Opposites Attract (15 page)

He slowly shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. Alexis slid down in the car seat, working her arms out of her designer shirt. The jacket was warm and smelled like him. She managed to get her shirt over her head while staying under the jacket.

‘Uh, you need any help in there?’ Ethan asked, laughing as she tossed her shirt out from underneath.

Alexis peeked over the top and shot him a rueful look.

‘Can’t blame a guy for trying.’ He winked. Alexis felt her insides flutter. She wondered how long their good mood towards each other would last this time.

Alexis disappeared under the jacket and put the T-shirt on. It was loose around her body, but comfortable. Sitting up, she handed Ethan his jacket. ‘Ah, there.’

‘Lexy, you’re killing me,’ Ted said.

‘Hey, sorry.’ Alexis grinned. ‘But I want the five dollars.’

It was a brilliant day. They drove north to the very edge of the Door County peninsula. The shore had white pebbles along the beach and the water had been a crisp blue. Susan wanted to take a ferry to Canada but she was outvoted, so instead they’d walked along the shore with their shoes off picking up small shells that littered the beach. Ethan couldn’t help but watch Alexis as she took pictures. Her hair whipped around her face, and when the sunlight hit her just right, she was more stunning than any woman he’d ever met – like a 1950s film star.

A cold breeze swept up from the water, but the walk was worth it. Alexis took photographs of Susan getting a piggy-back ride on Ted and then one of them kissing by the water when they didn’t know they were being watched.

‘Thinking of working for a tabloid?’ Ethan asked, kicking at the sand.

Alexis frowned. ‘What?’

‘Sorry, bad joke. I just meant you taking pictures of them when they’re not looking.’

Her frown deepened. Ethan wanted to kick himself.

‘I didn’t mean anything bad, just that . . . You know what, never mind. Forget I said anything.’

‘I’m hungry,’ Susan yelled, jogging for them. ‘Let’s go find some food.’

Alexis pulled her camera strap securely on her shoulder and walked off, refusing to look at him. As the two women walked towards the car, Ted joined him. ‘She mad again?’

‘Who knows,’ he grumbled. ‘When’s she not mad?’

‘Good point.’ Ted laughed. ‘Ready?’

Looking at Alexis, he sighed. ‘Yeah, let’s go.’

They drove in silence, each gazing out of the opened windows at the passing landscape. A black cow mooed alongside the road as Ethan stopped the car near a fence and he chuckled when Alexis nearly jumped out of her skin.

‘Hurry, go,’ she ordered, panicked.

‘It’s just a cow,’ Susan said. ‘Relax.’

‘I don’t care. It looks hungry.’ Alexis slid on her seat, coming closer to Ethan’s side.

‘They’re not –’ Ethan couldn’t get the words out.

‘I saw the running of the bulls,’ Alexis said. ‘You can’t tell me they’re not mean.’

Ethan didn’t try to argue, but the heifer was hardly a vicious bull. The car was again silent as they drove the rest of the way back and it was late afternoon by the time they got back to the rental house. They did their laundry, showered and packed up what they could into the car. Ethan bought a pizza from a local eatery and they all sat around the small kitchen table for dinner.

Ethan smiled to see Alexis was still wearing the grey T-shirt. He didn’t know why he bought it for her. The T-shirt only served to hide the curves of her body, not that she didn’t manage to make it look good.

Taking a bite of pizza, Ted said, ‘Damn, this is good. This has to be the best pizza I’ve ever had.’

‘Mm, fresh cheese,’ Susan added. ‘I love the cheese.’

‘You’re addicted to cheese,’ Alexis said, laughing.

Ethan laughed as well. It was true. Susan had already eaten two bags of cheese curds and a half-bag of fresh mozzarella string cheese.

A knock sounded on the door. ‘Ethan? Can we come in? It’s Tressa.’

‘Sure,’ Ethan called back. Tressa came in with a group of friends.

‘Hey,’ Tressa said, smiling. ‘You still inking?’

‘Sure am. You bring me some victims?’ Ethan smiled. Tressa was a cute little brunette with a round face. She wasn’t stunningly gorgeous, but she had a happy laugh and an easy smile. She had the most adorable Belgian-influenced accent like most people seemed to carry in this part of the States.

‘This is JT, Jason, Cheryl, Marcy,’ Tressa said, pointing around the group as she spoke. ‘And that quiet guy in the back is Pug.’

‘Cool. Hey, guys, just give me a second to clean up this mess and get my stuff out of the car, then we’ll get started.’

Alexis watched Ethan work. Pug, a large man with a round, baby-soft face, carried in cheap beer by the armful. She noticed that Ethan didn’t drink and even encouraged those wanting tattoos not to drink until after he was done.

Pug asked for a bulldog. Ethan pulled out his laptop and within seconds was printing the outline of a bulldog. JT and Jason both wanted the same black tribal armbands. They brought the design with them. It looked like the picture had been torn out of a magazine and carried around in a wallet for years. Marcy asked for a ladybug on the top of her foot. Ethan had it drawn before she’d even finished explaining. Cheryl asked for a butterfly landing on a rose or a dove carrying a fig leaf. Since she was undecided, Ethan let her roam the files in his laptop for ideas.

Tressa, however, got nothing. She smiled, flirting and laughing outrageously with Ethan. Alexis tensed every time the woman opened her mouth.

‘Could someone hand me that new pack of paper towels?’ Ethan asked, as he set up his work area on the kitchen table. Alexis jumped forwards before Tressa could. She handed them to Ethan. He blinked in surprise, but nodded. ‘Thanks.’

‘You need anything else?’ Alexis asked.

‘No, thanks, I’m good.’ Ethan turned back to Pug. Alexis watched him put the layout he’d made of the bulldog on the man’s arm by carefully pressing a piece of paper to Pug’s skin. He slowly pulled it off. The purple outline of the bulldog was left. Then, tearing a needle out of a sterile pack, he began adjusting his controls on the power supply, listening to it buzz as he stepped on the foot pedal. ‘All right, you ready?’

‘I’m so going to laugh at you if you cry,’ JT joked.

‘Don’t be a baby, Pug,’ Tressa said.

‘Or we’ll tell everyone,’ Marcy added.

‘Can we take pictures?’ Cheryl asked.

‘Oh, we forgot the camera.’ Tressa pouted.

The buzzing of Ethan’s needle filled the kitchen. Susan and Ted disappeared into the living room to play cards. Alexis felt a little like an outsider as she watched Ethan work from the doorway. Still, she was fascinated with the whole process. She’d never actually seen anyone get a tattoo. She’d seen the hotel clerk with the butterfly on her hip right after, but that was the closest she’d ever gotten.

The bulldog only took about half an hour to complete. Ethan stopped, cleaned up his area and then reset it from scratch. Next, he started on JT’s armband.

‘Hey, is it cheaper if we share the same ink and stuff?’ JT asked at one point. ‘Marcy’s my girlfriend so I know where she’s been.’

Marcy blushed.

‘Oh yeah, she’s been with me,’ Pug said. ‘Last night.’

‘Dreams don’t count, Pug,’ Marcy said, laughing.

Alexis was amazed as Ethan actually tensed. His smile fell slightly. Very evenly, he said, ‘I won’t do that.’ His flat tone ended that conversation quickly.

Ethan worked at a steady pace, joking as he went along. Once he had Alexis get him a glass of water. She smiled triumphantly at Tressa. The woman didn’t seem to notice, so the victory was lost. The more Tressa drank, the bolder she got with her flirting. Several times the woman reached over to touch Ethan’s thigh. To Alexis’s dismay, Ethan didn’t shake the woman off.

After JT, Ethan did Jason’s armband. JT and Pug razzed him about it good-naturedly. Jason kept turning pale, forcing Ethan to stop several times and give him a break.

Unable to endure Tressa’s blatant flirting with Ethan, Alexis joined Ted and Susan in the living room. They were playing rummy. Susan sat on the couch. Ted lay on his side on the floor.

‘Want in?’ Susan asked, motioning to the deck of cards. Alexis noticed a little pad and pencil from one of the hotels they’d stayed at. Susan had been taking all the freebies from the rooms – miniature soap, conditioner and shampoo, lotions, even tissues. Alexis thought it was funny.

‘No thanks,’ Alexis said, sitting on the couch.

‘How’s it looking in the kitchen?’ Susan asked, curious. ‘Does it look painful?’

‘Susan wants a tattoo on her butt,’ Ted teased.

‘I didn’t say that,’ Susan said.

‘You didn’t have to.’ Ted winked. ‘I read your mind.’

‘If you can read minds then why are you losing?’ Susan asked. ‘I think you just read your own mind.’

‘Yeah, I just like to see your butt.’ Ted turned to Alexis and added, ‘Ethan seems busy.’

‘That Tressa woman is in there practically throwing herself at him. It’s gross,’ Alexis said, sighing heavily.

Susan smirked, sharing a private look with Ted.

‘What?’ Alexis demanded.

‘Oh, nothing.’ Susan’s voice raised a few pitches.

‘I don’t care that she is,’ Alexis said.

‘Uh-huh.’ Ted drew a playing card.

‘We know,’ Susan added, drawing when Ted discarded.

‘He can sleep with Tressa.’ Alexis sat up, trying to look them both in the eye. They kept staring down at the cards. ‘I really don’t care who he sleeps with.’

‘Yep,’ Ted said.

‘Yuh-huh,’ Susan added.

‘You two are impossible. I’m going outside to take pictures of the water.’ Alexis stood.

‘OK,’ Ted said.

‘Have fun,’ Susan added.

When Alexis walked out of the room, she heard them laughing behind her back. What did they know anyway?

‘Can I have your keys?’ Alexis asked Ethan in the kitchen.

‘Yeah, give me a second.’ He put the finishing touches on the ladybug before taking off his gloves and fishing his car keys from his jeans pocket. He handed them to her.

Alexis didn’t say a word as she went outside. She’d put her camera bag in the car so she wouldn’t forget it in the morning. Taking it from the front seat, she shut the door.

‘He’s an amazing artist, eh?’

Alexis looked over at Tressa. She pulled a couple of beers from a beat-up brown pickup.

‘Ethan,’ Tressa said when Alexis didn’t answer her. ‘He’s good, eh? It must be cool getting to travel across country like you are. I wish I could go.’

‘It’s all right,’ Alexis said, shrugging.

‘I’d kill to go,’ Tressa said. ‘So, are you and Ethan, you know, together?’

‘No.’ The word came out automatically.

‘Oh, so, you’re not together?’

Was the girl deaf? Alexis frowned. ‘No. We aren’t.’

‘Then, he’s free,’ Tressa persisted.

‘Of course he’s free. I mean . . .’ Alexis shrugged.

‘What do you mean, “of course”?’

‘Well, he . . . never mind.’ Alexis hid her grin as she turned to go inside. ‘I shouldn’t say anything. It’s his business.’

‘Ah, come on,’ Tressa wheedled. ‘I’ll give you a beer if you tell me.’

Alexis didn’t really want the beer, but she nodded anyway. ‘Will your grandma care that you’re here?’

‘No, she’s asleep by now. That’s why we came over so late. I wanted to make sure she didn’t see Pug’s car. She doesn’t care for him.’

Alexis popped the can open and took a sip. Whatever kind it was, the beer tasted awful. She pretended to swallow. To Tressa, she said, ‘If you like him, you should go for it. He’s really sweet.’

Ethan stretched his arms above his head. He didn’t actually think he’d end up making any money this weekend. Truthfully, he was giving the tattoos away cheap, but something was better than nothing.

‘If you like him, you should go for it. He’s really sweet.’

Ethan stopped. Was Alexis talking about him? He willed the people in the kitchen to be quiet so he could hear. He edged closer to the back door.

‘I mean, he hasn’t hooked up with anyone here yet,’ Alexis said. ‘Well, um, not today.’

Ethan frowned.

‘Not today?’ Tressa asked. ‘Does he hook up a lot?’

Ethan tried to get closer. Tressa was cute and was definitely into him. He wasn’t sure if the flirting would go anywhere or if he’d allow it to go anywhere if it did. She was a nice woman, but she seemed a little on the needy side. The last thing he wanted was a woman demanding he check in with her from the road after one night. Or worse, hopping in his car to go with him.

‘Well, you know.’ Alexis laughed. Ethan grimaced at the telling sound. What was she doing? ‘OK, you seem nice and I don’t want to see you getting hurt. Ethan’s a dog, D-O-G dog. I mean, he’ll tell these girls he’ll call and then doesn’t. He acts all sweet, but then we have to hear him make fun of them in the car the next day. I’m too self-conscious to sleep with him myself, especially since hearing him go on and on about my jiggling belly fat.’

Ethan gripped the doorframe. It took all his willpower not to go charging outside.

‘You aren’t fat,’ Tressa said. Ethan closed his eyes. The girl sounded a bit outraged. He didn’t blame her. By the picture Alexis was painting of him, he didn’t like himself very much either.

‘Oh, thanks, sweetie,’ Alexis said. ‘Don’t say anything, OK. I mean, Ethan’s one of those guys who’s great on a friend level, but as a lover? He’s kind of shallow.’

‘Oh yah, Pug’s like that,’ Tressa said. ‘It’s cool. I’m not really into him anyway.’

Alexis chatted with Tressa for a while, about her home, about the bay, about the big fish sculptures they’d seen downtown. Then JT called for her, saying Cheryl was getting ready to get her tattoo. Apparently, Cheryl changed her mind and decided on a little ladybug as well.