Beautiful Mess (32 page)

“Okay,
you’d better tell me.”

“You’re
not going to like it.  Apparently Serena took the leash off the gossip
hounds and set them loose.  There are a
ton
of rumors going around about
you, and they aren’t very flattering.”

Bri
could tell Layla was stalling, trying to spare her feelings.

“Well,
that doesn’t surprise me.  I figured Serena would do something like
this.  It’s not anything I wasn’t expecting.”  Bri took a deep
breath.  “What are the rumors?”

There
were rumors ranging from Bri had to leave her old school because she got
pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption, to she had slept with Trey and
given him host of venereal diseases, to she used to weigh 300 pounds and had to
have some serious plastic surgery to fix all her stretched out, saggy skin, to
she was blackmailing Cole with something and that was the only reason he was
with her.  Not the most creative rumors, but they still stung.

“And
the most ridiculous one, that your dad slept with Belinda to get you a spot on
the team, and now he’s making sure you get special treatment,” Layla
scoffed.  “Three guesses who started that one.  And half the team is
falling for that crap!  They should know better!  They’ve seen you dance,
they know how good you are.  It makes me angry!” Layla fumed.

“It’s
alright.  I really don’t care what the they think of me.  Or what the
whole school thinks of me, for that matter.”

“Well,
that’s good, because Serena has managed to turn just about the whole school
against you.  There’s some stuff that she posted online… You know what,
don’t even look.  In fact, just stay away from the internet all together.”

“That
bad, huh?”

“Unfortunately. 
I’m so sorry, Bri.”

“Thanks
Lay.  But really, I’m okay.  I knew this kind of crap would be
coming, and I can’t let Serena get to me.  If I start crying or screaming,
she wins.  And I refuse to let her win.  She thinks she can scare me
away from Cole, and she needs to see that that isn’t going to happen.”

“From
the sound of things, I think it’s more like she’s trying to scare Cole away
from you.  There aren’t any rumors going around about him at
all.   Just you,” Layla said hesitantly.

“Well,
just more reason not to let her win.”  Bri worked on keeping her anger in
check.

“That’s
my girl,” Layla said proudly.  “You keep your head up above all this crap,
and leave the fighting to me.”

“Layla,
no!  I don’t want you to get drug into this mess, too!”

“What? 
You’re my girl!  This is what best friends do, they protect each
other.  So, don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.  You
and Cole just keep doing your thing.  I’ve got your back.”

“Thanks,
Lay.  You’re the best, you know that?”  Bri couldn’t suppress the
emotion in her voice.

“Of
course I do!  And that’s why I only hang out with the best!  Alright,
babe, try not to worry about this too much, and I’ll see you tonight at
practice, okay?”

“Okay. 
Bye, Layla.”

“Bye,
Bri.”

A
couple of hours later, Bri was getting ready to head to dance when her phone
rang again.  She smiled when she saw who was calling.

“Hey
there!” she answered.  “How was practice?”

“Good,
I guess,” Cole replied.  “Coach Davies went on and on about the scouts
that are going to be coming, and how we really need to not suck in front of
them.  How was your afternoon?”

“Eh,”
she sighed.  “Considering that I spent it trying not to seethe in anger,
not the best.”

“You
talked to Layla.”  Cole didn’t sound too happy about it.

“How’d
you know?”

“Because
she called me after practice.”

“She
did?”  Bri was shocked.  “What did she say?”

“She
told me about the rumors and stuff going around.  Which does
not
make me happy.  Then she threatened my life, and my manhood, if I fell for
any of that crap and hurt you.  I think her exact words were “I will hunt
you down, and chop off the protruding parts of your body”.  That girl can
really be scary when she wants to be.”

“Did
she say anything else?”

“Just
that you were taking this all way too well, doing the whole
it-doesn’t-bother-me thing, when in fact you were really upset.  So she
wanted me to call and reassure you that I don’t believe any of the rumors, and
I have absolutely no intention of breaking up with you.  But, I think you
already knew all that.”

“Yes,
I did.  But it’s still nice to hear you say it.  Layla really wanted
you to tell me all that?”  It was official, Bri loved that girl. 

“That,
and she made me promise that I would treat you like a queen, and not do
anything to screw this up.”  Cole chuckled.  “Layla is definitely
someone you want on your side.”

“Yes,
she is.”

“So,
how are you really feeling about all this?  I don’t want the sugar coated
version.”

“Ugh,”
Bri groaned.  “I’m angry, hurt, and embarrassed.  But mainly, I’m
really pissed that everybody just believes all this crap!  I mean,
seriously!  It’s all so asinine.”

“I
know.  You’re taking it better than me.  I want to start bashing
people’s faces in for saying those things.  But we’ll get through
it.”  He paused.  “Do you wish we hadn’t gone public?  That we
had kept us a secret?”

“What? 
Of course not!  We shouldn’t have to hide from anyone.  We knew this
would happen.  I didn’t care then, and I don’t care now.  It was
absolutely worth it!”

“You
really feel that way?”  Cole sounded a little awed, and it made Bri’s
heart swell.

“Yes. 
Serena can try whatever she wants.  I refuse to let her come between us.”

“Me,
too,” he agreed softly.

“Good.” 
Bri felt warm all over.  “Well, I’ve got dance tonight, so I’d better go.”

“Okay. 
See you tomorrow.  Goodnight, Ambria.”

“Goodnight,
Cole.”

Bri
hung up feeling a hundred times better.  Her anger had dissipated, and
Cole’s words had left her feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  She was able
to go to dance practice with her head held high.

The
next morning, Bri was shocked to find Cole waiting outside for her.  He
was leaning against his motorcycle, his hair still sleep ruffled, and his eyes
a little bleary.  He had never looked so hot.  Bri walked up to him
and wrapped her arms around his neck, very glad to see him.

“What
are you doing here?”

Cole’s
arms circled her waist and pulled her against him.

“I
thought I’d give you a ride to school this morning.”

“At
5:40 in the morning?”

“It’s
not a big deal,” he shrugged.

“No,
it’s a
very
big deal,” she smiled and kissed him.  This was the
sweetest thing any boy had ever done for her.  The thought of Cole
dragging himself out of bed and waiting outside for her, meant more to her than
she could say.  So she kissed him harder.  She wanted to make sure he
knew how much this meant to her.  After a few minutes Cole pulled back.

“I
could seriously do this all morning.  But if we don’t get going, you’re
going to be late.”

She
nodded and hopped on behind him, glad for the excuse to squeeze him as tight as
she could.

When
they got to the school, he walked her into the gym.  He stopped at the
door, and in full view of the whole team, gave her a kiss that made her knees
weak.  Pulling back, breathless, Bri eyed him suspiciously.

“Did
you bring me to school this morning to send a message?”  Her eyes flicked
over to Natalie and Erica.

“No,”
he leaned closer.  “I picked you up this morning because I wanted to see
you.  Getting to send a message is just an added benefit.”  He smiled
cockily at her.

She
decided to wipe that grin off his face with her lips.  A moment later Belinda’s
voice broke through Bri’s hormone induced haze.

“Um,
Bri?  We’re ready to get started, if you’d care to join us?”

Blushing,
Bri broke away from Cole.

“See
you,” she smiled at him.  He winked and headed out the door. 

As
Bri walked into the gym, Layla gave her a high five as she passed. 
Natalie and Erica just glared.

When
Bri stopped by her locker after second period, she noticed Serena watching from
her locker a little way down the hall.  Unwilling to let Serena think she
intimidated her, Bri looked up and met her eyes.  Serena gave a cocky lift
of her chin and turned to open her locker.  Rolling her eyes, Bri pulled
out her books.  She closed her locker just as a warm arm circled her waist
from behind.

“Want
to send another message?”  Cole’s breath tickled her ear.

“No. 
What I want to do is kiss my boyfriend.”  She turned to face him. 
“Sending a message would just be an added bonus.”

“What
my girl wants, she gets.  I’m here to please,” he pulled her to his chest.

“I
bet you are,” Bri replied huskily, her eyes drawn to his incredibly sexy lips.

Those
lips gave a wicked quirk before devouring hers.  They kissed each other
passionately and hungrily, despite the audience around them.  And even
though the kiss was kind of an F-you to Serena, Bri could still feel Cole’s
underlying emotions.  She felt her own desire rush up to meet his, and for
a moment it was just the two of them, alone in their own world.  The
warning bell rang, bringing them back to reality.

“I
gotta run.  See you after class.”  Cole kissed her nose and ran off
down the hall.

Bri
turned and caught Serena staring at her in shock.  It was Bri’s turn to
throw a cocky smirk.  Serena just glowered at her and stormed off down the
hall.  Smiling, Bri headed off to class.

By
the end of the week, Bri was almost getting used to the looks and
whispers.  Almost.  She was in the bathroom one day, and a group of
girls came in, discussing some of the rumors going around.  Apparently
Layla had given Bri the PG version, because what these girls were saying was
downright disgusting.  It took all of Bri’s willpower not to drop kick
every last one of them. 

Due
to the success of the basketball team, the school reinstated Spirit Day on
Fridays for the games.  So that Friday, Bri had to wear her Dance Team
uniform, tight pants and all.  She was just grateful it was fairly warm,
because her halter top offered no protection from the elements.  It also
offered no protection from the leering looks from the male population, or from
Cole’s hands.  The hands she didn’t mind, and he touched her every chance
he got.  Not inappropriately, but like he just couldn’t physically
restrain himself.  As she sat down next to him at lunch, he leaned in and
whispered in her ear.

“You
should wear this every day.”  His lips grazed her tattoo.

“Really? 
Somehow I don’t think your hormones would be able to handle that.”  She
replied quietly.

“Oh,
they can handle it,” he murmured, his lips brushing down her neck.  “They
have a very specific and pleasurable way of handling it, but believe me, they
can definitely handle it.”

A
shiver raced through Bri as he pulled away.

“Just
let me know anytime you’re interested, and I can demonstrate.”  He looked
her up and down hungrily, like he’d demonstrate right then if he could. 
Bri’s breath caught and warmth flooded her whole body.

“Alright
you two,” Layla cut in.  “Your sexual tension is ruining my appetite.”

Completely
embarrassed, Bri tore her eyes from Cole and hit Layla on the arm.  But
she couldn’t get Cole’s hungry look out of her mind.

That
night, after performing for halftime, Bri saw Jimmy in the stands and sat down
next to him.  She’d changed as fast as she could and managed to make it
out just before the start of the second half.  She glanced around, quickly
locating the group of scouts there to watch Cole.  She immediately
recognized the Blue Devil on one of the scout’s shirts.

“Is
that a Duke scout?” she asked Jimmy, amazed.

“Yep,”
he smiled proudly.  “There are also scouts here from Kansas and
Arizona.  He’s had some local colleges come watch him before, but these
guys are a big deal.”

“Yes,
they are.  How did the first half go?”

“Good,
but I think Cole was waiting for you,” Jimmy winked.

Just
then the team emerged from the locker room and began warming up.  Cole
spotted Bri in the stands and ran up to give her a quick kiss.

“For
luck,” he smiled.

“Like
you need it,” she blushed back.

“Glad
you’re finally here.  It took you long enough,” he teased.

“Yeah,
well, you’d better make it worth my while.”

“Just
you wait!  Hey Dad, did you get Bri’s performance?”

“Yep,”
Jimmy held up his phone, “got it right here.”

Bri
gave Cole a questioning glance.

“What? 
I miss seeing you dance, so I have my dad record it for me.  No big deal,”
he shrugged.

Bri
beamed at him, overcome by his sweet gesture.

“Hey
Marra,” Coach Davies called from the floor.  “I don’t know if you remember
or not, but we kind of have a game to win here.”  Grinning, Cole ran to
join his team.

Twenty-four
game time minutes later, Cole and the Tigers had demolished the other team and
the full to capacity gym erupted.  Cole bounded up to Bri for an extra
excited victory kiss.

“I
have a few people to talk to,” he pulled back.  “Will you wait for me?”

Knowing
she had a few minutes, Bri nodded.  She sat and watched as Cole, Jimmy,
and Coach Davies talked with the three scouts.  After a final handshake,
Cole bounced over to her.  And yes, he was actually bouncing.  He
pulled her into a tight hug.

“Thanks
for waiting, Beautiful.  Can you believe how crazy this is?”  He
pulled back to look at her, and his eyes were dancing.  Bri had never seen
him this happy and excited before.  “Hey, the guy from Duke wants to go to
dinner tonight and talk.  Want to come?”

“Oh,
I would love to, but I can’t,” she replied, disappointed.  “The Dance Team
is going out to dinner tonight.  You know, a kind of team building thing
before Region tomorrow.  I’m sorry,” she pouted.  “But will you
promise to call me tonight and tell me all about it?”

“Definitely.” 
He leaned in and kissed her longingly.  “Thanks for being here tonight,”
he said softly.

“Of
course.  I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.  I gotta run, but
call me later?”

Cole
nodded.  “Have fun at your dinner.”

“You
too,” she smiled.

“
Duke
!”
Cole breathed and ran both hands through his hair.  He looked like he’d
just won the Super Bowl or something and still couldn’t believe it’d
happened.  Bri felt herself fall a little harder for him right then. 
Shaking herself out of it, she forced herself to head out to her car.

Dinner
with the team didn’t go as badly as she’d thought it would.  Layla had
been busy dispelling Natalie’s rumors, and the girls weren’t nearly as
hostile.  As they were leaving, Bri grabbed Layla and gave her a big hug.

“Thank
you,” Bri told her sincerely.  “I don’t know what kind of magic you had to
work, but I’m very grateful.  I love you, you know that?”

“Awww,
who knew my Bri was such a softy,” Layla teased and squeezed her back.  “I
love you too, girl.  I’ll always be there for you.”

“Me
too.  Whatever you need,” Bri promised. 

The
girls parted and Bri climbed into her Mazda.  An idea popped into her
head, and she pulled out her phone.

Are
you home?  Can I stop by?
she texted Cole. 
A moment later he responded.

Yep,
I’m home.  And it would make my night if you stopped by!

She
sent a quick text to her dad, letting him know she’d be a little late, and then
tried not to speed as she drove to Cole’s.  He let her in, and she said a
quick hello to Jimmy, before Cole led her to his room.  Closing his
bedroom door, he pulled her to him and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in
years instead of hours.  Finally needing to breath, Bri pulled back.

“Well,
hello to you, too,” she grinned.  She turned to go sit on the bed, but
stopped when she noticed a new painting hanging above it.  There were two
canvases, hung side by side, and unlike the rest of the black and white artwork
in the room, these were full of color.  The left one was a painting of Bri
smiling lovingly at something across from her.  That something was a
painting of Cole gazing intently and lovingly back at her.  They were
surprisingly intimate, and Bri was suddenly very conscious of the fact that
they hung right above Cole’s bed.  Her heart picked up, but it was more
out of fear and panic.

“I’m
in your room?” she asked quietly, her eyes not leaving the paintings.

Cole
came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on
her shoulder.  “Does that bother you?” 

“No,
it just seems...”

“What?”

Like
too much, too fast.  She wasn’t sure exactly how deep her feelings for
Cole ran, aside from the obvious physical attraction, but she wasn’t in love
with him, and she was pretty sure he didn’t love her either.  It would be
crazy for them to allow that to happen.  But, Cole’s paintings seemed to
imply something deeper between them.  It made Bri a little uncomfortable.

But,
not wanting to hurt Cole’s feelings, and definitely not wanting to get into
another let’s-define-our-relationship talk, she replied, “Nothing. 
They’re really good.  But I think you may have exaggerated me a bit. 
I’m not really that pretty,” she smiled at him.

“I
didn’t exaggerate anything, and you are beautiful.  That’s the way I see
you.”  His lips grazed her ear.  Wanting to shift the attention off
her, she changed the subject.

“So,
how did your dinner go?  How was Duke?”  She sat down on the bed and
pulled him down with her.

“It
was great,” he beamed.  “More than great!  They are interested in
me. 
Duke
is interested in me!  Do you have any idea how big
this is?” 

“It’s
huge,” Bri agreed, squeezing his hand.  She could feel the tremors of
excitement running through him.

“I
mean, I’ve dreamed of playing for Duke my whole life.  Never,
never
,
did I think it might actually happen!”  He shook his head in wonder. 
“The other schools are interested, too.  I have meetings with both of them
tomorrow.  But,
Duke
!”

Bri
smiled at him, but there was something like sadness beneath it.

“So,
is Duke where you’d want to go then?”

“Ideally,
yes,” he let out a breath.  “I wouldn’t be starting, the scout made that
clear.  But he said that there’s a good chance I could earn a starting
position next year.”

“I
know
you could.  What does your dad think?  Has he said
anything?”

“Not
really,” Cole looked a little sad.  “I think he’d still like for me to
play football.  You know, follow in his footsteps.  But, I don’t
know.”

“That’s
not what you want,” Bri stated knowingly.

“No.” 
His forehead creased in confusion, like this was the first time he’d been able
to admit that, even to himself.  “I need to hear out the other offers from
the other schools who’ll be coming, but if Duke offers me a spot, I don’t think
I can turn it down.”

“You’d
be crazy not to take it.  I’m really happy for you, Cole.”  But she
didn’t feel happy.  She suddenly felt very empty.

“Oh,
shoot, tomorrow!  I’m going to miss your competition!  I’ll
reschedule my meetings.  We can talk over the phone or something.”

“Coleston
James Marra, you will do no such thing!”  She looked him sternly in the
eyes.  “This is important.  It’s your
future
!  You are
not going to give up possible scholarships for a dance competition.”

“But
it’s important to you.  I should be there.  I want to be there.”

“Go
to your meetings,” Bri smiled, touched.  “The competition is an all-day
thing, come after you’re done.  It’s not a big deal.”

“Are
you sure?” Cole looked doubtful still.

“I’m
positive.”

“Okay. 
But I’m taking you out tomorrow night to celebrate.  I want you all to
myself!”

“Well,
you’ll have to share me with my family for dinner after, which you are totally
invited to, but then I’m completely yours.”

“Mmm,
completely?”  Cole’s voice dripped with innuendo.

Bri
remembered Layla’s comment from lunch earlier, and her face flushed.  Only
half of it was from embarrassment, though.  Instead of answering she
leaned in and kissed him.

“So,
was that a yes or a no?” Cole murmured against her lips.

“Well,
it wasn’t a yes...”

“But
it wasn’t a
no
, either,” he grinned wickedly and captured her lips
again.  Bri felt her resistance beginning to slip, and knew it was time to
go.

“I
better get going.  My dad’s waiting up for me.”  She managed to
detach herself from Cole, amid his groans and protests.  “I’ll see you
tomorrow.  Good luck with the scouts.”  She gave him a quick kiss and
headed out to her car.

As
Bri drove away, an unexpected sadness hit her.  Cole was going away. 
She had always known that their lives were going to take them down different
paths, sooner now than later.  But the reality of that fact hit her hard
just then, and she was surprised about how much that hurt.  She had never
expected Cole to follow her to Stanford, but she hadn’t given much thought to
what would happen to them after graduation.  A cross country, long
distance relationship wasn’t going to work.  Her heart ached as she
realized that she and Cole had a definite expiration date, and the countdown
clock was ticking.  The ironic thing was that Bri had sent in an
application to Duke already, as her backup in case Stanford fell through. 
And now it looked like that was where Cole would be going.

As
she climbed into bed that night, Bri decided that she was going to take
advantage of the time they had left, enjoy every minute.  Four months was
a long time, and she was going to cherish it.  As long as they didn’t get
too involved, she and Cole should be able to part ways amicably.  Sure,
she would be sad, and would miss him, but at least she wouldn’t have a broken
heart to deal with.  Because, let’s face it, heartbreak was just not worth
it. She and Cole would have to be careful, but they should be able to enjoy
each other without getting too attached.

Bri
woke the next morning feeling much better.  The Regional competition was
held at Santa Monica High this year, so her dad, brothers, and even Summer were
in the stands to cheer her on.  The day passed chaotically but quickly,
and it was almost three in the afternoon before she found Cole in the
stands.  He and Jimmy were sitting next to Connor and Summer,
chatting.  When Bri and the team took the floor, Cole jumped up, screaming
and whistling.  She smiled at him as she took her position.