He grinned and bounced up to her front door. Brit let herself in and turned to Jack on the threshold. “Just don’t piss me off again. Seth—”
“Seth would be lucky to have you, but you know why I worry.”
She nudged him toward a bench. “I know you blame yourself about Harper, but I keep telling you, it’s not your fault.”
He knew that, but it didn’t change things. He should have seen through the facade Harper put up.
“I can see the little wheels spinning from the hamsters running on those treadmills in your head.” She tapped his temple. “All you did was say you thought he was a nice guy. And when he was with me, he was nice. He treated me very well.”
“I should have known he was a player.”
She patted his arm when he stumbled. “We’ve been over this. If you had known and let me date him anyway, I’d say you were to blame, but you told me as soon as you knew. What happened is all on him.”
They’d had almost this exact conversation several times, and although Jack knew she was right, he couldn’t totally accept it. “If it means anything, I don’t think Seth is anything like Harper.”
Brittany snorted. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Let’s just say, in that department, Seth is more like you and Harper is more like… a hamster.”
“Brittany!”
“I’m just saying. Harper might have money and whatnot, but down there? He’s no titan.” She tried to look innocent.
“A fact you no doubt spread around campus.” And Jack, having told Brittany Harper was a cheat, bore the brunt of his displaced anger toward her.
“No, never said a word.” Brittany’s lips squeezed tight and her gaze seemed distant. “I’d have to admit we got that close. I tell everyone I have no idea.”
“And they believe you?”
“Jack, please. I just look at them and say, ‘I’m not a slut like my cousin Melissa. Why do you think he slept with that ho?’ Don’t know if they believe me, but it does have an air of truth to it.” She shrugged. “But he’s pissed off enough other girls that the word is out there.”
“Sucks for him.”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” Her expression changed to a more conspiratorial one. “Not to gossip, but Seth said the word is he can’t find a socially acceptable date for the formal. He’s pissed off anyone with any standards. I’d suggest you bet him that he can’t get a date, but he’s going to hire a hooker anyway at this point.”
“How the hell does Seth know this?”
“He and Billy seem to know a lot.” She laughed softly. “And according to them, everyone’s pulling for you to humiliate him. This past year he’s pissed off most everyone in the house. Strange though, Seth knows a lot, right? But he didn’t know the details of my breakup with Harper. When I mentioned it yesterday, he went a shade of red I’ve never seen on a person. I thought everyone knew by now.”
Jack frowned. “He knows Harper cheated on you.”
She brushed it off. “Anyway, since Harper’s pissed most people in your house off—”
“I thought most people liked him and it was me they wanted to see lose.”
“I don’t think he’d ever have won a popularity contest with you, but as for him having friends? Things change.” She pulled her feet up onto the bench and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I think it started right after he and I started dating. He began hanging out with the billionaire brats and they changed him.”
“The who?”
“You know, that group of guys whose families are seriously wealthy who think that because their mommy and daddy have a lot money, that makes them hot shit.”
“Oh yeah, Kieran and his friends.”
“Yeah, them. I think you introduced Harper to the group when you started dating Kieran.”
Other than being straight, it turned out Harper had way more in common with Kieran than Jack. “Something else I can regret, I suppose.”
“Nah, he’d have gravitated to them eventually.” Brittany hardly talked about their breakup, but Jack didn’t need words to know what it had done to her. Somehow they’d gone down a road neither of them had wanted to travel.
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “It’s just more overcompensation.”
She pulled back. “Wait, you mean Kieran….”
“No, not that.” Jack snorted. “Leave it to you to go there.”
“Well you said….”
“Yeah, but I meant social standing, not… size.”
“So Kieran’s… you know….” She put her fingers out, but Jack pushed them together before she could do anything else.
“He’s got nothing to be ashamed of, and let’s leave it at that.”
“You’re no fun, Jack.” Freeing her hands, she moved them slowly apart, wiggling her eyebrows at him. “C’mon. Kiss and tell.”
“I’m not going there. What I meant was they have nothing else that makes them special. What’s funny is the old money kids look down their noses at the… what did you call them?”