Ink (30 page)

Just as things were ending, a loud rumbling filled the air. I pulled away from Slade, covering my body with my hands. Two four wheelers were now parked on the shore.

“
Turn around and put your head down,” Slade ordered. He muttered something to himself and then nudged me. “Head to the shore.”

I tried objecting, but quickly realized I was in another bathing suit. Slade took my hand, heading to the shore. He, too, was clad in swim trunks now.

“
Awful late,” Tucker and his pal said. They both were holding beers, looking pretty trashed.

“
Isn’t it a school night?” Slade asked evenly.

“
School dance,” Tucker slurred.

“
And you just decided to head down to the shore?” Slade questioned.

“
She was naked. I swear she was naked,” Tucker said, pointing at me and ignoring Slade. I crossed my arms.

“
She looks clothed to me,” Slade told him, picking up my clothes.

“
Tucker go home and leave us alone,” I said, pulling on my clothes. I stayed close to Slade. Slade didn’t bother with his shirt, he took my hand in his and started across the sand.

“
Oh, are we running away?” Tucker yelled after us.

“
Just keep walking,” I said under my breath.

“
Everywhere I go, there he is,” Slade said, agitated.

We did our best to head home, when from the darkness came a stick. It whipped quickly, striking me on the arm. Tucker and his friend let out joyous cheers. I wasn’t sure if they knew that they struck me, but they were pleased.

Slade took off after Tucker. “You’re going to throw something at her?”

Tucker elbowed his buddy. “I think we poked the bear.”

“
Slade, stop. I’m fine,” I assured him. “They’re idiots.”

“
By the way, I wasn’t going for your girlfriend, I was aiming for you.” Tucker smirked. He finished off his beer, crunching it in his grasp and lobbing it at Slade’s face.

“
You must really have a death wish,” Slade said, wiping at his face.

“
No, but you must. Don’t even worry about hitting me because I already called the cops. And this time I have evidence you couldn’t keep your hands off of her.” Tucker waved his cell phone in front of Slade’s face. Slade grabbed it, chucking it into the water.

“
Now you got nothing,” he said, grabbing a hold of his shirt. “You called the cops again. You’re going to sit here and tell them it was nothing.”

“
No can do, sir. And I’m not the only one with proof of your little attack. Run, Andy!” Tucker yelled, sending his friend sprinting across the sand.

I stared in disbelief.

“
I’m not going to say he hurt me. Are you guy’s idiots?” I yelled after his friend who looked like he was playing a game of keep away by himself.

The sirens sounded behind us. I sighed, knowing we were about to go through the same thing again. All because of Tucker. Slade released Tucker’s shirt.

Officer Perkins shined a flashlight over us. “What do we have here?”

“
It’s nothing. I was given permission to be out here. You can ask my dad, he knows where I am,” I tried explaining.

Officer Perkins shined the light on me, dragging the light down my body, lingering on my chest. “Oh, but I don’t think that dad of yours told Mr. Andrews he could give it to his little girl on the beach.”

I gasped. “Don’t talk like that to me!”

“
He was giving it to her all right.” Tucker laughed. His friend handed over the phone and they all three stood together enjoying whatever was on the screen.

“
It’s like a homemade porno,” Officer Perkins laughed. “Video on cell phones, it’s amazing what technology can do these days.”

Slade started toward them all. I grabbed his arm. “Don’t,” I warned.

Officer Perkins pulled out a taser. “Yeah, don’t or I’ll fry your ass, boy!”

Slade’s whole body shook in anger. “Give. Me. The. Phone.”

They all stared at him as if he was stupid. But I knew what he was capable of. The taser sparked and Officer Perkins screamed in pain, unable to shake it from his grasp. His arm raised, striking Tucker in the chest like a ghost was using him as a puppet on a string. Tucker convulsed, letting out a loud cry and dropped to the ground along with Officer Perkins.

I quickly snatched the cell phone off the ground. Tucker’s friend was already running across the sand far away from us.

“
Chuck it,” Slade told me.

I ran back to the water, pulling out the battery and cracking the screen before I tossed it into the ocean just to be sure it was broken beyond any repair.

“
We are going to leave now,” Slade said, staring down at Tucker and Officer Perkins. “And none of this ever happened.”

I watched Slade as he stood over them, probably conjuring up some kind of spell or something, I was sure. He finished, coming back to me.

I backed away. “Your tattoos.”

Slade stared down at his arms, the tattoos glimmering in the darkness the way lightning bugs did when I smashed them as a kid with flyswatters—he held a dull yellow glow.

“
It’ll go away,” he assured me, taking my hand back. We headed back to my house, leaving them twitching in the sand like two pathetic fish.

“
I’m sure it wasn’t how you imagined it to turn out,” Slade said.

“
What do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“
Your first time.” He squeezed my hand. I smiled.

“
No, I didn’t expect to see two people tasered on the beach, that’s for sure. You know you’re in a world of trouble now,” I said, patting his arm.

“
No, I’m not. They’re not going to remember anything that happened. But they are going to feel like shit in the morning.” He kissed my cheek. “Now get in bed. I promise the next time will be a lot better for you.”

I smiled again, heading up the porch steps and turning back around. “What makes you think there will be a next time?”

“
Judging by that reaction, there will be a next time.” He shook his head, walking off.

I sighed, watching him walk away.

T
he storm pounded the kitchen windows. I ignored it, going back to the dishes. The storms in California were horrible. I set the last of the glasses in the strainer.

It had been four days. Four days since Slade and I had the most amazing sex of my entire life. Well, there was nothing to compare it to, but it still was pretty amazing for the first time. Every night I went back to that night in my mind. I would lay in bed going over every yummy detail.

Sex made you feel new, like a totally different person. I felt like I had blossomed. It was everything and more. If only I had someone to share all the details with. But I had no one. I wasn’t going to call Slade and go on and on about his sexual talent. He would think I was nuts. Slade had called me every night since we hooked up. He was still showing his interest and that was a good sign. But he hadn’t come around since.

Crawford snored loudly by the back door, his paws twitching every so often. I had the house to myself and I loved it, until the storm rolled in. The lights flickered, going off and leaving me to the dark afternoon, the storm so harsh the outside was nothing but black storm clouds and an angry, frothy ocean.

“
A flashlight,” I told myself, rummaging through the junk drawer. I located one, pounding the end for the light to kick on. It did nothing but make my palm ache. I groaned, rifling through the drawer for batteries, something we never had. Who was I kidding? I wasn’t going to find any in this house.

Crawford awakened, barking loudly at the booming thunder.

“
Crawford, stop!” I yelled, starting to get a little batty. I didn’t need my dog making me even more paranoid than I already was. I didn’t like storms.

But Crawford wasn’t letting the storm go. He barked louder, scratching at the door. What I thought was thunder turned into a hasty knocking. I hurried over to the door, peering out into the hurricane-like weather, the rain making the window hazy and whatever was standing on the other side looked like a bright splotch of yellow.

The splotch’s knuckles rattled the glass, pounding even harder. I tried making out the body. A thin frame, more than likely a girl. I took hold of Crawford’s collar, pulling the door open just a crack, the smell of rain and heat slipping in the doorway, the hiss of the rain hitting the porch and everything in view.

“
This is not what I expected!” a familiar voice shouted at me.

“
Karsen?” I asked excitedly. She dropped her yellow hood, shaking her honey blonde hair free.

“
Absolutely it’s me,” she said, her smile invading her eyes. She pulled me in tightly for a hug, her hands slipping around me like always when she was hugging me.

“
What are you doing here? I didn’t even know you were coming!” I screamed, hugging her again even tighter. This was the greatest surprise ever.

Karsen tugged off her yellow rain coat. She tossed it over the kitchen chair, looking around the kitchen. “I told you I would talk them into it. I have a week.” She crossed her arms, giving me a thorough examination. “You seem different.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised she would say such a thing. Losing one’s virginity wasn’t supposed to transform you physically that I knew of. I shrugged my shoulders, a smirk creeping up on my face.

“
Tell me everything that has happened since I talked to you, because I can tell something great happened. It’s written all over you.” She yanked the chair out, taking a seat.

I admired her tan, the one that gave her the healthy glow. She was so radiant. I took a seat, wondering where to begin.

“
From the beginning. Who is he?” she said, finishing my thoughts like she always did. She knew what I was thinking before I thought it. “Is he the guy with the piercing?”

I smiled at the thought of that piercing, remembering how it felt against my skin. Karsen waved a hand in front of my face.

“
Yes, the one with the piercing. Slade.” I pushed my hair behind my ear.

Karsen grinned. “I need to have a look at this boy. Is he all that and then some?”

Karsen had this cute southern drawl to her voice. I wasn’t southern sounding at all. I blamed it on my parents. But it only made her that much more endearing when she spoke. But most times I was the only one brave enough to tell her. She liked to come off tough to everyone else. Like I said, she was like a beautiful
Daria
.

“
He is all that and then some, I must admit. And I’m sure I can get him over here if you want to meet him. But I want to tell you something first.” I avoided her now wide green eyes that stared me down. She rose out of her chair, tackling me to the ground.

“
Hope, are you about to tell me what I think you’re going to tell me?” she asked, pinning my arms to the kitchen floor, her face nose to nose with mine.

“
I was going to try to tell you. I forgot your brother wrestled.” I laughed, pulling out of her grip easily now that she knew my secret.

“
You had sex, I can’t believe it. I didn’t think you would ever. This boy has got to be really convincing,” she said, amazed.

“
What does convincing have to do with anything? This didn’t take convincing, believe me. Now we both have the same thing in common.”

Karsen crossed her arms. She studied me closely. “Sleeping with Petey Shaw is not that great of a thing. One, he totally doesn’t understand sex.” She stared at her nails.

“
What do you mean, you never said that before. Slade knew everything.” I blushed as she grinned at me.

“
Petey Shaw has a turtleneck. And that’s not the most horrible part. He cried the first time we did anything. Now, I don’t know if that’s because my body is that amazing and he couldn’t believe he was allowed to touch it, but he cries. And if you’re not on top doing all the work, don’t expect much out of Petey.” She crossed her legs, staring at me.

“
I wasn’t expecting anything from Petey. And after the turtleneck reference…” I shuddered.

“
That, and it was small.” She nodded, looking pleased to share all these details. “So, does Slade make you hurt in a good way, Hope?” She batted her eyes at me innocently.

“
It hurt for sure. But gross, Karsen, I don’t know, I didn’t measure it.” I sighed.

“
Fine, but next time I think you should. Or I could just look at him. Usually it’s easy to tell if a guy has a big one or not.” She raised an eyebrow.

“
And I assume you’re going to tell me this?”

“
No. Unless you want me to?”

“
No, I don’t think that I do. Then I will be looking at everyone and wondering if your theory is right.” We both broke into laugher.

“
I wouldn’t mind knowing what your dad is packing. I think he is hung like a—” I slapped her before she could finish her sentence.

“
Did you bring a suitcase?” I asked her. “And how did you get here?”

Karsen walked back to the door. She shoved Crawford out of her way, dragging in a duffel bag. “I flew. And then I called that crazy Nona of yours and had her come get me at the airport. I’m surprised she could keep a secret.”