“So? Am I just supposed to pretend that nothing happened yesterday?” Rhiannon finally asked, glancing away from Savannah’s walk-in closet with some articles of clothing that she knew the younger girl would approve of. She arched her dark chocolate brows with interest, just smiling at the blank look that had crossed Savannah’s angelic face. Yesterday had been Savannah’s date with AJ, but she hadn’t spoken a word about the rendezvous since returning. In fact, Savannah had actually gotten in pretty late the previous evening and begged just to crawl into her bed without complaint. So, Rhiannon had followed orders, knowing that Savannah’s strength drained much easier since the accident. But now, as they prepared to go to Nick’s BBQ Party, Rhiannon was aching for answers, more so hoping to reveal her own secret rendezvous with Kevin, though it hadn’t been much more than a simple chat after his apologies.
“Nothing happened yesterday,” Savannah lied, fidgeting to secure the straps of the heavy immobilizer. Somehow, she always managed to move while sleeping, so the brace was always loose in the morning and her leg always agitated with pain. Grimacing, she held her throbbing shoulder as she glanced up at the choices of clothing Rhiannon selected. This probably was the most frustrating point of Savannah’s day – had to find help to get dressed and washed in the morning. Her shoulder was still healing slowly, so it was impossible to lift her arm very far to shrug on a top and just as impossible to stand and slide on her choice of bottoms. So, she waited like an infant for her ‘mother’ to help.
“You know you want to tell me,” Rhiannon pressed, holding on the variety of tank tops for Savannah to select from. She didn’t know exactly what they were to wear to Nick’s BBQ, but she assumed it would be light cotton clothing because of the heat. She was actually going to be wearing a bikini beneath, just in case the men decided to take a dip. But, Savannah would be left out of that equation, again, because of her severely battered leg.
“Not really, because there’s nothing to tell,” Savannah repeated, although her glowing dark jade eyes advised Rhiannon of other thoughts. Even though the date had started off really shaky with AJ’s missed intentions of taking her to the scene of the accident, the rest had been quite peaceful. Surprisingly, she and AJ really had a strong connection to one another. So many times during the day, she had slipped into letting him almost kiss her, but her judgment quickly pulled her back. Though, now she was actually starting to think she should have let him. The very idea of his soft lips against hers sent excited shivers down her spine, especially remembering the faint scent of his sweet cologne and the tones of his raspy voice. But, she shook her head and began blushing furiously when Rhiannon caught her thoughts, she glanced down to yank free a tank top.
“You are such a liar, Savannah Grace! Just tell me if he’s that rough and ready, dangerous man that he loves to project during his concerts. Y’know, pelvic thrusts, throwing you down to the floor to make wild and passionate love, licks on the face, tongue dances—”
“Good Lord, do you need a good porno or what!” Savannah snorted with amusement.
Rhiannon blushed with an embarrassed smile. “I just—”
“He’s romantic, okay?”
“AJ McLean - Romantic?”
“A sweet romantic at that,” Savannah sighed, rolling her eyes.
“But—”
“SAVVY? ANN?” Howie suddenly called following the loud slamming of their front door.
“Fantastic! He can help you get ready!” Rhiannon breathed with relief, wanting to select her own perfect outfit for the BBQ. She had the smallest expectations that Kevin might actually show up to the BBQ and her contempt from the man had slowly died since he came over with his heart sewn against his sleeve. Not wanting to be obvious, however, Rhiannon stepped out into the hallway just as Howie reached the top step.
“You’re not ready?” Howie guessed, arching a dark brow.
“Well… Yes…” Rhiannon laughed softly, glancing down at her t-shirt filled with holes and fraying jean shorts. She had attempted to clean some of the house before a massive headache had attacked earlier that morning. And, with her arm still tender with the severe burns and physical therapy, not much had been accomplished. “But, Savvy needs help. So…”
“She’s not in the shower, right?” Howie blurted.
“No…” Rhiannon trailed, clicking her tongue at Savannah’s luck. “But, she’d like to start taking them soon. There’s only so much I can do with her hair while her head’s propped in the sink. The doctor gave her permission to take off the brace just for a shower, but can’t even think of stepping on her right leg… So, she’ll need assistance in and out… And with my arm and uneven balance…”
“Okay,” Howie squeaked.
“We can talk about that later though,” Rhiannon laughed, noticing the color considerably pale in Howie’s face. Gently, she reached to rub his shoulder with her good arm, knowing Savannah would absolutely be delighting in the fact that Howie had to help her, only because she loved to torture him relentlessly. It amused her impish natures, which probably made it easier on her pride to accept such help with intimate needs.
“…Looking…” Howie swallowed hard to finish, “…forward to that…”
“I’m sure,” Rhiannon laughed, moving toward her bedroom doorway. Only, she paused for a moment, turning to catch Howie before he rapped on Savannah’s bedroom door before entering. “Howie?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you suppose that Kevin will be at this party?”
Howie’s dark eyes immediately widened in surprise at her question. He never expected that question to pop from her glossed mouth with such ease and hopefulness. “Do you even want him there?”
“Yeah, maybe, I mean, he stopped by last night…”
“Really? He stopped by?”
“Yeah… So, do you think he’ll show?”
“I…” Howie exhaled slowly. “I really don’t know if he’ll show or not.”
“Oh…”
“Not because of you… Or… Well, maybe…” Howie sighed heavily, leaning against the wall for a moment to think. He wanted to just call Kevin a useless slime-ball and be done with the situation, but it was complicated. Kevin was still one of Howie’s best friends. “You remember his divorce right?”
“It was three years ago…”
“Right, but Kristen took absolutely everything from him. She was extremely vicious when it came to their lives being torn apart. It… I mean, he can tell you about it. But it was nasty and he hasn’t really been the same since then. The only thing he really looked forward to was our tour and success with the new album. It was the one thing that Kristen couldn’t take away from him. She couldn’t take away his music. But, when everything happened with you girls, I think he was worried that our success and wonderful careers were going to be taken away by women, too. Not to say that I agree with—”
“I understand,” Rhiannon was quick to interrupt with a sad smile, actually understanding Kevin’s state of mind for a moment.
“Okay…” Howie trailed, just watching Rhiannon disappear in thought. Once her door closed, Howie finally turned back to Savannah’s door. Clearing his curious thoughts about Kevin’s meeting with Rhiannon, Howie rapped on the door.
“Don’t mean to be such a burden,” Savannah murmured when Howie entered, just staring at the articles of clothing she selected. It was useless for her to even attempt to muster the strength to stretch the clothes in hope that they might settle appropriately on her body. If anything, it would just cause more pain.
“You’re not a burden, Savvy. I’m supposed to be your nurse, remember?” Howie answered, lingering at the doorway nonetheless. He couldn’t peel his eyes away from the beautiful woman perched upon her luxurious bed. Her lengthening golden curls bounced lightly below her shoulders as she sighed, concentrating on the floor with her gorgeous jade eyes, concealing the lovely profile of her face and the light freckles that danced across the bridge of her nose. But her body looked absolutely perfect, lean and toned from years of dancing with the added feminine features of her beautiful youth, which was exposed in just a lavender bra and a matching pair of striped lavender, bikini underwear.
Slowly, Savannah glanced upward to catch Howie’s stunned gaze. She finally smiled ruefully at his shock, not exactly offended by her somewhat seductive appearance. She changed in front of men frequently with the dancing career, especially when it came to changing various costumes through low profile shows. “It’s just like seeing a girl in her favorite bikini, Howie.”
“I—”
“Can you help without fainting? I’m sure you’ve seen better looking women than me.”
“Uh… Okay…” Howie murmured, licking his drying lips as he finally stepped into the bedroom. Trying to conceal the trembling of his hands, he reached for her purple tie-dyed, string tank top. Carefully, avoiding as much body contact as possible, he pulled it gently over her head, allowing her to adjust it along the swell of her breasts and fall in against her slim abdomen. Sighing with relief, he stepped back in triumph, only to have her reach for her shorts. Howie stared at the article with a blank expression. “How?”
“Hold them so I can slip my legs into them, then when I stand, you’ll have to pull them up and button them,” she explained, unable to shrug her shoulders with rectifying her pain. So, without any words, Howie quickly kneeled to get the situation over with, helping her into the shorts. Then, as he helped her hold onto him while standing, he started to pull the shorts upward against her lower body.
Howie tried to ignore the feeling of his hands moving against her soft curves and sweetly defined body to pull up the short khaki shorts, feeling his body heat with extreme delight. It had been awhile since he felt the suppleness of a beautiful woman. And never had he met such a woman as Savannah. Swallowing hard against the lump growing in his throat, he carefully buttoned the fly with every attempt to remind himself of the obvious. She’s just a kid, Howie. Way too young for you. And even if you think that age has nothing to do with love, you still can’t date her! You two are nothing alike. For Goodness Sakes, you almost killed her! You’re not interested… You can’t be interested… Because… Well, she’s not interested… Right?
But, concentrating on the feeling of her arms looped around his neck for a steady hold, he had a feeling that even he couldn’t convince his heart otherwise of his developing emotions.
“You can’t be serious!” Nick exclaimed with an obnoxious laugh that chortled like a wild hyena, just staring incredulously at the slightly older man before him. Tossing the last row of burgers on to the expensively large grill built into his backyard, he turned to make sure he had the others’ attentions. He had invited AJ and Brian over early to help set up for the party, but each man had his own degree of laziness, so the party was halfway made. But, Nick was more amused with AJ’s confession, anyway, not really worrying about the finishing touches. Folding his arms across his chest, he glanced over to Brian to confirm what he heard. But, when Brian nodded, Nick just glanced back at AJ with disbelief. “You did what again?!”
“I told you,” AJ grunted with distaste, seating himself at the outdoor lounge area with a cold can of Pepsi in his hands. He didn’t seem to understand what was so hilarious about the issue. He had a fantastic time with Savannah yesterday or at least he thought so. There was a raw passion between them that sparked wildly within each encounter. All he could think about was making her his lover forever. The idea sent shivers down his body with a sheer delight. AJ had even dreamed about his near miss kisses with the gorgeous woman, only to awaken with a dreading thought that maybe Savannah didn’t feel the same. She had been so obvious about resisting each kiss, which made him decide that today he had to try again. “I took Savannah out for lunch.”
“On a date?” Nick continued.
“I believe that’s what ‘out to lunch’ means, Dumbass.”
“Well…” Nick frowned. “I knew that.”
“Did you tell Howie about the date?” Brian was quick to ask, glancing toward the second youngest with honest question in his light blue eyes. Brian had probably been the only keen observer during all their encounters with the women and Howie. Mostly because Nick was brain-dead when he came to observation and AJ had invested interests in Savannah. But, it didn’t take much talent to recognize Howie’s investments in Savannah, whatever he said they may be. The fact was that Howie deeply cared about the women, which made it extremely important for AJ to work through Howie while trying to date Savannah.
“No, why the Hell would I tell Howie about the date?”
“Because Howie has a hard-on for Savvy!” Nick interjected.
“You’re such an asshole, Nick,” AJ quickly scorned. “Howie looks at after her like a little sister. I would know if something was there. I mean, I asked him flat out when she was discharged from the hospital. He said they were just friends and that she’s a good kid.”
“Well, whatever he feels for her, you still should make sure he approves,” Brian suggested.
“He’s not her father—”
“Yeah, because he’d tell her to get the Hell away from you, then!” Nick cackled.
“Nick—”
“I’m just in shock! I mean, the one woman that has resisted your charm since the beginning—”
“Yes, Nick.”
“She acted like you were the bubonic plague—”
“I know, Nick.”
“Actually, she acted like you were bubonic plague on Richard Simmon’s ass—”
“Okay, that’s enough, Nick.”
“She said she wouldn’t even have cyber sex with you if you and her were the last ones on Earth and responsible for saving the human race—”
“Shut up, Nick!” AJ finally hollered with contempt, jumping up from the table to throw the youngest man into the oversized, in ground pool. Once the man surfaced, AJ chucked a hamburger bun at his sopping wet head. “I don’t give a damn what you think, alright?! Just shut up about this! What happened between Savvy and me stays between Savvy and me! I don’t need you blabbing to Howie! Got it?!”
“Did we miss something?” Rhiannon laughed, slowly descending the patio toward the backyard with Howie following carefully in front of Savannah’s crutches. She glanced quickly around the backyard, obviously in search of Kevin’s presence. But, when she only found Nick, AJ, and Brian, she faked a happy smile toward the others and remained interested in Nick’s sudden dip inside the cold waters.
“No, we were playing chicken…” Nick sputtered, launching himself out of the pool and shaking himself like a dog.
“How come you’re the only one soaked then?” Rhiannon laughed, accepting Brian’s welcoming hug before seating herself.
“Because… I wanted to ask Savvy what her favorite music video was to work on! We’ve seen all the videos, which are kickass, but… Which was your favorite?” Nick blurted, unable to even cover his tracks as he reached for a towel. He attempted to glare at AJ, but ended up smiling goofily when Savannah caught his gaze while gingerly seating herself in between Howie and Rhiannon.
“That’s a complete change of topic, Nick,” Howie chuckled, not really understanding what happened before, but watching Savannah carefully for any signs of distress.
“Yeah… But an interesting question, nonetheless,” Brian saved, offering each girl a soda while AJ practically leered at Savannah.
“I loved working on ‘Dirrty’ with Christina Aguilera. The choreography was original and the song is one of my favorites. The beats of the music are so sensual… It just makes you fall in love with the raw animal aggression,” Savannah admitted after a few moments of silence. She glanced up from the glass table with a soft, but sad smile. “I’m going to miss it…”
“Savvy...” Howie whispered sadly, reaching to rub her back.
“Wait! You didn’t ask me! I loved working on the make-up in ‘Dirrty,’ too!” Rhiannon announced, saving Savannah from a tearful moment of remorse. Reaching, she gently squeezed Savannah’s hand while continuing. “I actually got to help select costumes and was allowed creative freedom over the make-up. It was amazing to be on that set, especially when Christina was giving Savvy all this wonderful praise. And, God, Savvy was so gorgeously hot in that video!”
“She’s always gorgeous…” AJ murmured, swallowing his emotions to lamely join the conversation until he could find the means to get Savannah alone.
“So, I think you might be enjoying this BBQ more than our date yesterday,” AJ ruefully announced, closing the freezer door after locating the large ice pack Nick had received after one of his awful stunts that cost him a broken leg. But, AJ wasn’t reminiscing about such events, more concerned about the woman attempting to relax at Nick’s kitchen table. It was obvious that the pain medication had started to wean away from her system, causing massive amounts of discomfort. So, in an attempt to get her alone, AJ suggested that he’d take her inside for another dose and ice for her bound leg. And he could feel the tension rising from their bodies, confirming his desire to take another step in the right direction. Simply put – he wanted her.
“Excuse me?” Savannah breathed in surprise, glancing up from her large brace to catch AJ’s soulfully dark eyes. She naturally arched her light brows in question, biting down hard on her bottom lip with contemplation. She hadn’t said much after their date ended yesterday, just that she enjoyed the time together. He had tried for another kiss, but she purposely stumbled on her crutches much to the displeasure of already damaged leg. She knew it was stupid to risk her leg, but she was scared.
“Well, you’re smiling more today, joking around with the guys, laughing hysterically at Nick’s stupidity… Yet, on our date, you were so quiet and reserved—”
“Only to start out—”
“And to end,” AJ finished, seating himself beside her at the kitchen table. He offered her the glass of soda and then moved to apply the large ice pack to her tender extremity. Though, his burning eyes never left hers as he held the ice pack in place, rubbing the brace affectionately with her finger. “I know that I fucked up with the whole beach incident, but I didn’t think I was that horrible of a date…”
“AJ!” Savannah groaned with contempt, hating that she even had to start this kind of conversation with him. Her life was already so complicated from the accident. To possibly add AJ into the mix was a dangerous combination. No matter how much she longed for some kind of comfort from her already cold world. “It’s not that I didn’t enjoy—”
Only, Savannah was stopped halfway within her fumbling words by AJ’s warm lips. It took her a moment to register the ramifications of his actions, but her heart slammed wildly against her ribcage as the excitement rose within the room. Finally releasing her control over the situation, Savannah reached to wrap her good arm around his warm neck. Pulling him close, she captured his lips again and again, unable to wipe away the erotic qualities of the affair. Slowly, she enhanced the kiss with the slow roll of her tongue against his. And nibbling against the bottom of his lip, she heard him moan with pleasure, just causing her body to tingle with approval.
“Holy shit! Wrong room!” Kevin suddenly blurted in a horrified surprise, accidentally walking in on the passionate moment.
“Damnit, Kevin,” AJ groaned against Savannah’s lips, quickly withdrawing as a sharp blush of furiousness and embarrassment crossed her light caramel cheeks. He refused to pull away from the closeness of Savannah’s gorgeous body, just flicking his annoyed gaze upward. “You just—”
“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me!” Kevin murmured with a devilish amusement, quickly crossing the length of the kitchen to exit onto the patio and into the backyard before witnessing anything else from the couple. He just shook his head at the very idea, knowing AJ had lived up to his trademark of exploiting women. But, his mind traveled elsewhere when he arrived at the backyard, his presence suddenly stopping every portion of the friendly BBQ. Everyone looked toward him in shock, causing him to just offer a sheepish smile and shrug. He didn’t want to explain himself, but he was looking for Rhiannon mostly. And, there she stood with Brian, involved in some kind of conversation. She never looked lovelier in a pair of frayed jean shorts and a butterfly printed peasant top. She had touched his heart yesterday in ways that he couldn’t explain, especially since he wanted to swear off women completely. “Am I not allowed to stop by, Fellas?”
“No… I mean…” Nick just shook his head to clear his thoughts. He shrugged helplessly. “We’ve got leftovers…”
“Thanks,” Kevin answered simply, crossing the yard to grab a soda from the cooler Howie was near. He felt the tension rise between them, but shrugged it off nonetheless. “I’d like to talk to you privately, Howie.”
“Now?”
“Later, I mean.”
“Oh, alright…”
“And…” Kevin couldn’t hide his smile. “Do you know where AJ is?”
“He took Savvy to get an ice pack for her leg...”
“Oh… You think it’s safe to let your favorite patient out to play with him?”
“Excuse me?”
“I just think you should talk to AJ about Savannah,” Kevin stated simply, taking a long swallow of his soda before moving to take Rhiannon away from Brian.
