Platinum (All That Glitters #3) (16 page)

Plus, she couldn’t prove that Preston had cheated on Lydia after they had become exclusive. She just had her knowledge of Preston and the fact that he had fucked her at the beach house while there on vacation with Lydia.

“Hey,” Damon said behind her.

Trihn quickly turned around. She hadn’t even heard the music stop. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts. “Hey. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were done.”

“Yeah, all finished. Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Just talked to my mom. Wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. Your mom gave me the courage to give it a try.”

“Did that courage come in the form of wine?” he asked, gesturing to her glass.

Trihn took another sip and smiled. “Nothing wrong with wine.”

“Well, I’m glad it went well—or at least better than you’d planned. You still up for staying for dinner? I think my mom is freaking out because I brought a girl home.”

“Yeah, about that…” Trihn said. She glanced up into his big brown eyes and smiled. “Girlfriend?”

“Fuck. I knew you were going to bring that up.”

Trihn shrugged. “Kind of hard to miss.”

“I know it’s too early. I don’t want to rush you.” He stepped toward her and brushed her hair behind her ear. “But I like the idea of moving forward.”

“It is kind of early. I’m glad that I’m out of my last relationship, but it’s really only been a month since it ended.”

“I get it.”

“But I like you,” she told him. “And I like this.”

She leaned forward and dropped her lips onto his. He pulled her flush against his body. He licked his tongue against the seam of her lips, and then she opened herself to him. His kiss was electric and enticing, reminding her of all the reasons that she was giving in to him.

“Well, well, well…” Mel loudly cleared her throat in the doorway.

Trihn and Damon abruptly stepped apart. Her cheeks heated. That was not what she’d wanted Damon’s mom to see the first time she was meeting her.

“Sorry, Mel. It won’t happen again,” Trihn said quickly.

“Oh, who cares? We’re all adults here. I just needed someone to finish peeling the potatoes. So, when you two lovebirds are done, I could use some help in the kitchen.”

Damon laughed when his mom walked away. “Sorry about that.”

“Are you kidding? She’s so cool.”

“Well, I’m glad you like her.”

“She’s clearly the reason you’re so wonderful,” she said.

“Wonderful, huh?” He planted one more kiss on her lips.

“Yep.”

His hands started roaming her body again, and she stepped in closer.

“We should probably go help out or else we’re going to miss dinner,” he said.

“Oh, I like the sound of that.”

He groaned. “Later. I promise you, later.”

It was with great effort that he pulled away, but she liked it so much more later when he followed through on his promise.

“
I’M KIDNAPPING YOU
.”

Trihn looked up at Bryna standing there in mile-high black Louboutins and a skimpy red dress.

“What?” Trihn asked.

“You heard me, bitch. You have exactly one hour to get dressed and ready, and then we have plans.”

“Um…Bri, I’d love to, but I already have plans with Damon tonight.”

Bryna sank into her hip and gave her a perfect I-don’t-give-a-shit look. “You always have plans with Damon.”

“And you pushed me to him,” Trihn said. She dropped the pencil she had been using to work on her designs. Final proofs were due next week, and she was almost finished with what she hoped were fashion show–worthy designs.

“Yes. That’s all great, but he can’t have all your time. I haven’t even seen you the past couple of weeks.”

It was true. Since Trihn had met Damon’s mom, she and Damon had been spending all their time together. It was as if the term
girlfriend
had flipped the switch between them. Trihn knew that she should be cautious, waiting for the other shoe to drop or for someone to pull the rug out from under her. Damon was the rebound one-night stand guy after all. Yet she couldn’t help from jumping feetfirst into this scary endeavor all over again. Her heart was on the line, but when she was with Damon, her worries would disappear. And it felt good to just be with him.

“I’ve still been around,” Trihn argued. “Plus, you practically live at E’s house.”

“Whatever. Just get dressed. Stacia and Maya are coming, too.”

“Maya is coming?” Trihn asked in disbelief. “She got out of work?”

“I think she had a date with some football player. Drayton?”

Trihn laughed. Of course Maya would actually follow through on dating the guy she’d randomly picked up at the bar at the start of school. “Really? So, she has the night off for a date, and she’s meeting us afterward?”

“No, she’s canceling. This is an opportunity she couldn’t pass up, and you can’t either. So, go get dressed!”

“Are you at least going to tell me what we’re doing?” Trihn asked.

“Something that shows I obviously love you.”

Trihn raised her eyebrows and waited. She wasn’t about to give up her own date with Damon for nothing.

Bryna seemed to realize that Trihn wasn’t budging. She sighed dramatically and then pulled out a set of tickets from her purse. She flashed them in front of Trihn, who bounded out of her seat and snatched them up.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! You do love me! Chloe Avana tickets? First row!” she squealed.

“Yeah. Keep it down.”

“But you hate Chloe!”

“But you love Chloe.”

“And you love me,” Trihn said, wrapping her arms around Bryna. “How did you get these? I thought they were sold out.”

Bryna shook her head. “Do you know who I am?”

“Bryna Turner. Did you call your hotshot director dad or your big-time movie-star ex-boyfriend? I’m still swooning over Gates, you know? Gates Hartman!”

“Yes, I know. Gates is…whatever. He wouldn’t have gotten them for me. He and Chloe don’t talk anymore. I just have connections. No woman ever tells all her secrets. You’ve just been spending so much time with the new boyfriend, and I wanted some girl time.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Trihn said. “We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re taking it slow.”

“Slow fucking sucks,” Bryna deadpanned.

“Well…not
that
slow.”

“So, you’re fucking,” she said with a grin.

“You’re so crude, Bri.”

Bryna shrugged, as if that was the most obvious thing anyone had ever said.

“But, yes, we’re sleeping together.”

“Good. Everyone needs a good fuck. Who knew rebound dude would turn into fuck buddy slash boyfriend material?”

Trihn shook her head and handed the tickets back to Bryna. “You’re ridiculous. You thought your boyfriend was gay the entire time you knew him, and now, you guys are together. If we want to talk about weird things, let’s start with E.”

“Or not.”

Trihn grinned. “I’m going to change. Can’t wait.”

An hour later, all four girls were dressed to kill and on their way to the Chloe Avana concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Bryna had rented a limo, and as soon as they were seated in the back, Maya popped open a bottle of champagne. Bubbly was passed around, and they toasted to the epic girls’ night to follow.

Trihn had called Damon earlier to cancel when she found out about the tickets. He hadn’t minded, especially since she’d sounded so excited. He’d said that he’d been called into Posse, but since they’d planned a date, he’d turned it down. Hopefully, he would be able to still work tonight now that he was free. He’d told her not to worry about it, and with first-row tickets to her favorite artist’s concert about to happen with her best friends, she was definitely heeding his advice.

Their limo pulled up to the front of the MGM Grand, and the girls walked through the lobby and into the packed arena. Nearly seventeen-thousand people were seated within the venue, already screaming their heads off for Chloe’s sold-out show.

Trihn was dazzled by the immense crowd. She had been to sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden at home, and this venue had the same vibe—exhilarating, heart-pounding, and hypnotic. It was a shot of adrenaline straight through the system. Nothing was better than thousands of people all endorphin-doping on the same music high.

When they made it past the last barrier to their front-row seats, Maya grabbed Trihn’s hand. She was practically bouncing up and down. “I can’t believe this is real life.”

“Every day in the life of Bryna Turner,” Trihn said, flipping her hair.

Maya laughed. “She’s the best.”

“Definitely.”

“Can you guys believe these seats?” Stacia screamed. She threw her hands in the air and danced in a circle. “I don’t care who you had to blow to get these seats. I totally approve.”

“So, do you think she’ll open or close with ‘Heartbreaker’?” Maya asked.

“That’s my
favorite
!” Stacia squealed.

“End,” Bryna deadpanned. She plopped down in her seat, less than enthused.

“You’re killing me, Bri,” Maya said. “We all know you hate Chloe. Why did you get the tickets if you were going to mope?”

“I’m not moping,” she said. “I did it because I love you guys, and I know you all love her music. That’s it.”

“But really…why
do
you hate her?” Trihn asked. She could never get a straight answer out of Bryna about this.

“I don’t hate her.”

“But you don’t like her either.”

Bryna shrugged. As the lights started to dim for the opening act, a girl screamed in her ear. Bryna turned around to face the girl and said a few choice words that probably shouldn’t have been directed at high school students. Stacia just cackled and sat down in her seat, ready for the hot up-and-coming musician, Matt Thompson, to play his set.

Trihn sank into a seat next to Bryna and leaned over. “Are you ever going to tell me?”

“No,” she said immediately. “It’s ancient history, and I’d like for it to stay that way.”

“You hold a grudge like no one else.”

Bryna’s blue eyes bore into hers. “For this, you would, too.” Trihn opened her mouth to ask more, but Bryna narrowed her eyes. “Just drop it, okay?”

Trihn held her hands up and leaned back. “All right. Sorry. Thank you for the tickets even though she’s not your fave.”

“Anything for my squad,” she said as the lights winked out.

The crowd roared for Matt. He was a new act, but his music was already on the radio, thanks to his association with Chloe. Trihn liked his stuff and was glad that she would get to hear more of it now that he was opening for such a big star.

Chloe came on next, and just as Bryna had predicted, she waited until the final encore to sing “Heartbreaker.” The girls were all breathless and humming with energy by the end of the show. Even Bryna had gotten into it. It seemed that, if she forgot who was singing the songs, she could enjoy the music. Chloe was a great performer, and it was crazy for Trihn to think that they were the same age. While she was slaving away in college, Chloe was touring the world, playing sold-out shows and making unforgettable movies.
What a life!

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” Trihn cried, throwing her arms around Bryna. “This was incredible.”

“Seriously, Bri, you outdid yourself,” Maya said. “It was worth a canceled date.”

Stacia nodded. “Totally.”

“I had fun, too,” Bryna said. “So much fun that I’m glad I got these, too.” She pulled out shiny blue passes with Chloe’s face on them. Each ticket read
Backstage Pass
in shiny white letters.

Trihn’s eyes bulged in shock. “You’ve been holding on to backstage passes this whole time and didn’t tell us?”

“Ah!” Stacia screamed. She jumped up and down and did a twirl. “Backstage passes! Bryna is queen.”

“I wasn’t going to go backstage if the show sucked,” Bryna said with a nonchalant shrug.

“You’re insane,” Maya said. “Now, gimme one of those, and let’s go meet her!”

Bryna handed out the passes and then directed them to the backstage entrance. A hot bouncer stood at the door and checked their tickets before letting them pass. They had to pull Stacia away from his large muscled biceps before she did something totally Stacia-esque, like finding the nearest restroom for a quickie.