Beautiful Mess(39)

Cole’s jaw dropped, horrified.

“Bri, I swear that is not what I was going to ask! I never even thought it! That bet is juvenile and asinine, and I told them that. I swear to you, I’m not in on it. Please, you have to believe me!” Cole was so upset that Bri found her anger ebbing.

“Fine Cole, whatever,” she interrupted before he could continue. “What is it you want, then?”

He gazed at her longingly for moment before answering.

“You have Mr. Tillman for your AP Calculus class, right?”

“Yes,” she replied warily.

“Well, I have him too, for Algebra II. And the thing is, math and I don’t exactly get along. I need at least a B to keep my GPA up for football. So,” he paused, looking uncomfortable, “I talked to Mr. Tillman and got him to agree to give you extra credit if you’d help me out. You know, tutor me,” he finished unsurely.

“You want me to tutor you?” Bri was confused.

“Yes. You know, help me with my assignments, maybe take my tests for me,” he joked.

“No.” Bri’s mind finally wrapped around what he was asking. And from her perspective what it amounted to was spending time with Cole. Alone. Unacceptable. “No Cole, I can’t. I already have a crap load of homework, and dance practices on top of that. I don’t have time to make sure you stay on the football team.”

“This isn’t about the football team, this is about eligibility. You know, for college scholarships, that kind of thing.”

“Oh,” she was taken slightly aback.

Seeing her soften, Cole pushed. “Please Bri! I’ll work around your schedule. I’ll do whatever you ask. I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise,” he smiled. “Plus, it’ll help you too.” When Bri looked at him dubiously, he continued. “Just think about how good a little volunteering and tutoring will look on that application to Stanford. Schools like that eat that stuff up!”

She hated to admit it, but he had a point. Her community service was a little lacking. Helping Cole could in fact help pad her resume for Stanford.

“Okay, fine.” She couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this. “But if you do anything to screw this up, I’m out and you’re on your own. If I even get the inkling that you are wasting my time, I’m done. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Cole saluted her with a huge smile. Bri rolled her eyes.

“Tuesday nights. What time are you done with practice?”

“5:00.”

“Fine. Be at my house at 5:30. You have one hour to go over what you need. That’s it.”

“Deal! Thanks Bri!” He grinned like he’d won the lottery.

“Don’t thank me yet. Now, you, get out of here.”

“You sure you don’t need any help with that?” He motioned to the lump of clay in front of her.

“Positive. Now go!”

“Okay.” Cole stood to leave, but leaned back down and whispered in her ear. “I seem to recall a conversation we had once about those pants you’re wearing. Just want you to know that the real thing is even better than I imagined it! You look hot today, Bri!”

“Go!” Cole barely avoided an elbow in his nose as he ducked back to his table. Watching him, Bri was suddenly very worried about what she’d just gotten herself into. This was a bad idea, she could feel it. A very bad idea.





Chapter 9




Standing in line with the Dance Team, waiting to walk out to the field, Bri got her first glimpse of the football game. There were two minutes left before halftime, and Santa Monica was up by three points. The opposing team had just punted, and the Tigers had the ball on their own ten yard line. As the offense took the field, Bri couldn’t help but look for Cole. She mentally smacked herself upside the head, and turned her attention back to the game.

The quarterback, who she knew was Trey, called the snap and threw a long pass, which was caught and then ran for another ten yards, before being stopped by a wall of bodies. The announcers voice came over the speakers.

“Number thirty-three, Cole Marra, with the reception. First down at the forty-five.”

Bri’s eyes snapped to number thirty-three running over to his huddled team mates. She had to admit, Cole looked good in those white football pants, and her eyes lingered on his perfect rear end for a moment. She forced herself to avert her eyes, and watched as the team drove the ball down the field for a touchdown right before time expired. The crowd in the stands went crazy. The team came running towards the tunnel leading to the locker rooms, where the Dance Team was lined up. Cole had taken off his helmet, and despite her best attempt not to, Bri’s eyes found him as he ran towards her. Catching her staring at him, Cole smiled and winked at her as he ran by. Busted, Bri cursed herself internally for her lapse in concentration. Cole didn’t need any encouragement, and she wasn’t going to give him any. She was over him. Shaking her head, she focused on her upcoming performance.