“Well, things kind of came to a head today and got pushed out into the open, whether Cole was ready for it or not. I’ve been ready since day one. But this whole thing with Trey got started because we were hiding our relationship. Now, hopefully, things will be better. Either way, I’m done with hiding.”
“Good for you. You know, we’re going to have a serious girl’s night and you are going to spill all those juicy details you’ve been keeping to yourself this whole time!”
“You got it!” Bri laughed.
“Good. I’m dying to know if Cole’s kissing is as amazing as everyone says. He’s kind of a legend, you know. Plus, I’m wondering if there is anything else you haven’t told me!”
“Whatever, Lay! I have a feeling that there are some details you haven’t told me, either!”
“What? Never!” Layla laughed. “Alright, babe, I’m going to let you go. I have some calls to make before practice tonight. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“I will. Thanks Lay. See you later.”
After practice that night, Bri had to catch up on two days’ worth of homework. She was so tired the next morning, that she slept in and was late for dance. She noticed some looks and whispers when she came in, but didn’t have time to worry about it, as Belinda got them working. After practice, Bri had to run laps because she was late, and by the time she was done, she had only minutes to change. She got more stares in the hall as she ran to class. Apparently the rumor mill was working overtime. She ignored them all, and headed to Calculus. It was going to be one of those days.
But, everything was made better when Bri saw a dark head waiting at her locker after class. Her heart picked up and she couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face.
“Hi there,” she smiled at Cole.
“Good morning.” Cole leaned in and gave her a long kiss. “Oh, yeah,” he pulled back with a grin. “I can get used to this!”
Bri pulled him back for another kiss. “Me too!”
She grabbed her books and closed her locker. Cole reached for her hand, and led her down the hall.
“Are you walking me to class?” She deliberately ignored the gaping mouths and dropped jaws as they walked.
“That is what normal high school couples do, right?” He stopped outside her door and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I gotta run. I’ll meet you at your locker before History.”
“Bye,” she watched as he raced off in the opposite direction.
As they walked together into History, all conversation in the room stopped and everyone turned to watch them. As they passed by, Bri caught Trey glaring at them, but he quickly averted his eyes. Every other pair of eyes followed them as Cole walked Bri to her seat.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We’ll be old news in a couple of days, and no one will pay any attention to us.”
“I can’t wait,” she gave him a small smile.
“Me too.” He kissed her temple before taking his seat next to Trey. Both boys tensed, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge the other’s presence.
After class, Cole and Bri headed to the lunch room, where they were immediately the center of attention. Bri tried to ignore all the eyes on her as she led Cole over to the table where her friends were waiting.
“Hey guys,” Bri smiled as she sat down. Layla gave her a reassuring smile.
“You guys mind if I join you?” Cole flashed a charming smile at the table as he sat down next to Bri.
Wide eyes and raised eyebrows were the only indication that smoking hot, uber popular basketball-slash-football stars didn’t eat with them every day. Bri smiled at her friends as they tried to act like everything was normal. There seemed to be an unspoken pact not to mention what had happened the day before, and Bri was especially grateful. She realized how lucky she was to have friends who loved and supported her, no matter what.
“So, who wants to come to the game with me and Bri on Friday?” Layla got the conversation rolling.
“We’re in,” Jess nodded at Ethan. “Where’s it at?”
“It’s down in Long Beach,” Cole replied. “You guys are coming?” He seemed genuinely pleased.
“Of course,” Bri grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
“Well, you know I’m in,” Devon slung his arm around Layla.
“Us, too,” Maddie and Corbin agreed.
As her friends continued to chat, Bri shot a brief glance over to Serena’s table where Cole usually sat. Serena, Natalie, and Erica were all glaring at Bri while they talked. Quickly averting her eyes, Bri tried not to let it bother her. Instead, she smiled up at Cole sitting next to her. He winked at her and put his arm around her, pulling her into his side. Yep, this was definitely worth it.
Their whole group drove down for the basketball game on Friday, and Bri was touched by how easily and fully they had accepted Cole into their group. After handing poor Long Beach their butts, Cole ran up into the stands to find Bri, and gave her a huge victory kiss. Layla, and the rest of her friends, cheered and hollered, embarrassing the crap out of her.
“You are one lucky girl,” Layla slung her arm across Bri’s shoulders, and they both watched Cole’s butt as he ran off to the locker room.
“Hey, go drool over your own boyfriend,” Bri teased.
“Boyfriend, huh?” Layla raised her eyebrows.
“Yep, boyfriend.” Bri couldn’t help her smile.
“Bri, Bri, Bri,” Layla exclaimed as she turned Bri and herded her out of the gym. “We have some serious debriefing to do with you.”
Cole was front and center, like always, at Bri’s competition the next day. And after each dance, he ran out to the hall and tracked her down for a kiss.
“You’re going to spoil me if you keep this up,” she teased him after her fourth dance.
“Well, the way I see it, I’ve wanted to do this after each dance in every one of your competitions. So this is more like making up for lost time!”
“Oh, then by all means continue,” she laughed and kissed him.
Cole was waiting in the school parking lot to take her home that night. After saying goodbye to Layla and the rest of the team, Bri ran over to him.
“Congratulations on another win!” Cole picked her up and spun her around. “You guys kick some serious ass, you know that?”
“Well, I have some dang good motivation.” Bri wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him.
“Mmm, we both do.” Cole kissed her as he opened the door to his truck for her. Bri climbed in and slid over to the middle seat, so she could sit by him.
“So,” she smiled at him as he pulled out of the parking lot. “We seemed to have survived the week okay.”
“Yeah, we did. Though, I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet. Believe me, the worst is still to come.”
“Always such a pessimist!” she teased. “Can’t you just let me live in my denial for the rest of the weekend?”
Cole laughed.
“Oh, I do have some good news,” he grinned.
“I can always use some good news! What is it?”
“Coach Davies called today to tell me that there are some college scouts coming to my next few games.” He tried to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but Bri could see how excited he was.
“Really? Cole, that’s amazing!” She pecked him on the cheek.
“A couple of big schools are sending guys next week. I’m kind of a little nervous.”
“You’ll be great. Just think of it as any other game.”
“You’ll be there?” He glanced at her hopefully.
“Of course. Will you be there for Region next Saturday?”
“You know it!”
“Well then, neither of us has anything to worry about.” She smiled at him. “Hey, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you, but it’s been so crazy I haven’t had time. MORP is coming up in a couple weeks, and I was hoping you’d go with me.”
Cole eyed her.
“Is this you asking me to a dance? Because if it is, I’m kind of disappointed,” he teased. “You’re not the most creative person, are you? I mean, my truck is awesome and everything, but it’s not the most romantic setting.”
“Shut up,” Bri laughed and pushed his arm. “So will you go with me or not?”
“I don’t know. Two weeks? Cutting it kind of close, aren’t you? How many guys turned you down before you thought of me?”
“Coleston Marra, you know very well that you are the only guy I want to go to any dance with. You are, and always have been, my first choice.” Bri knew he was just messing with her, but she still wanted to make sure he knew that.
“Well, in that case, Ambria Donnelly, I’d love to go to MORP with you!” He flashed her a very self-satisfied smile.
“Good.” She snuggled up next to him. “Make sure you wear something sexy!”
Monday morning at dance, Bri knew something was up. She felt like she’d been transported back to the first day of school when half the team hated her guts. She was getting the same glares and whispers today. She did her best to ignore it, but by the time practice was over, she couldn’t wait to get away.
Unfortunately, the glares, stares, and whispers only got worse as she walked into school. They continued all morning, and seemed to get worse when she and Cole were together. Walking into History, Bri noticed Trey looking smug. That did not bode well.
Lunch was a little bit of a reprieve, being surrounded by her friends. No one seemed to know what everyone was talking about, and they all tried to ignore it for Bri’s sake. But, things continued to get worse as the day wore on.
Bri was exhausted by the time she got home. Trying to block out the whole school took a lot out of her. She was so worn out that she almost didn’t answer the phone when Layla called.
“Hey Lay.”
“Hey Bri. I’ve been doing a little digging and have found out what half the school was talking about today. It’s not good.” Layla’s lack of her usual enthusiasm made Bri’s stomach drop
“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 le
ft 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.
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