Surprise

I had forgotten that today was my birthday. I was so busy preparing for all my A.P. midterm exams for the school year that I hadn't really been paying attention to the dates much. My mom hadn't even said anything when I got up, she just went about her business and left before I even got in the shower. I was in A.P. Physics when one of my friends mentioned that it was my birthday. We had a five minute discussion about it. No one believed that I had really forgotten my birthday. I didn't bother to mention that my dad was in a war zone and I was trying to pass all of my classes. It wouldn't have helped.
The day passed quickly and lunch found my friend, Ray, and I at my house doing math homework and chowing down on McDonald's chicken nuggets. She got a call, from her mom I assumed, and went to my room to take it.
"Close your eyes," she smiled at me mischievously as she walked back into my kitchen, something hidden behind her hands.
"Uh, no. No thanks," I replied. I did not trust that smile of hers.
"Pleeease?" she begged. "I have a surprise and you're going to ruin it if I can't blind you for a little while."
I sighed and stared at her for a few moments as she pouted. "Fine," I breathed. She squealed with delight at my compliance and skipped over to where I was sitting. I stuck my hand out, though, before she could blind fold me. "If you break me, I will have to hurt you. You know that, right?"
She nodded her acquiescence and I closed my eyes, indicating she could move forward with her plan. I felt her place a cool, satin-like cloth in front of my eyes and tie it in place behind my head. "Okay, stand up," she said. I followed her directions as she took my arm and pulled me through the living room, down the hallway, and finally into my bedroom. "Sit." And I did. I heard her open my closet door.
"What are you doing?" I asked, eyebrow raised and eyes squinted like she could see my expression.
"Just wait! You will love me forever and ever and ever," she said excitedly, using that annoying five-year old voice that she knew grated on my nerves. It shut me up. "I, uh.. I have to change you, okay?" she asked a few minutes later, rather nervously.
"Um, excuse you?"
"Yeah...you have to be wearing something else for tonight. And you can't see what it is soooo.." Ray let her sentence trail off before adding: "I'll let you change your panties and bra but beyond that I'll have to do it."
Knowing there was no point in arguing with her, I nodded. I heard her clap her hands before I heard her opening my dresser drawer and shut it again. I knew when she was standing in front of me because I could smell her overly strong vanilla perfume she liked to wear. She pulled one of my hands out away from me and place a pair of panties and a strapless bra in my hand. Crap. It was one of those nights apparently.
"Okay, so I'm going to stay here while you change - just to make sure that you won't peek- but I won't look or anything," Ray giggled nervously.
"Why does it embarrass you?" I used the best sultry tone I could provide without sounding too serious. No need for her to know that I was willing to mess with chicks. She might be offended if I ever said I wasn't attracted to her.
"No!" Too quick to answer. Curious.
I pulled my shirt off, careful not to get it caught on the blind fold. My bra went next, soon replaced by the only black strapless one I owned. Thankfully, it was a front clip. Wouldn't have to worry about that tonight. I unbuckled my military style belt and dropped trou, stripping my boy shorts off in the process. I quickly replaced them with a thong she had placed in my hands. I paused and thought, really? It's one of those nights, too? I was curious as to why I needed to be so sexed up, aside from the fact that it was my birthday, but I tried to ignore the feeling in my stomach.
"Tada!" I pulled the thong up and held my arms out to my sides. "How do I look?"
"Marvelous, darling! I think you're ready for your outing," Ray giggled.
"Excellent! Let's go."
"I was just kidding!" she yelled, mortified as I started to walk out of my room. It was so easy to mess with her. She yanked my arm, pulled me back into my bedroom, and sat me down on my bed. I could only imagine her pointing her well manicured index finger at me as she said sternly, "Stay."
"Yes, ma'am!" I saluted, poorly I'm sure. I'll blame it on my lack of vision. She slapped my hand down before I heard her rifling around in my closet again. She made a muffled 'aha!' sound before emerging. She closed my closet door and hung something on it before ushering me out of my room.
We stopped for a moment and I heard Ray digging around in my bathroom. She moved passed me, into my living room. She came back, led me by my arm and plopped me down by the couch. She pulled the blind fold off.
"Do not look at yourself," she warned. "Close your eyes."
"Okay," I replied, dragging out the 'o', but did as she asked anyway. She plugged in my one inch barrel curling iron before removing the make up I had gone to school with. She let my face dry off and the curling iron finish heating up. Ray made me sit with my back facing her. She took the top half of my hair and piled it into a bun on top of my head.
It took her about thirty minutes to curl all of my hair. I was slightly frustrated -- my hair never worked like that for me. She sprayed some sort of mousse gel thing in my hair before running her hands through and breaking up some of the bigger curls.
"I'll do your eye shadow and everything else but you'll have to do your eyeliner," she said.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Because you don't like the way I do eyeliner to begin with but also because I'll probably end up stabbing you in the eyeball or something."
"I agree, I'll do my eyeliner," I responded quickly.
"Close your eyes," Ray laughed and stuck her tongue out at me. She began by reapplying my foundation. She handed me my eyeliner brush, saying she didn't want me seeing her masterpiece before she was totally done and she could trace it through my eye shadow. I wasn't sure how but I went along with it anyway. I put some of the MAC crème liner on my brush, started from the outer corner of my eye and moved towards the inner corner, my line getting steadily thinner and thinner. I did the same to my left eye, debated on whether or not I should put wings when I decided against it. I handed the liner brush back to Ray and smiled. "Gorgeous," she laughed.
She spent the next fifteen minutes applying eye shadow and retracing my eyeliner. She handed me a nude lip gloss tube to hold so she could angle my face and apply it at the same time. She stepped away from me, considered me, and then decided she was happy with what she saw.
Ray placed the blindfold back over my eyes, much more gently and loosely this time so as not to disturb my make up. She led me back into my room and sat me down.
"Lift your arms," she said from a level somewhere above my head. I lifted them tentatively, felt her grab my wrists. I finally relaxed when I realized she was just helping me into something - a dress? Ray maneuvered it over my head and around my hair before letting it fall down my body. It swung against my legs and I felt that the hemline only hit about two-thirds of the way down my thigh. Which, at five foot eight, was pretty short for what I usually wore.
She helped me into a pair of pumps, letting me use her forearm to stabilize myself. Only when I finished did she say, "Hot damn. Can I get yo numba?" She giggled wildly before continuing, "Honestly, though, if I were a guy I'd do you! Let's go!" She grabbed my left hand and something else before we moved through the front door. She locked it for me. She lifted my left arm toward the sky and shouted, "Let the games begin!"