Beautiful Mess(79)

While they danced, Bri took the opportunity to size up Cole’s date. Alli was short, blond, and wearing a low cut, super short black dress that left little to the imagination. Alli wound her arms up around Cole’s neck and began playing with his hair. Bri had to suppress the urge to storm over there and slap the girl. Before she ended up doing something drastic, she turned her eyes away from the skank fondling her man, and was blinded by a flash of red.

Serena and Trey, whom Bri assumed was Serena’s date, were dancing next to Cole and Alli. Serena looked ready to walk down the red carpet in a long, crimson, gown. The body hugging dress dipped almost to her butt in the back, and plunged almost as low in the front. Bri gaped at the copious amount of skin Serena was flaunting. It was more than cleavage, and Bri wondered how on earth Serena kept from falling out of that dress.

As she watched, Serena and Trey moved in closer to Cole and Alli. Serena leaned in to say something to Cole, and gave him an eyeful of her breasts in the process. She then cut a killing glare at Alli, and said something to her that made Alli blanch. She turned back to Trey, but kept an evil eye on Alli for the rest of the song. Bri was immensely grateful when the song finally ended, and she quickly dragged Nick off the dance floor to the table where her friends were sitting.

She spent the next little while trying not to stalk Cole with her eyes. The possessive gleam in Serena’s eyes, and the not so subtle advances from Alli had Bri’s stomach churning. She danced with Nick a couple more times, chatted with Layla, Jess, and Maddie, and even visited with some of the other girls from the Dance Team, anything to try and distract herself. But, no matter how hard she tried, her eyes wouldn’t leave Cole alone. Unfortunately, that meant that she saw more than she wanted of Alli trying to accost him. And, since Serena was following Cole around like a puppy, Bri also saw more of Serena’s breasts than she ever wanted. She and Layla even had a bet on how long it would be before one of Serena’s nipples made a debut. Watching Cole from afar was driving her crazy. Her only consolation was that Cole’s eyes followed her everywhere, too.

As the night wore on, Bri noticed that Alli was becoming more and more distressed and uncomfortable, until it looked like she was on the verge of tears. One look at the smug grin on Serena’s face told Bri exactly why Alli looked like she was about to have an emotional breakdown. Bri was surprised. Alli was a fellow cheerleader, and one of Serena’s loyal followers. If Serena was willing to torment one of her own to the point of tears for dating Cole, what wouldn’t she do to Bri? Bri suddenly understood exactly what it was Cole was trying to protect her from. And while she still didn’t like having to keep their relationship a secret, she decided to stop giving Cole such a hard time about it. At least for a little while.

Sometime later, Bri found herself sitting alone at the table. Nick had gone off to talk to some friends, and she hadn’t had the energy to follow him. She was watching Layla and Devon dancing, when a warm voice whispered in her ear.

“You promised you’d save me a dance,” Cole’s breath tickled her neck.

“Won’t that get us in trouble?” she replied, not looking back at him.

“Serena and the girls took a trip to the bathroom. We have plenty of time.”

“In that case,” Bri turned to look at him, “Cole, would you like to dance?”

He smiled and held out his hand, helping her up. Keeping his hand in hers, he led her into the throngs of dancing couples.

“Won’t your date mind you dancing with another guy?” Cole smirked.

“Not as much as yours will,” she smirked back. “Or as much as your psycho ex will mind.”

They found a spot on the outskirts and Cole pulled her into his arms. His hand found the small of her back and pressed her to him. Bri pressed her cheek against his and leaned into him. She let her eyes close and inhaled a deep breath, taking in Cole’s delicious scent.

“Happy Birthday, Ambria,” Cole murmured.

Surprised, Bri turned to look at him.

“Thank you. I thought you’d forgot.”

“I would never forget your birthday,” he replied tenderly. Heat bloomed in Bri’s stomach. The intensity in his gray eyes was overwhelming as he gazed at her. Unable to handle it, she dropped her eyes and returned her cheek to his.

As they danced, Cole’s arms tightened around her, into more of a hug, and his head dropped into the crook of her neck. Bri’s arms clung to his shoulders in response, like she was hanging on for dear life. For the first time all night, Bri felt completely at peace. This was where she had longed to be all night. It was perfect, being held in Cole’s arms as they swayed to the music.