Page 36 of Get Undressed With Me

The green room they were in was on the opposite end of the Exhibition Hall, so they had to cut through the crowds to get to the exit. Gus hovered nearby, towering over people while glaring at everyone if they got too close. For some reason that glare comforted Brittany. With Gus’s help, they slowly made their way across the expansive space.

“Is it more crowded than usual?” She couldn’t believe how packed in everyone was. There were way more people than yesterday, to an alarming degree.

“Stay close,” was Gus’s only answer, which was silly since she had no plans to go anywhere, and there certainly wasn’t room for her to make a break for it. Still, she stayed right next to Gus, trying to tamp down her anxiety at the overwhelming amount of people.

Which is when the fire alarm went off.

Thousands of people jumped, staring up at the now flashing red lights, cringing at the loud whooping sound of the alarm. From across the way, Brittany could see volunteers waving people toward the exit. Gus reached back and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward him.

But it wasn’t working. They were suddenly in a crush, pressed bodily up against several strangers who were just ascaught as they were. The tide of the crowd pulled Brittany away from Gus, her hand slipping out of his.

“Gus!”

His head whipped in her direction, but she lost sight of him, her feet stumbling over the small space she occupied as the crowd pushed her further and further away. She felt panic rising in her chest as she realized she had no control. She turned to the guy pressed against her right side.

“I need to get to my friend.”

He just looked at her. “Girl, the best you can do is follow the crowd and stay calm.”

She knew he was right, but there were too many people, they were too close, and Brittany’s panic was rising.

Which is when someone behind her pushed too hard, and she went down.

Her ankle twisted in pain as she hit the ground. She immediately curled into a ball, covering her head as best she could as the crowd surged around her, over her.

“Help!” Brittany yelled, but between the people and the alarm, she could barely hear her own voice. She settled in, praying that people would be able to move around her until she could move again.

And then she heard shouting.

The movement around her seemed to slow down, but she wouldn’t look up from the protective position she had put herself in. After a few moments, there was a rush of air on one side of her, and then strong hands were gripping her arms.

“Brittany, it’s me.”

She had never felt such relief as she did in that moment. Gus was here, and he had her, and that meant everything was going to be okay. She let him haul her up but found she wasn’t able to put weight on her ankle, collapsing against Gus’s hard chest. The crowd was still around them, but it didn’t matter to her as shewrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight. She felt his strong arms go around her, locking her against him, and his head drop near hers so he could speak in her ear.

“Are you hurt?”

“My ankle,” she whispered.

“Fuck.” He held her tighter and then shifted his arms, moving to scoop her up against him. Instantly, she wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face in his neck.

“Hold tight, killer,” he said. “We’re about to piss some people off.”

She felt them moving but didn’t care. He had one arm locked under her butt, holding her up, and must have been using the other to push people out of his way because she suddenly felt a hard surface against her back. She looked up to find he had managed to get them over to the side, against the wall, and was now shielding her from the crowd with his body. He was so close, looking down at her, ignoring the massive amount of people pushing to get past him.

“We’re gonna be smart and just wait this out, okay?”

She nodded, her voice sounding weak even to her own ears. “Okay.”

He leaned even more into her space, and instead of it panicking her she welcomed it. One of her hands around his neck sunk into his hair, clutching him to her, but he didn’t seem to notice, his eyes a little wild.

“Christ, Britt, I thought I lost you.” He leaned his head against her temple, and she heard him inhale deeply.

“The crowd pulled me away. It was so fucking scary, Gus.”

“I got you now. You’re safe. I got you.”

Brittany wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, holding each other so tight their breathing synced, ignoring the crowd of pissed-off convention-goers trying to get by them. Brittany felt safe and calm and taken care of and she was ready to revel in it.

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