, put just a small splash of apple cider vinegar in there, but dilute it. That'll help restore the skin's pH and bring it back to balance. Don't you pour it straight, now. We healing, not burning."
“Got it, Grandma.”
Yoichi's pen scratched across the paper.
"Mix all that together into a thick paste and spread it over the itchy places. Tell that baby to sit still with it on for about forty minutes. Let it do its work."
Satoshi was holding his breath.
"After that, rinse it off gentle with lukewarm water. Then, pat dry. Don't rub. Be nice to your skin now."
I watched Satoshi's face. He looked like he was trying not to hope too much.
"And then?" Grandma's voice went softer. "Grease that baby up. I mean it. Take some petroleum jelly and seal that skin good. Lock in the calm. Protect it from the air and the water and whatever else trying to stir it up."