One Night with Sole Regret 04 Touch Me (20 page)

“When she fell, she grabbed the nearest
guy—by the pants, unfortunately—and we all soon discovered that he
was a man who went commando.”

Owen sniggered and rubbed his forehead.

Oh, this was her rollerblading fiasco story.
What was next, the “stuck upside-down between two rocks in a kayak”
story? Jenna had never gotten it into her head that Caitlyn had the
athletic prowess of a common sea slug. While their exploits were
adventures for Jenna, those excursions had been exercises in injury
and humiliation for Caitlyn. But she went because she knew how much
Jenna enjoyed the not-so-great outdoors. And Jenna sometimes
accompanied Caitlyn to science fiction conventions because she knew
how much Caitlyn enjoyed pretending she was from space. Caitlyn
pinked at her thoughts. She hoped Jenna hadn’t told Owen that she
liked to dress up as Princess Leia on occasion. She kept the
fake-braid earmuffs in the top drawer of her dresser at home.

Though she should be mortified, she wasn’t
really. It was stranger to see Owen laughing with Jenna than
knowing he was laughing because Jenna was embarrassing her. Seeing
him with her best friend made it seem possible that Owen could
become a part of Caitlyn’s regular life and not just be the guy
who’d given her one night of thought-shattering sex.

Did she even want Owen as part of her regular
life? That hadn’t been what she’d been after when she went to the
sex club.

Just because something was possible didn’t
mean she had to follow up. Maybe she could still blow him off and
spend the day with Jenna. Jenna was… safe.

Owen smiled a greeting when he noticed
Caitlyn approaching. Jenna turned and her face fell.
You didn’t
change?
Jenna mouthed without speaking.

“I put on clean panties,” Caitlyn said
defensively.

Jenna turned and said to Owen, “Can you give
us just five more minutes?”

He turned to the driver, who stood next to
the front fender. “When does the bus leave?”

The driver checked his watch. “We need to
leave here in the next couple of minutes to make it.”

“I guess you have time to put your dirty
panties back on,” Owen said.

Jenna burst out laughing and patted his chest
playfully. “This one
is
naughty and nice,” she said, tossing
her hair in an obviously flirtatious way. “You were so right about
him.”

“He has his cock pierced too,” Caitlyn
blurted, and then she clamped her hand over her big mouth.

“Hurry, baby.” Owen said. “We need to get
going. I can’t wait to introduce you to Force.”

“What force?” Caitlyn asked.

“Our drummer. He’s going to love you.” Owen
scratched the back of his neck. “On second thought, I should
probably keep you away from him.”

“We’ll be right back,” Jenna said, pulling
Caitlyn back into the house. She slammed the door behind them and
spun to confront Caitlyn. “Oh my God, Caitlyn, he’s gorgeous. And
funny. And sweet. And apparently rich and famous. How in the hell
did you luck into
that
?”

“I dunno. He likes older geeky women who give
off men-suck vibes in sex clubs.”

“If you want to keep his attention, you’re
going to have to dress better. You look like you climbed out of a
thrift store Dumpster.”

“I’m telling you,” Caitlyn said, “he
likes
this look. I don’t get it either.”

“He can’t possibly like this look,” Jenna
said. “He likes you and, unfortunately, you come with this
look.”

“He likes me?” Caitlyn said breathlessly.

“Well, duh. What’s not to like?”

In a semi-trance, Caitlyn allowed Jenna to
strip her down to her bra and panties. After a deserved eye roll at
Caitlyn’s cow panties, Jenna stuck her in a pair of black capris
that were tight in the rear and a soft pink T-shirt that stretched
taut across her boobs.

“It’s not me,” Caitlyn said.

“You look cute.”

“I look like you.”

“Right,” Jenna said. “You look cute. Now do
me a favor.”

“What?”

“Pretend to be cool.”

“Jenna…”

“Just for today.”

Caitlyn released an annoyed sigh. “Fine. I’ll
pretend
to be cool. But I need to hurry.” After being forced
into sandals, she shoved her discarded clothes into her overnight
bag and hurried out to the limo.

“What are you wearing?” Owen asked when she
paused before him.

“Uh, Jenna thought…”

He shook his head slightly. “She thought
wrong.”

For a moment, Caitlyn believed he was going
to tell her to get lost, but he opened the door to the back of the
limo, and she slipped inside.

He climbed in beside her, and the driver shut
the door.

“I told you I like the jacket. I like the bow
at your throat that begs to be untied. I like that your bra doesn’t
match your panties.”

“It still doesn’t,” she said. “So you’re only
attracted to me for my wardrobe, is that it?”

“No, you’d look hot in anything you wore—or
nothing—but this outfit doesn’t give me a permanent boner. I have
to be honest.”

“That’s probably a good thing,” she said and
laughed. “My vagina needs a few hours to collect itself. It’s not
used to so much attention.”

“Well, then, I’ll try to contain my blinding
lust.” He grinned and took her hand, holding it gently in his. His
thumb rubbed a lazy circle on her knuckles. “So,” he said. “Tell me
about your camping trip. Jenna said you’d kill her if she told me
about the skunk that got stuck in your tent.”

Caitlyn cringed. “She’s right. I’d kill her
for that.”

“I didn’t take you for the outdoorsy
type.”

“That’s because I’m not. Jenna is, though,
and I am weak to her charm. She can talk me into anything.”

“It’s great to have a best friend, someone
who pushes you to try things you’d never consider on your own.
Makes life interesting.”

Caitlyn smiled, knowing he was thinking about
Kellen again. Kellen was Owen’s Jenna. She suddenly felt a lot more
comfortable about Owen’s relationship with Kellen. Caitlyn probably
would never call Jenna’s name during sex, but whatever. If Owen
said there was no attraction between them, she believed him.

“
Interesting
? I guess that’s one way
to describe it.”

They both laughed and somehow ended up
kissing all the way to the tour bus. Maybe it wasn’t her pathetic
wardrobe that turned him on after all.

Their driver handed off their bags to some
guy who stuffed them into a compartment under the bus.

“I’ll need to change later,” Caitlyn
said.

“You can get your bag when we stop at the
venue.”

She nodded.

“Ready to meet the rest of the band?”

Her stomach flopped. She was scared out of
her mind, to be honest. Who’d have ever thought she’d be riding on
a tour bus with a bunch of heavy metal musicians? Not her.

“I guess,” she said.

“You already met Kellen. He’s not so scary,
is he?”

A little, yeah, but she shook her head
bravely.

“And I’m the worst one of the bunch, so if
you can handle me, you can surely handle the rest.”

“I highly doubt that you’re the worst,” she
said. Because he was decidedly terrific. And it was hard to top
perfection.

“Where have you been?” A muscle-bound hunk in
aviator sunglasses spoke from the top of the bus steps. He had
short dark hair and an abundance of bulges in all the right places.
“If I’d have known you were going to be this late, I would have had
Amanda stick around for one more quickie before I sent her
home.”

“Caitlyn needed to stop by her friend’s house
to pick up some clothes.”

“Who is Caitlyn?”

“That would be me,” Caitlyn said.

“Sorry, didn’t see you there.”

Which was the typical-man’s reaction to her.
That’s why Owen’s attention had her completely befuddled and
Jenna’s insistence that she was attractive didn’t hold much cotton.
As a rule, men tended to ignore her.

“This is our vocalist, Shade,” Owen said.
“He’s pretty much an egotistical asshole, but he grows on you after
a while.”

Caitlyn couldn’t believe Shade let the insult
slide without a rebuttal. Instead he focused on her.

“You’re not planning on her riding the bus,
are you?” Shade said. “You know the rule: no chicks on the
bus.”

“Fuck the rule,” Owen said. “She’s riding
with us to Houston.” He took Caitlyn’s hand and tugged her up the
bus past a very confused-looking Shade.

At the top of the steps, she came
face-to-chest with another band member. This one was long and lean.
She tilted her head back to peer into the greenest pair of eyes
she’d ever encountered.

Wow. While she did have a limited gag reflex,
she thought choking on her own tongue, as she was now doing, might
be fatal. Especially considering the sudden overabundance of drool
in her mouth.

“This is Force,” Owen said.

“May the force be with me,” Caitlyn mumbled,
lost in Force’s amazing green-eyed gaze.

“It seems we have a problem,” she heard
Kellen say from somewhere down the corridor. “She’s been drawn in
by the power of the Force. You’d better do something and quick,
Tags.”

Owen kissed her, which effectively broke
Force’s spell. She smiled at Owen. She wasn’t used to being with a
man who was so easy with affection in public, not that she
minded.

“Who is this?” Force asked as he tugged his
baseball cap lower on his forehead.

“That’s Caitlyn,” Kellen said. “Owen is
breaking all his rules with her.”

“All of them?” Force asked.

“Well, hopefully not the “BYOC” rule, but the
“only one poke per bush” rule and the “never sleep with the women
you sleep with” rule and the “never eat breakfast with a chick”
rule and apparently the “no ladies on the bus” rule. Did you break
the “never meet her friends” rule too, Owen?”

He cringed and pulled a hand through his
hair. “Yeah, I broke that one too.”

“Stupid rules anyway,” Force said. “My name
is Gabe, by the way. You don’t have to call me Force.”

“Do you like Star Wars?” Caitlyn blurted
stupidly.

“Star Wars is for geeks,” Gabe said, one slim
eyebrow arched at her.

“Oh,” she said, her face almost in flames it
was burning so hot.

“I
love
Star Wars,” Gabe said. “Which
episode is your favorite?”

“
Return of the Jedi
.”

He shook his head at her. “
The Empire
Strikes Back
.”

“Oh my God, who scheduled a geek convention
on the tour bus?” another rock-star type asked.

This one was dressed in black from his biker
jacket to his tight T-shirt to his jeans to his motorcycle boots.
Even his hair was unnaturally black—probably died to match his
shoes. His only non-black accessories were the collection of silver
chains he wore around his neck and dangling from one belt loop.

“That’s Adam,” Owen said.

“So Shade is the vocalist, Kellen plays
guitar, Owen plays bass, and Gabe is the drummer.” Caitlyn did a
quick mental inventory. “That must make you… the keyboardist?”

Adam did not look amused. More like offended.
Was there something wrong with the keyboard? What other instruments
were played in a rock band? She’d once heard a flute in a Led
Zeppelin song. She was proud of herself for remembering.

“I know,” she gushed, “you play the
flute!”

Everyone burst out laughing, except Adam, who
looked even more out of sorts than when she’d accused him of
playing keyboard.

“No, I don’t play the fucking flute,” he
said. “I’m
lead
guitar.”

“But…” She pointed at Kellen. “I thought
Kellen played guitar.”

“He plays
rhythm
guitar.”

She didn’t know the difference. “You have two
guitarists? Well,
three
, if you count Owen’s bass?”

“That’s right.”

“Why do you need three? Isn’t one good
enough?”

“She doesn’t listen to rock music,” Owen
explained.

“Then why is she here?” Adam countered.

“Hmm,” Owen scratched his jaw. “Probably
because she doesn’t listen to rock music. I felt she needed an
education.”

And she’d very much enjoyed the education
he’d given her about guitarists’ fingers. Her gaze dropped to
Adam’s hands and then darted to Kellen’s. Long fingers. All of
them. She was sure they were callused and swift as well. Caitlyn
really wished Owen would stop making her blush. She hadn’t blushed
this much when she’d been a bride and fallen off a pier in her
wedding gown after having one too many to drink.

“Speaking of education,” Owen said, turning
his attention from Adam to Gabe.

Oh God, he wasn’t going to mention her
morning lesson was he? She’d die of mortification if he did.

“Guess what she has her degree in?” Owen
said.

Caitlyn blew out a relieved breath.

“Based on the size of her rack, I’d say
cheerleading,” Gabe said.

Caitlyn glanced down at her chest, which was
straining against Jenna’s too-tight T-shirt. “Despite popular
belief, big boobs are a liability for a cheerleader. They throw off
your center of gravity, get in the way of your pom-poms, and jiggle
around until you get one hell of a back ache.” She hopped up and
down to demonstrate.

All eyes settled on her chest. As far as
breasts went, she wasn’t overly well-endowed, but they did move
when she did.

“Where’s that jacket of yours, Caitlyn?” Owen
asked. “It’s a bit chilly here on the bus.”

She glanced up at him, not sure why the
sparks of jealousy in his eyes were so endearing.

“Everyone ready to go?” a man in a white
Stetson said from the front of the bus. He settled behind the
driver’s seat and the door swung shut.

“Head on out,” Shade said. He brushed past
the group congregated in the seating area near the front of the
bus. “I’m going to catch a nap. Amanda kept me up all night, so I’m
beat.”