Tristan's Loins (8 page)

Axel smiled, as he looked her car over. "I
guess I can forgive you for not buying American since I don't work
for GM anymore."

She smiled guiltily. "My first car was a
Cutlass."

"You’re forgiven."

Darcy was shivering slightly. For late April
in Mid-Michigan it was still quite chilly in the evening. They
three of them entered the rustic building and passed a tattooed guy
that sat at the door checking ID's that barely looked up when they
passed by him.

Axel received several catcalls from regulars
at the bar. The place was quiet. The band was setting up yet. There
were less than thirty people in the bar. All of the booths were old
wooden boats.

Darcy was obviously delighted to step out
somewhere else and said she was having something stronger than a
fuzzy navel as they sat in their boat. Axel chuckled at her
enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry we could not lure Maggie here, but
she wouldn't have appreciated it," he said as a cute waitress in a
cut off t-shirt came to their table to take their drink orders.

"I'll have a Jack and Coke," Darcy piped up
and earned a surprised look from Selene. She shrugged. "I'm feelin'
dangerous, sister!"

"Easy Danger, I don't want you up-chucking in
my car on the way home," Selene warned and smiled to see Darcy's
excitement.

Axel ordered another beer and Selene had a
rum and Coke. "You’re not feeling dangerous too?" he asked her.

"No, I save that for when I don't have to
drive," Selene said with a smile. "That's playing it pretty
safe."

"Smart lady," he said and chuckled. "I can't
remember leaving here some nights. Probably not the smartest
course. It was right after Linda left. I got through it."

"You dating anyone?" Selene asked before she
could stop herself. Darcy seemed to hang on his words too.

"No, not anymore." He looked a bit annoyed.
"She did not believe in what I was doing."

"Is this a sensitive subject?"

"No, not at all. I dated a woman I worked
with." Axel looked away. "When the layoffs started; she held onto a
sinking ship. She refused to believe GM would go under and people
would lose their jobs. We worked in a plant where fourteen years
seniority doesn't count for much. She had two years in more than
me. I went back to school when I heard the buzz. She was offered a
job down in Ohio. I opted to finish school and stay here. I got
kids in college here. I could not just go."

"I'm sorry." Selene was secretly pleased the
woman jumped ship for Ohio.

"No, I just saw how we wanted different
things, is all," Axel replied and sipped his beer. "Anyway, my
daughters did not like her. It was a problem."

Selene did not know what to say and stayed
quiet, taking in all he said.

"So now that you heard the story of my life,
tell me your story," Axel said and smiled at her uncomfortable
look.

"Selene is a writer," Darcy chimed and Selene
sent her a scathing look.

"What do you write?" Axel said in
interest.

"I'm writing a novel."

"About what?" Axel persisted and Selene could
feel her face grow hot.

"It's a romance novel," Darcy supplied and
sipped her drink. "She's been writing it for six months."

Selene wanted the boat they sat in to sink at
that moment, too embarrassed to face Axel's amusement. Jim had
laughed his head off when he learned she was writing a romance
novel.

"That's great, Selene." Axel's tone was
sincere. "What's it about?"

"You don't have to pretend to be
interested."

"No, I’m, I swear," Axel said and grinned. "I
had sisters. They had those books. I used to read the sex parts in
the bathroom sometimes."

Darcy hooted with laughter at that.

Selene smiled, imagining what Axel was doing
in the bathroom with one of those books.

"It's not as easy as you would think." Selene
grimaced. "Getting all the time period stuff right is
nerve-wracking. I had my character using a pistol before they were
even invented, stuff like that."

Axel seemed impressed. "I never got past
college term papers, that's impressive, Selene. Why are you acting
like your embarrassed?"

Selene looked down at her drink. "My husband
mocked me quite a bit when I was researching the genre. He said
they were 'smut books', and I would never be taken serious for my
writing if I chose to write one."

"Ouch! Nice guy. Why did not he just cut off
your hands while he was at it so you could not write at all?"

Darcy seemed to enjoy that and chortled into
her drink. Selene could see Darcy was getting a buzz on now. She
had never had anything stronger than a fuzzy navel in her life. The
bourbon would go to her head quick.

"He only reads the New York Times, what does
that tell you?" Selene joked. "We live in Grand Blanc,
Michigan."

Axel nodded. "I know guys like that. They are
too good for everyone. Ah well, when you get published you can send
him an autographed copy of your book."

"I have to finish it yet."

"Where are you at in it?" Axel asked.

"Chapter eight, but I have some revisions to
do." She did not need Axel knowing she was carrying on a psychotic
relationship with a character in her book.

"If you ever want someone to give you a guy’s
point of view, I'm open."

Thinking she already had that living in her
computer made her smile. Tristan was determined to have something
to say about everything she wrote now. He was getting bossy
too.

"I'll let ya know."

Darcy noticed she was being stalked by a guy
near the bar and giggled as the man did his best to catch her eye.
"I think I'm going to like this place."

Selene saw the man saunter over and grimaced.
He had long, brown hair, wore a Harley t-shirt, and had a chain key
ring on his hip. She cringed inwardly at the tattoos up and down
his forearms. He smiled at Darcy and nodded to Axel.

"Hey what's up, Sal?" Axel asked. "How are
things at the plant?"

"Same old, you know what." Sal looked at
Darcy with a crooked smile. "I need a pool partner. You wanna join
me, beautiful?"

Darcy giggled again and Selene looked at her
friend in amazement as she nodded and got up. She took her drink
with her and followed the longhaired Sal to the pool tables in the
corner.

"Sal's a good guy. She'll be ok, but he's a
shark at pool."

Selene relaxed and realized she and Axel were
alone. She felt shy suddenly.

"Did my asking about the divorce bother you?"
he asked suddenly, his blue eyes concerned.

"No, I should be used to it by now," Selene
replied reluctantly. "You never think it's going to end up this way
when you get married. It's surreal."

"You still love him, don't you?" Axel watched
her face closely.

"I wouldn't say that, but I'm still hurting,"
Selene admitted and sighed. "I think it would have been different
if he hadn't done it all so coldblooded. If he met Ginny after we
split up maybe I'd be ok. I think that bothers me more, feeling
like a fool."

"He's the fool." Selene saw his eyes darken
slightly. "That little blonde back at Ma Belle's is gonna take him
for a joy ride."

"Yeah, Ginny is pretty transparent. Jim fell
for her pretty hard though."

"What does your ex-husband do for a
living?"

"He's an attorney," Selene said and could see
Axel's eyes widen slightly.

"That explains the fancy car you drive. Most
teachers don't drive BMW's. Our principal doesn't even have one of
those."

Selene was not about to defend the fact her
husband was wealthy. She knew Jim worked for everything he had. He
might be a louse, but she remembered he worked sixteen hours a day
to get his practice going when he started out.

"My ex might be a colossal prick for what he
did to me, but he's a good attorney. He worked his ass off to get
where he is," she said defensively. "That's one thing I can't say
about Jim. He worked hard for everything he's got."

"I'm not putting him down for being wealthy,
Selene. I made an observation."

"It's ok, I just get that from a lot of the
teachers at the school," she said and smiled apologetically. "I
think many of them were pleased to see my marriage go caput, just
out of spite because we were wealthy."

"Were?" he asked with a chuckle. "Don't tell
me Jimmy lost his ass in the divorce, did he?"

Selene giggled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he
had to buy me out of the house, our stocks, plus he paid off the
car. Then he had the nerve to ask for my new engagement ring back
because he could not afford to buy one for Ginny."

Axel choked on his beer and laughed outright.
"You’re kidding?"

"No, he called me yesterday and said he was
going to return it. He gave it to me for Christmas. What jewelry
store have you ever heard of accepts returns this late?"

"None, good for you. Don't be nice about it.
Let him feel the burn," Axel said approvingly.

"I know it's petty." Selene looked down, away
from his blue gaze." I should have given it back to him. I could
not stomach the idea of her flaunting it all over town. I can't
bring myself to even wear it."

"It's the principle, I get it. Linda and her
boyfriend came to town for one of his gigs at a metal bar out on
Dort Highway one time. They wanted to stay at the house. She did
not understand why I said no."

Selene looked appalled. "I'm impressed. Your
ex has more nerve than mine."

"Linda is a piece of work. I would have done
it for the kids, but they threatened to cut his hair off if I let
them."

"You learn a lot about yourself when
something like this happens. Ginny was just the symptom of a bigger
problem in my marriage. Guys don't cheat when their happy."

"Yeah, it took me a while to see that. I did
not handle it well. I think I was a mess for about a year
afterward. If it hadn't been for my folks and my friends; I don't
know what I would have done."

"I think Darcy and Maggie held me up through
most of it. My parents still live in Grosse Pointe. They don't even
know."

Axel looked shocked. "Selene, you haven't
told your parents you’re divorced? Why?"

Selene looked at him with a pained look. "I
did not want to admit my failure. My Dad could not stand Jim. My
Mom has been sick the past year too. I could not lay that on
them."

He considered her words, eyeing her
speculatively. "I get it. I have a Dad you don't want to disappoint
either. He retired after forty years from GM. He did not like me
not going with Jenny down to Ohio. I did not even tell him I
graduated from college. I knew what he'd say. You don't walk away
from a job at the shop, even if it's walking away from you. I knew
it would be a matter of time before the problem started up in Ohio,
and it has. Jenny is still laid off. I was right not to go, but he
saw it as quitting. The shop was my dad's life. He thought the car
industry would never end up this way. It was the only choice I had,
as far as he was concerned. You grow up in a GM household, in a GM
town; you get that shoved down your throat all your life."

"I'm sorry about that. So obviously he isn't
supportive of your decision to be a teacher now?"

"He said I ruined my life. I can't listen to
that. I don't see him much. I saw him two years ago at Christmas. I
avoid him pretty much now."

"That's how a lot of people are in this
town," Selene agreed readily. "They don't get that there is life
after GM. At least you’ren't one of those who sit around feeling
sorry for themselves."

"No, I took it as an opportunity to do what I
always wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, I miss the money," Axel
reflected with a wistful look. "The girls are gone, the house is
paid off. I wanted to do something for myself for once."

"Good for you." Selene admired Axel for doing
what he wanted to do despite family pressure.

"Your friend looks like she's having fun," he
noted as he looked over to where Darcy played pool with Sal.

"She's going to hate herself in the morning.
She usually doesn't drink like this," Selene said and watched Darcy
take a shot that sent the cue ball flying off the table with
dismay, hearing her friend cackle in laughter.

"She's having fun." Axel smiled down at her.
"Are you having fun, Selene?"

"I’m," Selene admitted, meeting his warming
gaze with little hesitation. "I'm glad Maggie invited you out with
us."

"Selene, I'd like to take you out again. What
do you say?"

Selene wanted to get up and do the football
dance, but she kept her expression controlled. "I would like that.
What do you have in mind?"

"A movie? Dinner? I don't care."

"Sounds good, I'll give you my number before
we leave." Selene looked away from his intense regard. "I don't
want to jump into anything, Axel. It's too soon. Can we just take
it slow?"

"Selene, I know what you’re going through."
He took her hand and held it loosely. "I can move like molasses if
that's what you want."

Darcy's laughter made them both look over.
Selene gaped to see her doing the two-step with the man by the pool
table. Her friend was really going to hate herself tomorrow.

The band started up not long after that. They
were a blues band and Selene enjoyed it, her feet tapping under the
table. Axel got up and went to the bar to speak with some of his
friends from his former job and she went over to where Darcy stood
with Sal. Her friend was wasted. She frowned at Sal.

"Hey, go easy on buying her drinks. She
hasn't ever had anything stronger than schnapps," she told the man
and eyed him warningly.

"That's cool, I'll keep an eye on her," Sal
assured her. "I left the date rape drugs at home by mistake."

Selene glared at him but Axel joined them and
smiled to see Selene's outraged expression. "Sal, her friend needs
some air. Why don't you show her your Harley?"