Those were his lips—bold, dark, and metallic. He almost wanted to touch them just to check if they were really his, but Ember quickly stopped his hand.
"You'll ruin it," she smiled.
"They look like I had fillers," he said in shock.
Ember was proud of her work, though she didn't show it for long. There was no time to linger—she moved on with the makeover, only to realize she had forgotten the mascara. I must be nervous too, she thought to herself. She quickly brushed on a thick coat and added some glitter for extra shine.
Next came the nails. Ember grabbed the metallic colors they had picked up from the store and painted most of them silver, with a few in metallic pink.
"Let's hope Jade likes these," she said.
Alex studied his nails. The metallic silver wasn't nearly as girly as many of the other styles he'd been forced to wear.
"I'm sure she will, babe," he said, smiling at her.
"If I hadn't just painted your lips so perfectly, I'd kiss you right now," Ember blushed.
Alex blushed too, though the makeup already on his cheeks made it less visible.
From nails she moved on to accessories. Ember clipped long silver earrings to his ears, perfectly matching the outfit.
"Oh yes, that slays," she said proudly.
"Uh... thanks?" Alex replied, more embarrassed than flattered.
"Okay, now this to finish it off!" She held up a choker.
"You can't be serious," Alex groaned.
"This will definitely be appreciated by Stacey, trust me."
"Fine... but that's it, right?" he sighed.
"Oh, baby, I'm sorry," Ember said softly. "And even more sorry about these." She lifted a pair of flashy metallic silver heels.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Alex muttered.
After a bit of struggling, Alex finally squeezed his feet into the tight heels. He was nearly ready for the catwalk. Ember circled him, inspecting her work, then gave an approving nod.
"This is it. We've given it everything we've got. This has to be enough."
"I really hope so too," Alex said.
Ember sprayed a touch of perfume, and together they practiced his walk. He would have to impress the jury, so they decided to keep it close to a real model's walk: straight posture, foot in front of foot, controlled movements.
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Then the time came. The light turned green and Alex stepped onto the long carpet. The spotlight hit him, making the metallic colors of his outfit and nails shimmer under the beams. Glitter sparkled across his skin. He walked as steadily as he could, heel to toe, but the tight choker around his neck and the heavy perfume in the air made it hard to focus. At one point he almost tripped, but managed to steady himself.
