Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52957 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 177(@300wpm)
The big, white wicker basket was covered in iridescent cellophane that obscured what was inside. It crinkled loudly as I placed it before me. A bit of excitement tickled in my belly and I embraced the sensation, allowing myself to feel joy over small things. Growing up without much, I appreciated the little touches that other people might not notice. Like the Rainbow Bright-themed name tag and the pretty velvet, peach bow.
After working at the bow for a minute, I finally got it off and pulled the cellophane back. My gasp of delight was real as I took in the bounty before me. The basket was filled with an amazing amount of retro toys, fashion, and jewelry. And I do mean filled. I let out a little squee as I picked up the brown and gray Pound Puppy stuffie with its big, sad eyes.
I hugged it to me, my eyes closed as my inner child squealed. I’d wanted one of these so bad, but we hadn’t had the money. My mom had barely been able to feed us. She’d tried and gotten me a cheap knockoff from K-Mart, and I’d loved it, but to have my coveted childhood toy in my arms took me to a new level of happy.
Crossing my legs and placing the stuffed dog in my lap, I dug back into the basket, pausing only to put on the jelly bracelets that were so neon they appeared to glow against my pale skin.
The vacation had cost a pretty penny, but Rawhide had so far exceeded all my expectations. My two-room suite looked out over a snowy landscape, revealing a rough natural beauty that was completely foreign to me. I’d been in snowy climates before, but all the places I’d visited had been cities. The view I had of a vast plain of snow fading into a forest was like something out of a fairy tale.
To look out and see such intense stillness, broken only by the wind, made me extra grateful for the gas fire burning merrily away in a river-stone fireplace setting.
I opened a box wrapped in fuchsia paper, then gasped. It contained all the vintage 80s perfumes I’d seen featured in old commercials. Yes, I watched 80s commercial compilations because they were funny. Many of them had not aged well, in often hilarious ways.
But the perfume commercials were something else. A gorgeous woman in lavish furs riding through a snowy Central Park on a magnificent horse. She is everything glamorous and so New York. Waiting for her is the ultimate cowboy. Hat and all. Or the one with a now famous actor in his undies. Meow.
I giggled as I came across a sampler of sex toys, putting them aside for the moment.
A round tube shape caught my eye and I jerked back. “No way.”
It was my favorite sticky sweet, flavored lip gloss that I’d adored in high school. They’d discontinued it years ago, and I missed them. I could afford top-of-the-line makeup now, but nothing can compare to the peach- or strawberry-flavored lip gloss I’d loved. The jelly bracelets on my wrist glowed faintly as I picked the tube up and read the fine print. Disappointment filled me. This was a recreation, not the original formula. And they said improvements had been made.
Meh.
My shoulders hunched as I now screwed off the cap without much interest.
The sight of the familiar white roller ball renewed a flicker of appeal. One of the things I’d loved about the gloss had been the slightly rough feeling of the roller ball against my lips. I gave the bottle an experimental squeeze, grinning as the goo inside came up and coated the ball. The scent of strawberries hit me and I took in a deep breath.
It certainly smelled the same.
If not even a little bit better.
Rolling it over my lips, I immediately outlined them the way I had when I was in high school.
I had applying lip gloss down to an art.
Though now I had more lips to outline than when I’d been a teenager. I’d been cursed with thin lips, and one of the first things I did with my “me” money had been to get fillers. Not a lot, but enough that you could tell I had lips, and they had a shape. A very pretty shape, if I did say so myself. It was nice to be proud of my smile.
I came across a pack of scrunchies and tied my hair back with a pale blue one that had a slight shimmer. Cracking my neck, the sight of a brochure caught my attention. The booklet contained my personal itinerary on one side, and public events on the other. Right now there was a Middle subbie play group featuring crafts, snacks, and dolls. Pajamas were encouraged, but not lingerie. No Doms were allowed, and the group was rated Spirit Week public friendly.