Beautiful Mess (17 page)

“Hey,
Dad?”

“What,
Sweet Pea?”

“Would
you mind if I headed over to Layla’s for a little while?”  Her dad looked
at her doubtfully, so she continued quickly.  “It’s just that she and
Devon had a bit of a fight yesterday, and she’s freaking out about it. 
I’m worried that if I’m not there to talk her down, she might do something
crazy, like break up with him.”

“What
about your cousin?  She’s only here for a couple more days.”

“Yeah,
and she’s sleeping right now.  I promise I won’t be longer than a couple
of hours.  Please?”  She gave him her sweetest smile.

“Oh,
all right.  But you need to be back by 4:00, okay?”

“Thanks,
Daddy!”  Bri kissed his cheek and then grabbed her keys before he could
change his mind.  She felt a little bad lying to him, but she didn’t think
he’d agree if he knew she was going over to Cole’s.  Plus, she really
didn’t want Carly to find out where she was going.

She
knocked on Cole’s door, and waited anxiously.  A moment later he answered,
a huge smile on his face.

“Ambria!”

“Hi,”
Bri smiled, glad he seemed as happy to see her as she was to see him.

“You
know,” he closed the door behind her, “I had my doubts about whether or not
you’d be able to sneak away.  You must be more devious than I give you
credit for!”

“That’ll
teach you to underestimate me,” she teased back.

Just
then Cole’s dad walked out of  the kitchen.

“Bri! 
So lovely to see you, my dear!”  Jimmy leaned toward her
conspiratorially.  “Did Cole tell you he’s been moping around the house
the past two days?  Did you finally take pity on him and come over?”

“Thanks
for that, Dad.  And I have not been moping.”

“Sure
you haven’t.”  Jimmy winked over at Bri, and she stifled a laugh. 
“Well kids, I’d love to stay and chat, but a friend of mine is having a slight
car problem, and I’ve got to meet him down at the shop.”

“Do
you need any help?”  Cole politely volunteered.

Jimmy
glanced at Bri, before turning to Cole.

“No. 
Thanks though, Sport.  I can handle this on my own.”  He winked at
Cole before heading out the door.  “You kids have fun!” he yelled as he
left.

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.