"It's definitely one of these..."
As she studied Kelsie's McCollum's face, Jacqueline Sullivan held up three tubes of lipstick.
Each one projected a slightly different shade of the same rich tone.
Ruby. Cherry. Apple.
"Are you sure?" Kelsie worrily queried. "They're all so...red?"
For as long as she could remember, Kelsie had been conscious of her pale skin. When it came to fashion, she had always gravitated away from strong colors: It seemed as if any bold choice would only clash loudly with her complexion. As far as Kelsie was concerned, some foundation, a neutral lip gloss, and her gold Perion hoodie were a safe, nondescript combination with which to move through life.
The other women in Kelsie's world, however, were no longer satisfied with this mindset.
Kelsie's roommate was an opinionated, sexual woman of color, and one of Alexia's teammates and best friends was also an opinionated, sexual woman of color. Alexia and Kaykay made fashion choices that attracted attention, choices that played vibrantly with their skin tones and accentuated their incredible curves. Choices that aroused. The two flag football players were convinced that they could get their shy small-town friend to open up a little.
More importantly: Kelsie now had a third friend who had made Kelsie's attractiveness her own personal mission. This friend had a skin tone very similar to Kelsie's. She was also, as it happened, a professional model...a model with the absolute confidence in her own decision-making befitting of a football team's starting quarterback.
Which, of course, was exactly what Jacqueline Sullivan was.
This all explained why, on this particular weeknight, Kelsie was sitting on the edge of her bed, wearing only one of her neutral bra-and-panty sets and her favorite checkered pajama pants. As Kaykay watched judiciously, Jacqueline had spent the evening working to determine what, in her mind, was the "perfect" makeup routine for Kelsie. Kelsie had been reluctant to participate...until, in the handheld mirror that Jacqueline repeatedly presented to her as she worked, Kelsie had begun to see the results.
Through Jacqueline's expert, subtle application of contour, eyeliner, and mascara, Kelsie seemed, in her own eyes, to grow...more attractive? She didn't know what she had been expecting, but Jacqueline was incredible at this. The 5'11", fire-haired Amazonian princess hadn't made Kelsie look any "different", per se; instead, Kelsie simply felt like a prettier version of her normal self. This slight yet powerful accentuation had instilled Kelsie with a small measure of self-confidence...
...Until this exact moment, when Jacqueline pulled the rug out from under that confidence.
"Clothes. Off."
"What?" Kelsie stammered. Sitting here in her bra had made her uneasy enough already!
Jacqueline didn't so much as glance over from the tubes she was studying.
"Get naked. Then put on the red set I bought for you. Actually, you know what? Put on the lululemon stuff too. Let's see you all redded-out, and then I'll make the call."
Kelsie's brain suddenly churned with a laundry list of issues best summed up as "Things Kelsie cares about that Jacqueline doesn't care about." Kelsie was body-conscious; Jacqueline had endless confidence and a practically singular beauty. Kelsie had rarely ever taken her clothes off around women other than Alexia; Jacqueline spent her time in locker-rooms and at fashion shows, where being naked was a simple fact of life.
And then there was the not-insignificant fact that both Jacqueline and her current wingwoman, Kaykay, had...slept with a lot of women? On top of everything else, Kelsie felt a touch more uncomfortable baring her full figure to two girls whose tongues had, she had been informed oh-so-many times, traveled over every inch of the female form.
Right now, though, both Jacqueline and Kaykay were in full fashionista mode. And in the moment that had elapsed since Jacqueline's command, the steely model-quarterback was already losing patience. She whipped her emerald eyes over to Kelsie's powder-blue lenses with a look that said: Why the fuck haven't you done what I asked yet?
Kelsie swallowed her nerves and did as she was told, awkwardly baring her delicate form to everyone in the room. The moment, so significant in Kelsie's own mind, was clearly a mere blip to Jacqueline, who immediately thrust a red bra and red panties into Kelsie's hands. Jacqueline--who possessed a substantial bank account, a seemingly-limitless access to clothing, and a deep affection for her friends--had already given the cash-strapped Kelsie several new additions to her wardrobe, each one properly-sized.
There was nothing especially exotic about the cut of this particular set of undergarments...but they were an eye-catching red, and to Kelsie, that was more than exotic enough. As Kelsie slid the panties up her milky thighs and clasped the bra, she somehow felt even more self-conscious than she had felt when she was naked.
It helped a little, though, that there was someone else in the room tonight who was at least as shy, if not more shy, than Kelsie was.
Ever since Jason Lim had recounted the story of his twin sister's Preditorettes ordeal at the hands of Cooper Deering, Kelsie and the other girls had made a pointed effort to reach out to Erika Lim.
Erika was, indeed, just as Jason had described her: A bookish, closed-off kind of girl...but Alexia, Jacqueline and Kaykay had pushed right through Erika's walls with their characteristic self-assured warmth. Kelsie knew how much Erika had been crushed by her failure to make social connections through the dance team; seeing the way that Kelsie's three boisterous friends had begun doting on another shy, sweet, devastated girl had made Kelsie love them all the more.
Tonight, Erika was wearing a bright yellow "Hawaii Performing Arts Festival" T-Shirt as she sat cross-legged in her black leggings on a chair a few feet behind Jacqueline. Erika observed Kelsie's glow-up silently but intently.
Just as Jason had asserted, Erika was gorgeous. She was 5'5", but she possessed the same deeply-tanned exotic look that her taller brother did: Korean-American by way of a sun-kissed Hawaiian beach. Erika had alluring light-brown eyes and straight black hair that descended down her slender figure to her petite breasts. Kelsie could envision Erika's hair wet from the salty spray of the ocean as Erika balanced atop a surfboard in a Billabong swimwear ad.
