Friends & Lovers Trilogy
Read Friends & Lovers Trilogy Online
Authors: Bethany Lopez
Tags: #new adult contemporary, #friends lovers trilogy texas
Friends
&
Lovers Trilogy
Bethany Lopez
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2013
Smashwords Edition
Published March 2013
ISBN:
978-1482729559
Cover Design by b design
License Notes:
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales
is entirely coincidental.
Books by Bethany Lopez
Stories about Melissa - series
Ta Ta for Now.
xoxoxo
Ciao
Friends & Lovers Trilogy
Make it Last
I Choose You
Trust in Me
Nissa: a contemporary fairy tale
Visit the author’s
website:
www.bethanylopez.blogspot.com
Thanks
to Raine, Autumn, Lyn, and Tee. This trilogy wouldn’t be the same
without the four of you!
Make it Last
(Briana &
Colin)
Prologue
Briana looked up at him, tears forming in
her eyes. Colin felt his resolve begin to crumble, but reminded
himself why he’d come to this decision. He was about to leave for
college and Bree was beginning her senior year of high school. It
made sense to end it now, rather than try to have a long distance
relationship. Colin thought about the pro and con list he’d made,
and it made sense to break up now, but looking into Briana’s
beautiful brown eyes he began to question his decision.
Colin shook his head to attempt to clear the
doubt from his mind, he knew he had to try and make a clean break
now.
“
Look Bree, I just can’t be
tied down right now,” he explained, not quite meeting her eyes. He
was sure that if he did, she’d see his uncertainty. “I’m leaving
tomorrow. Going out together was cool while we were in high school,
but we’re about to be on different paths. I’m going to need to
focus on football and keeping my grades up.”
She turned her head and bit her lip, the way
she did when she was trying to sort things out in her head. Finally
she looked back at him, her face full of confusion.
“
Is this because I wouldn’t
have sex with you?” Tears streamed down her face, and he felt like
a complete ass. He should have known she would go there. He’d been
trying to have sex with her for the past few months. They’d been
dating for a long time, and he was a teenage guy after all. But he
understood her reasons for wanting to wait. Especially
now.
“
Of course not. I just
don’t think a long distance relationship will work. A clean break
now would be best, you know?” he replied, looking at something just
over her head.
“
Colin, the least you could
do is look at me when you’re being a total douche,” she said
tightly.
He looked down at her and his face softened.
How could he not love her? She always called him on his shit.
Colin tried to block the thoughts from his
mind and stiffened his resolve. “Don’t make this harder than it
needs to be, Bree.”
“
Are you being serious
right now?” she asked. “We’ve been dating for over a year. You said
that you loved me. Now, all of a sudden, you want to break up? This
is coming out of nowhere, Colin.”
Everything she was said true. They had
planned to continue dating and seeing each other on breaks and
holidays, but after thinking about it, making lists, and talking to
his friends and family, Colin realized that it would be best for
both of them to go their separate ways now. He just needed to make
her believe that he believed that.
He let out a long sigh, as
if
she
was the one
being unreasonable. “Bree, I’m about to be thousands of miles away.
Don’t you want to be free to enjoy your senior year? I won’t be
able to come back and go to dances and stuff with you, ya know?” He
shrugged he shoulders in an effort to appear unaffected by his
words.
“
We always knew you’d be
leaving. I don’t know why you’re acting like this is a new
development. We’ve talked about having a long distance
relationship. What’s changed?” Colin tried not to smile at her
words. He should have known that she wouldn’t give up without a
fight. His stomach turned. He felt nauseous at the thought of what
he was going to say next.
“
Fine Bree, you’re right. I
want to be free to see other people while I’m at college.” He tried
to sound exasperated, and saw her face fall as he continued to
speak. “I’m going to be playing football and looking at joining a
fraternity. I don’t want to end up cheating or doing something
stupid. It just makes more sense to end it now. It’ll be better in
the long run, you’ll see.” He put his hand out as if to pat her
shoulder, but she backed away.
“
You don’t get to touch me
anymore, Colin,” she stated, wiping her face with the back of her
hand.
He hated the thought of hurting her and
tried to think of something to say that would soften the blow.
“Bree, don’t be upset. I’ll always love you. This is just the way
it has to be.”
She sniffed and continued wiping her cheeks.
She stood up as tall as her five-foot, four-inch frame allowed and
looked him in the eyes. “You’ll regret this, Colin. One day you’ll
come back looking for a second chance, but it’s never going to
happen. I’m not going to forget this day.”
He felt a lump form in his throat at her
words.
Wavering about his decision, he reached his
hand out to touch her again, then stopped himself.
“
You're right,” he said
softly. “I wouldn't deserve a second chance.”
He looked at her one last time, memorizing
her delicate features. Her long hair flowed around her shoulders,
just the way he liked it. His thoughts were tinged with regret, but
he knew that breaking it off now was the only way to make sure they
didn’t end up hurting each other even more in the long run.
Dropping his hand to his side, he walked away and left her
behind.
Four Years Later…
Chapter One
Briana hated Wednesday nights. Twenty-five
cent wings meant that not only was the Bar & Grill packed all
evening, but that the fryers were absolutely disgusting. Although
she loved good wings as much as the next person, it was her job to
clean the fryers, so she dreaded her shift anytime she was
scheduled for a Wednesday night.
She watched as Kara locked up behind the
last customer, and then went behind the bar to turn up the
music.
Other than the cleaning, Briana loved
closing time. That’s when the employees got together to chit-chat
about their customers, made plans for what they were going to do
after shift, and finally had the chance to enjoy their night.
The night manager, Pam, was pretty cool. She
stayed in the back, counting the money and making sure everything
balanced out, and then put it in the envelope to make the drop at
the bank on her way home.
As long as they didn’t leave until
everything was spotless, she didn’t give them a hard time about
hanging out.
Briana joined Kara and Pete, one of the bar
backs, over by the bar once she set the fryer to drain.
“
What a night,” Pete
started, putting shots in front of Briana and Kara as they settled
onto the stools.
“
You can say that again,”
Kara replied, a big grin on her face. “I made two hundred in tips
tonight. Gotta love twenty-five cent wings.”
Kara worked the front of the house, not the
back, so her view of Wednesday was a lot different than Briana’s.
As a waitress, Kara got to turn on her charm and flirt with the
customers, one of her favorite pastimes, thus reaping the rewards
of a busy Wednesday night.
The view from the back of the house was a
lot different. During shift, Briana cooked all of the orders, so
she spent her evenings covered in grease, ketchup, and everything
else she spilled while making the food.
Her job was nowhere near as glamorous or
profitable as Kara’s, but she didn’t think she could ever be a
waitress. Just the thought of making a mistake and having a
customer yell at her or something was enough to keep her in the
back.
She didn’t mind being a short-order cook
though; she figured it was giving her experience that would only
help her once she finally gained the courage and the funds to apply
for culinary school.
She and Kara toasted each other’s amber
colored glasses, then Pete’s, before downing the shot.
“
Holy shit,” Briana
exclaimed, as the whiskey burned its way down her
throat.
“
Oops. Sorry, Bree. I
forgot you don’t like whiskey.” Pete chuckled, not looking a single
bit sorry as he took out a bottle of the vodka she preferred, and
poured them each another shot.
They took the shots and then separated to
start cleaning. Briana and Kara were having a party of sorts at
their apartment after work, so they wanted to finish up quicker
than usual.
Once the stainless steel of the fryer
gleamed and the floors were scrubbed down, Briana took one last
look around the kitchen and deemed it spotless.
She went out to see if Kara, Pete, or any of
the others needed her help getting their side work done.
Kara was just finishing up rolling her
silverware and Pete was turning off the radio when she walked
up.
“
You guys ready?” Briana
asked.
A chorus of “Hell, yeah’s” were shouted and
they all headed out, calling goodnight to Pam.
She and Kara rode together back to their
apartment over the flower shop. Their Texas town was small enough
that getting to the other side meant they only had to drive for
five minutes to get wherever they needed to go.
They parked and ran up the stairs, racing to
see who would get to the shower first.
Briana won by half a foot and yelled,
“Sorry, sucker,” as she began stripping off her clothes, eager to
get rid of the greasy stench.
She showered as quickly as she could, while
still scrubbing the smells of the kitchen out of her hair and off
of her body.
When she was done, Kara was waiting for her
turn, and handed Briana a towel as they switched spots.
Briana ran down the short hallway to her
room, rubbing the towel over herself as she mentally went through
her wardrobe.
She decided that cutoff shorts and a frilly
tank would do quite nicely on this hot summer night, and dug
through her dresser trying to find the pair she was looking
for.
Once she was dressed, she brushed out her
chestnut colored hair and pulled it up into a high ponytail. She
put minimal makeup on, then threw on her flip flops and hurried out
to the kitchen to check the status of their provisions.
It was BYOB, so most of the people would
have their own drinks, but a random moocher always showed up and
needed some alcohol.
They had a bottle of wine, a twelve pack of
Bud Light, and a bottle each of cherry vodka and Sprite.