CHAPTER 10
Kevin continued to toss on his bed. He felt like he was suffocating.
His light was out but his door was cracked. He had been leaving
it open just a little ever since the night that Hannah had told
him that Connie always left hers cracked. He didn't know why he'd
started doing that. After awhile he heard one door close gently
and then another.
"Can't sleep, Connie?"
It was Hannah. She and Connie were talking softly in the hallway
near Kevin's door.
"I thought I'd take a walk on the beach… You know, unwind a
little…"
"Anything wrong?" Hannah asked.
"No… not really, I guess."
"Want some company?"
"Sure.." Connie answered. "Come on…"
"You gonna get dressed?"
"I won't be out that long and everybody's asleep anyway. No
one will see me."
Kevin listened for the door downstairs to close. His mind raced
with a dozen scattered thoughts - his run ins with Connie, driving
home tomorrow, Leigh getting in his face about Brandi, Terry Mitchell,
Connie coming up out of the pool, Connie being replaced with another
writer, Connie going out Friday night, Connie, Connie, Connie…
Shit! Kevin felt like he was trying to breathe under water.
He felt claustrophobic. He needed air. He'd just go out on the
porch for a few minutes and clear his head.
****************
Connie and Hannah walked for a little while and talked about
nothing in particular. Well, Connie talked and Hannah listened.
Hannah couldn't say that much. Even though the moon was full,
there was a heavy cloud cover that made it difficult for Connie
to see Hannah's face. Thunderstorms had been forecast for the
early morning hours. During a break in the clouds, Hannah did
manage to ask Connie how she and Kevin were getting along these
days.
"We're not…" had been Connie's simple reply.
Hannah was surprised by her response. She knew that they weren't
exactly bosom buddies but she thought that the situation between
them had improved over the past several days. Connie told her
about what had happened after the game and then about Kevin's
patronizing comments about Terry Mitchell.
"Maybe you should listen to him…" Hannah advised.
"Maybe he should mind his own business!" Connie countered. "I
don't need him to take care of me!"
Hannah sighed. Connie's determination to ignore her disability
sometimes overcame her common sense.
"Connie," Hannah said gently, "It's okay to let somebody take
care of you sometimes…"
"If they care about you - sure, but Kevin Richardson doesn't
even like me, much less care about me!" Connie looked away from
Hannah, effectively putting and end to their discussion.
They returned to the grove house and stood on the porch for
a few minutes before deciding to go inside. "I'm still not sleepy."
Connie muttered. "Maybe I'll read a little - something light.
I'm not in the mood for one of Mathew's murders!" she laughed.
"Didn't I see a stack of magazines out here somewhere?"
Hannah pointed to a table that sat at the bend on the porch
and Connie padded over to make a selection. Connie leaned over
to pick up a magazine, straightened and then froze, staring at
something on the side porch, out of Hannah's view.
"What is it?" Hannah asked instinctively and then shook her
head, remembering that Connie wouldn't hear her.
Hannah walked over and stood next to her young friend and stared
along with her at Kevin who sat on the open futon.
"Hannah smirked. "Where have I seen this before?" She looked
into Connie's face and rolled her eyes.
Kevin had struck the same pose that Hannah had captured in an
earlier photograph. He was somehow sitting up on the futon, leaning
his head into his hand, sound asleep. Occasionally, Hannah could
hear a soft snore. The only difference was that now Kevin was
wearing boxers and that was all. Connie leaned into Hannah's face
as if Hannah were the lip reader.
"You have to wake him up…" Connie said seriously.
Hannah looked at Connie like she was crazy. "The hell you say…
I'm not waking him up.. You do it."
"I'm not gonna wake him up!" Connie replied adamantly.
"He doesn't like me, remember? That's just what I need - him jumping
all over me again!"
"Leave him be, then! I'm going to bed!"
Connie stepped into Hannah's retreating path.
"We can't just leave him! He's gonna fall off that thing and
then I'll feel responsible if he gets hurt! That's just what I
need - one more injury to add to my Kevin resume! Besides, it's
gonna get chilly out here tonight and this porch is wide open."
Hannah took in their surroundings. The porch was wide and boasted
a very high ceiling that was attached above the second floor.
It was wide open with no real protection. Hannah didn't
care. She refused to wake him.
"Well let's at least see if we can move the body so it's laying
down," Connie suggested, deliberately using the impersonal pronoun.
Hannah sighed and relented and the pair tiptoed closer to Kevin
and worked out a plan. He was dead to the world, thanks in part
to the large quantities of beer he had consumed earlier that evening.
Connie would climb up behind him and try to keep his torso from
falling while Hannah lifted his legs and pulled him down across
the futon. Then Connie could let his body fall naturally onto
the mattress and he would be prone. Hopefully, the teasing comments
that Connie had watched some of the other boys make about Kevin's
reputation as an extremely sound sleeper would be true.
All was going according to plan until the part where Connie
would let Kevin's body slip sideways and gently onto the mattress.
His body didn't cooperate with their plan and instead of falling
to the side, it fell back. Connie was unprepared for the sudden
weight and lost her footing, falling with him. When Kevin was
finally laid out, a large portion of Connie was pinned under him.
"Uh-oh…" Hannah muttered as she stood over the futon.
Connie was watching Hannah, wide eyed, "Uh-oh?" she whispered
furiously. "Uh-oh?… What in the hell am I supposed to do now?"
Hannah stared at them for a moment and then began to giggle.
She had to put her hand over her mouth. It was a classic Lucy
Ricardo moment - utterly ridiculous. Connie was not amused.
"Hannah!" she whispered again. "Help me!"
Kevin chose that moment to moan and shift. He turned towards
Connie and threw his arm across her shoulders, further entrapping
her. This brought a new barrage of giggles from Hannah.
"Hannah!" Connie was trying to raise her head. She was getting
angry at Hannah's obvious lack of support.
Hannah wiped her eyes and shook her head.
"You're on your own now, sweetie.." She walked over to a nearby
rocker and pulled off a summer blanket that had been folded across
its back. When she got back to the futon, she shook it out and
draped it over them. She spotted a large pillow on a wicker settee
and grabbed that as well, stuffing it behind Connie's head. Then
she leaned down into Connie's face. "I'm going to bed…"
Connie looked at her in disbelief. "Don't you leave me here
with him - like this!" she whispered loudly.
Hannah laughed again.
"Shit, Connie! Don't worry. He'll turn over in a minute and
you can get up. He'll never even know you were here. Good night…"
She grinned, patted Connie's foot and walked away.
"Hannah?….Hannah! Come back here!"
Hannah didn't come back. Connie had been deserted. She sighed
and tried to straighten her legs. Then she turned her head to
the side. There they were, face to face. He was peacefully sleeping
away and she couldn't move. All she could do was lay there and
wait for Kevin to roll over.
CHAPTER 11
After awhile, Connie closed her eyes, just for
a minute… She was so tired and would rather be shot than risk waking
Kevin. Hannah was right. He would turn over in a minute. He had
to roll sometime and Connie would be ready to make her escape when
he did. So far, the only part of him that had moved was his legs.
Hannah had barely left the porch before Kevin had started pushing
the blanket down with his feet. Now the only part of them that was
covered was their calves. Connie opened her eyes trying to fight
the sandman and looked at Kevin once more. He was still dead to
the world. She thought that maybe she would try to lift his arm
and was amazed at how heavy and awkward an arm could be as dead
weight. She managed to raise it about three inches before Kevin
stirred. Connie froze and gently lowered his arm, watching his face
and praying that he wouldn't wake. She saw him frown in his sleep
from the slight disturbance and then he grew peaceful again. Connie
sighed with a combination of frustration and relief. She lay there
on her back with Kevin beside her on his stomach. The last coherent
thought she had was 'He's gonna kill me…' and then she succumbed
to her weariness and slept, too.
Pete, the MTV cameraman was ready for some shut-eye. Filming
the day to day life of anybody was tedious, even if that anybody
was a Backstreet Boy. He had heard Hannah's giggling from his
open window that looked out over the side porch and lucked on
to an opportunity to escape some of the boring sameness that his
editors complained about. He locked his camera onto the sill,
plugged it in, loaded it with an eight-hour tape and turned it
on. Most of the rare comic moments that had occurred on this assignment
seemed to come from Kevin Richardson and this redheaded writer
- the dinged truck, the sandwich delivery, the baseball collision
and now this. Everybody else was downright dull in comparison,
except maybe for that blond with the big tits. She was a piece
of work. Pete crossed his fingers, hoped for the best and went
to bed.
**********
Kevin started fumbling around for a blanket. Cold… He
was half asleep, conscious enough to realize that some sort of
covering lay across his legs but that was all. He soon realized
more when he tried to reach down to grab the light blanket and
he felt a weight on his shoulder. What the fuck? When he
tried to shift he could feel that something was pressing against
his body. He reluctantly cracked his eyes and looked down to his
chest and over to his arm where he found a mass of curls that
was now attempting to burrow into his armpit. Connie?
He squinted, trying to recall how they ended up here. He remembered
overhearing Connie say that she was going out to the beach and
then he came downstairs for some air. That was all. Kevin reached
over and brushed the curls back off of her face with his hand.
She murmured and snuggled closer to him. Her bare belly was pressing
against his hip and her breasts were mashed against his ribs.
When she moved against him, he could feel her hardened nipples
against his skin. She was cold. When his fingers had brushed against
her face, she had sighed, shivering as she exhaled. Poor baby…
Kevin reached again for the blanket and Connie rolled to her back,
making a soft whimpering sound. His eyes fell to the small, tight
buds visible under her top and then traveled down to her lace
panties. He had never expected to wake up and find her in his
bed, or in this case, futon. He felt a rush of desire that, fortunately,
was tempered with a blossoming protective instinct. She was still
whimpering and trembling and Kevin wondered if she was having
a bad dream. He grabbed the corner of the blanket bringing it
up over them and then he pulled Connie close to him again, tucking
the blanket around her bare shoulders. She sighed and unconsciously
began to burrow into his chest seeking his warmth and finding
it. Kevin leaned his head over to hers and gently kissed her temple
before burying his nose into her soft and sweet smelling curls.
Her body felt tense, but as he stroked her hair and back, he felt
her relax against him.
"Shhh, baby.." he whispered softly, not realizing that his words
had no effect on her - that it was his touch that had calmed her.
They drifted back into a deep sleep as a light rain began to
fall.
***********
Connie awoke with the first light of dawn. It didn't take her
long to remember where she was. Her adrenaline started pumping
as soon as she felt Kevin's hand move on her bare belly. She had
awakened on her side with Kevin spooned up behind her, his arm
wrapped around her midriff. His right leg was thrown over her
thigh and she could feel his breath on her neck. When she tried
to pull away, his hold tightened and he nuzzled her as his hand
moved up a few inches under her top. Help… After a minute,
Kevin sighed and his hold loosened a bit. When Connie felt the
pressure of his arm weaken, she began in shift away, one millimeter
at a time until she was finally in a position where she felt like
she could ease over to the other side of the futon. A flash of
brightness caught her attention - a light had come on in a downstairs
window. Shit…Somebody's up already… She couldn't let anyone
see her - them - like this. She decided that it was now or never.
She would make her break for freedom.
Connie took a breath and made a final push for the edge of the
futon, rolled off the edge and lay still on the floor, afraid
to breathe. Her hand was still on the mattress and she felt Kevin
moving. Then he was still. Her head came up slowly as she attempted
to peer over the edge of the futon. He wasn't moving and his eyes
were closed. Thank you, Lord…. Connie got on her hands
and knees, crawled slowly down the length of the side porch, standing
when she reached the bend. She glanced back towards the futon
once more, assuring herself that Kevin was still asleep, before
hurrying to the front door and into the house.
Kevin may have been lying still, but he wasn't asleep. In fact,
he had been awake before Connie. He had felt her begin to stir
languidly and then felt her freeze as she remembered where she
was. He still didn't know what had happened last night but from
the way she had nervously inched herself out of his embrace this
morning, he figured that she had not purposely lain with him.
Kevin chuckled softly before rolling back over for a little more
sleep. She thinks that I don't know she was here… He eased
into darkness once again, thinking of how good she had felt against
him, how the bends and curves of their bodies seemed to fit together
like puzzle pieces. He hadn't slept so well in a long time….
*****************
Connie had already made it over to the refrigerator before she
realized that people were sitting at the kitchen table. When she
whirled around, she saw Leighanne and Hannah sitting, each with
a section of the newspaper and a mug of coffee in front of them.
To her dismay, Kevin sat with them. He glanced at her with an
unreadable expression. His facial features seemed serious but
his eyes were a little too sparkly for this hour. Leighanne was
absorbed in the 'People' section of the paper. Connie's gaze shifted
to Hannah who sat grinning behind 'Arts & Entertainment'. Connie
shot Hannah a look but all that did was cause Hannah's grin to
widen.
"Sleep well last night, Connie?" Hannah asked innocently, making
sure that she had Connie's attention first.
Connie frowned. Kevin had looked at Hannah as she asked the
question and then at Connie as if he were awaiting her response.
I will kill you, Hannah…
"Yeah. Fine." She responded curtly.
Hannah pushed her luck. "How about you, Kevin?"
Kevin decided to play along. He guessed by Hannah's struggle
to be serious that she knew where Connie had slept last night.
"Slept real good…" he nodded before picking up his coffee. "In
fact, I think last night was the first decent night's sleep I've
had since we got here."
"I slept like shit!" Leighanne announced as if she'd been asked.
She expected a little sympathy but she was disappointed. All she
got were grunts and rolled eyes.
Yeah, I slept like a baby.." Kevin continued. "Felt as cozy
as a…"
"I thought you were going to Orlando today." Connie cut in,
slamming the refrigerator door with a little too much force. She
found it difficult to look at him this morning.
"I am." Kevin said to her back.
When Connie turned again, he was gone.
CHAPTER 12
Kevin headed north on 295 going much faster
than he should have been. It was a good thing that he was traveling
alone because anyone that would have been with him would have been
totally ignored. Kevin was much too busy talking to himself. Women
were driving him crazy.
Leighanne had crawled up his ass about Brandi and had gotten
on his case about not calling her. When Leigh heard Connie say
something about his leaving, she assumed that he was going to
fly out to LA for a couple of days. When Kevin informed her that
he was going to Orlando, she had gotten pissy and scolded him
for ignoring his girlfriend. Kevin was beginning to wonder if
he and Brian were some sort of package deal - kind of a 'Buy One,
Get One Free' proposition. Kevin hadn't wanted to fly to LA. The
fact was that he really didn't want to see Brandi right now. He
didn't have the energy to deal with her. He had ignored her whining
e-mails which seemed designed to make him feel guilty and uncaring.
He suspected that Brandi was being coached by the Mistress of
Manipulation - Leigh. Those two would send him to the nut house
before it was all over.
But the one who would actually lock him in the padded cell was
Connie O'Rourke. Being around her was like going on a never-ending
roller coaster ride. That smart-assed mouth of hers, that luscious
mouth of hers, her sassy attitude, her sassy body,
the way he felt ignored, the way she felt laying up against
him...Shit!. Kevin missed his exit.
****************
Connie didn't think that much about it when Kevin left the kitchen
that morning. She was a little relieved, in fact. She felt uneasy
and embarrassed about the night before and Hannah's teasing at
the breakfast table hadn't helped. Kevin had been patronizing
and somewhat dictatorial at the party, but he seemed okay today.
At least he hadn't jumped on her about anything and was apparently
unaware that they had slept together for a few brief hours before
sunrise. She had planned to chat with him later and even considered
asking him about Terry Mitchell with the idea that it would help
dispel the tensions that their argument about him had created
last night.
She planned to seek him out after she checked her e-mail for
messages but when she came back downstairs she discovered that
he had already left. Her reaction to the news, happily delivered
by Leighanne, surprised her. She was disappointed... No. She was
irritated - and suddenly restless.
"What's with him? He can't even say 'good-bye?" Connie said
with a little too much hostility.
She threw an armload of clothes into the washing machine, not
bothering to separate the lights from the darks. Hannah had been
standing at the dryer folding clean laundry when Connie made her
remark. She stopped and stared, waiting for Connie to finish what
looked to be a bit of a rant. Connie ranted on.
"I mean, not that anybody cares, but he's the one who
made such a point about manners yesterday!"
Connie turned, crossed her arms and leaned her rear end on the
front of the washing machine. She wasn't done...
"Honestly! He is such a condescending, anti-social, control
freak..."
Connie jumped when Nick's head appeared in the doorway of the
laundry room.
"You shouldn't talk about Kev like that..." he laughed.
"I didn't say I was talking about Kevin!" Connie blushed.
Nick laughed again. "Hey, girl... you used the words 'control-freak'.
There's only one of them around here and his initials are KSR!"
Busted. "Well, he could have said good-bye or something! It
wouldn't have killed him would it?" Connie huffed.
"Yeah, well...did 'ya notice that Howie was gone, too?" Nick
asked, winking at Hannah.
"No...."
"I see..." Nick grinned, wiggled his brows and turned to leave.
Connie felt her face getting hot at Nick's not so subtle insinuation.
She glanced at Hannah and found that she was smirking, too. So
much for support... Connie couldn't let the exchange end on
this note.
"You wait one damn minute, Carter!" she fumed. Nick turned around
to face her again, his expression filled with a childlike innocence.
"What is it that 'you see'? What did you mean by that?" she asked
angrily.
"Gee, Connie..." Nick pouted dramatically. "Why are you getting
so mad at me? I didn't mean nothin'..."
Connie sighed with mild exasperation. "Oh...Okay. Sorry." she
mumbled and turned back to the machine.
"Except that I think you're missin' our little Kevvy..." Nick
teased making 'kissy' noises to her back.
Hannah stiffened. Nick's remark was an open invitation for Connie
to jump at him again. He had said it loud and clear, wanting and
expecting for her to get pissed. But she had turned from him and
hadn't heard his deliberate chide. The look on his face suddenly
shifted from an amused gloat to questioning concern and then,
after a moment, he looked into Hannah's eyes with a gaze that
reflected his unexpected epiphany. Hannah could almost see a lightbulb
come on over Nick's head.
"She can't hear me, can she?" Nick asked raising his voice as
if to test his theory.
Connie didn't respond.
"No..." Hannah answered, holding his gaze. "Let's talk..."
Nick nodded, watching as Hannah got Connie's attention by gently
touching her arm. Connie looked into Hannah's face as Hannah told
her that she'd see her later and it was then that Nick recalled
that Connie always looked so directly at people when they were
speaking to her. She's reading lips.... His thoughts churned
as he absorbed this newfound knowledge. Questions that he didn't
even know he had were answered. Damn...this explains so fuckin'
much...
*******************
Kevin sat at his piano and fingered the keys absently. He had
wanted to come home and relax, see some friends, go to a club.
Just hang out. Instead, he found himself feeling tighter than
a drum head. He had gone out last night and had tried to party.
He had chatted and danced with a dozen beautiful women but he
was still distracted. His friends had noticed the tension and
one of them had taken him aside and offered him some unsolicited
advice.
"Kev…Man, I seriously think you need to get yourself laid…"
That wouldn't have been difficult. Many of the women here were
more than willing and knew how to be discreet. The 'morning after'
wouldn't have even been a problem because there would have been
no 'morning after'. He wouldn't be waking up with any of these
women in his arms. That would have implied affection. He couldn't
even remember that last time Brandi had nuzzled him in the sleepy
morning hours - and vice versa. They had often shared a room but
Kevin couldn't honestly say that they shared a bed. His mind drifted
back to Miss O' Rourke and their 'close encounter of the odd kind'.
She had nuzzled into him and he had held her. He had felt her
breasts against his body and her soft curls spilling over his
chest. It had felt.....right. Kevin was yanked out of his pleasant
memories when one of his companions started shouting in his ear.
"Earth to Kevin!" Dave shouted, causing Kevin to jump. "Man,
I think you'd better come with us down the street. A good lap
dance will get rid of that weight in your pants..." he laughed,
slapping Kevin on the shoulder.
Kevin smiled weakly. "Naw...I'm not really in the mood. Think
I'll just head on out.."
"You look like you're 'in the mood' to me!" Dave grinned, casting
a pointed glance towards Kevin's crotch. "Come on! Just for an
hour!"
Kevin shrugged and let himself be led away by the small group.
Their destination was 'Sugar Lips', one of the high-class titty
bars in town. This strip club offered the rich and/or famous the
use of a VIP lounge where favored guests could receive 'special'
attention. Kevin wasn't an idiot. He knew that he was their passport
to exclusivity.
*********************
Now, here it was, Friday afternoon and Kevin was surrounded
by what he usually enjoyed - solitude. He wasn't enjoying it too
much today. He felt restless...lonely. Kevin had given himself
an hour at the club last night and then called it a night and
came home. Four different women had straddled him in the lounge.
He'd had four different sets of tits in his face and four different
asses grinding against his groin in that hour. He had laughed,
teased and played the game but in truth, he had been aggravated.
He'd had no desire to touch these women and his friends had noticed
his indifference.
"You feeling guilty about Brandi, man?" one of them had asked.
No. That wasn't it. He hadn't even thought of Brandi. That's
what I should guilty about.
So he had come home alone, frustrated and annoyed. His mind
hadn't wandered very far from Clearwater. Clearwater and the house.
Clearwater and the house and the people there. Clearwater and
the house and the people there and Connie. Clearwater and the
house and the people there and Connie and the futon. God damn
it! Kevin jumped up from the piano, stripped off his clothes
and stomped through his house buck naked, and out into his back
yard where he dove, without hesitation, into the deep end of his
tiled pool.
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