Inky

by J. B. Hartnett

  When she finished talking, I was a big sobbing mess. It was a beautiful story and totally unexpected, “How come you never told me this?”

  “Ink, it’s not my story to tell. Don’t ever, and I mean ever, mention it to my parents. I would’ve found out eventually because I’m not an only child and my half-brother is in their will but I’m glad they did. My point to all of this, everything that’s happened now and before, it’s a lot to take in for Evan. I’m sure he just wants to be there for you and you kinda made the decision before he even had a chance to man-up. Know what I mean?”

  “Yeah. I do. You were right, I should’ve told him. I’m an asshole. Should I go back and talk to him?”

  “Nah. Let him just think about everything for a while. He’ll come down later. I already made sure he’d come with Gus.”

  “You and Abe are tied for sneakiness.”

  “I have no problem with that.”

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you…again.”

  “Inky, it’s okay.”

  Chapter 10

  With the reception I got walking into Rusty’s, you would have thought I’d been gone for months. The bruise on my head was now covered by my hair and the marks left by Joe’s fingers were covered by my long sleeve tee. Rusty told me he put a new security camera at the back door with an intercom so nothing like my attack could ever happen again – he hoped. He also told me to take all the time I needed. It was a serious moment but no one else caught it.

  I quickly changed back to the happy mood and told him that I had a piece showing next week. Always having been the supportive guy that he is, we agreed I wouldn’t start back to work until the week after the exhibit. About ten minutes after being there, my cell phone rang,

  “Inky?”

  “Abe, is that you?”

  It was impossible to hear him over the noise inside the bar.

  “Yeah.”

  “Hold on, let me go outside where I can hear you.” I went out the front doors where it’s well lit and people were coming in and out of the bar. “Okay, that’s better. What’s up?”

  “Okay, so I guess there’s a little change. Your mystery buyer isn’t coming tomorrow. Mrs. Emerson called him herself and explained everything and invited him to the event, for making him wait. So you don’t have to come to the gallery tomorrow after all. Did you get a party frock yet?”

  “Not yet. Aimes is taking me on Monday after work.”

  “I can’t wait, Abe. I mean, I’m so excited about this. Thanks again.”

  “No problem, sugar buns. See you Monday…” He paused, “On second thought, have a girlie day on Monday and work a longer day Tuesday if you want. I don’t want you rushing the dress.” I could hear him smile.

  “Thanks Abe.”

  I went inside, still feeling giddy after my conversation with Abe. I was quickly brought back down to earth when I saw Evan at the bar next to Gus. They must’ve come in through the back.

  “Evan?” I tapped his shoulder but he didn’t move. He heard me but I was pretty sure after my little outburst earlier that he was just as pissed as I’d been. I leaned close to his ear so only he could hear me, “I know you’re mad and hurt but I love you. I’m so sorry…for everything.”

  He looked at me finally with the saddest expression on his face. His eyes were red. He set his drink on the bar and turned to face me, “It’s okay. So much has happened, Inky. Really, the last few months have just been pretty full on. I have another gig next week and I didn’t know how to tell you. It’s on Saturday. I have to go back into the studio but I don’t know if it’ll finish in time. I want to be there for your big night but I can’t miss this, Inky, or they’ll replace me.”

  I was excited about us going to a black tie event together but more than that, I wanted to be there on his arm. I wanted my partner in all things to be there. Seeing his disappointment, I decided to let mine go.

  “Is that why you were all quiet?” Gus had casually moved down the bar to give us some privacy.

  “Part of it.” He said but didn’t elaborate. I wrapped my arms around his neck, “There’ll be other shows, Evan…I hope. We can get all dressed up another time. I’ll have Abe there. In fact, I’m sure he’ll pick me up. It’s okay, really. I’m not mad. I’m sorry I flew off the handle like that. The past couple of weeks have taken me out of my bubble. I just didn’t want you to see me as being weak or broken because I’m not.” I was trying to convince myself of this too and doing a pretty good job.

  “It’s been intense, that’s for sure.” He said, but he was smiling now, “Do you want to get out of here? Get a bottle of something, grab a blanket and go down to the beach?”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  ***

  We said our goodbyes and drove back to my house. The beach was only a quarter mile away, so close that I fell asleep each night listening to the waves. We walked hand in hand. Evan had the large blanket tucked under his arm and I carried a shopping bag with a half full bottle of Jose Cuervo. I felt like we needed this reconnection and I was really happy Evan suggested it and not me. It’s what I needed most of all, for him to just be normal with me. I hadn’t helped by moping around all freaked out for a week but what happened, happened and I couldn’t change it.

  He wrapped us both up in the large plaid throw and unscrewed the cap from the bottle, “Ma’am? Would you like the first shot?”

  “Why sure,” I answered smiling. Tequila and I had a great relationship. My record was eleven shots before the room was spinning out of control. I did pace myself and started on a full stomach but I was amazed at my own tolerance level. Ever since then, it’s been my drink of choice. I couldn’t handle red wine, gin or vodka but anything that resembled the scent of suntan lotion or a Jimmy Buffet song; I could down a few of those as well.

  Three swigs each and Evan began kissing my neck, light little kisses up and down my jaw. It was heavenly, just being with him like this after everything that had happened. “Hang on a minute,” he said and reached into his pocket. “I grabbed something earlier thinking, well, hoping anyway…”

  “What? What is it?”

  “Wanna get high with me? We’ll get high like we used to a couple of years ago and have some more tequila and fuck on this beach…just like old times?” Really, he was the only one that got high but I didn’t tell him that.

  I was enjoying this trip down memory lane, “You have to ask?” I grinned. As we sat there, passing the little pipe back and forth and taking another couple of swigs from the bottle, I let myself go completely. We could’ve had an audience of fifty people watching our little show but I didn’t care. For a Saturday night, I was surprised that we never saw anyone on the beach, even though it was still kind of early.

  Apparently, weed made me chatty.

  “Uh, you know I’ve never really been high with you before.” I waved away his offer of another hit from the pipe.

  “Then you must’ve been really high because I remember it like it was yesterday. You usually bring the pipe.”

  I decided to make a joke out of his certainty that I had been not only high with him on more than one occasion but that I’d also supplied said weed and pipe.

  “Evan, baby. Seriously, this is the first time I have ever smoked weed on the beach with you. Drinking? Yes. Getting high? No. You know it’s not my thing.” When he didn’t respond I continued, “I’m guessing you were the one that was really, really high.”

  I giggled, for no reason whatsoever but Evan’s entire body went rigid.

  “I’ve missed you, baby.” He said cupping my face in his hands and kissing my lips.

  “I missed you too. I’m so sorry Evan.”

  “It’s okay, baby.” What started as slow, light kisses on my jaw became explosive. This was not the familiar touch of Evan I’d grown accustomed to. This was more…everything; aggressive, desperate, hungry. The blanket fell around us as he pulled the collar of my tee, stretching it in an effort to gain access to my breasts. When this didn’
t work, his long fingers started gently cupping one through the cotton but quickly turned to a squeeze, then a hard pinch of my nipple. His other hand was busy with the button of my jeans, pulling it away from the loop and shoving his hand between the crotch of my panties and the denim fabric where he groped me hard. I reacted with a gasp, first because it caught me off guard, being completely out of character of him and second because it was totally hot. I decided that marijuana and tequila might have to become something we do on our anniversary. Until that moment, I let him lead me to do whatever he wanted, at his mercy. I held on and enjoyed every minute of it. His mouth had been in my neck, breathing heavily with incoherent whispers on my skin when he spoke.

  “Say it.” He demanded.

  “Tell me, baby.” I replied. “What do you want me to say?”

  “You know, baby. You know…”

  I was forgetting something, something important to Evan and I had no idea what the hell it was. “You first, baby.” I said, “You say it first.” I hoped to God that worked.

  He pushed back from me with a jerk, so sudden I thought he was pissed off but I was wrong. With lightning speed he pushed his jeans down just enough to release himself and demanded, “Take me in your mouth and say it, baby.”

  I didn’t hesitate. This man was my fiancé, my friend and my lover. I didn’t care where we were or the chance of discovery. I just wanted him. As my mouth moved around the smooth tip, he grabbed my hair and pulled me down on him, forcing me to gag. I recovered quickly, thinking maybe the combination of weed and tequila wasn’t a good one for Evan when he asked me, “Say it, baby.”

  I slowed my efforts and moved away from him regaining control, stood up on the beach with unsteady legs and slowly pushed my jeans and panties down and off. He didn’t ask me to say anything after that. Less than a second later I was lying on top of the blanket, he was deep inside me and, oh…holy…God, it was incredible. Everything that happened in the last month was being erased in that moment. His motion was steady, almost keeping a rhythm with the waves. I kept my hands around his waist, guiding him in and out of me, never wanting it to end. I knew I was drunk and high but the feeling of being connected was like when we were first together. “Come for me, baby.” I loved when he talked dirty to me. “Come on baby.” I could feel my body begin its rise, matching Evan’s breathing and his own climb. He was getting louder and more vocal with each thrust. “Come on, baby…Come for me, baby…” I was completely lost in the moment and cried out with him, gasping and saying his name. When we both started to come down from our climax, I realized I’d been holding my breath, “Fuck me, Ink, that was incredible.”

  “You weren’t too bad yourself.” The only problem was, I was pretty sure the name I cried out wasn’t his.

  Chapter 11

  The previous night, Aimes had given me specific instructions for the following day of our shopping excursion. I was to be dressed and ready to go by nine a.m.

  Gus had greeted me again this morning and gave both Aimes and I a travel mug full of coffee along with a bagel wrapped up in foil so the cream cheese was nice and melted.

  “You gals have fun. Give me a kiss, sugar.”

  Aimes complied with a huge smile on her face, a smile I had never seen her wear before. Not only was it nice to have Gus around, it was great to see her so happy.

  As we headed north on Pacific Coast Highway, I decided to ask her all about it, “So, Gus, huh?” She said nothing, she just kept smiling. “Do you want to talk about it?” I inquired.

  “Are you sure you want to hear about it?” she asked grinning from ear to ear.

  “Of course I do. I’ve been, you know, distracted but I want to know everything.”

  “Well, he tells me I’m beautiful every day. He makes me coffee every morning and he cooks, Ink; the man cooks and he’s good at it. And he loves me. He told me he loved me yesterday.” If it was possible, her smile got even bigger.

  “That’s great, Aimes. What’s he gonna do? I noticed he’s always at our place. I don’t care of course but does he have a home?” she laughed.

  “Actually his ex kind of has it.”

  “Is he gonna go back?”

  “To his ex?” She exclaimed horrified.

  “No, to the Marines? I just assumed the ex was out of the picture.”

  “Nope. He’s done. He could get a job in Dallas pretty easily but he wants to stay here. He said it depends though.”

  “On what?” I assumed I knew the answer to this question but asked anyway.

  “Me.” Again, her smile was as big as Texas.

  “And…?”

  “He’s giving up the military and he wants to stay here. For me. No one has ever done that. I don’t know if it’s fair. We’ve only been together for a month? A little more?”

  Like I was one to talk.

  “He loves you…do you love him?”

  “Yep.” She didn’t hesitate at all.

  “Just keep having fun and get to know each other better. Enjoy it. I don’t think he’s going anywhere. He seems…smitten. So cute with his little accent.”

  “Believe me, there’s nothing little about that man.” We both burst out laughing.

  “He’s strong, that’s for sure.” I said. “I was remembering when he lifted me into the bath. He picked me up like I was a pillow.”

  “How about you? How’re things with Evan?” She just had to ask me that, didn’t she? I didn’t answer. “Damn it, Ink. What is it now?” She laughed but there was truth in her sarcastic jab.

  I took a deep breath and decided to explain.

  “I think I fucked up. No, I’m sure I did but I got away with it so I’m not even sure if it counts.”

  “Yeah, I’m gonna need more information.” She stated.

  “Oh. I forgot you can’t read minds.” I only said this to gather my thoughts, still trying to figure them out myself. “So, we went down to the beach…oh, I think your pipe is in Evan’s jacket. Anyway, we got high and drank tequila. It was great, awesome, just like old times, right? Except it wasn’t just like old times. He was adamant that I used to get high with him when we’d go down to the beach and I would always bring the pipe but I never did, not once. So, either he has me mixed up with someone else or he was so damn high he can’t remember. That’s not the bad part though. We had sex…awesome sex, totally different than normal but, uh…pretty sure I said someone else’s name when I, uh…”

  “When you came.” She said bluntly.

  “Yeah.” I exhaled.

  “Are you sure? I mean, you don’t smoke, ever, and you were drinking, right? Maybe you just thought you did…did he notice?”

  “No. I don’t think so anyway. He was, you know…”

  “Coming?”

  “Jesus, what is it with you?” She just laughed at me.

  “Whose name did you call? It wasn’t mine, was it? I mean, I love you, Ink, but I was kind of saving that experience for a complete stranger in Vegas with my future husband.”

  “I’m not sure I wanted to know that but no, it wasn’t you. It was him.”

  “Him who?”

  “He who shall not be named, that’s who.” I gave her a look that I hoped would communicate exactly who.

  I watched her process the information while she reversed into a parking space. She shut the car off and turned to me, “Well, ain’t that a pickle?”

  “How am I supposed to respond to that?” Aimes was my cornerstone, my go-to girl, my sounding board…

  “You’re not. It could’ve been the alcohol and weed combo, who knows. Are you sure everything’s okay with you guys?”

  “Yeah, we’re just putting the attack thing behind us and moving on…and I apologized for going off like that. I also apologized for not telling him everything too and I explained why.” She looked straight ahead into the shop window.

  “I already did some scouting and I’m pretty sure this is the dress. You are going to look fan-fucking-tastic. Let’s go.” She promptly got out of
the car which ended our conversation.

  It was weird that she didn’t say anything else. Was she disappointed in me? I mean, the poor girl had dried many a tear I shed over Evan and if I let myself be swayed by a handsome stranger…well, I wouldn’t like me very much either.

  I followed her into the store and looked around. She pulled me into an area that had a round dais surrounded by full length mirrors and sat on a small dressing chair off to the side. Aimes completely took charge of the shop. The saleswoman came out with one gown and displayed it for my approval.

  “Okay, Ink. So, you said don’t worry about the price but I did keep it under a thousand.” I gasped, turning the head of the sales woman. Aimes swept her hand in her best game show hostess move, “This is the one. Elegant, grey blue, matches your painting, imitation raw silk…”

  “Oh, that is…” I was speechless. The dress was beautiful and I hoped, no... I prayed, that it would fit me and wasn’t over a thousand bucks. I still needed shoes. The sales woman, probably feeling like she needed to do her job, decided to interject.

  “If you’ll follow me, we have undergarments and footwear so you can get an idea of how the entire ensemble will look. Just give me a little shout when you’re ready for me to zip you up.” Her smile was the result of what I assumed was recent tooth whitening and when the lights hit her bronzed face, she had the appearance of an actual mannequin. She looked great, don’t get me wrong, but she also looked faux.