Page 5 of The Publicity Stunt

"I don't know if I want to go anywhere."

Standing, Tessa yanks her up. "Sure, you do! To quote Pitch Perfect 3, we'll get tarted up."

Tessa loves the entire Pitch Perfect franchise, and she will use almost any excuse to quote it whenever possible. Bri likes it, too, because who doesn't love Anna Kendrick, but she's not anywhere near the same level as Tessa. Not even close.

"Tarted up, huh?"

"Yes. We'll hit the town, eat amazing food, drink amazing drinks, make sure to hydrate so we don't make complete fools of ourselves, and give the tabloids a shot of you not giving a flying fuck about ED."

"And just where do you suppose we go? We don't have reservations anywhere."

She scoffs. "You're Bri Waters. You'll get in anywhere you want to, but if you get too fancy, we'll have to go Dutch. I'm on a budget."

Like she'd ever let Tessa pay for anything in the places she wines and dines. As much as she loves Tessa, Bri knows the woman has very little financial sense. In fact, she's currently in the hole for an undisclosed amount after she took out a loan for a boyfriend who ran out on her and left her to make the payments.

The woman is far too proud to let Bri help, which is why she's never told Bri the amount of the loan, but she wishes Tessa would let her help with money. Being the best friend of Bri Waters isn't the easiest thing in the world, but she's always there for her. The only person who's ever stuck around through both the good and the bad. And she always finds a way to be there during the bad. Most people bolt when it’s no longer all glamour and fun.

Bri has no family she can count on after they disowned her when she refused to let them profit off of her any longer. Tessa and her team are the only family she has, and she would do anything for them. Especially Tessa.

"What do you say?" Tessa asks.

Nia walks back in and slumps down on the couch while furiously typing on her phone. "I'm tempted to send a bill to Easton for all these calls I'm fielding. The little prick really can't look beyond the moment, can he?"

"No, no, he can't. It's why his reps loved me with him. I grounded him a little, as they put it," Bri says. "We need a favor."

"Now? Today?" she jokes. “Of all days?”

"Can you get us into a hot restaurant tonight? Tessa thinks we should go out and show the world I'm just fine."

Her eyes light up. "That's a great idea! Get ahead of the headlines saying you're depressed and wallowing following the scandal. We'll make them wonder if you had broken up before this happened, which would take away the life of the story. I can spin this. I can totally spin this."

"Any chance we can start the trend of calling Easton erectile dysfunction? It's really a missed opportunity by the media," Tessa says. "Especially since he's proven he's got small-dick energy."

Nia laughs. "I can't, but if you want to make a comment when you're out, I can't stop you. And I know just the place to get in at. There's a new restaurant that just opened, and they're always looking for big names to increase the publicity even more. The head chef and owner, Carrie, will bend over backwards for you, Bri. Tessa, this is a great idea."

"Tee, please don't make any comment to anyone about calling him ED. I don't want it to make me look petty, and I really want to try and keep a relatively decent reputation. At least going into the tour. I don't have much of a window to save face."

Tessa sighs dramatically. "Fine! But we can still get tarted up, right?"

"Pitch Perfect?" Nia asks.

Bri laughs. She knows her best friend almost as well as Bri does. "Yes, and yes."

Chapter Three

Kace

Kace sits, annoyed, in the VIP section of the Bri Waters concert he didn't want to go to. Brett forced him. Not just forced him but literally dragged him out. No matter how much Kace protested, Brett refused to give in. The moment he found out Kace had tickets for the opening show, there was no chance at getting out of it. And Kace kicks himself for letting it slip.

The two came up with a deal after they ended up on different teams that whenever they play each other, the loser takes the winner out to dinner at any place of the winner’s choosing. Because Kace and Rudy can't get along on the ice, the Twisters kicked their asses last night. Brett opted to go to the concert rather than dinner the moment he knew about the damn tickets.

"When are you gonna get over whatever happened with Rudy and just kiss and make up? You played like shit last night," Brett says, his light red hair cut into a classic hockey mullet with his natural curls adding to it.

If his hair was black, he'd look like AC Slater from Saved by the Bell. Except taller. If he wasn’t so large, Kace was sure someone would kick his ass for looking like such a dope.

"Get over what happened? What'd the asshole tell you went down?" Kace asks as they're shown to their box.

Brett shrugs. "He didn't say much. Said you two had a fight, and you got dramatic.” When Kace shoots him a glare, he holds his hands up and adds, “His words, not mine. I heard from my agent yours was calling every team from here to Florida to get you traded."

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