Day Fifteen: Different Style

Day Fifteen: Tuesday

Fifteenth Challenge: Different Style of Clothing

“Are you ready yet, lovely?”

“Almost, almost. Keep your pants on Matt; I just need to apply my make up…”

“You can do it in front of me, you know.”

“Yes, but I want to give you the complete look when I’m done. Hold still for five minutes. I can’t find my favorite blush right now…oh, there it is!”

“Alright, then.” The male checked his watch. “We have half an hour. The party starts around eight, and I’d like us to avoid tardiness.” A murmur of agreement came from the bathroom, the sound blocked by the closed door. “Are you sure you don’t want me to see you just yet?”

“Only a few more minutes.”

Inside the bathroom, Ari was slowly and carefully applying blush until her cheeks were a soft, rosy pink. Her eyelashes were long and slightly curled now, eyeliner decorating her eyes with soft eye shadow. She kept her lips a light red and applied gloss, and smiled at her own reflection before putting away her make up materials and standing up, smoothening her dress. The younger woman gave a coy wink at the mirror before unlocking the door and stepping out, a hand against the door as she greeted the red-head with a flirtatious smile.

The male before her felt his own eyes widen at the sight of her. He gave a few blinks and stared for a moment, wondering how she could look so perfect, desirable, and utterly beautiful. He soon heard himself speak. “You look ravishing.” And so she was. The green dress showed off her soft curves, the lack of sleeves giving focus on her arms. The smile on her face made it all better. Matt found himself looking at an Ari different from the one he saw everyday. He saw a confident woman who could kill with just a sweet rise of those red lips.

“Are you alright?” she teased, moving closer and pulling her arms around him. Her curled black hair bounced off her back as she walked. “You can’t seem to say anything else.” He snapped out of his amazed state, and flashed a grin back.

“I can’t help it. You look gorgeous – too beautiful that it’s a crime.” Her cheeks flushed, and the color added with the flush made him chuckle.

“Give yourself some credit. You look handsome…I might have to stick close to you all night or someone might whisk you away from me.” Her lips were close to his neck, teasing. He sucked in a breath and ran his hands down her back, feeling the fabric of the dress cling to her skin.

“I just threw on a suit and put on a black tie,” he shrugged. But to her, he was too attractive for his own good. He was wearing all black save for the white shirt, the silver watch she gave for Christmas on his wrist, and strangely enough, he had his hair actually fixed for once. He looked smart, he looked stunning. Matt didn’t quite know it, but she liked it when he appeared smart, when he was in formal clothes.

“I know, but you look fantastic.” She stood on her toes and kissed him lightly, he catching a taste of her strawberry-flavored gloss. “Now, come on. Let’s go – Matsumoto might throw a fit if we’re late, he just might end up teasing you about me distracting you.” The word ‘distracting’ was a purr, catching him off guard.

Never has she been this playful.

Not that he was complaining. He liked this side of her.

“You’ve never been like this,” he murmured, allowing her to pull him out after she slid the small bag onto her shoulder. “Flirty and…mischievous.”

She turned to look at him, and for a moment, he thought he caught a trace of the regular Ari who stayed in and watched movies with him as they ridiculed the errors the characters made. “…is that a bad thing?” she asked softly.

He backtracked. Shit.

“No, no.” he lifted a hand and caressed her cheek lightly. “It’s not a bad thing. I like it.” He cracked a smile. “It’s just something I don’t see often, babe. You need to be more confident. It’s attractive.”

“I’ll try to – this dress makes me feel nice.” She chuckled, and took his hand. “I’ll be as you say the whole night. Except when facing other people…I can be a little tease to you, a polite woman to Matsumoto and the other guests, and I can whoop the asses of those who try to steal you away from me.” She flashed a smile, making him laugh loudly.

“And how about those who try to steal you away, love?”

“I can lead them to you if you’d like. But I can take care of myself, though. I’m not a police agent slash detective for nothing.” Matt kissed the top of her head.

“That’s my girl. Now let’s go.”