Fox Wiley (todd_wiley) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2010-02-18 23:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | fox, rae, spring break, thread |
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Who: Fox and Rae
When: Late morning
Where: Mrytle Beach, wandering around
What: Shopping for Tattoo ideas and hanging out
Fox had been enjoying his lazy morning, lounging around in front of the sofa, watching TV, going back into the game room and playing around, but now he was bored and wanted something to do. He was already dressed in a white printed tee, dark jeans and his signature boots, so maybe it was time to go checking out those tattoo parlors for ideas like Rae had suggested the other day. Standing, he went to go find Rae, smiling.
Unless poked, prodded, or lured out with food, Rae spent mornings in her bedroom. Now she was lounging opposite the length of her bed, on her back, her head hanging upside down off the side as she watched an early morning infomercial for mineral makeup. A paper plate with some crumbs and a bit of smeared butter lay waiting on the floor for her to get up and dispose of it.
When Fox entered her room, she turned onto her stomach, elbows propping her up, and grinned. "Hey there. Any good dreams last night?"
Fox grinned and leaned against the doorframe. "Definitely a couple good dreams." He cocked his head to one side, the grin in place. "And now I've decided you're coming with me. Tattoo shopping."
Why was he grinning like that? All big and stupid?
"Yeah? Now?" she had already put her makeup on for the day, and was completely ready to start something. In short shorts, colorful tights, and an off the shoulder tee with ballet slippers she looked a bit out of place for a beach, but colorful and cheerful all the same.
Fox nodded his head. "Yup. Now." Turning, he made his way down the hall and back to the main room. "I'll wait for you by the door whenever you're ready," he called over his shoulder. He didn't bother grabbing his jacket since the weather was nice and warm outside.
Rae grabbed her purse, which was all she really needed. It was a bulky leather tote-sort of bag; she carried way too many things in it.
The fresh air and sun had her sucking in deep, happy breaths. "Any other thoughts on what to look for? Also, what would you think about collarbone piercing?" she pulled at her shirt to reveal the soft curve of her clavicle, pointing to the space beneath it. "One here, one on the other side? Cute, yes?" She figured he didn't agree, and was trying to get him to squirm.
Fox checked out her chest where she pointed and shrugged, continuing his walk. "If it suits you, sure." She was right; he wasn't a big fan of it, but it wasn't his body. "You still haven't told me where all your piercings are to begin with."
She rolled her eyes. "Wellllll, if you can't see them, where do you think the missing one is?"
He paused on the sidewalk and turned to face her. There was only one missing. He knew the belly button was pierced, so it wasn't that. There were only three other options and two of those were a pair. His eyebrows shot up. "Did you actually pierce your clit?"
She let out a laugh, stopping with him. "God, no. My nipple. Just one. I waited on the other one and well.. never got around to it. I like being asymmetrical. In high school I shaved one side of my head one year!" She began walking again, smirking.
Fox waited until she started walking, letting that knowledge process before jogging a couple steps to catch up with her. "So are you considering getting the other one done for the matched set yet?" This was a bad topic of conversation. He did not need to be thinking about Rae naked and all the sexy piercings she could have.
"I haven't seen the place. If it looks clean enough, maybe. But not today. Otherwise I can't swim for the rest of the vacation," she said, making eye contact with another fellow whose side swept bangs and pierced lip indicated he didn't mind her outfit, her obvious tattoos, or the way her hips swung. She held his gaze with a smirk until they passed.
Fox also noticed the guy and he shifted a half step closer to Rae, glaring at the other guy as he passed. As soon as he was gone, the smile was back on Fox's face and he was considering what Rae had said. "Good point. And it'd be the same for my tat, so we could always get it done before we leave Saturday."
"Awww, you wanna go togeeeether?" she teased, looking up at him with a big stupid grin.
He shrugged, mentally kicking himself for having admitted that. "Don't have to. Just thought you'd like to be around to gloat about my getting sticked with a needle a thousand times." Fox shuddered at the image. He'd rather not think about that part.
"Yeeah, how's that gonna go for you? I saw your puke-face at the Infirmary." She grinned, folding her arms over her front as they moved along the boardwalk.
He rolled his eyes. "I'll deal with it. It'll be better since I'll know it's coming." At least, that's what he told himself.
"It's a different type of needle. You won't really see it sliding slowly into your flesh..." she watched his face, biting on her lips and smirking.
Fox turned to her, arching a brow and pursing his lips. "Y'know, I know your ticklish spots and I've no problem proving that right now."
Her smile fell a little, but she fought to hang it back up. "Riiight. I'm just trying to be supportive!"
"Uh-huh. Sure." Fox then did the most adult thing he could think of. He stuck his tongue out at her, rolling his eyes. Popping his tongue back into his mouth, he grinned and glanced at the street. Just across the block was a store with a bright sign stating "420". Turning to Rae, he laughed, "I heard from a couple associates that 420 stores generally do tattoos and piercings, if you're interested."
"You're leading the way, pal. You're the one that needs to find a design you like. Go ahead." She gestured sweepingly for him to get in front of her, into any store he wanted.
Fox rolled his eyes and walked into the store, perfectly comfortable with the surroundings. Glancing to the right, he saw a counter and a heavily pierced man behind it. It was obvious why the man worked there when he certainly looked stoned already. Striding over to him, Fox smiled and asked, "You guys do tattoos here?"
The guy seemed more interested in Rae, which made sense, since Rae was the one with tattooes showing through her tights, metal in her face, and had the general 'look' of someone who belonged in a shop like this. She gave a nod to the guy before he turned his attention to Fox.
Rae began walking around, trying to see toward the back if there was a parlor attached.
Fox crinkled his nose at the guy when he made it obvious he was staring at Rae's ass. But then he was surprised to have- Billy it said on his name tag - give him a grin and a thumbs up. "Nice catch," he said.
Fox turned his head to checked out Rae himself and turned back with a grin and a nod for thanks. "So, tattoos?"
Billy shook his head. "Not here. The place you wanna go is Body Art Ink Tattoos." Quickly, the clerk gave directions to the place, which was just down the street.
Fox leaned over and clapped the guy on the shoulder. "Thanks, Billy. Enjoy your day." Stepping back from the counter, he moved over to Rae. "Ready to go?"
Rae nodded and stepped into place. As they came back out to the boardwalk, she looked up at him. "Nice catch?"
Fox shrugged. "Dunno what the guy was thinking. Anyways, there's a place a couple blocks down. Been in business for years and is the best place around, Billy said." He continued down the sidewalk, hoping Rae wasn't going to grill in for information.
"Yeah, I heard him. Body Art Ink Tattoos." Why would he think she heard the first part of Dummy's conversation, but not the second? It seemed like he was extrapolating just a little, but she let it slide. "Funny thing about not being quite human... you hear things you probably shouldn't."
Fox didn't realize that one, she was close enough to hear everything, and two, that she had more sensitive hearing than others. Though he should have expected that. "Oh, I didn't realize that part."
She let out a sarcastic sort of nasal laugh that both made fun of him and shared amusement simultaneously.
He was glad that he hadn't said anything to Billy about what a fine body Rae had, since that would have ended up with him getting slapped. Fox made a mental note to watch what he said when Rae was around. Pointing ahead, he noticed the shop. "There we go."
"Oooh," she purred, and moved forward to slither inside before him. She loved tattoo shops, because she liked tattoos and looking at other people's artwork.
There were two kids -- or young people -- there, a boy and a young woman, both of whom had tattooes and different facial piercings. "Hey," the buzzcut boy said, to Rae, and the girl said "how are you?" almost as if they had practiced.
Rae smiled shyly and nodded, meandering over to the artwork on the walls.
Fox nodded in greeting to the two, walking to the wall opposite Rae to start checking out the artwork. Apparently the wall he had chosen first had a lot of Disney characters and butterflies. Curlling his lip in disgust, he quickly moved down, glancing at the walls until things looked a little more masculine.
Rae was eyeing tribal stag designs, and then flagged him over when she saw the barbed wire ones he had been talking about. "Here are arm bands."
When Fox turned his attention to the large plastic casing of images, Rae spun around to grin at the employees. "He's thinking of getting his first tattoo."
Fox walked over, checking out the designs Rae had pointed out, and then rolled his eyes. She just had to go and say something, didn't she? Oh well. He'd let her gloat for now and get it over with, turning his attention back to the wall and only giving half an ear to what she was saying. Hmm, the arm bands didn't look too bad, but not quite what he was thinking about.
Rae was enjoying it.
"What are you thinking of?" the blonde asked Fox, sliding out from behind the counter over to them. She was similar to Rae in style, but almost a head taller and with more above-the-waist curves. Rae sidestepped away from the two of them, letting Fox flounder in the speech of a pushy girl who was doubtfully an artist, and probably just the cashier chick.
She shuffled further toward the boy, who was texting. "You guys pierce here?"
"Yeah, in the back."
"How much for dermal anchoring?"
The gentleman raised his eyebrows, then smiled. "Where?"
Rae smirked. "Dunno. Just thinking about it. Suggestions?"
Fox checked out the blonde coming towards him. Cute. Giving a half-hearted shrug, he looked back at the wall. "Dunno really. Was thinking about an armband for awhile, but I'm not sure." Turning his head to gaze at the tribal designs, he pointed at a dragon curled up. "This is pretty cool, but not quite what I'm looking for."
Even he wasn't certain what he wanted, but he knew he'd recognize it when he saw it.
The guy thumbed in Fox's direction and quietly mouthed "boyfriend?"
Rae chuckled and shook her head. "Nope. Just a friend. Spring break." She scrunched her nose up, looking around. "Can you give me a price list."
"Why, you gonna shop around? We're the best, no need," he said, with a chuckle. Even so, he was already making a copy of list he had behind the counter for her. Their Xerox machine was ancient, but it would do the job. Rae laughed softly, shy now that the other man was being playful, and looked over to Fox.
It seemed that both of the clerks had the same idea, since the blonde had sidled up to Fox and quitely asked a very similar question. He had shaken his head and kept staring at the wall. Apparently the blonde took it as a good sign and started getting friendly. "So you're thinking about something on the arm then? May I?"
Fox looked at her for a moment, noticing that she was gesturing to his sleeve. Smiling he nodded his head again. "Go for it." She rolled up his sleeve, all the way to his shoulder, fingertips gliding over the smooth skin. "An arm band would look good, but with this much muscle," she gave a squeeze, looking up and smiling. "You could stand for something with a little more substance."
Rae's new friend turned back around to retrieve the copy fo the price list and held it out to her. "You coming back?"
She shrugged, taking it and folding it in half before sliding it into her purse. "Possibly. I want to swim before we get back on the plane."
"Good thinking. You'd be amazed how many people forget that when they're vacationing here."
Rae grinned and looked over to Fox. 'A little more substance' floated toward her ears. She agreed. Barbed wire bands were for d-bags.
Fox smiled down at the woman on his arm. According to her nametag her name was Faye. Interesting name for a woman in a tattoo parlor. "Thank you, Faye," he drawled. "I'll make sure to take that under consideration." Gesturing to the wall, he asked, "What would you suggest?"
The woman put her finger to her lips, thinking, all the while keeping a hand on his arm. After a couple moments, she moved down the line and pointed at a couple of the more raunchy designs. "One of these, maybe?" Faye looked up at Fox, batting her eyes.
The phone rang, leaving the male employee to answer it, since his associate was otherwise busy. Rae meandered over with her thumbs hooked into the waistline of her shorts. She came up beside Fox on his free side, looking over the designs the blonde amazon was pointing to.
"See anything cool?"
Fox turned to face her, crossing his eyes and then rolling them to silently share his opinion of the massive bare boob designs in front of him. "I think I've seen some stuff I'll consider," he said aloud, out of respect for Faye. Turning to the blonde, he asked, "Just out of curiosity, could I bring in a pattern or design? Like if I found one on the internet or something."
"Oh, yeah, we tooootally do customs," she said, nodding and reaching up to pull her hair back. She had designs inked all over the side of her neck, stretching up to behind her ear. Rae admired her gauged earlobed while she spoke to Fox. Then she turned her attention to what Faye had been suggesting. Boobs? Really? God. She let out a horse-like sputter, and then laughed.
Fox reached out, running a finger along the intricate designs. "Nice," he nodded, pulling his hand back and shoving it into his pocket. Turning his head to look back at Rae, he asked, "You got a price list for tats or just the bling?"
Rae bit her lip and smiled shyly up to him Fox, just as the guy behind the counter snorted and coughed into his fist. "Ehm... there's really no such thing as a price list for tattoos.." she said, shifting her weight from one hip to the other. "They might have ranges..." she looked to Faye for help, eyebrows raising.
Faye hadn't laughed at Fox, but she was smiling. "Uh, sure, well, figure anything black to be sixty and up, depending on size, and color is more."
Fox nodded his head after rolling his eyes at Rae. "Eh, I've gotta ask the stupid questions, right?" This was something the other bikers in the bar didn't talk about. You showed off the skin and the ink, but never discuss price. Especially not with Chase's son.
Rae reached up to Fox's back and rubbed it compassionately. "D'aw, s'alright." She looked up and spoke louder. "We'll be back, thanks!" If they lingered too long, she'd end up in a chair. She tugged at his shirt.
Fox caught the tug and turned to wink goodbye at Faye. "Thanks for all your help. I'll see you later this week." Walking backwards, he quickly turned on his heel and faced Rae, heading towards the door. As soon as they were outside, he mumbled, "You could've told me that part sooner."
Rae pursed her lips to hide her smile. "Uhh.. I figure you knew. I didn't think you'd never even been in a shop. None of your biker buddies ever took you?"
Fox shook his head, starting to walk down the concrete in the direction of the house. "Nope. No one discusses price when talking about their ink over a beer. And no one was allowed to talk about it with Chase's son," he voice took on an edge of contempt when talking about his father.
She arched an eyebrow. "What? Why not?"
Fox rolled his eyes. "Well, let's think. I was anywhere between the ages of four and fourteen when they were talking about it."
"Ohh.." she rubbed her arm. "Not bad. My grandmother sort of hates all my tattoos, but secretely likes it, but I mean she had better things to worry about than me inking myself."
He angled his head to one side, happy the conversation was off of him for the moment. "She hates 'em but she likes 'em? Please explain."
"I mean... she would rather I not have them, but she'd glad that they didn't go along with pregnancies, abortions, or less artistic versions of self mutilation, you know?" she said, with a grin that didn't quite match the subject matter.
Fox laughed. "Yeah, I get that. Taking the lesser of two evils or something."
"Pretty much."
"Cool." Nodding his head, he continued to walk. "So, whatcha wanna do now? Head back for now?"
She was liking this, and so she shook her head. "We don't have to," she said, ponytail whipping.
He was enjoying this time too. It was warm with a light breeze. You could smell the salt in the air and hear the crash of the waves on the beach a block away. "Alright. So just windowshopping or something?"
She frowned. "I hate windowshopping," she said quietly, "I have some spending money. Jack let me keep a lot of my cash."
Fox arched a brow at her. "Alright then. Shopping? Or would you rather go for a walk on the beach?" The second one was more appealing to him at the moment, but if shopping erased that frown and brought back a smile, he'd go with her.
"Sure, sounds cool.." she looked to the beach, then back up at him. "I want funnel cake, though." The smile returned.
He could have breathed a sigh of relief, not having to go into one of the souvenir stores just yet. "Sounds good." Turning at a cross walk, he pressed the button and watched traffic, waiting for it to clear enough to cross. It was all he could do to keep his hands in his pockets and not loop an arm over her shoulder. He mentally gave himself a kick for getting too comfortable with her. "You gonna share that funnel cake or make me get my own?" He smiled at her.
"Well, I dunno..." she said, patting her chin with one fingertip. The purple nail polish she wore was chipped. "It depends. If I could see a price list...." she braced herself physically, with a smirk.
"Oh that does it." Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a quick noogie. "Making fun of me, huh?" He shifted his hands down to tickle her ribcage.
"Stop!" she cried, breaking away as traffic stopped. "Come on, before the light changes and I get you hit by a car."
Fox let her escape, jogging lightly across the street. "Fine then. But I'm taking part of your funnel cake as payback."
She waited for him on the other side, then fell into place beside him as they headed for the first eatery that claimed FUNNEL CAKES on their outdoor advertisement.
She paid. She blew gently on the plate as it cooled, because it was insanely hot at the moment, and started walking toward the beach. First, bench. Second, eating. Third... taking her shoes off.
Fox wasn't expecting her to pay, and he was teasing about stealing her funnel cake. So he got a small one of his own and joined her on the bench outside. Reaching over, he tugged off a small piece of her funnel cake and popped it into his mouth. After all, he had said he was taking some of it.
"You ass!" she said, surprised at seeing he had hopped on line after her. "I got this huge ass one for both of us!"
Fox grinned. He had only gotten a small one after seeing the size she bought. "I know. But I'm hungry." He winked at her and ate his funnel cake in four large bites. Licking the powered sugar off his lips, he turned to look at the one she held. "It's lunchtime anyways, and I figure this is lunch." Reaching out, he tugged off another small piece and popped it into his mouth, licking off the sugar that clung to his fingers.
Rae was doing the same, cleaning her fingers off before taking another bite. "Sure is. I'm going to take my tights off before we get out there, though." She said, noding to the beach. "Is there a bathroom close by?" Otherwise she was taking them off right there and then.
Fox hitched a thumb over his shoulder. "There was one in the restaurant behind us. He grabbed another section of the funnel cake, enjoying it's doughy sweetness. "Yummm," he moaned happily.
She watched him and grinned. "You .. enjoy food more than any other skinny guy I've ever met."
Fox shrugged. "When you live with crappy food for the longest time, you learn to appreciate the good stuff."
"Fried dough and powdered sugar? This.. doesn't qualify as crappy food?" she laughed, now, outright, then stuck her entire forefinger in her mouth to scrape congealed sugar off.
Fox watched her suck on her finger out of the corner of his eye. "Nah. Not when I haven't had funnel cake in a couple years. It's been awhile since I was here last."
"When were you here last? With who?"
Fox smiled with the thought. "Joe sent me here as a graduation present. Hooked me up with a family he knows here and shit." Leaning back against the bench, he stared out at the ocean. "Nice family."
"Why didn't he come along?" she asked, not sure if she was being tactless. She pulled one leg up and then the other, sitting crosslegged on teh bench with her ankles pressing into the woodwork.
Fox kept looking out at the waves, the couples wandering the shore, dogs playing in the surf. "He had to work. He's an officer for the college, and needed to stay and watch them."
She watched him with big felinesque eyes, nibbling on a piece of funnel cake. "Ohhh..."
There was a pause, and then she elbowed him. "So what, you don't want giant bare breasts indelibly grafted onto your person? What's wrong with you, GOD."
Fox jolted out of his reverie and turned a smile to her. "Of course not. If I'm gonna have a luscious babe on my arm, I'm gonna make sure it's someone I know." Arching a brow at her, he teased, "You offering to model for it?"
"Yeah, uh, don't think so. The last guy who wanted my name on his arm got a beating." She snickered and chomped down on some more funnel cake.
Fox sighed heavily, continuing on with the joke. "Oh well then. No naked women for me." Reaching out, he snagged another chunk of cake.
Rae grinned and twisted around a little, giving her back to him. "God, where do you put this all?" She didn't care. She was just teasing.
Fox pouted a little as she took the dessert away from him. "I was eating that!" Reaching around he tried to get another bite. "I've got a high metabolism."
"Enjoy it while you can," she said, turning back so he could rip off another piece. She started picking up sugar with her finger. Dip, lick, dip, suck, dip, lick. "You bringin' back presents for anyone? I might bring back some naughty sex toy for that girl Summer. Astrid said she's single now, and she's always nice to me in Adora's Wednesday art club, so..." she shrugged and crinkled her nose with a grin.
Fox smiled, happily eating his section then leaning back against the seat. "I do. And I take full advantage of it." He thought about the people he knew well enough to bring something to, and then realized they were all on this trip. Except for Frankie, and he didn't think she'd want anything from the beach given their phone call Tuesday. "Nah, I don't think so."
She stared at him for a while, chewing, then looked away out at the water with a smirk and a dimpled cheek.
Fox turned his head slightly, catching sight of that smirk. "What?" He was a little wary. Rae smirking meant she was thinking, and there was no guarentee what that entailed.
"Nothing you're just.... you seem relaxed. That's good."
His brows furrowed a bit. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She wiped some sugar off the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "You know, just.. guard down. Talking about real topics. Not being a jerk face."
Fox shrugged and laid his arms to rest on the back of the bench, one arm behind Rae. "Eh, I'm not always an ass, remember. Though it is my more charming side," he added teasingly.
"I highly disagree," she said, leaning back.
"Eh, so it's the side I'm more comfortable with," he amended.
"That's .. probably why everyone thinks you're an asshole." She looked up at him. "But you're not being an asshole now." She arched an eyebrow. "Are you uncomfortable?"
Fox didn't really care what most people thought of him. Or at least, he didn't before coming to TJS. Now he wasn't so sure. "No, I'm not uncomfortable." That was true.
"No? Not even with that bit of sugar crusted to your chin?" she asked, laughing and reaching up to wipe at his chin with her knuckle.
Fox was a little surprised that she reached out and touched him, much less to get the sugar. "Uh, I wasn't, and now I'm just a little embarrassed." He chuckled, swiping at his chin with his fist after she moved her hand. Why was his skin tingling from where she touched it?
She licked her knuckle with the tip of her tongue, not letting anything go to waste. "Sorry. I'm a pig when I eat, so you have nothing to be embarrassed over."
Fox smiled, a way to cover the sudden tension he felt. She just licked the sugar from his chin. Okay then. "I don't think you're a pig when you eat." Standing, he stretched and deposited his plate in the nearby trashcan. "Though now I'm ready to walk a bit."
She did the same, stretching a little as she walked. "Hold on, I'll be right back."
When she returned, she was barefoot, her tights and shoes shoved inside her purse. "Okay, beach. Hot sand. Yay for burned toes!" she breezed past him toward the stairs that led to the beach.
While she was taking her shoes off, he sat down on the bench and took off his boots, stuffing the socks inside. "Yup. Hot feet, here we come." Fox followed her down the stairs into the sand. Thankfully, it wasn't all that hot yet, but they were in the shade. If it got too hot, he was going to walk through the surf.
"It's really nice out here," she said, smiling. "I think Jack wanted to go to Delaware because we had some nice memories there but... that's just it. Memories. This is way cooler. And warmer," she added, smoothing her palms on her shorts. "Without the tights this outfit is a little stupid."
Fox took a step back to check out her outfit. Those shorts were short and her legs looked a mile long. "Nah, it's not stupid," he said, tearing his eyes away from her ass and catching up to her. "You just look like a tourist enjoying a day at the beach."
Fox took a step back to check out her outfit. Those shorts were short and her legs looked a mile long. "Nah, it's not stupid," he said, tearing his eyes away from her ass and catching up to her. "You just look like a tourist enjoying a day at the beach."
"Lovely." She did the horse sputter again, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.
"What?" Fox turned his head to look at her. "Technically we're tourists. And we're enjoying time on the beach. Perfectly natural."
"Tourists are lame people with camera obsessions, high socks, and ridiculous hats," she said, crinkling her nose up at Fox with a half grin.
Fox shook his head, digging his toes into the sand as they walked. "Nah. That's the oldies tourists. Modern day ones walk around looking like us."
"That so?" She almost tripped, suddenly, in the sand, and her arm shot out to take a grip on his wrist. "Fuck! I hate sand!"
"Yup." Fox noticed Rae tripping and he reached out to grab her. Unfortunately, his feet weren't as firmly planted as he had thought. Tugging Rae to him, he twisted as he fell, landing in the sand with Rae on top of him. "Oof!"
She let out a short gasp that became a scream, and winched as their rib cages meshed together. "We've got to stop doing this. Like, seriously."
Fox groaned, dropping his head back in the sand. Another shower was called for when they got home. Er, back to the house and separate showers, though his mind liked the image of her under a hot spray and soaking wet. "Which part do we need to stop? You tripping or my catching you?"
She tried unsuccessfully not to elbow him in the ribs as she got off him, frowning at how there was now sand on her knees and undoubtedly in her shorts. "One of us on top of the other."
Fox pushed himself up onto his elbows in the sand, watching her get up. "I dunno. It's kinda nice getting to hold you close without you wondering if I'm gonna make a move." Pushing himself to his feet, he got up, shaking the sand out of his hair and dusting himself off as much as possible.
"I don't wonder about you making a move," she said, looking at him with a furrowed brow. "Who said that?"
Shrugging, he shoved his hands into his pockets. "No one, but you give that vibe sometimes. Like you still don't trust me."
"Should I? No one else seems to." She was smiling, though her words were sharp. She picked up knees as she walked, loathe to fall again.
That actually hurt, and he was surprised by that. Both that she had said it, and that it had caught him off guard. Determined to ignore it, after all, they were just friends and there was nothing special about that, he walked along side her. "Have I given you any reason not to trust me?" He kept his voice light, watching the waves crash along the shore.
"Well, it was interesting to learn that before I turned you down, so did Astrid. If Cassie's next, I should ask that you wait until we get back to school, because if you piss her off, she probably won't be so cool about it." She smiled wider, cheshire cat style, up at him. "Did you not think I'd eventually figure that out? That you were macking it to the first females you sniffed out upon arrival?"
Fox shrugged. "I've not kept it secret. If you had wanted to know, you could've asked." Which was truth. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't the same guy that he was two months ago, hell not even a month ago when he first arrived. Normally he would have driven off to the next bar, the next location, saying adios to everyone in the mean time. But here he was, having spent over a month in the same place, with no real thought of leaving. He had no idea why.
"That is such bullshit," she said, laughing, and looked away at happy, functional families and couples having fun on the beach. The sun was hot on her head, and she reached up to smooth the hair pulled into the tail, colored strands blending with darker ones, bright in the hot air.
That comment proved to him just how little she really knew about him. And the man he was two months ago wanted to keep it that way. The man he was now, well, he was hella confused. "Eh, suit yourself." Fox wasn't going to bother to argue it. It would serve no purpose.
"What exactly are you looking for, anyway?" she asked, eyebrow arched. Had she annoyed him?
He turned his head to look back at her. "What do you mean?"
"I'm.. not entirely sure. Nevermind." She tucked a strand of hair behind a decorated ear and looked up at him curiously. "What about getting part of a poem tattooed onto you? Like, one of your favs?"
Fox shook his head. "Not something I'd want to do at this point." He was fine with Frankie and Rae knowing about his love of poetry. He didn't want it imprinted on his arm for everyone to see. That wasn't his thing. Glancing down at the sand, he realized it was quite hot. Hissing, he padded over to the surf, cooling off his toes in the water as he walked.
Rae nodded. Understandable. Though he had said 'at this point,' which meant he might consider it in the future. She supposed that was progress. In fact, this whole day had been progress, come to think of it. At the very least, he could take a joke.
The progressive day ended up being longer than she had planned on; by the time Fox and Rae had returned pizza was waiting for them and a game of poker had started.