“Jesus Christ,” Grayson mumbled. He had twenty-four hours to pull himself together.
Jenna Uehara:Jaeyong and I are going out for brunch. You wanna come? Tara went for a run like three hours ago, so I’m assuming she’s up at the northernmost point of Miami by now and Aureli says he can’t walk.
Several eggplant emojis followed the message.
Grayson Miller:Meet you downstairs in ten?
Jenna Uehara:Alrighty!
Grayson rolled off the couch and went to change out of his ratty t-shirt and cut-off sweatpants. Even though Mermade Miami never really experienced fall or winter, it was still brisk for a born and bred Southerner like Grayson. He wriggled into a pair of light wash jeans and pulled a cream knit polo over his head. A gauzy navy cardigan went on top, to stave off both the breeze and the sunburn.
He stared at himself in the closet mirror. He would have never dared to dress this way back home. He wouldn’t have even purchased the clothes to begin with. To his horror, tears prickled his eyes.
What the hell was that? Calm down, they’re just clothes,he chastised himself. His eyes snagged on his bedside table, where his old SIM card lay hidden. He should have thrown it away. He ought to go throw it away now.
He averted his gaze and left the room.
Jenna and Jaeyong were waiting just outside the building’s exit.
“You look amazing!” Jenna was arguing.
“I look like a wanna-be K-pop idol,” Jaeyong muttered.
“What’s happening?” Grayson asked, leaning in to give Jenna a one-armed squeeze.
“Jaeyong let me put makeup on him! Doesn’t it look good?”
Jaeyong glared up at her. The long line of his lashes was accented with faint liner, and his soft, full lips were tinged with a faint red. If Jenna hadn’t said anything, Grayson probably wouldn’t have realized it evenwasmakeup.
“It does,” Grayson said truthfully. “Seriously, Jaeyong, it doesn’t look like makeup. It just looks like you woke up on the right side of the bed.”
The smaller man turned his rueful gaze on Grayson. “Really?”
“Really. You look good. Not at all like a wanna-be K-pop idol.”
Jaeyong sighed. “Okay, fine. Thanks.”
Jenna beamed. “See? Don’t worry, Grayson’s next.”
“Excuse me?”
The three of them set off down the sidewalk to the nearby bus stop, still bickering.
“The only reason I haven’t done it is because I need to buy blond products,” Jenna said. “All mine are dark, lucky for Jaeyong.”
“You don’t need to buy anything!” Grayson protested. “I don’t need makeup.”
“Sure, you don’tneedit, but youwantit.”
“Says who?”
The bus’s arrival only put a pause on the argument. The driver was a Mer Omega, who nodded politely at them as they boarded.
“You’ll be a total convert by the time I’m done with you. Just some clear mascara, some light brown liner, a bit of pink for the lips—”
“I’m going to look like Ken. Or Barbie. Or their love child.”
“And that’s abadthing?”
