She huffed and scooted her chair closer to her cousin. “Harvey, when are you going to be done with Shelby?”
“Never,” he declared, cupping her jaw as he drew pink, pointy ears over her brows.
She wiggled and sang, “You looove me.”
“Stop moving.” He tapped her nose with the brush.
“Ah, that tickles.” She scrunched up her face, and Harvey chuckled.
Ugh, they were too sweet. My heart almost hurt. Or maybe this dress was too tight on me.
“What are you going to be?” I asked Shelby.
“A pony.” She primly pressed her hands over her knees and batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend.
His lip twitched up, though his hand stayed steady. “Do you want me to make it a unicorn?”
“Yes, please.” She beamed and kicked her feet.
May slumped into her chair. “Ugh, this is taking forever.”
“Why don’t you tell me what’s new with you?” I turned her chair toward me, fighting a smile when Shelby briefly stuck her tongue out at her cousin’s back. This family was full of weirdos, but they were all super sweet.
Once she was all done up, I helped Shelby take the perfect photos solo and with Harvey so he could get started on her cousin’s face art.
“Shelby, you are slaying,” I said.
“Thank you. It’s really Harvey. He’s amazing.” She sighed dreamily at him, then sat up straight. “So, what do you want to be?”
“Oh, I don’t need anything. It’s for the kids. Besides, Harvey’s busy.”
“I do this for kids’ parties all the time. I also used to work at a makeup counter, so if you want something fancy…with feathers,maybe?” She wagged her brows and gestured to the outside curve of my eye.
That did sound fancy. Besides, I could always have her stop after one side. She got to work, surprising me with her delicate attention to detail and calm chatter. Soon enough, she showed me one eye lined with golden, ruby, and emerald feathers. I was magnificent.
“What bird is this?” I breathed, brushing my fingertips along the dusted plumes.
“A rooster, silly.”
I dropped the mirror and gave her a flat look. “Are you saying I’m cocky?”
“No.” She chuckled, “Roosters are brave and hardworking. They’re also a little cocky. As you should be.” She grinned.
“Well, this gorgeous makeup does wonders for my bone structure. Keep going.”
She’d almost finished when a song blared in the other room.
“Is Zack’s band playing?” I asked.
“Not today. No room for it. Come on, let’s dance.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd. May latched onto my leg to follow us through.
Joon, with his face painted as a tiger, thrashed in front of a TV with some music video playing in the background. His aunts laughed, holding onto one another. Shelby’s mom playfully fought off Coral’s attempts to do the twist together. May was so little, she basically just jumped around. Shelby and I spun each other, the room blurring with heat, solid beats, and laughter until I got dizzy and stumbled straight into a solid body.
“Do I need to take you outside?” Zack teased.
“Not this time.” I grinned, rocking with him.
We danced to the end of the song, at which point my hair stuck to my neck.
