Текст книги "Diamonds"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

TWELVE DAYS.

It took Jude twelve days to call Bryna back.

She saw his name on her phone, and she wasn’t sure which emotions she conjured first. Anger, joy, frustration, hope—they all hit her with an onslaught.

He’s calling!

He’s calling now after all this time? What took him so long?

She wouldn’t know the answer to any of her questions if she didn’t answer the phone. With a rush of courage, she swiped the touch screen to the side. “Hello?”

“Bri,” he said in relief.

“Hi, Jude.” Anger was winning out. How dare he make me wait this long!

“How are you?”

She remembered back to when she had first met him, and he had made her wait five weeks before he called. She had tried to be cool and collected, playing it off, but it had bothered her. And it bothered her more now.

“Frustrated and confused. I don’t like to skirt around issues. We need to talk.”

“You’re right. I should have called you right away, like I said I would. I was pissed and irrational, but,” he said softly, “Bri, I’ve missed you so much.”

Her resolve weakened slightly at those words. God, I’ve missed him. Even if she was angry and uncertain about the state of their relationship, she had still wanted to rush over to him and make it all right. How is he able to pull such emotions out of me? “I missed you, too. But how could you make me wait like this? It’s not like I was the only one in the wrong. You lied to me about where you were going to be. What were you even doing there?”

“I know. I had planned to be out of town for work, but I ended up staying in town instead.”

“Why?” she asked. She had been thinking about this since that night. She couldn’t figure out why he had skipped his work plans to go to the hotel for New Year’s. There had to be a reason.

“I was still working. A lot of my clients were there that night.”

“You keep saying that, but I don’t know what it means. The more I think about it, the more my imagination runs away with me. What do you do?”

Jude sighed. “It’s really not that crazy.”

“Then, why do you have to hide it from me?”

“You act as if you don’t have any secrets when I caught you kissing another man,” he accused.

“I didn’t kiss anyone. If you had let me explain instead of avoiding me, you would have known the truth.”

“I saw what happened, Bri. I was standing right there.”

“If you had been there the whole time, then you would have seen me slap him across the face and storm off. Because that’s what I did!” she said, her voice rising.

“Really?” he asked. He sounded like he didn’t believe her, but he wanted to. At least he was intrigued and listening to her side. She had wanted to say this for almost two weeks. Now the floodgates opened.

“Yes! I went with him as a friend, and then he got swept up in the moment at midnight. I chewed him out for trying anything because I’m dating you. I only want you.” She felt her anger dwindling. It was replaced with sadness at the fact that any of this had to be said at all.

“Who was he?”

“Does it matter?” she asked. “Either you believe me when I say he is just a friend and I never intended for that to happen, or you don’t.”

The line was silent for a minute.

“I believe you. I simply wonder if you would have ever told me that he kissed you if I hadn’t seen it for myself.”

Would I have? Probably not. It hadn’t meant anything to her, and he wouldn’t have needed to know. She knew he would have been pissed. If she had been in his shoes and he had been with someone else on New Year’s, she would have been pissed, too.

“I didn’t think so,” he said.

“What do you want me to say, Jude? I never would have hidden that I was with my friend on New Year’s if we were able to be honest with each other. You could have told me that you were going to be at Chateau Marmont for work, and then we could have met up and had a proper New Year’s kiss. Instead, we’re stuck behind this veil of mystery. You won’t trust me with your secrets, so how can I trust you with mine?” she asked hopelessly.

“You’re right,” he said softly. “I think it’s time I tell you everything and let you decide what this is once you have all the facts.”

“I’d like that.”

In truth, it terrified her a bit. What is he hiding that could make me change my mind about him? Will he change his mind about me? Guess I’ll find out.

“I can get away tonight,” she told him.

He groaned. “Unfortunately, I’m not free until next weekend. This time, I actually am out of town. I’m in Chicago.”

“Oh.” Great. Just what she wanted to do, wait another week before they could get all of this out in the open. Not to mention—she missed him and wanted to be with him every second. His job was so inconvenient. Though it did have its advantages.

“How about next weekend?” he suggested.

She swallowed. “Sounds good.”

It could all be over by next weekend.

A WEEK LATER, Bryna walked into her last class. Her spot was open between Avery and Tara, but she hadn’t been sitting in it since she had kicked them off the committee. She had replaced them with two other cheerleaders who had been ecstatic to see their stars rising.

She sat down in her new seat near the front of the room as her phone started buzzing noisily in her purse.

Fuck! Who the hell is calling me while I’m in school?

She checked the screen and smiled brightly.

“Miss Turner, please put your phone away,” the teacher instructed. She looked annoyed that Bryna would even have it out, as if all the students didn’t text through her class.

“It’s my father calling from New Zealand. I have to take this,” she said. She confidently strode from the room. “Dad!”

“Hey, sweetie!”

“I’m in the middle of school. Time difference is kind of killer.”

“Sorry about that. I’ll send an apology over to Harmony, but I had to speak with you. Did you talk with anyone from LV State?” he asked, his tone turning serious.

“No. Pace said someone called, but they didn’t call back.”

“That’s funny because they called me, worried that my daughter wasn’t interested in doing a campus visit. What is this I hear? You don’t want to go to LV State? It’s my alma mater, Bryna. Your mother’s alma mater. It’s where you belong,” he insisted.

“I still want to go there. I didn’t speak to anyone. It must have been Pace. He’s been playing this silly game, but it’s getting out of hand. He’s trying to sabotage my college prospects,” she said, playing on the sweet and innocent vibe.

“I’ll deal with your stepbrother, Bryna. But you have to go to that college visit that they set up. They wanted me to be there this weekend, but just because I’m not in town doesn’t mean you’re exempt,” he told her.

“This weekend?” she groaned. “I have plans this weekend.”

“Break them. Your future is more important.”

Fuck! She was supposed to have her big talk with Jude this weekend, and now, she had to call the whole thing off. And she couldn’t even tell him where she was going to be, not without giving everything up before they met in person. The whole thing was frustrating.

As soon as she left school, she called Jude to break the news to him. They would have to plan another day to talk about their problems. Hopefully they would be able to chat on Monday as long as he didn’t leave again right away. He had a tendency to do that.

When she finally spoke to Jude, he seemed suspicious on the phone, but when she explained that it was an emergency, he backed down. After that call with her dad, there wasn’t any way for her to get out of it, and she promised Jude she would make it up to him as soon as they could meet again.

She was packing for Las Vegas when Celia called up the stairs. “Bryna! Your boyfriend is here.”

Bryna cringed. Boyfriend. She must be talking about Gates. It was all so fucking confusing. She couldn’t tell Celia that she and Gates weren’t dating without raising red flags about what had happened over Christmas, and she hated explaining anything to that dimwit. Hopefully, the air would be cleared up soon enough.

She stepped out into the hallway as Gates reached the top of the stairs. “Hey, B.”

“Gates,” she said with a nod. She gestured for him to follow her back into her room.

Once he was inside, he shut the door. His eyes surveyed the mess. “Well, I was going to see if you wanted to go out, but it looks like you’re leaving.”

“LV State invited me to a recruitment weekend.”

“Vegas?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “Can I come, too?”

“Don’t you have shit to do with your movie?”

“Nah. I have some free time before I finish off the promotion. You still coming to the premiere with me?”

“Yeah. Yeah. That’s fine,” she said, distracted. “You can come to Vegas, too. Whatever.”

“You okay? You seem out of it.”

“Jude and I were supposed to have this big talk this weekend, but my dad found out about this weekend visit, so I have to go now. I’m so pissed, and I don’t know how this talk is going to go at all.”

She tossed an LV State T-shirt into her bag and then tried to force it closed. Gates pushed it down, zipping it for her.

“Try not to stress it, B. You clearly love the guy.”

Bryna dropped the suitcase she had just picked up and stared up at him with terrified eyes. “What did you just say?”

“You love him, don’t you?” Gates asked. The typical humor in his eyes was replaced with sadness.

“I…don’t want to talk about this,” she muttered.

Not with Gates.

Not with anyone.

Love. That was the biggest four-letter word out there.

Do I love Jude? Her throat closed up, and her palms started sweating. She felt sick.

No, she wasn’t going to think about that.

“All right. Are you staying on campus, or should I get us a place at the Bellagio?” Gates asked, changing the subject.

“I’m supposed to stay on campus, but get us a room in case the place is shit,” she suggested.

“Done.”

Gates immediately got on the phone with his manager and asked him to book them a room on the Strip for the weekend. They stopped at Gates’s place to pick up an overnight bag and then headed out.

They arrived on campus just off of the Vegas Strip late that night. After checking in at the visitor’s center, she was given directions to the campus hotel. The room was nice enough that she decided to stay there.

Gates drove back to the Bellagio alone with big plans to go to the casino and stay up half the night playing blackjack.

She had a meeting the next day, so she got some much-needed sleep before heading to the president’s building in the morning. His assistant directed her down the hall to a large conference room. She stepped inside a roomful of other students. She wondered what they were all being recruited for. How many parents did the president personally contact to get them here?

She saw President West speaking to a few students on the other side of the room. He smiled when he saw her, but she walked in the opposite direction. Is he seeing me or dollar signs?

She might have ended up here at her father’s insistence, but she wanted to like LV State. It had always been her top choice. She had been on campus since she was a baby. She wanted to rule like she did now at Harmony. But with nearly fifty thousand students, would that be possible? The thought set her on edge. She wanted to find her people…now. She didn’t want to wait for school to start to make friends and step into the limelight.

Bryna tried mingling with a few students and found out that many of them were there for a scholarship interview. They were finalists for a full-ride merit scholarship. She ended up sitting next to one of the girls during lunch with the president. The university had flown the girl in from some small town in Alabama, and she had a thick Southern drawl that made it difficult for Bryna to understand half of what she was saying. It was clear…these were not her people.

By the end of lunch, she was glad to skip the tour for her meeting with the head football coach, Coach Galloway. While he was a young coach, he had earned the spot at LV State two years ago after there was a scandal with the previous coach. Coach Galloway took the team to a national championship victory that year and wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon. Her father had made it a point to become friends with him, so she was relatively well acquainted with him.

She walked into the athletic complex and straight to his office. She knocked twice.

“Come in.”

She pushed open the door. “Coach Galloway, it’s so great to see you again.”

“Bryna, how are you?” He stood, shook her hand, and gave her a dimpled smile.

“Great. It’s so good to be back on campus.”

“Glad to hear that. Why don’t you sit down?”

She took him up on his offer and sat in the chair opposite his desk.

“How is your father doing?”

Bryna held back her sigh. “He’s filming on location in New Zealand, so he is incredibly busy.”

“It was unfortunate that he couldn’t attend the homecoming game this year. And we’re missing him this weekend.”

“So am I.”

Everyone always asking about her dad. Between Gates and her dad, people were going to know who she was on campus all right. It made her second-guess the decision to bring Gates along…and second-guess this meeting as well.

“I’m sure he’ll be around next year when I’m cheering on the sidelines.”

Coach Galloway laughed jovially and nodded. “I’m sure he will.”

A knock on the door sounded, and she turned around to see who was interrupting.

“Hey, Coach. You called for me?”

“I did. Bryna, let me introduce you to our student representative.”

Bryna’s smile brightened. “Eric Wilkins.”

He turned at his name, and she drank him in. Six feet tall, dark brown hair, light honey–hazel eyes. He was still built as if he had never blown out his knee beyond recognition last year in the middle of his touchdown interception that won them the game during the national championship.

“I shouldn’t be surprised you recognize him. Eric is training underneath me as a student coach,” Coach Galloway told her. “Eric, this is Bryna Turner. Her father is Lawrence Turner, nineteen eighty-eight National Championship winner.”

Eric nodded appreciatively and walked over to shake her hand. “I love his movies,” he told her. “Clever work.”

“Thanks,” she murmured.

“If you don’t mind, Eric, I’d love for you to show Bryna around. Her father is a very esteemed alumnus.”

Bryna stared back at Coach Galloway in surprise. They really were bringing in the big guns if they were getting Eric Wilkins to show her around. She wondered how many millions of dollars her dad donated every year for her to be getting this kind of treatment.

“Of course, Coach.”

“Well, I have some more business to attend to here. It was great seeing you again, Bryna. I’ll probably make a surprise appearance at the Sunday send-off brunch, so we’ll talk again there.”

Bryna took that as her dismissal. She shook the coach’s hand again and then left the office with Eric.

“So, what are your plans today?” Eric asked. “Campus tour? Sit through an information session on the school? Tour the dorms?”

She cringed. “No, thanks. I’d rather do what students actually do on campus.”

He laughed. “Get drunk and play football?”

“Sounds like my scene,” she told him truthfully. If she made friends now, then she would be one step closer to taking over the school.

“Then, we need to go to Posse.”

BRYNA MET UP WITH GATES AND ERIC on campus later that evening to go to Posse. The guys seemed to size each other up when they were introduced. They were about the same height, but Eric had a bigger build. Gates had lost some of the insane definition he had needed while on set for Broken Road.

After a few seconds, they smiled and shook hands.

They walked off campus to the club Eric had recommended. Gates and Eric talked easily the whole way while Bryna was lost in thought.

If her father hadn’t forced her to come to this recruitment weekend, she would be locked away in Jude’s apartment, discussing everything they had been holding back. Instead, she was on campus, being escorted by two guys who would probably sleep with her with a snap of her fingers.

She wasn’t looking forward to explaining all of that to Jude once they finally made their confessions. Then again, it was nothing compared to the fact that she was seventeen and still in high school.

“This is the place,” Eric said.

Posse was a colossal building with a bright green neon sign on the front. Eric got them past the bouncer and inside. The interior was a giant open space with multiple bars and tiered balconies overlooking the dance floor. A DJ blasted hip-hop music. Outside, there was a pool with several swim-up bars. The room had an energy that she couldn’t explain. It was hypnotic.

She and Gates followed Eric through the crowd to one of the bars. He shook hands with a bunch of huge football players, and then he introduced them. She got a couple of appreciative looks and just kept her smile on her face. This was what she wanted to be doing next year—cheering on the sidelines, hanging out with football players, and overall, being the most desired person at the school. She needed to push Jude out of her thoughts tonight and enjoy her time here.

“Drink?” Eric offered.

“Yeah,” she said, leaning her chest against the bar. “What’s good here?”

He smiled down at her and pressed himself into the space between her and the guy behind him. They were nearly touching.

“Everything.”

She glanced away from him and back toward the bar. She knew he was only flirting with her because the coach had told him to accommodate her. Couldn’t lose any of their booster money. But still, he was good at it.

“I’d like a dirty martini,” she finally told him.

“If you like martinis, I’d recommend the Peppermint Posse.”

“I’m in.”

Eric flagged the bartender, and she scooted out from the bar. If Jude weren’t in her life, she would have been all over Eric. But not tonight. When the bartender appeared in front of him, Eric ordered her martini and himself a beer. Gates already had one in hand from another blonde bartender. She must have recognized him because her mouth was dropped open in surprise.

Her Peppermint Posse drink was not only delicious, but it was also potent. She could feel her buzz setting in quickly.

By the time their group walked outside, she lost count of how many martinis she had consumed. Eric was talking to a couple of football players nearby. They kept shooting glances in her direction. Gates was by her side but talking to another blonde. She kept looking at Bryna as if wondering her relationship to Gates and how soon she could get him away from Bryna.

Bryna ignored the girl and motioned for another martini from a passing waiter. The waiter brought her the drink, and she started downing it. God, this stuff is amazing.

“Gates,” Bryna whispered, leaning into him.

“Bri, not right now.” He moved closer to the other girl.

“I’m going to call Jude.”

He furrowed his brows. “Not a good idea. You’re drunk.”

“I’m fine,” she slurred.

Her eyes wandered back over to Eric. He met her gaze and smiled before continuing to talk to the other players.

“Oh, and, Gates?”

“Yeah, B?”

“Don’t you think Eric is hot?”

Gates sighed and shook his head. He excused himself from the girl he was talking to and walked them a short distance away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea either. You’re really drunk.”

“Do you think he thinks I’m hot?” she asked. Her head felt beyond fuzzy. She could barely keep her eyes open. What the fuck was in those drinks?

“Every guy in this place thinks you’re hot, Bri. Because you are. And if I didn’t know you loved someone else back in Los Angeles, I would drag you out of this bar, back to our hotel room, and fuck you.”

Bryna softly patted his cheek. “That sounds fun.”

Gates closed his eyes and ran a hand back through his hair. “We should go. I should take you back to campus.”

“But I’m having so much fun!”

He moved her to a lounge chair and sat her down. “I’m going to let Eric know we’re leaving. Don’t move your crazy ass out of this seat.”

“Or you’ll spank it?” she asked, giggling.

“Just don’t move it, okay?”

As soon as he walked away, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jude’s number.

He answered groggily, “Bri?”

“Jude! Oh my God, I miss you.”

“Are you drunk?” he asked.

“No. Okay, maybe.”

He sighed. “Where are you?”

“Las Vegas,” she told him. “I fucking love this city.”

“Are you safe? Is everything okay? Do I need to come out there and get you?” He was gradually growing more fearful.

“No, don’t worry. I’m with Gates. He’s taking care of me,” she said completely nonchalant.

“Who the hell is Gates?” Jude asked. His voice shifted to something dark that she didn’t recognize in her state.

“My ex-boyfriend, but don’t worry. We’re just friends now.”

“You are in Las Vegas with your ex-boyfriend…instead of in Los Angeles with me?”

“Yeah. But I’m visiting LV State, and Eric Wilkins is here!”

“Bri, what the fuck is going on with you? You’re with your ex and a college football player? Do you even know what those guys are like?”

“It’s not like that,” she insisted. “We’re just having a good time.”

“I know guys like him and their idea of a good time,” he said menacingly.

Gates walked back over right then. “Bri, what the fuck are you doing? Get off the goddamn phone.”

“Who is that?” Jude asked.

“That’s Gates. Here, talk to him!” She handed the phone off to Gates and flopped back on the lounge chair.

Gates took the phone out of her hand and stared at it before answering, “Hey, man. I’m sure this sounds really bad, but I’m just taking your girl back to her room, so she can sleep.”

After a few seconds, Gates responded again through gritted teeth, “Yeah. I understand you perfectly.” He hung up the phone and tossed it back into Bryna’s purse. “Let’s go.”

“Is Jude coming?”

“No,” he said, putting his arm under her shoulders and helping her up.

“Can Eric come?”

“You’re not his type.”

“But why? I thought I was everyone’s type.” She squinted up at him, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh my God, is he gay? Is that why he never made a move?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Gates shrugged. “Let’s get you back to campus. Now, Bri.”

“Will you stay with me?” she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He closed his eyes and sighed, clearly restraining himself. “Yes.”

“You’re the best,” she told him before blacking out.

Bryna woke up with a headache from hell.

She sat up in bed and felt her stomach roll. “Oh God,” she groaned, covering her mouth. She stood up as quickly as she could, tripped over something on the floor, and stumbled into the wall.

“Jesus, Bri,” Gates grumbled from where he lay on the floor.

She didn’t even respond. She rushed to the bathroom and emptied her stomach. After a few minutes of retching, she stood on uneasy feet, brushed her teeth, and wandered back into the room. She felt like absolute shit.

“What are you doing on the floor?” she groaned. She collapsed back into bed.

“Because I’m a gentleman,” he joked. He scooted her over and climbed into bed next to her. “How much of last night do you remember?”

She looked up at him uncertainly. “We went to Posse. I was drinking martinis.”

He ran a hand over his eyes and then filled her in on the rest of the night. If she hadn’t already been sick, then she was pretty sure she would have been again. Her face paled, and she clutched the comforter in her hands.

“Oh my God,” she murmured. “I need to go home and see Jude.”

“What about your meeting today?”

She shook her head. “I’ll tell them I’m sick. I can’t believe I said those things to Jude. I can’t believe you talked to him. I can’t believe Eric is gay.”

“All a rather shocking night,” Gates agreed. He looked so concerned about her, but she couldn’t even function right now.

“Hey,” she said, turning to face him. “Thank you for taking care of me. I know this wasn’t easy.”

Gates smiled wearily and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Anything for you, B.” His hand lingered a second too long. “Well, let’s get you back to L.A. before you do anything else stupid.”

After a quick shower and a call to the administration, Bryna and Gates were on their way back to Los Angeles. Bryna tried to reach Jude on the drive, but he didn’t pick up. She was disappointed but not surprised. It seemed to be his MO to hole up whenever he was pissed off. She didn’t really blame him for being angry this time. She had a good excuse for being in Vegas, which she would explain to him when they finally spoke. She honestly didn’t think she needed an excuse for being there with Gates since they were just friends and nothing had happened besides her drunken ridiculousness. However, she did need to apologize for how she had acted on the phone. What the hell was I thinking?

She had completely blacked out, so she really didn’t even know. Her best guess was, she hadn’t been thinking at all.

As soon as Bryna returned from Las Vegas, she hopped in her car and drove over to Jude’s apartment. She couldn’t let him sit there and obsess over what had happened. If New Year’s were any indication, she wouldn’t hear from him for over a week…not until he cooled off. But they had too much to discuss to wait that long.

She parked her car and then walked up to his apartment. Her stomach was in knots as she knocked on the front door. When nothing happened, she knocked again.

Still nothing.

She pulled out her phone and tried calling him. The phone went straight to voice mail. Fuck! He was ignoring her.

When pounding on the door accomplished nothing, she returned to her car and sat down in horror. She had fucked everything up. All she had wanted to do was experience college the way she was supposed to. She wouldn’t have ever been there if it weren’t for her dad, and now, her relationship was going up in flames. She choked back on the ache spreading out from her chest. I cannot lose Jude over this!

Just as she was about to pull out from the garage, a text came in.

Can’t talk right now.

She messaged back.

Please let me explain.

I’m not free again for two weeks.

Bryna checked her calendar and cursed. Of course he would pick her busiest weekend of the year. Gates’s premiere and the Pink Charity Benefit.

I can meet you late Friday night. It’s Valentine’s Day.

Fine.

She ground her teeth. She had so much she wanted to say in that moment.

Call me when you can. I would really like to apologize.

She waited for him to respond, but when he didn’t, she pulled out of the parking lot and started driving. She was halfway home when she received his last message.

I can’t call. I’m with my wife.

Her heart plummeted.