Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2) (5 page)

“They’re in Cole’s room, let me just
grab them,”
someone
yelled just as the door swung open and the light flipped on.  Cole’s head
snapped up, and Bri gasped, grabbing the blanket and pulling it over herself. 
Matt stood in the doorway, completely shocked.  He withered under the weight of
Cole’s glare.

“Cole, dude, I’m sorry,”
Matt held up his
hands.  His eyes flicked over to Bri for a moment, before darting back to
Cole.  “I didn’t know you were here.  I didn’t realize I would be interrupting
anything.”
 
He
gave Cole a knowing smile.  Bri pulled the blanket over her head, groaning in
embarrassment. 

“Matt,”
Cole said slowly.  “If you don’t get
out of here right now, I’m going to beat the living crap out of you.”

“Sure, yeah, let me just grab my
headphones,”
Matt
inched over to the dresser and grabbed them.  “I’m really sorry, man,”
he laughed as he
backed out the door, finally closing it behind him.

Groaning, Cole dropped onto his
side.  After a moment, he pulled the blanket back from Bri’s face. 

“Okay, that was about the most
embarrassing thing ever,”
she laughed nervously, turning on her side to face him.

“I’m going to kill him,”
Cole shook his
head, eyeing the door.  “Matt is a dead man.”

“Good, then he can’t come looking
for his headphones again.  Why did you even have them in the first place?”

Running a hand through his hair, he
sat up.  “When Matt has a girl over, it can get a little…
loud.  I borrow his
headphones so I don’t have to listen to him and his dates.  I never thought
that’d come back to bite me in the ass.”

“Ah.  Well, next time we’re at the
mall, I’m buying you your own headphones.”
 
She sat up, pulling up her leotard.

“Wait!  What are you doing?”
 

“Come on, even you have to admit
that getting busted by your roommate was kind of a mood killer.”

“Seriously?  Oh, now I’m going to
chop him up into tiny, unrecognizable pieces.”
 
Shaking his head, he gave Bri a seductive look.  “Are you sure I can’t
change your mind?”
 
He
leaned in and placed a sultry kiss on her lips.  Bri indulged him for a minute,
but then pulled back.

“Let’s try this another time.  Maybe
when we know we won’t be interrupted,”
she smiled sadly.

“When are we
ever
going to
have guaranteed, uninterrupted time together?  It’s practically impossible.”
 

Bri cupped his pouting face in her
hands.

“We’ll figure it out, I promise,”
she kissed him
softly.  His arms wrapped around her and pulled her into him.

“But when?  I don’t think I can wait
any longer.  Not when I got so close.”

“Soon,”
she promised. She gathered up her
things, and Cole followed her reluctantly to the front door, shrugging his
shirt back on.

“Just don’t make me wait too long,
okay?”

“Don’t worry, I can’t wait much
longer either.  Goodnight,”
she kissed him goodbye.

“It almost was,”
he gave her a
lopsided grin.  “There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight.”

“Me neither.”
 
She smacked his butt as she walked
out the door.

“Ambria,”
he groaned from the doorway.  “You’re
going to be the death of me.  You know that, don’t you?”

“Of course,”
she smirked back at him.  “Why do you
think I have all the power.  See you tomorrow.  Love you.”

“Prove it,”
he challenged with a wink.  “Love you,
too.  Sweet dreams, Ambria.”

She smiled, and started off for
home.

It seemed like Bri blinked, and it
was Thanksgiving already.  Time was flying faster than she could keep up with. 
Cole’s coach had given the team the week off, and had told them to try to make
it home, since this would be their last chance until after basketball season
was over.  Classes didn’t break for Thanksgiving until Wednesday, but she and
Cole decided to skip class Tuesday and Wednesday and fly home early.  She had
even called Layla, who was in Salt Lake at the University of Utah, and
convinced her and her boyfriend, Devon, to fly home with them for
Thanksgiving.  Bri made sure she and Cole had a layover in Salt Lake, and that
the four of them would be on the same flight to California.

Bri’s alarm went off at 5:00 on
Tuesday morning, and for the first time in her life she had no trouble getting
up and ready and out the door.  She was that excited.  She picked up a still
sleep rumpled Cole, and they headed to the airport.  She spent the long flight
curled into Cole’s side, as they watched the in-flight movie, slept, and
studied.  As their plane began to descend into Salt Lake, Bri’s heart began
pounding with excitement.  She hadn’t seen Layla in months, though they talked
and texted almost every day, and she couldn’t wait to see her best friend.

The plane seemed to take it’s sweet
time landing, and she had a hard time holding still.

“Impatient much?”
Cole teased,
placing a hand on her bouncing knee.  “I’m trying not to get jealous, but I don’t
think you’ve ever been this excited to see me before.”

“Now you know that’s not true,”
she nudged his
shoulder.  “I’m like ten times worse whenever you’re coming over.  You should’ve
seen me last summer.  I couldn’t keep still to save my life.”
 
She smiled up at
him, and was rewarded with a quick kiss.  She felt the plane finally touch
down, and a huge smile spread across her face.

Cole just laughed and shook his
head.  “All I can say is that Layla is one lucky lady.”

The cabin doors opened, and it took
everything in her not to rush out of the plane, trampling everyone in her
path.  Cole’s fingers twined through hers, and he gave her a sympathetic smile
as they waited patiently, and finally made their way off the plane.  As Bri
entered the terminal she began scanning the crowd.  Her eyes instantly zeroed
in on the tall, dark haired girl rushing towards them.

“Bri!”
 
Layla squealed.  Bri dropped her bag and ran to her.  They met in the
middle of the hall, colliding into a hugging mass of laughter and tears.

“Oh, I’ve missed you.”
 
Bri knew they were
making a spectacle of themselves, but she didn’t care.

“I’ve missed you more, girl.”
 
Layla finally
pulled back, wiping tears off her cheeks, to look at Bri.  “You don’t look too
different.  Glad to see you haven’t done anything drastic without me.”

“Thanks, Lay.  You look fabulous, as
always.”
 
And
she did.  Leave it to Layla to come to the airport decked out like she was on
her way to some exclusive party.

“Hey, what about me?  What am I,
chopped liver?”
 
Devon
smiled as he stepped up beside Layla and opened his arms to Bri.  Laughing, she
hugged him.

“You’re looking good, too, Dev.  But
I think you’ve put on a few pounds since I saw you last.”
 
She teasingly
patted his flat, hard stomach.  “Seriously, though, you’ve been working out.”
 
She noticed how
much more toned and cut he was.

Layla lifted Devon’s shirt and ran
her hand over his six pack.  “I know, right?”
 
She smiled.  “It’s hard to keep my hands off.”

“Okay, that’s enough,”
Devon removed Layla’s
hand and pulled his shirt back down.  He was trying to be cool, but his face
was bright red.

“There is another perfect specimen
of a man over here for you two to drool over, you know.”
 
Cole’s wry voice drew their
attention.  “I mean, why should Devon get all the attention, when I’m right
here?”
he
flashed them a cocky smirk before Layla pulled him in for a hug.

“Oh, Cole, you know you’re still as
sexy as ever,”
she
consoled him.  “Ooh, and you’ve been working out, too.”
 
She rubbed her hand over his stomach
appreciatively.

“Easy, girl,”
Devon pulled Layla back to him.  Devon
turned to Cole, and they did the whole cool guy, bro hug thing.  “Hey man, good
to see you.”
  

“Well, you guys are probably
starving after your long flight.  Let’s go grab some food before we have to
board,”
Layla
offered.  They had about forty-five minutes before their flight.  Bri snuggled
into Cole’s side, completely happy and content as they followed Layla and Devon
through the terminal.

They talked and laughed while they
ate, getting caught up on each other’s lives, and sharing stories.  When it was
announced that their flight was boarding, Layla stopped them outside the gate.

“What seats are you guys in?”
she asked Cole.

Cole pulled out his and Bri’s
tickets to look, and Layla snatched them out of his hand.

“Sorry,”
she smiled at him, not looking sorry
at all.  She handed him her and Devon’s tickets.  “I am stealing Bri, and since
you guys have better seats, we’re taking yours.”
 
She linked her arm through Bri’s in solidarity. 

“Wait, what?”
 
Cole was about to object, but Layla
cut him off.

“You get her all to yourself every
day.  I only have her for a few days, and I am going to maximize my time to the
fullest.  So, that means that Bri and I are going to sit together, and you and
Devon are just going to have to deal with that.  Right?”
she turned to Bri.

“Right,”
Bri smiled back.  Layla raised an
eyebrow at the boys, daring them to disagree.  But they all knew better than to
argue with her.

“Alright,”
Cole relented, leaning into Bri.  “But
you’re going to have to make this up to me later.”
 
He gave her a wicked smile before
kissing her.  Then he and Devon trudged off to the back of the plane, looking
dejected.

“Wow, you’d think they’d be able to
survive without us for a couple of hours,”
Layla shook her head.  “Boys.  Come on, I meant what I said about
maximizing my Bri time.”
 
Bri laughed as Layla pulled her onto the plane.

As soon as they were in the air,
Layla pounced.  “Okay, so what is up with you and Cole?”

“What do you mean,”
Bri turned to her.

“I
mean
why on earth haven’t
you two…”
she
trailed off, glancing at the guy sitting on the other side of Bri.  She lowered
her voice.  “You know,
done it
?”

“Really, Lay?”
 
She tried to give
her friend a stern glare, but figured it was less than effective when she knew
her cheeks were bright red.  “You want to talk about this here?”

“Yes.  Who knows when I’ll get
another chance to talk to you alone.  And I really don’t think you want to have
this discussion in front of Cole.  Or your dad.”
 
Layla arched her brow at her.

“Alright, fine,”
she relented,
hoping that the guy next to her wouldn’t be able to hear her over the drone of
the engine.  She was immensely grateful when he put on some headphones.  At
least she had the illusion of privacy.  Taking a breath, and feeling her face
redden even more, she looked at Layla.  “It’s not like we haven’t tried.”

“What?”
 
Layla quickly checked her voice.  “When
did this happen.  I thought you were still in the “waiting”
phase.  Why didn’t
you tell me?”

“It was a few weeks ago.  And it was
so humiliating, I didn’t want to tell anyone.”

“Oh no, this sounds bad.  Start from
the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.  I want every last detail here,”
Layla demanded. 
She made herself more comfortable and leaned in excitedly. 

So Bri told her the whole sordid
story, including the part where Matt had barged in and interrupted them.

“It’s not funny!”
Bri exclaimed as
Layla rolled with laughter.

“I know, I’m sorry.  You’re right. 
That is awful.”
 
Layla
got ahold of herself and gave Bri a sympathetic smile.

“It was worse than awful.  I
seriously wished I could die, right there.  I still can’t look at Matt without
turning beet red.  It was definitely not how I envisioned our first time.  It
was a disaster.”

“Oh, honey,”
Layla pulled Bri in for a hug.  “It
doesn't sound that bad.”
 
Bri pulled back and glared at her.  “No, seriously.  It just sounds like
bad timing to me.  You two just need to find some guaranteed alone time.”
 

“Yeah, that’s easier said than
done.  Between classes, practices, study groups, art clinics, homework, and
four roommates, we hardly have
any
time together.  Alone time is a rare
and precious commodity, trust me.”

“Yeah, I see your point.  Devon and
I have a lot of those same problems.  We are rarely alone, too.  In fact, it’s
making it easier for us to wait.”

“You two are still waiting?”
 
Bri was
impressed.  She’d thought for sure Layla would’ve caved to her hormones, dream
wedding on the line or not. 

“Yep.  Devon says he’s okay with it,
but sometimes I think he’s lying.  Heck, sometimes
I
’m
lying
about being okay with it.  But this is something that’s really important to
me.  I have always wanted to wait until I’m married.  I guess I’m old fashioned
like that.  But Devon understands, and he’s supportive.  His family is pretty
religious, so it’s something that’s important to him, too.  We’re on the same
page at least, but it’s still not easy.”

“I think it’s great,”
Bri smiled at her
friend.  “And you’re not old fashioned, just unique.  There’s nothing wrong
with having morals and sticking to them.”

“See, this is why you are my
bestie.  Everyone else thinks I’m totally nuts.  But you get me and support me,
no matter what.”
 
Layla
smiled warmly.

“You’re my girl,”
Bri grinned back.  “I
told you before, I’m here for you.  I’ll stand behind you, whatever you choose.”

“Aw, thanks babe,”
Layla hugged her. 
Both girls pulled back, a little misty eyed. 

“Plus, I already know that you’re
totally nuts.  I just don’t care.”

“Hey!”
 
Layla smacked her arm, and they both laughed.  “I miss this, being
together.  Talking on the phone just isn’t the same.”

“I know,”
Bri leaned in and rested her head on
Layla’s shoulder.

“You haven’t replaced me out there
in North Carolina, have you.  Because if you have, I’ll fly out there tomorrow
and bust this girl’s knee caps.”

“Not a chance.  No one could ever
replace you.  I couldn’t handle another Layla on my hands,”
she teased.  “You’d
better not replace me, either.  I don’t have your violent streak, but that
doesn’t mean you’d get away with getting a new best friend.”

“Never,”
Layla wrapped her arm around Bri.  “No
one else would put up with me.”

The girls enjoyed the rest of their
flight, and as the plane touched down, Bri got that antsy, excited feeling
again and her leg started bouncing.  Her family was picking her up at the
baggage claim, and she couldn’t wait to see them.  Especially her brothers. 
She had missed them terribly.   

The four of them walked down to the
baggage claim together, where they would part ways for a few days.

“I don’t care how busy your family,
or Cole, has you, I’m claiming one afternoon for me,”
Layla looked at her sternly.  “I’m
serious.  And if you ever find you have some free time, you are required to
call me first.  Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.  Don’t worry Lay,”
Bri pulled her in
for a hug.  “You’ll see so much of me, you’ll be begging me to go back to Duke.”

“Alright, then.  I see my mom and
dad over there, so I guess this is goodbye for now.  Love you, girl.”
 
Layla squeezed her
tight.  “You’d better call me.”

“Definitely,”
Bri squeezed back.  “Love you, too,
Lay.”
 
She
waved at Devon as he led Layla over to her waiting family.

“Ah, that’s better,”
Cole slid his arm
around her.  “I’ve missed you.  I don’t think I like sharing you, not even with
your best friend.”

Bri went up on her tip toes and
pressed a quick kiss to his lips.  “I missed you, too.”
 

“
Bri
!”

Bri turned and saw two little boys
barreling her way.  She dropped her bag and rushed to meet them.

“Monkeys!”
 
She laughed as they almost tackled her
in the middle of the terminal.  “Oh, I’ve missed you
so
much!”
 
She couldn’t stop
the happy tears that trailed down her cheeks as she hugged her brothers as
tight as she could.  They’d grown since the summer, she noticed, and when she
kneeled down, they were almost as tall as she was.  But their little blond
heads still fit right under her chin.

“Cole!”
Liam and Logan yelled and then
attacked Cole as well.

“Hey, Sweet Pea.”
 
Bri looked up to
see her dad and Summer standing over them.  Smiling, she jumped up and threw
her arms around her dad.  “Oh, it’s so good to see you,”
he said before finally releasing her. 

“Thanks, Dad, I’ve missed you, too. 
Hi, Summer.”
 
She
and Summer exchanged a quick, and slightly awkward hug.  Things between them
had been slowly improving since Bri had left for college.  If Bri’s dad wasn’t
home when she called, she and Summer would actually talk for a minute, instead
of rushing off the phone like they used to.  They were making slow progress,
but at least it was progress.