Page 44 of Get Undressed With Me

Gus shrugged. “Serious enough, I guess. I took her to meet my mom.”

Brittany’s eyes widened. Gus’s mom was a force of nature, loud and overwhelming and judgmental in all the best ways. Brittany adored her.

“What did Mama Lozano think?”

“She said she was reserving her judgment.”

Brittany winced. Mama Lozano was proud of how easily she could read people and had declared Brittany a keeper within an hour of meeting her. If she had spent time with Annabelle and not loved her… it didn’t look good.

“The problem was more what Robbie thought of her. Or rather, what she thought of Robbie. They spent that night huddled up comparing follower counts and evaluating each other’s streams.”

Brittany’s jaw dropped. “While your mom was there?”

Gus nodded. “After that, we were hanging with Robbie more and more, and I realized I was feeling like the third wheel in my own relationship. I talked with her about it, and she admitted she didn’t really like hanging out with me. I wasn’t ‘fun’ when we were together. And she wasn’t really interested in our relationship moving forward. We broke it off. And then a few days later, she and Robbie started dating.”

Brittany couldn’t help herself, struggling to sit up so she could see Gus’s face more clearly. His tone of voice said he was over it, but there was something in the hard set of his jaw, the glint of his eyes, that said it hurt him. And after the conversation she had just heard between him and Robbie…

Finally upright, she leaned toward him, putting her hand on his arm.

“Gus, you know that’s complete horseshit, right? What she told you, that has more to do with what a shitty person she is rather than how ‘fun’ you are.”

He shrugged, not meeting Brittany’s eyes.

“It had to partly be about me, considering we were at the height of our relationship, and she found it very easy to throw me away.”

Gus said it lightly, but there was no way he felt it lightly. Brittany couldn’t help herself, and before she knew it, she was pulling Gus toward her, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug that was tight and firm. She turned her head to his ear.

“You’re not easy to throw away, Gus. You’re the one worth keeping. And sometimes, you meet and connect with someone who is wholly not ready for what you have to offer, and they panic. But that’s on them, not you. If she couldn’t see how superior you are to Robbie in every way, then she doesn’t fucking deserve you.”

His hair was soft as she pressed her face into his neck. She inhaled, not bothering to think about how weird it probably was, taking in his scent of laundry detergent and a hint of his woodsy aftershave. Brittany felt his arms go around her, pulling her even closer.

Finally, she gave him one last squeeze and pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes. They stared at each other, neither breathing, the air uncertain and able to tip in any direction. Even Brittany could feel the unpredictability in the moment.

Gus raised a hand and tucked a stray blonde lock behind her ear, his eyes locked on hers in concentration, and Brittany could feel them on the verge of something new, something she wasn’t sure she was prepared for but that she secretly, desperately wanted.

And then Gus pulled away. “Let me make up the bed for you. Give me a few minutes.”

Just like that, they were back in platonic friend territory. Or in client/bodyguard territory. It was hard for Brittany to tell exactly how Gus cataloged her, but she knew she was disappointed.

She let him go, shimmying back to her side of the couch, reaching for a light tone of voice she definitely didn’t feel.

“I’m fine on the couch. You can sleep in your bed.”

“You’re taking the bed, killer. I’m done talking about it.”

To emphasize his point, he strode into the bedroom, and Brittany took the time to center herself. Sure, they’d had a heart-to-heart about Gus’s dating and trauma and what a shithead Robbie was. Sure, they had just had a moment where Brittany absolutely thought Gus was going to kiss her, had even, for a brief second, wanted him to kiss her.

And Gus had made it clear he wasn’t interested in her that way.

Fine, she was a big girl. This wasn’t the first time a guy Brittany liked wasn’t into her, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. And, really, it was for the best, considering how messy everything already was just with him acting as her bodyguard.

Brittany managed to psych herself up to being friendly and professional when he walked back in and held out a hand to her.

“C’mon, let’s get you to bed.”

Her stomach fluttered at the words, and she thanked the stars she wasn’t a blusher because otherwise she would be flaming right now. She grabbed his hand and let him pull her up, stumbling a little into him as her ankle screamed a reminder that it wasn’t up for any walking around. She braced herself with a hand on his chest, then quickly snatched it away.

“Sorry.”

---