A few minutes later, she got a text from Claire.
You’d better save me some time, too! Just remember, I was your best friend before Seb was even in the picture. That gives me first dibs on your time. Can’t wait to see you!
Smiling, Bri finished her packing and headed over to Cole’s. Matt had left earlier that evening, so Cole had the room all to himself and she wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. Cole opened the door, and she barely had time to drop her bag before he picked her up and whisked her off to his bedroom.
“Anxious much?” she laughed. He laid her on the bed and prowled his way on top of her.
“I’ve been waiting all day for you to get here,” he smiled hungrily at her. “And now that I’ve got you right where I want you, I’m not letting you go all night.”
“Mmm, I like the way you think,” she replied, and pulled his lips down to hers.
“Just so you know,” he murmured between kisses. “I had to hold back with you before. I didn’t want to hurt you. But now that we’re past that, I’m going to show you just how much I enjoy you.”
Bri’s whole body began buzzing with anticipation. It never ceased to amaze her how easily he could set her whole body on fire.
“Well then, I’ll have to show you just how much I enjoy you, too.” She gave him a cocky smirk, which he expertly wiped off her face.
Bri awoke sometime later, much later according to the clock on the night stand, and opened her eyes to find Cole watching her.
“Hey,” she smiled blearily, rolling over to snuggle against him. “What are you doing up at this hour?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied softly. “I was just thinking, and watching you.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“Coach pulled me into his office today after our team meeting.”
“Oh?” she sat up on her elbow, fully alert now. “What did he say?” Cole had been waiting all week to find out who the starters for next season would be. It had about driven him crazy.
“He said…”
Bri smacked him on the arm as he purposely drew out her suspense.
“He said that he wants to move Jordan to a shooting guard/small forward position next year. He thinks it’ll be a better fit for Jordan than playing point guard was. We have two other returning starters, so there are two spots open. He’s giving me one of those spots. I’m going to be the starting point guard next season.” A wide smile bloomed across his face.
“Coleston!” She squeezed him. “That’s amazing!”
“Yeah, I guess your plan worked. After the North Carolina game, they’d been watching me. Coach said he’d been impressed with me on the floor, and even more impressed at what a supportive team player I’d been. He said he knows I’ll always do what’s best for the team, and that I’ll be a great presence and leader out on the court.”
“You will be. I’m so proud of you. But why didn’t you tell me this earlier? This is huge news.”
“I only had one thing on my mind earlier, and it wasn’t basketball,” he laughed.
“Yeah, I kind of got that,” she replied wryly.
“I’m going to be a starter, baby. Do you know what this means?” Excitement gleamed in his eyes. “Not just filling in, but being able to dictate what happens during the game. The national publicity, the NBA… The possibilities are endless.”
“You’re finally getting your chance in the national spotlight. It’s what you’ve always dreamed about.”
“Yeah,” he breathed. “I want to finish school though. I promised my dad I’d make my education a priority, and I owe it to him, and to myself, to get my degree.”
“Good. I think it’s important, too. Plus, I’m glad to know you won’t be going anywhere anytime soon,” she half teased. She’d never really thought about Cole going pro; she’d always assumed they’d finish school together, and then they’d tackle whatever the future held after that. She hoped that plan didn’t change.
“Yeah, but after that, if things go well, I might be playing in the NBA. It’s a long shot, but still. Can you imagine?”
What she couldn’t imagine was her and Cole being separated by the NBA draft and graduate school. If he went pro, she’d have to wait who knew how long before starting her Masters, and she’d have to pick a school where he was drafted. It would be a huge sacrifice for her, another huge sacrifice. But, she didn’t want to think about that right now. They had a few years before they’d have to deal with that, so there was no use worrying about it now. Not wanting to detract from Cole’s happiness, she brushed her reservations aside.
“That would be incredible,” she smiled at him.
“With you by my side, we could conquer the world,” he smiled back. “I’d be able to give you the future you deserve.”
“The only future I want is to be with you. The rest doesn’t matter. As long as we have each other, I’ll be the happiest woman on earth.”
“But still, I want to give you everything you’ve ever wanted. And now, that is actually a possibility.”
Something about his words didn’t sit right with her. She didn’t need money to be happy. She didn’t need for Cole to shower her with lavish gifts. She wasn’t materialistic like that. But not wanting to ruin the happy moment they were having, she didn’t push it. This was a big day for Cole, and he deserved to be excited.
“You’ve already given me everything I’ve ever wanted.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. “You are everything I’ll ever need,” she promised him, meaning every word.
Their month long vacation at home flew by quickly. Bri got to spend a lot of time with her family, and friends, and the ocean, all of which she’d missed dearly, but all too soon it was time to head back to Duke for summer practices.
She returned to new roommates and new team captains, and was a bit jealous that Stacie and Stephanie, being juniors now, got their own rooms. Her new roommates seemed nice enough, but she didn’t bond with them like she had her old ones. Luckily Addison, Stephanie, and Stacie were just a few doors away, and it’s not like she didn't see them every day.
Cole also got a new roommate. Coach thought it’d be a good idea for Cole and Jordan to room together, to build trust and familiarity. Matt, who got the other open starting spot, would be rooming with Ben, the starting center. Bri found she missed seeing Matt all the time, though he and Cole still hung out a lot. Jordan was too cocky and arrogant for her to like much. And he always had a backhanded compliment or thinly veiled disapproval for her whenever she came over. She hoped he’d get over it quickly, because she was getting a little tired of it.
Even dance practice was different. They’d lost about a third of their old team, which meant that there were a lot of new faces to get used to. But one thing that hadn’t changed was Jillian’s snideness and rudeness. Jillian knew she couldn’t get Bri kicked off the team, but that didn’t stop her from trying to make Bri’s life miserable. She still had no idea why Jillian hated her so much, but she was quickly returning the favor. This year, instead of taking it, Bri was determined to put Jillian in her place. Jillian, of course, didn’t seem to appreciate that, and the animosity between them skyrocketed.
Change was all around her, and Bri had the feeling that this was just the beginning. Her life from now on was going to be in a constant state of flux. And while some change she welcomed, some of them she mourned. Her brothers were starting kindergarten, and she was sad that she wouldn’t be there to send them off on their first day of school. She felt like she was missing out on watching them grow up, but, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She had to resign herself to the fact that life was about choices and compromises, and she’d have to be content with hers. Which really, she was. She loved her life, and with the start of her sophomore year, she felt excited and hopeful for what the future might bring.
Chapter 13
Cole couldn’t believe the difference being a starter made. He used to be able to walk aroun
d campus fairly unnoticed. But now, everywhere he went he drew attention. People were always watching him, coming up and talking to him, especially the girls. He’d always gotten plenty of attention from the ladies, but it seemed to have ratcheted up a few notches. He knew Bri noticed too, and even though he knew it had to bother her, she hadn’t said anything, yet.
Getting used to living with Jordan was interesting, too. Matt was always so laid back and mellow. But Jordan had an endless supply of energy, and a serious case of ADD. He was constantly in motion, and that included his dating life. He was always giving Cole a hard time about Bri. He couldn’t understand why Cole would want to settle down with one girl, when he could have his choice of the whole campus whenever he wanted. Cole had tried to explain it to him, but Jordan didn’t get it. Not that he really listened. Needless to say, the first few weeks of the new semester had required some adjustment.
Cole had just left Jordan at their place and was heading over to pick up Bri, when he got an unexpected phone call.
“Devon? Hey man, what’s up?” He and Devon had remained good friends, despite the distance between them. Being the boyfriends of best friends, they’d kept in touch, helping each other out when advice or support was needed. But Cole was a bit surprised that Devon had actually called.
“Cole,” Devon answered, audibly upset. “I need your help, man.”
“What’s the matter? What’s going on?” Cole stopped dead in his tracks.
“It’s Layla. I think she might have broken up with me. I’m not even sure what happened, but she started yelling and kicked me out, and now I don’t know what to do.” Devon rambled desperately.
“Whoa, hold up. Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me what happened.” Cole started booking it for Bri’s dorm. He could tell this was going to be bad, and he was going to need her help.
“Okay, so Layla and I were watching one of her chick flicks, you know, the kind where they end up getting married at the end, happily ever after and all that. Well, after it was over I said something to her like “That’ll be us one day”, and she totally freaked out on me. She went off about how she wasn’t interested in marriage right now, and that she was going to finish school, and how dare I assume that she’d be willing to just drop out and get married and start popping out babies and give up all her dreams. Honestly, I didn’t even hear everything she said, because I was too busy trying to figure out where all this was coming from. But she yelled at me for about twenty minutes, and then said that she couldn’t do this right now and kicked me out. She won’t answer any of my calls or texts, and I’ve been wandering around for the past hour, not knowing what to do or where to go. I’m going crazy here and I need you to talk me down.”
“Okay, just hold on.” Cole reached Bri’s room and pounded on the door. Luckily she answered quickly. She looked at him curiously as she let him in, obviously seeing the distress on his face. “I’m here with Bri now, and I’m going to put you on speaker phone.” He quickly explained to Bri what had happened, and her face paled.
“Devon?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he replied. “I’m freaking out and I don’t know what to do to fix this. I don’t even know what I did wrong.”
Devon sounded like he was close to tears, and Cole looked at Bri imploringly. She had to know how to fix this.
“I know, it’s okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” she took charge. “You are going to go home and stay there. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I don’t think you can do anything to make this better right now, and we don’t want to make things worse. I am going to call Layla and see if I can find out what’s really going on, okay? And I’ll call you as soon as I know anything, I promise. Can you give me a little time?”
Devon let out a slow breath. “Yeah, okay. Just please, try and hurry. If I lose her, I… I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“I know, sweetie. We’ll figure this out, okay?” Bri consoled him.
“Do you really think we can fix this?” he asked desperately.
“I know we can,” she replied. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Thanks, Bri.”
“Bye, Dev. Hang in there, okay?” Cole cut in.
“I’ll try. Thanks, Cole.”
Cole hung up the phone and looked at Bri helplessly. He didn’t have the slightest idea how they were going to help.
“It’s okay,” she smiled reassuringly. “I’ll call Layla and talk some sense into her. I think she just got scared and overreacted. I know we were going to go out tonight, but I don’t think this can wait.”
“You’re right.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “Will you call me when you’re done and let me know how it went? It doesn’t matter how late.”
“Definitely.” She sighed, pulling back to look at him, worry creasing her forehead. “I’ve never even considered the possibility of them breaking up before. They were always such a constant, you know. What if they can’t work things out?”
“They will.” It was his turn to reassure her. He leaned down and kissed her. He began to pull away, but she brought him back, pulling him close and kissing him deeper. He could tell this thing with Layla and Devon had shaken her, and he was happy to give her all the time she needed to ground herself again.
“I love you.” She finally pulled back and looked up at him. He could see how upset and worried she was about her friends. It was one of the things he loved about her. When she decided to love, she did it with her whole heart. He didn’t know how this amazing creature had come into his life, but he would be forever grateful.
“I love you, too.” He smiled, trying to reassure her. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
He gave her one more quick kiss before letting himself out, leaving her to call her friend. He really hoped Devon and Layla worked it out. He didn’t want to admit it, but the thought that Layla and Devon could break up unsettled him as well. They’d seemed like such an indestructible force; like they’d be together forever. He really hoped that was still the case.
Not having anything else to do, Cole trudged back to his room. Jordan, surprisingly, was still there when he got back.
“Hey man, what happened to your date?” Jordan smiled smugly at him.
“Something came up,” Cole replied and flopped down on the couch.
Jordan either didn’t notice Cole’s melancholy mood, or chose to ignore it.
“Well then, come out with me tonight. Some friends and I are gonna go do a little clubbing,” Jordan bounced his eyebrows suggestively.
“Thanks, but I’m going to pass.”
“Oh, come on. Just because your girl ditched you doesn’t mean you can’t still have some fun.”
“I think my definition of fun and your definition of fun are two very different things.”
“No, they’re not. You just think that because you’re part of a “couple” you can’t do anything without your other half. You’re wrong, you know. What harm could it do to come out with the guys for a while?” Jordan pushed.
“Another time, J. I’m not in the mood for it tonight,” Cole replied tiredly. This wasn’t the first time Jordan had tried to get him to go out with him. But Cole didn’t feel like watching Jordan and his frat brothers hit on girls all night.
“Okay, man,” Jordan replied, disappointed. “But one of these days you’ll realize that commitment is for suckers, and you’ll be begging me to take you out.” He flashed Cole a knowing smile, grabbed his jacket and left.
Shaking his head, Cole headed to his bedroom. He knew Jordan was just trying to get a rise out of him, but he still got on Cole’s nerves sometimes. Instead of dwelling on it, he decided to get some homework done to keep him occupied.
A couple of hours later, he put away his books. He hadn’t expected to hear from Bri yet, but it was getting late. He decided to call and check in with Devon, to make sure he was holding up okay. After assuring Devon that
Bri was talking some sense into Layla right then, he hung up and fell asleep.
He awoken sometime later to the ringing of his phone. Knowing there was only one person who’d call in the middle of the night, he answered.
“Hey, baby. How’d it go?” he asked sleepily.
“It went good,” she sighed. “It took a long time to talk through everything, but I think we got it all worked out. Layla’s going to talk to Devon tomorrow. I think they’ll be okay.” She paused while she yawned. “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow, but I just wanted to call and say goodnight, and I’m sorry our plans got cancelled tonight. I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s totally fine. But I’ll let you make it up to me whenever you’d like,” he smiled.
“Cole?” she asked with a catch in her voice. “Will you promise me something?”
“Of course.” His pulse picked up at her tone.
“Promise me that this will never happen to us. Promise me that we’ll be able to work through anything, that nothing will come between us and tear us apart.”
He could hear the tears in her voice, the worry and anguish, and he rushed to comfort and reassure her.
“I promise. Nothing will ever come between us.” And he meant every word. “I have no intention of ever letting you go. You’re kind of stuck with me now,” he smiled.
“I have no intention of ever letting you go either,” she replied softly. “I love you, Cole.”
“I love you too, Ambria.” His heart swelled in his chest. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He hung up, and drifted back to sleep, marveling at how truly lucky he was.
Apparently it was the week for strange, unexpected calls. Sunday afternoon, Cole’s phone rang again, and he was shocked when he saw who was calling. He debated for a few moments whether or not to answer. She hadn’t called him in over a year. Why should he answer just because she finally remembered he existed.
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