Chapter X

Carlos held the mirror for Alex to see, for the first time, his artistry. She turned and examined the colorful design now adorning the rear of her right hip/butt area --not bothering to be embarrassed about being in her bikini undies --and smiled.

"I love it! It's perfect!" she gleemed.

"Your umm, partner, thought up a nice design --original, ya know? I've inked a lot of cops around here but none of 'em have anything like this."

Alex was still posing, admiring herself. Carlos handed her her skirt and said, "If you'll lean over the table, I'm just gonna coat it with some ointment and place a loose gauze pad over it."

Alex stepped into her skirt, pulling it up half-way over her butt, just to allow Carlos enough room to finish.

As he taped the gauze, he asked her, "So, you said you wanted a piercing, too. What did you have in mind?"

As Alex yanked her skirt up, buttoning and zipping the front, she noticed a devilish look in Carlos' eye.

"Nothing radical," she joked. "Just get those ideas out of your mind!"

Carlos chuckled.

"You don't really think I look like the eyebrow or nipple or, God forbid, genital piercing type, do you?"

Carlos laughed again. "I see everything in this business. I'll tell ya, sometimes the ones wearing the business suits are freakier than the bikers ever are."

Alex laughed. "Well, I was thinking more like...a nice navel piercing. Can I see what you've got?"

"Sure, let's go out front to the display case -- I'll show ya what we have."

X X X

As if they were on a timer, Bobby and Johnny were back at the parlor in an hour and a half. Bobby had been anxious --full of anticipation the entire time. He couldn't wait to see his design --their design-- on Alex.

When they walked in, Alex was standing by the displays, admiring the various type of "jewlery" for the different types of body piercings.

"Hi, you all right?" Bobby greeted her with a huge grin.

"Yup, all done," Alex smiled.

"Hey Carlos...was she a screamer, man?" Johnny "Dawg" joked and laughed.

Carlos shook his head at Dawg's uncouth question.

"S-ss-so, let's see it!" Bobby exlaimed.

"No," Alex answered curtly.

Bobby cocked his head, hands flailing as he explained, "I didn't mean out here in the middle of the store...let's go in the back and you can..."

"No!" Alex cut him abruptly, swatting his hand away.

Bobby stepped back, confused. His eyebrows up, jaw dropped, hands held out at his sides, waiting for an explanation. Then he surmised, "You chickened out...y-you didn't get it done, did ya?"

"I got it done!" Alex retorted defiantly. "Speaking of which, Carlos has the bill right over there," she smirked.

"I- I don't understand. Why can't I see it?" he asked, dumbfounded, as Carlos handed him the invoice.

"Ha!" Alex laughed to her new ally. "Carlos, he doesn't 'understand' -- this coming from the guy who kept his tattoo hidden from me for over six months!" Alex smiled and gave Bobby that "so there!" look.

"But, but that was different!" Bobby protested.

"I guess you'll just have to wait," Alex gloated. "Payback's a bitch."

Bobby huffed in frustration, a little annoyed by Johnny's taunting in the background. He shifted his weight from leg to leg, not knowing how to release his pent-up energy. Then tried to distract himself from the issue at hand and glanced down at the invoice.

He skipped straight to the bottom line, not bothering to take the time to read the itemizations. "Hmm, price went up," he mumbled to himself. "That's $55 bucks more than mine cost." He reached into his left front pocket and removed a moderate stack of bills, peeled them off and handed them to Carlos.

"Thanks," he said, then stuffed the receipt into his pocket.

Alex, Johnny and Bobby thanked Carlos one last time before leaving the store. Alex couldn't help but smile when she noticed the look on Bobby's face --a mixture of disappointment, frustration --and maybe, just maybe -- a little bit of anger.

They got back into the car; Bobby driving, Johnny up front and Alex in the back. Although Bobby had his shades on, Alex could see his eyes glancing at her in the rearview mirror. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for teasing him, but she knew he'd get over it soon enough.

"So, where are we going now?" Alex cheerfully asked. "It's a perfect day!"

She saw Bobby's shoulders shrug as he drove, then he answered, "I don't know...back to Johnny's, I guess." It was wishful thinking on his part. He figured once back in the privacy of their room at Johnny's apartment, he'd get his first look at Alex's tattoo.

"Home? No way man!" Johnny shouted.

Bobby glanced sideways at his big friend, with a look clearly that said, "Thanks alot, buddy."

Johnny felt the sarcasm . He knew that he, too, had just delayed Bobby's fun. But, unlike Alex, he felt no guilt. He'd been bustin' Bobby's balls for years. It's just the way they interacted.

Bobby's only relief came with the thought that at least Lewis wasn't there, too, to add more teasing and taunting to his misery.

"Well, where are we going, if we're not going back to your place?" Alex asked excitedly. She again noticed Bobby's rearward glance in the mirror.

Bobby could barely keep his mind or eyes on the road. The thought of seeing Alex --now his Alex-- 'branded' with his mark --eternally, was driving him crazy with curiosity and desire. He tried to imagine exactly where she'd put it; how the colors looked against her skin. When he checked in the mirror again, he watched how her hair was blowing in the wind; she looked 'sun-kissed' and sexy and happy.

"Head over to the pier," Johnny instructed Bobby. "It's the big crabcake festival this weekend --best eats and beer you'll ever have!" he boasted of his home town.

X X X

Johnny was right. The array of seafood --especially the crabcakes-- was spectacular. The place was packed with people, eating, drinking, enjoying the beautiful sunny day. The sky was clear, deep blue and the sunlight danced off the water.

The three of them strolled along, sampling different foods and desserts and browsing the various vendors' goods.
Alex had been observing Bobby. She knew he was actually enjoying himself in the relaxing atmosphere outdoors. She also knew that he always found the water to be calming.

Johnny had stopped a while back to chat with some friends he ran into, but Bobby had kept walking and eventually found a peaceful spot by the railing, away from the hoards of people. Alex watched at his gazed at the water lazily lapping at the rocks below where he stood. She approached him on his left side, knowing that he'd automatically reach for her hand or drape his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he merely said --then put his arm over her shoulders.

"You're getting more sunburn," she cautioned him.

He just shrugged.

"I know you said you'd pay for my tattoo -- I figured you wouldn't mind it cost a little extra," Alex said.

"It's all right. Prices go up, " He said,distracted by watching the little waves.

Alex smiled. "You didn't even look at the receipt, did you?"

Bobby shook his head, 'no.' "Doesn't matter," he said, then turned and kissed her head.

She took her right hand and dug into his left front pocket.

He chuckled, wondering what she was doing, but let her proceed.

Alex pulled out the crumpled paper, smoothed it out, as best she could, and handed it to him.

Bobby slowly perused the wrinkled sheet --doing a double-take, then looked at Alex, smiling.

"I-i-it says 'piercing'." Bobby said, as if he were telling her something she didn't already know.

"I know," Alex smiled, then wiggled her eyebrows, tempting Bobby.

"W-where?"

Alex took a step back, looked from side to side to see if people were watching, then raised the hem of her pale green cami to expose her belly button.

Bobby smiled and dipped his head, for a closer inspection.

His eyes momentarily raised to meet hers, then immediately returned to her taut little tummy. He shielded his eyes further from the glare of the sun off the water and squatted down in front of her, now eye level with the small golden ring adorning her belly button.

Alex eached out with her right hand and ran her fingers through Bobby'shair, as he remained squatted in front of her, admiring.

"I love it," he said softly. "Th-the stones in it..."

"Yup," Alex said. "Peridot for you, Cintrine for me."

"Our birth stones," Bobby confirmed. He leaned forward and placed feather-light kisses on her stomach.

Then he stood and hugged her. "You have a pretty, sexy little tummy to begin with," Bobby whispered in her ear.

Alex neck tingled when his whiskers rubbed against her.

"Mmmmmm," Bobby groaned as he pulled her close, into a full-body hug. "I don't know how I'm ever gonna keep my hands --or anything else-- off you," his threatened in a low, sexy whisper.

"Who says I want you to?" Alex teased, then sought out his lips for a kiss.

Bobby was more than turned on now. He could not wait to get back to their bedroom.

END Chapter X