Beautiful Mess(33)

Bri rolled her eyes at the huge grin that spread across Pig’s face, and she slid into a desk on the other side of the room as the teacher began taking roll.

Trey Woods, Bri could feel him leering at her all through class. She did her best to ignore him, both of them, but her body betrayed her again, and she couldn’t help glancing over at Cole. His face was expressionless, but there was regret and sadness in his eyes each time they found hers.

When class was over, Bri hurried out of the room, but Cole was right on her tail.

“Bri, wait! Please!”

She spun on him. “What?” she demanded angrily.

“I was hoping we could talk, that I could explain,” Cole said quietly, his eyes darting around the hall, apprehensively.

“Explain what? That you’re nothing but a lying prick? No thanks, I’ve figured that one out already.” She went to move past him, but he blocked her.

“I swear Bri, I can explain,” he said desperately. “I’m not...”

“I’m not interrupting something here, am I?” Trey walked up behind Cole. Though he was grinning, there was a tightness to his mouth.

“No, man, not at all.” All emotion drained from Cole’s eyes and face, replaced by an arrogant smirk. “Um, Red here was just asking where the cafeteria was.”

Trey’s eyes lit up. “Well, Bri isn’t it? I can show you personally, if you’d like?”

Bri didn’t even acknowledge Trey had spoken.

“Red? Really?” she glared at Cole. “Thanks, but no thanks,” she said, still speaking to Cole, “Like I said, I’ve finally got it all figured out.” She brushed past the two idiots and stormed down the hall.

So, Cole didn’t want anyone to know he knew her. Well, she’d give him what he wanted. She had no desire to see or speak to him ever again. It was true, she’d been right. Cole was nothing but an arrogant, conceited ass, and she’d been fooled by him. She’d never felt so gullible, stupid, or betrayed. It was worse than Jeremy. Back then she hadn’t known any better. Now she did, and she’d fallen for it again. She really couldn’t believe she’d actually been fooled by Cole’s I’m-a-nice-guy-trust-me facade. Well, one thing was certain, she wasn’t going to let Cole get close to her again. Ever.





As if her day couldn’t get any worse, it was time for lunch. Bri watched as Cole and Trey walk into the cafeteria ahead of her. She didn’t know if she could handle anything more today. She felt like she’d just been punched repeatedly in the chest, and all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. But that wasn’t an option here. Neither was letting Cole know he’d wounded her. So, Bri did what she did best. She took all the pain and anger she was feeling, and shoved them down, down, down, until they were only little nagging sensations. Plastering on a mask of superior indifference, she walked into the cafeteria.

Her saving grace was the fact that she knew Layla had this lunch period also, and was saving her a seat. Layla was in Bri’s French class, and they’d made plans to meet up at lunch. Scanning the large room, she saw a hand waving from a table in the far corner. She waved back at Layla and went to get her lunch.

She was standing in line for the salad bar, when she felt someone’s eyes on her. She looked over to see Cole, in an adjacent line, watching her. He looked crestfallen, and opened his mouth to say something, but Bri turned away before he could.

“CJ!” a velvety voice called.

Bri looked up to see a tall, blond, goddess walking towards her. This was the most beautiful high school girl Bri had ever seen. She could give most supermodels a run for their money. The goddess walked right up to Cole, and full on grabbed his butt.

“How’s my favorite tight end?” she purred before releasing him.

“Serena,” he admonished, taking a step back from her. “You know I hate it when you call me CJ. It makes me sound like some stupid boy band reject.”

“Yes, but it’s what I like to call you,” she intoned. She stepped closer, closing the distance he’d created. “So, I haven’t seen you since Hell Week Hump Day. I have to say I’m a bit disappointed. While the girls and I were making you dinner that Wednesday, I left a note for you in your bedroom. Didn’t you get it?” she asked throatily.

“Um, no. It must’ve gotten lost somewhere,” Cole replied, with a quick glance at Bri.

Something in Bri’s mind clicked. Hell Week Hump Day. The night she’d stopped by Cole’s house during Hell Week, there had been a bunch of cars in his driveway. The girls and I were making you dinner. It hadn’t been Cole’s teammates at his house that night. It had been this girl, Serena, and her friends, cooking and doing who knew what else. No wonder Cole hadn’t wanted Bri to come in that night. He had probably been in the middle of an orgy.