Discover and Recover

"Are you alright, Jacey?" Nichole asked in a gentle voice. "You look upset."

"I... I..."

"It's alright. You are safe here." She reached over and placed her soft hand on his bare knee. "Take your time."

Jason just nodded, trying to calm himself down.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, Jacey," Nichole said soothingly as she rubbed his leg a little. "Take a little time to get yourself in order."

He tried to do just that. He took slow, deep breaths as he tried to think about what he should do. His makeup was messed up. How was he supposed to talk to people and sell candy with his face smeared? How was he supposed to make his sister and parents happy if he couldn't sell candy? It was ridiculous that he was being made to do it at all. It was so unfair. He was being punished for no reason. As his thoughts ran together in his head, Jason started breathing faster without realizing it.

"Jacey?" Nichole questioned as she saw him getting more worked up. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

That was the breaking moment. Jason was upset, and had been holding it all in, trying to be strong, to not let his feelings show, because he knew nobody really cared about him, and showing his feelings would only make things worse for him. He would be accused of not caring about others. He would be accused of being selfish, and then punished for not helping fix a problem someone else created on their own. He was used to not counting as a real person. And Nichole, a stranger, was actually asking him what was wrong. She was treating him like he was worth something.

Jason started to cry. At fifteen years old, he was doing something he had not let anybody see him do in almost eight years. It started with a sniffle. Then the tears started to fall. His shoulders shook in quiet sobs as it all started to come out.

"It's not my fault," Jason began in a ragged whisper. "I didn't do anything wrong..." The whole story spilled out of him, broken up by gasps as he tried to keep talking while inside he felt the urge to yell and cry. He explained how he had been pushed into helping his sister. How he had been made to dress up, and how his sister had abandoned him to sell her candy, for her cheer leader squad, in her old uniform, while she went to have fun with her friend.

Without meaning too, Jason shared his fears with Nichole about being made to spend all weekend as his sister's personal sales girl. He wanted to have his own free time. He didn't want to be made to look all silly and forced to go out and talk to strangers.

As he let his feelings out, Nichole had moved to comfort him. Jason slowly became aware that she was sitting close against him. Their bare thighs were touching. She had one arm around his shoulder and the other hand was petting his thigh soothingly. He was aware of her soft, floral scent as she leaned her head against his.

He could not help but notice that it felt good to have her holding on to him. To have someone holding him close. He was aware of her even as he continued to let his feelings and frustrations tumble brokenly out. He let out his resentment at always being second class to his sister. It had always seemed that he didn't matter as much as his sister, and that she always got what she wanted, even if it meant he had to do without.

The worst part, Jason choked out as he finally started to calm down, is that nobody in his home ever asked him. Nobody showed him even the smallest amount of care or respect by giving him any choice. He was told. He was instructed. He was ordered. He was never asked.

"It's alright now, Jacey" Nichole soothed. "You are safe here. I'm not going to make you do anything."

"Thank you," He sniffled, slowly running ot of tears as he calmed down after letting his feelings out. Finally, sitting there quietly, he got his breathing to slow and the crying to stop.

"Would you like to get cleaned up?"

"Huh?" He moved so he could turn and look at her, blinking owlishly.

"There is nothing wrong with crying when you need to," She explained. "It is a tool we have for helping us cope with our feelings. Being able to cry when we need to is a part of having good emotional health."

He gave a nod, glad she wasn't making fun of him for showing his feelings, to show that he was paying attention.

"Unfortunately, crying is absolutely horrible on makeup."

"Oh..." Some of his earlier fear started to return.

"Would you like me to show you where you can get cleaned up?" Nichole was very careful to ask him.

"Yes, please," Jason nodded.

She stood up and turned to offer him a hand. He took it and stood up, finding himself standing close to her, with his eyes level with her collarbone. Without letting go of his hand, she gently lead him deeper into her home. Jason was aware of how his hand felt in hers, and how good her hips looked in her loose shorts as he walked behind her. He noticed when the passed through a bedroom and into a bathroom.

It was the master bath of the home. It was clearly Nichole's bathroom. There was a hamper of feminine clothes between the sink counter and the toilet. An organized case of cosmetics sat on the counter, along with a lot of individual cosmetic products and an assortment of lotions and cleansers.

Looking in the mirror, Jason saw the mess that his face had become. Nothing about his face looked cute any more. He didn't look like a girl or a boy. He looked like some kind of nightmare clown, and that was just from the makeup. Crying had left his eyes red and his face puffy behind the smeared and ruined makeup.

"Would you like to wash your face?" Nichole asked him, guiding him.

"Please," He nodded.

She opened the taps and wet a wash cloth. Next she selected one of the cleansers to add to the cloth. She offered it to him.

"Here you go, Jacey."

"Thank you." He took the offered wash cloth and proceeded to scrub his face clean.

Jason felt refreshed as he washed his face. He was doing something for himself, and was getting his normal face back. When he rinsed the cloth, Nichole added some more skin cleanser, and then he washed his face a second time.

"You know, Jacey," Nichole said as he scrubbed his face. "You are very brave, and should be proud of yourself."

"Huh? Why?"

"You didn't run away," She explained. "You had the integrity to keep working, to keep selling, when you were left on your own."

"What else could I do?"

"You could have simply given up. You could have thrown the candy away, rolled around in some dirt, then told your family someone pushed you down and stole the candy and money."

"I'm not a liar," He said, glaring at her in the mirror.

"Good for you," She gave him a bright smile and placed her hand around his shoulder and gave him a light, half hug. "That's what I mean about being proud of yourself. You have integrity." She left her arm to linger across his shoulders before letting her hand move to lightly rest on his back in a gently supportive way.

"Thank you," Jason smiled back. It felt good to have her approve of his choices, especially when those same choices didn't get such open approval from his family.

"And you are brave too," She went on. "It is not easy to do something that makes us uncomfortable. You said you don't like talking to strangers, but you are brave enough to do it. You are strong enough to go door to door to sell candy for your sister. If you think about it, you are a lot stronger than she is."

"What do you mean?"

"You said your sister caused your trouble by trying to make you help her sell candy in the first place."

"Yes," He nodded as he rinsed out the wash cloth again.

"She was already looking to get you to do what she didn't want to do. She didn't have the integrity to follow through on her own, and you're here pushing to do a good job in her place." She slid the hand from his back to around his shoulder again, looking him the the face in the mirror, she pulled him into a half hug. "You are a good and brave person."

Nichole eased her hold on him, but didn't let go all the way. She leaned forward to turn off the taps with her free hand. In the mirror, Jason was treated to a view down the open collar of her shirt. He tried not to stare at the briefly exposed cleavage, but it did hold his attention well enough that he did not notice Nichole watching his face as she carefully gave him a flash of eye candy.

Once the water was off, she stood straight again. She moved away from Jason, sliding her hand across the back oh his shoulders as she stepped away from him.

"So what would you like to do now?" Nichole asked as she fetched a towel for him to use to dry his face. She turned and handed it to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to try to sell more candy?"

"No," He gave a sigh as he blotted his face dry. "But I should try to sell as much as I can if I don't want my sister mad at me."

"Like I said, you are brave and strong." She patted him on the shoulder again.

"Thank you."

"Would you like me to help you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know it wasn't your idea to pretend to be a cheer leader," Nichole slipped a finger under the shoulder of the tank top he was wearing and gave it a small tug, reminding him of the uniform. "There is nothing wrong with it. Image management and presentation is what all sales people do."

"Huh?" Jason was at a loss.

"If you go to a car dealership," Nichole explained as she subtly continued to play with the shoulder of the cheer leader costume. "Do you want to buy a car from a man in a nice shirt and tie with polished shoes, or from the man that looks like he just woke up from sleeping in the bushes and smells?"

"I guess the guy in the shirt and tie," He shrugged.

"Actors in commercials wear makeup to look better, to help them sell their products. If you want to sell car parts, you dress like a mechanic. You are selling cheer leader candy, so if you are dressing like a cheer leader, you are advertising what you are selling."

"I guess," He said as he followed along.

"Really, all you needed was probably a tee shirt with the school name and mascot on it, and then say you were doing it for your school. The cheer leader costume wasn't a bad idea, just the best your sister could come up with."

"You're probably right," He nodded. His sister had never been a deep thinker.

"Jacey, You're a good person. If you're serious about pushing on, I would like to help you out a little."

"Really?"

"If you are going to push on, you want to look your best to do your best. Would you like some help putting your look together? I would really like to help you."

"Alright," He blushed a little under her attention. "Yes please." She was being nice to him, and asking for permission to help him. It felt good, and he couldn't think of a reason to say no. At least not without sounding like a jerk. And he was kind of hoping for a little more of her time and attention.

"Thank you," She smiled brightly, making him feel like he was doing something for her, instead of the other way around. She put her hands on his shoulders and stood at arm's length to look him over for a moment. "Yes..." She said slowly. "I think you and I can do this together." She gave him another bright smile. "We're going to do this right, so you can enjoy it too." She pulled him in for a quick hug.

Nichole started by turning Jason to face the mirror as she stood close beside him. In doing this she had an arm across the back of his shoulders again. He was enjoying her presence, and he liked the feel of her skin as she casually touched him. He was actually glad for the skirt he was wearing, because having her so close was definitely making him stand up in his pants.

"Let's start with what kind of look do you want?"

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"Cheer leaders are performers," Nichole explained. "They usually put on heavy makeup so their faces stand out at a distance. Just like a dancer on a stage. Would you like performance makeup, or would you like a soft and natural look?"

"Soft and natural. Please," Jason was quick to decide.

"Alright," She smiled. "Did you do any of your own makeup before?"

"No," He gave a small shake of his head. "Mom and Mary just painted it on me without telling me anything. I didn't even see what they were doing until it was done."

"Would you like me to explain the steps and have you help as we go along?"

"Yes, please." He agreed politely. He would much rather have some control over what was going on than to just have it done to him. Nichole was asking him, not ordering him. It felt like she cared about his feeling and would respect his decision. It was a nice change.

"We will start with the foundation," Nichole explained. "Our skin is a lot of different shades and textures, so we use a foundation to help give us an even place to start. It makes it easier to get everything balanced out."

Because Nichole had a tanned complexion her foundations were a little dark for Jason's skin. She didn't let that bother her, and confidently told him she would make it work, and that if he didn't like it, he could wash it off. After getting started, and showing him how it was done, she offered Jason the opportunity to apply the rest.

Jason was surprised at how detailed Nichole's instructions and explanations were. He applied foundation all the way down to the base of his neck. She then used her fingers on his neck and the part of his chest showing in the uniform, blending the edge she said as she demonstrated the technique. Not blending the edges, she told him, would leave him looking like he had a mask on.

Learning about makeup was more interesting than Jason had expected it to be. In part because of the attention to detail and technique that was involved. But also the reasoning and planning that was involved. He had seen lots of girls at school with big, bright lips. It had never occurred to him they had specifically done it to make guys look at their lips, either to make the guys think about kissing them, or to keep them from noticing something else. Makeup around the eyes to make them look a little bigger and brighter, it turned out, could make a person look more alert. That explained all the girls he had seen in class that had bored expression but somehow never got called upon. They were using makeup to fake paying attention.

It took less time to do his makeup with Nichole's help than it had for his mother and sister to do it to him. The end result looked much better too. At lest he thought so. Looking in the mirror, Jason saw a pretty girl looking back at him. A few brush strokes and a little hair spray and his hair went from looking like a boy a little past due for a trim to a girl looking sporty and cute. The makeup made his eyes and lips more noticeable, the lines of his face more delicate, and the extended and faded foundation, with some lines where it didn't cover evenly near the collar, even hinted at a little cleavage.

"Wow," Jason admired the vision he saw in the mirror.

"See," Nichole said with a smile as she rubbed his upper back gently. "By talking with you, we were able to do something you can be happy with. You can be proud of how you look because you helped with the work." She gave him a wink. "With a little practice you will be able to do your makeup for any look you want." Her smile became a mischievous grin. "Think of what you will be able to pull off for next Halloween."

"But what if I don't want to be a girl for Halloween?" He challenged.

"Then don't be a girl," Nichole shot back, still smiling. "Makeup is a tool. Once you know what you are doing, you can use it to be anything you want. You can be an old man or a vampire if you want. Maybe you want to be a cowboy. You can do a dark foundation for a leathery tan, add in some wrinkles around the eyes and some shading to look like you are almost due for a shave."

"People think that only children like to play pretend," She gave a small shake of her head. "We all play pretend. Older women use makeup to pretend to be younger. Girls use it to pretend to be older. You can make your jaw look bolder if you want to look stronger, or to give yourself a little tan so you look better in a school picture."

"I'd never thought about it before," Jason admitted.

"Most people don't. Even most girls only think about makeup as much as they need to, to get the look they want for the moment."

"Wow," He said again.

"Now if you really want to pull it off, there are two more things we can do. Would you like to see what we can do?"

"Alright," He gave her a nod.

"Go ahead and wait here," She told him. "Have a seat on the toilet and take your shoes and socks off, and I'll be right back."

She left the bathroom, leaving him alone. Jason put the lid down on the toilet and had a seat to remove his shoes and socks. As he did he could hear Nichole in the bedroom going through some drawers. Waiting for her, he looked around the bathroom a little. He was tempted to peek in to the hamper, but resisted. Instead, he inspected the collection of oils and lotions on the back of the toilet. The names really didn't mean anything to him, but they were something to look at.

When Nichole came back she was holding a bundle of white fabric and string in one hand, and some thing dark in her other hand. The dark fabric turned out to be stockings and pantyhose. The white fabric was a bikini top.

"Would you like to know what I am thinking?"

"Yes," He nodded, his eyes a little wide.

"This old thing is a little small for me," She held up the bikini top. It was a pair of padded triangles connected by strings that crossed in the back. Pulling on the strings, Nichole demonstrated that they had some stretch to them. "If you were to put this on under your top, the pads are just thick enough to give your chest a little curve. Nothing big and attention grabbing, but enough to add to your figure." She gave a sigh.

"I wish I looked as good as you at your age."

"Huh?" Jason Blinked

"You have a nice, healthy figure, Jacey. When I was your age I looked like a football standing on end. I was wide in the middle and clumsy. Nothing fit me, and I always felt off balance and ugly."

"But you are so beautiful... " Jason blurted out.

"Thank you," She smile. "Now let me show you how to put on stockings."

Nichole held up a single thigh high stocking. It was a dark brown with almost black toes and a ring of lace around the top, and looked like it would just cover her arm.

"First, make sure you know how it goes," She explained. "Some have a heel. And if there are any seems, you want them on the inside of the stocking and running up the back of the leg."

"Next you work it into a doughnut by bunching it up on your thumbs. If you have any chips or jagged places on your fingernails be careful not to snag them on the stocking." She demonstrated what she was saying. Then she showed how to put the stocking on. Because he was still sitting down, Jason had a very close view of the action. He received several down the shirt flashes of her cleavage as she bent over to start the stocking on her foot, then when she pulled it up, and again as she smoothed it in place. As a finishing move, Nichole posed with her now stocking covered leg bent at the knee, with just the toe touching the floor, standing close in front of Jason and and facing him. She was close enough to touch any part of her leg, if he had dared.

"See how it makes my leg look smooth and tan?" She asked, noticing how his eyes were drawn to her inner thigh. She tugged the leg of her shorts up a little, showing some bare skin above the stocking and watching his eyes follow the move.

"Yes," Jason gave a nod. He was aware of what she was saying, and of how tight his briefs were feeling.

"Thigh highs take practice to wear, and are not practical for things like cheer routines." She moved back from him a little and stood normally, freeing his eyes to look up at her. "These are pantyhose," She explained as she picked up a light tan wad of fabric she had left on the counter while demonstrating how to put on stockings. "They go on like stockings, except they are all one piece. They go on before the bloomers, the shorts that go with the skirt. Cheer leaders wear them to make their legs look good, and to help them stay warm at night games. If you put these on, and then your bloomers, socks, and shoes, you will have smooth and tan looking legs." She flexed her stocking clad leg as emphasis."

"Um. OK," He gave a nod to show that he was listening.

"Jacey, would you like to try them on to see how they look?" Nichole was careful to ask clearly.

"I don't know.." He hesitated.

"It is just a suggestion," She set the pantyhose on the counter next to the bikini top. "And it is up to you." She reached out to pat him on the shoulder.

"I'm going to give you some privacy," She declared and moved to the door. "You can use the toilet, try those things one, wash off the makeup; do what you want to do, Jacey. That's the important thing. Do what you want." And with that she was out of the bathroom, pulling the door closed as she went.