Beautiful Mess(27)

“Oh, so this is a date, then,” he grinned wickedly at her.

“Oh, no, not you too! Do you think this is a date?” She decided to put him on the spot for a change.

“Well, I picked you up at your house, met your dad, you’re wearing a dress... it kind of feels like a date to me.”

“Do you want it to be a date?” She asked tentatively.

“I think you already know that answer,” he glanced over at her. “The question is, do you want this to be a date?”

Bri turned and looked out the window, not sure if she was ready to answer that yet.

Deciding not to push her, Cole changed the subject. “So, where did you decide for dinner?”

They had decided that Bri would pick where they went for dinner, and Cole would choose what they did after.

“There’s an Italian place close by I heard about, Biaggi’s? I thought we could go there.”

“Biaggi’s, huh?” His eyes darted to her. “Yep, it’s official. This is definitely a date.”

“What? Why is that?” She demanded, laughing.

“Because you’ve picked a very romantic restaurant for dinner. You don’t take a friend to a romantic restaurant.” He grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

Oh, crap. Bri had heard her dad and Summer talk about this place. Of course it turned out to be some big romantic deal. Dang it, she was on a date.

“Well, now that we’ve gotten that established, I hope you won’t mind me buying you dinner. Oh, and I hope you aren’t feeling nervous or awkward now. First dates can be brutal sometimes!” He was enjoying this a little too much

He continued to grin at her as they drove, but Bri refused to acknowledge him until they got to the restaurant.

As Cole opened her door for her, she decided to give herself up to her fate, and just go with this whole date thing. No use worrying over it. She might as well try and enjoy herself.

They walked in and the hostess seated them. The place was romantic, with dim lighting and private booths. Bri looked at her menu and froze. It was also pricey. Really pricey. She was horrified.

“Oh, no! Cole, I’m so sorry!” She whispered urgently. “I had no idea it would be this expensive. We don’t have to stay, we can go somewhere else.”

“Ambria, it’s alright,” Cole tried to calm her. “I’ve been here before. If it was a problem, I’d have said something before. It’s totally fine.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Completely,” he smiled, and Bri began to relax. Cole picked up his menu and let out a low whistle. “Although, for these prices, you’re definitely going to have to put out!” he teased.

Bri grabbed his menu and hit him over the head with it.

“Hey,” he protested. “Alright, you don’t have to put out! Man, did I pick the wrong date!” He put up his hands to block the next whack over his head, and they both burst out laughing. They were still laughing when the waitress came to take their order.

After dinner they headed off towards Los Angeles.

“So, where are we going?” she asked, extremely curious.

“A friend of mine’s dad owns a club. I thought we could go dancing.”

“You dance?” Bri was skeptical.

“I haven’t had any complaints,” he smirked.

“Ah. So, seeing as how we’re under age, how exactly are we going to get in?”

“Well, it’s an 18 an older club, and, like I said, I have connections,” he boasted with a smile.

Bri shook her head and watched as the lights from downtown got closer.

Cole pulled into a parking lot behind a large brick building thumping with base. There was already a line waiting to get in. He reached over and took her hand. Bri, surprised, glanced up at him, but didn’t pull her hand away.

“We’re on a date, remember?” he said in explanation, before leading her around the line and right up to the door. He leaned in and said something to one of the bouncers, who nodded and motioned for them to go inside.

“That was impressive,” Bri leaned in and practically yelled in Cole’s ear. The music was so loud she had to shout to be heard above it. “How on earth do you have a conversation in a place like this?”

Cole leaned in so close his breath tickled her neck. She was suddenly very aware that he still had a hold of her hand.

“You don’t come here to talk,” he returned, his low voice audible despite the music. “Come on.”

A shiver raced down Bri’s spine as Cole guided her through the maze of people, and out to the middle of the dance floor. He pulled her tight up against him, his hands winding around her waist. She hesitantly put her arms up around his neck, and he moved her body with his to the music.