Friends & Lovers Trilogy by Bethany Lopez

When can I see you
again?”
    “ Um, I work the next few
nights, but we can hang out before work, or we can get together on
my day off.”
    “ Great.” He smiled. “Give
me a call tomorrow.”
    “ Sounds good,” she said,
and started back towards her car.
    “ Hey, Bree,” he called
after her, causing her to look over her shoulder at him. “What
happened with Kent?”
    “ I told him I couldn’t see
him anymore,” she replied, then got in her car and drove
away.
    When she looked in her rearview mirror,
Colin was still standing in the same spot with a huge grin on his
face.

Chapter Fourteen
     
    When Briana woke up the next morning, she
stayed in bed for a few minutes, replaying the previous day in her
mind.
    She couldn’t believe the way things had
played out at the party: Kara getting drunk, even when she knew
they had to work; the Asshole being belligerent; and Pete standing
up for Kara and getting punched for his efforts.
    Pam had been cool with Nicole covering for
Kara. She said that she had been considering promoting Nicole to
server, so it would give her a chance to see how she handled
herself on the floor. Before closing for the night and heading
home, Briana had thanked Nicole again for agreeing to help Kara out
as they sat down and had a drink after work.
    “ No problem,” Nicole said.
“I’m sorry about what happened at the party, but I made out great
in tips tonight. It was fun.”
    “ That’s great,” Briana
replied. Then she studied Nicole, taking in her good looks and the
way she carried herself, as if she’d been born to privilege. “So,
what’s your story, Nicole? No offense, but you don’t seem like the
type to be working as a hostess at a bar and grill in the middle of
nowhere.”
    Nicole had turned pink, then looked down at
the napkin that she was slowly tearing to pieces. “Well, I grew up
in Dallas. My parents are wealthy and I went to private schools all
my life. It was expected that I would go to SAGU and study Youth
Ministries, then come home and marry my high school sweetheart, and
we would start a congregation together. The problem was that I
don’t love Jake, and I couldn’t go through with my parents’ plans
for me. I studied English in school and broke it off with Jake. My
parents were very disappointed in me and I just couldn’t go back,
so I came here to start a life on my own.”
    “ Wow. Did you know anyone
here before you came?”
    Nicole smiled and giggled a bit, as if still
amazed by her decision. “No. I just picked a random spot on the map
and showed up. I had a little money saved up, so I was able to rent
an apartment, but even with the money I make as a hostess, it is
started to become a struggle. That is why I’m hoping to move up to
a serving position, and I’m thinking about getting a roommate.”
    Briana looked at her in amazement. “You’re
so brave. I don’t think I could ever do what you did, not in a
million years.”
    “ Thanks, but it’s no big
deal.” Nicole said with an embarrassed shrug.
    Thinking back on the conversation, Briana
was impressed about Nicole and the decisions she’d made in order to
be happy.
    Deciding it was time to get some coffee; she
rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen. When she walked in,
she saw that Pete was already there making a pot.
    “ Hey,” she said with a
yawn. “What are you doing here?”
    When Pete turned, she saw that his jaw was
colorful with the bruises that were starting to form.
    “ Ouch.”
    “ It’s not so bad,” he
replied, gingerly touching his jaw. “I brought Kara home and stayed
over. She was pretty shook up last night, and I wanted to make sure
she was okay.”
    “ Is she?”
    “ Yeah,” he said smiling to
himself as he made two cups of coffee. “She’s great.”
    Before Briana could ask him about that
smile, he wandered out of the kitchen and into Kara’s room,
shutting the door behind him. She looked at the shut door for a
moment, then shrugged and poured herself a cup