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with a wink.
    Kara looked at him blandly over her steaming
mug. “No, thanks.”
    “ Yeah, I’ll pass, too,”
Briana said with a look of regret. “Sorry, but although I know I’m
going to run into Colin now that he’s back, that doesn’t mean I’m
going to seek him out.”
    “ You’re not still mad at
him for what happened four years ago, are you?” Rich questioned
her. “Bree that was a long time ago. You guys have been apart way
longer than you were ever together.”
    “ I loved him, Rich,” Briana
replied quietly. “He really hurt me.”
    “ I know that. Believe me,
if anyone knows how much he hurt you, it’s me. But give the dude a
chance. It’s been a long time. He’s grown up, and I know he regrets
hurting you.”
    “ I don’t know if I’m ready
yet. A lot of time may have passed, but I’ve only just started to
see him again. It’s like seeing him has brought back all of those
feelings of hurt and resentment, as if it just
happened.”
    “ Just think about it.” Rich
stood up and took his cup back to the kitchen, then came back out
to give them each a hug. “Well, ladies, I hate to break it to you,
but I have to get going. Work is a’waitin’.”
    “ You’re working at a soda
fountain,” Kara said, finally waking up enough to get snarky. “It’s
not like the city will crumble if you don’t get to work on
time.”
    “ Hey, Ms. Grumpy Pants,
this is my last summer before I’m a college graduate and have to
get a real job, with all of the stress and long hours that come
along with it. I plan to make the most of my time at the counter,
and vow to have the happiest customers in town,” he declared with a
wink and a smile. Then he walked out the door.
    Briana couldn’t help but giggle at his
dramatic exit.
    “ You shouldn’t encourage
that clown.” Kara said dryly.
    “ Hey, that clown is one of
my best friends. Be nice.”
    “ Sorry. Didn’t get a lot of
sleep last night,” Kara said with a satisfied smile.
    “ Please, spare me the
details about two of my best friends’ night of passion,” Briana
begged her. “This situation is strange enough without getting the
play-by-play.”
    “ Yeah, you’re probably
right.”
    “ You gonna see him
again?”
    “ Nah… We talked it out last
night. It was just a casual thing between friends, no big deal.”
Kara got to her feet and walked out. “Gotta grab a
shower.”
    Briana knew that it was hypocritical, but
she couldn’t help but wish that Kara would give a guy a chance. She
had so much to offer and Briana knew that Kara would be a wonderful
girlfriend for any guy, but Kara didn’t see it that way. Her mother
had spent her life telling her that she would never be good enough
for anyone, and Kara believed every word. She figured her mother
knew her better than anyone, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.
Kara was the most loving, loyal, and funny person that Briana had
ever met, and she wished that she would allow herself to fall in
love.
    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. There was nothing like kissing someone that you truly loved.
It made her sigh just thinking about it.
    That was really 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 & Grill after work. It didn’t really take that much
convincing; Rich was always ready to eat. He seemed especially
after