Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2)

by Preston, Jennifer

  After they were all settled, they went out to explore the town. Thanks to Matt’s mom’s suggestion, they stopped at a little Mexican place that had green chili to die for, and by the end of the meal all of Bri’s earlier reservations seemed to have evaporated. They laughed and talked as they walked up and down the busy streets taking in the quaint little town and all its charm.

  “Want to go to the beach?” Bri asked when they got back to the house.

  “Heck yeah!” Bikini time! Cole had been waiting for this all day. They changed quickly and, after finding some towels in one of the closets, headed out to the beach. They spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun and sand, letting all of the stress from the past few months melt away. As he lay next to Bri, Cole felt himself fully relaxing for the first time in he couldn’t remember how long. He hadn’t realized the toll that basketball had taken on him, and was glad to be able to put all of that behind him, if only for a few days.

  When the sun started to set, they went back in to change and get ready for dinner. Cole had called ahead and gotten a reservation at the town’s nicest restaurant, wanting to spoil his girl. He threw on his brown blazer over a light blue dress shirt and dark jeans, and went downstairs to wait for her. A few minutes later he was dazzled by a vision descending the stairs.

  Bri wore a strapless cream dress with a light floral pattern on it. It stopped just above her knees in front and then fell longer in back, creating a beautiful flowing silhouette. Her hair was tied up in a loose bun, a few strands falling loose to frame her face. She looked amazing, and he couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping open at the sight of her.

  “Are you ready?” she stopped in front of him. Her eyes wandered over him, and a light blush tinted her cheeks as she smiled.

  “Absolutely.” And he was. He was ready for so many things right then, most of which didn’t involve them leaving the house. But, first things first. Reigning in his raging hormones as best he could, he took her hand, tucked it into the crook of his elbow, and led her out to the car.

  “You look stunning,” he said as they drove into town. It’d taken a few minutes, but he’d finally managed to stop gawking at her long enough to start a conversation.

  “Thank you,” she blushed. “You look pretty amazing yourself.” Her eyes drank him in, and it was all he could do not to turn the car around and take her back to the house. He had to keep reminding himself that he wanted to do this right, that he could be patient a little longer.

  This was made infinitely more difficult when Bri crossed her legs, and her skirt hitched up a little, showing off more of her thigh. Gazing at her tempting skin, Cole groaned inwardly and prayed he’d be able to hold himself together through dinner. It didn’t look promising.

  Despite his inner turmoil, dinner was perfect and delicious. It was made even better by the sultry looks Bri kept giving him. He knew he was practically drooling at her by the time they finished, but he was beyond caring. He’d never been this happy in his life, and he didn’t care if he looked like a love sick puppy. He was.

  When the waitress came to ask if they’d like dessert, his heart about jumped out of his chest when Bri asked for it to go. The look in her eye told him everything he needed to know, and suddenly they could not get out of that restaurant fast enough. They made it to the car and his willpower finally snapped. He pushed her up against the Jeep and kissed her like he’d been longing to all night. She moaned against his mouth and pulled him closer, and about killed him right there. Somehow he managed to open the door for her, and she climbed in without ever breaking their kiss. He closed her door and tried to pull himself together as he walked around and climbed into the driver seat.

  Wanting to make sure she was absolutely sure about this, he forced himself to ask, “Do you want to go see a movie or something?” He waited, his heart pounding, for a few moments before she answered.

  “No. Take me home, Cole.” She looked right into his eyes, and he saw no hint of doubt or uncertainty. He took her hand in his, and broke some traffic laws as he sped back to the beach house. When they pulled up, he shut off the car and looked over at her.

  “Would you mind waiting here for just a minute?” he asked with his most charming smile.

  “Okay,” she looked at him a bit warily. “Just don’t make me wait out here for too long.”

  Cole practically dashed from the car and into the house. Once in his room he lit the candles he’d place around the room earlier, and turned on the fireplace. Looking around once more to make sure everything was perfect, he ran back down the stairs and out to the car.

  Bri was laughing when he opened the door. “That was fast.”

  “You won’t be saying that again tonight,” he grinned devilishly, and laughed as her face flushed bright red. Not able to stand it a minute longer, he helped her out of the Jeep and pulled her against his body. His let his lips hover just a breath away from hers, waiting for her to respond. She paused for a moment, dragging out his agony, then slowly she closed the rest of the distance between them.

  His heart soared and anticipation started pumping though him. He couldn’t help it, he lifted her and carried her up the front steps and into the house. Their kissing deepened as they made their way upstairs. He let her set the pace, not wanting to rush her. Finally making it up to his room, he pulled her inside and she gasped as she took in the flowers, candles, and blazing fire.

  “Oh my gosh,” she turned to him with a look of amazement. “I can’t believe you did all this.”

  “I told you, you deserve the best of everything. I wanted to do this right,” he smiled.

  Bri’s eyes darkened with desire, and she pulled him to her, kissing him hungrily. All of her hesitancy was gone, as she pushed his jacket off his shoulders and set to work on the buttons on his shirt. His heart pounding in his chest, he walked her back to the bed, unzipping her dress along the way. His breath caught as she stepped back from him and let her dress slip to the floor.

  As he stood there, gazing at her in her devilishly sexy underwear, a moment of panic seized him and he realized he was a little nervous. It had been a long time since he’d done this. There hadn’t been anyone else, not since he’d first met Bri, and he was suddenly worried he may have forgotten a thing or two in the time he’d been waiting for her. This was the woman he loved more than anything, and he didn’t want to disappoint her.

  But as his eyes found hers, all his insecurities faded away. She stood there, looking at him with all the love and trust she possessed, and he realized that he had nothing to worry about. He was the freaking luckiest man on the face of the planet. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and she was gazing at him like he was her whole world. She was most definitely his.

  He wanted to show her just how much he loved her, prove to her the depth of his feelings for her. He wanted to take his time and savor her; worship every inch of her glorious body, and then worship it all over again. So, laying her back on the bed, he set out to do just that.

  Chapter 12

  A shaft of sunlight fell across Bri’s eyelids, stirring her from sleep. Not ready to wake up yet, she rolled over and into a warm body. A warm, naked body. Eyes snapping open, she had a brief moment of panic, not remembering where she was. But then a pair of warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her into a wide, warm chest, and everything came back to her. Relaxing, she snuggled into Cole’s side and let her eyes close again as she breathed him in.

  As she remembered last night, every wonderful thing that had happened, she felt a smile spread across her face. Being with Cole had been even more incredible than she’d dreamed. He’d been so sweet and gentle with her, and attentive. He’d been very attentive, to every part of her. She was blushing just thinking about it. Part of her wondered why she had waited so long to take this step, but the other part of her knew that it wouldn’t have been right before now.

  After finally turning in her V-card, she thought she’d feel different somehow, changed maybe. She did feel
different, but in a she’d-never-felt-this-insanely-happy kind of way. That, and what she’d felt for Cole before last night was nothing compared to what she felt for him now. It was like he was a part of her now, like their souls had been joined together and they would forever belong to each other. There was no longer any doubt that he owned every single piece of her.

  “What are you smiling about?” Cole’s gravelly voice broke into her reverie.

  “Nothing,” she answered coyly, her smile widening.

  “Really? Because I’m smiling about a whole bunch of things right now,” he replied, kissing the top of her head. “Not the least of which is waking up to you. How are you feeling?”

  “Fabulous. How are you feeling?” She tipped her head up to look at him.

  “Like I could scale tall buildings in a single bound,” he grinned. “No regrets?” he asked seriously, stroking her hair back from her face.

  “No regrets,” she replied confidently. How could she possibly have any regrets when she got to wake up to this? Cole’s hair was in complete disarray, thanks to sleep and her eager fingers, but as he beamed at her like he’d never been happier, he never looked more sexy. Bri felt desire spread through her.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’m a little hungry. Want to get some breakfast?” He moved to roll out of bed, but she stopped him.

  “Breakfast sounds good… But I don’t think I’m ready to get out of bed just yet.” She pulled his lips down to hers and convinced him to stay a little longer.

  In fact, they didn’t leave that bed much for the rest of the weekend, and only necessity could drag them from it.

  The weekend flew by way too fast, and before she was ready to return to reality, it was time to lock up Matt’s family’s house and head home.

  As they drove back to Durham, Bri grew more and more pensive. There were things she wanted to ask Cole, but she had yet to build up the courage to do so. Even though they’d been practically inseparable for the past two and half days, they hadn’t done a whole lot of talking. Their relationship had just changed dramatically, and she was trying to catch up.

  About an hour into their drive, Cole glanced over at her and gave her a lopsided grin.

  “You’re awfully quiet over there. What’s on your mind?”

  “Oh, nothing,” she replied, surprised he’d noticed.

  “Come on, Bri. I can practically hear all the wheels in your head working overtime right now. You’re worrying about something. You can talk to me about it, whatever it is.” He smiled hesitantly.

  “Really, it’s nothing.” She took his hand and squeezed it to reassure him, worried he thought she was regretting what happened. “I’m just wondering what it’s going to be like, going back to our regular lives after this. It’s going to be different.”

  “Yeah, but not in a bad way I hope. I mean, other than knowing what you look like naked, not much has changed,” he grinned. “And just so you know, my imagination didn’t do you justice.”

  “Thank you, I think,” she laughed. “But, do you know what I mean?”

  “I do.” He squeezed her hand back. “Things have changed between us, and you’re worried how it’ll affect everything else.” She nodded, grateful he understood. “In my experience, it’s usually not a big deal. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

  Bri nodded. “Speaking of your experience, can I ask you something?” She was hesitant to bring this up, but she figured she needed to ask or it would just fester inside her. Plus, she was genuinely curious.

  “You can ask me anything,” he smiled warmly at her, and then drew in a steadying breath. “What do you want to know?”

  She dropped her eyes, unable to keep her cheeks from flushing.

  “Well, all of this is new to me, obviously. And for me it was this huge, amazing, life altering experience, but I don’t have anything to compare it to. I was just wondering… if this time was different for you at all, with me? Not that I want you to go into any specific details or anything, but…”

  “Ambria.”

  Cole cut off her embarrassed rambling, but she couldn’t make herself look up at him. She was worried that she wouldn’t compare to the other girls, that he would be disappointed or underwhelmed with her lack of experience. Or, worst of all, he’d think that she’d been a complete waste of time and wonder why he’d bothered waiting for her. Deep down, she knew that she was being ridiculous. She knew that Cole loved her, no matter what, but she couldn’t help the insecurities that flooded her.

  “Ambria, look at me,” he pushed. Steeling herself for the worst, she somehow found the courage to raise her head. His eyes held hers for a moment, before flicking back to the road, but what she saw in their depths released the knot of fear around her heart.

  “This is new to me, too. I’ve never been with anyone I’ve loved before, so in a way, you are a first for me, too. And it is very different. You are so far above anyone else, it doesn’t even begin to compare. I’ve never felt like this before, with anyone. All the love I felt for you before just quadrupled. It’s the best feeling in the world.” He glanced over at her and smiled. Unable to resist, she leaned over and kissed him. “But you’re right, getting back to reality is going to be a little different. For one thing, I won’t be able to wake up with you in my arms every morning. And we have roommates. I don’t know if we’ll be able to find a lot of privacy.”

  “We’ll make it work,” she smiled confidently. “Maybe we can bribe Matt to move out or something. Got any embarrassing dirt on him we could use?”

  “Ah, there’s that devious little brain of yours,” he chuckled. “But seriously, nothing could keep me away from you. We just may not be able to be together as often as we’d like, and I think that’ll be the hardest thing.”

  “Always such a pessimist,” she teased, relaxing into her seat. Her earlier fears had been wiped away, and she beamed with happiness the rest of the way home.

  When they got back to campus, most of the student body had left to go home for the summer. Bri and Cole had to wait a week for dance team tryouts and basketball business to wrap up before they could head home to California. They both had to be back on campus in July, so that left them with a month to spend with their families.

  After surviving tryouts, Bri was packing up her bag when her phone rang.

  “Someone’s been holding out on me,” Seb chided when she answered her phone.

  “Well hello to you, too,” she quipped. “What am I holding out on?”

  “Only the fact that you and Cole are hooking up now,” he replied, and Bri could practically hear his smug grin.

  “We are not hooking up,” she replied indignantly, but her face burned bright red.

  “Really,” he replied skeptically. “So you two aren’t getting it on?”

  “How did you… Did he tell you?” She was incredulous.

  “Of course. We guys love to brag about our latest conquests. And while I know that you are not a conquest, it didn’t stop Cole from calling to brag.”

  “Oh my gosh,” she was completely embarrassed. “I cannot believe he told you.”

  “What? It’s what best friends do. Which brings me to the reason I called. I am very disappointed that you didn’t call to tell me all about it. Best friend code, remember?” he practically pouted into the phone.

  “Elevated yourself to best friend status, have you?” she quipped.

  “Obviously. So why didn’t I get a call?”

  “I haven’t told anybody, so don’t get all upset.”

  “Yeah right, like you didn’t call Layla the minute you got back to tell her all about it.”

  She had in fact called Layla, and they’d spent hours talking about it. Layla, wanting to live vicariously, wasn’t satisfied until she had every last detail.

  “Well, I didn’t think this was something you’d want to hear about.” She felt kind of bad. She hadn’t even thought about calling Seb. But he was a guy. Guys weren’t interested in all that gooey
love stuff. “And, no offense, but it would’ve been weird, and kind of embarrassing, trying to talk to you about it, and you know it. You never call to tell me about all the girls you hook up with, so don’t judge me.”

  “You want me to tell you about my exploits? Where to start…?” he pondered wickedly.

  “No!” she replied emphatically. “I can definitely live without that information, thank you.”

  “I know, I’m just messing with you,” he laughed. “Sorry, but I couldn’t help it. Please, do not call me and tell me about your sex life. You're right, it would be creepy.”

  “You jerk,” she teased. “And the same goes for you, too. I do not need those visuals.”

  “Agreed. So are you getting ready to come home?”

  “Just packing up right now. Our flight leaves first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “Just make sure you save me some time when you get here. Cole gets to see you every day. He can take a back seat to the more important people, like me.”

  “You got it,” she laughed. “We’ll have to go riding again. I wonder if I can finagle Cole’s bike away from him.”

  “Oh, I think you could finagle whatever you wanted from him. He told me how much enjoyed his weekend with you.”

  “Okay, stop right there. I’m so going to kill Cole for saying anything to you.”

  “Yep, I’m going to get a lot of traction out of this one. It’s going to be such a fun summer.”

  “For you maybe,” she grumbled, making him laugh.

  “Well, I’ll let you get back to packing. See you soon.”

  “Bye, Seb. Tell Claire hi for me and I’ll see her in a couple days.”

  “You got it. Bye, Bri.”

  “Bye, best friend.”

  “See, you catch on quick!”

  Bri hung up the phone laughing. She was really excited to get home and see Seb again. He had somehow worked his way into her heart, and despite her teasing, he really was one of her best friends.