�No, Diane, I am not letting you put make-up on me, and I am DEFINITELY not letting you pluck my eyebrows. I�m a man, for God�s sake!�

�I�m not trying to turn you into a woman, Jack. I just need practice. I start at the salon tomorrow, and I don�t want to mess up. And I couldn�t possibly get any woman that looks worse than you do.� At this, Jack gives her a look that clearly says she�s digging herself into a hole. �No, Jack, you know what I mean. You have very rugged features. Come on.�

���

�What if I don�t pluck your brows? I could just do a little make-up. That�s where I need the practice, anyway. I�ll go easy. And I promise, you can wash it off right after.�

Jack lets out an exasperated sigh. He has been beaten. He�s never been able to disappoint her. �Ok, love. You can do it. But if anybody finds out, I will kill you.� He grins at her, showing the transparency of his threat.

Diane jumps off their bed, and he catches a glimpse of her naked skin under her lingerie. As usual, she�s not wearing underwear. She returns with her make-up bag to find him chuckling, and gives him a quizzical look. He just shakes his head at her and smiles.

�Are you ready to begin?�

He grumbles. �As ready as I�ll ever be.�

�It won�t hurt, I promise.� She opens up her kit of foundation first. Jack�s skin has a red hue to it, from working outside. She applies the foundation with a sponge, tilting his head this way and that. Then she picks out a powder and dusts it over his face with a large brush. It tickles his nose, and he laughs a little. �Ok, time for eyeliner. You have to keep your eyes closed and be completely still, or you might get poked in the eye.� He grunts at her, but does not complain. He closes his eyes, and she puts a thin layer of black next to his lashline. Then she tells him to open his eyes wide, and look up. She puts a matching layer of black next to his bottom lashes. Again, he must close his eyes, and this time she brushes shadow across his lids. He doesn�t want to admit to her that this feels good. Her fingers are gentle on his skin. She never touches his face, and now he likes the feeling. He doesn�t want her to finish. She tells him that he can open his eyes, and he does. Next she applies blush, holding his face at his chin. Finally, it�s time for lipstick. He�s hesitant. She grins at him and tells him not to worry, in two minutes he can go to the bathroom and wash it all off. She has him slightly open his mouth. He does it wrong, so she demonstrates. She licks her lips first, and he�s mesmerized by the sight of her tongue. As she parts her lips, she lets out a little breath, and it�s hot on his face. He can�t stop staring at her mouth. That delicious mouth. He manages to get his mouth to look like hers, and she applies the lipstick. It is smooth against his lips, and it feels good. Not as good as her hand on his cheek, but close.

�Ok, you�re all done. Thanks honey. You can go wash it off now.�

�About damn time.� He doesn�t want her to know he�s sad she�s done. He walks to the bathroom and turns on the faucet. Before he can rub water on his face, his image catches him in the mirror. He can�t believe it. He looks� pretty. He stares at himself, the make-up on his face, the transformation that has taken place, for what seems like hours. He picks up a brush next to the sink and runs it through his hair a few times, imagining what it would look like long and curly. He smiles at himself. He almost looks sexy.

Diane, wondering what is taking him so long, and why the water is still running, wanders into the bathroom. She sees him staring at the mirror, brush in hand, making faces. Her husband is wearing make-up and making sexy faces into the mirror. She chuckles a little. �Like what you see, hot stuff?�

Flabbergasted, Jack turns around and looks at her with the most serious face. �What did you do to me? You made me beautiful.�

Diane is surprised at this, her rugged construction worker husband calling himself beautiful. She stammers a little. �Well, I didn�t��

Jack steps closer to her and wraps his arms around her waist, like he�s done millions of times before. He�s so grateful to her, for showing him this other side of himself. He leans his head down to kiss her, the billionth upon billionth kiss they must have shared. Again, Diane is shocked. She kisses him back, but something is wrong. His lips feel the same, but smoother. His arms are the same, his body is the same, his erection is definitely the same, but this is not her husband. She breaks away from the kiss and stares up at him. His lipstick is smeared. She wipes it off, from around his mouth, and she suddenly sees him. Not her everyday Jack. She sees a new Jack, a beautiful Jack. She sees what he saw moments ago in the mirror. Her husband is pretty. She kisses him again, and leads him back into the bedroom. There her pretty husband, in full make-up, strips off her clothes, and makes love to her in a new way, like he is a completely different person than the Jack she sat in front of an hour ago.

neb 3/29/04