Make It Last (10 page)

             
Briana opened her eyes to Colin’s face peaceful with sleep. She realized that she hadn’t seen him look this peaceful since he’d come back home.

             
She felt a rush o
f sadness for him that he’d fallen short
of his childhood dream. For as long as she’d known him, football had been his life. It was as much a part of him as breathing. She’d loved his dedication to the sport and the fulfillment that it had given him.

             
She smiled as she remembered Colin and Rich at the first
pep rally of his senior year. T
hey had been in front of the entire school, pumped u
p for their game. Colin was
named Captain of the team, and Briana had never been so proud. 

             
Now, s
he enjoyed having
the
opportunity to really look at him. They’d never spent the night together, so she’d never seen him look this vulnerable. It tugg
ed at something inside of her, s
omething she’d tried for years to contain.

             
He
began to shift and stretch
, then he opened his eyes. He blinked, as if to focus, and when he shifted his hand, it touched her leg, causing him to turn his head towards her.

             
His face blossomed
and his dimples flashed.

             
“Good mornin
g,” h
e said softly, his voice still rough with sleep.

             
“Good morning.
” She smiled back at him, caught up in the moment.

             
“I’m happy that you’re here,
”
he said
, bringing his hand up to sweep the hair from her face.

             
“Me too,”
she
admitted.

             
“I’ve missed you.”

             
Brian
a didn’t say anything to that. S
he wasn’t ready to delve too deep into their relationship.

             
“What happened? With football?”
she
asked softly

             
“It was the last game of the season and I got hit. Hard. I went down wrong a
nd messed up my knee pretty bad
again. The doctor said that
I have to stop playing, or I’
ll have
permanent damage. So that’s it.
No more ball, well at least no more ball as a player.”

             
“Does that mean you’re thinking about still being involved with football, but in another capacity?”

             
“Yeah.
Rich and I were just talking
about this actually, and I’ve
been doing some research online
. I was thinking about trying to coach.” Colin’s eyes shone with excitement as he spoke. “I’d have to start as an assistant, but it would be great to still have the opportunity to be part of a team.”

             
Briana couldn’t help but be excited for him, but that also meant that his time here would be short-lived.

             
“That’s great
.
Have you said anything to you folks?”

             
“Nah, not yet. I
know Dad will be disappointed. H
e was pretty happy when I came home, and he loves the idea of me running the store, but I know that ultimately they both want what’s best for me.” Colin brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. “What about you? What happened at A & M?”

             
Briana felt the familiar regret when she answered.

             
“You’
ve heard the story before:
girl goes to college, girl doesn’t go to class as much as she should, and doesn’t do well when she does. Girl doesn’t get good enough grades to keep her financial aid, so girl returns home with her tail between her legs.”

             
“Hey,” he
said,
lifting her face so that he could look in her eyes. “Don’t do that. You’re not just any girl.
You’re
smart, capable, and confident. Sometimes shit happens, but you’re great.”

             
She
smiled at him, then leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.

             
“Thanks. I’
ve been thin
king about going back to school,
”
she
admitted shyly. “Not back to university, but to culinary school.”

             
“Really? That’s wonderful
.
”

             
“Yeah, there’s one in Austin that I’
ve been looking at.”

             
“You should do it, Bree. Y
ou’ll be great.”

             
“I’
ve been saving up and my mom said she’d pay half, so I
should have the money soon. I’
ve been putting together the application.”

             
“How is your mother?”
he
asked with a grin. He and her mother had always been very fond of each other.

             
“She’s great. She moved with Ray, her new husband, out to a farm about thirty miles away. I don’t get to see her as often as I’d like, but I’m planning on heading out there this weekend.”

             
“I’m glad she’s happy. S
he deserves it.” Colin and Briana had just started dating when Briana’s father died of a brain aneurysm rupture
. He’d passed away in his sleep. It
had been a total shock for Briana and her mother. Colin had been a wonderful source of support for them both, and Briana would always love him for that.

             
Her heart swelled at the memory and her eyes started to fill.
She leaned in to kiss him again, with more force and feeling this time. It didn’t take much coaxing before Colin was resting on top of her, the weight of him causing the rest of her body to come alive.

             
The morning passed too quickly, and before she knew it, Briana had to leave so she could get some errands done before work that night.

             
Colin walked her to the door, his jeans unbuttoned and slung low on his hips.

             
She took
a moment to appreciate the sight and feel of him
before tearing herself away and reaching for the door handle.

             
“Will you go out with me Friday night?”
he
asked before she walked out the door.

             
She turned and looked up at him, “Like on a date?”

             
“Yes.
I’ll pick you up and we can go to dinner, or whatever you’d like.” He looked so unsure of her answer that she couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on her face.

             
“I’d like that,” s
he replied. “But I’m leaving early on Saturday to go to my Mom’s house, so it can’t be a really late night.”

             
“No problem,” Colin said, grinning widely, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

             
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” She leaned in for a quick kiss, but paused before turning to go. “Go easy on Rich, al
l right?
He loves you.”

             
Colin just nodded as she walked away.

Chapter
Eleven

             
Colin walked into work the next day with a skip in his step and a smile on his face. He was excited at the prospect of his date that evening with Bree, and hoped to continue to rebuild her trust in him.

             
He was heading towards the back room when he noticed Rich at the counter talking with a pretty blonde as he made a sundae. He knew that they needed to talk, but figured it best to have it out after Rich was done with his customers.

             
When he got to the back office he booted up the computer and checked his email. He deleted all of the spam and random giveaways,
but paused, when
he saw an email from his ex.

             
He’d met
Shawn during Greek Week. Her sorority was having a rush party and he and some of the team were out hitting up all of the parties on Greek Row.

             
Shawn was definitely beautiful; the
re was no question about that. S
o
when she pursued him, he hadn’t
put up a fight.

             
She made it pretty clear that she liked the fact that he was on the team and she enjoyed the perks and status that went along with dating him.
He was totally focused on football and wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, so she’d suited him just fine.

             
It didn’t tak
e long after he was injured, before
it became apparent that his career in football was over,
or
for her to break off their relationship and move on.

             
It had hurt his prid
e a bit, especially on the tail-
end of losing his dream of playing career ball, but there were no lasting effects.

             
When he saw her email address pop up in his inbox, he opened it with mild curiosity, figuring she had a question or something. When it said that she really wanted to see him, he deleted it without replying.

             
When
he
was finished in the office, he stood to go on the floor and was met by Rich coming in the back.
Rich looked nervous and unsure, so Colin spoke first.

             
“Hey, man. I’m sorry about the other night, I was outta line.”

             
Rich looked relieved, but still said guiltily, “No. You had every right to be mad. I slept with your ex, and that is totally against man-code.”

             
“Rich, we’d been broken up for a year. D
on’t sweat it. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset, but when you guys admitted that you’d been together, I was totally jealous. It was my gut reaction.”

             
“It’s understandable. She was your girl and I’m your best friend. You’re like a brother to me, man. It never should have happened.”

             
“Bree explained everything to me, so no hard feelings, al
l right?
” Colin p
ulled Rich in for a quick hug,
then looked at him with a smile. “Let’s just never talk about it again, okay?”

             
Rich grinned back, “Deal
.
”

             
The day went by pretty quickly, and at exactly six o’clock, Colin
knocked
on Briana’s door.

             
His breath
caught when he took
in
her short skirt that billowed around her sexy legs. She looked fresh and beautiful as she greeted him with a smile.

             
He leaned in to kiss her cheek and said
,
“You look amazing,” which caused her smile to widen.

             
He held her hand as they walked down the stairs to his car.
“Thanks for agreeing to go out with me, Bree.”

             
She stopped
for a moment and said,
“This is the only second chance you’re going to get, Colin. Don’t disappoint me.”

             
His stomach fluttered at her words, and he hoped that he wouldn’t.

             
“I won’t.”

             
When th
ey got to the restaurant, he
walked around to open her door and offered his hand in assistance.

             
“Thank you, Sir,
” she
said with a giggle. She tried to keep her skirt down as she got out of the truck.

             
“Anytime, Ma’am,” he replied, playing along.

             
She
smiled as they walked up to the entrance. “You remembered that I love seafood.”