Page 34 of All of Him
“If you use it every day?”
He nodded.
“Maybe four months for the primer and foundation. You can clean the sponge every week and use that for about the same amount of time. But now, you can get everything online.”
“Thanks, Amanda. Really, that was helpful.”
I smiled at him as the truck rumbled to life, though he didn’t make a move to go anywhere.
“So, you want to come over and show me how to actually put it on correctly?”
“That would make sense, I suppose. We wouldn’t want you putting the foundation on first.”
Noah glared at me, trying not to chuckle.
“I think I could have figured out thatprimergoes on first.”
I laughed at him and put my feet on the dash. “I’m hungry.”
“Me too,” Noah agreed. “That’s why I wasn’t leaving yet. Can I buy you dinner for helping me out? Takeout or something, I mean.”
I felt a slight flutter in my chest and tried not to blush. Inevitably, I was going to say something awkward, but I wanted to postpone it for as long as possible.
“If you insist,” I answered. “There is a really good burrito place on the way to your house.”
“Burritos it is.”
We grabbed burritos and ate them back at Noah’s. We joked about work, specifically Penny and how much of a douche Brayden was. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Noah smile and laugh so much, and it made me feel good that I could make him laugh. I knew as soon as we got to applying the makeup though, his smile would fade. I just wasn’t sure how much.
“So,” I started gently, “which room has the best lighting for this?”
He shrugged and tossed his wrapper in the trash.
“The upstairs bathroom maybe?”
I nodded and he started up the stairs with the bag of supplies.
Noah stepped into the bathroom and paused for a second, tapping the doorjamb lightly.
“I need to wash my face, right?”
I nodded, remembering that he probably didn’t let many people see him without his cover-up.
“Give me a second then.”
I stepped back as he closed the door. I probably should have walked away to give him some space, but it was a little surprising that he needed privacy. I was going to see his bare skin anyway.
I leaned against the wall next to the door, trying to figure out why he needed privacy, when I heard a pill bottle rattle over the sound of the water. He cursed lightly, and I assumed he’d dropped it while trying to be quiet. I closed my eyes tightly as my heart ached for him. Not that I had any idea what the medicine was, but it probably had something to do with him being nervous.
“I’m good,” he said quietly, opening the door.
I made my way into the bathroom and tried not to notice how flush his cheeks were. He cleared his throat and sat on the countertop, his body facing me but his eyes looking straight ahead. His jaw was clenched and he rubbed the scar on his hand nervously with his opposite thumb.
“You okay?” I asked.
Noah nodded but didn’t look at me.
“All right,” I started, grabbing the primer. “You only need a little bit of this stuff, and you use your finger.”
