“Well then, I’ll see what I can do,” she smiled.
A week and a half later, Bri couldn’t help but smile as she watched Matt and Stacie head off on their first date. It hadn’t been easy convincing Stacie to give Matt a chance, she’d known his history after all, but Bri had finally broken her down. She just hoped Matt didn’t do anything to mess this up. Stacie was already skittish, and didn’t need an excuse to bolt. But they made a really cute couple, and Bri kept her fingers crossed that things would work out.
Cole’s birthday was coming up, and Bri had spent weeks trying to come up with the perfect gift for him. He was turning twenty, and she wanted to do something special. The art museum on campus was doing a dinner and art date night, where they closed the museum to the public and offered dinner and a private museum tour. When Bri had seen that, she’d immediately bought tickets and told Cole not to make any plans for his birthday. It was perfect.
The day before his birthday, Cole met Bri after her last class. Surprised to see him, she smiled.
“Wow, this is a nice surprise.” Cole gave her a nervous smile, and she paused. “Uh oh, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just…” He trailed off, and apprehension filled her.
“It’s just what?”
“Please, don’t get mad. The guys on the team want to take me out for my birthday tomorrow,” he winced.
“Seriously?” she exclaimed. She’d warned him weeks ago not to make any other plans.
“We can still do whatever you have planned,” he help up his hands to ward off her disappointment. “I’ll go out with the guys for an hour or so, and then we can do your thing. Just tell me what time you want me to pick you up, and I’ll be there.” He gave her his most charming smile.
“Cole,” she shook her head, upset he was changing their plans.
“Please, Bri?” He pulled her tight against him and leaned down to her ear. “I promise, I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered, dragging his lips lightly down her neck.
She knew he was trying to seduce her into agreeing, but that didn’t stop the shiver from running through her.
“I don’t know,” she protested softly.
“Please?” He sucked on her tattoo behind her ear. Dang it, he knew just how to get her to agree to anything.
“Fine,” she relented, pulling back. “Dinner starts at 7:30, so be at my place tomorrow by seven. Do not be late.”
“Deal,” he smiled. “I’ll be there at seven on the dot. You’re the best, you know that?”
“Yeah, yeah. You can stop buttering me up, you got what you wanted. Just don’t make me regret this.” She eyed him pointedly. “And you will be making this up to me, and then some.”
“I look forward to it,” he grinned. As he leaned down and kissed her, Bri hoped he wouldn’t let her down.
At 6:55 the next evening, Bri walked into her living room to wait for Cole. She was five minutes early, he should be impressed. She took a moment to check her reflection in the mirror above the couch. Her black, fitted cocktail dress accentuated her curves and her auburn hair, which she’d left down in long waves. She quickly applied some red lipstick, and sat down to wait.
Twenty-five minutes later, she was still sitting. Feeling she’d been patient enough, she pulled out her phone. Still not seeing any texts from Cole, she dialed his number. It rang for a minute and went to voicemail. She left him a message, telling him they were going to be late if he didn’t get there soon, and hung up. Anxiously, she watched the clock tick by another five minutes before she tried calling him again. Again, it went to voicemail.
She knew he’d gone out with the guys on the team, so she decided to try calling Matt, to see if he could get Cole to call her.
“Sorry, Bri,” Matt replied. “I met the guys earlier for a drink, but Stacie and I have plans tonight, so I left early. I’m not sure if they’re still there, but they were at The Stonewall Bar when I left. You could call and see if Cole’s still there.”
“Thanks, Matt. Sorry to interrupt your date. Tell Stace hi for me.”
“No worries. Talk to you later.”
Bri hung up and immediately called the bar. After waiting on hold for a few minutes, she was informed that the basketball team from Duke had left some time ago, and no one knew where they’d gone. She hung up, and looked at the clock again. Anger bubbled up in her when she saw it was 7:45. They were missing dinner. She tried calling Cole again, knowing it was probably useless. As his voicemail picked up, she debated what to do. She could stay there and wait for him, or she could head to the museum by herself, and at least get to see the exhibit. Still holding out some hope that Cole would show up, or at least call, she decided to stay home and wait.
She was still waiting two hours later. She’d thrown a frozen dinner into the microwave, and changed out of her dress when it became apparent Cole wouldn’t be back in time to go to the museum. She kept trying to reach him, but each time it went to voicemail, and he didn’t answer any of her texts, so she eventually gave up. She oscillated between being hurt and angry that he’d blown her off like this.
Sometime around 11:30 there was a knock on her door. Bri turned off the movie she’d been watching and went to answer it. She tried to compose herself, knowing who was probably out there, but her anger simmered just below the surface. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.
Cole stood just outside, if you could call it standing. It was more like swaying and stumbling. He smiled brilliantly as she answered. Taking in his disheveled appearance, her brows creased in confusion.
“Hi, Beautiful,” he slurred. “I’m here for our date.”
“Are you kidding?” She was incredulous.
“No, I’m here to pick you up.” He glanced at her pajamas. “Though you don’t look like you’re ready yet. That’s okay, I’ll wait.” He stumbled in past her and practically fell onto the couch.
“Cole, are you drunk?”
“What? Don’t be silly,” he waved her off. “I’m not drunk. I’m just really happy to see you.” He smiled warmly at her. He considered her attire for a moment. “On second thought, let’s just stay here tonight. Come here,” he patted the seat next to him. “Come snuggle with me.”
“Okay, I think it’s time for you to go.” She was completely flustered. She was pissed as hell at him, but he was so sweet and ridiculous that she wanted to laugh. But then she remembered that she’d been waiting for him for four hours, and her ire spiked.
“Why do I have to go?” he pouted. “You have such a nice couch. Maybe I can just lie down and take a nap. Then we can go do… that thing you planned. It was for my birthday, right?” He grinned up at her. “Let me take a nap, and then you can give me my birthday surprise.” He began tipping sideways to lay down, and Bri rushed over to stop him.
“Oh, no. You don’t get to sleep here. If you want to take a nap, you have to go home.”
“But I want to stay with you. You’re so pretty.” He reached a clumsy hand up to her face. “What’s a boy like you doing with a girl like me, anyway?” His eyes rolled closed, and Bri thought he was going to pass out.
“Cole? Cole!” She slapped his cheeks, waking him up. “Alright buddy, you’ve got to stay awake for me, okay?” He nodded, and she slipped her shoes on. Even though she was still angry at him, it wouldn’t do her any good to yell at him now. He wasn’t going to remember anything in the morning. “I’m going to help you walk home. Do you think you can walk for me?” She felt like she was talking to a three year old.
“For you, I’d do anything. I love you so much, Bri.” He tried to grab her face again, but she caught his hands, and instead used them to pull him to his feet.
“Yeah, I love you, too. Though maybe not as much tonight. Come on, time to go home.”
“But we haven’t had sex yet. That’s why I’m here, birthday sex, ‘cause it’s my birthday.” He gave her a broad grin and smacked her on the butt.
“Oh my gosh, Cole,” she grumbled. “I swear, if
you weren’t so drunk I’d give you a black eye. Now, come on. You’re not getting any sex tonight, and maybe not ever again. Let’s go.”
She managed to get him out the door and down the stairs. Slowly they made their way to Cole’s dorm. Finding his room key in his pocket, she opened the door and helped him into bed. She took off his shoes, got him a bottle of water, and pulled his blankets up over him. Knowing it was pointless to ask, but unable to help herself, she sat on the edge of his bed.
“Where were you tonight, Cole?”
“Hmm? Oh, I went out with Jordan and his friends,” he replied sleepily. “We went to a couple of bars, and a couple of clubs, and then he brought me home to you.”
And left him drunk on her doorstep. Bri’s anger at Cole was second only to her anger at Jordan. He’d probably kept Cole out all night on purpose, getting him too drunk to realize he was standing her up. Jordan probably thought it was hilarious.
“And then you brought me home,” he smiled up at her. “You should stay. I have plenty of room,” he slid over to make room for her in the bed. “Plus, we can get naked. I like it when you’re naked.”
“Cole, give me your phone,” she demanded, holding out her hand.
“Why?” he asked, his face full of confusion.
“Because you aren’t going to remember this tomorrow morning, and I need to make sure that you never do anything like this again.”
“Okay,” he shrugged, and gave her his phone.
Holding his phone so he couldn’t answer it, she pulled out her own phone and called his number. When his voicemail picked up she left him a message.
“Hello, Cole. You probably won’t remember this, but it’s Saturday night, and I’m in your room, looking down at your drunk ass that I just had to walk home and put to bed. I did this after waiting all freaking night for you to show up for our date, a date I planned especially for your birthday, or for you to at least call and let me know you were still alive.
“Instead, you showed up at my door, four and a half hours late and drunk off your ass, looking for some birthday sex. I swear, if you ever do anything like this again, I’ll drop you so fast you won’t know what hit you. I am not a midnight, drunken booty call. And if you ever stand me up like this again, you won’t ever be calling me again, period. I’m serious. I’m so freaking angry at you right now, I don’t even know what to do with you. I guess I’ll have to figure that out tomorrow, assuming that I’m still talking to you tomorrow, which doesn’t seem very likely. So go ahead and sleep off your massive hangover, and just know that you are a total jackass. Oh, and just so you know, I’m going to punch Jordan in the face the next time I see him.”
She hung up and placed Cole’s phone on the nightstand next to his bed.
“Don’t touch this until tomorrow,” she warned him, but he was already passed out. “Goodnight, Cole,” she murmured, and left him to sleep it off.
As she walked home, she tried to decide how she was going to handle him tomorrow. But she was too exhausted, emotionally and physically, to deal with that right now. Instead she walked into her dorm, and went straight to bed.
Chapter 16
Cole woke up to a pounding headache. For a moment he didn’t know where he was. But then he recognized his own bed, and his momentary panic abated. He snuggled deeper into the covers and fell back asleep before his head could burst wide open.
Sometime much later, he opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up. His head still ached, but he managed to climb out of bed and take a shower. As he walked back into his room, feeling marginally better, he spotted his phone on the nightstand. He didn’t remember putting his phone there last night. Come to think of it, he didn’t remember how he got home, or even where exactly he’d been last night. He remembered meeting Jordan and the guys for a drink, but everything after that was hazy. He shuffled over to the nightstand and picked up his phone. Underneath were two tickets to the art museum. Confused, he picked them up and saw “Happy Birthday, Cole” written across the top.
He paused as it dawned on him that this was what Bri had planned for his birthday. But he didn’t remember going to the museum. Had something happened? He looked down at his phone, and his stomach dropped when he saw the list of missed calls. Panic set in and he scrolled through the slew of calls and texts from Bri. He also had two voicemails, and his heart began pounding as he played them.
By the end of Bri’s second message, which she’d left late last night, he was in a cold sweat. Forcing his reluctant brain to cooperate, he tried to piece together what had happened last night.
Fear pulsed through him as bits and pieces finally started coming back to him. He quickly threw on some clothes and burst out of his room. The sunlight hurt his eyes, but he didn’t even pause as he ran to Bri’s room. He pounded on the door until someone answered, but it wasn’t who he was hoping.
“Hi, Kendall,” he greeted Bri’s roommate. “Is Bri here?” He tried to seem casual, not sure if Bri’s roommates knew what had happened. Judging from the scowl Kendall gave him though, Bri had obviously filled them in on his utter stupidity.
“Nope, and I have no idea where she is or when she’ll be back,” Kendall replied tersely.
“Could you at least give her a message for me?” he pleaded.
“No.” She shut the door, but he stopped it with his foot.
“Please, Kendall,” he begged. “I know I screwed up last night. I just need you to tell her I’m sorry, and that I’m a complete idiot, and she has every reason to be mad at me. All I’m asking for is a chance to apologize.”
Kendall’s face softened at his desperation.
“Look, Cole, I really don’t know where she is. She was pretty pissed this morning. Just give her some time to cool down. She’ll call you when she’s ready.” She smiled sadly at him and shut the door.
Completely dejected, and not knowing what else to do, he trudged his way home to wait for Bri to stop hating him.
He waited for three days before he tried calling her, but she never returned any of his calls or texts. And she was never home, or so her roommates said. He was getting desperate. He knew she was furious with him, but he needed to see her, talk to her, make sure that they would still be okay.
That Saturday, he was sitting in his room, not wanting to admit to himself that he was seriously freaking out, when there was a knock on his front door. He jumped up to open it, and found Bri standing outside. A weight lifted off his chest just seeing her, and a hopeful smile formed on his lips. But the look on her face killed it almost instantly.
“Hi,” he said nervously.
“Can I come in?” she asked flatly.
“Yeah, of course.”
He swallowed thickly and let her in. She walked in, but didn’t sit. Unsure what to do, he sat hesitantly on the couch. They stayed that way, in strained, awkward silence for a moment. When she didn’t say anything, he decided to try.
“Bri, I’m so sorry about last weekend,” he looked at her with all the regret and sincerity that was in him. When she didn’t stop him, he continued. “I’m a total asshat, and you have every right to hate me. I was rude, and inconsiderate, and stupid, and a million other terrible things. I deserve the silent treatment, and worse. I just want you to know that I feel sick about what happened, and I swear to you, it’ll never happen again.” He pleaded with his eyes for her to forgive him.
“What happened last Saturday, Cole?” She didn't sound angry, which gave him hope, but her emotionless voice was almost just as bad.
“Well, I went out for a drink with Jordan and the guys like I told you. We had a beer or two, and then I was getting ready to leave to come get you, when Jordan stopped me. He said he wanted to buy me just one more, for my birthday, and I said okay. But there was something else in my beer, and pretty soon, I wasn’t thinking very straight. I don’t remember everything that happened, but I do remember Jordan and I, and a bunch of his friends, bar and club hopping for a while before they dropped me off at your plac
e. I remember walking up your stairs, but I don’t really remember what I said or did after that. Judging from the voicemail you left me though, I was pretty much an ass. I’m so sorry, Bri. You know I would never treat you like that. I just… I don’t even know where that stuff came from.”
“Well, to be fair, you weren’t really an ass. You were actually kind of ridiculously sweet… drunk booty call aside,” she smiled grudgingly.
“Good,” he smiled back. “I’m glad to know I’m not a mean, obnoxious drunk.” He’d tried to joke, but her face fell and he knew it was too soon. “Sorry, I shouldn’t joke about this.”
“No, you shouldn’t, because the problem is I don’t know quite what to do about it. I’ve been thinking all week, and I’m not any closer to an answer.” She looked at him meaningfully. “I do know that I do not ever want you showing up at my door drunk like that again. I will not put up with that kind of behavior, and I won’t be treated that way. Got it?”
“Completely,” he nodded. “I agree, you shouldn’t have to put up with that. You deserve better, and I promise to be a better boyfriend, and friend, in the future. And I can promise you, I’ll never drink like that again.” He rubbed his still aching head.
“Okay,” she nodded simply.
“Okay?” He asked hopefully. Was he really off the hook that easily? “Does this mean we’re good again?”
“I believe you that you’re sorry, and I know that you won’t do it again. I also know it wasn’t totally your fault. I think you’ve been punished enough. So yes, we’re good.”
Elated, he jumped off the couch and pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen ever again,” he whispered.
“I know. But I’m serious when I said you won’t be calling me again if it does.”
“I know. And by the way, not seeing you for a week, and worrying about what happened, and what would happen, and all the uncertainty… It was the worst thing you could’ve done to me. I’ve been going crazy with anxiety.”
Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2) Page 16