Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2)

by Preston, Jennifer

  Jimmy drove them to the dock, and the three of them headed off to the ferry that would take them back to the mainland. It actually made the trip back much more fun having Seb and Claire there. Bri laughed at Seb’s jokes and Claire’s teasing, and before they knew it they were all piling into Bri’s car, and she drove them home. Claire gave her a huge hug before climbing out of the car with a promise from Bri to call her. Seb waited until his sister was gone, and turned to Bri.

  “I had fun hanging out with you these past couple of days,” he smiled.

  “Me, too,” she smiled back.

  “I know you have family stuff, but maybe we could hang out again sometime next week? I mean, only if you want to,” he finished nervously.

  Bri laughed. Somehow she and Seb had become friends, actual friends, over the past couple days. And she found that spending time with him took away a little of the sting of missing Cole.

  “Of course I want to. Here,” she smiled and took his phone, plugging in her number. “Give me a call, and we’ll go do something.”

  “Okay,” he beamed. “Well, talk to you later then. Bye, Bri.” He climbed out of the car.

  “Bye, Seb.” She waved as he went inside, and then she headed for home.

  Chapter 8

  Cole sat in front of his locker after the game, fuming. He was seriously wondering if this whole thing was worth it anymore. He wasn’t sure he could handle an entire season watching from the bench, especially on nights like tonight. He’d gotten to play a whopping eight minutes tonight. Eight minutes. And worse, he’d had to sit and watch as Jordan almost single-handedly lost the twenty point lead they’d built up, because he’d gotten cocky and lazy. And even after Coach called a time out to chew Jordan out for his sloppy passes and showboating, Coach still didn’t pull him. So Cole had to sit on the bench, frustrated and angry, and watch as what should’ve been an easy win came down to the final minutes. There were only a couple of pre-season games left. If they could only barely beat these teams, they were going to be in serious trouble when regular season started and they started conference play. But, no one else seemed to share his concern, they were just happy for another win. He’d never felt so frustrated and useless in his life.

  As he made his way out of the locker room, he forced himself to smile, and even exchange a high-five with Jordan as he passed, being careful to hide his anger at the cocky SOB. But the minute Cole left the building his scowl returned, and he glowered all the way back to his room. There was a party that night that the guys from the team were going to, but he was not in a partying mood. What he really wanted was to vent some of his frustration. He needed to rant and rave, and get it all out, and have someone tell him that it was okay, that things would get better. But as he flopped onto his bed, he realized that there really wasn’t anyone he could talk to.

  He couldn’t go to his coaches or teammates because he’d just look like he was whining, or trying to steal Jordan’s starting spot. Either way, that wasn’t how he wanted the team to view him. He could call his dad, but he knew that Jimmy, ever the optimist, would just tell him that he was making a big deal out of nothing, and not to worry about it. And unless he wanted another guilt trip of the century, he couldn’t talk to Bri about it.

  He’d tried once before to talk to her about his frustrations: how he felt like he wasn’t contributing anything to the team, how hard it was to sit by and watch the other guys get all the playing time. He was used to being the star, and now he was a second string nobody. But all she’d said was that this was his one chance to live his dream, to accomplish everything he’d wanted, and he needed to be patient and not do anything to screw it up, because this was the only shot he’d get.

  He’d also heard what she hadn’t said in words, but had implied loud and clear. She was basically telling him that he had to suck it up and make this work, because she’d given up her dream to support his and she didn’t want to have done that for nothing.

  Bri would never come out and say that to him, but she didn’t need to. He’d been feeling the pressure of it ever since he found out she had transferred to Duke for him. Not that he wasn’t extremely grateful and happy she was here, because he was and he wouldn’t change that for anything. It just added a layer of pressure he still wasn’t sure how to deal with.

  And now, when he could really use a listening ear and some good advice, he had no one to turn to. He’d have to work through this on his own.

  So that night, when Bri called, he didn’t tell her how angry and frustrated he was. How he had been this close to giving Jordan the beat down of his life, verbally at least. How he wanted to go ask his coach what the hell he was thinking leaving Jordan in to almost lose the game for them. No, instead they talked about what a great win he’d had that night, and how Bri was surviving her cousin being in town, and how her trip to Catalina went. He managed to keep her talking, so that he didn’t have to.

  He still wasn’t sure how he felt about her going to Catalina without him. It had kind of become their place, and the thought of her going there without him upset him a little, especially since Seb was there. He knew that Seb secretly had a thing for Bri, and while he knew that Bri had no idea, and nothing would happen between them anyway, it still grated on him a little. Yet another frustrating thing about his basketball season so far.

  “Cole, is something wrong?” Bri asked as their conversation wound down.

  “What? No,” he tried to scoff. “Why would you thing that?”

  “You just seem a little down tonight is all. I thought after your win, you’d be a little more excited, but you sound a little sad. You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  The girl was too perceptive for her own good sometimes.

  “I think I’m just missing my girl tonight,” he replied softly, and it was the truth. What he wanted most in that moment was to hold her in his arms and absorb all of the comfort and warmth she provided. She’d been gone for a week, and it seemed like a month. Already he felt like he was floundering without her, and she wasn’t going to be home for another week. It didn’t look good for him. “I’m going crazy here without you.”

  “I know, me too.” The longing in her voice warmed his heart. He was glad to hear that she missed him as much as he did her. “I’m counting down the days until I come home to you. Are you doing anything fun to keep yourself occupied while I’m gone?”

  “Some of the guys were talking about maybe going snowmobiling this week.”

  “That sounds fun. Although, I bet you’ll enjoy it much more than I would. Better you than me out there in the cold.”

  He smiled. Bri was definitely having a hard time adjusting to the colder temperatures. She was a sun bunny, through and through.

  “What about you?” he asked. “You have any big plans this week?

  “Not really. Carly leaves tomorrow, and then Seb and I were going to hang out sometime.”

  He froze, his heart stopping. “You and Seb?” He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, but failed. Multiple images of what Bri and Seb “hanging out” would entail flashed though his mind, and most of them involved kissing and nakedness. Trying to tamp down his paranoia, he gritted his teeth and asked, “What, you two are friends now?”

  “Well, yeah,” she bristled. “Is there a problem with that?”

  He knew that if he pushed her it’d just start a fight, and he really didn’t have the energy to fight with her tonight. But still, he remembered the way Seb would look at Bri, especially in her bikini, and he felt his anger rise. Doing his best to remember that he trusted her, that she loved him and barely even liked Seb, that rationally he had nothing to worry about, he pushed down the jealous, possessive monster inside him and forced his voice to even.

  “No, not at all. It’s good you have someone to keep you company,” he managed to say, but the monster inside him roared in protest.

  “Good, because we are just friends,” she emphasized. “Seb and I hanging out is practically about you anyw
ay. I miss you, he misses you, we’re basically just commiserating together.”

  “As long as that’s all you’re doing,” he ground out before he could stop himself.

  “Coleston Marra!” she snapped, and he couldn’t stop his smile. He loved it when she used his full name. It probably shouldn’t turn him on like it did, but he couldn’t help it. “You are being ridiculous,” she chided. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about, because I’ve told you over and over that there isn’t anyone else for me but you. You’d better watch it, because I’m going to be furious if you don’t trust me enough not to go snogging every boy I come across.”

  “Snogging?” he chuckled.

  “Yeah, sorry, I’m reading Harry Potter with Liam and Logan. Those English euphemisms are kind of catchy.” She paused as he laughed again. Man, the things that came out of this girl’s mouth. There was never a dull moment with her around. “But anyway, stop being stupid, okay?”

  “Okay,” he promised, shaking his head at how easily she could rile and then diffuse his anger. The girl was a force of nature. “Hey, do me a favor and go check on my motorcycle for me. I miss my baby and want her to know I’m thinking about her.”

  “Yeah, I’ll do that,” she quipped before laughing. “I swear you spend more time pining for that bike than you do for me.”

  “Not even close,” he assured her. “I hardly pine for you at all.” She let out an affronted snort, and he burst out laughing. Luckily for him, she quickly joined. “Aw baby, you know that nothing else consumes my mind like you do. Speaking of which,” his voice dropped to a sexy rumble, “when you get home, I’ll prove to you just how much I think about you, and all the naughty things I want to do to you.” He could practically hear her face flush.

  “Mmm, I’ll be looking forward to that,” she replied in a sexy timbre of her own, and it nearly undid him.

  “Hurry home,” he pleaded softly, his whole body aching with longing.

  “I will,” she promised, and cleared her throat. “Well, I think I’d better go before this conversation takes a very not-appropriate-for-my-family’s-ears turn. I love you, Cole. See you soon.”

  “I love you too, Ambria. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Cole lay there for a moment contemplating the implications of her parting words, and a huge, smug smile spread across his face.

  Cole was flipping through channels on his couch a few days later, when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and opened the text he’d gotten from Seb. He took one look at the picture and dialed his friend.

  “Tell me that’s not the sexiest thing ever!” Seb answered.

  “What the hell are you thinking?” Cole yelled. “You taught Bri to ride a motorcycle?” He couldn't believe it. Seb was a freaking idiot. An idiot who was going to get his faced punched in for this.

  “What? Chicks on bikes are hot. I thought I was doing you a favor. Bri looks good on your bike.”

  Yeah she did. She looked damn good. But that wasn’t the point.

  “It’s dangerous, Seb. She could crash and be seriously hurt, or worse. Not to mention, I’m sure her dance team director would love to hear that she’s zooming around on a motorcycle. She could get kicked off her team for this.” Plus, if Bri could ride on her own, she wouldn’t need to snuggle up behind him. “This is bad for so many reasons.” Not the least of which being that if anyone was going to teach Bri to ride, it should be him, not Seb. That, and he still wasn’t too thrilled about his best friend and his girlfriend hanging out, especially when Seb was obviously checking her out.

  “Come on, man, she’s thrilled. Here, talk to her and see for yourself.”

  Bri picked up the phone, sounding breathless. “Cole? Oh my gosh, that is the best feeling ever! It’s even better when you’re driving!”

  The excitement in her voice made him smile. “I can’t believe you did it!” He made himself sound excited for her. He wasn’t going to ruin this moment for her. It wasn’t her fault Seb was a moron. “That’s awesome. I’m glad you’re keeping my bike company for me.”

  “Yeah, maybe next time we’re here, I’ll take you for a ride,” she laughed.

  Just as long as she didn’t take Seb for any rides. “Definitely.”

  “So, what are you up to today?”

  “Not much, just counting down the days until you get home.”

  “Less than four more days. And you’d better be ready to spend all of Sunday with me, because we have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

  “Yes, we do,” he smiled.

  “Okay, well here’s Seb again. I’m going to go take another spin around the block.”

  “Be careful, Bri, please. If something happened to you, I…”

  “I know. I will, I promise. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  She handed the phone back to Seb.

  “I’m so going to kill you,” Cole said pleasantly.

  “Dude, I’m going to send you a video of her riding, and I promise you’ll thank me.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be thanking you when she breaks her neck on that thing.”

  “Stop being so negative, and just accept this gift I’ve given you. Ooh, we should get Bri some leather. She’d look killer in some of those tight leather pants.”

  “I’ll get you back for this one day, Seb.” Cole rubbed his forehead wearily. “Seriously, you’d better be watching your back.”

  “Whatever, I’m your favorite person right now, and you know it. Just keep staring at that picture I sent you.”

  “Whatever, man. Just don’t let her kill herself. I’ll talk to you later. Oh, and Seb?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Stop checking out my girl.”

  Seb laughed and hung up. A few minutes later, he sent Cole the video he’d recorded of Bri. Cole had to admit, it was pretty damn sexy. He watched that video many times during the next few days, but he didn’t know if it made the ache in his chest better or worse.

  That Friday night, after winning their game, a bunch of guys from the team decided to go get a late dinner to celebrate. They went to a pizza joint just off campus, and they managed to find a couple of tables to push together to fit them all. Cole was surprised when Jordan came and sat next to him and Matt.

  “And where is your lovely girl tonight, Cole?” Jordan grinned at him.

  “She went home for Christmas. She gets in late tomorrow night. What about you, J? No arm candy for you tonight?” Cole smirked back.

  “Nah, I thought I’d give the ladies a break. Plus, you have to make time for your bros every once in a while.”

  “Very true,” Cole replied.

  A few of the guys had brought dates, and Cole recognized Jillian, sitting on the lap of a different starter than the last time he’d seen her. He snorted. She was quickly working her way through the ranks.

  He and Matt and Jordan joked and laughed as they stuffed themselves full of deep dish pizza. After the last slice was gone, the other guys started trickling out. Just as he and Matt were getting ready to head back to home, Cole got an unexpected visitor.

  “Hi, Cole,” Jillian purred as she slid into Jordan’s empty seat. Her date was nowhere to be seen, and Cole raised his eyebrows at her, confused at what she was doing there.

  “Jillian,” he returned blandly. Jillian didn’t even so much as acknowledge Matt’s existence.

  “So, I noticed that Bri wasn’t here tonight,” she eyed him, “and I just wanted to let you know that if you’re ever lonely or anything, I’d be more than happy to keep you company.” She smiled at him, and he felt his stomach turn. “Think about it,” she whispered in his ear, before standing and walking back to her date, who had rematerialized by the door.

  Cole and Matt exchanged shocked looks.

  “Um, did that just really happen?” Matt looked as confused as Cole felt.

  “You mean did Jillian just…”

  “Dude! You just got propositioned by Jillian Loft!” Matt whooped,
and they both burst out laughing. “Oh, this is too much. Are you going to take her up on her offer?” He wagged his brows at Cole.

  “Shut up, man,” Cole shoved him. “Of course not. I feel dirty just from her asking.” He shivered.

  “Pity. I would so hit that,” Matt grinned, his eyes following Jillian out the door.

  “Well, be my guest. She’s uber slutty and you’re a man-whore. It seems you two are perfect for each other. Come on, let’s get out of here. I feel like I need a shower.”

  “Are you going to tell Bri about Jillian?” Matt asked as they walked back to their room.

  “Do you think I should?” Cole didn’t think Bri needed any more reason to hate Jillian, and knowing that Jillian had hit on him might send her over the edge.

  “I don’t know, man. Chicks get pretty crazy over stuff like that. Although…” Matt trailed off pensively.

  “What?”

  “If you do tell Bri, I bet it’d spark one hell of a cat fight. So yes, definitely tell her, and then get me front row seats to the fireworks!”

  “I don’t know why I ask you anything. You are absolutely no help at all,” Cole smiled.

  “Women don’t want me for my wisdom, my friend,” Matt smirked back.

  Cole was up early Sunday morning, as in just before dawn early. He’d told Bri he’d be by to pick her up around 10:00 that morning, knowing how late she’d gotten in last night and how much she was not a morning person. Unfortunately, his body wasn’t listening to his logic, and he couldn’t force himself to go back to sleep. So after getting ready, he tried to distract himself with anything he could. But by 9:00 he was dying to get to her. He’d just made up his mind that he had waited long enough, when there was a knock on his door. Jumping up from the couch, he rushed over, praying it was who he hoped.

  “Cole!” Bri exclaimed, and threw herself into his arms. He staggered back a step under the force of her, his surprise stunning him for a moment. He wound his arms around her and lifted her off the floor. Damn, he’d missed her. His whole body rejoiced at the feel of her, and he couldn’t even return her greeting before his lips found hers. Kicking the door shut behind him, he carried her to the couch. They kissed each other hungrily, desperately making up for the time they’d been apart. A few blissful minutes later, Cole forced himself to pull away from her mouth.