Platinum (All That Glitters #3)(81)

The pair entered Piedmont Park and started walking on one of the trails. Cyclists and runners flew by them as they leisurely strolled around, taking in the blisteringly hot and humid Atlanta summer.

They were almost to the other side of the park where Damon had gotten a recommendation for a place to eat when a group of girls who had to be in high school ran up to them. One girl in particular seemed to be the ringleader.

“Are you Damon Stone?” she asked in a rush.

His eyebrows shot up, and he apologetically glanced over at Trihn. “Yeah, I am.”

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I can’t believe you’re here. Is Chloe here with you?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t know where she is.”

“But you two are together.”

“I—”

“Who is this girl?” the girl asked, eyeing Trihn up and down. “If you’re cheating on Chloe, you’ll have the Avanaddicts after you.”

Trihn stared at this girl in disbelief. Clearly, she was not the only one who had seen the tabloids, and apparently, everyone else believed them.

Damon looked at the girl. “We’re not together.”

“Good. You’d better not be with someone else,” the girl said rather vehemently.

Damon had been talking about himself and Chloe, but the girl thought he’d meant himself and Trihn.

He opened his mouth to correct the girl, but she just kept talking, “Now, can you take a picture with me and my friends?”

He shrugged, slightly exasperated, and shot Trihn a sheepish look. “Sure. Why not?”

The girl thrust her phone into Trihn’s hand a bit begrudgingly. Trihn thought, at any minute, they might have a mini riot caused by a group of fifteen-year-olds on their hands. But after she took their picture, the girls disappeared, all whispering to themselves.

Damon shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that was going to happen. I don’t go anywhere without Chloe or an escort. I didn’t think fans would even recognize me without her.” He anxiously glanced around. Some of Chloe’s fears about crowds had gotten to him. “We should probably get moving.” He took Trihn’s elbow and gestured for them to exit the park. “Last thing we want is for our location to be noted on Instagram and for the paparazzi to show up. I don’t want to drag you into the papers.”

“It’s okay, Damon. Slow down. It’ll be fine.”

He slowly eased up, and his shoulders dropped back to normal. “You’re right. I didn’t realize how psycho Chloe’s fans were. Did that girl call herself an…what was it?”

“Avanaddict,” Trihn filled him in. “It’s her fan club.”

“Yeah. I think I’ve heard Chloe mention them, but that was something else. I’m sorry again.”

“Don’t apologize. You can’t change how random people are going to react. As long as nothing is going on between you and Chloe, then it doesn’t matter,” Trihn honestly told him.

“And nothing is going on.”

He laced their fingers back together and pulled her into a diner. They ordered burgers, fries, and a salted caramel chocolate milkshake to split. Then, they chatted over their meal.

It was so nice to just be with Damon. Sure, there was madness all around them from the tour and Chloe and her Avanaddicts, but when it was just the two of them, it felt totally natural.

They spent the rest of the afternoon touring the more accessible parts of the city. If they’d had more time, Damon promised he would have taken her to the aquarium, but with the concert coming up, they only had enough time to wander around Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center, and then they rode the Ferris wheel.

They talked about the various tour stops so far, and Trihn filled him in on everything that had happened in New York. Damon looked like he was going to punch a hole through the Ferris wheel window when she told him what Preston had said in the kitchen.

Overall, it had been a totally relaxing day. It was just what she needed.

But when they made it back to the hotel, that all changed.





“WHY HAVEN’T YOU been answering your phone?” Chloe practically shrieked the minute she saw Damon.

“Hey, Chloe. Meltdown much?” he joked.

“We have to be at sound check in half an hour. No one knew where you were!”

“I was with Trihn.”

“Hey, Trihn,” she said before rounding on Damon again. “Why the hell weren’t you answering your phone?”

“Because I was with my girlfriend and didn’t need to be hounded by your incessant text messages. I see you every day. I don’t see her enough. I wanted to be present. So, get over your hissy fit. You could have gone on without me. I’m really only desperately important for two songs.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes and then stormed off.

“Diva moment,” Damon growled.

“Is she normally like this?”

“No,” he admitted. “She’s normally cool.”

They started to follow Chloe when she turned to face them again. “What did you two do this afternoon?”

“We walked around the city. Why?” Damon asked.

She thrust her phone into his face. “You met an Avanaddict, and I wasn’t even there for the picture. But more importantly, Trihn is now on everyone’s radar.”