Page 48 of Unbidden

“Thank you.” She holds back tears.

“No need to thank me for speaking the truth. Now sit down. I still have makeup and hair to do and only an hour and a half to do it.”

I start with her hair, curling it in loose beach waves that fall around her shoulders. As soon as I’m done, I douse her in hairspray, then move on to her makeup.

“You want a more natural or smoky look?” I ask her.

“What do you think?” she asks, her big green doe eyes wide.

I take a moment to simply look at her.

“I think natural. You don’t need all this makeup. But I know some girls wear it like armor. If you need armor tonight, I’ll do it, but honestly, I don’t think you need it.”

“Okay, then natural.” She tells me with a serious tone and a nod.

I look through her eyeshadow palettes and eyeliners and find what I’m looking for.

“Close your eyes,” I tell her softly.

She takes a big deep breath.

“You want to talk about it?” I ask her as I start to work on her eyelids, laying down a taupe color all over.

“Just nervous. I’ll be fine.”

I find a light brown and start doing the outside of her lid and crease, giving her a little dimension, then adding a slightly darker brown on top of it, blending it to perfection.

“You got this. It’s dinner and a movie. He should open your door, hold your hand, pay for dinner. Don’t let him get away with not doing all of it. He needs to put in the effort. Make him wait,” I tell her while grabbing the light gold glitter eyeshadow that will look perfect on the inside of her eyelid.

“You’re right. Make him wait,” she repeats with a serious tone.

“And if he’s an ass, you can always call me and I’ll deal with him,” I tell her to lighten the mood, causing her to giggle.

I get her eyelids how I want and hand her the mirror. “What do you think?” I ask.

Tinsley gasps. “I love it. But what about eyeliner?”

“Don’t worry. That’s next. Look up.” I take the mirror back and set it on the counter.

I grab both a green and black eyeliner, putting the green on the bottom inner eyelid, getting it just how I want it. Then I grab the black and add it softly just along her bottom eyelashes. I use a Q-tip to smudge it lightly, softening it a little more. I do the same to her other eye and compare the two to make sure they match, then hand her the mascara. “Your turn. I have to draw the line somewhere.” I tease.

Tinsley chuckles and leans forward, mouth opening into a perfect O as she swiftly sweeps the mascara along her eyelashes once, then twice. She takes a step back and takes a real look at herself, then sighs. “I love it.”

“I’m glad,” I tell her while running my hands through her curls, getting them just right.

The doorbell rings.

It’s time.

∞∞∞

“Hello? Tinsley?” I attempt to sit up in my groggy state.

“Sage, can you come pick me up?” Tinsley’s voice trembles.

I jump out of bed, slipping my feet into the first pair of shoes I find. “Where are you?”

“I’m not sure. A party somewhere.”

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