Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
brITTANY
B rittany’s mind raced while she walked with Gus to where Min and Hayden were staying. Once at their room, he did a quick sweep of the place and nodded, then stepped out, warning her not to leave without him. Where he went was a mystery, but Brittany couldn’t help but be grateful because she was in desperate need of time alone with her friend.
Once the door closed behind him, though, Brittany felt his loss. Was she really this far gone? That she now missed him when he wasn’t in the room with her? The answer was an obvious yes, and she knew exactly how pathetic that was. When she turned to find Min staring at her, her arms crossed, tapping her foot like she was waiting for a story, Brittany gave in to her patheticness, throwing herself back onto the bed and covering her eyes.
“Okay,” she said. “Just let me have it.”
“Since when are you fucking Gus?”
“Define fucking.”
“Brittany, I swear to god, if you don’t answer me, I’m going to shave an eyebrow while you’re sleeping.”
“I could rock that look.” Brittany peeked out from under her arm to see Min wasn’t going to give this up, so she sighed.
“We’re not fucking.”
“Bullshit.”
“We’re not. But to be honest, it’s probably only a matter of time.”
Min paused. “If you’re not fucking, then what happened in the bathroom this morning.”
Brittany grimaced. “Some light… heavy petting.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
Brittany let her mind wander to the bathroom and exactly what happened there, and she felt herself getting warm.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Fuck, not now, with that look on your face.”
She felt Min flop down on the bed next to her.
“What are you doing? Should I be angry at someone? Who do we hate? You need to give me details because otherwise, as your best friend, I could get lost and deck the wrong person.”
“I like him.”
“Yeah, I figured that part out.”
“It’s a mess.”
Min grimaced in sympathy. “Because of Robbie.”
“Yes. And other things.”
“What other things?”
Brittany waved her hand vaguely in front of her.
“You know.”
“I don’t.”
“He’s, like, a really good guy.”
Min’s eyebrows raised. “He is.”
“He has a real job where he protects people.”
“Where’s this going?”
Brittany didn’t know how to say the next part without feeling like an ass. But this was Min and they told each other everything, so she just ripped the Band-Aid off.
“I’m some fluffy influencer who posts on social media for a living. He literally saves lives.”
“Britt, if you’re about to talk shit about my best friend, we’re going to have a problem.”
Brittany huffed. “You know I’m right.”
“No, I fucking don’t. You have a real job that’s a lot of hard work and hustle. You’re successful because people like you, and you’ve created content they want to engage with. And no, you’re not throwing yourself in front of bullets for your fans, but you’re making an impact on people’s lives.”
Brittany kicked her leg, uncomfortable with the praise.
“I wasn’t really looking for a pep talk.”
“Too fucking bad. Is he the one making you feel like this? Has he said something?”
“No, he would never. He helped me set up a spot in his condo to stream while I’m staying there.”
“So where is this coming from?”
Brittany thought about it, really thought about why she was feeling so negative about herself, about what she and Gus could be. And she realized.
“Robbie.”
Min’s eyes narrowed in a bloodthirsty look Brittany had only seen on her stream when she was about to blow some zombie’s head off.
“What about him?”
“He… he never got the fashion influencer thing or what I was doing.”
“He’s a gaming streamer, and a mediocre one at that. Could he not see the similarities?”
“Yeah, but he said people watched him because he had skill and put on a show, whereas all I did…”
Brittany paused. Min was breathing deeper, which was a sign she was about to get really loud.
“Just spit it out, Britt.”
“All I did was wear clothes and look pretty.”
Min shot up in the bed, glaring down at her in disbelief.
“Brittany, what the fuck? I’ve watched you slash tires for less than that.”
“I know.”
Brittany was known for her temper, and she would get pissed when Robbie would bring it up. But his statements always hit close enough to home, to her own insecurities about what she did for a living, that she couldn’t find it in herself to get that mad. To her, it was always more like he was telling her some hard truths.
And yes, she knew how fucked up that was.
Min must have seen her mental struggle, because she rolled over onto her stomach, looking down at Brittany with a fierce look she usually reserved for schooling other gamers on her stream.
“Brittany, you are the whole package. You’re kind, you’re a hard worker, and you make damn good money because you hustle hard. You’re the best friend I could have ever been blessed with. There is not going to be a man that’s worthy of you, but if you like Gus, then I think you should go for it. And whatever garbage Robbie put in your head, you need to release it immediately. I’m going to put rusty nails in his shoes for ever making you feel this way.”
Brittany took a deep breath.
“I like Gus.”
Min nodded, not surprised.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“Fuck him.”
“Great. Feel free to spare me details.”
“I’m going to send you minute-by-minute updates.”
“Please don’t.”
“PowerPoint presentation afterward?”
“I hate you.”
Min rolled off the bed, heading toward the closet where her dress for the night was hanging.
“I’m done with girl talk. We both need to look hot tonight, so we need to get started. Put on a playlist already.”
Min’s little sister, Devery, arrived a short time later with Min’s mom, Iris, in tow, both having traveled down for Hayden’s release party to celebrate. Brittany cranked up the music, Min ordered some snacks from room service, and it was basically a party for the women as they did their makeup and hair.
“What time do we have to be there?” Brittany asked as she finished a glass of champagne.
Min glanced at the clock on her phone and winced.
“Thirty minutes ago.”
“I can’t believe Hayden hasn’t been blowing up your phone asking where you were.”
Just then, Min’s phone rang. Everyone burst out laughing, even as she shushed them to answer the phone.
“I swear, we’re on our way.”
“No, we’re not!” Brittany sang, pouring another glass of champagne for herself. Min flipped her off just as there was a knock at the door. She was the closest, so Brittany went to answer… and stopped dead in her tracks, her mouth dropping.
Filling the other side of the door was Gus as she had never seen him. Crisp button-up white shirt, blue suit jacket. His hair was combed and mostly under control except for that one stubborn curl on his forehead. He looked more delicious than she had ever seen him in her life.
His eyes took in the loose, sequined minidress she was wearing. She had curled her hair, letting it fall down her back in waves. Her legs were smooth and showcased well by the short skirt and the flat sandals she had strapped on moments ago. When she finally looked back at his face, he looked like someone had punched him in the gut.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he said, a growl in his voice.
She looked down at herself, confused. “What?”
“Brittany, if that’s how you’re going to walk around this party, I’m going to be spending the entire night hiding my erection.”
She let her hand touch his chest, sliding up toward his neck, lightly tugging him down toward her.
“What if I don’t want you to hide it?”
He moved into her space, intent on something that Brittany was excited to discover, when he stopped at the sight of three other women staring at him. Gus straightened, looking more responsible than he had moments ago.
“You ladies let me know when you’re ready to go.”
Dev’s mouth quirked up. “You’re our ride?”
“Yes.”
Iris gave him the once over, probably trying to decipher his driving record from his face, but Min just grabbed her clutch.
“Let’s go. I’m ready to dance with my man.”
After a few more last-minute checks of outfits, lipsticks, lashes, and hair, they trooped out to the elevator together, pushing into a crowd of other people clearly heading to their own parties. Gus pulled Brittany to him, his arm wrapping around her waist as more people filled the elevator.
“You look absolutely beautiful,” he said in her ear, loud enough for a few people near them to turn and look. Min and Dev grinned from the other side of the elevator.
“You’re making a scene,” Brittany whispered to him, not able to stop herself from smiling.
“Good,” was all he said before the door opened at the lobby, and everyone spilled out.
Gus led them to where his SUV was parked, helping everyone into the car. Brittany was stuck in the back seat, crammed with Min and her sister, while Min’s mom got the coveted passenger seat. Iris smiled at Gus as he helped her up.
“You have excellent manners.”
He winked at her. “I’ll tell my mother you said so. She’ll be proud.”
“She should be.”
He hustled around to the driver’s side, and then they were off. At Brittany’s eyelash flutter, he cranked up the music, and the back seat was hopping in anticipation of the party. When he pulled up to Insatiable, the valet was practically blasted to the side by the volume of the music.
Before the valets could get to the doors, Gus was already there, opening them and helping the women out. Brittany scooted toward the door, and Gus basically scooped her up, pulling her against his body and letting her slowly slide down until her feet hit the ground.
“That was dramatic,” she teased.
“But enjoyable.”
He held her hand, handing over the keys to the valet, and pulled her inside the restaurant.
Brittany stopped in the doorway. The place had been completely transformed, with realistic scenes created around the space all pulled from Hayden’s video game. The music was pumping, and though the crowd hadn’t really started arriving yet, Brittany could already feel in her bones how good of a party this was going to be. The air practically crackled with it.
“Where to first?” Gus asked.
She grinned. “The bar.”