Текст книги "Gold"

Автор книги: K. A. Linde

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Текущая страница: 19 (всего у книги 26 страниц)

ERIC WAS A CONSTANT THOUGHT in the back of her mind.

Bryna didn’t know what had happened that night or how she had lost control so easily. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She was trying to move on with her life and make good decisions. But being around him perpetuated the darker side of her personality. She wanted and wanted and wanted when she was with him. She couldn’t get enough, and that was dangerous.

So, she avoided him during games and on the plane for away games and at the hotel and practices and everywhere else she saw him. She knew he was waiting for her to make up her mind, but it was so clear that she had already decided.

She’d chosen Cam. They had gone to lunch a couple of times after class, he’d message her a lot, and they’d chat online. It was real, stable, and normal. She liked where it was going even if they were moving at a glacial pace.

Of course, that was her doing since she had told him he couldn’t come in that first night, and he’d agreed to take things slow. It wasn’t bad. Her body was just on fire.

Cam was coming to the next home game and then they were going out with her friends afterward. She was excited for her friends to finally meet Cam, but she wasn’t sure how she felt about sharing him yet. She had never really dated anyone before who the girls could meet. Another new experience.

The night before the home game, she was lounging around the apartment with Trihn when the doorbell rang. Trihn hopped up and answered it. A minute later, she returned with an envelope.

“Um…this is for you.” She held it close to her chest.

Bryna raised her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah?”

She reached for it, but Trihn kept it away from her.

“It says Westercamp.”

“What?” Bryna asked, suddenly chilled.

“Yeah. It looks official, and a courier delivered it.”

Bryna snatched the envelope from her friend and tore it open. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Trihn asked anxiously.

The check she had left at the WC Resort fell out of the envelope and onto the coffee table in front of them.

“He returned it,” Bryna breathed.

“The check for the house? Oh my God. What are you going to do with it?”

“I…I don’t know. I thought I was doing the right thing by returning it. I never thought he would give it back to me.”

“You were doing the right thing,” Trihn said. She reverently held the check between her hands. “This is an absurd amount of money. You can’t keep it.”

“No. I never intended on keeping it. I just wanted him to know that I didn’t want the money,” she said, still shocked. “Do you think he thought I was throwing it back in his face?” Just the thought of that made her queasy.

“I don’t know,” Trihn said honestly.

“Oh God.” Bryna was horrified.

He couldn’t think that, could he? She hadn’t wanted to hurt him in the first place. She had returned the money for the house as a gesture to show that she had cared about him and that it hadn’t been just about the money. In fact, she didn’t even need the money, and he should have taken it back. The last thing she’d wanted was for him to think that she had sold the house to spite him or something equally horrible.

“It’s okay, B,” Trihn said. “That wasn’t your intention.”

“I know. I know.” She took a deep breath. “I have to figure out how to fix this.”

“You will. We’ll figure it out.”

Bryna nodded. She carefully replaced the check in the envelope and put it in a safe in her room. She didn’t know what she was going to do from here. She had thought she was doing the right thing. Once again, it’d backfired in her face.

Changing into a slip, she crawled into bed and hoped she would dream up a solution.

The next day, Bryna didn’t have an answer, but at least she would have a full day of football to keep her mind occupied. It was a gorgeous day with the sun beating down overhead. Her muscles were strong and ready for the cheers and stunts that were ingrained in her mind. She had a smile plastered on her face as the Gamblers easily whooped their opponent.

Halfway through the game, Coach Galloway pulled out the starters, including Marshall, and Pace went in as quarterback.

Stacia jumped up and down next to Bryna with excitement. “My boyfriend is in as QB!”

“I can see that,” Bryna said dryly.

Her base, Daniel, rolled his eyes, and Bryna fought back laughter.

“Mission complete,” Stacia said.

Bryna shook her head and returned her focus to the game. She hated admitting that Pace looked good out there. She knew from Stacia’s rants and her own general knowledge of Pace that he wasn’t satisfied as the backup. She could see why, too.

Even though Marshall was better, Pace was still really good. He could have been starting at almost every other school, but he had chosen LV State to mess with her. She wondered if he now stayed for Stacia or if he had a bigger agenda she hadn’t yet discerned. Either way, she wasn’t going to let him know that she thought he was good at anything. He had stopped his harassment for the most part, and she wanted to keep it that way.

When the game ended, her eyes turned to the stands to try to find Cam. Trihn had promised she would bring him down onto the field afterward. She heard someone clear his throat behind her, and she turned to find herself staring up in the most perfect hazel eyes.

She took a step back to give herself some distance and tried to ignore how good Eric looked in his coaching outfit.

“Hey,” she said softly.

There were a lot of people around. Thousands of people. And the only person she could focus on was right in front of her. She had a problem. A major problem. And his name was Eric Wilkins.

“Are you going out tonight?” he asked brusquely.

Bryna tensed. “Yeah.”

“With the new guy?”

“Yeah.”

Eric simply nodded. “Okay.” Then, he turned and walked away.

Bryna looked over her shoulder momentarily to see if she could see Cam or Trihn, but it was still too crowded for them to get on the field. She raced after Eric and grabbed his arm to stop him.

Sparks flew threw her hand upon contact, and she hastily removed it. Touching him was dangerous. “Wait…why?” she asked.

“I was deciding whether or not to stay in tonight.”

“Are you staying in like last year?” she asked. The image of Audrey popped into her head, and she hated herself for remembering that day.

“No. I’m staying in because of you. I told you I was done with her. We’re done. It’s that simple.” He sighed. His eyes silently pleaded with her.

“Why? I’m not giving you a reason. I’m not giving you hope.”

He tilted his head and assessed her. A slow smile crept onto his face. “I have hope. You’re talking to me now, and I remember the way you kissed me, the feel of your skin, that look in your eye—”

“Stop!” she said desperately. She realized how close together they were, and she took a hasty step backward. She hadn’t even known they had moved toward each other like magnets.

“See? There’s still hope.”

“Eric…”

“But I’m not going to torture myself. You said no and stop, and I’m not forcing you into anything, Bri,” he said. “I do have to tell you that I think you’re making a big mistake.”

He walked away before she could respond. Not that she had any idea what she would have said. Things with Eric were…complicated. She didn’t want complicated tonight.

“Hey!” Cam said from behind her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she turned to face him. He pulled her into a quick hug. She hoped she had composed herself.

“Hey, you!”

He released her. She noticed Trihn and Neal behind her. Trihn nodded her head and gave her a look that said she had seen Bryna with Eric. She shrugged lightly. Their unspoken communication.

“Who was your friend?”

“What friend?” she asked.

“The guy you were talking to.”

“Oh. Nobody.” She needed to change the subject. “How did you like the game?”

He shrugged. “It was football. Neal is pretty cool though. He filled me in on this Posse situation.”

Oh no! Bryna knew exactly what Neal thought about Posse and their entourage.

Bryna narrowed her eyes. “What exactly did he say?”

“Just that I should expect to drink and dance all night.”

She breathed out in relief. “Sounds about right.”

“Should be fun.”

“I think so.” She smiled as he laced their fingers together. “I have to change, and then we can head out.”

Bryna hurried after Stacia to go into the locker rooms. Trihn jogged after her, leaving Neal and Cam all alone to wait for them.

“What was that all about?” Trihn asked.

“What was what about?” Bryna asked innocently.

“That whole thing with Eric.”

“There’s nothing with Eric.”

“There clearly is,” she said, placing her hand on Bryna’s arm to stop her. “I don’t want you to get hurt again. Talk to me. What’s happening? Do you really like Cam? He doesn’t seem like your type, and I don’t want you to lead him on if you’re not interested.”

Bryna wrenched her arm away. “I’m not leading Cam on. I like him. We have fun together.”

“Then, what is going on with Eric? And don’t say nothing.”

“Nothing,” she said automatically.

Trihn glared at her, and she sighed.

“We slept together.”

“What?” Trihn shrieked.

“Shh!”

“Sorry. What? You slept with Eric? When? Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”

“It was at the beginning of the school year before I went out with Cam. It was the first time we saw each other since last year, and I don’t know. Things just exploded.”

“Literally.”

Bryna shoved Trihn. “Yes. Literally. Jesus. Then, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I was trying to be this new person, and the person I’d been around him was a lie. Everything got jumbled. I don’t want to be with someone who I was only comfortable around because I thought he was gay for over a year.”

“Are you sure that was the only reason you were comfortable?” Trihn asked meaningfully.

“Yes! I just…” She shook her head and tried to get all her thoughts together. “I want this to be easy and effortless. I want to be strong, Trihn, but it seems like the harder I try to be strong, the weaker and more vulnerable I become.”

Trihn grabbed her and hugged the breath out of her. “I know just what you mean.”

Bryna hugged her back. She was glad she didn’t have to explain any further.

They headed into the locker rooms, and Bryna changed into more appropriate clothing for Posse. When they returned, Cam and Neal were standing with Pace at the entrance to the locker rooms. The sight of them all together made her uneasy.

“Ready to go?” Pace asked impatiently.

Stacia bounded over to him and snuggled up into his arms. “I’m ready.”

Bryna barely restrained herself from gagging. Trihn sent her a sympathetic look. She wasn’t fond of Pace either. She hadn’t witnessed firsthand the bullshit he had put Bryna through, but she’d claimed that she got a bad vibe from him. Bryna couldn’t agree more.

The group proceeded to Stacia’s SUV, which was the biggest vehicle between them. It wasn’t far to Posse. They could have walked from the football stadium, but it was nice to have a car nearby regardless. Pace took the keys from Stacia and revved the engine as everyone else piled in.

She couldn’t believe she was willingly hanging out with Pace. It felt so wrong. Bryna tried to tune out his bullshit about how he should be the new starter for the team after getting playtime on the field. She ground her teeth and leaned into Cam. He put his arm around her shoulders in response.

“If only Coach didn’t have such a stick up his ass for Marshall,” Pace droned on. “Speaking of, you know who has been in a shit mood lately?”

“Who?” Stacia asked, enraptured.

“Eric.”

Bryna jolted slightly and looked up into Pace’s eyes in the rearview mirror. They were mischievous. She knew he had brought up Eric on purpose. Trihn swiveled around to check on Bryna. Bryan’s eyes widened slightly, telling Trihn not to give Pace the satisfaction of a reaction. She didn’t want Cam to notice.

“He has been yelling at everyone and biting our heads off for dumb shit. I think he needs to get laid. We’re all determined to find him a new girl.”

Neutral. Completely neutral.

“Bryna, you’re close with him, right? Maybe you could talk to him.”

“No,” she said flatly.

“Come on. You guys were joined at the hip last year. Maybe you could recommend someone we could hook him up with,” he teased.

“Shut the fuck up, Pace,” she growled.

He had an uncanny ability to get under her skin like no one else.

At her outburst, Cam stiffened next to her. She could see that he was looking at her curiously from the corner of his eye. She couldn’t make eye contact.

“What?” Pace said. He raised his hands from the steering wheel as if he were innocent. “I thought since you two were…friends, you could get him to chill.”

“We’re not friends.”

Trihn slapped Pace on the back of the head. Stacia whispered animatedly to him at the front of the car. From the backseat, Bryna couldn’t hear her, but she was glad that at least it shut him up even if he had said more than she wanted.

The car was suddenly stifling, and she was internally screaming, Let me out of here!

BRYNA WAS MORE THAN HAPPY when they pulled up in front of Posse. Pace parked the car, and she hurried outside where she could breathe. She couldn’t believe Pace had brought that shit up in. He had been trying to start something, and she was going to murder him in his sleep if he didn’t get his shit together.

Cam followed behind her, and they all started toward the entrance. They made it inside before Cam said anything.

“So…who is Eric?” he asked slowly.

She sighed. She’d known this was coming. “He’s just a…guy friend of mine.”

“But you said that you weren’t friends.”

“I know.” She looked up at him and wished that she could tell him everything, but this was all new, and she didn’t want to scare him off. “He’s a guy I used to hang out with a lot last year.”

“Is he the guy from the game?” Cam asked intuitively.

“Um…yeah.”

“Did you two date?” he asked.

She shook her head. No, they hadn’t dated. They had just been inseparable, and now, they were…nothing. Something. Complicated.

“Okay,” he said uncertainly. “Should I be worried?”

She shook her head again. “You have nothing to worry about,” she reassured him. Anything that might have been with Eric was never going to come to fruition.

“All right. I really like you, Bryna. I don’t want any surprises. You know you can tell me anything.”

“Of course,” she lied through her teeth.

He smiled as if he had gotten through to her. “Let’s go catch up with your friends then.”

Bryna sagged with relief that he wasn’t going to ask any more questions. She wanted their relationship to be simple and fun like it had been since their first date. She knew introducing him to her friends was going to make things a little difficult, but she had never planned on bringing up Eric.

They walked over to the bar. Maya was working and showing off her black skin in a tiny black bra top and high-waist jean cutoffs.

Bryna whistled at her as she approached. “Looking hot tonight!”

“B!” Maya squealed. She leaned across the bar and kissed her cheeks.

“This is my date, Cam,” she said to Maya.

The girl had a tendency to push hot older guys on her, so she wanted to make it clear from the get-go that it wasn’t happening tonight.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Maya.” She reached across the bar and shook his hand. “What can I get you?”

“Nice to meet you, too. Just a Bud Light is fine.”

Maya nodded and passed a beer to him. She worked on a dirty martini and handed that one to Bryna. She was going to need to sip this because she wanted to keep her cool tonight.

“Oh my God, B, I almost forgot to tell you. The whole club is abuzz about it. Guess who is up in VIP, asking for you?”

Bryna’s eyes went wide. Not good. Hopefully, it wasn’t some guy. She couldn’t think of any who would be asking for her specifically by name, but she never really knew what could happen.

“Um, who?”

“Gates Hartman!” Maya cried.

Bryna relaxed. “Oh! Gates.” She breathed out heavily. “What is he doing here?”

“Wait, like the movie star?” Cam asked. He looked between Bryna and Maya like they were speaking gibberish.

“Um, yeah. We’re close friends from home.”

“You’re close friends with Gates Hartman?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, how come I didn’t know this?” Maya asked with a pouty bottom lip.

“Sorry. We fell out of touch after Broken Road released and got back in touch this summer.”

Cam opened his mouth and then closed it. She wondered what he was thinking. She was kind of laying a bomb on him.

“Where exactly are you from?”

She sighed. Cat was out of the bag. “Beverly Hills.”

His eyes widened. “Wow. Okay. Beverly Hills and Gates Hartman. I think I need to process this. What do your parents do?”

Bryna blushed. She couldn’t meet his eyes. She had been dreading this very conversation. Everyone else already knew who she was, so she never had to tell anyone that her mom was a famous actor and her father an even more famous director.

“My dad is Lawrence Turner.”

“The director?” he sputtered.

“Yeah.”

“So, your mom is Olivia Bendel.”

She nodded.

“And I took you to a food truck.”

Bryna laughed heartily. “Yeah, you did.”

“I feel kind of like an idiot.”

“Don’t! It was fun. I had a really good time.”

He shook his head and stared at her with all new focus. She hoped it was a good thing.

“I can’t believe this. I grew up watching your dad’s movies, and your mom’s movies are classic.”

“Don’t tell her that,” she joked.

“No. I didn’t…that’s not what I meant.”

“This is still me though, Cam. You don’t have to explain yourself. I haven’t suddenly changed because you know who my parents are.” At least she hoped not.

“I know. Right. Of course not. Just a surprise.”

“Yeah. I try not to lead with that. It’s a bit intimidating.” She shrugged. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to Gates.”

“How do you know him again?”

She bit her lip. “He went to high school with me, and we’ve known each other for a long time. He’s a close friend of the family.”

She didn’t mention that they had dated for over a year and that he was her first real boyfriend. Those things were behind them, and all that mattered was that they were friends. Gates wasn’t trying to get back with her. That ship had sailed.

“I have to admit, I haven’t actually seen any of his movies, but I know of them.”

“That’s fine. He’s more than his movies.”

Bryna took his hand, and they climbed the stairs to VIP. The bouncer ushered them inside. Once she crossed the threshold, she was tackle-hugged by a rather drunk Gates.

“Babe!” he cried, picking her up and swinging her around.

“Gates, put me down!”

He laughed and obliged her. “Surprise!”

She shook her head and sent him an exasperated look. “What are you doing here?”

“I had a free weekend and thought I’d come spend it in Vegas with my favorite girl.”

“You’re ridiculous and drunk.”

“Pleasantly tipsy,” he joked.

“Gates, this is my…Cam,” she said, stepping back so that he could see she had another guy in tow.

Gates held his hand out. “Hey. Nice to meet you.”

Cam nodded his head as they shook and assessed each other. “You, too. Bryna was telling me that you guys went to school together.”

“Yeah. We go way back. Bri’s awesome when she’s not acting like a total bitch. You know what I mean?” he asked.

He nudged Bryna, and she put her hand on her forehead.

Dear God, Gates!

“No. I guess I haven’t seen that side of Bryna.”

“There’s another side?”

“He’s joking. Aren’t you, Gates?”

“Yeah. Totally. Where are all your hot friends?” he asked.

“Downstairs. Want to join the masses?” She was thankful for the change of subject.

“Sure. Think people will recognize me? I brought a baseball hat.”

She shook her head. “It’s packed down there already since it’s a home game weekend. I think you’ll be fine.”

“All right. Let’s go.” Gates fell into step next to Cam and asked him a million personal questions. Gates was a very energetic and talkative drunk. He was so much more chill when he was sober.

She wasn’t sure what Cam thought of him. He kept sending her furtive looks as Gates continued to talk. They made it back downstairs and over to her group of friends. Gates hugged Stacia, who he had hung out with some over summer break. Trihn had never met him, and Bryna thought Trihn was going to faint.

“He’s even cuter in person,” Trihn whispered to Bryna.

“I know.”

She beamed. Everyone was getting along. Despite the one Eric hiccup in the car, this all seemed to be going better than she’d anticipated.

Gates grabbed her around the middle. “Let’s dance,” he whispered in her ear.

She gave him a meaningful look, and he sighed.

He let her go and then looked up at Cam. “Hey, Cam. Do you mind if I borrow your girl? Dance floor is calling my name.”

“Uh…sure. I don’t really dance anyway,” Cam said.

He looked at Bryna for confirmation, and she shrugged.

She wanted to dance. If Cam wasn’t going to dance, then it would be fine to dance with Gates.

She would take some assurance just in case. “Trihn, Stacia, come on.”

“Oh!” Stacia cried. “Queen Bee leading the way tonight.”

Stacia smacked Trihn’s ass as she passed by and beckoned her on the dance floor. Bryna got lost in her friends’ silly behavior. They shimmied and swayed and shook their asses in time with the music. It was like freshman year all over again before any of them had been dating anyone and they had just been carefree.

Gates came up behind her, grabbed her hips, and ground against her. They moved like one fluid motion. She had known him for way too long, and she’d had sex with him way too many times not to automatically get his rhythm. Stacia moved behind him, and Trihn was in front of her, bent over at the waist, doing unbelievably dirty things with her body.

Bryna dropped her head back in laughter as she shook her ass. She rested her head on his shoulder and threw her hands up in the air, getting carried away with the music.

“Missed you,” Gates breathed into her ear.

“I missed you, too,” she said. “This is fun.”

“You should be careful with me, Bri. I think that guy really likes you.”

“I like him, too,” she said hesitantly. “He’s nice.”

“Yeah. Then, you should probably switch out with one of your girls. The way your body is moving…”

She swirled her hips around against him, and he groaned.

“You’re killing me here.”

“The great Gates Hartman reduced to nothing by little old me?” she joked.

“You’re having too much fun with this. I’ll have you know, I’ve fucked a whole lot of celebrities since you.”

She turned around to face him and winked. “No one does it like me.”

His eyes confirmed what she was saying. “That guy isn’t your type.”

“He’s not,” she said, unperturbed.

She glanced over at Cam. He was talking to Neal and Pace and not even paying attention to her.

“But I think it’s good.”

“If you say so.” Gates’s hand returned to her hips, and he drew her in closer. “Get over here.”

She giggled and pressed herself up against him. Their movements were completely in sync, and they danced like that through the next three songs. Her eyes drifted over to Cam, and she saw he was staring intently at them now. She bit her lip as she decided to just dance through the end of this song and then go back to spend time with him.

Then, her stomach plummeted. She took a step back from Gates. “Shit!”

“What?”

“Eric,” she whispered.

He walked right up to Cam and put his hand out.

Oh no. No, no, no. She didn’t even say another word. She bolted toward them.

What the hell?

He had said that he wasn’t going to be here.

She roughly grabbed Eric by the arm, and he staggered back a step.

Fuck!

He was drunk off his ass. She normally wouldn’t have budged him a step.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

“Hollywood!” he crowed.

She crossed her arms and stood her ground.

“I was introducing myself to my friend, Cam, here.”

“Bryna?” Cam said.

He looked confused, and she didn’t blame him.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured to Cam.

“I’m not really sure what’s going on here.” Cam’s face was set in a stern line.

She couldn’t read him. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but she didn’t think it was good.

“Well, let me tell you what’s going on,” Eric slurred.

“Another time,” she said. She latched on to his arm and pushed him in the opposite direction. “I’m so sorry, Cam. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay. And then you’ll explain what all of this is about?”

“Bri doesn’t explain herself to anyone,” Eric said. “Least of all, herself.”

“Jesus Christ, Eric!” Ignoring Cam’s look of confusion, she hauled Eric away from him before Eric could do any more damage. She dragged him through the door to the patio and as far away from anyone else as she could possibly get. The place was packed, so it had been a feat.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she cried, shoving his drunken ass backward and into the side of the building.

“Came to make friends,” he joked.

“You said you were going home, and you weren’t going to torture yourself! You asshole!”

“I’m not torturing myself. But fuck if I’m going to sit at home either. I’d rather make better use of my time.”

“How the hell is this a better use of your time?” she demanded. She planted her hands on her hips.

“I’m assessing the competition.” He shrugged, and that signature smile graced his lips. “Seems meager at best.”

“Oh my God!” She shook her head and took a step back from him. “You’re drunk and being an ass. You should go home.”

His hands reached out and grabbed her hips. He was more deft than he had appeared seconds before. She stumbled forward against him, and in a second, he had her flipped around, her back pressing into the building and his hands pinning her to the spot.

“Come home with me.”

She stopped breathing for a second as she stared up into his face. It was so raw with emotion. His eyes were so hungry for her. “No,” she murmured. “I’m not playing right now. Let me go.”

“You’re going to need to do better than that. There’s none of the Hollywood spunk in your voice.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. “Be here with me right now. Don’t be with him. Don’t be with anyone else.”

His lips hovered inches from hers, and she promised herself she wasn’t fantasizing about kissing him—the memory of what his lips tasted like, the feel of them moving against her, the way everything else shut down.

“I’m here with my…Cam,” she managed to get out.

“But not your boyfriend,” he said. He sounded triumphant. “It’s never bothered you before to kiss other guys…fuck other guys when you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

His fingers pushed up into her hair, and he dragged their lips together. She could taste the alcohol on him. Whiskey. Dear God, it was like a shot of adrenaline to her system.

Yet she shoved him away.

“This is different. I’m not the same girl that I was when I did those things. I want to be different. I want to be…good. Fuck, I don’t know. Stop making this so damn difficult. Just go home! You’re drunk and making a fool of both of us.”

She stormed away from him because she knew if she stayed another second, he would kiss her again. He did every chance he could get now. It was like a drug neither of them seemed to be able to quit.

It terrified her. She wasn’t still angry with him for what had happened with Audrey.

She was angry with herself. For falling for him when she had promised herself she wouldn’t. For putting her heart in his hands without even knowing she had done it. For giving him control over her with just a touch.

She had given those things away once before, and it had ended in catastrophe. She couldn’t love him.

She sucked in a deep breath. Love wasn’t supposed to exist.