Tangled Web Series Box Set

by Jade C. Jamison

  Everything But

  (Tangled Web #2)

  Jade C. Jamison

  Chapter One

  ERIN LANCASTER WALKED down the tiled hall as quickly as her black pumps would allow without sliding and spectacularly landing on her ass, causing the papers held to her chest to fly everywhere. She’d come close once or twice on these polished floors and had since learned to walk with caution when wearing high heels.

  She knew she had to stop the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, the one that was causing her to want to race down the hall. It’s only for a little while, she told herself. But while she knew the next month or two were temporary, she couldn’t help but feel mismatched for the job.

  See, Erin was a high school English teacher. There wasn’t anything fancy about it. She’d earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary ed and English, one of her first loves. So she’d come back home and applied at her local high school for a job. The first year back, there were no openings and so she worked as a substitute while working nights at the movie theater, but she got a job a year later, one of a handful of English teachers at Winchester High School. She’d enjoyed the job itself and loved being back in her hometown with family and friends, and while she’d felt lately like something was missing from her life, it was not that her secret desire was to be a cheerleading coach.

  Hell no.

  In fact, when she’d been in high school herself, she’d despised those girls. Well, not all of them. But most of them seemed to be preoccupied with their looks and boys instead of their educations. They’d also been the nasty girls who’d laugh at other females not as fortunate in the looks department or play mean tricks on some of the more awkward young women in the school.

  Erin tried to remind herself that maybe this would be her opportunity to make a positive impact on these impressionable souls. As she rounded the corner to the gym, her long blonde hair bobbing with every step, she took a deep breath, willing herself to believe that she could be a good influence on these young ladies.

  “Oh, my God, Brenda. She was wearing what?”

  “Seriously. She was wearing that stupid blue floral dress that looks like a pioneer apron.”

  “Better than that gunny sack she wears at least once every other week.”

  “God. Does she not own anything else?”

  Or…not. Erin forced the breath into her lungs as she tried not to miss a beat. And there they were, all twelve of them huddled on the bleachers, oblivious to anyone who might be eavesdropping. Erin couldn’t decide if she wanted to chide them for their cattiness or pretend she hadn’t heard it.

  Well, considering she’d only been doing this since Monday and had barely learned the girls’ names, let alone their personalities, she decided she’d let it slide. For now. She wasn’t going to let that shit go once they all felt more comfortable with each other.

  “All right, ladies. Do you all have your gowns for Friday night?”

  There was some mumbling, some hands raised in the air, but Erin realized that had been a stupid way to ask her question. “If you don’t have a gown, raise your hand, please.”

  One of the girls, a sophomore who was a first-year cheerleader, raised her hand. “Miss Lancaster, I’m not sure what kind of gown to get.”

  Rainy, the loud blonde head cheerleader, swiveled on the bench and looked up at the young girl. “Haven’t you ever seen the auction?”

  The young girl shook her head. “I didn’t go last year. There was no reason to.”

  Brenda, Rainy’s dark-haired best friend, turned as well. “Think Prom or Homecoming, only not so formal.”

  “Yeah…like you can wear something strappy. In fact, the sexier it is, the more money you can earn.”

  Jesus. Erin fought to say nothing. It felt enough like slavery or prostitution as it was, this stupid auction tradition, but to hear Rainy describe it made it sound even worse…the more skin the girls bared, the more money they could “earn.” She made sure she didn’t shudder.

  And whose bright idea had this stupid auction been anyway? It hadn’t been a tradition back when she’d gone to school…had it? But once a year near the beginning of May (just after prom), the cheerleaders held an event where they were “auctioned” out for dates. The “date” was a dinner hosted by the school, catered by a local restaurant, followed by a small dance, all in the very same gym where they were talking, and it all took place the night after the auction.

  It was stupid.

  But, Erin had to admit, when she’d found out how much money the auction made, she had to admit it wasn’t a bad idea. The girls used this fundraiser to pay for their annual summer camp. “Much better than a carwash,” Rainy had said on Monday when they were briefing Erin about her new job.

  The girls started chattering again about shoes and jewelry and Erin couldn’t help but tune them out. Only two of these girls had been in her English classes, and Erin knew why. She’d been branded as a “hard” teacher, probably because she taught two honors classes, so she knew a lot of the cheerleaders had steered clear.

  Damn Mrs. Carmichael. The woman—the French teacher—had been the cheerleading coach even back when Erin had attended school here. But last weekend she’d injured herself on a ski slope. The woman had said in the staff meeting earlier that week that she was going to go skiing one last time before the slopes were closed…just had to get in one more day. And Erin still wasn’t clear about how the woman had actually injured herself, only knew that she’d fucked up one of her legs so badly, she had a cast from the top of her thigh to the toes on her right leg. Mr. Becker, the principal, had told Erin that Mrs. Carmichael wasn’t even walking yet. So he’d asked Erin if she could finish out the spring and possibly spend some time with the cheerleaders over the summer to get them ready for camp.

  Erin was reluctant, but Mr. Becker had always been good to her. She was certain he was the main reason why she’d gotten the job, and he did his best to make sure she had what she needed in the classroom. And while she hadn’t been a fan of Carmichael, the girls needed someone…and no one else seemed interested. Still, Erin considered turning him down, but he mentioned that she’d get a stipend on her checks for being the substitute cheer coach…for a month or so, maybe until August or September at the latest.

  As the girls started bickering about which girl would be auctioned first, Erin took another deep breath, preparing to tell them to all quiet down. August or September wouldn’t be soon enough.

  Chapter Two

  GODDAMN. RILEY SCHULTZ couldn’t remember the last time he’d stepped into the Winchester High School gymnasium, but he figured it had to have been sometime near the end of his senior year…so, twelve years ago, give or take, if he’d calculated it correctly. And he’d never planned to ever walk into his school again, but his life had taken some weird turns over the last few years, things he hadn’t counted on.

  He’d made sure to dress the part. They were expecting the big bad rock star, so that’s what they’d get. He had on his black Ray-Bans, tight leather pants, and a red sleeveless t-shirt designed to expose the tattoos on his arms. He couldn’t spike his reddish-brown hair the way he knew his fans would expect it to look because he’d been growing it out. It was just past his chin now and lots of girls had told him it was sexy, so he was keeping it longer and messy for now until he got sick of it. But he put on his trademark, the dog tags he’d worn ever since his first photo shoot. He’d even shaved off the two or three days’ accumulation of facial hair, redefining the soul patch on his lower lip that seemed to drive the women wild.

  But while he dressed the part, he didn’t feel it. Not at all.

  And he really didn’t want to go through with the plan, either, but he’d promised. Besides, his new band’s CD had several months before release. They’d just finished recording and now it was being mixed. Riley wanted no part of that bullshit. Their manager was putting together a touring schedule and, sometime this week, their new single would be on the radio. So, for now, he wa
s in a lull and had time.

  But why had he agreed to do this? Why? Because his mother had asked him, and he’d wanted to make her happy. She hadn’t demanded it, had instead mentioned that the school was “doing” its annual cheerleader auction. Riley hadn’t remembered them doing that that back when he’d gone to school, but then again he’d been too busy drinking, smoking weed, and sniffing out pussy to have participated in lame events like that. But she’d said the auction probably wasn’t going to do as well as it had in the past because the coach had injured herself the week before. Apparently, she’d been the perfect emcee, and the school was convinced that her talents were what had led to the auction being a great fundraiser. The school had a substitute coach, but the poor girl had no clue what she was doing and had never participated in the auction before. Riley’s mother was on the school board and suggested maybe her famous son, charismatic on stage, could lead the proceedings. And then she asked Riley if he’d do it…after she’d made the principal excited about the prospect.

  Riley’s career as a heavy metal vocalist had left his parents beyond disappointed, so when he’d first agreed to it, he thought it was nice that his mother could find something to appreciate about his career, even if she never would like his music.

  But now he saw that it had just been a knee-jerk reaction to what he’d perceived as acceptance. After all, it wasn’t like he was going to be performing at the auction.

  Well, he would be, but it would be as an actor.

  So he walked into the gym, looking for a man in a beige suit as his mother had advised. That person would be the theater guy, the one who’d set up the stage and lights. Riley spotted him and, as he closed the gap, he forced his brain to pull up the guy’s name…Gill, Gall? He couldn’t remember. Or maybe it started with a D. The guy saw him coming and smiled, starting to extend a hand in greeting when Riley heard to the left, “Oh, my God! It’s true! It’s Riley Schultz. Oh, my God, I love Spawn!” Three girls ran up to him and he knew it was just the beginning of a swarm.

  Nothing new. Riley had grown used to it. He’d learned to disguise himself when he needed to—baseball caps to hide the hair, long-sleeved shirts to cover the tattoos, no jewelry, and sunglasses would allow him to walk around unnoticed most times. But, of course, they’d been banking on his name tonight, so he hadn’t covered himself at all.

  Riley knew how to charm the girls. He spent a couple of minutes chatting them up and signing autographs while more and more people started to gather around. The theater guy finally intervened. “All right, gang, break it up. You can talk to Mr. Schultz later.”

  Riley almost laughed. Mister…if this guy only knew how anti-authority Riley was, he’d know Riley never wanted to have that sort of title. He much preferred Metal God.

  Now, though, he wasn’t sure he even wanted that. He shook hands with the theater teacher, avoiding calling him by name, thereby announcing he’d forgotten. One of the kids on his tech crew called him Mr. Gill, so Riley wouldn’t have to worry anymore. Better yet, Mr. Gill insisted that Riley call him Ron. Basically, Riley would be reading off note cards to introduce each of the girls, but even beforehand, the co-captains of the football team were giving a PowerPoint presentation full of pictures of the cheerleading squad together, along with separate pictures of each young woman. Then Riley would take over, playing emcee-slash-auctioneer.

  Gill was bending his ear, trying to impress Riley with his stage, lights, and sound setup, but Riley just kind of wished he was curled up on his mom’s couch, riding a high, watching DVDs. Hell, if he’d been smart, he would’ve smoked a bowl before attending this shindig. Too late now. Gill finally showed Riley where he could hang out next to the stage until it was his time to shine. Riley sat in a chair next to the platform and looked out over the audience. And then it hit him. It was in this same fuckin’ place he’d begun the path he was on now. He and four of his buddies had participated in a Battle of the Bands during his senior year in high school. Looking out over the audience now, he wondered why he hadn’t been freaked out. But then he remembered. Part of his calmness was thanks to his overwhelming confidence; part of it was because of several swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, his drink of choice back in the day.

  He wasn’t freaked out now, just bored as shit.

  But then he spotted her. A fucking gorgeous blonde sitting on the bleachers next to the cheerleaders. Was she the substitute cheerleading coach and, if so, could he spend his week at home getting to know her a little better?

  Well, that was a stupid idea, but maybe they could hang a little.

  Once he’d spotted her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was wearing an ivory dress, but from where he was sitting, he couldn’t tell if it was long or short, demure or sexy. And her hair was pulled up and back with just a few wisps of hair flowing out here and there. She wore long, dangly silver earrings. What struck Riley, though, was how nervous and stressed she looked. Yeah…that had to be the coach. His mother had mentioned the stand-in coach was reluctant.

  Maybe a little dose of Riley would make her feel better about the whole thing.

  He almost laughed out loud at how the old Riley cockiness just never left him. He’d become quite a good actor, almost believing the character he portrayed. Yeah, there’d been no doubt he’d really been that way early on in his career, but life had changed him. He was no longer the cocky, arrogant, self-assured man he’d been ten years ago. In fact, if people knew how the real Riley was…well, they might not be fans anymore.

  Thus, the act had to be maintained. He could only be real when he was by himself.

  Fortunately, most girls dug the act. They liked the alpha male, confident vibe he threw off, even when they knew it meant he probably wouldn’t end up with them. It was one of those qualities that had helped him lead his old band Spawn to superstardom. A confident frontman was worth his weight in gold.

  God, he was glad he’d kept the sunglasses on. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her dress had thin shoulder straps, so he could appreciate her lightly tanned shoulders and how the dress tried to show just a little cleavage, but from here he couldn’t appreciate it as well as he knew he could close up. And her makeup wasn’t overdone. It was obvious she cared about her appearance, but she looked natural.

  Riley took a deep breath. Had to stop thinking that way. Of course, he couldn’t expect a high school teacher to act like a groupie. No way could he get that fine piece of ass in his bed tonight. Wasn’t happening. Had to stop getting himself worked up like that.

  The PowerPoint was finally over and the jocks introduced Riley. He slipped on his rock star mask while he slid the Ray-Bans off, hanging them in the front of his t-shirt. Time for the show to begin.

  Chapter Three

  ERIN WAS UNCOMFORTABLE. No, it wasn’t the dress. The dress, while a little too revealing, wasn’t pulling or bunching. It wasn’t too tight…a little snug and form-fitting, but it was just for one night, she reminded herself. So she could deal with the discomfort of putting herself on display. It was for a good cause.

  At least that’s what she kept telling herself. She could have kicked herself for not knowing up front what she’d been getting herself into. She’d had no idea the coach was auctioned too until earlier today. But now here she was, getting ready to be sold along with the cheerleaders under her supervision, wearing an old dress she’d worn to her parents’ forty-year anniversary celebration last summer.

  Dear God.

  And if she felt like a bug under a microscope now, she knew it would only be worse once she had to actually stand onstage.

  It felt like they’d been waiting forever, but she knew it had only been about ten minutes. Another five or so and they’d begin the proceedings. She heard and saw a commotion near one of the double doors leading into the gym. She was drawn to it and that’s when she saw him. She knew it was him even though she could only see the top of his head.

  It had to be Riley Schultz, former lead singer of the now-defunct band Spa
wn. She knew all about their history. In fact, she’d liked Spawn. They’d had a few hit singles, but being a metal fan, she’d bought all their albums. She knew they were a few years older than she—Winchester was proud of the local boys who became famous, and she knew she’d been in middle school about the time they were seniors in high school, so she’d never really known them. But she’d listened to their music and followed their careers. Between Hit Parader and Wikipedia, Erin knew that Riley had never been married, hadn’t had any children (that he knew about anyway), and was now in a new band called something like Undue Influence that would be releasing a new single any day now, would begin touring midsummer, and would be releasing their first album late summer or early fall.

  In fact, in high school, Erin had fantasized more than a little about Riley Schultz. Hey, it could happen, right?

  But she’d outgrown her schoolgirl crush and had moved on. When she’d found out he would be hosting the auction tonight, she almost feigned illness. She had no idea how she would react around someone famous…especially someone she’d crushed on so long ago.

  But she got over it. She was an adult, for God’s sake, and had to go on with the show. They’d have the auction; she could get a little excited seeing a famous rock star up close; and then she could go on some stupid-ass date and get on with her life.

  Oh, part of her was more than a little excited. Part of her felt like a fangirl. But Erin was no idiot. She knew rock stars never wound up with groupies (well, maybe for a quick lay), and if she threw herself at him, she’d never have a chance.

  Who was she kidding? She didn’t have a chance anyway. For all she knew, he had a serious girlfriend just waiting for him to finish this gig.