Beautiful Mess (24 page)

“We
get to sleep in the bow!  It’s the best place to sleep because you can
hear the water lapping on both sides, and it sort of sings you to sleep!” 
The bow had two bunks on each side.  Claire climbed up onto her bunk and
sat expectantly.  “So, tell me about yourself!  I seriously want to
know
everything
!”

“Oh,
okay.”  Bri climbed up on her bunk as well, and told Claire a little about
herself.  Claire had a ton of questions, and side-tracked Bri a lot, but
she seemed to genuinely want to get to know her.  Bri asked some questions
of Claire and found out that she was in fact fifteen, in ninth grade, she
didn’t have a boyfriend, but she had already kissed three boys.  As they
talked, Bri found herself drawn to the bubbly girl.  She was sweet and
charming, and her enthusiasm was contagious.  Bri found herself wishing
she’d had a younger sister just like her.  After Claire was sufficiently
satisfied with Bri’s debriefing, she jumped off the bunk.

“Come
on, Bri, I’ll give you the tour!”

“Um,
that would be my job,” Cole pushed open the door to the bow, and Claire
shrieked.

“How
long have you been standing there?” she accused him.

“Long
enough,” Cole replied evasively.  “One thing to keep in mind.  The
walls on a boat are thin, so don’t say anything here that you don’t want
everyone else to know.”  He dropped Bri’s duffle on the bottom bunk. 
“Thought you might need that,” he smiled before turning to Claire.  “Oh,
and I heard that bit about you kissing every boy in sight, missy!  Not
cool.  And don’t think I won’t tell your parents!”  He gave her a
stern look.

“What? 
No, you can’t!  My dad will never let me out of the house again!”

“Well,
I might be persuaded to change my mind,” he pretended to think it over. 
“But someone is going to owe me a favor.  A big one.”

“Okay,
fine,” Claire relented gloomily.  “But I’m not doing your laundry
again.  That wasn’t a favor, that was torture.”  She visibly
shivered.

“Deal. 
Now, go!  You’ve taken up enough of Bri’s time.  It’s my turn.” 
He turned smoldering eyes on Bri.

“You
guys are totally going to make out, huh?” Claire giggled.

“Oh,
Sharon!” Cole called.

“Okay,
okay, I’m going.  Have fun!”  She wagged her eyebrows at Bri before
skipping up the stairs.

Cole
walked up to Bri, put his hands on her waist, and lifted her down from the
bunk, setting her on the floor in front of him. 

“Mmm,
much better,” he murmured as his arms wrapped around her.

“Much,
much better.”  Bri tipped her lips up in invitation.   A smile
spread over her face as Cole eagerly accepted.

All
of the restraint they had shown earlier on the dock was gone, and they kissed
each other hungrily.  It had only been a few days since they’d seen each
other, but it had felt like weeks to Bri.  Her body melted into his and
her hands dug into his hair.  It scared her how intense they were together
sometimes, like they almost couldn’t live without each other.  But Bri’s
body paid no heed to that fear, as it tried to communicate to Cole how glad she
was to be with him.  Cole’s body seemed to need to express that same
sentiment, and their kissing heated up. 

“Dude! 
If you’re going to do that, at least close the door!”

Bri
jumped away from Cole guiltily, completely startled, and Cole tried to smother
a laugh.

“Thanks
man, I’ll get you back for this,” Cole eyed their interrupter.  He reached
for Bri and pulled her into his side.  “Bri, this is Sebastian. 
Scott and Sharon’s other annoying offspring.  Seb, this is Bri.”

“Nice
to finally meet you, Bri,” the tall, dark haired, dark eyed boy held out his
hand. 

Bri
blushed as she shook it.  “Nice to meet you, too.”

“Seb’s
a freshman at UNLV.  He’s their starting cornerback,” Cole informed
her.  “Defense,” he whispered tragically. 

Bri
grinned.  “Oh, wow!  That’s awesome.  Your parents must be
really proud.”

“Yeah,
something like that.”  Sebastian eyed her like he was trying to figure her
out.  “Anyway, I just came down to tell you that we’re heading to shore in
a bit, if you want to come.  Mom’s gotta pick up some stuff for breakfast
tomorrow.”

As
much as Bri wanted to go exploring, she wanted some alone time with Cole
more.  As if reading her mind, Cole answered.

“You
know, I think Bri and I will just hang out here.”  He looked to Bri for
approval, and she nodded her consent.

“Sure
you will,” Seb gave them a knowing smirk.  “Well, we’ll be back in an hour
or so,” he turned to leave.  “Oh, and no getting it on, on my bed!” he
called over his shoulder.

“No
promises, man!” Cole shot back without missing a beat.  Bri on the other
hand, had turned bright red, and was standing there frozen by
embarrassment.  Cole turned to her and laughed.

“Don’t
worry, he doesn’t really think we’re going to do anything.  He’s just
messing with us.”  He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. 
“Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the boat.”  He pulled her along by the
hand.  “The bathroom is here, and the guest room where Seb’s sleeping is
here,” Cole pointed to the two doors opposite the hall from each other. 
“Scott and Shar’s room is there, at the other end of the hall.”  He led
her back up the spiral stairs into the pilot house, or the big wheel room as
Bri called it, and up a longer staircase leading to the roof.  Cole tried to
teach her the correct nautical terms for the various rooms on the boat, but Bri
knew there was no way she’d ever remember them.  So she decided to call
things as she saw them. 

They
emerged into an open, canopied bridge, complete with another big wheel and
control panels, and an L-shaped bench with padded seats.  Down a short
ladder at the back was a long deck that extended the rest of the length of the
boat.

Bri
sat on the bench and took in all the boats around her and the shore behind
her.  “What’s that for?”  She pointed to a small metal crane that
looked very out of place perched on the side of the deck.

“That’s
how we get the dinghy up and down.  It’s stored up here when it’s not in
the water.”

“Wow. 
This is really amazing.”  Her eyes continued to scan her beautiful
surroundings.

“Yes,
it really is,” Cole agreed.  “Now that we’re finally alone, I have
something for you.”  He pulled out the small package he’d picked up before
they came up top.

“Oh! 
Wait, I have something for you, too.  I’ll be right back.”  Bri
rushed down to her bag and pulled out Cole’s gifts.  When she got back,
she handed him two brightly wrapped boxes.  “Merry Christmas, Cole! 
You open your presents first.”

Cole
was ecstatic when he opened the pair of designer sunglasses Bri got him. 
She knew he had been wanting them for a while now, and she’d even called Jimmy
to make sure he wasn’t getting them for him for Christmas.  The other
present was an assortment of art supplies.

“Thanks,
baby!”  Cole pulled her in for a hug.  “This is perfect!  But
you spent way too much money on me.”

“You’re
worth it,” Bri kissed him.  “I wanted to get you something special.” 
She picked up the box of art supplies.  “I called your dad and he told me
where you get your art supplies.  I told the guy at the shop I was buying
for you, and he said these were some things you might want.  I hope you
like them”

“I
do.  It was a very thoughtful gift.  Thank you,” Cole kissed her
again.  “Your turn!  Merry Christmas, Ambria!”

Bri
opened the box to find a framed picture Cole had drawn of the two of them
sitting on the beach.  Cole had his arms wrapped around Bri and was
placing a kiss on her temple, while she leaned into him with a happy, content
smile.

“Coleston! 
It’s beautiful,” she got a little teary-eyed as she noticed how detailed the
drawing was.  He’d obviously spent a lot of time on it.  “It’s
perfect!  Thank you!”  She threw her arms around him.

“I
have one more for you,” he pulled back and dug a small, blue box out of his pocket.

Bri
took the box, recognizing the Tiffany’s blue, and opened it slowly.

“Oh,
wow,” she gazed down at the silver butterfly pendant resting inside. 
“Cole, this is really too much!  And you think I spent too much on
you?  I... I can’t... it’s too expensive,” Bri shook her head and tried to
give the box back.

“It
reminded me of you,” Cole pushed it back towards her.  “I wanted you to
have it.  Here,” he pulled out the necklace and fastened it around her
neck.  “See, it’s perfect on you.”

“Thank
you,” she smiled at him, getting teary-eyed again.  “It is perfect. 
It’s exactly what I would’ve picked out.  I love it.  I’ll always
wear it.  Though now, in comparison, my gifts to you seem really lame.”

“Are
you kidding?”  Cole slipped on his sunglasses.  “Do you know how long
I’ve been eyeing these babies?  They’re perfect!”

“Wow,
just when I thought you couldn’t possibly get any sexier!”  Bri pulled him
to her, wanting to demonstrate her gratitude for his thoughtful gifts. 
They made good use of their privacy, and the padded benches on the bridge,
before they were interrupted by the sound of the dinghy
returning.     

Later
that evening, the whole group went ashore for dinner at one of the local
restaurants.  Afterward, Cole took Bri on a tour of the town, meandering
up and down many of the side streets.  Bri found the entire island
charming.  It was so far removed from what she was used to in LA. 
Avalon had more of a European feel, and she instantly fell in love with it.

After
returning to the boat, Claire corralled the whole group for game night. 
One four hour marathon game of Monopoly, and a very rich, smug Sebastian later,
it was time for bed.  Cole kissed Bri briefly before she settled into the
bow with Claire, and the lapping waves lulled her to sleep.

Bri
woke the next morning to the smell of bacon.  She glanced over to find
Claire’s bunk empty.  She climbed down, grabbed her brush from her bag,
tried to tame her hair as best she could, and went in search of  the
others.

She
found everyone seated around the dining table eating waffles, bacon, and
eggs.  Most of them were already dressed and ready.  Cole was sitting
in an armchair, his knee bouncing up and down impatiently.  For a moment
Bri was embarrassed.  She was obviously the last one to wake, and it
looked like they had been waiting on her.  She walked down the stairs into
the kitchen.  Cole saw her and jumped out of his seat, wrapping her in a
hug.

“Good
morning.  I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up!” he
teased before planting a quick kiss on her lips.

“What
time is it?  How long have you been up?”  She glanced at the clock
and couldn’t believe it.  It was almost 11:00!

“We’ve
been up for a while,” Cole grinned.  “We tried to wait on breakfast, but
we got a little hungry.”

Bri
was thoroughly embarrassed.

“I’m
so sorry!  I can’t believe I slept that long!”

“It’s
okay,” Cole assured her.  “Apparently, sleeping on a boat agrees with
you.  Here, come get some food before it’s gone.”  He eyed Seb as he
heaped another helping of everything onto his plate.

“What?”
Seb mumbled through his mouthful of waffle.  “I’m a growing boy!”

Cole
just shook his head and slid in next to Bri.  Sharon handed Bri a plate,
and Bri helped herself to some breakfast.

“So,
now that Bri’s finally awake,” Claire chimed in.  “What are we going to do
today?”

“I
vote for fishing,” Jimmy said.

“Me,
too,” Seb agreed.

“I
heard some guys talking yesterday about a great spot,” Scott leaned in
excitedly.

“No! 
Fishing’s boring!” Claire pouted. “I know, let’s go shopping!  What do you
think, Bri?”

“No,
shopping’s boring!” Seb mimicked Claire’s pout.  Claire smacked his arm.

“How
about we drop you girls off on shore to shop, and the guys can go
fishing?”  Scott looked around the table for approval.

“That
works,” Sharon replied.  “Then we could all meet back together in a couple
hours for a late lunch.”

“Done!”
Scott nodded.  “You ladies better hurry, we’re leaving in ten minutes.”

“Hey,”
Bri protested.  “I haven’t even finished my breakfast!”

“Okay,
thirty minutes,” Scott winked.  “But anyone not in the dinghy gets left
behind!”

Thirty
minutes later everyone piled into the small boat.  It was a bit of a tight
fit with all the extra fishing equipment, but everyone managed to find a seat.

“Sure
you don’t want to come with us?” Bri teased Cole as they pulled up to the
dock..

“Um,
no offense, but absolutely not!”

“Your
loss,” she smiled.  He jumped out and helped her onto the dock.

“I’ll
miss you.” 

“I’ll
miss you, too.  Have fun.”