All too soon, winter break was over and it was time to go back to school. As Bri drove through the dark on her way to dance practice Monday morning, it hit her with a sudden force that this was her last semester of high school. The familiar pattern of her life that she’d become accustomed to would be over in five short months, and then her life was going to change dramatically. It would soon be time for her to go off and face the unknown, her future, head on. Surprisingly, that wasn’t the comforting thought it usually was.
So, after dance, as she headed to her second period class, she promised herself that she’d try and enjoy every minute left of her high school career. Because, with college applications, dance competitions, basketball halftimes, AP tests, finals, and graduation, she had a feeling that the next five months were going to fly by.
As she approached her AP Calc class, she noticed Cole walking towards her down the hall, and her heart started thumping. A second later, he saw her and smiled.
“Hi Bri,” he winked at her as he passed.
“Hi Cole,” she returned his smile. Yep, that was definitely better than ignoring each other. She resisted the urge to turn and watch him as he continued down the hall. But, as she turned to enter her classroom, she cast one more glance his way. She found him watching her from the other end of the hall. Her heart leapt in her chest, and she gave him a smile before heading into class. She did notice that Cole was standing with Serena, and she thought she saw Serena scowling at her. But then again, Serena was always scowling, so it could’ve been nothing.
As Bri went through the rest of her day, she couldn’t believe how much better she felt. She hadn’t realized exactly how much it had taken out of her to pretend that she and Cole meant nothing to each other. Just being able to acknowledge each other lifted a huge weight off her. Especially now that she didn’t have Ceramics with him anymore. Her class schedule had stayed the same except for her seventh period. This semester she had Drama. She liked Drama, but it just wasn’t the same.
Cole had an away game that Friday, and Bri decided to surprise him and go. She talked Layla and a couple girls from the Dance Team into going with her. They all wore their navy blue letterman jackets and stood out like sore thumbs in the visitor’s section of the opposing team’s gym. They would be hard to miss sitting altogether like that.
The team finished warming up, and as Cole headed to the bench, he caught sight of the girls in the stands. His eyes found Bri almost immediately. A surprised smile formed on his face that quickly transformed into a knowing smirk that seemed to say, “Yeah, you’ve got it bad!”. Bri laughed, shaking her head at him, and Cole headed out to the floor and the game began.
Bri couldn’t take her eyes off Cole the entire game, and only partly because he was smoking’ hot in his basketball uniform. The guy played like a man possessed. He was utterly amazing, and the other team couldn’t do anything to stop him. Needless to say, it was a huge win for the Tigers. Cole caught Bri’s eye on his way to the locker room and gave her a huge smile and a wink. Bri discreetly waved at him before following her friends to the parking lot.
Layla and the girls recounted how freaking amazing Cole had been as they drove home. Bri felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out.
Hey Beautiful! There’s a party at Jensen’s house tonight. Want to go?
Jensen was one of Cole’s extremely tall team mates.
I wish I could. With the competition tomorrow, we have been given a strict curfew. Belinda will kill me if she finds out I went out.
Please??? She won’t find out, and I promise not to keep you out too late?
Bri waffled for a minute.
I’m sorry, but I can’t. :( I’m ornery enough at 6am with a full night’s sleep. Trust me, if you want my team mates to survive the bus ride, I’d better get home and get to bed. Another time, though, I promise!
Alright. I wouldn’t want you maiming your team. I just miss you.
I know, I miss you too. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?
Okay. I’ll be there front and center. Goodnight, Ambria.
Goodnight, Cole.
Bri went to put her phone away, when it buzzed once more.
Oh, and Bri? I’m really glad you came tonight!
She didn’t stop smiling the whole way home.
The next day, Cole, Devon, and a few other guys were sitting on the front row, cheering the Dance Team on, just like Cole had promised. Bri’s dad was even there. It was one of the only competitions he’d be able to make it to, and she was really glad he was there. As she watched her dad and Cole laugh together at something, Bri decided she needed to tell her dad the truth about her and Cole. No more putting it off. She just hoped her dad would still be as accepting of Cole when he found out they were more than just friends.