Opposites Attract

by Michelle M. Pillow

  ‘Well, he’s not her servant or her boyfriend,’ Ted defended.

  ‘Well, I guess that’s true,’ Susan said.

  Alexis frowned. Well, so much for Susan’s support. ‘He’s not a gentleman, that’s for sure.’

  Susan giggled as a loud moan sounded and then a high-pitched screech. She waved Ted to the door. ‘They’re using toys. Come on, listen.’

  Ted leaned his ear to the door. Alexis and Susan did the same. The buzzing sounded, turning on and off several times. The woman moaned, making strange noises. Ted aughed and knocked on the door.

  ‘Come in,’ Ethan yelled.

  ‘No!’ Susan and Alexis cried softly at the same time.

  ‘Relax, detectives,’ Ted mused. ‘He’s giving the hotel clerk a tattoo in exchange for free rooms. The man is definitely a charmer. I was impressed. If he keeps it up, maybe the whole trip will be virtually free.’

  Ted stepped in, smiling as he was proven right. Ethan had moved the round table next to the bed and was in the process of throwing away some of his mess. He pulled a long sheet of paper off the bedspread. It had the wrinkled imprint of the clerk on it.

  ‘It’s so neat.’ The blonde clerk was looking at her hip in the mirror, grinning. Alexis sat her bag on the dresser, glancing down to see a bright blue and yellow butterfly on the woman’s hip. She hated to admit it, but it was kind of cute. The girl definitely had the stomach for it. The woman turned and showed her hip to everyone. ‘Isn’t it groovy? I mean, really to die for?’

  ‘Yeah, it’s the bee’s knees,’ Alexis drawled sarcastically. Ethan glared at her. The poor clerk didn’t even realise she was being made fun of.

  ‘Thank you, Ethan,’ the clerk said.

  Alexis watched as Ethan took apart his machine, throwing a white tube and some other stuff in the trash along with little red ink cups. Then, when he’d finished cleaning up the area, he threw his gloves in the trash as well.

  ‘How about a free movie as a tip?’ the clerk asked.

  ‘Cool,’ Ethan said. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘This is awesome,’ the clerk said. ‘OK, I have to get back to work. I’m like the only one here tonight. I so have to call Janet. She’ll never believe I did this. Oh, for the movie, just give me ten minutes and then punch in the code for the one you want. It should come on.’

  Ethan thanked her again. Alexis waited until the girl was gone, before asking, ‘You going to charge me for the movie, too?’

  Ethan grinned, but he didn’t look happy. ‘Depends. You going to watch the movie?’

  Alexis huffed in outrage. ‘I can’t believe you’re charging me twenty dollars when you got the room for free. Half of nothing is nothing.’

  ‘Ooh, yeah, let’s go, honey,’ Ted said. ‘This is going to get ugly.’

  Susan shut the door as Ted led her out of the room.

  ‘Yeah, so? You didn’t do the work. I did. It’s called trade,’ Ethan said. ‘Otherwise, we’d have given money to the hotel, the hotel would’ve paid her after taking a cut and she would’ve paid me for the tattoo. This way, we cut out the middle man. Everyone wins.’

  ‘Everyone but me,’ Alexis said.

  ‘Not everything is about you, doll. How are you possibly hurt?’ he asked, moving to the bathroom. She heard him washing his hands. When he came back, he was drying them on a towel. ‘You were going to pay twenty for the room anyway. You’re not out anything.’

  ‘Fine, you cheap bastard.’ Alexis nodded stiffly. ‘You want your money? I’ll give you your money.’

  Alexis went to her camera bag, which was now on the floor, and dug into the side pocket. Her hands shook as she pulled out a twenty-dollar bill. She threw it at him.

  ‘Wait,’ he said as she turned to open her suitcase. She pulled out a nightgown and watched him from the corner of her eye. He lifted his hand to give the money back to her.

  ‘No, it’s yours,’ said Alexis. ‘You’re right. I don’t want it.’ Alexis gripped her nightgown and stormed past him. ‘I’m taking a shower. And don’t try to charge me for the water – I already paid.’

  Ethan sighed, feeling like a jerk as Alexis slammed the bathroom door. He’d meant to aggravate her and only ended up feeling like a low-life piece of scum. Moments later, he heard the shower turning on. Crossing over to her camera bag, he unzipped the pouch and slipped the money back inside.

  ‘At least this way I know I’m not a jerk,’ he said under his breath. He slowly packed up his equipment, found his keys by her suitcase and carried his tattooing gear down to the car. She was still in the shower when he got back. Lying on the bed, he threaded his fingers behind his head.

  For a moment, earlier when they’d stopped arguing long enough to talk about art, it wasn’t so bad. What had it been? All of three seconds?

  Ethan sighed. He’d dealt with narrow-minded opinions like hers before about his chosen profession and wasn’t surprised she’d been programmed to think that way. To people like her, all tattoo artists were dirty, uneducated, untalented hacks.

  However, what people like Alexis didn’t seem to realise, or want to realise, was that he’d gone to art school at the same time he’d been apprenticing for tattooing. He’d paid his dues. He’d worked full time as the grunt in a tattoo shop. It was an old tradition, the tattoo apprenticeship. It was a rite of passage into the business. He had to answer phones, sweep floor, layout the artwork, take out trash, pick up food and deal with the attitudes of the artists above him.

  Anything the boss wanted him to do, he did. He’d put in his time and he worked hard and not once had he complained. Everyone did it. It was how the business worked. But did people like her realise it? Could they appreciate his hard work and dedication to his craft? No. They thought he just woke up one morning and said, Hey, how can I not work today and rip people off? I know, I’ll become a tattoo artist. That takes no talent.

  ‘Why do you even care what she thinks, Ethan?’ he muttered to himself. He heard the shower turn off. Maybe he could make an effort to be nicer to her.

  Alexis stood in the shower crying. What was wrong with her? She always felt like crying nowadays. But, then again, why shouldn’t she cry? Life wasn’t fair. It was hard and she felt sorry for herself. Her stomach growled, but it was like she’d been too paranoid to buy food when they stopped. She’d found herself tallying her money in her head, worried about every last penny, wondering if she counted it right. She’d never worried about money before and now she was too scared to spend a dime on a piece of candy – not that she’d ever buy candy. It was way too fattening.

  Alexis forgot to bring her body wash, shampoo and conditioner with her into the shower and was forced to use the little complimentary bottles the hotel provided. They didn’t smell bad, but they weren’t what she was accustomed to. Afterwards, her skin was too dry and a little itchy.

  The warm water felt good and she let it hit her body. Looking towards the bathroom door, she frowned. She didn’t understand men like Ethan at all. It wasn’t just the tattoos. It was everything about him. He wasn’t nice to her, not that she exactly deserved his kindness. Still, a gentleman would have politely ignored her irritation and bad mood, waiting patiently until she was in a better frame of mind. Ethan just kept pushing and talking and returning insults until she couldn’t see straight. Then, he charged her to stay in a room he’d gotten for free. It sucked too, because it was either pay him twenty or give the girl at the desk forty for her own room.

  Alexis got out of the shower and dried off. Looking at her skimpy nightie, she frowned. She’d been so irritated with Ethan that she hadn’t paid any attention to the clothes she grabbed. It was a sheer mesh chemise that only fell to the tops of her thighs. The little slit up the side showed even higher. The embroidered flower top hid her nipples with artfully placed roses, but other than that the bodice was see-through. The skirt was a little better, but in the right light she saw her thong panties just fine.

  Pushing open the door, she stuck her head out. The television
was on and she could see the flipping channels even as she didn’t see him. ‘Um, you out there?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ethan answered.

  ‘Can you leave?’ she asked.

  ‘Hey, I’m not going anywhere,’ Ethan said, sounding irritated. ‘This is my room too.’

  Alexis shut the door and looked at herself in the mirror. She so did not fit these horrible surroundings. The nightie probably cost more than all the furnishings in the room combined. Well, Ethan didn’t seem interested in her anyway so what did it matter if he saw her dressed like this? Opening the bathroom door, she stepped out. Her heart fluttered nervously, but she forced herself to walk across the hotel room. She passed the television and heard Ethan gasp.

  ‘Damn,’ he whispered, as if he couldn’t help himself.

  ‘Excuse me?’ Alexis turned to him, frowning. He looked way too sexy sprawled out on the bed. His bare feet were close to her and he adjusted his legs slightly, letting one knee fall to the side. Strong legs led to delectable hips and a narrow waist. The way his T-shirt fell to the side revealed the small trail of hair on his lower stomach.

  Ethan cleared his throat. ‘What? Oh, the . . . ah . . . Green Bay Packers lost.’

  ‘Isn’t that a football team?’ Alexis asked, confused. ‘And isn’t the Superbowl in February?’

  ‘Uh, yeah, it’s a post-season game,’ Ethan said.

  Alexis was still confused. Post-games? Did they have post-games? Ah, what did she know about football anyway?

  Ethan sat up and quickly changed the subject. ‘Why don’t you get dressed? We’ll go get something to eat.’

  Alexis averted her eyes. ‘No, I’m fine.’

  ‘Unless you snuck something in the bathroom, you haven’t eaten all day,’ Ethan said. ‘Come on, get dressed.’

  He noticed? Alexis blinked in surprise, oddly touched. ‘Yeah, I ate. I’m good.’

  ‘Really?’ he challenged. ‘When?’

  ‘This morning. Ted bought bagels.’ Alexis crossed to the bed, refusing to look at him.

  ‘You know, most people eat at least three meals a day,’ Ethan said, his tone wry.

  ‘I’m not hungry. What are you? The food police?’ Alexis pulled back the covers and crawled next to him. Tugging at the blankets, she felt him get up off the bed. She wasn’t tired, but she wasn’t sure what else to do.

  ‘You’re going to bed already? It’s early.’

  ‘I’m tired.’ Alexis could feel him studying her. She pulled the covers over her head to hide. She didn’t want him looking at her.

  ‘Want me to bring you back something?’ he insisted.

  ‘No.’ Alexis heard the door open and close. Slowly, she peeked out. Sitting up, she grabbed the remote. Her stomach growled and she had a small headache. Flipping through the channels, she settled on an old melodrama to take her mind off her problems. It didn’t work. The couple was rich and lived in a house that only reminded her of everything she’d lost.

  Tossing the remote aside, she stared at the door. For the first time in what felt like a long time, she didn’t think too much about her financial problems. However, finding herself attracted to an arrogant tattoo man was definitely a problem all its own.

  5

  Alexis opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was doughnuts on the round table. Blinking, she sat up. She didn’t remember falling asleep the night before. In fact, she didn’t remember Ethan coming back to the room the night before. She wondered where he slept. A small chill worked over her body, but she pushed it aside. Looking to his side of the bed, she saw that his pillow looked slept on. So he did spend the night by her, or at least part of it.

  Hearing the shower running, she tired to ignore the doughnuts and quickly got dressed before Ethan came out. The dress she wore the day before hadn’t been the most comfortable outfit for travelling so she decided on a V-neck, green-apple-coloured mesh shirt with an empire seam beneath the breasts. The shirt was two layers with a built-in lighter green camisole underneath.

  Her Joie jeans were made of vintage denim with little buttoned pockets in front and a button fly. They rode low, showing off just a peek of midriff when she walked, but not her panties. She hated when girls showed off their underwear. It seemed trashy. The black leather boots weren’t her top pick to go with the outfit, but she didn’t really have a choice. It wasn’t like she had her entire shoe collection with her any more to pick from.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried not to dwell in self-pity. Alexis Grant as a fighter. It was about time she remembered that.

  Ethan closed his eyes, letting the cool water of the shower hit his skin. He’d gone out the night before with Susan and Ted and they’d ended up drinking beer until about one in the morning. They’d gotten along rather well when Alexis wasn’t there to dampen the mood with her negative thinking. Then why in the world did he spend most of the night wishing she was there to liven things up?

  Ethan shook his head. Liven things up? Yeah, he had issues. He so needed help. Only a fool would wish Alexis to be with them.

  To make matters worse, he’d struck out for female companionship at the bar and grill they’d gone to, not that he’d been trying hard to find some. Alexis was asleep when they got back. The soft glow of the television illuminated her soft skin. Groaning, he remembered how her poor excuse for a nightgown had been pulled ever so slightly to the side exposing the curve of a small, ripe breast. To a drunken Ethan, that had been torture. He’d lain awake, staring at her nipple, thinking of all the ways he’d like to bring it to erection. The damn thing had taunted him until he was erect himself.

  Masturbating next to her in bed seemed a little uncouth so he did the next best thing he could think of. He tried to ‘walk it off’. He’d been the first on at the doughnut store that morning. The cool air did him some good because he’d finally managed to calm his raging hormones to a manageable level.

  When he got back to the room, Alexis was still asleep. Only this time, instead of a breast, her backside was exposed and he got an all too good look at her thong panties. Just thinking of her smooth butt, outlined by the soft morning light coming through the narrow slit in the floral curtains made his gut clench.

  Ethan stifled a groan and fisted his erection from underneath, letting the water help his hand glide over the length. He was mindful of the piercings he had along the top of his shaft as he stroked. The four little barbells made a frenum ladder up his penis. Women loved the piercings, as it gave a French tickler effect.

  Remembering her thong underwear, he clung to the image, using it as he caressed himself. Ethan stifled a groan. He’d thought about kissing her nipple for so long his mouth actually ached to have it between his lips.

  He wondered what her cream would taste like, if he were to part her thighs and kiss her most intimately. Each woman was different. Some were sour, some sweet, some tangy and some just the perfect combination of all three. When she’d stepped out of the shower wearing nothing but her little nightie, he’d nearly lurched off the bed in attack mode. He had to make some lame excuse about football just to cover his response. The way the television light had illuminated her from behind had been torture. It silhouetted her body, showing the space between her narrow thighs, the outline of her slender waist. She was a lot skinnier than he liked, but still, she’d looked damn good in that nightgown.

  The image of her silhouetted body replaced the one of her butt in a thong. He stroked harder, squeezing his turgid flesh almost painfully. He shouldn’t be masturbating to Alexis. If he were thinking clearly, he’d know he didn’t like her, couldn’t possibly want her. Obviously, he wasn’t thinking clearly. Just remembering her defiance turned him on more.

  Reaching down, he cupped his balls, rolling them lightly in his palm. That felt good. Oh, he was close. If he just let go, he’d be there. He held back, savouring the anticipation of release, liking the image of Alexis’s body in his head. Just a little longer, he wanted to hold it off just a little longer.

  A knock sou
nded on the bathroom door. ‘Hello?’

  Hearing her voice, his body instantly jerked. He came hard on the shower wall. His mouth opened, frozen as he concentrated on not grunting his release. The knock sounded again, a little more insistent.

  ‘Um, sorry to bother you, but I really need to use the bathroom,’ Alexis called, ‘and you’ve been in there a while.’

  ‘One moment,’ he said, his voice hoarse. He tried to slow his heartbeat by taking deep breaths. His body protested as he shut off the water, wanting to bask in the afterglow of release.

  Nearly stumbling, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. In his haste, he threw the door open a little too quickly and dropped the towel. He wasn’t sure which of them was more shocked. Her eyes rounded and she gasped.

  ‘Ah, shit, one second. Sorry. All yours.’ Ethan hurried out of the bathroom as Alexis hurried in. Once the door shut, he started laughing. He’d just acted like a teenager caught masturbating by the girl he had a crush on. What did it matter? It wasn’t like she knew what he was doing. It wouldn’t matter if she did. He was an adult.

  Still chuckling at himself, he grabbed the first pair of blue jeans he found and slipped them on. Then sniffing an old T-shirt out of habit, he was glad to find it smelled clean. He pulled it over his head, hoping day two of the westward adventure would be better than the first.

  Ohio had been hilly as they’d neared Cleveland. But somehow, as they drove away from the city, the land became suddenly flat. As the car rolled down the interstate, Alexis saw peeks of Lake Erie’s shoreline through the trees. The water was almost a dark-green colour, but still very beautiful.

  ‘Look, we can go to a corn festival,’ Susan said cheerfully, pointing at a sign. ‘They have bluegrass.’

  No one answered her.

  Alexis sat in the back seat and didn’t say a word. When she’d gotten out of the bathroom that morning, Ethan insisted she eat the doughnut. Out of principle she tried to protest, until he said it was part of the free continental breakfast that came with the room.