‘He’s going to get the shower first,’ Jack says.
Jeremy clambers through the gate. ‘Sneak.’
The twins charge indoors, and Jack manages to give Sam’s shoulder a rough playful shove on his way up while Jeremy yells, ‘Relationship goals!’
That’s not … what Sam and Moxie are. They’re friends … right?
Moxie snorts and waits till they’re gone before scooting closer. Her knees press against Sam’s shoulder blades and she runs her fingers through his hair again. Spiderwebs of sensations dart across his skull.
‘Don’t move.’ Moxie snaps the scissors experimentally, which instils zero confidence in Sam.
The scissors snip.
Wisps of corn silk strands drop on to Sam’s shoulders.
‘So I may have been planning this for a while,’ Moxie says. ‘I’m making this waistcoat, see,’ she goes on, unaware of the explosions happening under her fingertips every time she touches him. ‘It would look so good on you. And as a budding designer, I really should have bodies behind my clothes occasionally.’
Sam’s brain struggles to catch up. ‘Me? But I’m …’
‘Remarkably pretty. Don’t let it go to your head.’
Cool metal touches his neck. She fluffs hair out from behind his ears. Can she feel them burning hot?
‘Plus you kind of owe me, because after all I’m giving you a great hair—’
The scissors snap shut.
Moxie jerks back. He misses the sensation of her touch for half a second and then she says exactly what he doesn’t want to hear.
‘Oh no.’
Sam’s shoulders straighten. ‘What do you mean “oh no”?’
‘Um.’
Panic hits. ‘Moxie.’
‘OK, OK, don’t stress. I just …’ There’s a tense pause. ‘Crap.’
His hands fly to his head, but she smacks them away before he can feel the damage. Moxie twists, scissors swivelling so Sam has to duck to avoid losing an eye.
‘JEREMY,’ she hollers. ‘JEREMY, I NEED YOU.’
There’s a thud inside the house and then Jeremy appears with a sandwich in one hand.
‘Words I always want to hear,’ he says, ‘especially from my annoying little sis— Oh wow, Moxie. That’s not good.’
‘What?’ Sam says, his voice four notches too high. ‘What’s going on? How bad? Moxie? Moxie.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Moxie says. ‘I watched three tutorials.’
‘That is confusing,’ Jeremy says. ‘Surely three tutorials are enough to become an expert.’
Moxie turns on him, a lethal grip on those scissors. Sam drops his face in his hands.
‘Either help,’ Moxie snaps, ‘or feel my wrath.’
Jeremy rolls his eyes and hops down the steps. He holds his sandwich out and Moxie trades him the scissors. Then he takes her spot behind Sam and rumples a hand through Sam’s hair. It’s considerably less exhilarating.
‘Shorter at the sides and longer at the top. You’ll look great.’ Jeremy snips much faster than Moxie was going.
Sam’s going to be bald.
‘You have a buzz cut,’ Sam says, voice thin. ‘What do you know about haircuts?’
‘I used to have extremely long hair, my friend,’ Jeremy says cheerfully.
Moxie takes a bite of his sandwich.
‘Hey,’ he says.
‘Focus.’ Moxie snaps her fingers at him and then nudges Sam with her toe. ‘He donated it to cancer kids. How long did it get, Jeremy? Halfway down your back?’
‘It was a mane of beauty.’ Jeremy sounds wistful. And totally unfocused.
Sam resists covering his ears in hopes of protecting them.
‘You were majestic,’ Moxie says. ‘Like Rapunzel.’
‘Oh, the glory days.’
More hair falls on Sam’s shoulders. A lot of hair.
‘Aaaand … done!’ Jeremy snaps the scissors shut and lays them on the steps. He brushes off Sam’s shoulders and then pats him on the head. ‘Go find a mirror.’
‘I don’t want to,’ Sam says.
Jeremy shoves him off the steps and yanks his phone out of his pocket. He flips it on to camera and then spins it so Sam has to look.
OK.
It’s not too bad.
His head feels strangely naked and he can actually see. Jeremy’s raked it back from Sam’s face and without the weight of the length, it’s naturally mussy.
‘Also,’ Jeremy says, holding up a hand that sparkles in the afternoon sun, ‘I believe you’ve got glitter in your hair. Unexpected, I admit, but I’m a fan.’
Moxie chokes on the sandwich and hurriedly hands it back to Jeremy. ‘Well, wow, Jeremy! I think you should quit the building industry and take up hairdressing.’
‘All those faces I could gently caress.’ Jeremy grins at Sam and then the mischievous light in his eyes dims.
‘Thanks.’ Sam rubs the back of his bare neck, suddenly worried he didn’t say thank you fast enough.
Then he notices Jeremy’s looking at his ribs. Oh, right. He snatches his shirt, even though his back is itchy with rogue strands.
‘Are you all right, Sam?’ Jeremy’s voice is soft and he’s obviously looking at the still healing road rash.
‘It’s nothing.’ Sam looks away.
Moxie picks up the scissors and taps them against her palm. ‘The ribs, however.’
‘Unacceptable,’ says Jeremy. ‘He’s staying for dinner right, Moxie? I’m cooking. We’ll stick some potatoes to this skinny lamb.’ He pockets his phone but his tone goes serious for a moment. ‘But really, Sam. If you’re not getting enough to eat, you come here, OK? Any time.’ Sunshine crackles back into his eyes. ‘I’m making brownies.’ He ducks back into the house.
‘Make it caramel!’ Moxie yells at his back. ‘And thanks for saving us!’
‘Welcome.’
Moxie twirls on Sam and folds her arms, tilting to the side to survey him. ‘That was fun.’
Sam itches his neck. ‘Not really, no.’
‘And you have a whole face. Fancy that.’
She hops down the steps so they’re level on the grass, so close that if he stretched out his arms he’d have to hug her.