“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.
Not that Erika remotely projected a bikini model’s confidence. Frankly, Kelsie had trouble imagining Erika stripping down to a one-piece swimsuit, let alone a bikini or her underwear. If the Aloha State had a version of a shrinking violet–a shrinking hibiscus?–then Kelsie reckoned that Erika was it…
…With one massive exception.
Lordy, could this girl dance.
From the very beginning of Erika’s entry into Kelsie’s tiny social circle, Kaykay had insisted that the shy island girl show them every single move that she had. Kelsie had watched Erika snake her body to hip-hop beats with a fluid mastery–and a sexuality–that seemed wholly out-of-place with every other aspect of Erika’s wallflower personality. Kelsie had also watched Erika do a full ballerina’s leg extension above her head while standing on the tip-toes of her other foot. Erika’s dance abilities were staggeringly diverse–and they had, Kelsie noted with amusement, drawn the full, undivided attention of both Jacqueline and Kaykay.
Kelsie and Erika hadn’t talked with each other a tremendous amount so far…but that was only because neither of them were talkative girls to begin with. The two could sense that they were kindred spirits. They provided mutual support simply by showing each other that quiet girls like them could be valued members of a dynamic, fun friend-group. Kelsie enjoyed having this reserved, amiable new girlfriend at Perion, and she was thankful that the connective tissue provided by Alexia and her teammates had made it possible.
There was, of course, that one matter…the matter that, as far as Kelsie and the others were concerned, Erika never, ever, needed to know about…
…In which, 11 days earlier, a few feet from where Erika was currently sitting, Alexia had poured sexual gasoline all over Erika’s brother and then thrown a lit match on him.
There was no real danger of Alexia and Jason’s sweltering engagement–of which Kaykay and Jacqueline were 100% aware–coming up around Erika. Since the day after the encounter, Alexia had clammed up about all things Jason Lim. To the eye-rolls of Kaykay, Jacqueline, and even Kelsie, Alexia continued to pretend that she wasn’t catching feelings for the ungainly-yet-attractive programmer.
Jason continued to watch Alexia from the bleachers and from the sidelines, and Kelsie had most-definitely seen Alexia continue to talk with him. But Alexia otherwise persisted in keeping a wall up here that, as far as Kelsie was concerned, should have exploded into a million pieces the instant that Kelsie had personally watched Alexia and Jason explode into a million pieces on Alexia’s bed.
For whatever reason, Alexia just wouldn’t go there. Not yet anyway. She was just as resolute about refusing to divulge–at least to Kelsie–whatever her non-lust-related motives had been on that scorching evening. Now, though, as Kelsie stood at the edge of her bed in her scarlet bra and panties, she couldn’t help but reflect on the utter role-reversal between this night and that night.
Tonight, Kelsie was the one wearing the risque outfit–at least, by Kelsie’s standards. Alexia, meanwhile, was the one in “study-mode.” Clad in a blue Perion Flag Football sweatsuit, her back propped up by a pile of pillows on her bed, Alexia was intently focused on her laptop–presumably, working on a paper for some course. She would periodically glance over at Jacqueline’s aesthetic craftsmanship, but she was otherwise consumed by her work.
Kaykay, on the other hand, was, to Kelsie’s surprise, consumed with…Kelsie?
“Girl,” Kaykay purred, “You look fucking SEXY. Red is your color!”
Kelsie blushed and stared down at the floor.
Jacqueline was more stoic, but she firmly agreed with Kaykay.
“Kelsie, you have a great body that you should be proud of, and a nice deep red makes it pop. I love this for you. Here, put these on.”
Jacqueline handed Kelsie a set of red leggings and a form-fitting, matching zip-up top. Kelsie, grateful to finally be able to cover up, snatched the coordinates and had them on in an instant. Jacqueline rose from her chair and inspected the smaller girl. The stunning redhead reached out, grabbed the zipper of Kelsie’s top, pulled it down a few more inches, and nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Kelsie,” Jacqueline remarked, “I hope you FEEL good. Because you LOOK good. Here:”
Jacqueline reached into the pocket of her own blue athletic sweats and produced another gift for her shy, similarly-shaded friend: A set of garnet stud earrings.
“Oh, Jacqueline!” Kelsie protested. “You’ve already given me so much…”
Jacqueline dismissed Kelsie with an impatient wave of her hand.
“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, yes, wonderful. Put them on. Now, about the lipstick…”
As Kelsie obligingly affixed her new jewelry to her earlobes, Jacqueline held up the three tubes and studied Kelsie a final time.
“This one! The Ruby!”
The quarterback-model handed her selection to Kelsie.
“This lipstick is part of your look now,” Jacqueline matter-of-factly commanded. “This is ALL part of your look now. We’re going to keep finding Kelsie McCollum MORE hot looks. Put the lipstick on and let’s see the finished product!”
Kelsie, her cheeks still flushed, produced a shy smile, and reached for the cap of the tube.
“Wait.”
Kelsie looked up from the lipstick.
The command hadn’t come from Jacqueline.
It had come from Alexia.
Kelsie’s bestie was still sitting on her bed. She was still staring at her laptop. But she now had the pointer finger of her right hand pointed straight up in the air.
“WAIT…”
Kelsie cracked a smile.
“Alexia, what are you doi–”
Then Kelsie saw Jacqueline and Kaykay’s faces.
Alexia’s teammates were not smiling. In fact, they seemed to be reacting as if Alexia had just said the most serious word in the world. In a split-second, the entire orbit of the room shifted from Kelsie to Alexia, and a pregnant pause suddenly hung in the air.
And then Alexia looked up from her computer screen and fixed her blazing eyes on Jacqueline.
“GO!”
Jacqueline stared back.
“Right now?”
Alexia responded by furiously pointing at the door.
“NOW!!! GO GO GO!!!”
Kelsie couldn’t have possibly processed the WHY of what happened next if she had tried.
The WHAT of what happened next was this: Jacqueline and Kaykay each grabbed one side of Kelsie as if she was a bookshelf they were moving into an apartment. Then the two athletic beauties physically rushed Kelsie out of her dorm room.
Kelsie’s first reaction was complete and utter shock. Her second reaction was panicked embarrassment: Whatever was happening here, the entire fourth floor of Howard Hall was about to see it! Thankfully, despite it not even being 10pm yet, no one else was in the hallway outside Kelsie’s dorm room…which would have been wonderful, if Jacqueline and Alexia had stopped in the hallway. But Kelsie’s athletic friends didn’t stop. They hustled Kelsie straight into the stairwell.
The two flag football players and their stunned cargo descended one floor…and then another floor…and as they wheeled onto another surprisingly-vacant corridor, the lightbulb in Kelsie’s delirious brain finally illuminated.
“Wait…WAIT WAIT WAIT!”
“Shut up!” Jacqueline whispered with a hiss.
In a moment, they were there.
Jacqueline suddenly produced what Kelsie realized was Kelsie’s own phone. The imposing redhead pushed the phone into the pocket of Kelsie’s leggings.
“When you want to come back, text Alexia!” Jacqueline commanded. “TEXT ALEXIA!”
And then Kaykay was testing the door. And finding it unlocked. And swinging it open.
And Jacqueline was shoving Kelsie through the doorway.
And the door was closing behind her.
And Kelsie was standing in a dorm room with Chris Weathers.
