Beautiful Mess(22)

“Thank you,” he smiled. “Because I’d hate to use your own biased reasoning against you and assume that, since all the girls on the Dance Team are stuck-up bitches, you are one too!” he teased back.

“Hey!” Bri pushed him, mock offended. “Alright, you got me. Happy now?”

“Yes, yes I am!”

Cole and Bri spent the next little while watching TV and talking, before Cole decided he’d better get home.

Bri followed his directions as she drove him home, and pulled up in front of a small, quaint bungalow.

“This is me,” he hesitated a moment. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

“Sure! I have to be back in a little while, but I have some time.”

“Okay,” Cole got out of the car and led Bri up the walk to the door. “I have to warn you, though. It’s just me and my dad, so it’s probably pretty guyish in here.”

“Don’t worry, I think I can handle guyish!” she nudged him encouragingly.

“Well, then, after you,” he opened the door and ushered her in.

The living room was indeed guyish with car posters on the walls and a neon beer sign above the TV. Sitting in front of a leather couch and loveseat was a glass table top sitting on top of a car engine.

“Okay,” Bri pointed to the unusual coffee table. “That is the coolest thing ever!”

Cole grinned. “Glad you like it! My dad owns a repair shop, and he likes to get creative with the leftover parts. The kitchen is back through there,” he pointed to the doorway at the back of the living room. “And the bedrooms are back this way. This is my dad’s office.” Cole turned to the hall on the left and opened the first door to let Bri in.

A desk and a few filing cabinets were set up along the left wall, and on the right was a large easel with a drop cloth covering it. A few paintings and drawings, presumably Cole’s, hung on the walls. Bri walked in to get a closer look.

“Um, I’m going to leave you here to browse while I go make sure my room is somewhat presentable. I’ll be right back,” he smiled before quickly ducking out of the room.

Bri went straight for the covered easel and lifted the cloth. Underneath was a painting in its beginning stages. She could tell it was the profile of a girl looking out towards the ocean. None of the details had been added yet, so she couldn’t tell what the girl looked like. It looked like Cole was taking her advice after all. She gently replaced the cloth and turned her attention to the walls. She was immediately drawn to a black and white sketch of a boy and his dad, hanging above the desk.

The little boy was no older than five or six, and was obviously Cole. He sat on the ground next to a large tool box, holding up a socket wrench for his dad. Cole’s dad smiled down at him as he reached out one hand for the wrench, the other hand holding something under the hood of a car. The look of hero worship on little Cole’s face was so adorable, Bri couldn’t help but smile. The pride and love on Cole’s dad face was unmistakable.

Feeling eyes on her, Bri turned her head to find Cole leaning against the doorframe watching her.

“Is this you?” she asked, hoping he’d tell her more about the picture.

He walked in and stood beside her.

“Yep. Someone had taken this picture of me and my dad working on his old Corvette. I found it, and decided to copy it. My dad liked it so much he framed it and hung it up.”

“Look at you, you were so cute! How old were you when the picture was taken?”

“I was five. I think that was one of the first times my dad let me help him with a car,” Cole smiled wistfully. “It was the best day of my life. Well, up until that point anyway.”

Bri smiled at him. “Are you and your dad still close?”

“Yeah. I mean, we still butt heads every once in a while, but he is always supportive of whatever I want to do. Even when I want to try making a go of it as an artist, selling paintings to tourists on the beach. How about you and your dad? Are you guys close?”

“We used to be,” she sighed sadly. “Then my stepmom came along, and everything changed.”

Cole nodded. “Well, my room is this way, if you want to come check it out?”

“Oh, definitely!” She grinned and followed Cole next door. “Hmm, definitely guyish,” she teased as she walked in.

The small room was dominated by a full sized bed with a black and gray plaid comforter. Above the bed hung a huge cityscape, obviously New York, also done in blacks and grays. “Yours?” she asked Cole, who nodded. The guy really was talented. A tall dark dresser stood against one wall, covered with a few pictures. A desk occupied the other wall, with an iPod docked in a speaker. Bri boldly walked over and turned on the iPod, fully enjoying her turn to invade Cole’s space. Metallica started blaring loudly.