Page 55 of Epidermis

seventeen

“Hiyori.”

“You said not flashy.”

“If this isn’t flashy by your standards, I don’t want to know what is.” Jasper wished there were at least long sleeves so he had something to do with his hands. “I can’t wear this.”

The makeup was already a lot. Thick black eyeliner, metallic midnight-blue shadow that shifted to violet when the light hit it. He’d said no to lipstick but agreed to a lip stain, so his lips were a couple of shades darker than their normal color. He had mentioned Konrad liking his curls, so rather than taming them, Hiyori had defined them with some kind of product that she’d scrunched into his hair and left his curls shaped but not crunchy. He could live with all of that.

Then she put him in a skirt. Not pants that kind of looked like a skirt—no, an actual skirt. With pockets. He liked the pockets, but that wasn’t enough to make him comfortable walking out of her apartment in it. It was a simple black maxi skirt that fell in a clean line from waist to ankle, made of buttery soft cotton, falling just to the top of his platform boots that made him as tall as Konrad.

“Do you not like it?” Hiyori asked, knowing the answer.

“I do like it. But I can’t wear it.”

The shirt was a black tank top that laced up the back like a corset. He was fine with the shirt. And yes, the skirt too, if he was going to be at home.

Hiyori put her hands on her hips. “You said yourself, you guys are staying in tonight. Are you going to try to convince me that Konrad Heart-Eyes Iversen is going to have a problem with you wearing a skirt?”

He paced her small living room, thankful she was on the lowest floor so he didn’t have to feel bad for his platforms thunking against the floor above some poor neighbor’s head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so? But—” He cut himself off with an agitated huff.

“You care what he thinks. Baby,” Hiyori said, resting a hand on his elbow, bringing his pacing to a halt. “I know this is new for you. The skirt, and the opening yourself up to rejection. But give him a chance to prove you wrong.”

The hair on his nape stood on end at those words. He hadn’t told her the exact conversation they’d had about Jasper’s fears, but she’d almost repeated what Konrad had told him that night. It had been a week since then, but he could hear the sincerity in Konrad’s voice like they were still standing in his kitchen.

I will persist, until your heart grows tired of doubting me.

Jasper swallowed and smoothed his hands down the front of the skirt. She’d even redone his nails to match his eyeshadow, convincing him to give up the black for once because she had a polish with the same blue-to-violet shift he wore on his eyes. Fuck, he looked like he was trying way too hard. Especially for a night in.

He was meeting Konrad at his house. Hiyori and Amara only lived a couple of blocks from the shop, so they’d gone back to their place after work to get him ready for his date. He felt a twinge of guilt for fighting her so hard on this. She’d really taken her time getting him ready, and she was obviously proud of the results. He knew she wouldn’t make him feel bad for changing back into what he’d been wearing at work and that just made him feel worse for considering it. Even Amara came out of her home office to admire her wife’s handiwork.

“Okay,” he muttered. Then, not wanting to sound petulant, he added, “I do like it. Thank you.”

“Thank you for letting me play dress-up with the hottest guy I know.”

He laughed and hugged her. She was frozen for a moment, not used to him being the one to initiate physical contact, before hugging him back tightly enough to make his ribs ache. Jasper stepped back and nodded more to himself than her. “Alright. I’m going.”

“Wait, wait, I want pictures!” Amara said, and Hiyori ran to get the camera.

Jasper felt like a teenager going to his first prom. Or at least, this is what he thought it would have been like if he’d gone to either of his.

Amara made him sit in the windowsill and pretend to look outside, then posed him against the wall, with one hand up above him and the other splayed on his throat. It was really hard to keep a straight face when she insisted on such dramatic poses, but he kept hearing the camera click even when he was laughing. She took a closeup of his makeup and then finally relented.

“Lingerie shoot next time,” Amara called after him.

Jasper was glad to close the door between them and hide the color that rose to his face at the thought of wearing lingerie. Now that was something he could see Konrad having an appreciation for. He remembered the look on Konrad’s face when he saw Jasper’s boxers that had even a small amount of lace, and Jasper would be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted to explore that reaction, even if he would feel unbelievably silly stuffing his muscular, hairy legs into a pair of stockings.

He’d just gotten into the car and put his glasses on when Konrad called him, as if summoned by his thoughts. He picked it up on Bluetooth while he pulled out of the apartment complex. “Hey, I’m on the way.”

“I was actually hoping I could impose on you for a small favor.”

“Yeah, of course, what is it?” Jasper wasn’t usually one to blindly agree to a favor, but it was so unlike Konrad to ask.

“Emily’s car won’t start, so I was going to loan her mine for the evening. I had hoped you might retrieve me from the restaurant.”

“Aw, you’re such a good dad.” Jasper slid under a yellow light as it was turning red. “I’ll be there in five.”

He could feel the rebuttal on Konrad’s tongue, but he must not have felt like he had the grounds to argue when he was asking for a favor, because he only said, “Be safe, darling. I’m sure Emily will be pleased to see you again.”