Better With You: A Bragan University Novel

by Gabriela, Gianna

  I look at the seat where I know my girl is, and I start walking to her. A few people pat me on the back. Some ask me to sign merchandise or parts of their body. Some even ask to take a picture. Normally, I’d probably grunt and keep moving, but I’m on a high and nothing can ruin my mood.

  Suddenly, a female reporter shoves a microphone in my face. “Colton, you made an incredible comeback!”

  “Our team did,” I correct.

  “They looked ready to throw in the towel at the end of the first half. What did you tell them to get them back in the game?” she presses.

  “I just told them it’s not over until the clock runs out,” I respond. My eyes are focused behind her to where I know Mia is.

  “How do you plan on celebrating this victory?”

  I look back at the reporter. “With my team and with my family.”

  “Do you think you’ll go pro?”

  I avoid her question, my attention once again on getting to Mia. “I’m just extremely lucky to have the opportunity to play right now.”

  “I can see you’re looking for someone in the crowd. Do you have someone special you played for?” the reporter asks, trying to keep up with me as I walk.

  “I played for my girl,” I say, a dorky-ass smile on my face. I can’t help it. I will claim her as mine whenever I can. Shit, calling her mine is something I’ve waited a long time to do, and the fact that I can do it freely now makes me the luckiest bastard alive.

  I pick up the pace, leaving the reporter and her questions behind. I find myself jogging, desperate to get to her. There is no one else I’d rather share this moment with. I make it to the fifty-yard line and find her standing with her back to me talking to my dad and Kiya. It gives me the chance to see my last name printed on her back. I hop over the small wall that separates us.

  “One day, my last name won’t just be on the back of your shirt,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her in close.

  She turns around and smiles. “Oh yeah?” Her eyes take in my uniform and I can tell she likes what she sees. She runs her fingers over my chest, lingering for a moment before dropping her hand.

  “If you’ll let me, it’ll soon follow your given name.”

  “Mia Collins-Hunter. It has a nice ring to it. Would you be Colton Hunter-Collins, too?”

  “If you agree to be mine, I’ll be anything you want me to be.”

  “Baby, I’ve already agreed to be yours. I love you,” she tells me.

  “I love you, Mia.” I pull her towards me, kissing her slowly at first before my need rises and we get lost in the moment. With this perfect kiss, she makes me forget we’re in a public place. I break our connection, cupping her face in my hands. I stare into her beautiful eyes, wondering how I got so damn lucky.

  “You are so precious to me.” I kiss her lips once again, then her nose and finally her forehead. “Mia, everything is better with you.”

  Epilogue

  COLTON

  I place my hand on Mia’s knee to stop it from bouncing. “Babe, calm down.”

  “You say it like I want to be nervous! I have no choice.”

  “Yeah you do, it’s just dinner.”

  “It’s just dinner he says,” she mocks me, and I can’t help but smile.

  “It is, babe.”

  “It’s dinner at your dad’s place.”

  “Yeah, and?” I ask pulling into my father’s driveway. For the first time in a while I’m happy to be home. Happy to spend time with my family, and happy to have my girl right here with me.

  “They’re the most important people in your life,” she practically yells as I turn off the car.

  “You’ve met them before.”

  “Yes, but not all at the same time. And not as—”

  “As the most important person in my life?” I ask, quoting her earlier words while staring at my beautiful girlfriend. Girlfriend doesn’t seem like an adequate word to describe her. She’s more like my partner, and I’m so fucking lucky to have her. So fucking lucky that she decided to give me a chance because even though I didn’t lay a hand on Abbigail, I’m still not worthy of Mia.

  I don’t think I’ll ever be, but that won’t stop me from trying to be good enough for her every day until I don’t have any days left.

  “No, as your girlfriend meeting the most important people in your life,” she says and I catch her hand before she swats me on the shoulder.

  “Babe, they know. You’ve met my dad, and he thinks you’re good for me. You’ve met Nick, and I’m sure if it weren’t because you’re mine and he knows I’d kill him, he’d be trying to put the moves on you,” I say, bringing my lips to her hand and placing a kiss there. “And Kaitlyn, well, if she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t have begged you to take me back,” I tell her trying to calm her nerves. She doesn’t really know what’s waiting for her when she gets inside.

  “You promise it’ll be okay?” she asks, and I see the vulnerability in her eyes. I know how important family is for her. Family is everything for this gorgeous girl sitting next to me. The one that believed she could do it all alone, but when her father came knocking, she opened herself up for a tentative relationship with him too. She’s since met her little sister, and even the new woman in her father’s life.

  This girl’s heart is so big no wonder she’s made room there for me.

  “I promise you,” I answer, kissing her forehead.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” she says full of that determination I love. I exit the car and run over to her side.

  “You know you don’t have to open the door for me every time,” she says. I don’t respond. Instead I bring my lips to hers, giving her some strength while she gives me the same.

  MIA

  “Would you two please stop making out in dad’s driveway and get inside. I’m fucking hungry!” I break the kiss and see Nick watching us from the front door.

  “Fuck off,” Colton responds, bringing his lips to mine once more.

  “Watch your mouth,” Colton’s father says, and I break the kiss immediately. William is standing behind Nick, his arm resting on his son’s shoulder while he watches Colton with a gleam in his eyes. I can see the love he has for his son, and the pride he feels is palpable.

  “We’ll continue this later,” Colton whispers in my ear, holding my hand as we head inside. We follow Nick and William and make our way to what I believe is the dining room.

  “Happy Birthday!” Everyone yells at once, and I see the room is filled with balloons and decorations. There’s even a giant cake sitting in the middle of the table.

  I turn back and look at Colton, whose gorgeous smile makes me feel a thousand times happier. “How did you know?”

  “I may owe Kiya a few favors.”

  Of course she told him. My roommate has been on team Colton since the beginning. I get on my tippy-toes, closing the distance between us to show him how grateful I am for this. For how much he cares about me and how he shows it. The last birthday I had was after Mom passed, and that one wasn’t worthy of celebration.

  “Okay, that’s enough. Save it for the wedding night!” William says from across the room, and the butterflies I fought so hard against in the beginning start fluttering within me.

  “Seriously, I call maid of honor!” Kaitlyn chimes in, smiling at me. We both know she’d have to fight Kiya for that role. I’m amazed at how much closer Kaitlyn and I have gotten. She distanced herself from Abbigail after Abbigail tried to screw over her brother and me. All that Kaitlyn needed was good friends, and she’s found that in Kiya and me.

  “Best man sitting over here!” Nick adds, pointing at himself.

  “Can we get married tomorrow?” Colton asks. I roll my eyes. While we won’t be getting married tomorrow, I know we’ve just begun and there’s no doubt in my mind that in the future, this man and I will still be together.

  “No,” I tell him, chuckling. I can’t believe this is the conversation we’re having right now.

 
“Soon though. I’m only getting older and I need me some grandbabies!” Colton’s father states, and everyone roars with laughter.

  “Soon,” Colton assures his dad and my heart melts.

  I look around me not only at the decorations in the room but the people. The people I’ve met at different times, whom have had struggles to overcome. The people who could have been torn apart by life, but somehow were resilient and have remained together.

  “Thank you all so much for this.”

  “You’re family,” Nick says.

  “You’re one of us,” William says, echoing his son’s sentiment.

  “You already know Colton is going to make you Mrs. Hunter,” Kaitlyn adds, making me smile.

  “You’re already a Hunter. You have been since the day I first laid eyes on you,” Colton finishes and tears brim in my eyes because although we haven’t known each other for long, I already feel like I’m a part of his life—a part of his family.

  “I love you,” I tell him.

  “And I love you. I always will.”

  Author’s Note

  I started writing this book in January 2017 and stopped so many times. I thought it was never going to be finished. I decided to give it up and started writing something else. But a couple of months later, the characters started talking to me again. They wouldn’t let me sleep, so I finally wrote Mia & Colton the story they wanted. I told myself, that even if no one liked it, I did and that’s what mattered. So, I pushed myself and wrote as many words as I could until it was finished.

  The main lesson I wanted this book to leave you with is that you need others to make you better. Better With You, to me, means that another person can lift you up and help you instead of put you down. We are no damsels in distress waiting for our knight in shining armor. The man of our dreams is allowed to have moments of weakness, and that’s what I wanted you to see with M&C.

  Mia and Colton make each other stronger, make each other better, and that’s why I love them.

  This book was also a way for me to give back. I met some wonderful girls while on Spring Break who changed my life. They were survivors of human sex trafficking, and they were as young as 5 years old. It broke my heart, and so I wanted to bring it up in this book. Those girls taught me so much, I wanted to give back in whatever way I could.

  They made me want to do better. Want to be better.

  About the Author

  Gianna Gabriela is originally from Rhode Island. She’s a small-town girl living in the Big Ol’ City of New York. She considers herself a writer of gorgeous alpha-males and strong heroines. She’s been reading for years and calls it her addiction. Her favorite genre is anything in the YA/NA Romance Realm.

  She loves the saying that “a room without books is like a body without a soul.” Her favorite color is black, she loves most sports, and doesn’t like painting her nails because it takes a lot of work to remove the nail polish.

  Need more?

  Here’s what to read next…

  Bragan University Series

  Better With You

  Fighting For You

  COMING SOON

  Falling For You (2019)

  Waiting For You (2019)

  Finally With You (2020)

  The Not Alone Novellas

  Not the Same (Book #1)

  Not the End (Book #2)

  COMING SOON

  Not Alone (Book #3)

  Fighting For You

  Bragan University Series - book two

  Fighting For You (Bragan University Series #2)

  Jesse Falcon has dedicated his life to one cause: to fight against that which has taken so much from him.

  He’s learned the hard way that if you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself.

  No more waiting for others to make a difference.

  With football, a pre-med program and a coveted internship, he has no time for anything or anyone else. The truth is, he doesn’t think his barely healed heart can take it.

  Despite his determination to remain distant, he soon finds a girl who will not only fracture that resolve but shatter it completely.

  Zoe Evans is an average college student.

  She has a group of friends, and enough gossip lingers in the halls to make her days interesting.

  Her whole world changes in a heartbeat though - one blackout, and a week-long fever forces her into a battle she isn’t prepared to fight.

  The odds are stacked against her.

  Will she have the strength to prevail?

  Prologue

  Jesse Falcon

  Every time I near her door, I struggle to go inside. I hate being in the hospital. The smell is a mixture of things, all inescapable. The most prevalent is the jumble of two emotions—happiness and sorrow. Some people laugh. Some people cry; it all depends on the day.

  I force myself to stand outside her door for a few more minutes. Who would’ve thought that I’d be here? Who would’ve thought I’d be spending my afternoons in a hospital entertaining her while she fights for her life? Not me. And I’m sure as hell she didn’t expect to be here either.

  No one should expect to be here because no one ever should.

  Although my feet want to remain frozen, I take a deep breath and force myself to knock. I wait a few minutes, but no one answers. I press my ear to the door, hearing no noises coming from the other side. Maybe she’s sleeping. I should come back another time, I tell myself but I know I’m just trying to find a reason not to go into that room. Instead, I do what anyone in my position would do; I fight my cowardice, my desire to run away.

  I open the door and let myself in. I’m immediately greeted by an empty space. Even for a hospital, it looks too clinical. The bed is made, the machines have been put away, and the flowers that were here yesterday are gone. There’s no sign that someone was here. No sign that she had been here before.

  Immediately, I get the feeling that something is wrong.

  Zoe Evans

  Cancer.

  That is the word ringing in my ears.

  I have cancer.

  Cancer.

  Me.

  I have it.

  The word continues to loop like a bad sound track in my mind. It’s on repeat, but I struggle to comprehend it. I hear my mother’s cry, and turn in her direction just in time to see my father bringing his arms around her to keep her suddenly limp body from hitting the ground. Her reaction is what tells me I’ve heard the doctor right.

  I think back at how I ended up here. One second, I was on the phone with my mother, telling her about this fever that wouldn’t go away. Even with the fever, I remember telling her how excited I was to finally get a break from school and spend my time with her and dad. She kept insisting I get myself to the hospital, but I refused. I thought it was nothing… But it persisted. The fever didn’t go away, so I finally decided to listen to my mother.

  A fever. That’s all I thought I had, but I was wrong.

  I have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

  Leukemia.

  Cancer.

  Me.

  I have it.

  The rest of the doctor’s words are lost on me as I feel as if I’m not really in my body anymore, I’m not in this room anymore. Suddenly, I’m lightheaded and my vision blurs.

  “Are you okay, Zoe?” I think I hear someone say, but before I can answer, everything goes dark.

  Chapter One

  The Treatment

  Zoe

  Three months. That’s how long it’s been since the day I arrived at this hospital. That’s how long it’s been since I was told that if I wanted to live, I was going to have to fight. I didn’t get the luxury of just having a life; I had to work for it—I had to beat cancer.

  I’ve had ninety days of treatment, each of which I’ve lived in a hospital, only seeing the outside world through windows and glass doors. With that passage of time, I’ve lost a lot, including the desire to continue fighting.

  Doctors come in and out of th
e room like it’s got a revolving door. That part hasn’t changed since the day I arrived. Something else that hasn’t changed is my parents. Well, I guess they’ve changed a little. They’ve become more informed, learned everything they could about Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Not only have they made it their mission to educate themselves, but they’ve educated me on it too. They’ve even started calling it “ALL” which, they tell me, is the medical acronym for it. The doctors say ALL is the most common childhood cancer, and although I’m not a child, it didn’t want to exclude me.

  The crazy thing is that because ALL is a childhood cancer, the only place that can treat it is the Children’s Hospital. So, despite being an adult, that’s where I’ve been. In a way, I’m lucky that I’m in a place where the walls are brightly painted and the nurses are kind. Still, seeing other kids fight this disease is probably harder than seeing the adults. Kids have so much life ahead of them that they may not even get to live.

  Another thing my parents told me is that cancer research funds don’t necessarily award children’s cancer research the same amount of money. When I found out why, I was pissed. Apparently, cancer research for children isn’t a lucrative business since the kids can’t pay for it. And when you’re not old enough to vote, Congress doesn’t give a shit about what happens. They don’t answer to you, so they don’t have to pass policies or budgets that will help find a cure. Instead, they hide under the excuse that “childhood cancer is rare” and so researching it doesn’t make sense.