Things Good Girls Don't Do (11 page)

“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.