Bragan Boys (Bragan University Boxset)

by Gianna Gabriela

  This is the classroom where I fought my hardest to get you back. I wanted the whole world to know I was in love with you. I wanted you to be mine and for me to be yours.

  You make me better, Mia. You always have.

  Love,

  Colton

  3

  MIA

  I reread the words on the card a few more times. I can’t believe Colton wrote me a letter. I mean, I guess that’s something people do, but I never expected him to be the kind of guy to do it. It’s romantic.

  I turn around and look through the window into the classroom again. I remember the first day I saw him here. I was so angry at him for being rude to me outside the club. Shoot, I remember how many times I had to switch seats to try and get away from him after the whole Abbigail fiasco. A tear escapes my eye as I recall the day he professed his feelings for me.

  “Now, will you stop asking me a million questions?” Kaitlyn asks, bringing my attention back to her.

  I nod, unable to give her anything more than a non-verbal response. Colton surprises me more and more each day. Even when he isn’t here, he manages to make me feel like he is, to make me feel how much he loves me.

  “I know you probably want to stay here and take it all in, but there are a few other stops we’ve gotta make. Are you ready?” Kaitlyn asks.

  “I’m ready,” I tell her as I fold the card and put it inside my bag.

  “I guess you know how this works now?” Kaitlyn says the moment we walk into the café.

  “Do you have another card for me?” I ask eagerly. This place is so special to Colton and me. I want to hear what he has to say about it.

  “Nope, no cards.”

  “Seriously? Then why are we here?”

  Kaitlyn smiles deviously. “I do have a card, sorry.”

  “You’re the worst.”

  “But you’re stuck with me.”

  “This is true,” I tell Kaitlyn, who’s delving into her bag to grab another envelope.

  When she hands it to me, I open the card as quickly as possible and start to read it:

  Mia

  If you’re reading this, you’ve made it to the café.

  Remember when you lost that bet to me? The whole gym thing? Well, I couldn’t have been happier to get you to agree to meet me for coffee. Then, you agreed to come every day.

  I think, at the time, you saw it as a way to not have to work out, but I saw it as my opportunity.

  This place helped us get where we are. It’s where we talked and spent time getting to know one another. This is where I realized I was falling in love with you.

  You make me better, Mia. You always have.

  Love,

  Colton

  4

  MIA

  Another tear falls as I glance around the empty-ish café. I look at the table Colton and I sit at every day and I can’t believe it’s been two years since we started talking to each other.

  “Are you going to cry every time you read a letter?” Kaitlyn asks, and I laugh, wiping away my tears.

  “Sorry. Your brother has a way of making me feel everything.”

  “Too much information, love.”

  “Not like that!”

  “Your business is your business. Anyway, are you ready for the next one?”

  “There’s more?” I ask, smiling widely.

  “Of course there’s more.”

  Kaitlyn and I walk out of the café and toward the parking lot. “Do you want to just give me whatever’s left so I can just read them all?”

  Kait shakes her head. “That’s not part of the plan.”

  Shrugging, I say, “I figured you wouldn’t give in, but I had to ask.” I cannot wait to read them all.

  Kaitlyn starts the car and pulls out, only to come to a stop a few minutes later in front of the gym. I can’t hold back the laughter.

  “This must have a funny story,” Kaitlyn says, watching me with curiosity-filled eyes.

  “Your brother bet that I wouldn’t last a week in his shoes.”

  “And?”

  “He was right, but mostly because his shoes stunk and I didn’t want to—not because I couldn’t.”

  Kaitlyn laughs. “That’s a good one. I wouldn’t want to spend a week going to the gym at 5AM and going to football practice either.”

  “Exactly! It’s also how he got me to agree to go to coffee with him for a week.”

  “Coffee dates! How cute.”

  Her words make me pause. They were dates, weren’t they? Back then, I thought it was just getting to know each other, and I wasn’t really sure why he wanted to do that.

  “Yup.” I remove my seatbelt, but Kaitlyn stops me from opening the door.

  “This one doesn’t require us to leave the car.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, it’s cold outside, and it’s not like the machines are going to give you happy thoughts. I’m following my bro’s instructions.”

  I extend my hands. “Okay, give me!”

  Kaitlyn turns back and grabs her purse from the backseat. “Here you go.” She hands me an envelope like all the others so far, the word Gym on the front.

  Mia

  Honey, it’s cold outside—I bet that made you smile. I wish I could be there to see it.

  The gym. I know you don’t love it here, but we can’t ignore the fact that this was our first date–you and me and the workout machines. Everything was going great until the guys walked in.

  I know you probably thought I didn’t want you to meet them because I was somehow not proud of being with you, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

  I didn’t want them to meet you because I didn’t want you to like them more than me. I know I’m not the greatest catch and I didn’t want you to see that.

  Tu me haces mejor, Mia. Siempre lo has hecho.

  Te Amo,

  Colton

  5

  MIA

  I can’t believe he wrote to me in Spanish. Then again, the gym is when he learned I spoke it and clearly Hunter doesn’t miss any details.

  “Just one more stop then we’re going home,” Kaitlyn says, and I feel a pang of disappointment. I love that he planned all of this, but I don’t want it to end. Not yet.

  “Really?”

  “Yep,” Kaitlyn says, concentrating on the road.

  I pull out all three cards from my bag and reread them, smiling to myself with each word. I don’t realize we’ve arrived at the Football House until the car comes to a full stop.

  “What are we doing here?” I ask out loud.

  I step out of the car before Kaitlyn does, taking in the house. We come here every weekend. We have bon fires here. We’ve had study sessions—so much has happened in this place, much more than I would’ve ever expected.

  “Here.” Kaitlyn hands me another envelope. I look at the words on the front for a few seconds. Football House. I don’t want to open it yet. Not because I’m not dying to know what it says, but because I don’t want this to be over yet. I want to cherish every moment.

  Feeling like I’ve waited long enough, and with the wind picking up, I realize I can’t prolong it. I tear open the envelope and pull out the card.

  Mia

  The Football House.

  Who would’ve thought one of these damn parties was going to be good for anything?

  Not me, but I’m so glad I was wrong.

  This place has a lot of good and bad memories for us. Let’s start from worst to best. I remember you walking away from me that day after Abbigail made you believe the worst of me. The sensation of suffocating, of feeling like there was nothing I could do to stop your heart from breaking, broke me. My heart shattered when I thought I’d lost you.

  This place was also the beginning of us.

  If you think about it, you slept with me when we first met – yes, slept with me. Don’t deny it. You fell asleep right on my shoulder and I carried you to bed.

  This is where I learned you also suck at beer pong. Jus
t so you know, you’re awful at it. Terrible. I love that you’re competitive though. I made sure to press that button every opportunity I got. I knew if I challenged you to a game, your competitiveness would get you to agree. I wanted to play because I wanted to talk to you. I couldn’t help wanting to be near you. You were a magnet, drawing me in. You still are.

  I want to apologize for that day too. You likely witnessed a kiss that you shouldn’t have. I promise it wasn’t something I wanted. I wasn’t prepared for it, and after it happened, I went outside to let off some steam. She and I were done by then, though we were never really a thing to begin with. The truth is, I didn’t want a relationship with anyone, not until I met you and saw what I was missing.

  You’re the other half of me—the better half.

  From study sessions, to parties, to bon fires, this place will forever hold these memories for us.

  But we’ve got a lot more to make.

  You make me better, Mia. You always have.

  Love,

  Colton

  6

  MIA

  I’m still thinking about the letters. I hold them the entire drive as I try to keep the tears at bay.

  Colton signs them all by saying I make him better, and I can’t wait to tell him he makes me better too. We make each other better; we always have.

  I want to text him, call him. I want to hear his voice, but I know I can’t. It’s the middle of the day and I know he’s in a meeting

  But, how do I keep this all to myself?

  “He surprised you, didn’t he?” Kaitlyn asks.

  I nod, running my fingers over his beautiful handwriting. “Absolutely.”

  “I never thought I’d see the day where my brother would become a romantic.”

  I smile. Even Colton tells me his friends keep calling him a softie because he can’t help being in love with me. I love him so much too.

  “How long has he been planning this?” I ask, curious to see how long it’s taken him to get this all organized. I’m starting to think this was the reason for the looks exchanged between Kaitlyn and him at dinner last night.

  “He brought me into the loop before our family dinner last week, but he’s been planning it for a lot longer than that.”

  I hold them up to her. “Do you know what each of these say?”

  “Nope. Care to share?” she asks and I jump at the opportunity. I recount each story, from the first letter to the last, smiling and laughing the whole time. I cry a little bit more too because I can’t help thinking about the journey Colton and I have been on. It’s certainly been a wild ride.

  Before I know it, we’re back home. Kaitlyn drops me off, telling me she can’t come in because she’s got a few errands to run and wants to give me time to get myself together.

  I walk into the house and flop down onto the couch—the couch Colton and I have fallen asleep on so many times. Once again, I’m hit by a flood of memories. I remember him laying his head in my lap as I played with his hair. That was the day I told him all about my family, about my mom and dad. He laid there and listened, promising he’d tell me what was bothering him when the time came, and it did.

  He showed up at my house once again, but this time, he was drunk. We sat on this very couch and he told me what he was going through. He let me in. He opened up, revealing how he was feeling. We realized then that we were both broken.

  I spread the letters out on the table in front of me, picturing the handsome, metallic grey-eyed, moody guy I fell in love with over cups of coffee and late night movies.

  I close my eyes, living in the memories, allowing each of them to wash over me. I even let some of the bad ones play because those were a big part of us too; they helped us get here.

  Getting up, I head to my room in search of a notebook. I can’t talk to Colton right now, but I want to thank him for his words with some of my own. When I finally find my journal and a pen, I head back to the living room. I stare at the letters for a moment, a smile gracing my lips as I put pen to paper and jot down the things I’d tell him.

  7

  MIA

  I get so lost in writing the letter that it goes from being a letter to almost a full-length journal entry. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it’s definitely long. When I look outside our living room window, I see it’s getting dark out. I should be hearing back from Colton soon. I know these meetings can take all day, but I want to talk to him so badly.

  Stretching my arms above my head to work out the kinks from sitting for so long, I close my journal and head over to my room but stop when I hear the door knob jiggle. I hope Colton will be the one to walk through the door.

  “Don’t look so disappointed to see me,” Kaitlyn says as she steps inside. Her cheeks are red from the cold.

  I laugh. “Was it that obvious?”

  “You look like a puppy that’s just been kicked.”

  “I’m sorry. You know I’m always happy to see you. It’s just...”

  “I’m not my brother, I know, I know. What have you done all day?” she asks, hanging up her jacket.

  “Just sat on this couch and watched some T.V.,” I tell her. For some reason, I want to keep the letter I wrote between Colton and me.

  “Lame.”

  “It’s Monday.”

  “Have you even showered?” she asks, crinkling her nose in disgust.

  “I did this morning. I was going to shower again before bed.”

  “Well, go and shower, but don’t put on your pajamas. We’re going out.”

  “Where are we going?”

  She shakes her head. “I’m gonna need you to stop asking so many questions. You and me, we’re going out tonight.”

  “But it’s Monday.”

  “It’s also a holiday, and places are open on Mondays. So, shower, get ready. I’ll do the same.”

  “Okay, Mom,” I say, giving in.

  Clutching the towel to my body, I walk out of the shower only to hear voices in the living room. I immediately recognize who they belong to.

  “I didn’t know you guys were coming over!” I exclaim when I see Zoe and Emma chatting with Kaitlyn on the couch.

  “I invited them.”

  “So, are we staying in?” I ask, hoping that the girls all being here means a girls’ night of gossiping, milk shakes and Magic Mike. I miss those days with Kiya.

  Kaitlyn looks at the girls then back at me. “Nope. We’re going.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing,” Emma says, getting up. That’s when I realize she’s wearing a pretty burgundy dress with tights and boots.

  I look at what Kaitlyn and Zoe are wearing and I find them dressed up as well.

  “You all look so pretty,” I tell them.

  “And you’re wearing a towel,” Kaitlyn says and I laugh.

  “I heard voices and had to come say hello.”

  “And what if there were guys here?”

  “I recognized your voices. But if there were guys, then they would see me in my towel.”

  “My brother would love to hear that you walked out in a towel with a bunch of dudes watching. That’d be hilarious to see.”

  “There’s no need to rile up your brother.”

  “But it would be so much fun,” she says deviously.

  I roll my eyes. “What am I supposed to put on? I was going to wear something comfy, but looking at all of you, I’ll feel underdressed.”

  “Worry not,” Kaitlyn says, standing up. “I have something for you.” She disappears into her room as I throw questioning glances at Emma and Zoe. Zoe shrugs while Emma shakes her head.

  A few seconds later, Kaitlyn walks out with a shopping bag. “I got this dress a while ago. It doesn’t look good on me, so I was going to return it. I think you should try it.”

  “It doesn’t look good on you? Everything looks good on you,” I tell her. Kaitlyn, like Kiya, always finds non-existent flaws in her appearance.

  “Just go and put it on. Then, we’ll do your makeup and hai
r and get out of here.”

  “Got it, boss,” I say, saluting her. Emma and Zoe laugh. Who would’ve thought that we’d all be this close. I mean, with Zoe dating Jesse and Zack being obsessed with Emma, the girls are starting to take over the group—and the cafeteria table.

  I turn to walk back to my room but stop at Kaitlyn’s words. “Before you disappear, there’s something else I have for you. Read it in your room, and you know…cry…because you can’t cry with your makeup on.”

  I watch intently as Kaitlyn moves to the bag sitting on the table and grabs another white envelope. I quickly take it from her hand. “See you guys in a bit,” I tell them as I run to my room. Closing the door behind me, I sit on the bed and read the front of the envelope. Your House.

  8