AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As soon as we arrived at the Mecca entrance, their signature smell of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rogue perfume hit us. Its glorious woody, amber, floral tones made every girl want it, and it sold out like crazy. That perfume was saved to my online ‘Mecca Wishlist’, and I was undecided whether I wanted to join in on the craze and purchase it. Makeup seemed to give me a better high than fragrance. There was something therapeutic about slathering it on and watching my face transform, and sometimes it was fun just to sit down and play with it all for hours while watching YouTube makeup tutorials when there was nothing better to do. Those beauty influencers sure knew how to make me want every single cosmetic product they were testing. Come to think of it, YouTube tutorials and Mecca were the ones to thank for all of my makeup skills.
A lady with shiny hair and dewy makeup greeted us as we walked onto the off-white, glossy tiles. ‘Good afternoon, ladies. Can I help you look for anything?’ she asked with a smile.
‘No, thanks. We’re happy to browse,’ I answered for both of us and returned the smile.
We browsed the brightly lit makeup wonderland, and I’m sure we looked like the emoji with heart eyes as we scanned all the aisles of different brands.Hmm, which section should we visit first? Laura Mercier or Hourglass?
‘Let’s look at Too Faced,’ Deb said with a casual nod.
‘Sure.’
We walked down the aisle at the far left of the store, admiring the cute packaging.
Deb dipped her fingers into the chocolate bar eyeshadow palette and swatched the sparkly, warm brown on her hand. As she tilted the swatch, it glimmered under the fluorescent lights.
One hour, two jumbo eyeshadow palettes, two foundations, and five lipsticks later, Deb and I walked out with bulging pink shopping bags.
We went down an escalator in search of refreshments, took a few sharp turns, and kept walking until we saw San Churros.
‘Hey, is it okay if you shout me? My Afterpay account is stacked up,’ Deb asked.
‘Uh. Yeah, sure.’ Feeling put on the spot, I agreed without further thought.
‘Cool.’ She gave me the thumbs-up.
‘Grab a table. What would you like?’ I asked Deb as I handed her a menu.
‘Churros for two and a Spanish hot chocolate,’ she said as her eyes scanned the menu.
‘Oh, I’m not having any—’
‘So? I still want churros for two,’ Deb cut in and smiled.
‘Umm, alright. Just two milk chocolate sauces as usual?’
She nodded her reply.
After ordering, we sat at opposite ends, people-watching with my ‘healthy’ smoothie and Deb’s churros and hot chocolate. I was trying my hardest not to eat any treats after the cake I scoffed down at Patrick’s birthday. But, damn, Patrick’s cake was mighty fine, almost as fine as his lean, sculptured body.
Deb leaned towards me, looking ready for a good gossip session.
We chatted about Kelly’s disappearing act last Saturday and her boyfriend with the ugly neck tattoo, who cheated on her. Icould tell Deb really wanted to talk about Patrick, though, and waited for her to broach the topic.
‘So, I figured out Patrick is a Libra,’ Deb said while munching on her churro. Her fingers were covered in speckles of sugar.
‘Oh right. He is too. Twenty-eighth of September?’ I asked in a casual tone.
She swallowed. ‘Yep. I am seriously crushing on him so bad. And I mean sooo bad.’
I tried not to blush as I pictured Patrick’s exotic green eyes, long hair, and sculptured face. ‘Haha. Every man seems to make it on your hot list lately. I can’t keep up. And, yep, he’s a super good-looking guy.’
‘I have this theory that Libra men are super hard to tie down. I told you John was a Libra, didn’t I?’ She didn’t wait for my response as she could see my mouth was full of smoothie. ‘Well, he used to ask for nude pics all the time in high school, but I feel like he never really loved me. I sure loved him, though. I was completely invested in us, but he was just after some fun.’
I swallowed my drink and frowned at her. ‘And you think that’s got to do with him being a Libra?’
‘Yeah, I do actually. I think Libra men are very fussy and hard to please, and they only ever have one true love in their lives.’ Her ebony eyes were filled with certainty.
‘That’s interesting. I don’t overly follow star signs to the extent you do, but I think people do act like their signs to some degree.’
