Beautiful Mess (5 page)

“That
sounds great!”  And it did sound great.  Her heart gave a leap, and
she felt a stirring of excitement.  “Well, I’d better go make sure Carly
hasn’t pissed off any more locals.  Bye, Cole,” she smiled, blushing
slightly.

“Bye,
Bri.  See you Saturday,” he smiled back.

Bri
couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. And not even Carly’s anger fueled
ranting and raving could dampen her spirits.

The
next few days seemed to drag by, as if time itself was conspiring to prolong
Bri’s misery.  Carly was a writhing, fuming mass of anger that nobody
could stand to be around.  Bri tried to avoid her as much as possible, but
there were only so many places to hide.  Her dad even took Friday off of
work and took the family to Disneyland in the hopes of cheering Carly up a bit,
but to no avail.  By the end of the day, even Bri’s little brothers had
had enough of Carly’s constant whining and complaining.  It was so bad,
that Connor insisted that his daughter take Carly to the airport by herself the
next day. 

“Why
drag the whole family all the way there and back?” he had justified
himself.  “It’ll be easier for everyone if you just take her.”

Bri
saw right through her dad, but he rarely asked her for favors like this, so she
relented and agreed to take one for the team.  Plus, she needed visual
confirmation that Carly was leaving the state and not coming back, before she
could relax.

“You
so owe me,” she shook her head.

“Yes
I do,” her dad had agreed. 

So
the next morning, way too bright and early for a Saturday, Bri and Carly headed
out for the airport.  The only good news was that Carly was in a silent,
pouty mood that morning, and didn’t say much the whole way.  Bri pulled up
to the curb in the departures lane and turned to her cousin.

“Well,
thanks for coming to visit.”  She tried to sound genuine, but
failed.  “It was fun and all.  I hope you had a good time.  I’m
not sure if we’ll be out to Phoenix anytime soon, so I’m not sure when we’ll
see you again.  But, it probably won’t be for a long time.”  Thank
goodness.

“Bri,”
Carly interrupted, obviously not having heard anything Bri had just said. 
“I want you to do me a favor.”

“Okay...”
Bri replied warily.  She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be doing any favors
for Carly, no matter what she asked.

“If
you ever happen to see Cole again, I want you to kick him in the balls for
me.  Maybe then he’ll learn how to treat a lady.”  Carly yanked on
the door handle and climbed out of the car.

Bri
just sat there gaping, as Carly collected her suitcase from the back seat and
walked into the terminal without a backward glance or a wave goodbye.

“What
a bitch,” Bri muttered to herself.  She didn’t like to label or demean
those of the female gender, but there were a few who wholly deserved it.

As
Bri drove home, she let out a sigh of relief.  A huge weight had been
lifted from her, and she was glad to be rid of it.  She had survived
Carly’s visit, if just barely.  Now there was nothing to prevent her from
looking forward to her date that night. 

Except
the task of convincing her dad to let her go.

When
Bri returned home, her family was just finishing breakfast.  Even they
seemed relieved Carly was gone.  She poured herself a bowl of cereal and
joined them at the table.

“Carly
get off okay?” her dad asked.

“Yep. 
And hopefully she won’t be coming back anytime soon!”

“Yay!”
her brothers cheered and ran off to enjoy their Carly-free day.

Connor
shook his head.  “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” he
asked Bri.

“Well,”
she began, “I was wondering if it’d be okay if I went out tonight with a friend
I met at the beach?”

“A
friend, huh?  Now, would this be a girl friend or a guy friend?”

Dang
it, sometimes Bri’s dad was too perceptive for his own good.  She had
really hoped he wouldn’t ask that.

“A
guy friend,” she replied lightly.

“And
does this guy friend have a name?”

“Cole.”

“Cole…
what?”

“Um,
I don’t know.”  Bri realized she had never thought to ask his last name.

“Okay,”
Connor was skeptical.  “And how old is Cole?”

“He’s
my age.  He’s going to be a senior this year at Santa Monica High,
too.”  Bri hoped that would help alleviate some of his reservations.

“And
where would you be going?”

“I’m
going to meet him down at the pier.  We’re going to grab some dinner and
hang out.”

“You
mean, like a date,” Connor said flatly.  Again, Bri had hoped to avoid
that particular detail.  “So, let me get this straight.  You want me
to let you out in a strange city, at night, with a strange boy you know almost
nothing about.  A boy
I
know nothing about.  Some boy you met
at the beach and decided to go on a date with?  Absolutely not!”

“Dad,
please!  You’re being completely unreasonable!  He goes to my
school.  He lives around here, too.  Weren’t you just saying a few
days ago that I should get out and make some new friends?”

“I
meant
girl
friends!  I didn’t mean for you to go out and find some
guy to hook up with!”

“I
wouldn’t do that, and you know it,” Bri was slightly offended.  “
Please
?”

“No.”

“Dad!”

“No!”

“Connor!”
Summer jumped into the conversation, surprising Bri.  “You really are
being a bit unreasonable.  Bri is a smart, responsible girl.  She’s
not going to put herself into a situation she can’t handle.  This boy goes
to her school.  She’s driving herself.  And the pier is close enough
she could walk home if she needed to.  I don’t see what the problem is.”

Connor
had nothing to say.  Bri had also been shocked into silence.  Summer
rarely ever came to her defense.

Bri
wasn’t very close with her stepmom.  They didn’t hate each other, or fight
all the time, but Bri had learned long ago that she didn’t rate highly on
Summer’s list of priorities.  Of course, Summer wasn’t high on Bri’s list
of priorities, either.  They had nothing in common, and never really
talked, about anything.  In fact they both tried to stay out of each
other’s lives as much as possible.  About the only thing they did have in
common was their love for Bri’s dad and brothers.  Bri might not care much
for Summer, but she loved her half-brothers more than anything.  The only
thing that redeemed Summer in Bri’s eyes was the fact that Summer made it clear
that Connor and the boys were her top priority, and she gave them everything
she had.  It was the knowledge that Summer would always take care of the
three people Bri loved most in the world that kept the peace between
them.  So, the fact that Summer had taken Bri’s side on something was
nothing short of astonishing.

After
a meaningful glance from his wife, Connor finally relented.

“Okay,
you can go,” he sighed.

Bri
smiled and threw her arms around her dad.  “Thanks, Daddy!”  She
looked up at Summer, and felt she should add, “And thank you, too.”

“He
was wrong,” Summer waved it off.  “It’s as simple as that.  He needs
to learn to stop babying you.  Just make sure you are careful.  I
don’t want to have to eat my words later.”

“Okay,”
Bri nodded.

“And,
you’ll be home by eleven.  Until I get to know this kid, no late nights
for you.”

“Okay,
Dad,” Bri shook her head.  Her dad seemed to think that as long as she was
home before midnight she couldn’t get into trouble.  What parents didn’t
seem to get was the fact that if you wanted to get into trouble, you could do
so anytime of the night,  or the day for that matter.  But Bri wasn’t
about to argue about her curfew.  She gave her dad a quick peck on the
cheek, and rushed to her room to figure out was she was going to wear that
night. 

A
little before seven, Bri parked her silver Mazda3, took a deep breath, and got
out of her car.  She had finally settled on a royal blue, ruffled,
halter-style tank and cream cardigan, with a pair of jean shorts and her
leopard print ballet flats.  Her long, normally straight auburn hair hung
in soft curls down her back.  She started towards the pier, scanning the
crowd for Cole.

She
came to an abrupt halt when she spotted him, her mouth falling open.  Cole
stood there in a charcoal grey button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to
his elbows.  His dark jeans hugged his narrow hips, and a pair of dark
boots replaced his usual flip flops.  His black hair hung in his eyes as
he waited for her.  Bri had never seen anything hotter in her life. 
She had an almost irresistible urge to rush up to him and kiss him, hard. 

Cole’s
luscious, begging to be kissed lips turned up in a smile as he finally spotted
her.  His eyes roamed over her from head to toe, before meeting her golden
brown eyes with an appreciative smile.  She started towards him, a blush
creeping into her cheeks.

“Hi,”
she smiled, feeling suddenly nervous and shy.

“Hi,”
he replied, and nervously shoved his hands in his pockets.  Neither of
them said anything for a moment.

The
circumstances surrounding  their acquaintance had changed, and they were
both at a loss as to how to behave, or what to say.  A few awkward moments
passed, while Bri begged her brain to come up with something witty to
say.  Heck, she’d settle for a coherent sentence at this point. 
Thankfully, her brain finally bailed her out.

“You
clean up nicely,” she smiled at him.

He
laughed.  “Thank you.  You clean up pretty nicely yourself.” 
This seemed to break the tension, and they both visibly relaxed.  “Are you
hungry?  There’s a great Mexican place across the street.”

“Sounds
fabulous!  I’m starving.”

“This
way then,” Cole motioned her across the street and then fell into step beside
her.

“Hey,
Cole, I realized something earlier.  I don’t even know your last name,”
she said, slightly embarrassed.

“You’re
right,” he laughed.  “How did we miss that one? Coleston Marra,” he gave a
slight bow.  “Nice to meet you...?”

“Ambria
Donnelly.”

“Ambria? 
Wow, that’s really pretty!”

“Thanks,”
Bri blushed at the compliment.  “Coleston Marra...” she considered his
name.  “I like it!”

“Ambria
Donnelly… hmm.  I’ve got to be honest, I’ve heard better!” Cole
teased.  Bri playfully shoved his arm as they both laughed.  “Well
Ambria… do you mind if I call you Ambria?”

“Nope,
not at all.”

“Well,
Ambria, here we are,” he opened the door for her, and she walked into the
quaint restaurant.  They were seated at a cozy booth in the back.

“Okay,”
Cole began with a smile, “I seriously want to know everything about you.”

“Really?”
Bri asked.  “Why?”

“Well,
because you’re interesting, and pretty, and completely different from all the
other girls I’ve known.”

Bri
decided to pounce on that statement.  “Oh?  And you’ve known a lot of
girls, have you?” she teased.

“A
lot, yes.  Intimately, not as many.”

Bri’s
mouth dropped, and she blushed at that implication.

“Oh,
no,” Cole looked horrified.  “I didn’t mean
that
kind of
intimately!  I… I meant that I more than just casually knew them. 
Great,” he ran a hand through his hair.  “That doesn’t sound any
better.  Maybe I should start over and try this again.”

Bri
chuckled at how flustered and embarrassed he was.

“Okay,”
he began again.  “I have a lot of casual… acquaintances that happen to be
girls.  Most of which I wouldn’t really even call friends.  The few
girls I do consider friends, I’m still not really close to.  We talk, but
not about anything really important.  Do you know what I mean?”  Bri
nodded.  “Good.  Well, of all my girl friends, there are only maybe a
handful that I would call real, close friends, where we know each other well
enough to talk about the important stuff.”  Cole let out a breath. 
“That’s what I meant.”

“Got
it,” Bri chuckled, and thankfully the waitress came over then to take their
order, and derailed the awkwardness.  Something Cole had said triggered
another question in Bri’s mind.  After the waitress, who didn’t even try
to be subtle as she fawned over Cole, left, Bri decided to broach the subject.

“So,
what about
girlfriends
?  As in relationships?”

“Just
one,” Cole smiled, a bit uncomfortably.

“Currently,
or in the past?”  Bri realized this was probably something she should’ve
found out before agreeing to go out with him.

“In
the past,” he quickly clarified.  “Last year.  Well, last school year
anyway.”

“So,
what happened?”  As soon as she spoke the words, she wished she could take
them back.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.  It’s not any of
my business, and I didn’t mean to pry,” she apologized quickly.

“Don’t
worry about it,” he assured her.  “Things just didn’t work out. 
Let’s leave it at that.”  Bri smiled and nodded.  “How about
you?  How many boyfriends do you have stashed in the closet?” he grinned.

“Just
one.  It ended earlier this year.”

“And,
what happened?”

“Apparently,
things between us weren’t as wonderful as I thought, and it just didn’t work
out.  Let’s leave it at that,” she smiled sadly.

“I’ll
drink to that,” Cole lifted his Mountain Dew.  Bri lifted her Dr. Pepper,
they clinked glasses.  “Alright, back to you, and you spilling every last
detail about yourself,” Cole rubbed his hands together hungrily.

“Hey,
that’s not fair,” she protested with a smile.  “I want to know about you,
too.  If you want me to spill, you have to, also.”

“Alright,
but I get to start.”  Cole got a wicked gleam in his eye that made Bri a
bit nervous.  “There is something I’ve been dying to know since the day we
met.  Where is this tattoo of  yours, and what is it?”

Bri
laughed and pulled her hair back from her right ear.  Right below her
earlobe was a small, white calla lily.  She usually kept it hidden under
her hair.  It didn’t surprise her that he had never spotted it.

Cole
stared at her neck, mesmerized for a moment.

“Wow,”
he said, seemingly to himself.  “That is the sexiest thing I think I’ve
ever seen.”  Snapping out of his trance, Cole’s eyes quickly darted up to
Bri’s and he smiled, embarrassed.  He cleared his throat.  “Okay,
then, moving on.  What about your family?”

Bri
let her hair fall back into place.  “Dad, stepmom, twin three year old
brothers.  How about you?”

“It’s
just me and my dad.”

“Where
did you grow up?  Have you always lived here?”

“Born
and raised right here in L.A.  My dad and I have moved around the area a
bit, but we’ve been here in Santa Monica for a little over three years
now.  Alright, something a little tougher…  Favorite movie, TV show,
and book.”

“Hmm. 
Shakespeare in Love, The Vampire Diaries, and Pride and Prejudice. 
Yours?”

“Well,
I’m not much into books, but The Matrix, and Top Gear, British version.” 

“Get
out!” Bri exclaimed.  “I love Top Gear!  They have the coolest cars
on that show.  And Clarkson is freaking hilarious!  If I ever get
famous, I’m so going on that show.”

“Wow,
I wouldn’t have pegged you for a car girl,” Cole looked impressed.  “That
just made you even  hotter!” he winked.

"Yeah,
thanks,” she shook her head.  “So, what do you want to be when you grow
up?”

“Ah,
getting to the meaty stuff already.  Well, if I could be anything I
wanted, I think I’d be an artist.  But, as my dad likes to remind me, a
starving artist can’t support himself, or anyone else.  So, to be honest,
I’m not really sure yet.  Something will come to me, eventually,” he gave
a lopsided smile.

“Your
dad doesn’t support your art?”  Bri couldn’t believe it.  “Has he
seen your work?  You’re very talented.”