“That he had cheated on you. I wouldn’t have given him the time of day if I had known. I don’t fuck with cheaters.”
Brittany nodded, trying to process. She had never really blamed the women Robbie had hooked up with for his cheating, so it wasn’t like she felt that Diamond owed her an apology. But Diamond clearly felt that way, so Brittany was willing to listen.
Diamond continued. “We were dating when the… incident happened with his equipment. He told me you were crazy, unhinged. And I believed him at first. But I started askingaround and doing some digging and finally connected with someone who told me the real timeline of your breakup.”
Brittany felt awkward, not knowing what to say. “Okay.”
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For believing him. Sorry that he treated you like that.”
Brittany sighed a little. There was no relief here, probably because Diamond wasn’t the one she wanted an apology from.
“He’s the one that cheated, he’s the one that should apologize.”
Diamond nodded, relieved.
“I dumped him when I found out. A man with a history of cheating lies like that to your face, there’s no way to trust him afterward.”
“But you’re here with him?”
Diamond looked a little embarrassed. “He said he wanted a chance to get me back, and in a weak moment, I said yes. And then he threw that scene in there. I told him to lose my number.”
“For what it’s worth, you deserve better.”
“So do you, but I suspect you’ve known that for a while.” Diamond glanced at where Gus was on the sidewalk, keeping his distance so they could talk privately, but staying close enough in case Brittany suddenly needed saving or something. Diamond leaned closer.
“He’s a good one.”
Brittany glanced at Gus. “He is.”
“But he loves Robbie.”
“I know.”
Diamond nodded, and Brittany pulled her into a hug.
After that, Diamond said her goodbyes, stopping to say something to Gus, and left with a wave. Brittany gave him a curious look.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing important. We should go.”
Brittany glanced at her phone.
“Shit, I’m running late.”
CHAPTER 17
GUS
They get to the convention center just in time for Brittany to eat the rest of her breakfast before starting her panel, one of the last ones for her weekend at Kickoff. As Gus watched her answer questions on stage, he couldn’t help the affection that lodged in his chest as she effortlessly charmed hundreds of people. Brittany was amazing, and Gus was done pretending he wasn’t crazy about her.
His phone buzzed in his pocket for the fiftieth time, and Gus ignored it once more. Robbie had been blowing up his phone. After the fourth time he had accused Gus of betraying him, Gus began to hit ignore, not wanting to engage with Robbie when he was in his ranting mode. Gus was used to Robbie’s moods, used to calming him down and de-escalating whatever situation they were in. But he found when it came to Brittany, he just couldn’t. The only way to de-escalate would be to stop seeing her. Stop touching her. And that just… wasn’t something Gus was going to be able to do.
And yes, that should worry him. Watching her, seeing the fans around her who loved her and loved her content, made him think back to Robbie’s original warning: that she wanted more than some regular guy like Gus.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he found himself suddenly caught as Brittany looked at him, a small smile on her face. Someone else on the panel was answering a question, and her eyes had found him in the back of the crowd. Gus refused to look away. While her eyes were on him, he brought his hand up, the one that had recently been inside her, and rubbed it on his mouth. The shiver that ran down her body was worth it, as was how she shifted in her chair, uncrossing and recrossing her legs with a restlessness he felt in his cock. Gus decided then and there that however long she wanted this to last, he was along for the ride. And when she broke his heart, he could at least say that he’d had her, if only for a little bit.
She was worth it.