“Okay, so what’s so great about this party? So far it seems pretty average.” Bri was sure to let her displeasure show.
“Just wait,” Devon smiled. “This is just the pre-party mingle.”
“But it’s already 10:00. How long does this thing last?”
“The pool opens at midnight, and that’s when things really get fun. People don’t usually start leaving until dawn,” Layla smiled evilly at her. “Hope you had your caffeine tonight!”
Shocked, Bri turned to Maddie. “She’s not serious, is she?”
“Really Bri, it’s fun!” Maddie reassured her. “You’ll see. You did bring your suit, right?”
“Um, no. Layla forgot to mention the swimming part.”
“Oh, well, skinny dipping is always an option!” Bri shot daggers at Layla with her eyes. “Hey, lighten up,” Layla conceded. “I packed you a bag with your bikini and a change of clothes. I wouldn’t leave you hanging like that!”
“Sure you wouldn’t,” Bri muttered. “I’m going to go grab something to drink. I’ll be back in a few.” Layla better not have been serious. There was no way Bri was staying until dawn.
Attempting to calm down, she walked into the kitchen where an array of snacks and drinks were set out. To her great relief, Bri found up an unopened can of soda and took a sip.
“Careful,” a snide voice said behind her. “You keep drinking your calories like that and you’ll be too fat to fit into your dance routine costume.”
Bri tuned to find Natalie eyeing her with hate, Erica right by her side like a well-trained dog.
“Well, at least I’d still get to squeeze into that costume, unlike the two of you,” she quipped back. There were only so many positions in each dance, and not all the girls got to dance in all the routines. Bri had no problem flaunting the fact that she was in all the routines, and Natalie and Erica were not. She earned a pair of glares from the other girls.
“You know, I don’t remember inviting you to my party,” Natalie replied nastily. “So why are you even here?”
“I’m crashing. But, from what I’ve seen so far, it isn’t really even worth crashing. So congrats, Nat, on another mediocre party,” Bri gave her a fake smile and turned on her heel and walked away before the other girl could respond.
Bri felt a little better after insulting Natalie, but her mood was ruined when she walked into the next room and found Cole with his evil cheerleader date perched in his lap. The girl was really working it, laughing at everything Cole said, and taking any excuse she had to touch him. Bri about lost it when Slutty draped her arms around Cole’s shoulders. Luckily, Cole immediately shrugged her off, before Bri went all feral on her butt. She was turning to leave when Cole caught sight of her. He gave her an apologetic smile, before turning his attention to Serena, who had just walked over and said something to him. Unable to handle any more, Bri went back outside to find her friends, wondering for the one hundredth time why she had agreed to come.
A few minutes later her phone vibrated with a text.
Sorry about that, Bri. You may be onto something with the whole cheerleader promiscuity pledge thing. Just know that there is only one girl I want manhandling me, and that is you!
This made Bri smile, and she felt her anger start to ebb.
Well, you know I’m always good for some manhandling. She texted back.
Would you be willing to meet me at my truck at midnight? I’d like to ring in the new year right.
Isn’t that kind of risky, considering where we are, and all these people?
This will be our first New Year’s together. If you think I’m going to miss kissing my girl when the ball drops, you’re crazy!
Bri couldn’t help but smile. Well, when you put it like that, how can I refuse?
Good! I can’t wait!
Bri spent the next hour talking and laughing with her friends. Surprisingly, she was actually beginning to enjoy herself. Natalie got up and announced that midnight was just five minutes away and directed everyone to head outside to the pool. Amid all the ensuing commotion, Bri managed to sneak away unnoticed, and headed out to meet Cole. She found him leaning up against his truck, already waiting for her.
“I didn’t know you still drove this clunky old thing,” she teased. She secretly loved Cole’s truck.
“Well, I didn’t want Megan on the back of my bike. This seemed safer.”
“Ah, good call.”
They stood looking at each other for a moment, and then Cole pulled Bri into his arms.
“I miss you,” he breathed in her ear.
She looked up at him. “I miss you, too.”
The sound of everyone counting down from the back yard reached them. Bri lifted her lips in anticipation.
“This is going to be our year, Bri,” Cole promised her. “You and me, together.”
Bri felt a warm shiver race through her at his words.
“Three, two, one...”
Cole’s lips met hers gently, sealing his promise with a kiss. Then they quickly grew more aggressive, as his passion took over. Bri could feel it in him. He wanted her, he needed her desperately, and she met his urgency with her own. With Cole she felt complete. She felt, for the first time, truly alive. They kissed unabashedly, under the slight scattering of stars that were visible above them. They stayed locked in each other’s embrace, neither willing to pull away, until the sound of Natalie’s voice announcing that the pool was officially opened caused them to return to reality.
“Well, I guess we’d better get back,” Cole reluctantly pulled away. Sadly, Bri nodded. She started walking away, when he pulled her back. “I forgot to tell you how hot you look tonight. Those boots are driving me crazy.” He gave her one more kiss.
“I’ll have to remember that for the future,” she smiled.
She headed back to the back yard and slipped back among her friends. Layla tossed Bri her bag, and they went off to change. She was relieved to find that Layla had also packed her black cover up. They returned to the back yard to find that Natalie had turned on the outdoor stereo and the party had officially moved out to the pool.
The pool looked inviting, but Bri didn’t feel like getting wet, despite being assured the pool was heated. After lounging on a chair for a while, she shrugged out of her cover up and settled for sitting on the edge and dangling her feet in the water. She waved to her friends, who were splashing across the pool.
“You know, you’re in a pretty precarious position right there,” a glistening dark head swam up to her.
“Oh? And why is that?” Bri laughed back.
“Because, anyone swimming by could easily grab you and pull you into the water.” Cole’s eyes glinted mischievously.
“You wouldn’t dare,” she admonished him.
“Only because I’m really enjoying the view from down here.” He grinned.
Bri felt herself blushing under his gaze. Remembering where they were, she glanced around quickly.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to be talking to each other in public,” she nodded over at Serena and her cronies, who were eyeing them from the other end of the pool.
“Well, we are going to be friends at school now, right? What better place to meet than at a midnight pool party?” He pulled himself out of the pool, and Bri couldn’t help but admire his bare, muscular chest. He sat beside her, water dripping tantalizingly down his body. Again, Bri blushed.
“So, how has your night been?” he asked, shaking the water from his hair.
“Um... uh, good I guess,” she replied, distractedly.
Cole, catching her staring at him, gave her his signature cocky smile.
“Well good. I’m glad you’re having a good time.”
“I am now,” she replied softly. It was nice, sitting next to Cole, talking to him. Unfortunately, a shadow fell over the two of them, and Bri looked up to see Cole’s date, Megan, looming behind them. She looked pissed.
“There you are, Cole. I’ve been looking everywhere for you
.” Megan plastered on a fake smile that did nothing to hide her anger. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“Well, I’m right here,” Cole shrugged, making no attempt to move.
“Yeah,” Megan laughed tightly. “Well, a bunch of us were going to play Chicken, and I need you to be my bottom.”
Bri about choked when she thought about Megan sitting on Cole’s shoulders, her legs wrapped around him. Cole must’ve noticed.
“Um, that’s okay. I don’t really feel like playing. Why don’t you find someone else to be your partner.”
Disappointment crossed Megan’s face, but she quickly smothered it.
“Okay, but could you um, go get me a drink? I’m really thirsty,” she glared at Bri, then eyed Cole pointedly.
“Um, sure, I guess.” He grudgingly stood and gave Bri a sad smile. “It was nice talking with you. See you around, Bri.”
“See ya,” she returned and watched him walk away, Megan trailing right behind him. She forced herself to remember that this was the last time she’d have to watch Cole with another girl. It was the only thing keeping her from rushing Megan and yanking her hair out.
Deciding she’d had enough party for one night, Bri climbed out of the pool and grabbed her bag. After making sure that Layla could get a ride home with Devon, she headed out to her car to go home. As she pulled away, she saw Cole standing out on the front lawn, looking forlorn as he watched her drive away.
All too soon, winter break was over and it was time to go back to school. As Bri drove through the dark on her way to dance practice Monday morning, it hit her with a sudden force that this was her last semester of high school. The familiar pattern of her life that she’d become accustomed to would be over in five short months, and then her life was going to change dramatically. It would soon be time for her to go off and face the unknown, her future, head on. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the comforting thought it usually was.
So, after dance, as she headed to her second period class, she promised herself that she’d try and enjoy every minute left of her high school career. Because, with college applications, dance competitions, basketball halftimes, AP tests, finals, and graduation, she had a feeling that the next five months were going to fly by.
As she approached her AP Calc class, she noticed Cole walking towards her down the hall, and her heart started thumping. A second later, he saw her and smiled.
“Hi Bri,” he winked at her as he passed.
“Hi Cole,” she returned his smile. Yep, that was definitely better than ignoring each other. She resisted the urge to turn and watch him as he continued down the hall. But, as she turned to enter her classroom, she cast one more glance his way. She found him watching her from the other end of the hall. Her heart leapt in her chest, and she gave him a smile before heading into class. She did notice that Cole was standing with Serena, and she thought she saw Serena scowling at her. But then again, Serena was always scowling, so it could’ve been nothing.
As Bri went through the rest of her day, she couldn’t believe how much better she felt. She hadn’t realized exactly how much it had taken out of her to pretend that she and Cole meant nothing to each other. Just being able to acknowledge each other lifted a huge weight off her. Especially now that she didn’t have Ceramics with him anymore. Her class schedule had stayed the same except for her seventh period. This semester she had Drama. She liked Drama, but it just wasn’t the same.
Cole had an away game that Friday, and Bri decided to surprise him and go. She talked Layla and a couple girls from the Dance Team into going with her. They all wore their navy blue letterman jackets and stood out like sore thumbs in the visitor’s section of the opposing team’s gym. They would be hard to miss sitting altogether like that.
The team finished warming up, and as Cole headed to the bench, he caught sight of the girls in the stands. His eyes found Bri almost immediately. A surprised smile formed on his face that quickly transformed into a knowing smirk that seemed to say, “Yeah, you’ve got it bad!”. Bri laughed, shaking her head at him, and Cole headed out to the floor and the game began.
Bri couldn’t take her eyes off Cole the entire game, and only partly because he was smoking’ hot in his basketball uniform. The guy played like a man possessed. He was utterly amazing, and the other team couldn’t do anything to stop him. Needless to say, it was a huge win for the Tigers. Cole caught Bri’s eye on his way to the locker room and gave her a huge smile and a wink. Bri discreetly waved at him before following her friends to the parking lot.
Layla and the girls recounted how freaking amazing Cole had been as they drove home. Bri felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out.
Hey Beautiful! There’s a party at Jensen’s house tonight. Want to go?
Jensen was one of Cole’s extremely tall team mates.
I wish I could. With the competition tomorrow, we have been given a strict curfew. Belinda will kill me if she finds out I went out.
Please??? She won’t find out, and I promise not to keep you out too late?
Bri waffled for a minute.
I’m sorry, but I can’t. :( I’m ornery enough at 6am with a full night’s sleep. Trust me, if you want my team mates to survive the bus ride, I’d better get home and get to bed. Another time, though, I promise!
Alright. I wouldn’t want you maiming your team. I just miss you.
I know, I miss you too. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?
Okay. I’ll be there front and center. Goodnight, Ambria.
Goodnight, Cole.
Bri went to put her phone away, when it buzzed once more.
Oh, and Bri? I’m really glad you came tonight!
She didn’t stop smiling the whole way home.
The next day, Cole, Devon, and a few other guys were sitting on the front row, cheering the Dance Team on, just like Cole had promised. Bri’s dad was even there. It was one of the only competitions he’d be able to make it to, and she was really glad he was there. As she watched her dad and Cole laugh together at something, Bri decided she needed to tell her dad the truth about her and Cole. No more putting it off. She just hoped her dad would still be as accepting of Cole when he found out they were more than just friends.
That night, Connor picked up Bri at the school after the bus dropped the team off. They had taken first place in every category and first place overall, and the girls were all excited. Bri was beaming as she climbed into her dad’s BMW.
“Congratulations, Pumpkin!” Connor leaned over and gave his daughter a kiss on the head. “You girls were amazing.”
“Thanks Dad. I’m really glad you were able to come. It was nice having you there.”
“I was a little surprised to see Cole there. I didn’t realize you guys had your own groupies!”
“They aren’t groupies,” Bri laughed. “They’re mostly boyfriends of the girls on the team.”
“Boyfriends? Then why was Cole there?” he sounded confused.
Talk about a perfect opening. Bri took a deep breath.
“Yeah, about that. Dad, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Okay,” he replied hesitantly.
“It’s just that... Cole and I, we’re kind of... dating,” she winced.
“What?” Her dad looked over at her, shocked. “Really? When? How long...? Why am I just hearing about this now?” Bri couldn’t tell if her dad was angry, or just flabbergasted.
“It’s only been official for a couple of weeks,” Bri rushed to clarify. “We haven’t even told our friends yet. We just wanted to keep it quiet for a while.”
“Wait! A couple of weeks? You mean to tell me that you two were together when I agreed to let you go away with him for three days, by yourself?” Connor was definitely angry. “And you didn’t think that this was something you should’ve mentioned before I let you go!?!”
“Dad, it wasn’t like that,” she tried to quell his escalating anger.
“Did you two...? Did something happen?” he yelled.
&nbs
p; “What? No! Of course not!” It was Bri’s turn to get angry. “Not only are we nowhere near that point in our relationship, but you know me better than that! Cole and I were not alone, doing... whatever for three days, and you know it! Jimmy and the Hamilton’s were there the whole time. And in case you were unaware, it is impossible to get any privacy on a boat,” Bri huffed.
“I’m sorry,” Connor attempted to reign in his anger. “I didn’t mean to imply anything. You just took me by surprise, and I panicked. I know you’re a good kid, Bri, and I trust you to make your own decisions. I’m sorry I freaked out there for a minute,” he gave Bri a small smile.
“It’s okay,” Bri replied, her anger gone. “We should’ve told you sooner. It’s just that, it was all so new, and I guess I wanted to make sure we were going to work out before I said anything.”
“And you think it’ll work this time? Because I know you two have been back and forth before. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Thanks Dad,” Bri smiled, touched at his concern. “But I think this time will be different. The timing just hasn’t been right before.”
“And it is now?”
“I think so. I’m willing to take that chance, anyway.”
“Well,” Connor breathed out. “Cole seems like a good kid. He’s always been very respectful of you, and I trust your judgment. Though, I think it’s time we officially had him over for dinner, so I can make sure he and I are on the same page.”
“Just promise me, no shotguns,” Bri smiled. “But, really, you aren’t mad?”
“No, I’m not mad. I kind of saw this coming. But promise me you won’t start letting your hormones make your decisions,” Connor half teased.
Beautiful Mess Page 25
