Gold - Linde K. A. - Страница 66
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“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“I was talking about Cam,” she joked.
“I know.” She tore her eyes from Eric. “Stacia, can I ask you a question? I know how Trihn would answer, and that’s why I haven’t asked her.”
“Shoot.”
“What would you do if you realized that you made a terrible, terrible mistake and didn’t know how to fix it?” Bryna bit her lip, and her eyes drifted back to Eric.
“What would I do if I had slept with Eric and then pushed him away, all while dating someone else?” Stacia mused.
Bryna rolled her eyes. “We didn’t sleep together while I was dating Cam. We kissed once or twice…or three times.”
“Hmm…Trihn would tell you to march over there right now and confess your mistake.”
“I know.”
“I think you should probably fix your other… problems first.” Stacia placed her hands on her hips “I can’t tell you what to do, B. You kind of do whatever you want anyway, but I can say that Eric was a really good friend to you. Could you imagine your life without him?”
“No,” she admitted.
“Could you imagine it without Cam?”
Bryna was silent. It was answer enough.
“Thanks, S.”
“Anytime.”
Bryna took a deep breath and walked the short distance to where Eric was standing, talking to a new cheerleader, Bethany. She was a doe-eyed freshman and was staring up at Eric with hero worship. She was going to need to cut that out.
“Hey,” she said.
“Bryna,” Eric said.
She bit her lip. She hated this formality between them.
She turned and stared at Bethany until she squeaked and ran away. Her reputation preceded her. She expected Eric to make fun of her for scaring off the freshman, but he didn’t say anything.
“Can I talk to you later tonight?” she asked.
“You’re talking to me right now.”
“I know. I mean…can I come over and talk to you?”
“I’ll be here late,” he said noncommittally.
“What about after practice?” she pushed.
He looked like he was struggling for neutral. “If you must.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief. “I thought you might ignore me.”
“No, I’m not ignoring you.”
“Good. Then, I’ll see you after practice.”
“This better be worth it,” he said before turning and walking away without another word.
At least she had gotten a reaction.
She left and headed straight for Cam’s house. They were supposed to be studying for their huge film midterm, but she had all week she had claimed that she was too exhausted from cheer to come over. Tonight, she had promised she would come over since she had been avoiding everything for over a week, and last weekend was an away game.
Cam seemed surprised to see her when she knocked on the door. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Are you here to study? I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again outside of class.”
“Yeah. Fall semester is so hard with football.”
“I’m glad you’re here.”
He let her pass, and she hurried inside. She took a seat on the couch and pulled out her homework. She knew that she needed to say something. She needed to work up the nerve to do it. She had never been in this situation before.
When she had broken up with Gates, it had been over the phone and more of a joke to him than anything. He hadn’t taken it seriously. With all the other guys she had dated, things had just fallen apart. This wasn’t like either of those situations. Cam was a nice guy. She couldn’t just let it lapse, but she didn’t want to lead him on. She wasn’t as into this as she wanted to be.
Cam sat down next to her. He looked so happy to see her, and she felt horrible about what she was about to do.
“Cam, I…”
Then, he was kissing her. Not like he had kissed her before. No hesitancy. No subtly. He was kissing her with a ferocity that she would never have guessed he possessed until that moment.
“Whoa!” she said. She pushed him back a bit and wrenched backward. “I, uh…thought we were doing homework.”
Cam groaned. “Come on. You don’t need to study.”
“I need a good grade on this exam.”
“You’re Lawrence Turner’s daughter,” he said condescendingly. “You’re going to get a good grade in film. Even if you don’t, who cares?”
Bryna stiffened. “I care.” How dare he! She hadn’t passed her film classes because of who her father was. She’d passed them because she was smart and worked hard. “My father has nothing to do with this.”
Cam sighed heavily. “You don’t even need a film degree. Considering your connections, you could break into film however you wanted to.”
“I probably could if I had any interest in using my parents’ success to get ahead, but I don’t.” She narrowed her eyes.
“I would. I think it makes sense. Everything in this world is about who you know.” He didn’t even seem to notice her rising temper. “Anyway, the test isn’t even until Friday. You’ll be fine if we have a little fun tonight.”
His lips were on hers again, and she tried to push him back.
“Cam, no.”
“Just shut up. I know you want this.” He used his extra weight to push her backward into the couch.
“I don’t want this!”
His hand slid up her shirt, and her skirt slipped up her thighs. His lips were on her neck, forceful and demanding in a way she had never seen in him before. His body was pressing his weight into her. She couldn’t believe this right now.
This was not Cam.
“What happened to us taking things slow?” she cried.
“Fuck slow, Bryna!” he growled. “We’ve been dating for a month and a half. We haven’t done more than kiss. I’m tired of slow.”
He sat up in a fury, and she hastily scooted backward, away from him.
She yanked her skirt and shirt down. “What happened to ‘whenever you’re ready’ and you didn’t mind?” she spat.
She didn’t care that she had been about to break up with him. This was unacceptable. She wanted answers. Had he been waiting for a time to ignore what I want to try to fuck me? Maybe she wouldn’t have been angry if this was what she had really wanted, but the thought of sleeping with him made her sick.
“That probably went out the window when I found out you were playing games with me!” he yelled. He shoved away from her and crossed the room. His hands were in his hair.
“Games?” she asked in disbelief.
This was honestly the first relationship where she hadn’t been playing games. Games were her norm. Here I am, trying to do right by Cam, and he’s accusing me of playing games? What the fuck?
“Yes! What the hell do you think this is? You’re hot and cold. You bring your ex-boyfriends around while we’re going out and still expect me to believe this good-girl act? Please. I’m not an idiot.”
“You clearly are because none of this is an act. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Gates and I have been long over, and Eric and I never dated. They’re not even relevant to the fact that you tried to force yourself on me.”
“Force myself?” he snapped. “From what I hear, you give it up to anyone who wants it.”
“What?” she cried. “Who the hell told you that?”
“Your own brother! I know the truth now. You were trying out some experiment with me, but you normally like to slut it up. I thought if everyone else was getting some, then I should too.”
Bryna stared, slack-jawed. “You know…I was coming here to break up with you, and I felt bad about it. Thanks for proving that I’ve made the right choice.”
She grabbed her bag off of the ground and stuffed the papers for the class back inside.
“You’re breaking up with me?” Cam cried. “What the fuck?”
She slung her bag over her shoulder and turned to face him. “You wanted the slut that my stepbrother totally made up to fuck with you, then you’ll get the real Bryna. I’m Queen Bee. A downright class-A bitch. I was never ashamed of it. So, I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you any longer.” She walked up to him and dangerously narrowed her eyes. “You were a total mistake. I see that now. You’re just a jackass disguised as a nice guy.”
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