Those girls at school were still giving her a hard time. Less of one than last year, and Faith promised me that she didn't want to hurt herself yet, but I had a feeling it was coming. The entire situation made me feel like a horrible father, as if I should be doing more or protecting her better. Sadly, this was one thing I couldn't change.
So when Saturday rolled around and she asked if I would be in the pictures with her, I gave in. That was how I ended up in my room with Ash and an entire palette of makeup. Violet and Faith were getting ready together. Cy, Cessily, and Darnell were getting the "scene" ready at the pool, and Ash was fucking airbrushing me.
"Arms out," he said, reaching for my pants.
"Ash," I grumbled.
He looked up with a devious smile. "We're removing tan lines, cowboy. I just need a few inches."
My lips were curling on one side. "Yeah? Just the tip, huh?"
His hand moved to cup my bulge. "Don't start teasing, Luke. I'll make sure you regret it." Then the bastard rubbed.
"That is not making me regret anything."
Ash just laughed, but he also moved his hand. Folding down the waist of my jeans, he applied his special lacquer to my skin, creating a "flawless finish," as he called it. Then I got contouring to show my muscle definition. By the time we were done, I felt like some cartoon character, but in the mirror I didn't actually look too bad.
Then we headed downstairs. I was wearing a pair of black jeans, my normal boots and belt - with the buckle - and my black hat. Nothing else. Nope, not even underwear, because Ash wanted the skin at my waist to go all the way down. On the back porch, everyone else was waiting. Violet and Faith included.
They looked amazing. Faith was in a little white and lilac bathing suit. It looked to be the same one Ash had shown me on his tablet. Violet, however, was in a lavender two-piece. Then, my daughter turned around and I saw bright colors all down her right arm.
"What is that?" I asked as I came out.
"Fake tattoo," Violet told me. "Ash had a few printed in colors to work with her outfits."
"Multiple outfits?" I asked, catching the 's' on the end of that.
Violet just laughed. "Not for you. You're just the eye candy."
"Ok," Ash said, raising his voice so we'd all listen. "Darnell, get Faith on the unicorn float. Violet? You're on the towel. Someone got drinks?"
"I do," Cessily promised. "Also have the beach ball."
Cy was sitting in a chair beside the table. "You look a little extra ripped, Luke."
"Fuck off," I grumbled. "I let Ash use makeup. Never. Again."
Cy just roared out a laugh. "You'll do it again. He has a way of making it sound like no big deal. Four hours later, you're still in a chair being primped and you have no clue how to get out of it."
Ash just pointed back at him. "I have never done that to you."
Cy pointed to Violet. "I heard the stories from her." Then he patted what looked to be a collection of aluminum foil or something. "Also got the reflectors, and Darnell set up your lights."
A flick of a switch proved they weren't joking. Large boxes along the railing pumped out brilliant sunlight colored light at us, removing the shadows from the house. The whole thing was a little intense, and I honestly had no clue what I was doing, but my daughter had asked, so I was doing it.
Then Cessily handed me a tray with a drink on it. The glass had fun little designs in bold colors. Beach balls, starfish, and other summer themed things. There was a paper umbrella in the top, and the liquid inside was pink. I almost wanted to sniff it, but I had a feeling this was just another prop.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Pink lemonade," Cessily assured me. "Faith has yellow and a curly straw. You will pose beside Violet, offering that to her. Your job is to look at her tits."
I ducked my head and reached up to make sure my hat wasn't about to budge. "Yeah. That should be easy. And Faith?"
Cessily just pointed out to where Darnell was pushing her on a float to the side of the pool. Then Faith passed him something and Darnell dropped it into the water. It looked a lot like a milk jug.
"What the..."
"Anchor," Cessily explained. "Keeps her from floating away. Ash doesn't want her wet, because the color of the fabric changes. Yes, we got this lecture this morning. Biggest shoot of his life. Whole family, and so on." She turned to face me and dropped her voice. "Luke, he's trying so hard to make sure Faith's ok with this. He wants her to feel good about herself and not hate having her picture taken, so try a bit?"
