Gold (All that Glitters #2)(32)

She walked over to the bar. She felt like a loser, coming to the club alone at this time of year. She could be anywhere, and she had decided to stay in town. She had thought it would help her escape, but instead, she was left with too much time to think about what had happened this time last year.

Maya wasn’t working either. Some guy—she hadn’t caught his name—made her a dirty martini with three olives. She handed him cash. She doubted she would be here longer than one drink. If this was what it was going to be like for another week, then she was considering packing up and heading out of town. It wouldn’t matter where she went as long as it was away from here.

She took her drink and wandered out onto the patio. A small group of people was playing a round of beer pong at a nearby table. That was how sad the place looked. She leaned back against the metal railing and watched the game. The group was really into it, screaming, and chanting for their team, and Bryna felt very separate from everything.

She pulled out her phone to try to distract herself. Maybe tonight hadn’t been a good idea.

“Hey.”

Bryna looked up and right into the face of Eric Wilkins.

She sighed. Great.

“Hey,” she said.

“This place is a graveyard.”

“Yep,” she said, popping the P at the end.

“What are you doing here?” He leaned back, next to her, uninvited.

“Drinking.” She held up her mostly empty glass.

“Yeah, but in Vegas. It’s Christmas break. Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“No,” she said automatically. “I hate Christmas.”

“Who hates Christmas?” he asked in shock.

“Me obviously. That’s what I just said.”

“I mean, I’m dying to be home in Dallas. My mom is probably making Christmas cookies, making the house smell like home. I’m sure the tree is all decorated, and presents are piled high for my younger brother and me. My dad can never decide between ham and turkey, so most of the time, my mom makes both.”

There was laughter in his voice and joy in his memories. It made Bryna cringe away from him. She had never known a childhood like that.

“Sounds like a Hallmark movie,” she responded dryly.

“Yeah, or Lifetime, but that’s home.” He shrugged as if it were completely normal. “What’s your Christmas usually like?”

“Used to be all right before my parents got divorced. Last year, I went to Saint Barts with a guy. I lied and told my family I would be with my mother and then going to New York with Gates,” she admitted.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it was better than watching my stepmother try too hard. My father wasn’t home anyway. Plus, my mom didn’t even call. This guy cared about me, so I went.”

“I see.”

She glanced away from Eric and closed her eyes. She had no idea why she had even told him that. She hadn’t told anyone about this shit before. Maybe it was because she knew he was completely nonthreatening, and he wasn’t the type to spread rumors. He might be an ass to her, but she didn’t forget he had been worried about her enough to intervene after homecoming when no one else had.

“Hey…do you want to get out of here and get some food?” he asked a minute later.

She couldn’t resist being catty to him. “Oh, are you asking me out?” she joked. She knew he wasn’t. She wasn’t his type after all.

Eric shook his head. “Forget it. I was trying to be nice.”

Bryna sighed dramatically as he walked away. “E, I was just kidding.” She left her drink on a nearby table. “Let’s go.”

“Okay,” he said. “Where to? What are you hungry for?”

“Don’t laugh,” she said. “But…ice cream.”

He looked like he was trying to hold it in, but he ended up laughing. “Ice cream?”

“I said not to laugh.” She swatted at his arm.

“I didn’t realize girls like you ate ice cream.”

“What? Now, I can’t like good food?”

He shrugged. “I mean…you’re pretty small.”

“I have a fast metabolism, and cheer is a hefty workout. I love ice cream.”

“All right then. Ice cream it is. I know a good place.”

Bryna piled into Eric’s Jeep as he drove toward the Strip. She couldn’t believe she was actually sitting in Eric’s car. How did we go from arguing constantly to me telling him my life story to going to get ice cream together? It made little sense to her. The only thing she could think was that she was comfortable with him because she was alone, and she knew he had no intention of hitting on her. It wasn’t often or ever that she came across a guy like that.

He parked at one of the hotels, and they walked through the smoke-filled casino out to the Strip. The lights were bright, and people were everywhere. There were so many tourists. She couldn’t even handle it.

“Where are we going?”

“Sugar Factory,” he said, pointing out a building next door.

They walked through the doors and were promptly seated in the dining room.

“Just dessert menus, please,” Eric said to the hostess.

“Sure thing.” She dropped them on the table and then disappeared.