Problem with list items with transparent background and option buttons

I am using an ion-list where I’ve changed the background color of items to be transparent (so that you can see a pattern behind the list). But when you have option buttons, the sliding effect is lost (because ionic relies on covering the option buttons – when they are visible – with the background color of the item, and then revealing the buttons as you drag the item content out of the way).

When you tap on a list item, ionic adds the class activated to the item-content (which changes the background color), but as you drag, that activated class is removed. If the activated class stuck around during the drag that would solve the problem, but I can’t figure a way to make that happen.

See the Pen Transparent Ionic List with Problems by Adam Korman (@akorman) on CodePen.

Any suggestions for how to make this work better are appreciated!