Bri turned to Cole, her eyebrows raised playfully. “Sport?”
“Ugh, I think it’s that man’s mission in life to embarrass me at every opportunity,” he groaned.
“No, it’s cute! I’m just glad my dad isn’t the only parent incapable of letting go of childhood nicknames!” She laughed.
“Okay, how about I go get you a drink, and we forget this whole conversation ever happened?”
“Sounds good.”
“Good,” he let out a sigh of relief. As Cole left to get her drink, Bri took the opportunity to peek into the office/studio and see what he was working on.
Sitting on the easel was the painting Cole had been working on the last time she was here, but it was complete now. It was the portrait of a girl, her dark hair swirling behind her, looking out at the ocean. Bri didn’t recognize the girl, though she seemed familiar somehow. But it was the expression on the girl’s face that held Bri’s gaze. The girl was staring at the ocean with a mixed look of longing and fear. It was like the girl was looking at the one thing she wanted more than anything, but was terrified to go get it. Cole had captured her internal struggle so clearly. Bri found her heart breaking for the poor girl.
She felt eyes on her, and turned to find Cole leaning against the doorframe, watching her.
“You finished it,” she smiled softly.
“Yep,” he walked up next to her. “It took longer than I thought to get it right. But it’s done,” he smiled. “What do you think of it?”
“It makes me sad,” Bri replied.
“How come?” Cole asked gently, curious.
“I feel bad for this poor girl. It’s obvious there’s something she wants desperately, but she’s so afraid, she can’t even take a step towards it. I... it’s just sad.”
“I know,” he smiled reassuringly. “Okay, enough of that. I didn’t bring you over here to depress you. This is the only time I’ll see you this weekend. Want to watch a movie?” He led her back to the living room.
“Definitely,” Bri nodded. “Better make it a comedy, though.”
She sat down on the couch while Cole put in a movie. Grabbing the remote, he sat next to her, close, but not quite touching. Getting comfortable, he kicked his feet up onto the coffee table and stretched his arm along the back of the couch behind Bri. She sat hesitantly for the first few minutes. She kept deliberating whether or not to scoot closer to Cole, if that’s what his arm behind her implied he wanted her to do. After a few more uncomfortable minutes, Bri was overcome by a huge yawn. Unfortunately, Cole didn’t miss it.
“What, am I that boring?” he smiled.
“No, not at all. It’s just that Psycho woke me up at like 3:00 am, and I didn’t sleep really well after that.” It was true. Bri’s sleep had been less than peaceful, due to her string of dreams in which she and Cole ended up all tangled together. Just remembering made her blush.
“Oh, are you tired? Here,” Cole pulled her against his side. “You can use me as a pillow. I promise I won’t be offended if you fall asleep on me,” he winked. His arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her close. Bri, after a hesitant pause, snuggled into him. She rested her head against his shoulder, and not knowing where else to put it, she placed her hand lightly on his chest. She couldn’t help grinning when she felt Cole’s heart beneath her palm speed up a bit. A moment later, it was her heart that beat faster as Cole nestled his chin against her hair. She felt his head turn, and she swore she felt him kiss her head gently, before his chin returned to its original position.
They stayed that way for a while, and Bri was acutely aware of how good Cole’s arm felt around her, and how much she liked being held tight against his chest. The warmth of his body against hers, and the lulling beat of his heart were making her drowsy. She tried to fight it, but another huge yawn escaped her.
“Seriously, Bri, you can rest if you want to. Here, this might make it a little easier.” Cole shifted so that he was laying down on the couch, Bri laying tucked into his side. “There, now close your eyes and rest for a while,” he mumbled into her hair as both his arms encircled her.
Bri lay there, feeling a bit awkward, as she tried to convince herself that Cole was just being a good friend. Friends snuggled together on couches all the time, right? Right, she didn’t buy it at all. Finally, the comfort of his embrace overwhelmed her, and she relaxed against him. No matter how hard she tried to fight it, or how unaffected she tried to remain, something about Cole called to her, and it was becoming impossible to resist.
She closed her eyes, reveling in his closeness. She felt him release a deep breath and his arms tightened around her. She rolled herself so she was laying on half of him, her knee wrapped around his leg. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck, and breathed in his delicious smell. Cole’s lips grazed her forehead as he rested his cheek against her.
In that moment, Bri imagined how easy it would be to lift her face Cole’s and kiss him. How easy it would be to forget all of her doubts and concerns about him, and let her body take over. And she found that she wanted that, her body begged her for it. But, she knew she couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be smart or appropriate, seeing how she didn’t want to complicate their relationship more than it already was. So, she kept her head tucked firmly under Cole’s chin, and drifted off to sleep.
She awoke sometime later to the sound of her name being called softly. She opened her eyes, and it took her a minute to remember where she was. The sound of a heart beating beneath her ear quickly roused her, and she lifted her head to find Cole watching her.
“There you are,” he smiled. “You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t think I’d be able to wake you.”
“Oh, sorry,” Bri blushed. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.” She pushed herself off of him, and thought she saw disappointment flash in his eyes. It was gone too quickly for her to be certain. He followed her, sitting up himself. “What time is it, anyway?”
“About 3:30,” Cole yawned and stretched.
“I’d better get going, then. I promised my dad I’d be back by 4:00.”
“Okay. But before you go, can I please take you for a ride on my bike? It’ll help wake you up.” He gave her his best pleading puppy dog eyes.
“Ugh, what is your obsession with getting me on that thing?” she groaned, fighting a smile.
“Hmm, having a pretty girl squeezed up against me, hanging on for dear life? Yeah, I don’t really see the appeal, either! Seriously, though, why am I pushing you to do this?” He eyed her. “I don’t know, maybe I want you to step out of your comfort zone for once. Take a risk. Or maybe I just want you to let yourself go, and have a little fun for a change. Either way, I’m not going to stop pushing until you try it. And I can be very persistent!” He grinned wickedly.
“Cole...”
“Come on, Bri, just a spin around the block! I promise, if you don’t like it, I’ll never ask again.”
She considered his deal. “You swear you’ll never say another word about that death trap?”
“I swear. Please, Bri?” He pleaded.
“Oh, alright,” she relented. Cole’s eyes brightened.
“You’re going to love it, you’ll see.” He pulled Bri up off the couch and led her outside.
“Just promise me you won’t kill me.” She got more hesitant the closer they got to the motorcycle.
“Here,” Cole grabbed a helmet out of the garage for her. “Put this on. It’ll keep the bugs out of your teeth,” he grinned.
“What? That is totally gross!” She was already regretting this decision. She eyed the helmet in her hands skeptically. “Um, has anyone else worn this?” She immediately thought of Serena. There was no way she was wearing anything that had also been on that girl’s head.
“Nope, I bought it just for you. Somehow, I knew you’d be anal about it!”
“Ha ha,” Bri sneered as she put on the helmet. Cole climbed onto his Ducati and offered a hand to her. She took it and climbed on behind him.
There wasn’t much room on the back, so she was forced to squeeze as tightly against his back as possible. Not sure quite where to put her arms, she rested her hands loosely on Cole’s waist. He started the engine.
“You’re going to want to hold on tighter than that,” he yelled over his shoulder. Bri had just enough time to wrap her arms all the way around him, before Cole took off down the street. She couldn’t help the scream that escaped her as they drove off. She heard Cole laugh. “Relax, Bri! Just hold on, and try not to fight the way I lean!”
Yeah, that was easier said than done! Every time he turned, Bri was horrified that if she leaned too, they would tip over.
“You’re thinking too much, Bri,” Cole yelled back at her. “Let go, and just go with it. Don’t think, just feel!”
Bri took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She decided to follow Cole’s advice and stop thinking about all the ways she could crash and die. She held on tighter to him and focused on the feel of the wind whipping by her, the rumble of the engine, and the feel of the road beneath them. And when she did that, she found that this was in fact fun. She felt free in a way she never had before.
She laughed as she opened her eyes, and rested her chin over Cole’s shoulder. Cole, in response, gunned the bike even faster. He sped her around a few neighborhoods before finally returning back to his house. Bri was still laughing as she pulled off her helmet.
“Okay, you were right. That was seriously fun!”
“See, I told you you’d like it!” He pulled off his helmet and helped her off the bike. “Well, now that you’ve realized that a motorcycle does not equal instant death, we’ll have to do this more often.”
“I just might take you up on that,” she smiled. “Well, I’d better get going, I’m probably already late.” She pulled Cole in for a hug. “Thanks, Cole. For everything.”
“You’re welcome, Ambria,” he said in her ear, not letting her go.
Finally, she pulled away. “See you Monday.”
“See you Monday.” His eyes followed her until her car disappeared down the street.
The rest of the weekend, though short, seemed to drag on, due in combination to Bri missing Cole, and Carly being extremely obnoxious. So Bri literally almost burst into tears when Sunday afternoon finally arrived, and Carly and Aunt Rachel were all packed up to go home. The whole family went out to lunch before Connor drove his sister and niece to the airport.
Bri rode home with Summer and the twins. She couldn’t help but smile as they walked in and Summer let out a huge, tension releasing breath.
“It’s good to have our house back, isn’t it?” She smiled at Summer in a rare moment of solidarity.
“Yes,” Summer smiled back. “Yes, it is.”
Chapter 15
Monday afternoon in ceramics, Bri unceremoniously dropped her things down next to Cole.
“Hey there,” he smiled at her. “You seem awfully chipper this afternoon,” he laughed as she flopped into her seat with a grunt.
“I’m exhausted,” Bri replied. “I’m still recovering from Hurricane Carly, and this morning at practice Belinda went all gestapo on us. Yes, our first competition is in a couple of weeks, but it won’t do her any good if we’re all dead! I am so not looking forward to practice tonight.”
“I’m sorry.” Cole’s eyes twinkled like he was anything but sorry, and Bri swore he was holding in a laugh.
“Whatever,” she shook her head at him. “Anyway, I have a favor to ask. Summer is having her book club over at our house tomorrow night. Is there any way we could study at your place tomorrow?”
“You want to come over to my house?” He lifted a brow at her suggestively.
“To study,” she eyed him. “If that’s okay?”
“Hmm, I have one condition.” Bri looked at him skeptically. “You let me come pick you up and take you home.”
Bri grinned. “Deal!” Since overcoming her aversion to Cole’s Ducati, she had eagerly accepted any offered ride.
There was no complaining then on Tuesday, when Cole showed up at Bri’s house on his motorcycle. They walked into Cole’s house to find Jimmy, and a bunch of his friends, sitting around a poker table in the middle of the living room.
“Dad!” Cole exclaimed, exasperated. “I thought you said you guys would be out of here by the time I got back!”
“Calm down, we’re just finishing this hand and we’ll get out of your hair. Hello, Bri!” Jimmy smiled at her. “Care to join us?”
Bri was about to accept, when Cole leaned in and whispered in her ear.
“If you say yes, they’ll never leave. Just to warn you.”
“I’d love to Jimmy, but Cole and I really should study tonight. He has a big test coming up.”
“Next time, then,” Jimmy winked at her.
“Yeah, sorry about this, Bri,” Cole said loudly, to make sure everyone could hear. “I told my dad yesterday that he’d have to have poker night somewhere else tonight, but apparently he seems to have forgotten.” He eyed his dad meaningfully.
“Sorry, Sport,” Jimmy grinned sheepishly. “I promise we’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes, twenty tops.” He turned back to his card game.
“Why don’t we go hang out in my room until they’re done?” Cole asked. Bri nodded and followed him to his room. He shut the door behind her, blocking out the noise from the living room. Bri set her bag down, and glanced around his room. It looked just like she remembered, and still had that same comfortable feel.
“Well,” Cole let out a breath. “Are you thirsty? Why don’t you make yourself at home, and I’ll go get us a couple of drinks?”
“That’d be great, thanks!”
“Okay. Be back in a few.” He ducked out of the room.
Left alone, Bri wandered around, stopping when she noticed a sketch pad on the nightstand. Curious, she picked it up and flipped it open. She froze. Shock, and something like panic, stopping her heart.
It was her. A picture Cole had drawn of her smiling. She turned the next page, and the next. A picture of her laying out on the beach at Venice. A surprisingly detailed drawing of her face, a sad expression clouding her eyes. A picture of just her eyes, their amber hue startlingly pronounced.
Bri’s legs gave out as she frantically flipped through the sketchbook. Her heart pounding, she became more and more distressed with each page. They were all of her. Some were just quick sketches, some were black and white drawings, and some were very detailed in color. The drawings became more current the further she progressed through the book. A picture of her in her dance uniform, her from behind all dressed in black, and finally, a drawing of her asleep against Cole’s chest. She felt her stomach lurch. She was shocked, and horrified, and confused. She didn’t know what this meant, or even what to begin to make of it. All she knew was that she felt somehow violated and exposed.
The sound of the doorknob turning caught Bri’s attention, her fear and panic mounting as Cole walked in with a can of soda in each hand.
“Hey, I...” Cole began. Then he noticed the shocked, confused expression on her face. His eyes widened as they traveled down to the sketchbook in her hands. “What are you doing?” He set the drinks on the desk and stormed over to Bri, ripping the sketch book out of her hands. “Where did you get this?” he hissed angrily.
“It was... it was just sitting on the nightstand.” Bri was still too shocked to even register his anger. Her brain was momentarily frozen, refusing to function. She didn’t know whether she wanted to scream at him, or burst into tears.
“Oh, and so you just decided to snoop through my things?” his voice rose incredulously. “What the heck were you thinking?”
Bri was only thinking one thing.
“It’s me,” she said quietly, lifting her eyes to Cole.
“What?” He clutched the book tighter, fear gripping his eyes.
“It’s me,” she pointed to the book. “Why? Why am I in there?” her voice rose with panic.
“What? It’s no
thing. I was just working on human figures for my drawing class. I was practicing drawing people.” He tried to brush her off, like she was making a big deal out of nothing, but Bri could see the fear he was trying to hide.
“There weren’t any other people in there. Just me.” She finally looked Cole in the eye. Her shock was wearing off, anger and indignation rushing in to take its place. “What are you doing, Cole? Why am I in there?” she demanded.
“You want to know why?” Cole yelled, exasperated. “Fine! I’ll tell you why. You’re in here,” he lifted the sketch pad, “because I can’t get you out of my freaking head! You’re all I think about. Ever since that first day you showed up on the beach. I’ve got you stuck in my head, and no matter what I do, I can’t get you out!” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. Taking a deep breath, he calmed down a little. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Ambria. Not that I want to,” he finished quietly.
“What?” Bri gasped. A whole new slew of emotions rushed through her. But, not wanting to deal with them just yet, she pushed them aside.
“Come on, Bri. This shouldn’t come as such a big surprise. I told you last summer how I felt about you.”
“But... but, that was months ago! Everything is so different now,” she protested.
“And you think my feelings for you have changed?” Cole replied, incredulous. He took a step towards her.
“I... I don’t...” she faltered, her mind not able to process this.
“Bri, nothing has changed. You are still the most beautiful, interesting, amazing person I’ve ever met.” He reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
“But... what about Serena?” Bri’s mind was finally beginning to function again, though she was still confused. “You two were together for months. How could you date her if you like me?”
Cole let out a sigh. “Serena was just a distraction. You were so angry at me, and you had every right to be, but I knew you wouldn’t give me another chance. I went back to Serena hoping to take my mind off of you. That’s the only reason. We weren’t even officially dating or anything. I just... I’ve been miserable without you. I thought being with someone else would help me move on or something. But it didn’t work. In fact, it made things even worse because it just added another layer of guilt, on top of everything else. I’m so sorry, Ambria. I messed things up between us, I know that. I made a lot of mistakes, and I regret it more than you will ever know. But, I really like you, Bri. I think we could have something special. And I would give anything, do anything, if you’d just give me a chance,” he pleaded.
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