“And you haven’t had any other girlfriends?”
“Nope. I kind of swore off relationships.”
“Oh.” Bri found she was disappointed to hear that.
“At least, until I met you,” Cole grabbed her hand, and she looked up at him. “You give me hope.”
She smiled. “You give me hope, too,” she said truthfully. “Cole, when school starts a lot of things are going to change.” Bri gave voice to the nagging worries she’d had all week. Change was coming, she could feel it. It scared her to think that things between her and Cole might not be the same in a few days.
“Why would you think that?” he asked warily.
“Come on, you have a life and friends outside of me. We’ll have practices, and homework, and other commitments. Our little bubble we’ve been living in is about to pop. I’m just a little sad, is all.” She stopped walking and turned to face him. “If I ask you, will you promise me something?”
Cole lifted her hand, still entwined in his, and kissed her knuckles. “If I can.”
“Will you promise me that no matter what happens next week, or in the coming weeks, this, you and me,” she motioned between them, “won’t change?”
He suddenly looked heartbroken. Bri didn’t understand what she’d said that would make him so sad. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Please?”
“Yes,” he replied softly. “I promise you that I will always care about you, no matter what happens. Will you promise me you’ll believe that? Please?”
“I promise,” she whispered.
“Good,” he replied with a sad smile.
Nothing would come between them. They were friends, on their way to becoming much more. They had a connection that would not be easily broken. Bri reassured herself, over and over, that she had nothing to worry about as they continued walking, hand in hand, down the beach, neither one willing to let go just yet.
As Bri lay in her bed that night, she was finally able to admit to herself that she had fallen for Cole. Hard. And even though she was nervous, and a little scared, about what that meant, for the first time in a long time, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing.
Chapter 7
Monday morning dawned bright and early. Bri knew this for a fact because she was up well before dawn, and she wasn’t thrilled about it. She walked through the dark, cool summer morning into the school gym. This six a.m. thing was going to get old, fast. As she entered, she was immediately accosted by Belinda, the team advisor.
“Bri! So good to see you this morning!” The woman was way too chipper for how early it was. “I have been thinking. After seeing the routine you performed at your tryout, I was wondering if you’d be willing to teach it to the team for our competition dance routine?”
It took Bri a moment to wrap her still half asleep brain around what Belinda was saying.
“Um, yeah, I guess, but isn’t that like dance plagiarism or something? I’m not sure how my old team would feel about that.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Belinda waved it off. “We only compete against in-state teams. There’s no way your team could possibly know. So, will you do it? Please? I think with your routine we have a great shot at State!”
Bri sighed. “Sure, why not.”
“Wonderful!,” Belinda beamed. “Let’s introduce you to the team, and tell them the great news!” Belinda pulled her in front of the now assembled team. Getting the girls attention, she began. “Ladies, this is Ambria Donnelly, the newest member of our team. You all remember how impressed we were with her at her audition.”
Judging from the glares she received from at least half the team, Bri doubted they had been impressed.
“Bri, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?” Belinda motioned for her to continue.
“Okay, I’m Bri, and I just moved here this summer from Dallas. I was a junior captain on my team last year, and a head captain before I had to move. I’ve been dancing since I was three, and taught at my studio for the past few years.” Bri noticed her speech wasn’t helping to eliminate the glares she was still receiving. Deciding a little brown nosing never hurt, she changed tactics.
“Look, I know I wasn’t here to practice with you all summer. And I missed the chance you all had to get to know each other and bond as a team. But I promise you that I will work my butt off to catch up on everything I missed. I am fully committed to this team, and I will do whatever you need me to, to help make us successful,” she smiled at them all, hoping she’d earned herself a reprieve from the hate.