Seal All Exits (Tangled Web #3) (4 page)

Katie grinned.  “Of course.  You’re my best friend.  Why wouldn’t I?”

Heather hoped the shock didn’t show on her face.  She’d considered Katie one of her best friends but had no idea she was the ultimate for Katie.  It made her feel warm and fuzzy, but she didn’t want to freak her friend out.  Instead, she just hugged her again.  “Thank you.”

Katie’s smile was huge.  “Anyway, hurry up.  I guarantee I won’t be able to save any slices from this crazy crowd, so join us later for dinner, and tomorrow morning I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Heather promised to be there soon.  As she closed the door, she shook her head, because she felt like she’d already had the grand tour.  This cabin was the kind of place her rich daddy would have bought, just so he could tell his friends he was alpha enough to rough it.

Ugh.  She couldn’t believe she’d given that man a single thought.

She needed to shower.  She wanted to feel refreshed, and as much as she’d relished the extremely naughty time she’d had with that stranger in the bar—not to mention how much it had helped her focus and blow off steam—she needed to bathe so she could forget about it and tend to friend matters.

She unpacked her bags, hanging some of her clothes in the closet and putting the smaller things in one of the dresser drawers.  She took out her toiletries and hair items and found a spot on the bathroom counter for them.  Then she threw off her clothes and pulled her hair up into a bun for a quick shower.  She wound up standing in the tub longer than she’d planned.  The warm water felt soothing on her skin and she closed her eyes, remembering the hot stranger in the bar.

Oh, God, it was getting bad again.  She’d finally gotten her eating problems back under control and now here was her other internal monster rearing its ugly head.  Jesus Christ.  She was going to keep her therapist in business until he retired.  Heather took another deep breath, intent upon not beating herself up, because that was often where the problems began.

As she toweled herself off, she could feel how tightly her jaw was clenched.  She just had to make it through this week.  Then she would call her therapist and confess to him that she was going off the rails again.  He’d be back from his vacation by then—perfect timing.

She’d noticed when Katie had introduced her to the group that they seemed pretty laid back.  The blonde—Erin, she thought her name was—seemed to be dressed a little less casually, because she was wearing a white sundress, but even so, she wasn’t wearing anything that seemed out of place compared to the group.  The rest of them were casual to the extreme—jeans and t-shirts mainly.  The other female, Kory, was dressed like the guys, wearing not only jeans and a tee but also boots that looked appropriate for hopping on a Harley.  That told Heather that she’d chosen correctly.  She’d packed some nice blouses and a couple of pairs of slacks, but she’d also brought shorts, a couple of casual skirts, and other easygoing attire.  She’d packed a couple pairs of jeans, and she was grateful she’d thought to do that, because Katie and crew no doubt planned to value comfort over appearance, at least while they were out in the middle of nowhere taking it easy.

She put on a pair of jeans and sandals but wasn’t sure what top to wear.  She flipped through the blouses she had hung in the closet, finally settling on a short-sleeved cream-colored blouse with brown trim and brown designs in the fabric itself.  It was understated and there was nothing flashy about it, so Heather hoped she could kind of fade into the woodwork.  Maybe tomorrow she’d feel more like being sociable.  If nothing else, maybe Heather and Katie could have a little alone time sometime during the next day.  She’d missed her so much.  Her friend had no idea how much she’d done for Heather while they’d been friends.  Katie was the most down-to-earth person she knew, and Heather always felt better after being around her.

With that thought in mind, she knew she needed to head back to the part of the house where the people were gathered.  No one said she had to be outgoing or obnoxious.  She merely had to be there, and Katie and Johnny could do the rest, playing host and hostess to all their friends.

Heather walked out of her room into the hallway, closing the door behind her.  There were so many voices floating down the hall that she would have thought they were having a party out there if she hadn’t known any better.  She heard Johnny say, “Pizza’s not here yet, guys.”

Another voice said, “I drank so much, I don’t think I should try eating any pizza right now.”

“Yeah, Sage, why don’t you go sit down for a few minutes?”

“I think I will.”

Heather wondered if Katie and Johnny had invited the entire city of Winchester, and she didn’t quite know what to expect when she walked into the great room, but she was surprised that there weren’t many more people than she’d seen when she’d first arrived.  There were more people standing, but the place wasn’t packed like it had sounded.

There was laughter as well, and that made her feel more at ease, but she wanted to see if maybe Katie needed her help getting things ready for dinner.  She walked to the dining area but noticed that Katie was standing closer to the spot where everyone had been playing a game earlier.  Heather started walking toward her friend to see if she could help her with anything, but then she stopped cold, dead in her tracks.

Holy Mary, Mother of God.

It was the guy. 
The
guy.  The one she fucked at the bar not three hours earlier.  What the hell was he doing here?

Oh, shit.
  Maybe she really
did
know him.

She felt her eyes grow wide.  No way in hell was she going to keep walking forward.  No way.  She didn’t need Katie to know what slutty thing she’d done.  She decided she’d head to her bedroom and maybe come out later.  If nothing else, she needed a safe place to sit and think quietly until she could figure out how to deal with this mess.  Fortunately, he hadn’t spotted her, so she knew she had a chance of making a clean getaway.

She turned, noticing how shallow her breathing had grown, and began walking away.  Then she heard Katie.  “Heather.  Hey, Heather.  Come here.  Don’t you want to see Kiefer?”

Heather stopped.  Kiefer had been in that group of people?  And how could she talk with him without seeing the other guy?

Well…all she could do was hope the guy she’d screwed would have enough class to keep his lips sealed.  She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath through her nose.  Then she turned, a sweet smile plastered on her lips, and began walking in the direction of Katie’s voice.

Katie stood right next to the guy…and Heather felt her face drop. 
No way.

Chapter Four

KIEFER HAD A sensation like he was falling over backwards but he was still standing up straight.  It was an odd feeling, one he hadn’t felt in a long time, since before he’d hooked up with Johnny and crew.

But what was happening right this moment felt so surreal.

The gorgeous chick he’d fucked at the bar—that was
Heather
?

“You guys remember each other, don’t you?”  Katie’s voice cut through the air like a knife through soft cheese—not as smooth as Kiefer would have expected, but it was a jolt he needed to pull him out of his daze.  “You’ve kept in touch with each other, right?”

Heather managed a stiff nod, but Kiefer was still blown away.  This was
not
the woman he remembered from the backstage after party a couple years ago.

The doorbell rang above all the chatter and Katie said, “Oh, pizza!”  She smiled and left them standing alone.

Together.

It shouldn’t have felt awkward—after all, Heather had to be his best friend online—but damned if it wasn’t one of the weirdest feelings ever.  He remembered thinking she was cute and sweet and even pretty—but not hot, not like he’d thought of her tonight.  Goddammit.  No way would he have slept with her, though, if he’d known it was her.  No way.  Maybe at the end of the week, but no cheap fling.

“So…
Heather
?  You look so…different.”

“So do you.”

He paused.  It had been a couple of years…and he had to try to remember what he looked like back then when they first met.  He’d had shorter hair, fewer tattoos.  He hadn’t been as fit as he was now.  His hair had also been lighter then, thanks to its natural color and the sun’s rays, but he’d been having it dyed the last year, and more recently he’d had a couple of blonde streaks added to the mix.  He shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess so, but
you
…”

She furrowed her brow.  He was getting weird vibes from her.  Thing was, they were
friends
and had been for a couple of years now.  He didn’t give a fuck that they were cyber friends.  She’d been the best friend he’d had since childhood.  She had no idea what she’d done for him over the past year or two.  She had to be a little freaked out that they’d had casual sex without realizing who the other was, and that was understandable, but he hoped she’d let that go.  He knew why he hadn’t recognized her.  Not only was her hair longer and thicker than when he’d seen her last, but she’d lost weight.  A lot of it.  And her makeup was a lot heavier than when he’d met her in person the first time.  He was sure of it.  But why hadn’t she recognized him?  Ever since he’d started singing for Shock Treatment, his face was all over the place, so much that he was sick and fucking tired of looking at himself.

Did she maybe have that weird face blindness condition?

He didn’t have a chance to ask her.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well—”

Katie grabbed Heather’s arm, dragging her toward the kitchen.  “I need your help getting drinks and stuff.  You guys can catch up later.  Promise.”

Heather was giving him a strange look, but he had to just wonder.  Katie kept Heather busy, and soon everyone had a paper plate, pizza, and a cup of soda on ice.  There was metal playing in the background, and Kiefer still hadn’t quite figured out where the speakers were.  All he knew was that Johnny had bought this place about a year ago and had been having it fixed up.  He’d kept promising to have his bandmates up for a week once it was ready to go, and he’d even told them that he thought he’d be moving back to Winchester permanently.  It really didn’t matter, he’d told the guys; as long as they got together to record, shoot videos, and tour, it was no big deal where any of them lived.  Kiefer had agreed, but he wasn’t sure where in the world he wanted to lay down permanent roots.  Colorado was looking kind of nice, but he’d have to wait and see.

It was loud and noisy and fun while everyone ate.  Sage told stories about their last tour, embellishing where necessary, making them as funny as possible.  It probably took longer to eat than it usually would, thanks to Sage, but it was a good time.

It didn’t escape Kiefer’s notice that Heather had gone out of her way to sit by Katie…and as far away from him as possible.

He was sitting across from her on one of the large couches, Riley and Erin on one side of him, Mickey on the other.  There were chairs scattered around too so that everyone was comfortable but the space still seemed intimate.

What gave him hope was that he caught Heather once or twice stealing a glance at him, but as soon as he’d meet her eyes, she’d avert hers.  He’d have to tell her right off the bat that he didn’t think any less of her after their earlier encounter; in fact, it made him feel even stronger about her.  He wasn’t going to tell her that—it was way too soon to go there—but she needed to know that he wasn’t going to let it interfere with their friendship. 
Then
maybe she’d stop acting like she was freaked out.

But after everyone had gathered up their plates and thrown them away in the kitchen, Kiefer saw Heather start to walk away.  Katie pulled her friend back, though, and he avoided eye contact, instead walking deeper into the kitchen under the guise of grabbing another Coke.  He heard Katie say, “I don’t think so.  I know you’re tired, but just one game of Charades.  For me.  Please?  Tomorrow I’ll give you the grand tour and then let you do whatever you want.  Okay?  Please?  Pretty please?”

He stole a glance as he walked back into the living room and then he heard Heather give in.  He felt like fist pumping but managed to keep his cool as he continued his casual pace into the living room where everyone was congregated.  He’d have a better chance to talk to her if she stuck around, but he got the idea she wanted to run and hide.  If he could just pull her aside and let her know everything was cool, he knew they’d both be able to enjoy the rest of their time together.

Hell, they might even hook up again, only this time they would know who each other was.

Shit.  He couldn’t think about it—not out here and not now.  He still had a bit of a buzz going from all the drinks he’d pounded at the bar, and he didn’t need to lose control of his dick.  He needed it to stay calm—and down.

As he continued making his way back toward the couch where he’d been sitting, he heard Heather telling Katie, “I have some papers to grade…so
one game
.”

“That’s all I ask.”

When they rejoined the group, Katie managed to get everyone’s attention and asked if they all knew the rules to charades.  A lot of people said they did but then when pressed for details, most of them admitted that they couldn’t remember the nitty gritty, so Katie gave them a quick rundown.  Then Riley said, “Girls against guys.”

Erin said, “That’s not exactly fair, Riley.  There’s four of us and…”—she darted her eyes around the room—“six of you.”

“Well, you’re always telling me how women are so much smarter than men.”  Erin raised her eyebrows but didn’t say a word.  Riley started laughing and shrugged.  “Fine.  However you want to do it.”

Katie said, “No, we can do that.  We
are
smart enough.”

Johnny leaned back against the couch.  The look on his face indicated he was staying out of it.

That was what Kiefer wanted.  None of them were serious about the competition.  The banter amongst them was light and playful, and he had no doubt that each one of these couples would head to their rooms tonight and engage in killer sex.  There was an aching loneliness inside him, one he’d never told any of his bandmates about, one he didn’t talk about and tried to deny, but it was there and it was heavy.  And, as much as he enjoyed spending time with his friends, moments like these merely punctuated the yearning.

The girl named Kory asked, “Why don’t we have one guy on our side?  That will make it even.”

Sage sat up on the edge of the couch.  “What?  You want the biggest pussy?”

Katie frowned.  “No.  She just wants it even.  Think of it instead as
your harem
.”

Sage grinned at that and nodded.  “I’m cool with that.”

Kory spoke again.  “So how do we pick the guy?”

“I thought it was decided.  Guy with the biggest balls is man enough to control all you women.”  Sage laughed and then ducked as if one of the women were going to roundhouse him with a balled-up fist.

Instead, Johnny said, “So Riley then.”

Everyone laughed, including Sage, and then Katie took off the lid of the Monopoly box still on the coffee table and lifted the game board to fetch out one of the dice.  “We’ll roll for it.”  Smiling, she pointed to each one of the men, starting with the guy right behind her sitting on the couch.  “One,” she said, indicating Johnny, and she continued until she ended with Kiefer, making him number six.  “Got it?” she asked.  She looked at Kory.  “Why don’t you roll?  And whatever number you get?  That’s the guy on our side.”

Kory looked at Stone.  “Come on, three!”  Stone looked like he could care less where he sat, but he smiled at his girlfriend just the same.  But when the die stopped rolling, there were four black dots facing up.

Katie said, “It’s Sage anyway.”

He winced.  “Oh, hell.  After sayin’ all that shit, you’re gonna devour me.”

Erin raised her eyebrows.  “We’ll play nice.”  Her grin looked positively evil.

“Uh, yeah.  Why do I already feel a knife in my spine?”

Katie laughed.  “It’s not like we’re going to dress you up like big sisters do to their little brothers.”

“Now
there’s
an idea.”  Erin giggled and then kissed Riley.  “So do we stay where we are or do we break up into teams?”

Kiefer really didn’t care.  He felt kind of like an outsider during this game…just like he usually did with everything else.  Yeah, he got a shitload of attention as the lead singer of Shock Treatment, but it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  As the frontman of the band, he was an
object
—an object of adoration, of lust, of idolatry, but he was often not treated like a human being at all.  More often than not, he felt empty and alone…even when surrounded by people.

Just like he did now.

But he put on a happy face.  He was good at that.  Always had been.  They wound up having fun, though, and even though he didn’t feel like he connected with anyone, at least he was able to relax.

He really wanted to get Heather alone, though.  She had no idea what she’d done for him over the past two years.  He’d thought she knew, but her reaction to him right now told him she had no clue.  She couldn’t find a way to look past their earlier indiscretion enough to remember that they were, in all essence, best friends.

Or maybe she didn’t feel the same way he did.

He tried to get into the game.  Some of the silly things his team members did to communicate their phrase to the rest of the team actually made him laugh once or twice, but he wasn’t really enjoying himself.  It didn’t help that all the alcohol had worn off and he was stone cold sober.

But he wore the entertainer’s mask that he often did and no one knew any better.  The women (with their token guy Sage) won the game and Katie said, “Okay, potty break and then let’s do round two.  We can switch up teams if we want.”

A few people meandered toward the kitchen area and a couple of others toward the hallway where the bathrooms were.  Mickey stepped outside, and Kiefer knew that was for a smoke.  He caught Heather walking to where Katie stood—not far from him—and heard her say she was going to bow out for the evening.  “I’m tired and I really need to check in with my students.  Do you mind if I tap into your Wi-fi?”

Kiefer couldn’t hear Katie’s response, but the two women started walking toward the kitchen.  He sighed.  Once an outsider, always an outsider.

Yeah, he was feeling sorry for himself as usual, but his friends expected him to be Mr. Sociable, so he decided to go outside to hang with Mickey for a minute and grab a breath of fresh air.  Out of all his bandmates, Mickey seemed to have the firmest grasp on the notion that Kiefer wasn’t the laidback party animal everyone else thought he was.  He never talked about it or even asked Kiefer to clarify, but he somehow knew that Kiefer wore a heavy mask most of the time…and so he often went easy on his friend while everyone else continued the masquerade.

Kiefer realized he was as much to blame as anyone else.  He’d never said a word about his state of mind to his bandmates and, with their first album and long tour, he’d been in such a daze and been so appreciative that Johnny had given him a shot that he had no idea that shit still lingered deep inside.  That was how Heather had managed to be his salvation.  He knew from their short exchange in Katie’s great room earlier that Heather had no fucking idea.

And that kinda broke his heart.  Made it worse.

He was hoping to use this trip as a chance to get Johnny alone for a few minutes and see how the man would feel about Kiefer penning the lyrics on this next album, even if just for a song or two.  He’d been singing Johnny’s words for three years now.  He had nothing but respect for the man, but he felt like now he needed to not only contribute but sing his own heart and soul.  He wasn’t sure how Johnny would feel about it, and that was why he wanted to talk to the boss alone.  That way, if Johnny hated the idea or they hashed it out and he
really
thought it sucked balls, no one else would have to know.