Grape Field

Chapter 5. The grand party

"Ow! You're gonna poke my eye out!" Sasha screamed, leaning away from me with her hand on her left eye.

"I'm sorry! I'll be careful; come here," I said, tugging at the arm that was covering half of her face.

She muttered something indistinguishable but still scooted closer. For the past twenty minutes, she had been sitting on my bed, opening and closing her eyes on command, while I had been hovering over her on my knees with several brushes in my hands.

"Don't be so dramatic! You were the one asking me to do your makeup, so let me do it." I held her chin, lifting it up a little so that my brush could have better access to her eyelids. Following my hand motion, the fluffy tip grazed her skin, leaving a warm yellow print.

"I thought you'd do it like you do for yourself. Didn't know you would be sticking it right in my eye," she kept whining. Looking down for a second, I spotted a pout on her lips and let out a chuckle.

"It was one time, c'mon." I laughed. "I'm not that used to the makeup artist role. That's why we need to keep practicing," I said, pursing my lips for better concentration.

She opened her eyes abruptly, making me pull my brush back. My eyes widened, and I drew in a sharp breath at the thought of the mess she had almost created. "You've never done this before?" she asked.

"Were you expecting a pro or what? Close your eyes," I ordered, looking down at the girl. As she complied, I finally relaxed and went back to creating my masterpiece. "I've done it for my little sister, but that was a while ago. Now she's way better than me."

"You have a sister? How old is she?" Sasha asked, this time keeping her eyes closed.

"Yes, Amelia. She's seventeen," I replied. "Do you have any siblings? Wait, I remember you mentioned something about having a big family."

"Yeah, I have four of them," she said, the corners of her lips curling up. "I'm especially close to Kaya; she's fifteen, almost like your sister. They're all adopted, actually, but to me, they're just as much my family as mom and dad."

"Wow... That's impressive. Your parents must be really nice and kind," I said, to which she just smiled, lifting her cheeks and crinkling the canvas I was drawing on.

As I was spreading a powder blush across her face, Sasha sneezed every time the brush touched her nose, so the whole process took us a while. With my final touch-up, I leaned back to view a finished look, handing her a small mirror to do the same. Satisfied with the result, I beamed at the sight of her glowing eyes as she praised my work.

With my own makeup done beforehand, the only thing left was choosing outfits for the party. Something that Sasha took seriously.

Jumping off my bed, she stormed to the wardrobe, thoroughly studying every item. From time to time, she would glance at me and then back at a piece of clothing, scrunching her brows and shaking her head. The whole scene was amusing enough for me to not interrupt her entertainment with any questions.

"This one!" she said, holding up a short baby blue satin dress with an open back. "Wear this one. You'll look so cute!"

"Er, I don't know." I scratched the back of my neck, eyeing the garment. "Why can't I just wear jeans? Isn't it too much?"

She came towards my bed, handing me the dress. "You can't wear jeans to a party at the Reiss mansion," she said.

"Reiss mansion?"

"Yeah, Historia's father is the president of a large construction company. So they're like super rich. And Historia is kinda popular herself, almost like a celebrity here in Trost. So the things at her place are sort of posh and stuff."