Make It Last (8 page)

             
Although Briana would be the first one to say that love really did hurt, and that hurting really sucked, the love part really made it all worth it.

             
Having someone who listened to you, really listened. Who cared what happened to you. Who offered you comfort
when you needed it. Someone
you could laugh or cry hysterically with, someone who would allow you to just be
yourself, no matter what. T
here was nothing li
ke kissing someone that you truly
love
d
. It made her sigh just thinking about it.

             
That was rea
lly the reason why Briana hadn’
t had a serious relationship since Colin. No one else made her feel the way that she had when they were together. She worried that no one else ever could.

Chapter Eight

             
Colin knew that it was a thinly veiled excuse to stop by and see Briana, but a guy had to eat, didn’t he?

             
He’d talked
Rich into heading down to the Bar & G
rill after work. It didn’t really take that much convincing; Rich was always ready to eat.
He seemed e
specially after the work out he’d been treated to that morning.

             
When they walked into the crowded restaurant, Colin scanned the room for signs of Briana. He knew she’d more than likely be in the back, but he still hoped for a glimpse. He hadn’t seen her in a few days, and he’d missed the sight of her.

             
He
realized that he wasn’t going to get to see her yet, so he walked up to where Rich was chatting up the hostess.

             
“C’mon
, sweet
Nicole
.
I’m sure you can find us a table somewhere in this place.
There are
just two of us.”

             
The blonde hostess turned red at Rich’s flirting and said that she’d see what she could do to find them a table right away.

             
“L
eave that poor girl alone, Rich,” Colin said
as
Nicole
scurried off in search of a table. “She looks pretty sweet. I don’t think she knows how to handle the likes of you.”

             
“No harm,” Rich smiled. “And see? It worked. S
he’s fixin’ something up for us right now.”

             
Colin c
ouldn’t help but chuckle softly
as they were led to their seats. Rich could charm the pants off anyone, and very nearly had.

             
They thanked
Nicole
, and she flushed again, murmuring
,
“You
’
r
e
welcome,” as she walked back to her post.

             
They di
dn’t need to look at the menu. I
t was Wednesday after all, so wings were pretty much a given.

             
“Well, lucky me. T
wo of the most eligible bachelo
rs in town, sitting at my table,
” Kara drawled with a sexy grin.

             
“Hey, Kara,” Colin said. “How you doin’?”

             
“Can’t complain,” she
replied. “Can I start ya’ll off with a beer?”

             
“Yes, m
a’am.” This was delivered by Rich, with a sexy grin of his own.

             
“Comin’ right up, Sugar.” They both took a moment to watch Kara sashay to the bar.
“She’s the female version of you,” Colin said shaking h
is head and turning back to
Rich.

             
Rich just leaned back and grinned.
“Ain’t that the
truth.
”

             
They got their beer a
nd watched the game for a bit, d
rinking and talking. While they waited for their wings to come out, Rich asked Colin if he felt better about working at The General Store.

             
“No, man,
” Colin said with a frown. “I love my parents and this town and everything, but I can’t help but resent the fact that
I’m
here doing the one thing I swore I’d never do.”

             
“Then why are you?”

             
“Everything just went to hell when I got hurt. I focused on finishing school, but then I just had to get out of there. I couldn’t stand to face the team and my coaches, knowing that I wasn’t a part of the game anymore.”

             
“It’s not like coming here and running the store is your only option. If you hate it so much, look for something else,” Rich offered.

             
Colin took a long drink, then replied, “Nothing means as much to me as football, so I might as well be miserable here, where I know people.”

             
“That’s a shitty way to look at it,” Rich argu
ed. “Dude, I know you’re pissed
I would be too, but playing football isn’t the only way to be involved in the game.”

             
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.
”
Colin said thoughtfully.
“
I could look into coaching or something; I just don’t know where to start.”

             
“Well, you’re gonna start a
t the bottom, but at least you’ll
be
happy,
” Rich replied. Then he looked up at someone approaching their table.

             
Figuring it was K
ara, Colin didn’t look up. Then
he heard Kent’s voice.

             
“Hey, guys. How’s it goin’?” he
said when he got to the table. He had his arm slung around a beautiful girl with
long blonde hair and amazing gray eyes. She smiled
and Colin not
iced she had a
dimple on the left side of her face
. “This is my sister, Roni. She’s staying with me for a while and I wanted to introduce her around, make her feel welcome.”

             
Colin and Rich stood up
and shook her hand. Rich held
on long enough for Kent to narrow his eyes at him.

             
Rich just smiled and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Roni. You need anything, you just look for me.”

             
Kent bent down to say something to Roni and she turned and
walked back towards the bar
.

             
“Al
l right. T
he real reason I wanted
to introduce you is because Roni
will be at Kara and Bree’s party tonight, and I wanted you both to know tha
t she’s my sister, so hands off,
”
Kent said
. “Especially you, Ri
ch.
I didn’t like
the way you were looking at her
.”

             
“No harm, man,
” Rich said, holding his hands up as if to prove he was no threat. “You’re
sister’s
pretty man, that’s all. I’ll leave her alone.”

             
Kent looked at Colin, who just nodded.

             
Kent nodded back a
t both of them and said, “Later,” a
s he walked back
in the direction his sister
went.

             
They both sat down and Rich whistled.
“Holy, shit
.
That was the most beautiful girl I
have ever seen up close.” He declared
with a look of wonder.

             
“I wouldn’t mess with Kent if I were you. He looked pretty serious.”

             
Rich was saved from answering when Kara arrived with their food, but
Colin noticed that
he couldn’t help
but
look over to where the tall, slender blonde leaned against
the
bar talking with Pete
.

Chapter Nine

             
Briana was
thrilled
when they finally closed for the night. She felt so greasy and gross that she couldn’t wait to get home and shower.

             
She put the finishing touches on her dish, then took it out to the bar to share with her co-workers.

             
“That looks so good, Bree,” Kara moaned from her perch at the bar. She’d kicked off her heels and was rubbing her sore feet. “
I’m
so hungry,
I could eat that whole plate of pasta
.
”

             
“Get in line,” Pete said as he poured some drinks to go with their meal.

             
“Wine for me, please,”
Nicole
chimed in as she walked to the back of the room. “I can’t wait to get everythin
g cleaned and head to your place
. I was so bummed I had to miss out last week, but I had to go home to watch my brothers and sisters.”

             
“No problem,” Briana said.
“At least you’re free tonight.” Then she turned to Pete
, “Wine sounds good. Would
you pour me the red?”

             
They all sat down to enjoy the food and drinks, then went about cleaning up the front and back of the house as quickly as possible so they could
head to Kara and Briana’s apartment
.
They yelled goodnight to Pam, who th
anked Briana for the pasta, then
locked up behind them.

             
Kara and Briana hosted this get together most Wednesdays, so they knew the routine and got themselves and the apartment ready when they got home.
Pretty soon the place
was filled with people and the party was in full swing.

             
Briana and Kara
both opted for sundresses, since it was a hot Texas night. When
Nicole
arrived wearing her hostess uniform, Briana offered to loan her something to wear.

             
When
Nicole
walked out wearing
the dress, she looked
uncertainly at Briana
.

             
“I think it’s too small.”

             
“No, you just have bigge
r boobs than I do. It’s perfect,
” Briana assured her. She fluffed out
Nicole
’s hair
to give it a fuller look, and told her to stop standing with her hands crossed over her chest.

             
“C’mon, let’s go g
et you a drink. Stop worrying. Y
ou look amazing
.
”

             
They went out to join the party and ran into Kent and Roni in the hall.
Kent paused momentarily, taking in
Nicole
’s drastic change in appearance. They all stood there for a moment, until
Nicole
blushed and looked down, and R
oni cleared her throat
.

             
“Oh, ahh, hey.
What’s up?” Kent said hoarsely, before clearing his throat. “
Nicole
, you met my sister, Roni, but Roni, you didn’t get a chance to meet Bree yet.”

             
Briana smiled at Roni, surprised at the striking resemblance between the two. It almost hurt to look at the pair of them, they were so beautiful.

             
“Wow, Kent, you never said you had a sister.” Briana said, wondering what other things they’d never shared with each other.

             
“Yeah, Roni’s my twin. S
he’s going to
be staying with me for a while,” he
said w
ith a smile for his sister. H
e tried not to stare at
Nicole
’s amazing body.