“Sorry, but I don’t have time to be nicer,” Jovian said, shrugging.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve never had anyone tell me this stuff. I had to watch YouTube videos to learn how to put on makeup.”
“Sorry, again, but you watched the wrong ones. I’ll do yours tonight, and then when we have more time, I’ll teach you how to do it better.”
Alan was there with Kathy and they both watched her tears fall. “Jovian, this is…I’ve had no one to show me this stuff.”
Jovian took her hand and said, “I give great fairy godmother vibes, right?”
Mike walked over to them and said, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Hush, you,” Jovian dismissed. “Okay, let’s get Cinderella ready for the ball.”
Jovian got her clothes ready and sent her off to shower while Mike and Alan picked through his makeup. “You’re got a lot of makeup,” Mike mused. “Do you use all this?”
“Sure! You need different things for morning, for night, and depending on the colors you’re wearing, how your face is that day, oily or dry. There’s a lot that goes into it.”
“Have you ever thought of doing this for a living?”
“I work in a posh clothing store part time, but yes, I have thought of it. But I’d need more schooling, and I despise school.”
“Why?” Alan asked. “Let me guess, math or history.”
“Try both.”
“If you ever wanted to, Jovian, I could tutor you. I excel at both.”
That made his chest warm, and he felt emotion smothering him. “You’d do that?”
“Sure. Why not?”
“If I do…I’d like that.”
Alan and Mike left Kathy and Jovian to their makeover, and Jovian took his time getting Kathy ready, but also himself. He knew Dixon would be at the mixer, as they called it, and he wanted to look his absolute best.
He could finally pull out his good clothes, a cotton and hemp shirt that was light, and the perfect color of taupe that made his skin look creamier. His skintight black pants were custom made to gently lift his ass, not that he needed that. His ass was nice and perky, and he thought one of his best features.
For shoes, he chose his taupe loafers that had the slightest raised heel. He didn’t need height, as he liked Dixon was bigger than him, and he suspected Dixon liked it too. Thinking of that beast of a man lifting him off his feet, well, totally swoon-worthy.
He spent an hour on his hair and another on his makeup, creating a smoky eye and a little more color on his lips than he wore during the day.
For Kathy, he used a mask on her first, then moisturized her face, plucked her brows and did a similar smokey eye on her, and introduced her to false eyelashes.
She had a rather plain blue dress with her, but with a couple of scarves and some jewelry to accessorize, and she could almost pass for stylish. “There! I could do better at home, with all my stuff, but…”
“You have more stuff than this?”
“Are you kidding? I had to pack my makeup case for two days, trying to decide what I could live without, and that was not easy.”
Kathy suddenly took him off-guard by hugging him. “Thanks, Jovian. No one’s ever taken the interest to do this for me. I never think I look good.”
“Kathy, you never met me! I’m fabulous.”
As she laughed, she agreed, “You really are.”
They went together to the dance, and Kathy’s date was waiting outside the Mess Hall for her with a bunch of wildflowers in his hand. “Don’t tell anyone. I picked these on state land.”
Jovian winked at her, then went inside the Mess Hall to find his own guy.