I’m not getting out of this, clearly. So I pick up the primer and scan the bottle. Directions are nonexistent. “How much of this should I use?”
“Just give me your best guess.”
With a shrug, I squeeze a half-dollar size into my palm and start spreading it across her face. But it’s white and gives her a ghostly sheen. It’s a little sticky. And it’s not soaking in. Did I use too much?
I grab the sponge and wipe some off. The rest I drag around her face until it finally seems to set in.
“Tell everyone what you just did and why.”
“This is primer. I just squirted some in my hand. When I rubbed it in, it seemed too white, so I took some off with the spongie thing and tried to rub in the rest.”
“What does primer do?”
“Well, before you paint a wall, you put on primer to smooth out the surface and…yeah. That way, the paint applies better…I guess? I really don’t paint much.”
She laughs. “What’s next?”
“Um…” No clue. “Before you paint a wall, you should let the primer dry.” I think. “So…let’s do the eye primer, too.”
“Okay.”
I drag the wand out of the tube and slide it across her eyelids like I saw her do earlier. Then I spread that around. I think it needs to dry down, too.
But now what?
“Foundation?”
She shrugs. “Your decision.”
“Hint?”
Masey shakes her head.
“A lifeline? Do I get to phone a friend?”
Her giggle lights up my heart. “Nope.”
“You’re mean. I’ll make you suffer later. I know how…”
She blushes. “I know you do, but we’re focused on makeup right now.”
Maybe I can distract her. “You sure you don’t wanna—”
“No.” Then she turns a smile at me. “Well, later.”
I sigh. “That will have to get me through. Okay, so…concealer. What would you be concealing with this tube of liquid? It’s not going to hide a handgun.”
She nearly spits out the wine she just drank. “Not that kind of conceal.”
“Right. Um…” I don’t see any blemishes or scars. I have a vague recollection that she put it under her eyes to cover dark circles I don’t see, but okay. I take the wand from the tube. Masey is fair, but even this seems a little light. “Is this the right color?”
She shrugs unhelpfully.
“Okay, I’ll just…put it here.” I slather a bunch under one eye, dip back in, and repeat the process. “And here.” I frown. It seems like a lot. “I’ll let that dry down some so it doesn’t smear everywhere. How about some foundation?” I pick up the bottle and pluck off the cap. “We just apply it like so…” It’s got a pump, so I try to squirt some directly onto her face.
The drop plops straight into her cleavage.
She glances down at the running dollop, looks at me, and bursts out laughing.
“That did not go as planned.” It’s about to drip into her bra, so I reach out to scoop it up with my finger…then I have second thoughts. Should I do this on camera? She said nothing below the neck, but this is an emergency. I don’t want to look like I’m feeling her up, so I draw my hand back. But the liquid is still running. What if this stuff gets into her bra? How will I get it on her face? “Crap. Okay. Not trying to be too personal on camera…” I curl my fingertip under the running droplet of pigment. “Sweep onto your face like this.” I glide my digit across one cheek. “And voilà.”
Wide-eyed and looking like she’s trying not to burst out laughing, she nods. “Totally.”
“I’ll try the rest a different way.” I squirt another pump onto my finger, dab that across her other cheek, then do the same for her forehead, followed by another for her nose and chin. “That should be enough to cover everything.”
Now what?
The sponge thing, I guess. I hope it doesn’t soak up too much product. If it does, I can get more, but this stuff doesn’t look cheap, and I already used four pumps…
“Let’s blend.” I remember her using that word and I’m a little proud of myself. But when I drag the sponge through the first dollop of liquid, I realize quickly that a little of this stuff goes a very long way. “Oops. I used too much.”
“You think?” Her tone tells me she knows I did.
This is going to be bad.
“Um…let’s remove a little of the excess.” I grab a tissue and try to wipe some off I’ve already spread,