Beautiful Mess by Jennifer Preston Read Free Book Online Page B

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