AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Awesome guys do still exist,” I said. “Finding them… well, that’s the hard part.”
Chapter 6 – She Sounds Absolutely Tedious, Darling
I stayed with Kayla for a while after our talk. We changed the serious tone by painting each other’s nails and listening to music. When I left, her mood was way more positive, and I told Jesse we’d talked things through without telling him what had happened. Ew. A brother did not need to know that about his sister.
Talking to Kayla about how Jude waited for me did nothing to ease my confusion. In fact, the conversation made me wonder what I’d missed out on. It’s not normal to only have been with one man my whole life, right? Aren’t people supposed to experiment? I thought there was actually some kind of law that girls in college must hook up with each other just to find out what it’s like. Not that I went to college. Or ever had any desire to kiss a girl. But what about other men? Sex with Jude was great… really great. But compared to what? I mean, what if I fancied trying something different in the bedroom? Leah and Radleigh had been through the Kama Sutra several times, and probably invented their own positions, too. Jude wasn’t very adventurous. Actually, neither was I. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be. The idea of not finding out was as scary as the idea of a lifetime spent rotting away, surrounded by piles of shoes and clothes I didn’t need.
I went straight back home to keep working on my plan to prove to Jude how serious I was about make-up. The last thing left on my list of things to do was decide what sort of job I wanted.
Thankfully, Freya came to my rescue a few days later. One of her friends worked as a make-up artist for a photographer in downtown L.A, and they offered to let me hang out with them for a day to see how things worked.
I would happily have given Freya a frenchy for setting it up for me but, you know, Will wouldn’t let me.
Since Jude had basically decided to treat my enthusiasm for all things make-up like a passing fad and refused to discuss it in any detail, I’d spent more time talking to Leah, Freya and Jesse. Not all at once, obviously. The three of them were super supportive, even Jesse who had absolutely no interest in which colours were hot at the moment.
On the day of my “work experience,” I thought I might explode with excitement. I think I scared Tanya, my “mentor” with my eagerness to get started. The downtown studio of Nick and Tanya Sawyer was pretty small, but well equipped with huge cameras and those umbrella things. I never understood what they were for.
Tanya’s make-up room was a dream. Boxes and boxes were lined up on the counters. I got light-headed with glee when I noticed a palette of eye shadow open on the side.
So many colours.
Tanya grinned. “I still get excited about this stuff and I’ve been doing this for four years.”
“God, I would kill to have a make-up collection like this!”
“It’s not cheap but it definitely pays to work with the best. Nick wants the people he photographs to look incredible. I’d feel like a phony if I plastered them in cheap stuff.”
I nodded. I only used the best myself but I didn’t want to sound like some rich bitch who looked down on people who had a smaller budget. I remembered when I could barely afford toothpaste, much less a decent eyeliner.
“So, how do you decide what kind of make-up to do?” I asked. “Do p
eople tell you what they want or do you do whatever you think will work best.”
Tanya gestured to one of the chairs in the room and we both sat down. “A mix of both. It also depends on what the photos are for. We do a lot of headshots, and for that, the client always wants the make-up laid on thick. That’s not always the absolute best look but it’s what they need to get hired so…” Tanya trailed off with a shrug. “Sometimes people come in for fun shoots, too, and they want glittery false eyelashes, and sometimes even actual face-painting.”
I giggled. “Sounds fun.”
“It is. Mostly, though, people don’t know what will suit them. That’s my favourite kind of work to do because I get to show them a different way of seeing themselves.”
A buzz of excitement zipped through me because I knew what she meant. It was how I felt the day I did Kayla’s make-up.
“Oh, you want this bad, don’t you?” Tanya asked, laughing.
“Yeah. I haven’t wanted anything this much in a long time. I want to prove I can do it.”
“Okay. Well, you can watch me in the beginning to see how things work and then I’ll let you try working on a few of our clients. As long as you don’t mind me giving you some guidance along the way?”
“Not at all. I want to learn as much as I can.”
Best. Day. Ever.
Tanya was so cool and so generous with what she allowed me to do. Every time a new client sat in front of me, she asked me what I would choose to do. I chose people’s make-up based on their skin colouring, their eye colour, and what they were wearing. I had no clue if that was the correct way but the method had never failed me before. Tanya agreed with a lot of my ideas and when she didn’t she kindly explained things that would work better.
By the end of the day, I knew. That was my future career. I’d met some awesome people and Tanya said I’d worked really well with the clients. She and Nick offered to help with anything I needed, and said I could go in and help anytime to gain a little experience. I couldn’t wait to tell Jude about it. He hadn’t entirely come around to the idea of me doing make-up yet. It sucked that he didn’t trust me to make my own decision but I would get him on my side. I had to.
I was still skipping around the house, high on being at home since I hadn’t been stuck inside all day, when the doorbell rang.
I ran to the door and flung it open, only for my good mood to deflate when I saw Taylor in front of me.
