Beautiful Mess(14)

“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.





Chapter 4




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.