Opposites Attract

by Michelle M. Pillow

  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.

  Alexis made her way down to the water, only feeling mildly guilty for talking about Ethan behind his back. She didn’t know what got into her. It was just the idea of him getting laid when she wasn’t made her mad. She took a deep breath. OK. That wasn’t the whole truth. But she didn’t want to delve into the whole truth.

  Alexis toyed with her camera, playing with the telephoto lens. Sitting on the wooden-bench swing, she watched the moonlight rippling on water. It was peaceful here, beautiful. She glanced down at her T-shirt, tracing the letters printed on it with her fingernail.

  A car started and Alexis watched as Tressa and her friends left. She had no idea how long she’d been sitting by the water. The door opened and she watched Ethan carry his stuff to the car. He did look kind of cute in the moonlight. She snapped his picture, careful not to use the flash. She was almost sad to be leaving Wisconsin.

  Susan lay on her stomach, surfing the internet. ‘What do you think about North Dakota?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Ted lay next to her on the bed, his feet by her elbows. Lightly, he traced his fingers over her calves. ‘I think Ethan mentioned going down to Iowa City. There’s a zine shop down there.’

  ‘That could be cool,’ Susan said. She looked up Iowa on the internet. ‘What’s a zine?’

  ‘Um, magazine without the financial backing of large corporations,’ Ted answered. ‘Small press stuff. I guess Iowa City’s known for it.’

  ‘Ah, I see.’ Susan nodded. ‘We should be able to make Iowa City tomorrow. Can you believe it’s already been a week since leaving New York?’

  ‘Mm, it’s gone fast,’ Ted agreed.

  ‘I wish we could travel for ever.’ Susan sighed wistfully. ‘I love it.’

  ‘I’d imagine you’d get tired of it after a while. You know, start wanting your own home.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Susan clicked the mouse, cruising an Iowa website.

  Ted laughed. ‘What was with Alexis tonight? Was she jealous or what?’

  ‘I know.’ Susan sat up. Leaving the computer on, she turned to lay by Ted. ‘Do you think it’s possible she’s got a crush on Ethan?’

  ‘Man, I don’t know. For everyone in the car’s sake I hope not.’ Ted shivered dramatically. ‘Those two are already at each other’s throat half the time. Just imagine if you added sex and romance to the mix.’

  ‘Oh, you’re right.’ Susan kissed his cheek and moved back to the computer. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow and see what’s up.’

  ‘Good idea.’ Ted moved to run his hand up her calf to her inner thigh. ‘Um, but could you maybe turn that computer off and see what’s up with me tonight?’

  ‘Oh.’ Susan giggled. ‘Has something come up?’

  She shut down the computer and closed the top. Turning, she crawled over his body. ‘I love you.’

  ‘Mm, what you wearing under there?’ Ted asked, trying to see down her shirt.

  ‘Granny panties and a sports bra,’ Susan teased.

  ‘Sexy.’ Ted flipped Susan on her back and began kissing her neck. ‘Very sexy.’

  ‘Oh, you think so?’ she asked, nearly squealing with pleasure as he discovered her pink lacy bra and matching panties.

  Ted worshipped her body with his kisses, licking and nibbling a hot trail over her skin as he stripped her of her clothing. He swirled his tongue over a nipple, sucking it lightly between his teeth before moving to smother the same attention on the other one.

  ‘Mm, you always get to play, I want my turn.’ Susan forcefully pushed him on to his back. Ted groaned as she stripped him of his clothes. Then, taking his socks, she tied his arms to the headboard. ‘Ah, much better.’

  Susan sat astride his thighs as she teased his body. First, she ran a silk shirt over his skin, sweeping it over his flesh in light feathery caresses. Ted bucked as she brushed it up his inner thigh and over his erection.

  ‘More,’ he demanded.

  ‘What do you say?’ Susan asked, her tone scolding. She ran the silk up over her naked breasts, letting him watch as her nipples hardened.

  ‘More, please, Mistress Susan,’ Ted instantly amended.

  ‘Ah, that’s better.’ Susan giggled, unable to help herself. She was never very good at staying in character. Ted never seemed to mind.

  Dropping the silk over his face, she began the slow process of licking and kissing his body from his neck to his stomach. As she neared his arousal, his back arched off the bed.

  ‘Susan, please,’ he begged.

  ‘What do you want?’ Flicking her tongue over the tip of his cock, she asked, ‘This?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘How about this?’ she asked, moving her fingers to lightly caress his balls.

  ‘Mm, yes, harder, please.’

  ‘Ah, and how about this?’ Susan sucked the end of his shaft between her lips, toying with the head.

  ‘Ah, yes!’ Ted bucked, trying to delve his shaft deeper into her mouth.

  Susan teased him a while longer before giving him what they both wanted. She rolled her tongue down his shaft, sucking gently. Her hands kneaded his balls, massaging them in her palm. Ted’s body strained beautifully against the ties as he worked his hips back and forth. She liked watching his muscles stretch and contract beneath his skin.

  Susan sucked harder, knowing from experience that he was close. His body jerked. Then, right as he was about to come, she pulled down on his balls, stopping his ejaculation. Ted grunted in satisfaction as he felt the tremors of an orgasm but stayed hard and ready for more.

  Susan was ready, but knew anticipation only made things that much sweeter. Leaving him tied to the bed, she stood and went to her bag. Kneeling where he couldn’t see her, she pulled out a leather corset that zipped up the front and left her breasts bare.

  ‘Susan?’ Ted called.

  She didn’t answer as she slipped thigh-high pantyhose over her legs. She was so aroused, each brush of material against her skin made her jolt with anticipation. Last, she slipped on a pair of black crotchless panties. Slowly, she stood. Ted’s breath caught.

  ‘Mm, damn, honey, where’d you get that?’ he asked.

  ‘Bought it before we left, along with a few other special items.’ She pursed her lips as she let him look his fill. ‘You like?’

  He nodded eagerly. ‘What else you buy?’

  ‘Mm, if you’re a good boy on this trip, you might just get to see,’ Susan assured him. It was erotic and empowering at the same time to see the look of complete lust on his face.

  ‘I’ll be good,’ he promised.

  ‘I know you will.’ Susan crawled over his body. He stared at her breasts, licking his lips. His legs moved restlessly on the bed as she kneeled before him, slowly rubbing her body as he watched. She cupped her breasts, pinched the nipples, before moving lower to stroke between her thighs. Cream made her fingers glide over her sex. She leaned her head back and sighed with pleasure.

  ‘Honey, please, you’re making me crazy,’ he said.

  Susan eagerly crawled over him. She stroked his shaft a few times before lowering her body onto his. He filled her up completely. Rocking her hips, she gave him a great sh
ow as she touched herself. Ted groaned in approval. Staying upright, she rolled her hips in slow circles as she reached down to stroke the sensitive pearl hidden within her folds. Her body clenched his.

  ‘Ah, yeah, honey, that’s it. Oh, you’re so beautiful,’ Ted said, his words soft and breathless.

  Susan climaxed moments before she felt his body release. Her heart beat fast in her chest, pounding in her ears. Falling limply on his body, she tried to catch her breath.

  ‘Mm, you can have your way with me anytime,’ Ted said.

  Susan giggled. ‘I know.’

  ‘I’m easy, I know,’ he agreed. ‘Now, untie me so I can get a better look at this outfit.’

  9

  ‘Oh God, pull over,’ Susan said, grabbing her stomach. She was in the back seat, her head on Ted’s lap. Alexis noticed that Ethan didn’t slow down this time. Susan had been moaning the same thing for the last several hours. ‘I think I’m dying!’

  Alexis turned around in the front seat. Susan looked miserable. ‘Susan? Sweetie? Can I get you something?’

  ‘I’m never eating cheese again,’ Susan swore, clutching her stomach.

  ‘How much did you have?’ Alexis asked.

  ‘All three bags,’ Ted said. ‘She ate the last of the mozzarella this morning.’

  ‘No, I had four,’ Susan said. ‘I ate the last of the cheese curds last night.’

  ‘When?’ Ted asked, surprised.

  ‘You were sleeping. I was hungry.’ Susan moaned louder, her eyes watering in her misery.

  ‘Oh, no, sweetie,’ Alexis said, ‘you can’t eat like that with fresh cheese. It’s not like what we get in the stores. I had the same thing happen in France.’

  ‘I have cheese poisoning,’ Susan said dramatically.

  ‘No, you’re just . . . bound up,’ Alexis assured her.

  Susan turned her back on Alexis and moaned pitifully. Alexis sat back down. There was nothing she could do for Susan. Seeing a road sign, she said, ‘Hey, we’re entering Illinois.’

  Ethan snorted, not saying a word. Alexis watched him from the corner of her eye. He’d been in a horrific mood all morning. Turning her attention to the countryside, Alexis stared out the window. Ethan had turned the music off at Susan’s request and they rode in silence.