She shook her head disapprovingly and laughed at the same time.
“It’s your fault for not hiding it better,” Julianna said, giggling.
I rolled my eyes while contouring my sister’s cheekbones, remembering the look of horror on our mother’s face. She had let out a scream, which caused me to drop the mascara and leave a permanent stain on the rug.
“Back when I was a child, I knew better than to go poking around in my parent’s bedroom. You two were always getting into trouble!”
Julianna started to laugh but quickly composed herself so I could apply the makeup without smearing it all over the place.
“That stain’s still there,” I said, getting a kick out of pushing Mom’s buttons.
After trying to remove it with rug cleaner, she had finally given up and just rearranged the furniture to hide the spot.
“Your father never even asked why I moved the bed,” she said.
Our father was an extremely intelligent man who never cared about home furnishings. Our parents had a very traditional marriage. He worked to put food on the table, and our mother took care of our home.
As we reminisced about our childhood, along with how quickly Caley was growing up, my mind kept trickling back to the night before. I was far too drunk to remember all of the details, but a few stood out in my mind. Namely, the moment that Richard had backed up into me while we were playing pool.
That’s when I knew we’d spend the night together.
Waking up next to him was such a mistake.
I listened to our mom talk about Caley while at the same time, thought about how good Richard looked naked. I was actually dreading having to see him at the wedding today. We’d have to stand next to each other for pictures, make small talk at the reception, and be expected to dance together since we were part of the wedding party.
“Are you okay?”
I snapped myself back to reality, then nodded at my sister.
She lifted a brow. “You’ve been applying the same stroke of highlighter to my forehead for a while now. I think we’re good, sis.”
“Sorry.” I wiped some of the product off, careful not to get it into her eyes.
I was starting to highly regret sleeping with Richard. If he had been any other guy that I didn’t see a future with, I’d have been over him already.
While I applied fuchsia lipstick to Julianna’s lips, I thought about how not only I would be seeing him again, but my sister was marrying his brother. I’d be seeing him all the time. Eventually, he’d be dating some woman who only wanted his money, probably some young trophy wife-type, and I’d be replaying our night over and over in my mind.
“That shade seems a bit bright, honey. I think something a bit more muted would be better.” Our mother walked over to my makeup kit and picked out a nude lipstick.
Julianna shook her head. “I’m not going for an all-natural, virgin-white look, Mom.”
I suppressed a chuckle as our mother let out a gasp. “In that case, I’ll go check on Caley. Maybe it’s better if I do her makeup, Annie.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at her. “I know what I’m doing. Tell Caley not to get dressed until I do her makeup.”
After setting her face with some finishing spray, Julianna stood up and went over to her wedding gown. She started telling me about the moment she knew it was the one and how excited she was to recite her vows. I stopped listening less than a minute into her speech.
Richard’s wink was eating at me. I didn’t know what it meant. Pretty much every guy I’d ever hooked up with said we’d see each other again. There was no polite way of saying ‘thank you for the one-night stand’.
On the one hand, I wanted Richard to want me. Yet, on the other hand, getting involved with a guy like him was too risky. I could see myself falling in love, only to get my heart crushed. It had happened far too many times before.
“Annie?” Julianna was standing there, hands on her hips, just staring at me.
Once again, I had to snap myself back to reality. “Yes?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lied. “I’m just listening to you talk.”
