Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2)

by Preston, Jennifer

  “Bri,” she smiled. Daymon’s mocha skin set off his dazzling white smile. His black hair was pulled into dozens of small braids, which he’d tied loosely into a ponytail.

  “Alright, I’m going to go get set up.” Cole pulled her into his side and kissed her temple. “See you after.”

  “Bye,” she smiled as he walked off. Turning her attention back to Daymon she asked, “So, where do you want me?”

  “Right down in front,” Daymon motioned to the raised platform in the middle of the room. There were easels set up in circular rows all around it. “If you’ll follow me,” he smiled and led the way through the maze of easels.

  Bri couldn’t help but feel the weight of all those eyes on her as she made her way to the stage. She was wearing a black leotard and pink tights, but she may as well have been in nothing but her underwear for how exposed she suddenly felt. Her heart pounded as she tied her pointe shoes and stood. She glanced nervously around the class. She found Cole in the front row, smiling encouragingly at her as Daymon got the class’s attention.

  “Alright everyone, let’s get started. This is Miss Donnelly, and she’s graciously volunteered to be our model today,” he smiled at her. Bri felt her cheeks heating. “To start, I’m going to ask Miss Donnelly to do some basic ballet poses for us. You’ll have five minutes for each pose to capture as much detail as you can. Then, when the timer goes off, Miss Donnelly will change poses, and we’ll start again. Now, I know five minutes isn’t a lot of time, but I want you to focus on the lines of the body, more than the small details. Ballet dancers create the most beautiful, graceful lines the human body knows, and that is what I want you to capture.” He asked Bri to go through a few ballet positions, and he highlighted the lines her body created as she moved. “Everybody understand?” There were nods and yeses from around the room. Daymon turned to Bri. “Any questions?”

  “Nope, I think I’ve got it,” she smiled. This didn’t sound too hard.

  “Okay. Feel free to breath, and blink, and you know, be a living person,” he grinned at her. “We just ask that you be as still as you can. But if you need to break for a moment, or readjust, that is completely fine.” Bri nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you all a minute to get set up, and then we’ll begin.” Daymon walked back to a desk at the back of the room. “Now, to get us all in the ballet spirit, I’ve brought a little mood music. Perhaps Miss Donnelly can tell us what this is?” Music started streaming from the speaker on his desk.

  “Swan Lake,” she smiled, immediately recognizing the piece.

  “Excellent,” Daymon smiled at her. “If you’ll take your first position, we’ll start when you are ready.”

  Taking a deep breath, Bri hit her first pose. Cole winked at her, and she smiled back at him. She nodded at Daymon.

  “Alright, you may begin.” He stared a timer on his desk, and the sound of pencils scratching on paper filled the room.

  Bri’s stomach began to flutter, as the intensity of all of those eyes scrutinizing her, trying to capture her, became overwhelming. Needing a distraction, she turned her attention back to Cole, and watched him as he drew. There was a little line that formed between his eyebrows when he concentrated that she’d never noticed before. Slowly, her heart slowed and her breathing evened, as she blocked out the rest of the room and focused on him.

  The next twenty minutes seemed to fly by. The final timer beeped, and Bri let out her breath. That hadn’t been as bad as she’d thought it would be.

  “Alright,” Daymon came striding down to the stage. “For our final drawing, you’ll have ten minutes, and I want to you capture every detail you can, right down to how many freckles are on Miss Donnelly’s nose.” He smiled at her, and Bri blushed. “So, whenever you’re ready,” he nodded at Bri and then went back to his desk. Bri took a pose and nodded to him. “Ten minutes begins now.”

  The class got to work, and Bri did her best not to wobble. After the timer beeped, she relaxed, shaking out her stiff arms and legs.

  “Let’s give Miss Donnelly a hand for helping us out today,” Daymon announced to the class, and they gave her a round of applause. “I’ll give you a couple more minutes to finish up, and you can turn in your drawings as you leave. See you all next week.” He motioned for Bri to join him at his desk, so she picked up her bag and walked over. “Thank you again for coming today. You know, you’re quite a natural at this. Would you be interested in posing for us again?” He smiled, and she couldn’t help but notice how attractive he was.

  “Um, sure, I guess,” she replied hesitantly.

  “Great. Here is my office number. If you decide you want to come back, give me a call and we’ll set something up. I hope to see you again soon,” he winked at her before turning to talk to a student. Blushing, Bri quickly turned and went to find Cole.

  He was still at work at his easel, and she peeked over his shoulder to see what he’d drawn.

  “Wow,” she sucked in a breath. “Cole, that’s really beautiful.” She was stunned at the collection of her renderings on his paper.

  “Yes, you are,” he turned and smiled at her. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded, and he shouldered his bag and grabbed his paper. He handed it to Daymon on their way out.

  “Nice! Great work, Mr. Marra. Very impressive.”

  “Well, it’s easy when you have a great subject to work with,” Cole turned a proud grin at her.

  “Yes, that does make it easier. And so much more enjoyable.” Daymon smiled at Bri, and Cole’s smile tightened. “See you both later.”

  Cole wrapped an arm around her and quickly led her out of the building.

  “So,” she began, wanting to move past that awkward exchange. “How were you able to see and draw all of that so quickly?” She’d been amazed at the level of detail he’d been able to capture in such a short amount of time.

  Cole gave a small laugh. “Bri, I could draw you in my sleep. And I happen to know that you have exactly 16 freckles on your nose, so I didn’t have to waste time counting them all. The really hard part was not thinking about you all naked while I was drawing.”

  “What?” she smacked his arm. “You were not thinking about me naked.” When he gave her a wolfish grin, she paled. “Oh crap, do you think anyone else was doing that?” She was mortified.

  “Only about half the room,” he laughed tightly. “But that’s not nearly as bad as watching my TA flirt with my girlfriend.”

  This stopped Bri in her tracks. “What? He was not.”

  “All I know is that Daymon couldn’t have cared less how many freckles the chick who came in last week had, and she was covered in them. He was totally hitting on you.”

  She gave him an incredulous glare. “You’re doing it again.”

  “What?” he returned.

  “You’re being an idiot. And I’m not having this conversation again. We’ve already been over this.”

  He paused for a moment, then deflated. “You’re right, I’m sorry” he relented. “I told you, I’m working on it.”

  “Well, work harder.” She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him against her. “I love you, and only you. Got it?”

  “Got it,” he smiled, his arms snaking around her. “And just so you know, there isn’t a woman alive who could compare to you. You are perfection personified, and I will love and cherish you for as long as you’ll let me.”

  Her heart started fluttering and warmth spread through her. She found him even more sexy and irresistible when he said things like that.

  “Good. Now, let’s get home. You need to say more things like that, and I need to reassure you of the depth of my affection.” She gave him a sultry kiss and sauntered away.

  Cole blinked, and rushed up to capture her from behind. “I’ll take all the reassurance you’ve got,” he whispered hotly in her ear.

  Somehow they managed to make it back to Cole’s room. It was the safer choice, as it was more likely to provide them some privacy. Cole opened the door to a dark,
empty room, and Bri thanked her lucky stars. Finally, a stroke of luck.

  Cole flipped her around, pressing his body against hers, pinning her to the wall. “You should know better than to tease me like that,” he grinned. His lips attacked her neck and shoulders, every inch of bare skin they could find. And thanks to her ballet leotard, there was a lot.

  “Who said I was teasing?” she returned. Wanting to feel his skin against hers, she grabbed his shirt and tugged it over his head. He gave her a wicked smile before devouring her lips again. When his hands couldn’t get the access he wanted, Cole lifted her and carried her over to the couch. He sat, letting her straddle him, as his hands moved over her butt and up her back.

  Bri had been going back and forth on the whole sex thing, but right then she knew exactly what she wanted. By some miracle, she and Cole had found each other, and managed to survive everything that had tried to tear them apart. Cole loved her. Suddenly she had no idea why she had been holding back. She was ready, and she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything. So, when his fingers stilled on the straps of her leo, she pulled back from his delicious lips and smiled.

  “So, there was some talk earlier about you imagining me naked,” she felt her face flush, and she couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Want to find out if you were right?” She chanced a glance up at him through her lashes, as she trailed her fingers over his chest.

  He sat there frozen for a few moments. Then a beautiful smile broke out over his face, one of pure happiness and expectation. If there had been any doubt before that he owned every single piece of her heart, this smile just demolished it.

  “Really?” he asked quietly. “Are you sure?”

  “More sure than I’ve ever been of anything.” She was barely able to get the words out before his mouth crushed hers.

  “Besides,” she managed against his mouth, “I’m dying to see if I’m right, too.”

  “About what,” he sucked on the tattoo behind her ear, and she moaned.

  “About what you look like naked.”

  He pulled back and grinned at her. “You think about me naked?”

  “More like dream about it. Every night.”

  He practically groaned, and he kissed her like he would devour her with just his lips if he could. He lifted her and walked them back to his bedroom. Bri’s heart was already beating fast, but when he closed the door behind them, it started pounding. This was really it. She was really going to do this. Her stomach clenched with nerves, but also with anticipation. It was a weird dichotomy, to feel nervous about something you wanted so badly.

  Cole set her gently on the bed, and laid down beside her. The butterflies in her stomach quadrupled. He trailed his lips and fingers up her arm, stopping again at the strap on her shoulder, and looked up at her. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes asked for permission. He was giving her one more chance to change her mind, making sure this was what she wanted. Instead of using words, she drew his lips down to hers and let them answer for her.

  He pushed down the straps of her leo, and she heard a disappointed groan. Looking down, she saw the thin sports bra she was wearing underneath.

  “Um, I probably should’ve thought through my choice of outfit a little better,” she laughed nervously, thinking about all the layers of tight clothing she was wearing. Not the easiest things to get off in the heat of passion. Great, she was already messing this up.

  “No,” he smiled, and helped her sit up. “I’ll just get to unwrap you.” Kissing her softly, he pushed the leo as far down as it would go. Then he lifted her arms and pulled her bra up and over her head.

  Her first instinct was to cover up, but she kept her arms at her sides. She could feel herself blushing and hoped that he wouldn’t notice. As Cole pulled back and his eyes began to move downward, she suddenly forgot how to breath.

  For a moment, doubt flooded her. She couldn’t help it. What if he didn’t like what he saw? What if she didn’t measure up to the other girls? What if he was disappointed with her?

  One look at the wonder and awe on his face as he looked up at her wiped all of those thoughts from her mind.

  “Even better than I imagined,” he smiled.

  Bri let out a relieved giggle, and then Cole was kissing her again. He laid her back against the pillows, and his hands and his lips roamed over her, like he was memorizing her. She brought his lips back to hers, pulling him on top of her. The feel of his warm, bare chest against hers was intoxicating. Her fingers and mouth roamed every inch they could reach. She was getting drunk on the feel of him.

  “They’re in Cole’s room, let me just grab them,” someone yelled just as the door swung open and the light flipped on. Cole’s head snapped up, and Bri gasped, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over herself. Matt stood in the doorway, completely shocked. He withered under the weight of Cole’s glare.

  “Cole, dude, I’m sorry,” Matt held up his hands. His eyes flicked over to Bri for a moment, before darting back to Cole. “I didn’t know you were here. I didn’t realize I would be interrupting anything.” He gave Cole a knowing smile. Bri pulled the blanket over her head, groaning in embarrassment.

  “Matt,” Cole said slowly. “If you don’t get out of here right now, I’m going to beat the living crap out of you.”

  “Sure, yeah, let me just grab my headphones,” Matt inched over to the dresser and grabbed them. “I’m really sorry, man,” he laughed as he backed out the door, finally closing it behind him.

  Groaning, Cole dropped onto his side. After a moment, he pulled the blanket back from Bri’s face.

  “Okay, that was about the most embarrassing thing ever,” she laughed nervously, turning on her side to face him.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Cole shook his head, eyeing the door. “Matt is a dead man.”

  “Good, then he can’t come looking for his headphones again. Why did you even have them in the first place?”

  Running a hand through his hair, he sat up. “When Matt has a girl over, it can get a little… loud. I borrow his headphones so I don’t have to listen to him and his dates. I never thought that’d come back to bite me in the ass.”

  “Ah. Well, next time we’re at the mall, I’m buying you your own headphones.” She sat up, pulling up her leotard.

  “Wait! What are you doing?”

  “Come on, even you have to admit that getting busted by your roommate was kind of a mood killer.”

  “Seriously? Oh, now I’m going to chop him up into tiny, unrecognizable pieces.” Shaking his head, he gave Bri a seductive look. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?” He leaned in and placed a sultry kiss on her lips. Bri indulged him for a minute, but then pulled back.

  “Let’s try this another time. Maybe when we know we won’t be interrupted,” she smiled sadly.

  “When are we ever going to have guaranteed, uninterrupted time together? It’s practically impossible.”

  Bri cupped his pouting face in her hands.

  “We’ll figure it out, I promise,” she kissed him softly. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him.

  “But when? I don’t think I can wait any longer. Not when I got so close.”

  “Soon,” she promised. She gathered up her things, and Cole followed her reluctantly to the front door, shrugging his shirt back on.

  “Just don’t make me wait too long, okay?”

  “Don’t worry, I can’t wait much longer either. Goodnight,” she kissed him goodbye.

  “It almost was,” he gave her a lopsided grin. “There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight.”

  “Me neither.” She smacked his butt as she walked out the door.

  “Ambria,” he groaned from the doorway. “You’re going to be the death of me. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” she smirked back at him. “Why do you think I have all the power. See you tomorrow. Love you.”

  “Prove it,” he challenged with a wink. “Love you, too. Sweet dreams, Ambria.”
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  She smiled, and started off for home.

  Chapter 5

  It seemed like Bri blinked, and it was Thanksgiving already. Time was flying faster than she could keep up with. Cole’s coach had given the team the week off, and had told them to try to make it home, since this would be their last chance until after basketball season was over. Classes didn’t break for Thanksgiving until Wednesday, but she and Cole decided to skip class Tuesday and Wednesday and fly home early. She had even called Layla, who was in Salt Lake at the University of Utah, and convinced her and her boyfriend, Devon, to fly home with them for Thanksgiving. Bri made sure she and Cole had a layover in Salt Lake, and that the four of them would be on the same flight to California.

  Bri’s alarm went off at 5:00 on Tuesday morning, and for the first time in her life she had no trouble getting up and ready and out the door. She was that excited. She picked up a still sleep rumpled Cole, and they headed to the airport. She spent the long flight curled into Cole’s side, as they watched the in-flight movie, slept, and studied. As their plane began to descend into Salt Lake, Bri’s heart began pounding with excitement. She hadn’t seen Layla in months, though they talked and texted almost every day, and she couldn’t wait to see her best friend.

  The plane seemed to take it’s sweet time landing, and she had a hard time holding still.

  “Impatient much?” Cole teased, placing a hand on her bouncing knee. “I’m trying not to get jealous, but I don’t think you’ve ever been this excited to see me before.”

  “Now you know that’s not true,” she nudged his shoulder. “I’m like ten times worse whenever you’re coming over. You should’ve seen me last summer. I couldn’t keep still to save my life.” She smiled up at him, and was rewarded with a quick kiss. She felt the plane finally touch down, and a huge smile spread across her face.

  Cole just laughed and shook his head. “All I can say is that Layla is one lucky lady.”