Beautiful Mess(40)

The Dance Team took the field and performed their halftime routine flawlessly. Bri had always loved football halftimes. There was just something about performing out on the grassy field, under the lights, that wasn’t like anything else. They hit their ending position, and the crowd cheered as they left the field. Back in the locker room, the girls changed out of their uniforms and into their team warm ups, which they were required by Belinda to wear as they watched the rest of the game.

Bri and Layla found Jess, Ethan, and Maddie sitting in the student section, and squeezed themselves in. Somehow they ended up sitting right in front of the cheerleaders. Great, now she had to watch Serena jump up and down for the rest of the game.

The football players were just taking the field again, and Serena emphatically waved Cole over. He stopped briefly, and she whispered something in his ear. Bri rolled her eyes and tried to shove her jealousy back down. As Cole turned to go join his team, he caught sight of her in the stands. She quickly averted her gaze and pretended that she hadn’t seen him. He ran over to the team, and Bri breathed a sigh of relief that he was gone.

But, as she watched the rest of the game, Bri was convinced that Cole was deliberately taunting her. Whenever he could, he stood right in front of where she was sitting, so she was forced to stare at that sexy butt of his. Of course, this also put him right in front of Serena, too, so maybe it was Serena he was trying to taunt. But judging from the looks he kept shooting her when he wasn’t on the field, she didn’t believe it was Serena’s attention he was trying to get at all.

The game ended, the Tigers winning, and as Bri slowly made her way out of the stadium, she was very conscious of Cole’s eyes following her every move.



Bri hadn’t thought she’d been expecting Cole to be any different at school on Monday, but she was surprisingly disappointed when he continued to ignore her, even after she’d agreed to help him. Berating herself for being so stupid as to think that would have changed anything, she sulked into history.

“Whoa! Was that a tattoo I just saw?” Trey was talking to Cole, but staring at Bri.

Not having much time that morning, Bri had pulled her hair up into a ponytail. Obviously Trey noticed.

“Yeah, I think it was,” Cole replied.

“Dude, is that hot or what?” Trey was eyeing her like he was starving and she was an all-you-can-eat buffet.

“Hell yeah, it is,” Cole mumbled.

Trey let out a forced laugh. “Dude, you’re not moving in on my territory, are you?”

“No man, not at all. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the view! Besides, I’ve got my hands full with Serena as it is. I don’t think I could handle anything more!”

“Good, because I’d hate to have to punch you for eyeing my girl over there!”

Bri couldn’t take it any longer. She turned and glared at Trey and Cole.

“You two asshats do know I can hear you, right? And just so we’re clear, Trey, I am not, nor will I ever be, your girl. The sooner you get that through your thick skull, the better. Now, if you two don’t stop talking about me, I’m going to start throwing books at your heads!” She turned back around.

“Did I mention I love the feisty ones!” Trey chuckled.

At lunch, Bri noticed Cole sitting at Serena’s table. He was talking to another of the cheerleaders, who was smiling dreamily up at him. Serena walked up behind the girl, said something, and motioned rudely for her to vacate her seat. The poor girl’s eyes dropped, and she moved to the end of the table. Serena quickly slid in next to Cole and smiled possessively at him.

Bri leaned into Layla. “Hey Lay, what’s the deal with Serena?”

“Serena Blake,” Layla snorted. “She’s an anal retentive, obsessive-compulsive, control freak, who’s declared herself queen, and thinks she gets to order the rest of us around. She’s got her nose in just about everything that goes on here, and is in about any club and organization you can name. She’s a spoiled little rich girl who has always gotten whatever she wants. And believe me, all hell breaks loose when she doesn’t. If I were you, I’d stay under her radar. She’s viscous.”

Bri swallowed her pride, and asked, “What about her and Cole? Are they together or something?” She had tried to sound nonchalant, but Layla eyed her with a smile.

“Despite what everyone is saying, no they’re not. Not that Serena isn’t trying her hardest to convince him otherwise. But is seems Cole isn’t interested in a relationship right now. Not that you’d know it from watching the two of them.”

Serena was whispering something in Cole’s ear, and he was laughing. They really did look like a couple. A beautiful, perfect, red carpet couple. Bri cursed the pang that racked her heart. She didn’t care if they were together or not.