Chap 9

"Back to cause more trouble?" Killian joked as the two girls entered the salon.

"YOU'RE the trouble maker." Regina laughed when she stepped in.

"That's true." He admitted, winking at Maleficent. "What can I do for you, ladies?"

"Did she leave her wig here yesterday?" Regina asked.

"I don't know. Come closer and I'll tell you." The man with the Irish accent teased. Regina did what he said, just to mess with him and she smiled up at him, waiting for the answer, their stomachs touching. He stared down at her and Mal got a bit uncomfortable watching, expecting something to happen between them. Finally, Killian opened his mouth to answer. "Yes, she did." He laughed as he opened a drawer at his station and took it out before handing it to Regina. "Now, is that the only reason you came back here?" He raised an eyebrow seductively, moving in closer to Regina once more. "Because something tells me that the two of you just couldn't stay away."

"You wish." The young girl backed away from him, laughing. "When will you ever learn?"

"Killian, ever since you two met, you know that girl don't want you. When are you gonna let it go?" Milah, one of the other workers there, laughed.

"Never." He answered honestly. "Because no one turns me down."

"I do." Regina said, moving closer to Mal, the two of them giggling.

"You know. There was a time when you couldn't resist me." Killian smiled.

"Really? I remember there was a time when I did."

Just like yesterday, the whole of the salon was saying, "Ooooooo!"

"Hey, ladies, I've gotta go soon." Gold walked in behind the two and he felt a bit out of place with everyone staring at them when he entered. "Oh, you found it." He said upon seeing the wig in Regina's hand.

"Hello, Darling." The three heard the distained tone in the woman's voice who greeted the man with disgust after she recognized him right away.

Gold looked up at her and instantly retracted, feeling a bit inferior as he put his head down chuckling to himself and saying, "Hello, Milah."

"Surprised to see you out. Don't you have some work to do?" She crossed her arms over her chest at the counter by the entrance to the salon.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a job working for that new boyfriend of yours. What was his name? Uh, Kameron?"

"Killian, and he's not my boyfriend."

"And she doesn't work for me, Lad." Killian jumped in. "I just got her the interview to work here."

"Ahhh. You're Kameron?"

"Killian, actually, but-"

"So, this is what you do? Silly of me to think that he was your boyfriend, Milah."

"Not all men that work in hair salons are gay." Milah frustratedly answered. "And I didn't leave because of him. I left because of you."

"You know what? That's a great idea. Leaving. Girls, let's go, please."

Regina and Maleficent stood by the door, now being the ones who felt out of place as Gold placed both his hands on each of their backs and guided them to the exit. He looked back at Milah once more before finally going out into the street and leading the two into the limo to head back to the hotel.

It was silent in the car for a few minutes before Gold began to apologize. "I'm sorry. That was my ex wife."

"You were married to Milah?" Regina asked, having known Milah for a couple years now.

"Yeah. But I came home one day and she was gone."

"Well, I'm sure she didn't just run off." Maleficent mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"I'm just saying that you must've done something to make her wanna go. That's the problem with men." The blonde's voice got very low and sad for a moment. "They never think that they do anything wrong."

"Well, I'm sorry that I was working. I was working so much to pay the bills, keep her in school for her to leave me when she finished. I'm sorry I did everything wrong." He answered calmly, but with a hint of frustration and sarcasm in his tone.

"Women need more than money. They need someone to be there and actually treat them like they're married. Not a meal ticket. And it is possible to find a way to see your loved ones even if you are working a lot. If I can do it as a single mother who's a hooker with no money, then you can do it as the founder of your own company and your own boss with millions of dollars. I mean, I've only been staying with you for a couple days and I'm already feeling lonely. It's no wonder your wife left you." She paused. "Oh, and did you ever think that the reason she left with him was because he had a job lined up for her after she finished going to school?" There was no answer and she chuckled. "Of course not. You're a man. In the end there's only one thing you care about...yourself."

Regina began to silently cry, a few tears falling from her face. She was thankful that neither of them had realized and luckily the tears dried quickly so she didn't have to wipe them away. They made it back to the hotel and the two women got out. Gold stayed in to go to his meeting. Suddenly, he looked at his watch and realized that it was only about one o'clock and they never went to lunch. He stepped out of the car and pulled Mal to the side to talk to her.

"Listen. I'm sorry about that." Gold apologized.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off like that."

"No. No. You were right. But here," he handed her about sixty bucks, "...it's only 12:50. Take her to get something to eat and make sure she's back around two."

"I thought it was 2:30?" Mal was confused.

"It is 2:30. But I'd rather you have her back earlier than that just so her mother doesn't freak out."

Maleficent smiled and looked down at the money in her hands. "Where should we go to eat?"

"Well, you can go wherever you'd like. You can find a place on this street and walk there or you can go up and ask for room service. It doesn't matter. You can even call a taxi if you want to, as long as you have her back on time."

Mal nodded and he softly kissed her on the cheek before getting back into the limo and leaving. She watched his car go and she sighed, turning around to look at the young girl who stood hugging herself by the entrance to the hotel. The blonde walked over to her. "Where do you want to eat? We can go back up to the room and order room service or we can walk up and down the street til we find something. Or maybe you know of a good place?"

"Let's go up to the room." Regina replied, not feeling up for being around a lot of people right now. "If that's okay with you." She remembered her manners.

"No. Yeah. That's fine." Maleficent smiled at her and they turned to enter the building.


A/N: Hey. I hope you enjoyed this. We're getting close to my favorite part. Please leave a review. MWAH!