Page 35 of All of Him
Noah nodded again, clearly nervous.
“Can I touch you?”
His eyes flicked to me, curious.
“I figured you would, yeah,” he responded. “Go ahead.”
I put the product on my finger and waited for him to turn his head away from me again before rubbing it on the area. The scar was nowhere near what he made it seem. I assumed it only appeared horrific to him because of the memory, though I wasn’t going to downplay that.
“I told you it was bad,” he said as I smoothed out the primer.
“It’s obvious,” I admitted. “But it’s not that bad.”
Noah turned to look at me, and I smiled.
“Let that sit for two to three minutes.”
“Not that bad?” he asked honestly. “I always thought…”
“I mean,” I started, trying to make him feel better while still being truthful, “it’s there for sure. But you still pass as a ten without the makeup.”Awesome, Amanda.
He smirked.
“Why are you always calling me hot?”
“It’s built within me to make a fool of myself at least once a day.”
Noah shook his head and smiled.
“But I’m being honest. You’re an attractive guy, and you really could go without covering the scar. I know you don’t want to, and that’s your choice, but take it from a female peer—chicks will notice those eyes before that scar.”
“You are really on a roll today,” he said, blushing again.
“I’m trying to make this easier on you, but I do mean that. Nice face, nice eyes, nice smile. I’m humiliating myself for you here.”
“Noted,” he choked out before clearing his throat. “Is that dry yet?”
“Right,” I affirmed, pointing awkwardly at his face. “Turn a little toward the light, so you can see what I do in the mirror.”
Noah shifted so that one of his knees was bent and pointing toward me. There was no way I’d be able to do what I needed to with the way he was sitting without me sitting directly on his lap.
“That’s not going to work,” I said to myself. “Sit cross-legged and sideways on the counter. I’m going to use the mirror instead of looking right at you. Okay?”
He nodded and did as I’d said.
“Wet the sponge just a little, like this.”
He watched as I leaned over him to moisten the beauty blender, and then I applied the foundation to the edge.
“That much is good?” he asked.
“You might need two coats, but start with this amount.”
I tried to lean over his legs, but it was too awkward. Instead, I grabbed his chin lightly with my opposite hand to steady him and looked in the mirror. He watched me intently as I blotted the product evenly over his scar, making it disappear better than it probably ever had.
After I put on a light second coat, I smoothed out the edges, describing what I was doing. He nodded when necessary and seemed to be focused on my hand movements. I hadn’t even noticed how close we were until I set the sponge down.
“Think you got it?” I asked, still focused on Noah through the mirror. My breath hitched when his eyes directly caught mine, causing him to look away quickly.
