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was time for her to step in before things really got ugly.
    “Alright,
you two,” she stepped in between Carly and Cole, holding up a hand to both of
them.  “That’s enough.”  They were glaring at each other, but neither
of them said anything else.
    “Now,”
Bri said, trying to calm them down and diffuse the situation.  “Cole,
Carly is right.  You should have been more upfront with her from the
beginning.  You can’t expect a girl like her to understand
subtlety.”  She saw Cole’s lip twitch, as if he wanted to smile at her
jab.  “And, Carly,” she turned to her cousin, “Cole is right.  You
shouldn’t be hitting on another guy when you have a boyfriend.  It’s not
fair to Dalton, and it’s just plain wrong.”  Bri had the satisfaction of
seeing Carly’s eyes drop.  “And just because a guy turns you down, doesn’t
mean you get to go all crazy on him.  Okay?”  Carly shrugged. 
Bri turned to Cole, who nodded.  “Good.  So why don’t you both
apologize, and we’ll all move on?”
    Bri
looked meaningfully at Cole, but he seemed disinclined to offer up any
apology.  “Crazy and angry,” She murmured to him, trying to get him
to man up.  He let out a sigh.
    “Fine,”
he relented.  “Carly, I’m sorry I didn’t spell it all out for you. 
I’m sorry you entirely misconstrued the whole situation.  And I’m sorry
that subtlety is completely lost on you,” he finished sarcastically.
    Choosing
to ignore Cole’s less than sincere apology, Bri turned to Carly.  “Okay,
your turn.”
    “Oh,
I don’t think so,” Carly scoffed.  “You keep holding your breath Cole,
because you will never get an apology from me!”  She turned abruptly and
stormed away.
    “Carly!”
Bri called after her, but Carly ignored her.  She turned to Cole.  “I
can’t believe her!  I’m so sorry.”
    “Don’t
worry about it.  I promise you I’m not going to be losing any sleep over
it.  You should probably go after her.”
    “Heck,
no!  If she’s going to be rude and hypocritical, she can go pout at the
car by herself!”
    “Well,
good,” he smiled.  “Now that I know you aren’t in any rush to get out of
here, there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.” Cole shoved his hands in his
pockets nervously. 
    “Oh,
really?” she smiled, finding his nervousness endearing.
    “Well,
I was wondering, if you don’t have any plans on Saturday night, if you’d want
to go out with me?” he smiled at her.
    Bri
felt her stomach bottom out, and her face fell.  She had not expected
that.  “You mean like a date?” she asked weakly.
    “Yes,
exactly like a date!  What do you think?”
    Bri
was unable to form a reply, as there was a small battle waging inside of her at
the moment.  Her brain was telling her that this was probably a bad
idea.  She hardly knew this guy, and this was way too fast.  It was
too soon to even think about dating again, and she’d just end up getting
hurt.  Again.  And, she was a little scared by Cole’s
offer.  Maybe it was too soon.
    But
her body, which had been reacting to Cole ever since they met, was screaming
yes, yes, please yes!  It had been so long since she had felt anything
like what she felt around him, and her body was desperate for more.  Even
though she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she was definitely attracted to
him, and her body was begging for a chance to get close to him.  
    “Um,
Bri?” Cole’s voice pulled her from her inner battle.
    “I’m
sorry, what?” She wasn’t sure if she had missed something.
    “You
still haven’t given me an answer.”  He looked a little concerned.
    “Yes,”
Bri replied softly.  Her body made the decision before her brain could
interfere.
    “Yes?”
Cole’s face lit up.  “As in ‘Yes Cole, I’ll go out with you’?”
    “Yes,”
she managed a weak smile.
    “Are
you sure?”
    “Yes. 
Why?”
    “Because
you look like you’re going to throw up or something.  You