Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2)

by Preston, Jennifer

  “It’s not that easy. I can’t just ignore all the expectations riding on my shoulders.”

  “This isn’t the first time you’ve had those expectations on your shoulders. You handled it before, you can do it now.”

  “How? How can I handle it when the very thought almost paralyzes me?” he pleaded, desperate for an answer.

  “Back in high school, your team had a lot of expectations on them. You guys were the favorites to win state, and you did. How did you handle it back then?”

  “It wasn’t as big a deal back then. It was just another game. The national press wasn’t breathing down my neck, watching and scrutinizing everything I did. I could just go out and play. I didn’t have to worry about making an idiot of myself on national television.”

  “Okay,” she nodded. “But, you played with the media watching all last year. How is this any different?”

  “They didn’t pay any attention to me last year. I was practically a nobody. That’s not the case anymore. They know who I am, and they’re watching me.”

  She thought for a moment.

  “If you didn’t have the media there watching, would tonight’s game be any different than any other game you’ve played before? Would you still feel the pressure you do right now?”

  “Well, no, I guess not,” he conceded.

  “Can you see the cameras from the court when you play?”

  “Not really. Just the two camera guys under the baskets. And I only think about them if I’m flying out of bounds down there.”

  “So, pretend they aren’t there. Don’t think about the cameras, or the sports analysts, or anything else. Just pretend you’re back in our high school gym, playing just another game.”

  “I don’t know, Bri.” He eyed her skeptically. “It’s not something you can just ignore.”

  “Then forget about them. For all you know, they didn’t even show up to broadcast the game. Maybe they got stuck in traffic, or they missed their plane, or they were all incinerated in a massive ESPN-specific explosion.” She grinned, and he felt the corner of his lip twitch. “Whatever the reason, they didn’t show up, and they aren’t there,” she shrugged.

  He paused a moment and thought about it.

  “Plus, I’ll make sure I’m cheering next to your bench tonight. If you start to panic, just find me and pretend I’m watching you from the stands like I used to. I’ll even give you a victory kiss for each point you score,” she smiled, nudging his shoulder. “You can do this, Cole. I know you can. You aren’t going to choke, or throw away the whole season.”

  “How do you know that?” he smiled back, his panic easing a bit.

  “Because that’s not what Cole Marra does,” she replied sternly. “He doesn’t suck at anything. He works, and fights, and he demands that everything bends to his will. He is a freaking force of nature, and you’d better not stand in his way.”

  Laughing, he pulled her to him. “A force of nature, huh?”

  “Of course. You managed to wrap me around your little finger, after all. That has to be one of the biggest feats ever. This basketball stuff should be easy compared to that.” Her eyes glowed as she looked up at him. Cole felt his chest swell, her confidence in him chasing away his fears and doubts.

  “What would I ever do without you?” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I’d be a basket case for sure.”

  “Mmm, probably,” she returned his kiss. “Lucky for you, I like the hard cases.”

  “I’ll show you a hard case,” he grinned against her lips.

  “Cole!” She smacked his arm. “Now is definitely not the time. You need to get to the stadium before you’re late. Are you okay now? Are you ready? Because we can’t have you falling apart like that again.” She searched his face, looking for any sign of insecurity.

  “I’m good,” he replied confidently. Bri was right, he was a force to be reckoned with, and he wasn’t going to let something as stupid as a few TV cameras throw him off. “Thank you. I’ll be looking for you tonight.”

  “I’ll be there.” She gave him one last kiss before kicking him off the couch. “Now, you’d better get going. I don’t want to have wasted all this effort on you, only to watch you sit out the first half because you were late.”

  “Right. Love you, Bri.”

  “Love you, Cole. Go make me proud,” she grinned.

  “Always,” he gave her a cocky smirk before heading out the door.

  After the game, Cole walked out of the locker room with a huge smile on his face. He had done it. He’d survived his first game as a starter. Even though it was just a preseason game, it still felt like a huge accomplishment. He didn’t know what he’d been so worried about. They had won easily. The team had worked together seamlessly, and everything had flowed just as they’d practiced. He could feel it already; this team was special, and they were headed for great things.

  He scanned the crowd of fans who’d stayed after the game for autographs, and saw Bri standing off to the side. Completely ignoring the yelling crowd, he rushed over to her. She laughed as he swept her up and spun her around. Setting her down, he didn’t even give her time to catch her breath before he captured her lips. There were some whoops and whistles from the crowd around them, but Cole didn’t care. He kissed her senseless, expressing all of his love and gratitude. He couldn’t have made it through the night without her, and he wanted her to know how much he appreciated her.

  “Wow,” she whispered breathlessly. “Now that is a victory kiss.”

  “You got that right,” he grinned at her. “And I have more of that in store for you tonight,” he grinned wickedly, causing her to blush. “Give me five minutes, and we’ll get out of here.”

  Bri nodded, and he smiled as he ran back to his fans. After signing each and every autograph, he returned to his waiting girl and escorted her out of the stadium.

  Chapter 18

  Bri woke early Sunday morning to the sound of her phone ringing. Glancing at the time, she groaned. Sunday was her day to sleep in, and everyone knew not to bother her before noon. Getting ready to verbally bash whoever dared to call her at eight-thirty in the morning, she answered with a gruff, “What?”

  “Well good morning to you, too, sunshine,” a familiar voice laughed on the other line.

  “Seb? What are you doing? Why are you calling so early? It’s like what, five-thirty there? Is something wrong?” She sat up, instantly alert as worry blossomed through her.

  “No, everything is fine,” he replied nonchalantly.

  “Then why the hell are you calling me so freaking early?” Now that she knew there wasn’t an emergency, she was starting to get pissed.

  “No reason. I just know how much you enjoy getting up early on the weekends, and thought I’d start your day off right.”

  “Sebastian,” she growled. “I am going to reach through this phone and strangle you if you don’t tell me what you want right now. And don’t even think about pointing out the fact that it is physically impossible to strangle you through a phone. I know that already.”

  He burst out laughing. “Oh, Bri, you are so pleasant and engaging in the morning, I can’t help messing with you a little. But really, there is a reason I’m calling.”

  “Yes, and I’m all a twitter waiting for it,” she replied sarcastically.

  “Okay, okay. I’m calling because we won the Mountain West championship, which I’m sure you already know because you follow my football career religiously.”

  “Uh, yeah, something like that.” She felt a little bad because she had no idea that Seb and the UNLV Rebels had been doing that well this season.

  “Anyway, we are going to the Las Vegas Bowl, and I want you to come.”

  “Really? Seb, that’s awesome!”

  “Yep, my first bowl game. My dad is renting a house in Vegas for a week, and we wanted to invite you and your family to join us. I know Cole can’t come because of basketball, but Jimmy is coming, and of course Claire will be there. The
game is December 23rd, and we’ll staying the week and celebrating Christmas there. What do you think?”

  “I think that sound fabulous,” she grinned, all of her grumpiness evaporating. “I’ll call and talk to my dad, but even if they can’t make it, I will definitely be there.”

  “Perfect. I was hoping you’d come. When my dad gets all the details worked out, I’ll let you know.”

  “Sounds good. But, Seb?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why are you calling so early? No offense, but this could’ve waited a few hours. You didn’t have to get up a five-thirty in the morning to call me.”

  “I know, but I was too excited to sleep much, and I know what a morning person you are. I figured you’d be a good first call to make.”

  “I’m the first one you called? You haven’t talked to Cole yet?”

  “No, he’s not nearly as nice to wake up to as you are,” Seb teased.

  “Yeah, whatever,” she smiled ruefully. “Well, on that note I am going back to bed. Congratulations again, Seb. I’m really proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Bri. Talk to you soon.”

  “Bye.” She hung up smiling. Snuggling down into her covers, she drifted back to sleep.

  Bri bounced excitedly in her seat as the bus drove them to New York.

  “Calm down, crazy,” Stacie smiled beside her. “You can survive a few hours without him.”

  “Like you can’t wait to get your arms around Matt,” Bri smirked at her. “You’re just as bad as I am, admit it.”

  “Whatever,” Stacie laughed. “I, at least, have some self-control.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen your self-control.”

  They were on their way to Madison Square Garden, part of the cheering squad that would travel with the basketball team for their pre-season tournaments. Bri had been so excited when she was chosen to go, after having to stay behind last year. And as much as she hated cheering, it was worth it to go with Cole, even if he was in a separate bus.

  Late that night, they finally made it to their hotel. Both buses unloaded, and Bri got a quick kiss from Cole before he and the team headed up to their rooms. Bri, Stacie, and the rest of the cheer squad checked into their rooms, unfortunately on a different floor than the basketball team, and finally got some sleep.

  The next night, Bri followed the rest of her team into the stadium to get ready for the game. She knew that Lynette and Carl had come to watch Cole, finally making it to a game like they’d been promising, and she hoped that them being here didn't freak Cole out. He hadn’t had another break down since that first game; in fact, he seemed more laid back and happier since then. But she was still worried something might set him off again. Desperately wanting to impress your mom, who hadn’t really given a crap about you before, might be one of those things that caused Cole to regress.

  But as the team came out to warm up, Cole seemed completely at ease. He was smiling and joking around, trying to loosen up his teammates. He even snuck over to give her a quick kiss before the starting lineups were announced. Relieved, Bri took her place and got ready to cheer on her man.

  The game started, and Cole was amazing. There was an incredible energy in the building. Buoyed by it, the team played fluidly and won rather easily. Cole got to do a quick interview with one of the network reporters after the game, and Bri watched him, awed. He was so natural. The camera, the millions of people watching, didn’t seem to faze him at all. He was intelligent and funny, and the woman interviewing him was completely charmed.

  After changing out of her cheer uniform, Bri met Lynette and Carl outside the stadium, and they all waited for Cole. She’d gotten a cursory greeting, but they’d been standing there for twenty minutes now and Cole’s mom hadn’t said a word to her. In fact, Lynette seemed to be trying to ignore her completely. Not that Bri cared. She didn’t feel like making small talk anyway.

  Finally, Cole pushed open the door and walked out. He’d barely taken two steps before Lynette rushed him, squealing.

  “Cole, honey, you were amazing!” She wrapped him up in a tight hug.

  “Thanks, Mom. I’m glad you could come.” He gently extricated himself from her arms. “Hi, Carl,” he nodded to his step dad.

  Finally, his eyes found her, and Bri gave him a proud smile. A huge smile bloomed on his face, and he rushed over to her. She jumped into him and he squeezed her tight. Bri could feel his heart pounding against her chest, could feel his excited energy. Reveling in his happiness, she pulled back for a kiss. Cole eagerly accepted, and they stayed locked together until Lynette’s pointed cough caused Cole to pull back.

  “Cole,” Lynette grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Bri. “So, what’s the plan? Where are we going for dinner?”

  “I’m starving,” Carl interjected. “So you’d better decide fast.”

  “Dinner?” Bri gave Cole a questioning look. She hadn’t heard about any dinner plans.

  “Oh Bri, I suppose you can come, too. But I understand if you already have plans,” Lynette waved at her dismissively. “I know, we should invite Jordan!”

  “Invite Jordan where?” Jordan sidled up to Lynette with a charming smile.

  “Jordan!” she gave him a hug. “So good to see you again. You have to come to dinner with us, I insist. We have so much to catch up on.”

  “Sounds good to me. Where are we going?”

  “Why don’t you chose.” Lynette tucked her arm into Jordan’s, and they headed down the street.

  “Are you ready?” Cole offered Bri his arm.

  “Dinner with your mom, Carl, and Jordan. This is going to be so much fun.” She gave him a sarcastic smile and tucked her arm into his.

  He gave her a quick kiss, and they followed the others. “Oh, it won’t be that bad. You don’t have to come if you really don’t want to.”

  “And let that woman win? I think not. No, I’ll go just to spite her.”

  “To spite her? She invited you to come.”

  “But that doesn’t mean she actually wants me there. She’s hoping to scare me off, but it won’t work.”

  “Bri,” he sighed. “Not everything she does is a veiled threat. I talked to her, and she’s been trying to make an effort with you. You need to give her a chance.”

  “Are you serious?” She looked at him incredulously. He could not call Lynette’s passive aggressive behavior “making an effort”.

  “Yes. I want you two to get along. She’s part of my life now. I don’t want there to be all this tension between you. Give her a chance, please. For me?”

  She considered that for a moment before answering.

  “Fine, I’ll give her a chance,” she finally relented. “But I’m not wasting my time if she’s not willing to reciprocate.”

  “Fair enough,” he smiled. “You’ve already charmed my dad. I’m sure you’ll be able to work your magic on my mom, too. You might even bring Carl around,” he teased.

  “Yeah, right,” she laughed. “That guy doesn’t warm up to anyone.”

  “You may be right about that. Now, can we go and enjoy dinner?”

  “Only if you get us out of there quickly. It’s not exactly dinner I’m interested in tonight.” She gave him a sultry look. His eyes darkened, and she could tell he was no longer interested in dinner either.

  Bri tried really hard to keep her promise to Cole and give Lynette a chance. That was a lot easier to do when Lynette was back home in New Jersey. When she came to visit, it was practically impossible.

  When she was there, Lynette monopolized all of Cole’s time. She was constantly pushing her pro-NBA agenda every chance she got. She had all of these ideas about how she could stay close to him, by being his personal assistant or something, and Cole would never outright tell her no, so it just encouraged her. Of course, Bri didn’t factor into any of Lynette’s plans. In her eyes, Bri was just an obstacle blocking Cole’s path to fame and fortune. An obstacle Lynette fully intended to demolish.

  One mid-December night, Bri was waiting
in the stadium for Cole to emerge from the locker room. Lynette had come down for the game, and now Bri was stuck with her, alone, until Cole joined them. They stood off to the side, apart from the crowd, waiting in a heavy silence.

  Since Lynette refused to speak to her, Bri turned her attention to the crowd that had stuck around to get some autographs. The Blue Devils had won easily, and the fans were still bouncing with excitement from the win. She smiled to herself, knowing how much Cole enjoyed this; greeting his fans and signing autographs was his favorite part of Duke basketball.

  A moment later, her attention was drawn to the left as the crowd started cheering.

  Cole walked out, a huge smile on his face. He waved at her, signaling that he’d be over when he was done with his fans. Bri nodded, used to this routine by now, and watched as her man was swarmed by the crowd.

  Bri noticed that Lynette was eyeing her, but Bri refused to acknowledge someone who refused to acknowledge her. Instead she kept her attention focused on Cole as he made his way through the crowd. A pretty blond co-ed handed Cole something to sign, and stepped in closer to him than Bri liked, getting all up in his personal space. Bri’s eyes narrowed, and jealousy surged within her, as the girl placed her hand on Cole’s arm, laughing boisterously at something he said. Cole handed the girl her autograph and moved away, but Bri did not like the way the girl’s eyes followed Cole, and his butt, as he turned to the next fan. She had the sudden urge to go rip out a big handful of that blond hair.

  “You know, I’ve been wondering something.”

  Bri’s head whipped around, shocked that she’d actually been addressed. Lynette was watching her knowingly.

  “What is a smart girl like you doing settling down so soon? And with someone like Cole?”

  “What?” Bri was equal parts confused and indignant.

  “Look at him,” Lynette waved toward Cole, surrounded by a group of smiling, giggling girls. “You know this is just the beginning. The more popular and famous he gets, the more women are going to flock to him. They are going to do all they can to get his attention. Why would you want to stand by and watch it all happen? Why would you want to put yourself through that? I saw your face when that pretty girl over there touched his arm. You looked like you wanted to rip her arm off. She’s not the first to try to get close to him, and she won’t be the last. Things are just going to escalate, and I’m worried about you.”