Page 32 of Glass Wings
“Ah, here’s my star,” Grant said, arms stretched out wide to greet the terrifying yet petite dominatrix. The temperature was in the high nineties, but she still wore tight leather leggings and an overly intricate corset top that gave her just enough cleavage to raise an eyebrow.
“Thank you, thank you, for agreeing to help,” Grant said, kissing her on the cheek before pulling her in for a hug.
“You can let go now,” she said in a sing-songy voice that had Hadley smirking at the pair. They were such opposites, and yet they got along so well.
“Exactly what is it that we are doing?” Hadley asked.
“You are not getting thrown to the wolves tonight without any prep. We are going shopping. Masquerades require a special aesthetic,” Reign said, looking Hadley up and down, assessing. She pursed her lips at her and frowned slightly, shrugging her shoulders.
“Chop chop, little Hailey,” Reign continued, clapping her hands together. “Today is Halloween after all, I’ve got a full book of clients to attend to tonight.”
Hadley stood up, feeling inadequate compared to the woman she was to go shopping with. Her hair was thrown into a messy braid that trailed down over her left shoulder as if she were in elementary school. Her attire was baggy jeans, flip-flops, and a very fitted black t-shirt that showed off a hint of her midriff. In no way was she prepared for an elegant adult event. Shopping was essential, but Reign was slightly terrifying.
Hadley waved goodbye to Grant and followed Reign out of the garage. The two walked down the driveway to where a beautiful candy-red Mercedes sat. A pair of neighbors who were out walking their aggressive dogs eyed it without shame—the wealth of the car stuck out far too much in this neighborhood.
“Nice car,” Hadley said, popping into the passenger seat.
“It is, isn’t it? I traded my tired old blue one just yesterday.”
Loud bass-driven dance music attacked Hadley’s ears as Reign pushed a button to start the vehicle. She threw the car in reverse andbacked out of the driveway a bit too fast. The rest of the ride went similarly, and they pulled into a mall parking lot twenty minutes away.
“We can go in through the department store,” Reign instructed as they exited the car in a flat parking lot. “Unless you wanted a pretzel.”
“That sounds pretty good.” Hadley smiled.
“I was kidding,” Reign said, shutting down any hope of bonding.
The pair walked through the double automatic doors of a large boxy building and were immediately hit with twenty or so different scents of perfume and store clerks walking around wearing witches' hats or cat ears.
“I feel like I should be wearing something like that,” Hadley said, pointing at the store clerk who had donned a pair of bunny ears. “Paired with some overly complicated set of lingerie, of course.”
“No.” Reign put her hand on Hadley’s back, weaving them through the perfume and designer purses until they reached a chair in the makeup aisle. A bored middle-aged woman with overbleached hair and caked-on makeup in orange tones walked up to them.
“Can I help you?” the clerk asked, giving Reign’s fierce outfit an extra side-eye.
“Yes, we need a complete makeup look on my friend Hailey here,” Reign said.
“What’s her costume?” the clerk asked Reign.
“It will be an elegant dress. We will be buying that next upstairs. I want to avoid silly costumes and highlight her as a mature damsel under a mask.” Reign said, making a rainbow with her hands.
“That I can do,” she winked at Hadley. “Will you be buying products or paying for a makeup look?”
“We will buy the products,” Reign said to the makeup artist and turned to Hadley, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Today is my treat.”
The makeup clerk turned to go up and down the different aisles, grabbed multiple items from the different brands, and displayed them to Reign for her approval.
“She needs more of a blue tint in that red lipstick. Corals won’twork well on her since her cheeks are so naturally blushed,” Hadley heard Reign say.
Hadley rolled her eyes, although she was secretly enjoying this. She hadn’t had a girls’ day since her mom was healthy and maybe that wasn’t what this was exactly, but it was close enough.
Thirty-five minutes later, the make-up clerk applied setting spray to her face and then turned to Reign to swipe her black metal credit card.
“Ready for the big reveal?” the makeup clerk asked, picking up a medium-sized hand mirror and urging Hadley to take it.
Hadley had never felt that heavy makeup looked appealing on her. She peeked into the mirror and wasn’t surprised. She had been transformed into a joke. Her heavy eyeliner curved down the inside corner, almost spilling onto her nose. Her lips were overlined, making them seem too big for her face. The contouring along her jawline was overdone. She felt fake. She felt like she wanted to hide.
“What do you think?” the makeup clerk asked, doubtful from Hadley’s utter silence.
