Gold (All that Glitters #2)(76)

Stacia laughed. “Trihn?”

“Yeah. Plus, I don’t think he’s worth losing a friend over.”

Stacia threw her arms around Bryna, and they hugged on the beach. “Seriously, what happened to you this summer? Trihn told me about Eric and then Barcelona…”

“I feel like I put a lot of effort into what is supposed to be an effortless exterior. I don’t want to do that anymore.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if it makes sense, especially since the head bitch isn’t vacating her throne. I want to try to live for a new me.”

Bryna hadn’t realized how true the statement was until it left her mouth. It took so much time to maintain this personality that people associated with her. Her friends, Eric, Hugh—they all saw a different side of her. At this point, she didn’t know which one was the real Bryna. It had been a soul-searching summer, and she was ready to move on.

“Well, I love the new you. Let’s get back to my friends. We have so much to catch up on.”

Bryna bit on her lip. She had one more thing to do before she could completely start fresh again. One more burned bridge.

“I’d love to.” She longingly looked out at the beach. “But I have someone I need to visit.”

THIS WAS GOING TO BE a whole hell of a lot harder than talking to Stacia.

Gates.

She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since he had kicked her out of his premiere during her senior year. He was her first real boyfriend, her best friend, and one of her biggest mistakes. She hadn’t spoken with him since that night nearly a year and a half ago when she did what she thought was irreparable damage to their relationship.

He had told her he loved her, and she had told him to f*ck off. It didn’t exactly leave her in an inspiring place to get back into his life.

Things weren’t perfect between them. They never had been, but in a way, they were the only ones in each other’s lives who really got each other. She had taken advantage of him. He had gotten swept away by her. They were horribly wrong for each other. Too similar in most ways. Both had egos larger than the Pacific Ocean. But as much as she’d wanted it to seem like she didn’t care that she didn’t talk to him anymore…she cared.

Bryna didn’t even know where to begin initiating this contact. Some part of her wanted to show up at his place and force him to talk to her. But that was the part of her that allowed herself to imagine his rejection. The other part of her knew that calling would be the right choice…even if he didn’t answer…even if he didn’t want to see her.

She got back into the Porsche, replaced the convertible top, took a deep breath, and dialed his number.

She waited an interminable amount of time before the line clicked over.

“Well, that’s a name I haven’t seen in a while.”

“Hey, Gates,” she said. It was surreal to hear his voice.

“What can I do you for, Bri?” he asked.

She could tell that he was going to be difficult, and she didn’t blame him.

“The tabloids say you’re in L.A.”

“You follow the tabloids now?” he asked.

She only knew he was here by chance after scrolling through a tabloid on the plane. She normally didn’t follow them.

She was suddenly nervous about this whole thing. But it was Gates. They had known each other too long. She could do this.

“What are you up to right now?”

“Cut to the chase, Bri. I don’t have all day for this,” he said, his voice cutting like ice.

“Can I come over? We need to talk,” she said quickly.

“Is this Bryna Turner? I haven’t heard from her in over a year and I’m confused right now.”

“Gates, don’t be a f*cker.”

He laughed at her outburst. “Oh, there she is.”

“Yeah. Same old me,” she said dryly.

“Seriously, what do you want?”

“I just want to talk, honestly.”

“Am I going to want to hear what you have to say?” he asked, clearly cautious.

After all this time, what could I possibly say to change his mind about me? Maybe nothing. But if she said nothing, then nothing would change. And hearing his voice confirmed how much she wanted things to change. She had been able to rely on him for everything, and even if she didn’t want anything romantic with him, she still wanted his friendship. That was worth something to her. She hoped it still was for him.

“You know, I’m really busy,” Gates continued.

“Cut the shit. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important, and you know it. If I know you at all, you’re probably sitting around in your boxers, playing Xbox.”

After a minute, he responded, “Damn. You know me too well.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled. “I did.”

“Okay. Fine. I’m too damn curious now. Come on over. This’d better be good.”

“It is,” she murmured before disconnecting.

At least…she hoped so.

The drive to Gates’s place was easy. She pulled up to the attendant, he cleared her through the gate, and she drove up to his mansion. It was enormous and far too much for someone his age. But who am I to talk? She had a house of her own that she hadn’t even worked for. At least he had this because his movies had taken off.