Page 44 of Finance Bros

“Uh-huh.”

“And this mascara is super light because your lashes are so dark, but it’ll give them a pretty gloss.” He taps my bottom lip. “You’re not wearing lip balm.”

“I hate it,” I tell him.

“Get over it. Or at least use a lip mask at night.”

I laugh.

“Your pores aren’t terrible, but before I go, we’re gonna put in a Sephora order, and when it comes in, you’ll invite me back over, and I’ll talk you through your new skin care routine. Actually, let’s just use Amazon. Sephora takes forever, and I know you’re rushing this.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’m so glad you realized how pretty you are. How many likes did it take?”

I roll my eyes.

He flashes me his rare but brilliant smile. “I’m glad it’s working.” Using the pads of his middle fingers, he pats something wet beneath my eyes, then lightly smooths it out. “Concealer,” he explains.

“What am I concealing?”

“It acts like a highlighter in your case. You don’t have bags or anything.”

“Good.”

“If you’re not gonna do lip balm, just like a brush of gloss before you film to make your lips look dewy would work wonders.”

I laugh again, my head dipping forward.

“What?” He’s obviously laughing, too. “Dewy is youthful and glowing. Dewy isfabulous.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“You better. Now look at yourself and tell me what you think.”

I slide to the side and study my reflection over his shoulder. It’s like he put a beauty filter on me. “Nice work.”

“Can I film you?”

“Malcolm hasn’t posted anything else today,” I say.

“He can stitch you, too, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Calyx pats my hip. “Come on. Let me watch you do one. I can help you with your angles and finding your light.”

“I thought you said I was doing great.”

“You are,andthere’s always room for improvement. I saw a bunch of workout equipment out there. Wanna try using some of that?”

“Bud hates the weights.”

“What if you put some tuna or catnip on you?”

“You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?”

He simps with a shrug of a shoulder. “I may look like a dumb blond, but I’m a secret smarty pants.”

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