Dark Times in Still Waters
Chapter 21
By Dottie
Copyright 2013
As her words penetrate the sexual fog that hanging in the room, there’s a loud noise from outside, followed by lights shining on the windows. They break apart, staring at each other in shock and frustration. There’s a loud knock at the door followed by a voice calling out, “Miss Michaels? Are you ok?”
Teagan pushes away from Kevin and stands on shaky legs. He jumps up beside her and walks to the door with her. She opens it slowly to find a man wearing a ski suit holding a big flashlight. “I’m Keith, from the resort. With the power out, we’re trying to get everyone up to the main lodge. We have generators there so there’s heat and hot food.”
Kevin wants to punch him. Teagan just wants to slam the door in his face. Instead, she says, “We’re ok here. We have the fireplace and we’ve already had dinner.”
He shakes his head. “I’m sorry Ma’am. I’m afraid I have to insist. The storm is massive and if something happens in one of the cabins…”
Kevin nods. “He’s right Sweetheart. It will be safer at the lodge. Can you give us few minutes to pack a few things?”
Their unwanted intruder nods quickly. “Of course. I have to swing back out to Sugar Hill and pick up a family there. I’ll be back by here in hopefully thirty or forty five minutes.”
Teagan looks out at the Snowcat waiting for them. She turns her gaze to Keith. “I suppose driving a car is out of the question?”
He laughs. “Oh yeah. The cars are all buried. We’ve had over a foot of snow so far and it’s drifting.”
Kevin slides his arm around Teagan. “We’ll be ready when you come back through.”
Keith nods. “Thanks. They are preparing rooms now. Will you need two? I can radio in.”
Teagan shakes her head slowly. “No, one will be fine.”
As Keith walks away, Kevin pushes the door closed and leans down to kiss her cheek. “I’m glad you told him one room.”
She looks up at him shyly. “Were you…umm…surprised?”
He shakes his head. “No, not really. I think you know you can trust me, don’t you Teagan? If you don’t want…we don’t have to rush anything. I’m not going anywhere.”
She nods, spinning away. “We should pack.”
He grabs her arm and turns her back around. “Hold on.” When she’s facing him, he questions her softly. “You do believe me, don’t you Teagan? I’m not going anywhere.”
She sighs. “For now, you’re not. But Kevin, you can’t make promises…”
He pulls her against his body. “Yes I can, because I mean it. I’m not going anywhere.”
She sighs. “You have a tour coming up, Kevin, yes you will.”
He rolls his eyes. “Teagan, I didn’t mean literally. I may tour, but I’m always coming back to you.” His eyes widen. “Unless you come with me.”
She shivers and steps back. “Kevin…I don’t think…”
He sighs. “Just think about it. OK?”
She turns away. “Sure.”
He grabs her arm and pulls her back around again. “Dammit, Teagan, don’t you dare shut me out. Not now. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
She trembles. “Kevin, I…I told you before. I’m afraid.”
He sighs deeply, cupping her face. Leaning down, he captures her lips hotly. She grips his waist as he plunders her mouth, his arms sliding around her body to hold her in his vice-like grip. When their lips part, he mutters, “You can be afraid of everything else in the world, Teagan Michaels, but don’t you dare EVER be afraid of me or afraid of us. We’re going to be good together. You just have to give us a chance and let it happen.”
He lays her head on his chest and whispers, “I’m not afraid of you. I just…I wish…I wish I had more to offer you.”
He squeezes her tighter. “Silly girl, you’re everything I want. You couldn’t be more perfect, no matter what.”
She sniffles into his chest. “I wish we had met before…”
He rubs her back. “I wish I had met you a long time ago, Teagan. Back before the Backstreet Boys were anybody.”
She steps back, looking up at him. “Kevin, I’m sorry…it’s just going to take time…”
He smiles, cupping her face in his hands. “We’ve got all the time in the world. Now, let’s get some stuff for tonight and maybe we can continue with twenty questions at the lodge.”
She giggles softly. “It’s almost midnight. That means it’s my turn.”
He grabs her, swinging her up into his arms. “I’ll tell you everything Darling.”
It’s almost midnight and Natalie feels like she’s going crazy. She keeps pacing around the living room, hoping to will her phone to ring. Brian is sitting on the couch watching her. “Natalie, I’m sure she’s fine. I wish you’d take it easy.”
She groans. “Brian, I don’t know if she’s ok or not! I can’t stop thinking about all the times she told me she wanted to die. What if she does something fucking STUPID?”
He jumps up and grabs her arms. “Natalie, you have GOT to have a little more faith in her than that! You yourself told me her therapy was going well. And if I know my cousin, he’s sitting right beside her and she’s fine.”
Natalie pulls away from him. “Brian, I can’t just forget about her.”
He shakes his head, reaching out to grab her wrist. “Natalie, I’m not saying forget about her. I’m saying have faith in her. You saw on the news there’s power outages in that area. As soon as she can, she’ll call. Or Kevin will call me.” When she looks away, it hurts him. He lets go of her arm. “I guess I should go. It’s pretty obvious I’m not the one you want here at the moment.”
When he turns away, she feels deeply ashamed. She runs up to him, stepping in front of him. She puts her hands on his chest and whispers, “I’m sorry Brian. Please…please don’t go.”
He searches her eyes and he sees sadness. He cups her face. “Natalie, I know why you’re worried, but I think the more she’s coddled the more closed off she’s going to become. Nothing can change what happened to her. I know Kevin would move Heaven and Earth to turn back time for her. We all would. But we can’t. She has to learn to accept what’s happened and find her own way again. Just like she did when her parents died and your parents took her in.”
She knows he’s right. “Brian…I know you’re right. It’s just so hard after all that happened on the cruise.”
He grimaces as he nods. “I know. That was…I never thought I’d see or hear our fans behave like that. None of us did.”
Natalie slides her arms around his waist and lays her head on his shoulder. “Brian, for the most part, I think the fans were supportive…even before my big blow up at the game show.” She blushes remembering that day. “It was just those that were so willing to talk down to her and call her names. Being a teacher, she’s always been so strong. We have to be because we deal with children on a daily basis and we are teaching them what it means to have and show respect. To have grown women call her ugly…it was just so cruel.”
He rubs her back and whispers softly, “Natalie, it wasn’t because they thought she was ugly, you know that right?”
She pulls back. “What do you mean?”
He smiles. “Did you pay attention to the ones who were saying it? Especially at the end of the cruise?” She shakes her head. He shrugs. “It was the ones who were trying to get time with Kevin. Even when he did speak with them, his heart really wasn’t in it and they knew it. They chose to blame Teagan rather than admit that they just weren’t his type.”
Her eyes widen. “They were jealous!”
He nods. “Yeah. We try so hard to speak to as many fans as we can at the meet and greets and on this cruise, but there’s never enough time to give everyone a lot of attention. The ones we do give more attention to are the ones who are genuine…the ones that don’t grab our asses or press their…umm…assets up in our faces.”
When he blushes, she laughs. “Brian, you can say boobs in front of me.”
He laughs. “Mama told me it wasn’t proper to speak of such things with a lady. Especially a lady I like a lot.”
Her turn to blush. “Well, let’s have a drink and loosen up.” He smiles and pulls her into his arms. Winding her arms around his neck, she whispers, “Thank you for being here.”
He kisses her nose. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
She kisses him softly. “How about that drink?”
He nods. “Sounds good. What are we having?”
She smiles seductively. “Jello shots. We had some frozen for a party.”
His smile matches hers and sends a tingling sensation to her toes. He reaches out and slides his fingers through her hair, tangling it in his fist and pulling her toward his face. “We can still party if you want.”
His lips capture hers with a lustful growl. She welcomes his roughness…the heat of his mouth as he sucks on her tongue. His other hand has traveled down her back and rests comfortably on her buttocks, pulling her closer to his body. She wiggles and moans into his mouth, pulling away to whisper, “Brian…what are we doing?”
He laughs. “We’re going to get drunk and have a good time Baby. No regrets in the morning?”
She shakes her head. “Absolutely no regrets.”
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