Certified Disaster (Beautiful Mess Book 2) Read Free Page B

“Guess you’ll
just have to wait and see.”
    “Ahh, I knew you’d had that scheming
look lately.”   A
huge grin spread across his face.  “Well, I can’t wait to see what that devious
brain of yours comes up with.”
    “I can guarantee you won’t be
disappointed,”she
smiled.  “Now, you’d better finish the rest of your lunch before you starve to
death.”   She
watched in awe as he finished his mass of food.  In his defense, it took a lot
to maintain all that muscle.  She eyed his arms and chest appreciatively.  Cole
had been lifting weights for basketball, and she couldn’t help but admire the
results. 
    On Thursday night, Bri was trying to
decide which dress to wear the next night when her phone rang.  Smiling, she
answered.
    “Hey sexy!  How was practice?”
    “It was good.  I’m freaking
exhausted, but it was good.  Hey, I don’t know what all you have planned for
tomorrow, but the guys on the team found out it was my birthday and they are
throwing me a little party.”
    “Oh,”she stiffened. 
    “Is there any way we could go?  We
could still do everything you wanted, and then stop by after?”he asked
hesitantly.
    “Um, yeah, I guess.  It’s your
birthday, you should do whatever you want.”   Disappointment coursed through her as Bri saw all her carefully made
plans crumble.  “I’d just planned dinner, and then a trip out to the lake, but
we can go to the party instead, if that’s what you want.”
    “Are you sure?  You don’t sound too
happy.”
    “It’s fine,”she replied stiffly, trying not to
feel betrayed and hurt that her plans were less important than some party.
    “Bri…If it’s a big deal to you, we don’t have to go,”Cole sighed wearily.
    A big deal?  Why would her weeks of
planning be a big deal?  Why would losing her virginity be a big deal? 
She tried to reign in her escalating anger. 
    “No, Cole, it’s fine.  We can go to
the party.  It’s good.”
    “Okay, if you’re sure?”   He didn’t sound
convinced.
    “Yep,”she replied curtly.  “Okay, I’m gonna let you go.  I have to finish up
some homework.  I’ll see you at the game tomorrow.”
    “Okay, I guess.  Bye, Bri.”
    “Yeah, bye.”
    Bri hung up the phone, trying not to
feel upset and disappointed.  Well, that took the whole sex dilemma out of her
hands.  She wouldn’t be turning in her V-card this weekend after all.  But she
couldn’t help but feel a little passed over, like Cole’s teammates and their
plans were more important than her.  Trying to distract herself, she pulled out
her books to study, but she couldn’t shake her frustration. 
    A few minutes later there was a
knock on the door.  Startled, she opened it and found Cole standing there.
    “Hey, what’s up?”she asked flatly.
    Cole immediately pulled her into his
arms.  “You know you are the only one I want to spend my birthday with, right? 
And knowing you, you’ve probably put a lot of thought and effort into whatever
it is you’re planning.  You probably have spread sheets and flow charts and
every last detail accounted for,”he joked, and Bri laughed, relaxing against him.  “We don’t have to go
to the party.  I want to do what you want to do tomorrow night.  I am
all yours.”
    Touched by his concern and his
sweetness, Bri’s frustration dissipated, and she realized she was being a bit
unfair.  She squeezed him tight before pulling back to look at him.
    “It’s okay, really.  We can go to
the party.  They’re your team and your friends, and it’s great that they care
about you enough to do something like this for you.  It’s important that you go
and spend some time with them, too.”   She smiled up at him earnestly.
    “Are you sure?  Because you are the
most important thing in my life.  There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. 
You know that, right?”   His eyes, green tonight thanks to his old Mt. Dew t-shirt, bore into
hers.
    Suddenly teary-eyed,