Barber Shop Ink: Always Blue in Memphis

by Penny Blush

  “Memphis, how about you, you need anything?” I asked looking in his direction across the crackling heat of the fire.

  “Actually yes, there is something I need,” the growl, rumbling, panty melting voice that belonged to Memphis called out across the flames.

  “Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I shot back, standing in the doorway.

  “Your name.”

  Chapter 9 Memphis

  “Memphis, how about you, you need anything?” She turned to look at me, her sweet, smokey voice asked through the haze and heat of the fire pit.

  I still hadn't gotten a good look at Jaxon's cousin. The few times I had seen her she was always covered up in some way. At first, it was by oversized men's pyjama pants and a hoodie that swallowed her whole. Next, it was a blur of messy hair and Lycra as she playfully argued with Jax before she quite literally ran out the door and now, her face is hidden in the shadow of the light spilling through the doorway.

  After a full-on week at work, Jax and I had decided to head to the bar for a much needed ‘Staff Meeting’. The rest of the crew were still working or had other plans, which I was cool with, I didn't feel like having an all-in drinking session. Tonight, wasn't about partying hard and getting written off; it was about decompressing.

  We had some beers, played some pool and talked a lot of shit. I watched as Jaxon attempted to charm and eventually strike out with a raven-haired beauty at the bar. I've seen Jaxon in action with the ladies before, and all he had to do was to wink in their direction, and they would smile, willingly handing over their panties, then leave with him for the night. I don't know if it was that he was just as exhausted as me or his heart wasn't in it, or he had someone else on his mind, which I thought was more likely the case.

  It took a couple of beers and few shots of whisky before I could feel the stress of the last few days start to slip away. I can't tell you how good it felt just to chill the fuck out, doing nothing but shooting some pool and talk about anything but work and the shop for once, both of us just relaxing for the first time in months.

  I love what I do. I love my shop and the guys that work there. But, sometimes owning your own business feels like you’re getting nowhere fast and no matter how much effort you put in you end up being left frustrated and unsatisfied, like an incomplete blowjob. The shop can be like a whore you can't say no to. She sucks and sucks and sucks the fucking life out of you. She gets you all riled up and just as you’re about to get the release you can feel building, the tension release that you have been longing for, the release you need she sits back throws a wink in your direction then walks away, leaving your dick swinging in the wind.

  When we got back to Jaxon’s house, I thought we had walked into the wrong place. We had left a dark, dank, foul-smelling hovel and return to a clean, bright, fresh smelling home.

  "Thank fuck," Jax whispered walking into the lounge room and then yelled, “Hedge, we’re home."

  “Dude, are you sure we’re in the right house?” I asked, shocked by the dramatic difference.

  “Where are you? Did you get abducted by aliens?” Jax questioned.

  “Out here,” she called out as the front door thudded closed.

  “Thank you, sweet baby Jesus!” The idiot cried out spinning in a circle, pizza box in one hand and beer in the other.

  She was staring into space, mesmerised by the flames, completely lost in her head and didn't seem to notice that we had returned.

  “Hey Cuz,” Jaxon said, walking out the back door and I made a B-line for the bathroom.

  The state that the house was in when we left would have taken an army of cleaners a full day to fix and make it habitable again. I could not believe the difference that she had made in such a brief time; we'd only been out two maybe three hours. Somehow, she had managed to clean the house from top to bottom leaving it feeling clean and fresh without the lingering smell of cleaning products. I used the facilities, making sure that everything was left the exact way I found it, fresh, clean and perfect.

  Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I went to join them in the back yard. I found her sitting by the fire-pit curled up in an Adirondack chair with her legs pulled up under another large men's hoodie, which would have been big on me. Once again, her figure was swallowed by fleece. Jaxon was laughing at his cousin as she wiped her face with the back of her hand; she still had a hood up over her hair, hiding her face.

  "See Memphis; you're not the only weirdo who likes pineapple on your pizza. Hedge here would put pineapple on everything if she could," Jax said nodding towards his cousin.

  “Pineapple lover hey?” I asked, making my way to the vacant seat on the opposite side of the fire.

  “Um-hum,” she replied.

  I relaxed back in my chair, stretching my legs out. It was a beautiful clear night, the moon bright and high. The crickets were chirping, the crackling fire was taking the edge off the chill of the evening air. It was peaceful, quiet and relaxing. I would have been happy to sit out here forever. I needed more nights like this just relaxing with friends, breathing, not thinking or worrying about life.

  I sat there listening to them talk while trying to figure her out. She seemed to have completely changed from the girl that I had seen this afternoon. She was going to be an interesting challenge to figure out. I didn't know much, but I had pieced together a few things about the lovely Hedge.

  One: She is tall. I noticed when she was standing next to Jax earlier, that the top of her head reached his chin, which would put her around six feet tall. I still had a good six inches on her, though. She stood up tall, straight and proud. She was a woman who embraced her height instead of trying to hide it.

  Two: She has legs for days. The brief glimpse of the Lycra clad beauties that I had gotten as she strode out the door this afternoon was enough to pique my interest. I wanted to peel away the Lycra and get up close and personal with them, mapping every line and contour with my fingers and tongue.

  Three: she has a voice made of smokey velvet and lace. Her voice was all sweet, soft, and delicate with hints of smoke like a fine scotch. A voice that made my cock twitch and making me think all sorts of dirty thoughts. Visions of all the fun things we could do with each other, to each other floated through my head.

  Down boy!

  Whoa, whoa, whoa I can't go having those kinds of thoughts about Jax' cousin. She is Jaxon's cousin, his family; I can't go there, shouldn't even be thinking about going there, especially with a member of his family that he has said, more than once, is practically his little sister. Number one rule of the Bro Code, you do not date your Bro’s family. Unless of course, he’s cool with it, that is.

  Would he be cool with it?

  Would she be cool with it?

  Then again, who’s talking about dating anyone?

  But that voice does make me think about doing other things, touching, kissing, tasting. At the very least I want to see what Hedge looks like, to see if she has the looks to go with that voice. Not that I'm that guy. I'm not a chauvinistic pig or anything, I know that looks aren't everything, but I would also be lying if I didn’t say that they helped.

  “Actually yes, there is something I need,” I called out to Hedge from my seat, across the flames in response to her question.

  “Oh, yeah and what’s that?” She shot back in that intoxicating voice.

  “Your name.”

  Jaxon has been calling her ‘Hedge', which they explained was a nickname from when they were kids, but neither of them had told me her real name, and for some reason, it bugged me. I wanted to know. I needed to know.

  She stopped in the doorway backlit by the floodlight throwing her into shadow. Damn it, I still couldn’t see her face. I’m starting to think that the universe is conspiring against me. I mean come on, I’m not asking for a million dollars, although universe if you’re offering...!

  I just want to see her face damn it.

  “I don’t know if you have earned the right to my real name just yet,” she said w
ith a slight giggle before disappearing into the kitchen.

  The sound of her giggling went straight to my dick. I hadn't seen her face or body, but just her voice was making me hard.

  “Dude,” I kicked the leg of Jax chair, “seriously what’s her real name?” I asked, tilting my head toward the house.

  “Nope buddy, no can do,” Jax replied, shaking his head. “She said you gotta earn it.”

  “Dude?” I said raising an eyebrow, “Seriously? Just tell me.”

  “Dude,” Jax replied, slowly shaking his head.

  “Dude!” I sat forward resting my elbows on my knees.

  “Dude,” Jax said, leaning back in his chair, throwing an arm across the back while crossing his right ankle on his left knee.

  “Duuuude,” I replied, slumping back in my chair, with my hands behind my head.

  “Dude,” Jax said shortly, ending the conversation.

  Seriously, I don’t know why chicks need so many words to have a conversation. Just say what you mean and don’t dick around with what you’re trying to say, wondering if you're going to hurt someone's feelings or if it is the right thing or not. Just say it. I mean, guys don't have that problem we say what we need to say using as little words as possible.

  You'd be surprised at the hidden vocabulary in the word ‘Dude'. Full conversations can be conducted with one word and changes in inflexion, take for example the conversation that we just had using only one word ‘Dude’. Let me translate.

  “Dude seriously? Just tell me,” I asked = Good sir, please be a gentleman and provide me with your lovely cousin’s name.

  "Dude," Jax replied = I am sorry my friend, but she has not yet declared you worthy of the gift of her name. Therefore, I cannot bestow it upon you.

  "Dude!" I said = My good man, surely you jest? Her name is but a trifle. I would like to get to know your delightful cousin and to do that I would like to address her formally. Thus, I require her name.

  “Dude,” Jax said shortly = My fine sir, I will thank you to respect my lady cousin's wishes, that her name is to be presented to you only upon the proof of your worthiness of which she will decide.

  "Duuuude," I conceded = Noble sir, you are a paragon of dignity and respect. Your lady cousin is lucky to have a fellow such as yourself to protect her virtue; it is to be commended.

  "Dude," Jax finished = My friend you are a gentleman and a scholar, and I thank you for your understanding.

  See, I told you; the power of ‘Dude’.

  “Jax, I stole some socks,” her smoky velvet voice filtered across the fire on the slight breeze as she curled back up in her chair.

  “Jeez Hedge next thing you know you’ll be wearing my undies.”

  "Umm, negative, nope, not going to happen," she replied, disgusted. "I'll go commando before I get THAT desperate,"

  Aaaaand now I was thinking about her going commando.

  God damn, that voice! I still haven't seen the woman properly to know what she looks like. If I were asked to give a description all I would be able to give would be, she's tall has dark hair and was wearing men's pyjamas. That explanation made her sound like a total basket case.

  If her voice was anything to go by, she was hot as hell and all womanly and curvy. If I was asked to describe her voice, well that’s another matter. Her voice is smooth, smokey and rich like warm melted chocolate.

  “So,” I said steering the conversation away from her not wearing any underwear, “what am I supposed to call you then?”

  She turned to look at Jax. “You didn’t tell him?” She asked, knowing that I was talking about her real name.

  “Nope,” he replied with a shake of his head, “you said he wasn’t worthy yet.”

  Hedge smiled at him, and they pounded fists. “Thanks, Cuz.”

  “Well? I can’t keep referring to you as Jax’ cousin, can I? So, what do I call you?”

  “For now, you can call me Hedge,” she said then more quietly, “you have to earn the right to my real name, it’s special,” she concluded on a whisper that was barely heard above the crackle of the fire.

  Okay, well what the hell was that supposed to mean?

  “Fair enough,” I replied while thinking challenge accepted.

  After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I asked pointing at Jax, “so, how come you’re living with this bum?”

  "Well," she laughed, "the universe decided to push me off a cliff, and this is where I landed."

  "You know you can land here anytime you like, Hedge," Jax said. It was a simple statement, but you could tell there was real familial love between them.

  “Thanks, Cuz and sorry for being such a shitty house guest,” getting up, she bent down and wrapped Jax in a giant hoodie filled hug, “love ya!”

  “Love ya too, kid.”

  “Jax, you’re six months older than me, you know that, right?” She laughed, sitting back down, “Old man!”

  "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" I said, breaking up the family love fest.

  “Okay, if I do this,” she sighed, sitting forward in her chair, the hood slipping down hiding more of her face. “If I tell you my story of woe, it’s a one-time thing. You can ask your questions, and then we NEVER speak of it again," Hedge sounded resigned to the conversation. "No future comments. No ‘oh too soon?'," Her tone was getting serious. "People will be hurt if I become the butt of any jokes. Okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “This last month has been shitty, and I don't want to keep reliving it, over and over. Especially now that I have decided that my wallowing pity party is over and I’m moving on,” Hedge concluded with determination.

  "Thank God!" Jax said with an exaggerated sigh as Hedge smacked him upside the head. "What? I'm just saying that I'm glad that you're finally over it, is all."

  “Fair enough,” I said, bringing her focus back around to the question at hand.

  “Well, the universe took a gargantuan dump all over my life, all in one day." Hedge started, shifting in her seat getting more comfortable as Jax went inside to get more drinks.

  Taking a deep breath, she continued. “A few months ago, I was working my dream job as manager and senior stylist for Donavan James. I’m a hairdresser,” she clarified. “Donavan wasn’t just my boss, he was my best friend and introduced me to my boyfriend, Thomas. Everything was going along fine, all rainbows and lollypops, that was, until Donavan, the greedy bastard got caught for insider trading within weeks of the public floating of his company Donavan Inc. It was horrible. The Feds burst into the salon, kicking our clients out and confiscating everything, including my tools," she sounded distressed.

  “Here Doll,” Jax said handing her a pre-mixed bottle of Captain Morgan’s spiced rum and cola. “Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine; you’ll have your babies back soon.”

  Umm, what the fuck? She was just talking about her shit-head of an ex-best friend/boss, and the Feds busting into her work, so why was Jax talking about babies? Did this chick have kids? If so, why weren’t they with her? Who was this dick keeping them from her? And the big question, why did I care?!

  "I know Jax. I just miss them. I need to hold them," Hedge said sadly, wrapping her arms around herself, "I need to know they're okay."

  “Has he called you yet? Did he say when he’s giving them back?” Jax asked concerned.

  "No," there was so much sadness in her voice, and it pissed me off. "Anytime I call, Haun he refuses to talk to me about them and says that I’ll get them back when he is ready.”

  What the actual FUCK? It sounds like Hedge has herself an asshole ex who is refusing to let her see her kids.

  “Hedge, is everything okay? Do you need any help with this guy?” I asked, suddenly feeling very protective of her.

  "No, no it's fine. I'll just have to be patient, my babies will be back with me soon enough," Hedge sighed, tucking her legs back under the massive jumper. "I don't want to talk about it. It's too painful. I'll feel better when I have them
back."

  Hedge sighed again, taking a mouthful of her drink before continuing. "Anyway, Donavan, the stupid fucker, took off before the Feds got there. So, I was left to deal with the forty million questions that the Feds had." Gritting her teeth, she continued, "I had to defend myself. I had to prove that I had nothing to do with it. The Feds put me through an interrogation for nothing. They already knew that I was innocent, they just wanted to see what I had to say for myself and if I was going to say anything incriminating or something,” she huffed out a breath and went on with her story.

  "After being unceremoniously dismissed, I went home, got changed and went for a run to try to clear my head so that I could figure out what the hell had just happened and make sense of it all. I thought that things were going to be okay, only to get back to see that my apartment building was on fire and then it collapsed with all of my possessions inside.”

  “Shit, jeez Hedge. I... I don’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ seems like such a useless thing to say,” I said, feeling sorry for the crappy day she had. Poor baby, all I wanted to do was walk around the fire, gather her up in my arms, hug her close and try to make her feel better. “I feel like I should hug you or beat someone up on your behalf.”

  "Oh, I'm not done," she continued with a humourless laugh. "So, once I was done dealing with the second bitch slap that the universe had delivered for the day, I went to my boyfriend, Thomas's apartment to wallow and cry and start to deal with the day. Only when I got there, I found Donavan. Thomas was his accountant, you see," she huffed out another angry laugh.

  "Everything that had happened up to that point was just small love taps because the universe was winding up to wallop me hard with the knockout blow." Taking another long drink, Hedge finished her story. "So, my piece-of-shit boss was at my boyfriend's house. Not just in his house, but he was in his shower, with my boyfriend. Fucking my boyfriend," each sentence was punctuated with a thump of her fist on the arm of her chair.

  “Duuuude!” (My dear lady, that is deplorable. And pardon my language but, what an absolute piece of shit. I hope you cut both their balls off.)