~~ETHEL~~
The day of the party arrived like it couldn't wait.
Maya had arrived at my flat two hours before Keanu was due to pick me up, armed with a makeup bag the size of a small suitcase. Her energy suggested she'd been looking forward to this more than I had.
"Stop moving," she muttered, hovering her brush near my cheekbone.
"I'm not moving."
"You're nervous-breathing and it's making your shoulders go up. Lower them."
I lowered them.
"Good. Now stop thinking about whatever you're thinking about."
"I'm not thinking about anything."
"You're thinking about everything." She tilted my chin up. "You look stunning, for the record. Every person in that room is going to understand exactly why he chose you."
I stayed still to let her apply the finishing touches.
Just as she set the set
