Beautiful Mess (4 page)

Bri
felt a twinge of worry.  She hoped Carly knew what she was doing, and she
wasn’t getting in over her head.  Hopefully, she’d end this charade before
things got out of hand.

Bri
glanced over at Cole to see how he was reacting to Carly’s little
display.  A second later he looked over at her, and she was relieved to
find no trace of jealousy on his face.  In fact, he looked slightly
relieved as he smiled at her.

Dang
it, caught again.  She was getting a little tired of seeing that cocky,
knowing grin on Cole’s gorgeous face. 

Wait
a second...gorgeous?  No, she did not just think that Cole was hot! 
Where did her stupid brain come up with that?  Unfortunately, her brain
didn’t have time to defend itself, because he started walking towards her, and
she lost her train of thought.

"I
thought redheads didn’t tan so much as burn,” Cole smiled and sat down beside
her on the sand.

“First
of all,” Bri replied, taking a little offense.  Just a little,
though.  “My hair is
not
red.  It’s auburn.  And second,
I have worked long and hard to get my skin to the point where it will
tan.  So, no, all “redheads” don’t burn.”

“My
mistake,” Cole held his hands up in surrender.  “Don’t ever call a girl
with red hair a redhead!  I’ll have to remember that in the future,” he
laughed.

“You’d
better!” Bri smiled.  “It’ll save you a punch in the nose!”

“You
wouldn’t!”

“I
don’t know, we redheads are known for our tempers.  And nothing upsets us
more than being called redheads!”

“Not
a redhead, bad temper...got it!” he laughed.  He leaned in and nudged
Bri’s shoulder as she laughed with him.  “I have to say, I was worried
that I wouldn’t get you alone long enough to talk to you today.”

“Oh,
really?”  She was surprised he’d wanted to talk to her at all.

“Yeah. 
I was really relieved when your cousin left to make some new friends.  I
was a little worried what she’d do to me if came over while she was here.”

“But,
you’re not worried she’ll look over here, see you talking to me, and come hurt
you?” Bri raised her eyebrow.

“No,”
Cole looked a little confused.  “Why would she do that?  It looks
like she’s moved on, found someone new to torment.”

Boys
could be so obtuse sometimes.

“You
know what Carly’s doing, right?”  When Cole gave her a blank look, Bri
continued.  “She’s trying to make you jealous.  She’s hoping that if
you see her flirting with someone else you’ll march over there and sweep her
away.”

He
looked horrified.  “But, I’m not even remotely interested in her.  I
thought I’d made that clear.”

“She
thinks this is you playing hard to get.  It’s twisted, I know, but this is
how she thinks.”

“Oh,
man, how do I get out of this one?”

“Well,
the next time she, um...propositions you,” Bri couldn’t hold back her
chuckle.  Cole gave her a pointed look.  “Sorry.”  She
sobered.  “Next time, maybe you should just spell it all out for
her.  Tell her that you don’t like her, and there is absolutely no way
she’s ever getting any action!”  She burst out laughing again.

“Hey! 
This is serious!” Cole admonished her, but was quickly laughing himself. 
“Okay, enough talking about Psycho Chick.”  He paused as Bri raised an
eyebrow at him.  “What?  I call them like I see them.  Anyway, I
didn’t come all this way to talk about her.  I came to talk about you.”

“Okay,”
she replied warily.  “What about me?”

“Well,
how about we start with the basics.  How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“A
senior this year?”  Bri nodded.  “And, when is your birthday?”

“December
21st.”

“Ah,
a solstice baby.  Do you live around here?”

“Yeah,
I actually just moved here last month.  I live just up in Santa Monica.”

“Get
out!  Me too!  So, where did you live before you moved here?”

“Well,
I grew up in Phoenix, but I moved here from Dallas.  We lived there for
about four and a half years, before my dad got transferred out here with work.”

“So,
how do you like California so far?”

“It’s
nice.  I love the weather and the ocean.  In fact, the one thing I
insisted on when I found out we were moving here was that we lived close enough
that I could walk to the beach.”

“Nice. 
So I take it you’ll be going to Santa Monica High, too?”

“Yes. 
You, too?” 

Cole
nodded looking out at the ocean.

“Cool.
 It’ll be nice to know at least one person there, to see a familiar face,”
Bri smiled at him.  A look passed over Cole’s face, but quickly
disappeared.  She couldn’t be sure, but she thought it might have been
regret.  Before she could say anything, he turned back to her.

“Well,
I’d better get back,” he thumbed behind him to his stand.  “Besides, I
don’t want your psycho cousin coming after me,” he smiled jokingly, but it
didn’t reach his eyes.  “See you, Bri.”  And he was gone.

Bri
had only a few moments to ponder Cole’s abrupt disappearance, when Carly came
running down the beach.

“Bri,
we have to get out of here.  Like, now!”

“Why?” 
She was becoming alarmed at Carly’s agitation.

“Well,
let’s just say one of those guys got a little too friendly, and I smacked
him.  I don’t want to give him the chance to come down here and return the
favor.  Now, move!”

Bri
rolled her eyes as she stood and gathered up their things.  This was
Carly’s classic MO.  She caused a mess of trouble, and then ran
away.  Bri glanced at the guys up the beach, and sure enough, they were
all glaring at her and Carly.  Yep, definitely time to go.

As
the girls passed Cole, Bri smiled and waved goodbye.  Carly didn’t even
spare him a parting glance, as she rushed from the beach.  Cole waved
back, and the girls hurried to the car. 

“Do
me a favor, Carly,” Bri begged when both girls were safely in the car, and on
their way home.  “The next time you decide to do something irresponsible,
stupid, and potentially dangerous to impress a boy, leave me out of it!”

Carly
did not take rejection well.  Not that she accepted Cole’s rejection as
actual rejection.  She believed he was purposely dragging things out,
trying to maintain the upper hand in their fictitious relationship, and she was
furious.  So on Wednesday, she dragged Bri back to Venice Beach for one
last shot at some Cole lovin’.

Though,
it wasn’t as if Bri hadn’t tried to dissuade her.  She had done everything
she could think of to keep her from going back, but Carly would have none of
it.  She was a girl possessed.  She told Bri she had one last
sure-fire plan, she was certain wouldn’t fail.  So, with great reluctance,
and after exorbitant amounts of whining, begging, and threatening (this from
her parents), Bri drove Carly to the beach.

“This
plan better not involve another group of testosterone fueled, touchy-feely
guys.  Because if it does, you’re on your own.” Bri exited the car.

“Don’t
be ridiculous, Bri,” Carly chided.  “You worry too much.  It’s going
to give you wrinkles.  No, this plan doesn’t involve anyone but me, Cole,
and Dalton.”

“Dalton?”

“He’s
my boyfriend.  You’ve listened to me talk about him, and to him, this
whole week!”

Bri
hadn’t heard Carly talk about any Dalton at all.  Bri was pretty certain
this Dalton didn’t exist. 

“Why
would a plan to get Cole involve a fake boyfriend?” Bri was confused.

“Ugh,
Bri, you don’t get anything!  And Dalton is not fake!  Guys like Cole
are only interested in what they can’t have.  When he finds out that I
have a boyfriend, that someone else wants me, he’ll want me, too.  The
whole forbidden love thing will kick in and will be too much for him to
resist.  He’ll be all over me!”

This
was the worst plan Bri had heard.

“Don’t
you think Cole is too smart to fall for something this obvious and stupid?”

“Please,”
Carly scoffed.  “Guys like Cole aren’t known for their brains.  And
his brains aren’t what I’m after anyway.”

“Carly,”
she made one last ditch effort.  “The only thing all your plans and
schemes have proven is that your theories about boys are completely
insane!  Are you sure you want to put yourself through this again? 
Why don’t you just get over it and move on?”

“This
coming from the girl who’s barely dated and never had a boyfriend in her life,”
Carly replied snidely.  “Watch and learn.  Who knows, if you follow
my advice, you just might lose your virgin lip status before you graduate.”

Again,
none of those things were true.  Again, Carly was not the kind of person
you wanted knowing the intimate details of your life.  So, once again, Bri
let the comment pass.

“Now,”
Carly said as they spotted Cole.  “Just follow my lead, and don’t screw
this up!”  She walked up to him, her demeanor completely changing. 
“Hi Cole!” she smiled sweetly at him.

Cole
looked a little taken aback and worried, but he quickly covered it with a
smile.

“Hi
Psy...uh, Carly,” he caught himself.  Bri had to stifle a laugh. 
Apparently Carly’s nickname was a keeper.  “Hello, Bri,” he winked at her.

“So
Cole, today I kind of need a favor, and was hoping you could help me out?”
Carly pleaded with a pathetic smile.

“Okay...”
he replied hesitantly.  He looked more than worried.  He looked down
right scared.

“You
see,” Carly began, “I was talking to my boyfriend Dalton last night...”

“Boyfriend?”
he interrupted, looking confused.

“Yes,
my boyfriend back in Phoenix.  Anyway, I told him about that beautiful
drawing you did of me and Bri, and he said he’d like one too.  So, I need
you to do another drawing, of just me this time, that I can take back to
Dalton.”

“Um,
okay, I guess.”

“Great! 
Dalton will be so excited!”

“Sure
he will,” Bri muttered under her breath. 

“Oh,
and Bri, since you’re not needed here, you should go shopping.  Or go find
a nice spot to
read,
” Carly sneered.  She pulled Bri in close and
whispered in her ear.  “I don’t really care what you do, just don’t be
here!”

“Or,”
Cole interrupted, “you could hang out here if you want?”  His eyes pleaded
with Bri not to leave him alone with Carly. 

The
glare Carly gave Bri made her decision.

“Okay,
I’ll stay.  If you really want me to,” she smiled at Cole.

“Sure
I do,” he smiled back, relieved.

“Fine,
whatever,” Carly grunted and stomped over to the bench.  “Let’s just get
this over with.”

Cole
grabbed his supplies and sat down.  It didn’t take nearly as long for this
portrait as it had the last.  He was done in just over five minutes.

“Well,
here you go,” he handed Carly the drawing.

“Wow
Cole, I think this is even better than the other one you did!  Dalton will
be thrilled!  Do you mind if I call him real fast to tell him?”

“Nope,
go right ahead.”  Cole took the drawing, rolled it up, and tied it with
his signature black ribbon.

“I’ll
be just a second,” Carly smiled as she pulled out her phone and stepped away.

“Hey,”
Cole said to Bri as soon as Carly was immersed in her conversation.  A
conversation Bri was ninety percent sure was fake.  “Thanks for not
leaving me alone with Psycho over there.  I really appreciate it!”

“No
problem!  I just thought you might’ve wanted to talk to her, though. 
Put her out of her misery?”

“Well,
I guess I should talk to her.  I just thought I could make a little money
first.  Plus, turns out she has a boyfriend.  She can’t be too hung
up on me.  Maybe I can just ride this out until she leaves, without making
her angry.”

Bri
looked at him skeptically.

“Hey,
all guys know that angry and crazy are a lethal combination!  It’s
probably better for my physical safety and well-being if I try to keep Psycho
from blowing a gasket!”

She
burst out laughing.  “Well, by all means then, keep Psycho happy!”

Carly
returned, beaming happily.  “Well, I can’t tell you how excited Dalton
is!  The poor guy, he’s just lost without me.  He’s so desperate for
me to come home.  I just hope he can make it through the next couple of
days!”

“Um,
okay.  That’ll be twenty bucks, whenever you’re ready.”  Cole wasn’t
taking Carly’s bait.

“Oh,
of course.  Here you go,” she handed him the cash.  “Seriously, though,
sometimes I think Dalton wants me a little too much.  I’m not sure I can
return that level of commitment,” she pushed.

“Uh,
yeah, good luck with that,” he replied uncomfortably.  “So Bri...”

“Okay,
that’s it!” Carly yelled, furious now.  “What the hell is your deal,
Cole?  Can you just quit with all the mind games and crap?  I don’t
get you.  I all but throw myself at you, and you like, totally brush me
off!  What exactly are you playing at here?”

Cole
and Bri were stunned for a moment at Carly’s outburst.

“Uh,
look, I’m not playing anything here.  I’m just not interested.  I’ve
never done anything to lead you to believe I was.”  Cole replied coolly.

“Not
interested?” Carly fumed.  “And were you ever going to mention that little
bit of information, or were you going to let me keep throwing myself at you,
over and over?  Huh?  Was this all just some freaking ego trip?”

“Hang
on,” Cole was getting angry now, too.  “I have done everything I can to
let you know I’m not interested.  I tried to let you down easy.  Any
other girl would’ve taken my lack of any reciprocation as the sign it was and
moved on.  It’s not my fault you can’t take a hint.”

Carly
gasped, but before she could respond, Cole continued.

“Besides,
don’t you have a boyfriend?  What are you doing hitting on me when you’ve
got a boyfriend back home waiting for you?  I mean, what kind of person
does that?”  He was incredulous, but not as incredulous as Carly.

“How
dare you!  How dare you judge me!”  Carly was about to go off on a
tirade.  Bri, who’d been watching the whole exchange with her mouth agape,
decided it was time for her to step in before things really got ugly.

“Alright,
you two,” she stepped in between Carly and Cole, holding up a hand to both of
them.  “That’s enough.”  They were glaring at each other, but neither
of them said anything else.

“Now,”
Bri said, trying to calm them down and diffuse the situation.  “Cole,
Carly is right.  You should have been more upfront with her from the
beginning.  You can’t expect a girl like her to understand
subtlety.”  She saw Cole’s lip twitch, as if he wanted to smile at her
jab.  “And, Carly,” she turned to her cousin, “Cole is right.  You
shouldn’t be hitting on another guy when you have a boyfriend.  It’s not
fair to Dalton, and it’s just plain wrong.”  Bri had the satisfaction of
seeing Carly’s eyes drop.  “And just because a guy turns you down, doesn’t
mean you get to go all crazy on him.  Okay?”  Carly shrugged. 
Bri turned to Cole, who nodded.  “Good.  So why don’t you both
apologize, and we’ll all move on?”

Bri
looked meaningfully at Cole, but he seemed disinclined to offer up any
apology.  “Crazy
and
angry,” She murmured to him, trying to get him
to man up.  He let out a sigh.

“Fine,”
he relented.  “Carly, I’m sorry I didn’t spell it all out for you. 
I’m sorry you entirely misconstrued the whole situation.  And I’m sorry
that subtlety is completely lost on you,” he finished sarcastically.

Choosing
to ignore Cole’s less than sincere apology, Bri turned to Carly.  “Okay,
your turn.”

“Oh,
I don’t think so,” Carly scoffed.  “You keep holding your breath Cole,
because you will never get an apology from me!”  She turned abruptly and
stormed away.

“Carly!”
Bri called after her, but Carly ignored her.  She turned to Cole.  “I
can’t believe her!  I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t
worry about it.  I promise you I’m not going to be losing any sleep over
it.  You should probably go after her.”

“Heck,
no!  If she’s going to be rude and hypocritical, she can go pout at the
car by herself!”

“Well,
good,” he smiled.  “Now that I know you aren’t in any rush to get out of
here, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.” Cole shoved his hands in his
pockets nervously. 

“Oh,
really?” she smiled, finding his nervousness endearing.

“Well,
I was wondering, if you don’t have any plans on Saturday night, if you’d want
to go out with me?” he smiled at her.

Bri
felt her stomach bottom out, and her face fell.  She had not expected
that.  “You mean like a date?” she asked weakly.

“Yes,
exactly like a date!  What do you think?”

Bri
was unable to form a reply, as there was a small battle waging inside of her at
the moment.  Her brain was telling her that this was probably a bad
idea.  She hardly knew this guy, and this was way too fast.  It was
too soon to even think about dating again, and she’d just end up getting
hurt.  Again.  And, she
was
a little scared by Cole’s
offer.  Maybe it was too soon.

But
her body, which had been reacting to Cole ever since they met, was screaming
yes, yes, please yes!  It had been so long since she had felt anything
like what she felt around him, and her body was desperate for more.  Even
though she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she was definitely attracted to
him, and her body was begging for a chance to get close to him.  

“Um,
Bri?” Cole’s voice pulled her from her inner battle.

“I’m
sorry, what?” She wasn’t sure if she had missed something.

“You
still haven’t given me an answer.”  He looked a little concerned.

“Yes,”
Bri replied softly.  Her body made the decision before her brain could
interfere.

“Yes?”
Cole’s face lit up.  “As in ‘Yes Cole, I’ll go out with you’?”

“Yes,”
she managed a weak smile.

“Are
you sure?”

“Yes. 
Why?”

“Because
you look like you’re going to throw up or something.  You know, if you
don’t want to, you can just say no.”

Bri
felt guilty at the uncertainty on his face.  “No, no, it’s not that,” she
tried to reassure him.  “It’s just that… well, I haven’t been asked out in
a while.  I wasn’t expecting it, and I guess you just caught me off
guard.”

“You’re
sure, then?”

“Yes,”
she nodded, more confidently than she felt.

“Okay,
so I’ll pick you up on Saturday?”  The apprehension left Cole’s face and
he smiled.

“Um,”
a twinge of fear shot through her, and she decided it’d be best to play it
safe.  “How about I meet you somewhere?  What did you have in mind?”

“Have
you been down to the Santa Monica Pier yet?”

“No,
I haven’t.” 

“How
about you meet me down in front of the pier on Saturday at like seven?  We
can get some dinner and hang out.”