Page 6 of The Publicity Stunt

"Dramatic? Huh... that's an interesting choice of words."

"You two have this weird push-pull relationship lately. Maybe you've always had it, but it's really hitting a head lately. Maybe there's a way to talk it all out so you both can move on from whatever it is making you so pissy with each other. Then, maybe, you can stop being quite so embarrassed when you play my team."

"You know these seats we're in?"

He stares at him and looks around the small area slowly filling with more people. "You're kidding, right?"

"I bought them for me and Sasha. Instead, I'm here with you."

"This has something to do with Sasha? Also, you dropped how much money to bring her to a concert?" Brett asks and stares with his eyebrows nearing his hairline. “Seriously? Why?”

Sniffling, Kace moves his head from side to side to crack his neck. "When her favorite song played, I was gonna get on one knee and ask her to marry me."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. But, again, I'm here with you instead of her."

"And whatever happened with you and Rudy involves Sasha?"

He grits his teeth. "Yep."

"Kace, there has to be a misunderstanding-"

"He's been fucking her for six months," he cuts him off. The last thing he needs to hear is some bullshit disguised as a logical explanation. "Happy? You brought me to the concert I didn't want to go to because I was going to propose to the woman who's been carrying on a sexual relationship with my ex-best friend and teammate I can't stand to be in the same state with. The reason I wanted to be traded is because I can't guarantee I won't kill him."

Sighing, Brett rubs his chin. "You really wanted to marry her?"

"What?" Kace asks, staring at him like he suddenly grew a second head. He has to be kidding. "That's your response to everything that fucking happened?"

"What he did was shit. I'll stand by that one ten times over, but he might've done you a favor. Sasha wasn't good for you, man. She wasn't the one, and we all thought you were just biding your time."

In the span of two weeks, Kace may not only lose his girlfriend but both of his best friends along with her. He lost her and Rudy already, but Brett’s putting himself on thin ice. "Brett-"

"She brought out the worst in you. When you were together, you'd just kind of disappear into your own little world because she didn't actually want to be a part of yours. You'd become a shell version of yourself, almost like you had to become smaller to be with her. Is that really the type of woman you want to marry?"

"Stop it," he says and looks around the small box they sit in, hoping no one else comes in.

The box only has so many seats, and it's already starting to get crowded as it is. With how expensive the tickets were, he's hoping there won't be any belligerent fans joining them, making it more miserable than it already is. His patience is already thinner than ice in late spring, so it could end terribly for him if someone comes in screaming in his ear every thirty seconds.

His eyes fall back on Brett. The man may be three inches shorter than Kace, but his shoulders stand just as wide. If anyone else joins them, they'll damn near be standing nuts to butts just to fit. At that point, Kace decides he'll just leave. Even without Brett with him, there's not nearly as much space as he'd thought he'd have. It wouldn't have been that easy to get on one knee and propose to Sasha, and she's half the size of his friend.

"Okay, I get it. You aren't a Bri Waters fan, though?"

The woman walks out on the stage, and the music stars. Lights dim, and the crowd goes wild. "I'm indifferent."

"Dude, she's hot," Brett shouts, and Kace steps a few inches to his left. There's a little room, and he wants his space when the song he dreads comes on.

He watches Bri dance across the stage as she sings, and he shrugs before leaning down to shout in Brett's ear. "She has stage presence. And she's in great shape... I'll give you that. Being able to sing like that while moving around that large ass stage means she has to have one hell of a workout regimen. Might even rival ours."

Turning, Brett gapes at him like he’s the biggest idiot he’s ever encountered. "That's what you think when you see her up there? That she's in great shape and has a solid workout routine? Man, she's ten times hotter than your ex ever was. And she's sexy as hell."

"Don't," Kace warns.

"You're just turned off by all women because you were burned by one, but come on, Kace. Bri Waters is hot. So hot it hurts."

In his mind, he can't deny the truth. She is sexy. Her long, dark hair makes her blue eyes stand out and shine. He's always been a sucker for blue eyes, but usually they're accompanied with blondes. What he can't get over is how small she looks. On TV or in the media, she seems so much bigger. Taller. Instead, he watches this little thing bounce across the stage.

"She has great legs," he finally admits. They’re lean and muscular. "And I have to admit, she has a hell of a voice. She's also doing a great job acting like nothing happened."

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