Page 67 of Hockey Halloween
Mom got the wig and shoved it on my head. A rainbow-colored mess of what looked like cotton candy and felt like plastic.
“I cannot put the makeup on your face.” Mom stepped back, shrugging. I couldn’t do my makeup using my left hand.
“I can help. I did mine.” Kelli waved a hand at her face, and yeah, she was wearing as much as a clown would.
Mom brought out the kit I’d bought to go with the costume and held the tubes for Kelli to work with.
Kelli was shorter than me, by about six inches. Mom shoved thestool over for her so we could stand face-to-face. Kelli brushed white onto the sponge and met my eyes.
“Ready?”
I nodded. She pulled our joined arms up so she could hold my chin in place. Her fingers were soft, but firm. She dabbed the sponge over my forehead and down my nose, wiping gently. It was surprisingly intimate being this close, bound together, her attention focused on me, her teeth biting her bottom lip and distracting me.
When the white base was done, she changed to red for an exaggerated mouth. As her fingers moved around my lips I was tempted to open and taste them.Whoa.Where did that come from? Not appropriate. I resolutely kept my face still and my mind away from wondering about Kelli beneath her makeup.
“Do you need your nose done?”
I cleared my throat. “No, there was one of those round red ones with the costume.”
“Here it is!”
I’d forgotten my mom was even in the room. What the hell was going on?
Mom passed the nose to Kelli, who gently pressed it over my own nose. I leaned back. “That feels weird. I’ll save that for the rink.” I used my free hand to pull it off.
“Excellent, Kelli,” Mom said. “You must have good control of your hands for work.”
“What do you do?” I didn’t know much about this woman I was cuffed to, except that she was Dylan’s little sister and might have had a crush on me way back when.
“She is a dentist for children.”
“Not a dentist, a dental hygienist,” Kelli corrected. “But yes, in a children’s practice.”
I’d had a lot of dental work over the years, so I had an idea of what the hands of a dental tech would have to do. “You enjoy it?” Working in someone’s mouth all day didn’t sound like fun to me.
“I do. I like kids.”
Mom interrupted. “Did they like your costume? I helped your mother with the wig.”
“Most of them didn’t know who Raggedy Ann was, but I think so.”
That explained the non-sexy costume. But I noticed the time, and it was getting late. “Any word from your brother?”
Kelli reached for her phone and frowned. She picked it up and dialed. “Dylan? Any luck finding the key?” She closed her eyes. “Tell your girlfriend that you have to find the key before you can leave. We’re stuck!” I didn’t hear what Dylan said in response, but Kelli’s lips thinned. “Keep looking.”
“No key?” I asked.
“No key.” She sighed. “Do you have to go now?”
My foot was twitching. “Yeah. But I don’t know what to do about the cuffs.”
“Go with him, Kelli.”
Kelli’s eyes moved from Mom to me. “I couldn’t.”
I was getting desperate, and spending more time with Kelli was appealing. “Do you skate?”
Mom slapped me again. “I made costumes for Kelli. She competed in figure skating.”
