Leap of Faith

Day Thirty-Three

*~*~* Cate *~*~*

I applied a thin layer of basecoat and then found my bottle of foundation at the bottom of my vanity case, not remembering the last time I had worn make-up. I dabbed the sponge into the peach mixture and started to apply it evenly, cautious not to leave any streak marks and blend it in with the natural skin tone. I looked at my handy work and smiled.

I rummaged for my eye shadow pallet and brushed on a vibrant blue that would bring out the blue of the eyes, before fishing out the mascara and awkwardly applying it to the eyelashes. A little cover up was next to hide the dark circles under the eyes, and then to complete the look I patted some raspberry flavored onto the chapped lips.

“So, tell me again why you’re doing this?” I ask TJ as I use a kabuki brush to add some bronzing highlighting powder. “I didn’t quite understand.”

TJ waits for me to stop what I’m doing before he answers. “The Seahawks lost,” he shrugs simply. “I lost a bet.”

“I thought the bet was a hundred bucks,” I say. I step back and hold up the mirror. “So what do you think?”

He went quiet and stared ahead. “I make quite a good looking girl, don’t you think?”

I have just spent the last half an hour transforming TJ into a girl with a full face of make-up that would make even RuPaul look dull in comparison. He called me as soon as I had woken up this morning and had begged me to help him with his ‘offering.’ Apparently, TJ had made a stupid bet with Dean Brewer that the Seahawks would win the Super Bowl. If TJ won, then Dean Brewer would have to turn up to school dressed in drag. Seeing as the Patriots had won –‘only just’ according to TJ- it was up to TJ fulfill the bet. He’d already paid Landon the hundred he owed, and now he was getting ready to humiliate himself in front of the entire school population.

“Very pretty, TJ,” I laugh. He looked God damned awful, but I think that was more to do with my shoddy workmanship than his beauty. I frown. “You know you’re wearing more make-up than me, right?”

“But you don’t need make-up,” TJ dutifully said with a wink. “You’re beautiful without needing to hide behind war paint.”

With that sweet comment, I stepped forward and stole a kiss. When I felt his glossed lips sliding against mine, I squirmed and pulled away. “Gross,” I shiver, wiping the lip gloss from my lips. “Is that what it feels like for guys when girls wear gloss?”

TJ nods. “Yep. Pay back is a bitch.”

I smack his arm and pull him from my bathroom and try to sneak him out of the house. We almost made it out to the car without running into anyone when someone coughed from the TV room. Slowly, I turned and saw that my entire family were sitting there, gawping at TJ who stood proudly behind me.

David and Sawyer burst out laughing. Anna and Libby were trying to conceal their smiles. Dad snorted. Mom stared.

“This is awkward,” I say quietly.

“TJ, darling,” Mom used a comforting tone as she addressed my… as she addressed TJ. “Is everything, uh… alright?”