Her Forbidden Men

The Make Over

“Oh bloody hell!” Was all Veronica could blurt out as the lady armed with thread around her fingers continued to pluck off hair from her eyebrows. Her eyes were watering and she knew tears were rolling down her cheek as the beauty tech continued her battle with Veronica’s bushy eyebrows and unibrow. Every time the thread broke was a relief for Veronica and a chance for her to side eye her best friend who was sitting on the next chair giggling while having her hair done.

“Just a bit more love and then we can have your hair done,” said Nisha, taking another quick glance at her best friend. They’ve been friends since nursery and have never left each other’s side. She knew her friend inside out even though Veronica refused to speak openly about how she felt most of the time. It was no secret to her that Veronica had a crush on Daniel, but she also knew that there was something going on between her friend and that uncle Ziad of hers.

“So Ver, you know that Neela got invited to Daniel’s party tonight, right? Do you want to come with?”

“You’re joking, right?” said Veronica with gritted teeth. She badly wanted to punch the lady in the face for the pain she was going through. She could literally feel each strand of hair being pulled out from their roots.

“Nope. Just asking since we’re not doing anything else tonight. We might as well tag along. Neela asked me if we wanted to go with her anyway.”

As much as Veronica would love to see Daniel again, Neela - Nisha’s older sister was Leon’s girlfriend and even though the trio wouldn’t annoy her as much with Neela around, she was nervous about being around them.

“I’m not sure about that, Nish. I feel like wanting to keep my face in an ice bucket this evening”

“Ah no hun. Don’t wet your face after this threading session. You need 24 hours before getting your face wet” interjected the beauty tech. “We’re almost done by the way. Just need to pluck some of the bits that I couldn’t get with the thread”.

“Finally!” said Veronica. “We can do my hair next so I can get my mind off the pain”.

“Ok ok, back to the topic at hand love. Let’s go for a bit and if the crowd isn’t much fun, we can hang out at your place” said Nisha.

Veronica thought for a second and said “Sure, I guess. But, we leave as soon as things don’t go right”. After all, this makeover was her best friend’s treat. The least she could do was go with her to that stupid party and perhaps have a quick glance at Daniel. It was Friday night anyway and that meant Uncle Ziad would be at her place having dinner, then a game of pool and some drinks with dad. Not much to do.

“Awesome!!! I still have something else planned after this. I’m so freaking excited Ver! You’ll love it” said Nisha, grinning ear to ear.

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“You look amazing, Ver! Take a look” said Nisha with a very content look on her face as she handed Veronica a mirror while they were seated at a nearby optical shop.

Veronica was almost the splitting image of her mom, with her almond eyes and dainty pointed nose. The salon tech did an amazing job on her eyebrows, giving her a very intimidating look, and with the contact lenses she was wearing, her glasses could no longer hide the emotions that her eyes held. In fact, she felt very confident. She loved her trimmed hair that was slightly curled to add some waves over her neck and shoulders. The longer she looked at herself in the mirror, the more she started to love the way she looked.

“Wow Nish. You’re right. You know what…I was thinking. Let’s go shopping for some shoes and makeup. What do you think?” Veronica asked Nisha.

“Yes! My best friend, welcome back!” squealed Nisha. It had been a while since Veronica last shopped for herself and Nisha was just waiting for her best friend to slowly recover from her mom’s death. This was one makeover she knew she would remember all her life.

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After finally settling on a pair of four-inch black stilettos, new pairs of low waist denim jeans and bags of tops and dresses, as well as stocking up on makeup, they headed back over to Veronica’s house to dress up and wait for Neela to pick them up.

“So, what do you think?” asked Veronica as she turned around and posed for Nisha. “Is it too much?”

Nisha took a very long look at her childhood friend and was surprised to see a woman instead of a shy 17-year-old standing in front of her. Veronica was dressed in low waist jeans and a sleeveless black crop top with the words “live life” printed in white and her new pair of stilettos. For a more dramatic effect, she just had black eyeliner on her eyelids, dark red lipstick and a bit of bronzer on her cheeks. It gave her an intimidating goth-like look with an ultra-femme sexy appeal.

“Niceeeee!” said Nisha while clapping her hands. “Veronica, you look stunning! We should have done this way before!”

“I know, right? I feel different, Nish” said Veronica, while taking another look at herself in the mirror. “Now, c’mon, I need to let dad know we’re going out. He and Uncle Ziad should be in the game room by now.”

“Uhm, are you sure you want to face your dad wearing just that? Throw on a jacket, woman!” said Nisha while rummaging through Veronica’s wardrobe. “Here, this jacket should do the trick. Just zip it up halfway at least”

“Okay okay, now c’mon”, Veronica slipped on the jacket and dragged her best friend to the game room.

They could hear the two adults laughing over something and the clinking of glasses as they approached the game room. The game room had no door so they could clearly hear Lucio and Ziad excitedly talk about a new business venture they wanted to dive into overseas.

Veronica was suddenly feeling hesitant, but she got a glance at herself in the hallway mirror and found a burst of confidence.

“Hey dad? I was wondering if it was okay for me to head out to a party with Nisha and Neela this evening? Sorry it was a last minute….” started Veronica, but stopped midway when she saw her dad and uncle staring at her like she had grown another head.

Nisha noticed the sudden silence and felt she had to break it somehow “Uncle Lucio, so sorry for the late notice. Neela just let me know too, so it was a last-minute invitation. I hope it’s okay to tag Ver along? We’ll bring her back before 12.”

Lucio’s attention was drawn to Nisha and he smiled. He truly wanted Veronica to enjoy being a teenager and be around friends. Perhaps this was it, but he was caught off guard by the way his daughter now looked. “Sure, that’s fine with me. Veronica, you look beautiful darling! Have fun, but just be careful and take care.”

“Where’s the party?” Uncle Ziad suddenly asked in the most monotonous tone of voice. He was still holding his whisky glass but Veronica could see the tight grip he had on it.

“Uhm, it’s at Daniel Lee’s house, sir” said Nisha uncomfortably.

“It’s just 30 minutes away, Uncle Ziad”, Veronica added. She was expecting this from her dad, not him. His reaction baffled her.

“Luc, maybe we should be the ones to take the girls to the party, don’t you think?” Ziad asked Lucio.

“Nonsense, I believe Neela will be picking them up as usual. I trust these girls and I know the Lees’, so don’t worry about them, Ziad” Lucio said, and went over to the bar to pour himself another drink. “Just be home before 12, okay Ver?”

“Yes dad. Thank you!” said Veronica as she pulled Nisha away from the game room. Neela showed up at the exact same time they pulled open the front door.

“Hey Ver, can I have a word with you?”

Veronica and Nisha stopped in their tracks when they heard Ziad’s voice. “I’ll just wait for you in the car, Ver” said Nisha, and headed out.

Ziad approached Veronica as she turned around and locked eyes with him. Those eyes that pulled her with indescribable warmth. She just couldn’t look away. She was drowning in the sea of brown and grey.

He was standing too close to her and she breathed in his scent that made her feel weak at the knees. She could feel her skin turn hot and as he touched her cheek, she could feel heat rising between them. Ziad caressed her cheek with his thumb and looked into her eyes that were full of yearning.

“You look beautiful now and you looked beautiful then, Ver. I just want you to know that. Take care of yourself at that party. If you need me, I’m always just a call away”, he said in almost a whisper as he leaned closer to her ear.

Veronica couldn’t explain what was going on. Her heart and mind were racing as he leaned closer and she felt his warm breath on her ear and cheek, but she wanted to lean into him, she wanted to kiss him.