Beautiful Mess(15)

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.