Shannon's Fairy-Tale Foursome by Mia Ashlinn

patronizing, but Shannon ended up feeling calmer. The tension in her chest loosened, and she could almost breathe normally again.
    She’s right. I was planning to do this once I worked up the courage to step out of my comfort zone in front of the whole damn town. They just helped me to do it sooner rather than later.
    Shannon plucked the cucumbers off her eyelids so she could see her friends, but the bright sunlight from the window blinded her. “Damn it.” Her hand shot up to block the light, but the damage had already been done. Everything around her looked hazy with distorted colors and giant spots.
    “Oh,” Sarah cried as she hurried to spin the salon chair around so that Shannon’s back was to the storefront window. “I’m so sorry, Shannon. Are you okay?”
    “Don’t apologize, Sarah. It wasn’t your fault,” Katie-Anne said. “That’s what she gets.”
    Shannon grumbled incoherently. At least, she prayed her words sounded inarticulate. If they could make out what she’d said, she would probably end up with blue hair.
    “I think someone in here is talking trash about us, Katie-Anne.”
    At the end of Jaycee’s sentence, Shannon’s vision finally cleared. She saw Katie-Anne and Jaycee for the first time in two hours. “How long is this crap going to take? I have stuff to do.”
    Katie-Anne blew on her wet nails, but managed a quick denial between puffs of air. “No, you don’t, Shan.”
    “Yep. We cleared your schedule for the day,” Jaycee informed her smugly.
    Shannon wanted to run from the room, screaming for help. When Jaycee acted pleased with herself, she’d usually done something that would land them all in a load of trouble.
    Apparently, Shannon wasn’t the only one worried about what Jaycee had done. With her reputation, everyone ran when she had that tone or that look, and Sarah was no exception.
    “Oh pickles,” Sarah squeaked. “I, ugh, forgot something in the…storage closet. Yeah, ugh, that’s it.” Scurrying away, she called out over her shoulder, “I’ll be back—later.”
    Disregarding Sarah’s vanishing act, Shannon’s eyes narrowed suspiciously on Jaycee. “What the hell did you do?” she demanded to know. “Did you lie, cheat, steal, or borrow?”
    Jaycee gasped, “Moi?” She laid her slender hand against her breast, throwing her head back as if aghast. “I would never do any of those things. I’m a good girl.”
    Shannon snorted.
    Katie-Anne chuckled knowingly. “Right, J.”
    Shannon scanned the room with a dramatic flair, calling out, “Anyone have some boots in a size eight?”
    “Bitch,” Jaycee spat with a mock scowl, her full lips twitching as she fought the urge to smile. “Fine. I might have told a few teeny-weeny white lies.”
    Katie-Anne quit blowing on her nails in midbreath. “Good God, J. What did you lie about?”
    Shannon wanted to know the answer but, at the same time, she didn’t. If she stayed in the dark, she could claim innocence. Oh, what the hell? She might as well jump into the deep end and see if she would sink or swim. “That is what I would like to know.”
    Jaycee shot out of her chair and crossed the small salon in three steps.
    “Jaycee Elizabeth! Get your ass back here,” Katie-Anne ordered sharply as she stood from her seat gracefully. She followed Jaycee to the drink station, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and whispered secretively in her ear.
    A jingle at the entrance of the salon captured everyone’s attention.
    Svetlana Sokolov and two unfamiliar women crowded into the doorway. The tallest woman looked like a younger version of Svetlana. That must be her daughter… What was her name, damn it? It was the name of a city or something like that. Paris? Sydney? London? No, it’s Brooklyn.
    Jaycee squealed when she spotted Svetlana. In the past few months, the two had bonded. No one understood why or how, but they had. Jaycee skipped over to the older woman who held out her arms, and they embraced