Note: Contains some nsfw sexual content

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“Oh, wow.” Phoenix’s eyes widened as he looked down at the huge array of makeup Lola had set out in front of him. “I knew you liked makeup, but I never realized you had so much!”

It was surprising. Lola loved doing her makeup tutorials, but she never seemed to wear very much on a day-to-day basis. Not that she needed it anyway — she was already beautiful enough without it.

His friend giggled at his amazement. “That’s not even half of it… if Sophia was around, she’d start bitching about how I take up like half of the shelf space in the bathroom… Not that she even uses it anyway!”

Lola made a good point — her roommate spent so many nights at her boyfriend’s place and left so much of her stuff there, she may as well have lived with him instead. But Lola didn’t seem to mind — “It’s like having my own place, but half the rent!” She always teased.

And of course, Duchess certainly seemed to enjoy having the extra space to herself too.

“Thanks again for helping me with this… You’re a lifesaver!” Phoenix smiled at her as he spoke.

“No problem… You said it was the Triple-L stuff she liked, right?”

“Triple-L?”

She nodded. “Long-Lasting Lucious Lips… stupid name, I know. It’s like a tongue twister!”

“Yeah, and… isn’t that four L’s?” Phoenix asked with a chuckle.

Lola joined in his laughter, shrugging. “Guess it sounded better than ‘Quadruple-L’?”

“Well, however many L’s there are, if it’s that stuff from your video, then yes.”

Gigi had started following Lola’s YouTube channel, and had been raving about how much she wanted to try the new lipstick Lola and Duchess had reviewed in their most recent video. Phoenix had decided it would be nice to buy some for the gift basket he was putting together for his wife for Valentine’s Day. But he had absolutely no clue where to begin.

“This stuff is so amazing! She’s got good taste!” Lola rummaged around in her makeup for a moment or two before finally pulling out a few different tubes. “The brand you’re looking for is FaceOff.” She explained. “I got a sample pack with a bunch of colors… You can check them out so you don’t wander into the makeup store completely clueless.” She teased.

Phoenix looked down at the tubes of lipstick she’d laid out for him, trying to imagine which one might look best on his wife. It was difficult — he was so used to Gigi always telling him what she wanted ahead of time. It was tricky having to make up his own mind for once… Especially about something like this.

He examined each of them for a moment or two before finally pointing to one on the far left. “What about that one?”

Lola’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, that’s a fun one! ‘Mauve-lous’. It’s one that looks pretty different on everybody though. Sometimes it’s a little more purple, sometimes a little more pink… Depends on your coloring. Here, I’ll show you.”

He watched as she ran the stick of makeup back and forth across the surface of her lips. “See? It’s pretty pink on me, but Gigi’s not as dark as I am…” Lola paused for a moment, almost thoughtful. “Okay, do you trust me?” She asked with a smile.

Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m kind of afraid to answer that question… But sure?”

Lola beckoned him closer with a crook of her finger. “I know you don’t have quite the same coloring as her, but you’re closer than I am…”

He pulled back from her, laughing once more. “Are you kidding?! No way!”

“Hey, you wanna know how it’ll look on Gigi, right? This is the closest we can get.” Lola shrugged as she spoke.

Phoenix hesitated before replying. “I feel like I’m gonna regret this… But fine.” He said at last. “Do your worst.”

“I promise I’ll be gentle.” She gave him a small wink before reaching forward, lipstick in hand.

He caught the sweet scent of her perfume on her wrist as she ran the tube across his lips. Her other hand was soft and warm against his cheek. And gentle, just as she’d promised.

“Alright… voila!” Lola pulled back from him at last, gesturing for him to look in the mirror.

Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh as he did so. He looked absolutely ridiculous… But he could see what she meant about the color. “Okay, you’re right… It’s a little different on me.” He admitted. “More purple.”

“Still nice though, right?” She smiled. “What do you think, Duchess? How does Phoenix look?”

To his surprise, a soft meow filled the air.

“See? Fabulous!” Lola giggled. “Think you could picture it on Gigi?”

Phoenix nodded. “Yeah, I think she’ll like it.” Or at least, he hoped she would. “So… FaceOff, Triple-L, Mauve-lous?”

“See? You’re a natural with all this makeup stuff! You can totally be a guest in our next review.” His friend teased.

He simply rolled his eyes in reply, still smiling. “Thanks, Lola. I really appreciate your help.” He said seriously.

“Of course! And I’m sure Gigi will love it. It’s really sweet that you’re going all-out for Valentines Day.”

Phoenix smiled. “Trying to! I really want it to be special for her.”

He’d already picked out a pair of earrings, a bottle of wine, and some chocolate too. Plus a new toy for the bedroom he knew she’d had her eye on… But he didn’t tell Lola about that part, of course.

“So… not to be nosy or anything…” Lola bit her lip for a moment. “But are things getting any better now?” She asked softly. “Did you finally talk to her?” It had been a few weeks since she’d seen through his ‘survey’ charade.

“Not yet…” Phoenix confessed. “But I’m going to! It just hasn’t felt like the right time yet…”

“Phoenix, you know you can’t just fix this with some lipstick and new earrings.”

“I know… But it can’t hurt either, right?” He forced a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Thankfully, Lola let out a bright laugh at his words. She seemed to have decided not to push the issue any further.

“Well I’m really glad I was able to help.” She told him seriously. “And I totally don’t wanna kick you out or anything, but I’ve got a stupid paper I should really be working on. Blegh!” She contorted her face into disgust for a moment. “Anyway, just tell the girls down at the makeup store what you’re looking for, and they’ll hook you up. Trust me.”

“I will.” He assured her. “And you’re right, I should probably let you get back to work…” Phoenix paused for a moment, his brightly-colored lips curling into a small smile. “But, uh, as fabulous as this color looks on me… Think you could help me take it off first?”

“Aw, shit. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice!”

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“Fuck… Please… I… I can’t… anymore…” Gigi gasped. “Phoenix…” She closed her eyes and let out a small groan as her entire body tensed up once more.

Chuckling softly, he flicked his thumb across the remote and turned the intensity down a few notches. As fun as it was for the both of them, he could tell she’d had enough. He didn’t want to push her too far.

Phoenix slowly got to work removing the bindings from his wife’s wrists and ankles. Gigi clutched his arm in a vice-grip as soon as her hands were free, whimpering softly. She looked up at her husband with pleading eyes as he finally removed the source of her pleasure and torment from between her legs.

Her body finally relaxed as he did so, a sharp gasp of relief passing her beautiful lips.

Phoenix wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms then, but he knew she needed time to recover first. Sometimes she liked being held and cuddled as soon as they were finished. But he could tell that tonight was not one of those times. So instead, he admired the beautiful view for a few minutes until Gigi finally pulled herself up and swung her legs weakly over the side of the bed.

Phoenix joined her immediately and wrapped her in his arms. “So… I take it you like your new toy?” He teased.

His wife nodded eagerly. “That was… wow.” She laughed softly for a moment, then nuzzled her face against his. “Thank you… For everything. The dinner, the flowers, the gifts, the sex… This was the best Valentine’s Day ever.”

He felt a rush of warmth swelling up in his chest at her words. “I’m glad.” He replied softly. “I really wanted it to be special for you.”

“It was.” She assured him.

No matter how shitty things got, it was moments like these that he lived for — watching his beautiful wife bask in the afterglow of her pleasure. Knowing he’d made her feel good… That he’d given her everything she wanted. That he’d made her happy…

But that was when he felt an unpleasant question creeping up in the back of his mind. It was something he’d secretly wondered for a long time. And now, it was slowly worming its way back through his brain once more…

This time, the question made it all the way to his lips. The words escaped before he even had time to realize what he was saying.

“Gigi… Are you happy?”

“What?”

“Are you happy?” He repeated softly. “I mean, being married, being here with me… You’re happy, right?”

His wife pulled away from him at his words. He knew in an instant that he’d made a terrible mistake.

“What kind of question is that?” Though she did not raise her voice, her face had begun twisting into a scowl. “You don’t think I’m happy?”

“It’s not that, I just…” Phoenix tried to plan his next words carefully. “Sometimes it just kinda seems like…”

“Like what?!”

He hesitated for a moment before replying. “I dunno. I just… I really hope that if there’s something that isn’t making you happy, you’d tell me about it.” Phoenix explained. “That’s all. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

His wife sighed softly. When she spoke again, her tone was much calmer than it was before. “Phoenix, I love you, okay?” She said at last, placing her hand against his cheek for a moment. “And I’m married to the most amazing man on the planet, who just gave me the best Valentine’s Day ever… You worry way too much, baby.”

Phoenix took a moment to consider her words. He knew she was right — he always worried way too much about things. And this was definitely a discussion that could have waited until later… It had been so foolish of him to let the question slip like that, and ruin their perfect evening together. What was he thinking?

“I’m sorry.” Phoenix replied at last. “Forget I said anything…” He leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Gigi reached up and ran her fingers along her lips as she pulled away from him. “Wow…”

“What?”

She let out a bright laugh. “Lola wasn’t kidding… This lipstick really does last through anything!”

“Hmm… Think you’ve got it in you to test that theory a little more?”

The uncomfortable conversation was quickly forgotten as the two of them returned to enjoying their romantic evening together.

It wasn’t until much later when he lay in the darkness beside his sleeping wife that Phoenix realized —

She’d never answered his question.