Gold - Linde K. A. (версия книг .TXT) 📗

“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.”