Page 8 of Get Undressed With Me

Kathleen sighed but shared Brittany’s hatred with being late. “Okay, your security should be meeting you when you arrive tonight.”

Brittany froze.

“Security?”

“Yes, I hired someone because of your problem.”

Brittany bit back her irritation, reminding herself that she loved her mother.

“Don’t you think that’s a little overblown?”

“Well, he just sent you another disgusting package, so no, nothing is overblown when it comes to your safety. A man is stalking you, and you’re about to be in a public situation. This is to give both you and me peace of mind while you’re at this convention you insist on attending.”

“Mom—”

She wasn’t listening, already on to whatever new thing she had deemed important.

“Accept the security, Brittany. I’ll text you later about the designs. Don’t ignore me.”

Brittany shoved her phone into her back pocket, trying not to be irritated. Kathleen loved her, and this was how she showed it. Brittany just had to accept that. Besides, it would bring Brittany peace of mind to have some burly guy following her around and watching her back, even if it felt like she was getting saddled with a babysitter.

Of course, having some bodyguard following her around was going to get in the way of one thing Brittany had been planning on doing while she was in Kimball.

Getting laid.

It was time to get back on the horse, so to speak, and Kickoff was a great time to find some convention fling and work out her built-up tension. But if she was going to be saddled with some meathead, she was going to have to talk with him about not scaring off the guys she wanted to talk to.

Brittany grabbed her bag and left, heading for the train station, finally letting herself feel the excitement about attending Kickoff.

The Kimball International Convention for Fans was an event Brittany looked forward to all year. Sure, she was a fashion influencer, but there was no better place to see how clever and creative people could be with their outfits than at Kickoff, where creators could invent entire looks to mimic their favoritecharacters, jokes, memes, all of it. The joy of the convention invigorated Brittany, and the majority of her followers loved her Kickoff content. And yes, while Brittany wanted to design and be recognized, she didn’t know that she agreed with her mother that she had to give up this nerdy, geeky side of herself in order to succeed.

The train ride to Kimball was thankfully uneventful, although by the time she arrived, Brittany was ready to curl up and fall asleep. As she exited the train, Brittany sent a text to her roommates who were already checked into the hotel. Since Brittany wasn’t with Robbie anymore, Brittany had agreed to share a room with five other influencers she was friendly with in order to stay at a more expensive hotel closer to the convention center. It wasn’t ideal, but the alternative was taking Min up on her offer to split a room. Brittany knew this weekend was also Min and her boyfriend Hayden’s anniversary. Brittany was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a cockblocker. Especially since Hayden was launching his first game this weekend and would most likely want to celebrate with Min. In a loud, sexy way that would probably get complaints from the other guests at the hotel.

Brittany braced herself for sleeping on the floor of a crowded hotel room. It would be fine.

She hoped.

“Brittany?”

She spun, the sound of her name pulling her out of her reverie and froze at the sight of the man waiting for her. His dark hair had grown since she last saw him, a curl hanging over his eyes in a way that would make him the perfect Clark Kent cosplay. His hands were shoved into his pockets as if he were completely at ease. But she knew him too well. The set of his jaw was clenched, which he only did when he didn’t like what he was about to say. And though he was filling out his T-shirt well, she could see the tension in his body from here, probably uncertainhow she was going to react to seeing him, especially considering their last interaction all those months ago.

Unluckily for him, Brittany’s entire shit of a day had put her in a terrible mood. She crossed her arms in front of her and planted her feet for the fight she knew was coming.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Gus?”

CHAPTER 3

GUS

Gus had known this would be a bad idea. Fucking Val.

“Hey, killer,” he said, keeping his voice casual. Brittany was a small woman, but she had a temper big enough to fill the train. She rarely unleashed it unprovoked, but Gus wasn’t willing to take any chances. Currently, her arms were crossed, which wasn’t a good sign, and her signature glare was definitely in her eyes. But as he studied her, he could also see how tired she was. Something about the tense set of her shoulders made it clear that she was approaching the end of her rope and would rather be anywhere but here. Gus tried not to take that personally.

She waited, her rolling bag tucked next to her as she stared him down. Some women would’ve just walked away, but Brittany always confronted problems head-on. It was one of the traits he admired. And it meant he wouldn’t be chasing her down the street in the middle of the night just to talk to her, which was a bonus.

Brittany tossed her hair with practiced ease. “If you’re here to get me to replace Robbie’s equipment, the answer is no. I bought it, it was all registered under my name, I get to decide what to do with it.”

“You also ruined the carpet and caused some damage to the wall which had to be repaired.”

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