FicWad

“Remember, not a single word about anything,” Frank said, his hand on the doorknob of the front door of the apartment he’d brought Paulina to after getting off the plane. They’d gotten in very late, and a car had picked them up from a private airport and driven them to this place. As large and grandiose an apartment as this was, it only had one bedroom, and one bed, one that Frank and Paulina had had to share. Paulina wasn’t so sure if she was nervous because she thought he’d do something or...if she was just nervous. Nothing had happened, and they’d woken up early in the morning.

“Like I could forget,” Paulina replied, sitting on the couch with a glass of water. There was nothing in the kitchen but a lot of dishes, a sink, and an empty refrigerator. Obviously, this place was not used very often. The door opened, and in walked a woman that was covered in tattoos. She was average height, but very slim. She had long, blonde hair and was very pretty, Paulina noticed.

“Good morning,” Frank said, following with a swift up-and-down glance of the woman. “Please, come in. This may take us a while, although I can’t say I’d complain if it did,” he added with a wink. Well, Paulina thought to herself, almost bitterly, Frank also seemed to have noticed that this woman was somewhat good-looking, if that was the type of style you were into. Paulina cleared her throat loudly, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring--no, Paulina thought to herself. She was not glaring. She was just looking at the new girl. Just looking. She had no reason to glare.

“Morning!” she said cheerily, too cheerily for Paulina, who already didn’t like her. “I’m Ivy.” Ivy. What a terrible name. What kind of name was Ivy for a girl, anyway? Paulina raised her eyebrows and nodded curtly. Ivy turned her attention to Frank, who was still smiling at her. She looked him up and down, in the same fashion as he’d done to her moments before. “Uhh...How many of your tattoos do you want covered? I mean, I’m good, but I don’t know if I brought enough makeup...” She was referring to the fact that the majority of Frank’s arms, torso, and back were covered with large, colorful tattoos. Paulina was surprised to see that Frank was standing there shirtless. He must have taken it off while Paulina was glaring--looking at Ivy. How eager, Paulina thought bitterly. She didn’t wonder why she was feeling so hostile toward Ivy, probably because she didn’t want to know.

“Well, I was thinking just the arms and hands. And my neck. I mean, I’m wearing a tux, so my arms are covered, but I don’t want the tattoos to show through the white shirt.” Frank pulled on a wife-beater. “I’ll be wearing this under it, so only my arms would show through.”

“You’ll be wearing a jacket,” Paulina said, trying to keep her tone even, but just sounding calm in an angry way. “Nobody will see your tattoos through a black tuxedo-jacket.” She didn’t look at him, because she knew her face would give away her anger. She knew it was stupid to be this upset, but she couldn’t help it. She was just...angry.

“Well, honey,” Frank said, putting emphasis on the “honey,” looking pointedly at Paulina with his eyebrows raised. “If something happens to the jacket and I have to take it off, I don’t want my tattoos to show. Can you comprehend that?” He sounded angry as well, but Paulina didn’t care. What, exactly, was he going to do with Ivy there? Nothing, that’s what. Paulina didn’t respond, just continued to glare a hole into the wall. An awkward silence ensued, and Ivy looked from one to the other.

“Uhh...” she said uncomfortably. “So...Where are you two going tonight?”

Paulina jerked her thumb in Frank’s direction, still refusing to look at him. “Ask this one.”

“We will be attending a party,” Frank said through clenched teeth, his eyes narrow slits as he stared at Paulina, begging her silently to look at him, just so she could see how angry he was. She continued to ignore him, not even caring about what they were doing, or why he needed his tattoos covered. “A very nice party,” he added, trying to soften his tone for Ivy, who nodded nervously. “Lots of people. Family friends, mostly. My parents don’t exactly approve of my body art, and they tell me to make sure it’s covered if their friends are going to see me.”

“I get that,” Ivy said, opening her large bag and pulling a box of skin-toned makeup out. “I do a lot of weddings. Brides or grooms that don’t want the tattoos showing for photos, or in the church. I had a whole bridal party, once. All the bridesmaids had tattoos, and this bride was crazy about everyone being exactly the same. She demanded that every tattoo be made-up, even the ones that would have been covered by their dresses.” She laughed, as did Frank. Paulina just huffed and bit down on her lower lip to avoid making a snide comment. “Well,” Ivy said, pulling a chair up and taking out one of the applicator brushes. “Have a seat. This could take a while.”

That was an understatement. A good two hours had passed before Ivy was putting the finishing touches on the scorpion on Frank's neck and asking him to stand so that she could set the makeup with a special spray used to keep it from smearing.

Despite herself, Paulina gaped at Frank. It didn't seem like it would matter that much, but the lack of tattoos on his arms made a huge difference. She even found herself missing the small, seemingly insignificant insect that usually preyed on the side of his neck.

"It looks great," Frank said, examining himself in the hall mirror. "You can't even tell. You really are the best." He shot a winning smile and a wink Ivy's way, which made Paulina's stomach turn. He had to be doing this just to annoy her. There was no way he was actually interested in this woman. She wasn't even pretty.

"Well, thanks." Ivy smiled widely in return and chuckled politely, zipping up the first bag and taking out another. "And I guess now I'm doing your makeup?" she asked Paulina, who whipped her head around and almost spat out her response.

"I do not have any tattoos, thank you," she said icily.

"I--I mean your real makeup. Like, you know, your face?" Ivy was nervous again. Well, good. As far as she knew, Frank and Paulina were married, or at least dating. She should have felt nervous for putting the moves on what she knew to be a taken man. Not that he was taken, Paulina hurriedly assured herself. No, it was the principle of the thing. She just shouldn't have been doing that.

"Is that what he said?" Paulina asked, straining to make herself seem less hostile.

"Yeah, I mean...When we talked on the phone, he--you said I'd be doing regular makeup as well." She addressed the last part to Frank, finding him easier to talk to than Paulina. He nodded.

"You'll have to excuse my wife, Ivy," he said. "She's just a bitch. Pity there's no makeup for that."

"I'm sorry, Ivy," Paulina said, raising her voice. "My husband tends to make apologies for the things he just doesn't understand. Poor bastard. Pity there's no makeup for that." Both Frank and Paulina seemed to be foaming at the mouth and prepared to jump at each other's throats.

"Excuse us for a moment, Ivy," Frank said, lifting Paulina from the couch by grabbing her arm. He dragged her toward the kitchen and slammed the door that connected the two rooms before rounding on the small girl that stood defiantly before him. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"I'm sorry if I'm screwing with your game--" she began bitterly.

"What?" Frank interrupted. "You think I'm trying to sleep with her? That's what this is about? Are you serious?"

"Oh, please. Don't pretend you're not putting the moves on that woman, Frank. 'Oh, Ivy, I don't mind that this will take a while. Oh, Ivy, you're the best. Oh, Ivy, excuse my bitch of a wife--'" Frank cut her off again.

"May I remind you that even if I was hitting on her, which I am not, we are not really married. I am free to flirt with whomever I please."

"She doesn't know that. As far as she knows, you're hitting on her with your wife sitting in the same room. You don't think that's a bit strange? What if you blow our cover?"

“What do you care?” Frank hissed, grabbing Paulina’s shoulders tightly and pulling her in so that their faces were mere inches apart. “Isn’t that what you want? To get away from me? I can see I just disgust you.” He sneered, looking at Paulina as though she were nothing more than an insect.

“Why do you care what I think of you? Or is that another part of your ‘experiment?’” Paulina fired back, standing firm. She didn’t know what had gotten into her, but she was fuming, and she didn’t care what Frank would do to her.

Frank didn’t answer either of her questions; he just turned on his heel and walked back into the parlor, speaking to Ivy in a friendly voice. “Alright, honey. My wife has promised to take her shackles down for an hour, so I suggest you work quickly before it wears off.” He shot a last leer at Paulina, a look that said, quite plainly, “Behave yourself.”

Yeah, right, Paulina thought bitterly.


Erm, so...about two-ish weeks this took? You all need to chill your nips, haha. I get comments telling me I need to update sooner. I'm trying! I'm trying! Be patient! Good things come to those who wait. The only effective things that can be written in haste are recipes for disaster, you know. So, be patient. It will come when it's ready. I don't think this is gonna be thirty chapters, which I was hoping for. It might be closer to forty...sorry about that. I know, it's kind of a pain, especially if you're one of those that likes to go back and read the whole thing over after the last chapter is posted, as I am. SO...yeah. Next update soon. Please go comment/rate/subscribe. OverAndOutxx