Platinum (All That Glitters #3) (33 page)

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he said into her shoulder. He pulled back from her embrace and kissed her on the mouth. “I am so glad that I suggested you come to Atlanta. I will always remember that Atlanta is a good place.”

“Best idea you’ve ever had.”

“Working up the nerve to talk to you was the best idea I ever had.”

“Then, you wouldn’t have had any of this—the single, the record, the tour.”

“You. Just you.”

The pair quickly showered off the smell of sex and then headed out, hand in hand, to explore and find some food.

Damon donned his characteristic flat-brim hat and pulled it lower over his eyes than he normally wore it.

Trihn laughed. “Afraid you’re going to get mobbed?”

He made a face. “It happens on occasion. Chloe draws a crowd.”

“I saw that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The tabloids,” she said. He frowned, but she pushed forward, “They were all over New York at every magazine stand. Kind of hard to miss.”

“Yeah. Paparazzi hound her. It’s crazy.” He scratched the back of his head. “None of that stuff is true though.”

“I know,” she said automatically. “Unless you and Chloe had somehow met before I introduced you, I think it’s safe to assume that you didn’t have a secret love affair before you went public.”

Damon looked so shocked by what she had just said that all she could do was laugh.

“People are fucking saying that?” he asked.

“You rose out of obscurity. There must be a reason.”

“Or I just got lucky.”

“No. You’re talented. Talent recognizes talent.”

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.”

“So?” Damon asked.

“Not that I care that everyone knows you’re dating someone, but I have a feeling the paps are going to get crazier after this.”

Damon took the phone from her and read the Instagram picture Chloe had just been tagged in.

@avanaddict1234 with @damonstone in #piedmontpark missing our queen @chloeavana! Don’t worry Chloe! We yelled at him for being with another girl. #chloeavana #queen #addict #dontmesswithourgirl #squee #OMG #didthatjusthappen #toorealforlife #nofilter #totallyafilter #ATLlife

“God, that is hard to read,” Damon complained.

Trihn peered over his shoulder, reading the message. “Who cares about one girl?”

“The paparazzi who stalk me and now Damon. Everyone is going to be wondering who said girl was,” Chloe said. She swept her gaze over to Damon.

“But I don’t care if they know who Trihn is,” Damon said.

“Yeah, well, you might if the tabloids start calling you cheating scum because they have pictures of you two together. This is why we have a publicist. I’m going to message her now, so she knows what we’re dealing with.”

“It’s only an Instagram picture,” Trihn noted.

“Welcome to my life,” Chloe said. She sighed and took her phone back. “Sorry, I’m in ultra-crazy mode. I haven’t been sleeping, and this shit is just getting under my skin. It is good to see you, Trihn.”

“Maybe we should just go to sound check and not worry about one picture,” Damon suggested.

“You’re right. I hope it all just blows over,” Chloe said.

But the look on her face said she didn’t think it would.

Backstage was a chaotic mess.

Trihn was hanging out in Damon’s dressing room in Philips Arena. It was a sold-out show at a major venue, and everyone was running around like crazy, getting things ready. The opener was onstage right now, which meant they only had another half an hour before Chloe would go on.

Damon was alternating between tuning his already in-tune guitar and messing around on the piano. He would sing occasionally, but it was more to fight the nerves than to warm up.

She was excited to see him perform again. It felt like forever since she had been backstage with him and Chloe. Trihn and Damon had come a long way since they first started dating.

“What are you thinking?” Damon asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’re smiling.”

“Am I?” she asked, unable to mask her grin.

“You are.”

She shrugged. “I’m just happy for you. Excited to see the show.”

“It’ll be good to have you here again. I’m more involved musically with the whole production. I only sing on the two tracks, but since I play so many instruments, production let me switch instruments songs. It’s more interesting, I think—or at least more fun,” he said with a smile.

“Good. You’re too talented to play backup.”

He chuckled. “‘We Never Met’ is sitting at number one on the charts under my name. I don’t think I’m playing backup.”

“True.”

Damon stood from where he had been seated at the piano and walked over to Trihn. He held his hand out for her, and she took it. He hauled her to her feet. She stepped easily into his arms. Then, he started moving. Slowly, their hips swayed back and forth, their bodies were pressed tightly together, and he was drawing her hand up to twirl her in place.

She laughed. “What are you doing?”

“Dancing.”

“You’re about to go onstage in front of thousands of people, and you’re back here, dancing with me?”

“Mmhmm,” he said, pulling her back in and nuzzling her neck.

She sighed into his embrace and couldn’t deny how amazing this was.

Their bodies moved together in a seductive dance that they were all too good at. She dropped his hand, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gripped her hips. Her fingers threaded through his hair, and suddenly, he claimed her lips.

They were still dancing, despite the fact that there was no music. If they had been back at the hotel, this would have been leading straight to that king-size bed again. But now, it was just hot and sensual and making her completely weak in the knees.

Then, the door swung inward.

“Damon, I just wanted to go over—” Chloe abruptly cut off.

Damon didn’t jolt away from Trihn, like she’d expected.

He kissed her on the lips and smiled at her before turning to Chloe. “What’s up?”

Chloe was beet-red. She cleared her throat. “Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to go over that one part in ‘Heartbreaker.’ It’s hell on my vocal cords.”

“Sure. Let me get you in key.”

Damon kissed Trihn’s cheek one more time, and then he and Chloe sat at the piano and worked on the song she had sang a hundred times before.

Chloe had real talent. It was clear why she was successful. But her insecurities about her success were also blatant in the way she always looked for reassurance from others around her. Trihn would never have seen it before, but she recognized things about Chloe the Girl that she would never have seen in Chloe the Mega Superstar.

By the time they finished up, an assistant came by to collect them, and then Trihn was deposited backstage, so she could watch the show.

It was different this time, seeing Chloe and Damon onstage together.

That first night, Damon had been a nobody. He had played one song, and Trihn had felt so proud of him.

Now, when Damon walked on that stage, there were as many cheers for him as there were for Chloe. The fans adored him. He wasn’t here by chance or luck. He was here because he was meant to be here.