I’m about to take it off when the door opens and Diego walks in. He’s wearing camel chinos and a deep-green sweater that makes his eyes pop. With his hair all messy as if he’s just finished drying it, and still slightly damp and curly around the nape, he’s breathtaking.

Insecurities gnaw at my flanks; this guy can’t possibly like me. I wish I was still wearing the black dress; I’d feel less exposed. Diego, however, doesn’t seem to mind the red one. He gives me a once-over and low whistles. With two quick steps, he closes the distance between us, wraps his arms around my waist, and pulls me in for a kiss as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

So, kissing each other is fair game now, apparently. No complaints here. Still, as we pull apart, I can’t help but blush and, not knowing what to say, I use the first lame excuse to avoid saying anything. “I… err… need to go dry my hair.”

“Sure.” He winks at me and gives me a gentle push toward the door. “I’ll catch you downstairs; your dad asked me to help him bring in logs for the fire.”

I nod and, still equally randy and embarrassed, I make my way to the bathroom, glad I don’t have to hurry. Julia called dibs on first use and showered and did her makeup while I was at Blair’s. So I can take my time to style my hair with the blow dryer and flat iron and to carefully do my makeup. I pause only when I have to choose the lipstick. I’m about to go for my usual nude shade when one of Diego’s remarks about my grooming habits pops into my head: “…You like to paint your nails in the most obnoxious, shocking colors, but you’d never use a lipstick shade other than nude. Pity, because a bold red would look killer on you…”

I stare down at my nails, which are painted black. Not a shocking color, but still a fierce one. I raise my gaze back to my lips in the mirror. Could I really pull off red lipstick? Why not? Today, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do. Only problem is, I don’t own a red lipstick… but maybe Julia does. I shuffle through her beauty case until I find an almost new stick of Dior Addict lip gloss in a cherry shade.

Bingo!

Red takes longer than usual to apply. With natural shades, I can get away with sloppy technique, but with the red, I really have to be careful how I contour everything if I don’t want to end up looking like a clown.

Once I’m done, I study the result in the mirror and almost don’t recognize myself. Between the short hair, lips that look ten times plusher than mine, and a healthy glow that probably comes from not having spent the last few days stuck in front of a monitor—but could as well be the consequence of a night of adolescent making out—I’m a different person. Confident, sexy, and edgy.