Chapter Five #2
She opened a container and said, “I got a bacon burger from Jensen’s for you.”
“Then yeah, I’m hungry.” He didn’t know why he did it, but Chase kissed her cheek, lingering over the soft skin. He pulled back slowly, taking the smell of her with him as he said, “Thanks.”
She seemed surprised by his gesture and he wished he could take it back. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was hoping for something serious. She had laid down those rules in the beginning and he wasn’t going to be the one to scare her off by acting boyfriendly. Nice as she might be, he didn’t want her to have any kind of power over him.
Too late for that.
“I’m sorry about last night. I was embarrassed about the ... you know, things on the bed.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine, I wasn’t mad.”
She cocked her head. “Really? ’Cause you rushed out and it just seemed like ... but if you say you’re fine ...”
“I am. And I didn’t rush out; I was respecting your wishes.” Shut up, asshole, and stop making things worse. He took a bite of his burger and groaned. “I love Jensen’s.”
He caught her frown changing to a smile and almost released a sigh of relief. Just what he needed: to act all butt-hurt. That would be a surefire way to end things before they’d even started.
Katie took a bite of her burger and moaned. “Mmm.” Swallowing and dabbing her mouth with a napkin, she said, “No one makes burgers the way Jensen’s does. I love that he puts fry sauce on them.”
“I don’t know, there’s this diner my mom has worked at for twenty years and it has this special sauce that might make you change your mind,” he said.
“I’ll have to taste this sauce for myself. Can’t take your word for it,” she said.
“Why not?”
“’Cause, I’m still getting to know you. I don’t even know if you’re a Coke or Pepsi guy,” she said.
“Coke,” he said quickly, before stuffing a French fry in his mouth.
“Hmmm ... I’m a Pepsi girl. Although, the truth is, my favorite soda is Dr. Pepper,” she said.
As strange as it was for her to put so much stock in his choice of pop, it wasn’t the weirdest conversation he’d ever had. Although he was a bit surprised when, in mid-bite, she followed it with, “So, have you been tested for ... stuff?”
He raised his eyebrow, knowing exactly what she was talking about but loving the way she nervously stuttered. “Yeah. I’m clean.” She looked relieved and he laughed. “What about you?”
She nodded. “After I found out Jimmy had ... cheated, I got tested.”
“And there’s been nobody since your ex?”
She shook her head, and he was secretly pleased she didn’t just hop into bed with anyone, although it wouldn’t have mattered if there had been someone else. He wanted her too much and he wasn’t exactly a saint.
They finished their food, and he got down from his stool, taking two steps closer to stand between her legs. She leaned back on the counter and he put his hands on her thighs as he asked, “So does this little interview mean you want me to come over tonight?”
“I don’t know.” She nibbled on her lip and he leaned over to kiss it, taking the plump flesh into his mouth and sucking gently. He slid his tongue over it, happy to be able to taste her like this. He had been worried when he left last night that he’d blown it, and the thought had been like a sucker punch. Katie had wormed her way under his skin, and he just couldn’t seem to shake wanting her.
“Do you have your list?” he asked, pulling back from her.
Her eyes still closed, she tried to bring him back to her. “It’s in my purse.”
Chuckling, he reached out to grab her purse off the counter and gave her a quick kiss. “Hmmm ... why do women keep so much shit in these things?” he asked as he started rummaging through the bottomless pit of change, lip gloss, and other odd items only a girl would think she’d need.
“Because we like to be prepared, whereas men would rather MacGyver their way through life,” she said.
Looking up with a grin, he said, “Struck a nerve?”
“No, I’m used to hearing that kind of thing from men, and with you being such a guy’s guy, I figure you probably call women ‘chicks’ and slap barmaids’ butts,” she said.
“Guess we’ll have to go out and find a barmaid. See if your theory is right.” He found the napkin and held it up. “Aha!”
“Look at that! You managed to find something through all my ... stuff,” she said.
Grabbing a pen off the counter and handing it to her, Chase said, “Here you go, sassy Sue. You need to check off your tattoo, your streaks, the sex shop, and saying the first thing that came to your mind.”
She took the pen. “But I didn’t go to a sex shop,” she argued.
He grinned. “You have everything you need from one. Except the handcuffs.”
She hit his arm and he grabbed her hand. “And Becca told me about how you went off on Mrs. Andrews. You said the first thing that came to mind. I bet you apologized afterward, but it still counts.”
She didn’t pull away as he stroked her hand but said, “Which reminds me, I have to call her tonight about the weather. There’s supposed to be a big thunderstorm coming in, so we will have to move the pageant from an outdoor stage to the community center. And reschedule the fireworks. Knowing Mrs. Andrews, she’ll probably call it a blessing.”
“Does that woman like anything? What kind of person hates fireworks? You get to play with fire and watch things explode,” he said.
“Why are all men such pyros?” she asked, laughing. “She doesn’t hate them; she just thinks they’re a waste of money.”
“I see. Well, back to your list. All you have left is to steal something—which, again, I do not recommend—skinny-dip, get drunk and flirt with a bunch of guys—not a big fan of that one either—have a one-night stand, and buy some handcuffs. Oh, and tell your ex that he’s a jerk off. I don’t know why you need to explain that; it should be obvious to him.”
“It’s therapeutic for me, and no, I don’t think Jimmy considers himself to be anything less than awesome.” Running her hand over his chest, she said, “I could just text Becca about the handcuffs.”
“Great, okay, so now a one-night stand. I do remember offering my services for that.” He dropped her hand to move closer.
Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and said, “But it wouldn’t work with you.”
That gave him pause. “Why the hell not?”
Katie ran her hand over his cheek. “Because a one-night stand is supposed to be a stranger that you have sex with and never see again.”
“I see the problem. So maybe we could modify your list. Instead of one-night stand, we’ll have a torrid affair,” he said.
She laughed. “I can’t believe you know the word torrid .”
“What do you think, I’m just a dumb tattoo artist who dabbles in comics?” he said, his pride pricked by her comment. “I went to college and I graduated with a three point eight GPA.”
Why people always assumed he was stupid just because he liked doing tattoos he didn’t know, but Katie looked like he had told her he was an alien. It was pretty insulting even though he was used to it, but coming from Katie it stung more. She didn’t seem like the type to be so judgmental.
She blinked at him. “Where did you go?”
“Berkeley, on scholarship,” he said, trying to keep the testiness out of his tone.
“That’s amazing! What did you major in?” she asked.
“Amazing? Like you’re amazed that I was smart enough to get a scholarship?” he said.
“No! I just meant it’s really hard to get a scholarship. You are really special, Chase.”
His irritation dimmed a bit and he said, “I majored in art and minored in English. I had already written and sold my first comic before I graduated, and I’ve been doing tattoos since I was eighteen, so I just stuck with what I knew. Saved my money, bought run-down parlors, turned them around, and sold them for a profit.”
She ran her hand down his arm and asked, “What else?”
“What do you mean?’
She stared at him so intensely it made him squirm, then asked, “What other little secrets don’t you want everyone to know?”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
“You let all of these people believe you’re just a tattoo artist, but you’re so much more than that,” she said.
He couldn’t look away from her. “What am I?’
“You’re smart, and creative, and—”
He cut her off. “All of those things should be obvious. I run my own successful business and I can draw. I own one of the nicest houses in the area and I keep my nose clean. The only people who don’t know me are the people who don’t want to.”
Realizing how much he’d revealed in that one sentence, he started to draw away from her, but Katie tightened her arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. The look in her eyes was kind and understanding, a look that told him without words that she wasn’t in the latter category.
“I didn’t see through you, Chase. I saw you . I saw you at Buck’s the night you were handing out your business cards, and again at the Valentine’s Day auction, when you bid on Ryan Ashton, and I remember thinking how lucky she was. There have been a hundred different instances since you moved here when I have seen you and wondered about you.”
“Right,” he said, even though her words made him want to smile.
“It’s true. I’ve been a total mess for half a year, Chase, but I wasn’t dead. I noticed you. But a guy like you? Guys like you aren’t interested in girls like me,” she said.
He looked at her in disbelief, then scowled. “What does that mean, guys like me?”
She gave him a teasing grin. “You know, cool guys. Tough guys. Rebels. You all think I’m a goody-goody.”
His tension eased as he laughed. “You are a goody-goody.”
Giving him a dark look, she said, “And guys like you don’t like that. You like girls who can drink whiskey straight and who wear fishnets and ...”
“Well, I’m not going to find many girls like that here, except maybe Becca, and I’m not really her type.” Wrapping his arms back around her, he said, “Guess you’ll have to do me now that you’re so bad.”
He caught her giggle in his mouth and leaned her back on the counter. Her legs and arms were still around him and he rubbed against her as he delved into her mouth.
The jingle of the front door pulled him back as two guys walked in with wide grins. “Hey, Chase, we were hoping to get a couple of tattoos, but if it’s a bad time ...”
Chase didn’t like the Coulter brothers, and he especially didn’t like the leers they were giving Katie. Helping her pull her long skirt back down, he stepped out from between her legs and stood a bit in front of her. “If you boys will just wait over there, I’ll be with you in a bit.”
Katie let him go and slid off the counter. Seeing the red stain of her cheeks, he said, “Why don’t you head on home and I’ll text you when I leave?”
She nodded and didn’t even look at the other men as she left.
Wayne, the uglier and meaner of the two, sneered. “Well, I never thought I’d see sweet little Katie in such a position. What’s your secret, Trepasso?”
Chase still possessed some self-control because he didn’t punch the vile son of a bitch right there. “Did you guys come in for tattoos or not?”
K ATIE PULLED UP to her house and laughed. Standing on her front porch were Becca and Steph, talking animatedly.
“Well gee, if I knew you girls were coming over, I’d have grabbed margarita mix,” Katie said as she climbed out of the 4Runner.
Steph held up a bag. “Got it. And since when are you fooling around with Chase Trepasso?”
Becca threw up her hands when Katie glared at her. “Don’t look at me; you’re the one who was making out with him on the dance floor last night.”
“Nobody told me, I read about it in the new gossip column! They even have a picture of you!” Steph said, holding up the paper.
Katie took it from her and read the headline: GOOD GIRL GONE BAD ? Underneath was a picture of Chase and her with their faces close together. The first sentence read, “Could Katie Connors be shedding her golden-girl image to hook resident bad boy, Chase Trepasso?”
“What a load of crap,” she said, scowling.
Handing the paper back to Steph, she pulled out her house keys and walked past them to unlock the door. Becca and Steph followed her inside and closed the door behind them.
Tossing her keys on the kitchen counter, Katie walked over to the cupboard to pull out the blender, stretching onto her tiptoes to reach it.
“Are you going to answer me or not?” Steph insisted.
Katie shot Becca a grin over her shoulder. “Not without some tequila in me.”
Steph sighed loudly but handed her the mix and tequila. Katie put the blender on the counter and plugged it in. She poured in four shots, the mix, and ice before replacing the lid and pushing the power button. When there was a smooth mix of ice and alcohol, she got down her good margarita glasses and led them to the table.
Steph pointed at her hair. “Holy shit, your hair has purple in it.”
“Yep,” Katie said.
“What is up with you?” Steph looked at Becca accusingly.
Becca laughed and said, “Sorry, it wasn’t me. She walked into my shop with her hair already like that.”
“Don’t you like it?” Katie asked, a little upset Steph was acting like her mother and not her best friend. Steph had always been protective of her, but she had never been unsupportive.
Steph’s mouth dropped open. “Of course I love it! It is freaking awesome sauce! I just want to know what’s happened in the last two days to make you go all punk-rock princess on me.”
“I’m guessing that it had something to do with Chase,” Becca said mischievously.
Katie took a big gulp of her margarita and yelled, “Ahhh! Brain freeze.”
“Don’t change the subject! Tell me!” Steph got all shrieky when she was excited.
Katie knew there was no help for it except to tell the truth. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she said, “I was feeling a little low on Monday and I wrote a list. A list of things I’ve never done.”
“Okay, with you so far.”
Katie took a smaller drink and continued, “Well, Chase got a hold of it, and we’ve just been kind of ... hanging out.”
“What was on the list?” Becca asked.
Must drink more. Katie took another swallow of the slushy margarita. “You know, stuff. Like shoplifting. One-night stands.”
“What are you, thirteen? That is when you shoplift, not when you’re a grown-ass woman! They arrest you and throw the book at you when you do juvenile shit!” Steph said.
“I just made a list of things I had always wanted to do. I didn’t say I was going to do them all,” Katie said.
“What about one-night stand? Have you done that? Did you sleep with him?” Steph asked. Her voice was now several octaves above soprano, and Katie resisted the urge to rub her ears.
“No.”
“But she wants to bad,” Becca jumped in.
“You are not helping,” Katie growled.
Becca shrugged. “I’m not a very helpful person.”
Katie stood up to get the pitcher and nearly jumped out of her skin when Steph shrieked, “Oh my God, I love your belt! Where did you get that?”
Katie smiled. You had to love Steph. She had always been easily distracted by cute clothes.
“Becca’s place. Sweet Tart’s Boutique.” Katie refilled her glass and asked, “Wanna see what else I got?”
“Uh, yeah!” Steph turned to Becca with a smile that said you are welcome here and I accept you . “I’m going to have to check out your shop!”
Walking ahead of them toward the bedroom, Katie heard Becca ask, “You’re a size five?”
Stephanie gasped. “How did you know?”
“It’s what I do.”
C HASE FINALLY GOT done with the Coulter brothers at a little after ten and called Katie. She picked up on the second ring, laughing.
“Shut up!” Katie said.
He heard his name being screamed in the background, along with kissing noises, and asked, “This a bad time?”
“Yeah, Steph and Becca stopped by with margaritas.”
Damn. He had been thinking if he dropped by her house, she might invite him in, and maybe they’d get back to where they were before the Coulter brothers had interrupted.
“So I guess I’ll see you in the morning at the Fourth of July thing?” he said.
She giggled. “Oh yeah! I’ll be the one on the float with the poufy dress and the tiara.”
He grinned at her slurred words and the image she created. “All right, I’ll look for you.”
“’Bye, Chase! Muahahaha!” High-pitched squeals and laughter followed, then the line went dead.
Chase shook his head, not sure he ever wanted to experience Katie and her friends up close and personal on a margarita night. His ears were still ringing from the sounds they’d made.
Now, Katie one-on-one after a few margaritas might be fun.
He cleaned up the rest of his tools and was getting ready to lock the door when his phone rang. Recognizing the number, he picked up with a deep breath. “Hey, Mom, what’s up?”
“Hey, Chase honey, I was just calling to see how you were.”
Her voice sounded far away and he asked, “Mom, are you okay? You sound weird.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I just wanted to see if there was anything new and to hear your voice.”
The sound of a loud speaker and a voice announcing, “Code blue,” came from the background.
“Are you at the hospital? Did something happen?”
“Oh, Buzz and I just got into a little fender bender. We’re fine, though. Tell me about you. You seeing anyone?” she asked.
He shook his head. His mother and he had a weird relationship, but she was always worried about him meeting someone. Since marrying Buzz eleven years ago, her son’s lack of serious relationships seemed to be on her mind a lot.
But the one thing he wasn’t going to do was talk about Katie with his mother. “There’s one girl, but it’s too early to tell. Do you need anything?”
Her voice sounded almost disappointed as she responded, “No, baby.”
A conundrum, that’s what his mother was. She had ignored him for most of his childhood, giving him food, shelter, and everything he could need except her time and attention. Instead she’d worked double shifts and dated her men, while he’d sat with one babysitter after another. Buzz was the first man in his mother’s life that he’d actually gotten along with, and if she had only met Buzz when he was a kid, maybe his childhood would have been better. But he had been an adult and already out of the house when Buzz had come along, and Chase knew he was just indulging in wishful thinking. His mother hadn’t wanted to get close to him and he had no idea why.
Yet when she called, it was almost like she wished things weren’t so strained between them. Like she wanted there to be more.
She’s had thirty-three years to talk to you. You don’t owe her a thing.
“Hey, Mom, I’ve got to go. Closing up the shop and I can’t talk and ride, so ...”
“Sure, I get it. I love you, Chase.”
“Yeah, me too.” He hung up and stared at the phone. She had sounded weird. It wasn’t abnormal for her to say she loved him, but it was the way she had said it. He thought about calling Buzz to see what was up, but shook off the idea.
His relationship with his mother was complicated and he doubted it was going to change anytime soon.