Friends & Lovers Trilogy (7 page)

With that she whirled towards the door. She
only made it a couple steps before Colin grabbed her arm and
whirled her back. He walked her quickly backwards until she was
stopped by the door.

Before she could register what was
happening, she was flat against the door. His mouth was on
hers.

She didn’t think, she just reacted.

Her hands came up around his neck. His
fastened under her bottom and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs
around his waist, to get stabilized, then met his hot, hungry mouth
with her own.

They kissed frantically, as if they had been
starved for the contact. When his mouth left hers to trail kisses
down her throat, her head fell back to allow him better access. As
he licked his way back up to her mouth, she groaned loudly and he
paused to look at her.

“
Wanting you was never the
problem,” he stated, eyes black with need. Then he dove back in and
began to drive her slowly crazy.

Her whole body thrummed with need and
desire. She rocked against him, reveling in the fact that his body
responded to her in a way that it never had before.

Suddenly, the door was no longer at her back
as he turned and carried her through the rooms to his bed, his
mouth never leaving hers. Once they got to his bed, he laid her
down and stayed on top of her in one swift motion.

Prone on the bed, she had the ability to use
her trembling hands to explore his rock hard body. She quickly drew
his shirt over his head, but when he inhaled deeply and reached for
her shirt, she put her hand on top of his to stop him from
undressing her.

“
I’m not ready for this.”
Briana looked up at him from beneath full lashes, trying to catch
her breath as she spoke.

Colin kneeled back on the bed, running his
hands over his face and through his hair. He closed his eyes and
nodded, then opened them with a smile.

“
Okay.” He moved around on
the bed so he could lie next to her, picking up her hand and lacing
his fingers through hers. “We’ll do this on your terms,
Bree.”

He laid back and patted his chest. She
scooted over and placed her head over his racing heart and smiled.
He traced his fingers over her shoulder and arm. She dozed off
reveling in the smell and feel of him.

Briana opened her eyes to Colin’s face
peaceful with sleep. She realized that she hadn’t seen him look
this peaceful since he’d come back home.

She felt a rush of sadness for him that he’d
fallen short of his childhood dream. For as long as she’d known
him, football had been his life. It was as much a part of him as
breathing. She’d loved his dedication to the sport and the
fulfillment that it had given him.

She smiled as she remembered Colin and Rich
at the first pep rally of his senior year. They had been in front
of the entire school, pumped up for their game. Colin was named
Captain of the team, and Briana had never been so proud.

Now, she enjoyed having the opportunity to
really look at him. They’d never spent the night together, so she’d
never seen him look this vulnerable. It tugged at something inside
of her, something she’d tried for years to contain.

He began to shift and stretch, then he
opened his eyes. He blinked, as if to focus, and when he shifted
his hand, it touched her leg, causing him to turn his head towards
her.

His face blossomed and his dimples
flashed.

“
Good morning,” he said
softly, his voice still rough with sleep.

“
Good morning.” She smiled
back at him, caught up in the moment.

“
I’m happy that you’re
here,” he said, bringing his hand up to sweep the hair from her
face.

“
Me too,” she
admitted.

“
I’ve missed
you.”

Briana didn’t say anything to that. She
wasn’t ready to delve too deep into their relationship.

“
What happened? With
football?” she asked softly

“
It was the last game of
the season and I got hit. Hard. I went down wrong and messed up my
knee pretty bad again. The doctor said that I have to stop playing,
or I’ll have permanent damage. So that’s it. No more ball, well at
least no more ball as a player.”

“
Does that mean you’re
thinking about still being involved with football, but in another
capacity?”

“
Yeah. Rich and I were just
talking about this actually, and I’ve been doing some research
online. I was thinking about trying to coach.” Colin’s eyes shone
with excitement as he spoke. “I’d have to start as an assistant,
but it would be great to still have the opportunity to be part of a
team.”

Briana couldn’t help but be excited for him,
but that also meant that his time here would be short-lived.

“
That’s great. Have you
said anything to you folks?”

“
Nah, not yet. I know Dad
will be disappointed. He was pretty happy when I came home, and he
loves the idea of me running the store, but I know that ultimately
they both want what’s best for me.” Colin brought her hand up to
his lips and kissed it gently. “What about you? What happened at A
& M?”

Briana felt the familiar regret when she
answered.

“
You’ve heard the story
before: girl goes to college, girl doesn’t go to class as much as
she should, and doesn’t do well when she does. Girl doesn’t get
good enough grades to keep her financial aid, so girl returns home
with her tail between her legs.”

“
Hey,” he said, lifting her
face so that he could look in her eyes. “Don’t do that. You’re not
just any girl. You’re smart, capable, and confident. Sometimes shit
happens, but you’re great.”

She smiled at him, then leaned in to kiss
him softly on the lips.

“
Thanks. I’ve been thinking
about going back to school,” she admitted shyly. “Not back to
university, but to culinary school.”

“
Really? That’s
wonderful.”

“
Yeah, there’s one in
Austin that I’ve been looking at.”

“
You should do it, Bree.
You’ll be great.”

“
I’ve been saving up and my
mom said she’d pay half, so I should have the money soon. I’ve been
putting together the application.”

“
How is your mother?” he
asked with a grin. He and her mother had always been very fond of
each other.

“
She’s great. She moved
with Ray, her new husband, out to a farm about thirty miles away. I
don’t get to see her as often as I’d like, but I’m planning on
heading out there this weekend.”

“
I’m glad she’s happy. She
deserves it.” Colin and Briana had just started dating when
Briana’s father died of a brain aneurysm. He’d passed away in his
sleep. It had been a total shock for Briana and her mother. Colin
had been a wonderful source of support for them both, and Briana
would always love him for that.

Her heart swelled at the memory and her eyes
started to fill. She leaned in to kiss him again, with more force
and feeling this time. It didn’t take much coaxing before Colin was
resting on top of her, the weight of him causing the rest of her
body to come alive.

The morning passed too quickly, and before
she knew it, Briana had to leave so she could get some errands done
before work that night.

Colin walked her to the door; his jeans
unbuttoned and slung low on his hips.

She took a moment to appreciate the sight
and feel of him before tearing herself away and reaching for the
door handle.

“
Will you go out with me
Friday night?” he asked before she walked out the door.

She turned and looked up at him, “Like on a
date?”

“
Yes. I’ll pick you up and
we can go to dinner, or whatever you’d like.” He looked so unsure
of her answer that she couldn’t help the smile that blossomed on
her face.

“
I’d like that,” she
replied. “But I’m leaving early on Saturday to go to my Mom’s
house, so it can’t be a really late night.”

“
No problem,” Colin said,
grinning widely, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. “I’ll pick you
up at six.”

“
Okay, I’ll see you then.”
She leaned in for a quick kiss, but paused before turning to go.
“Go easy on Rich, all right? He loves you.”

Colin just nodded as she walked away.

Chapter Eleven

Colin walked into work the next day with a
skip in his step and a smile on his face. He was excited at the
prospect of his date that evening with Bree, and hoped to continue
to rebuild her trust in him.

He was heading towards the back room when he
noticed Rich at the counter talking with a pretty blonde as he made
a sundae. He knew that they needed to talk, but figured it best to
have it out after Rich was done with his customers.

When he got to the back office he booted up
the computer and checked his email. He deleted all of the spam and
random giveaways, but paused, when he saw an email from his ex.

He’d met Shawn during Greek Week. Her
sorority was having a rush party and he and some of the team were
out hitting up all of the parties on Greek Row.

Shawn was definitely beautiful; there was no
question about that. So when she pursued him, he hadn’t put up a
fight.

She made it pretty clear that she liked the
fact that he was on the team and she enjoyed the perks and status
that went along with dating him. He was totally focused on football
and wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, so she’d suited him
just fine.

It didn’t take long after he was injured,
before it became apparent that his career in football was over, or
for her to break off their relationship and move on.

It had hurt his pride a bit, especially on
the tail-end of losing his dream of playing career ball, but there
were no lasting effects.

When he saw her email address pop up in his
inbox, he opened it with mild curiosity, figuring she had a
question or something. When it said that she really wanted to see
him, he deleted it without replying.

When he was finished in the office, he stood
to go on the floor and was met by Rich coming in the back. Rich
looked nervous and unsure, so Colin spoke first.

“
Hey, man. I’m sorry about
the other night, I was outta line.”

Rich looked relieved, but still said
guiltily, “No. You had every right to be mad. I slept with your ex,
and that is totally against man-code.”

“
Rich, we’d been broken up
for a year. Don’t sweat it. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset, but
when you guys admitted that you’d been together, I was totally
jealous. It was my gut reaction.”

“
It’s understandable. She
was your girl and I’m your best friend. You’re like a brother to
me, man. It never should have happened.”

“
Bree explained everything
to me, so no hard feelings, all right?” Colin pulled Rich in for a
quick hug, and looked at him with a smile. “Let’s just never talk
about it again, okay?”

Rich grinned back, “Deal.”

The day went by pretty quickly, and at
exactly six o’clock, Colin knocked on Briana’s door.

His breath caught when he took in her short
skirt that billowed around her sexy legs. She looked fresh and
beautiful as she greeted him with a smile.

He leaned in to kiss her cheek and said,
“You look amazing,” which caused her smile to widen.

He held her hand as they walked down the
stairs to his car. “Thanks for agreeing to go out with me,
Bree.”

She stopped for a moment and said, “This is
the only second chance you’re going to get, Colin. Don’t disappoint
me.”

His stomach fluttered at her words, and he
hoped that he wouldn’t.

“
I won’t.”

When they got to the restaurant, he walked
around to open her door and offered his hand in assistance.

“
Thank you, Sir,” she said
with a giggle. She tried to keep her skirt down as she got out of
the truck.

“
Anytime, Ma’am,” he
replied, playing along.

She smiled as they walked up to the
entrance. “You remembered that I love seafood.”

“
I remember everything,
Bree,” he assured her as he opened the door.

When they were escorted to their table, he
pulled out Briana’s seat for her, and sat across from her. Her
delighted grin made him happy that he’d been taking care to be a
gentleman for her.

They ordered their food and caught up as
they nibbled on spinach dip.

“
So,” Briana began, “how
are your parents doing?”

“
They seem happier than
they’ve ever been,” he answered. “Mom started playing tennis and
has made a beautiful garden in their yard. She’s taking more time
for herself, since I’m out of the house, which is really good for
her. Since she’s so happy, that makes Dad happy. They’re going out
on date nights now and everything.”

“
That’s wonderful. They’re
such a great couple. I’ve always looked up to them for that,”
Briana admitted. “When I get married, I hope my marriage is as
great as theirs.”

“
Me, too,” Colin replied,
reaching over the table to hold her hand. “I know I’ve said this
already, but I’ve really missed you, Bree.”

She looked down at the joined hands and then
back up into his dark eyes.

“
I’m sure you’ve had plenty
of company over the last few years,” she said softly, not voicing
the question that was apparent in her face.

“
I’m not going to lie and
say that I didn’t date after we broke up. I kept things pretty
casual for the most part, but I did have one girlfriend while I was
in school. It was more of a status thing. We liked each other, but
we weren’t in love. It was nothing like my relationship with you,
Bree. You’re the only girl that I’ve ever been in love
with.”