Page 21 of Absolution
The shirt had something interlaced in it that made it sparkle when I moved, a trick of the light, I think. It was almost like my skin glowed. “You know vampires aren’t supposed to sparkle, right?”
“Tonight you’re not a vampire. You’re just Sam who has a date with Luca.” He tugged me into the bathroom. The things he set on the counter were products and tools I had no idea what to do with. But he set to work, first brushing out my hair and adding some goop to spike it. He styled a small patch in front to sweep over my left brow.
He rubbed something cool and soothing all over my face and neck. My skin seemed to suck it up because he cursed and applied it twice more. When he came at me with something that looked like a black marker, I grabbed his hand. “What’s that?”
“Just eyeliner.”
“Girls use that.”
“I use it all the time.”
“Not endearing it to me, Ronnie.”
“Trust me. It will make your eyes pop. I’m glad you don’t wear those contacts anymore. You have great dark and smoky eyes, long lashes and no caterpillar eyebrows. The liner will help your eyes stand out. I promise I won’t use much. Just look up toward the ceiling. You won’t even notice it after a minute.”
I sighed and looked up. He applied it quickly enough. And I did only feel it for a minute or so.
“Don’t rub your eyes. It won’t come off without a wipe but you don’t want it to smudge either.” He stuffed an individually packaged wipe into my pocket. “You look great.” He picked up mascara and I bit my tongue to keep from protesting.
After a minute he stepped back and motioned toward the mirror. “Take a look.”
I turned and glared at my expression. “Holy shit!” Was that really me? The paleness of my skin only made the stark black of my hair and lined eyes stand out even more. A hint of glitter in the liner matched the shirt that flashed sparkling color at me. I could have been a model for some glam rock band. Thankfully I didn’t look at all like Seiran Rou. This wasn’t androgynous pretty. The guy that stared at me in the mirror was hot in an ‘I’m trouble’ sort of way. I touched my face since the skin didn’t feel tight for the first time in ages.
“I put three rounds of moisturizer on you. You really need to take better care of your skin. Being undead doesn’t mean you want it to flake and peel, right?” He handed me a bottle. “Keep it. Gabe buys it in bulk since he goes through a ton of it himself. Works great for solo activities too.” Sei winked at me.
“You’re a pervert,” I told him.
He laughed. “Guilty. You should also carry grave dirt around with you. I’ll make a little necklace for you like the one I made Gabe last month. You’ll have to refill it a couple times a week, but it will help keep the circles from under your eyes and your skin from looking waxy.” He fluffed my hair a little. “You’re hot. Like man hot. Trouble. The guy that walks into the club and everyone goes, wow, who’s he? I figured you’d want man hot since you’re going out with Luca.”
“That’s a lot of man to compete with,” I admitted before I even realized I was going to say it out loud.
“Why compete? Just enjoy the hotness and forget the scorecard. Do you think I’m anywhere close to Gabe’s league? Hell, when we met I was just a kid. High on power and so fucked in the head I didn’t care if I got him killed by coming on to him. So how about you just go and enjoy it for what it is? If you like him, great. If not, well I’m sure there will be plenty other attractive men to step up if you looked their way.”
For once I agreed with him. It made sense. Even if I fucked up this date, I could find someone eventually. It had taken Gabe two thousand years to find his match. I really had to stop bitching about looking for mine. There were bound to be bad relationships in the bunch, but not trying was just accepting defeat, right?
“Oh, you need a coat.” He rushed out of the bathroom and to the closet by the main door throwing it open to sort through the many hangers. “This one is perfect.” He handed me a pale purple leather jacket. The cut was good though it pulled through the shoulders a little. Zipped and buttoned covered up the sparkling shirt a little.
“I look really gay,” I commented. What normal guy wore purple?
Sei got really close and whispered all secretive-like, “Hate to break it to you, princess. But youaregay.”
“Yeah, yeah, Ronnie. You’re just jealous ‘cause you didn’t get to have my ass before you committed to the big guy.” It was easier to tease him when I was in a fairly good mood. If the night went sour, I’d call and bitch him out even if I woke him at two a.m. He wanted to be friends then so be it.
“I’m more of a bottom myself,” Sei said. “But yeah, there would have been a point in my life that I would have let you screw me. Good thing my tastes have improved, eh?”
“Har har,” I groused, but couldn’t help but smile.
“There’s a smile. You have great teeth, even the fangs, which are barely noticeable.”
Immediately I felt self-conscious about my teeth. Would Luca freak if I flashed fang? Gabe almost never did and I was getting better about not doing it in public, but it was hard sometimes when I was so used to them being there.
“I bet Luca will dig them. Since he’s the kid of a vampire and all that.”
“Yeah. I just wish he’d be straight with me.”
Sei raised a brow. “Straight?”
“You know what I mean. I don’t really have anything to offer him, so why’s he hanging around?”