Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(15)

Trihn rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m curious.”

“Well, good because here he comes. Fill me in on the details when you find out.” She fluttered her fingers at Trihn and then walked away.

Trihn sure hoped Maya wasn’t leaving her behind because, if things didn’t work out, she was going to need someone to take her home.

“You waited,” Damon said.

Trihn hopped off the barstool and teetered in her high heels. “You said you wanted to talk.”

“Yeah. I wanted to apologize for earlier,” he said, tipping his hat off his head.

His dark hair was mussed in all the right ways, and it made her want to run her fingers through it.

“I wasn’t expecting you or…your proposition, and I think I came off as a jerk,” he said.

Trihn shrugged and looked at the ground. “Not any more than how awful I came off.”

“If you just went through a breakup, your head probably isn’t even on straight. So, how about we just…I don’t know…start over?” he suggested hopefully.

“Yeah, sure,” she agreed easily. The last thing she wanted was to be reminded of what had happened in the DJ booth.

“Hey. I’m Damon Stone. Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said formally, sticking his hand out.

She took it in hers and shook firmly. “Trihnity Hamilton, but my friends call me Trihn.”

“Well, Trihn, can I offer you a lift home?”

She nodded with a smile. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

They walked out to the back parking lot and stopped in front of a silver Civic.

“I know it’s not much, but she’s gotten me through a lot of hard times,” he told her.

“It’s cute.”

“Oh no, the dreaded cute,” he said as he opened the passenger door for her.

She laughed and took a seat. He shut the door and ran around to the driver’s side. He got into the car, revved the engine, and he immediately fiddled with the heat.

“God, it’s freezing,” he said.

Damon blew on his hands to try to warm them up as the car thawed.

Trihn huddled in her leather jacket. “My high school self would be laughing at me for going outside without a winter jacket and tights this time of year.”

“Oh, yeah?” he asked. “Where are you from?”

“Brooklyn,” she said into her hands. “I would have been freezing in this dress back home. Still, I can’t believe it’s thirty-seven here.”

“Back home in London, it would technically be about the same temperature, but it’s so much colder there with the rain, snow, and wind rather than the desert.”

“Exactly. So, you’re from London?”

“My dad’s from there. I attended primary school in London with my mum and dad, but he ditched us, and we moved here because my mum got a teaching job,” he explained casually, as if he weren’t telling his life story to a perfect stranger.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Damon smiled at her as he backed out of the parking spot. “Don’t be. I’m not. He and my mum were always fighting. We’re all better off.”

“Does your mom still live here?” Trihn asked curiously.

He’d sounded really excited when he mentioned her.

“Yeah, she still lives in the house I grew up in. She’s a theater professor at LV State now and probably cooler than I am,” he told her with a genuine smile.

“It sounds like you two have a great relationship.” She wished that her relationship with her family were as cut-and-dried as it had been before Lydia and Preston. At least she was still close with her father, who had put in all the effort to move her out to Las Vegas, to get her into school at the last minute, and to set her up with an apartment.

“We’re really close,” he agreed. He glanced over at her when he realized he had been driving without thinking about it. “Uh…where is your place? I went on autopilot.”

“The opposite direction actually,” she admitted. “But I like talking to you. Maybe we could just go to your place and do more of this.” She gestured between them.

He narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted to say something. She could see that he wanted her to come back with him and talk because the conversation was good. But he had made his point earlier about wanting a relationship and not being just some rebound guy.

He was debating with himself, but he finally nodded. “I’d like that.”





DAMON PULLED UP in front of an apartment building and cut the engine. “This way.”

They hurried out of the car and up the first flight of stairs. He carefully unlocked the door and then ushered her inside the apartment. It was a small studio with typical bachelor furniture—black sofa, oversized television, PlayStation, Xbox, and an assortment of cups and dishes.

“Sorry about the mess,” he apologized immediately. He grabbed everything in sight and then rushed it into the kitchen. “Wasn’t expecting company.”

“It’s fine,” Trihn said. She stripped out of her leather jacket and slung it on the back of the couch.

“Do you want a drink or something?” he asked.

“Sure. Whatever you have is fine.”