| �Can I get a Coors over here?� Eric shouted over the music as he got to the bar. He turned toward Brielle, who was standing quietly to his left. Colby was still glued to her side, and was barely paying any attention to her, as he was still talking to Steve and Matt. �Hi Elle,� Eric said, with a small smile. Brielle gave him a half smile. �Hi Eric,� she said quietly. �What�s up?� Eric asked, trying to make small talk. �Not much,� Brielle replied. �Eric!� Colby shouted, finally noticing that he was standing at the bar. �How�s it going?� he asked. Eric gave Brielle a quick glance before answering Colby. �Fine. And yourself?� �Everything is wonderful,� Colby replied, giving Brielle a quick kiss on the cheek. Brielle smiled, but in Eric�s opinion, her smile looked rather forced. Eric fought the urge to roll his eyes at his younger friend�s grin. �That�s great.� He paused as Marie handed him his Coors. �Elle, can I talk to you for a minute? About working on my speed,� he said. �Yeah, sure,� Brielle replied, looking almost relieved to get away from Colby for a few minutes. �Sweetie, I�ll be back in a little bit,� she said, removing Colby�s arm from her shoulder and grabbing her bottle of Labatt. Colby nodded, and continued his conversation with Matt and Steve as Brielle walked away with Eric. He lead her to a relatively quiet corner table, which no one was occupying at the moment. He pulled her chair out for her, and sat down across from her, leaning across the table so he wouldn�t have to raise his voice at all. �About that kiss-� he began, only to be interrupted by Brielle. �It shouldn�t have happened,� she said quickly. She kept talking when she realized Eric wasn�t going to stop her. �I�m dating Colby, and I don�t cheat on my boyfriends, and that�s that.� Eric took in what she had said, and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. He eyed her up, scrutinizing every move she made. After a few seconds, he said, �Do you like me?� Brielle blinked. She sighed before answering. �I could lie and say I don�t, but you�d see right through me, just like you did when we were kids.� She almost started laughing, suddenly seeing the irony in Eric�s question. �But shouldn�t my answer have been evident when you kissed me and I kissed you back?� Eric rolled his eyes. �Okay, so you do like me. I think it�s obvious I like you.� He paused. �The question is, what are we gonna do about it?� �We can�t do anything about it,� Brielle said, looking away from Eric�s eyes and at the table. �I�m dating Colby, and he doesn�t deserve this�� �Even if it makes us happy?� Eric asked, leaning back over the table. �Colby doesn�t deserve to be cheated on, I agree with you on that one, but are you happy with him?� Brielle hesitated before answering, and that was the break Eric had been looking for. �Why did you agree to go out with him in the first place, if you�re not necessarily happy with him?� Brielle frowned. �I don�t know� He just looked so sad at the Rookie Party, like he had never wanted something so much in his entire life and I knew that if I said yes, then I could make that look go away. Just one little word, and he would be the happiest guy on the planet.� She looked up at Eric. �That kind of power is hard to pass up.� Eric raised his brows. �So what if it was me that looked all sad? Would you do the same for me?� Brielle shook her head. �Eric, I can�t discuss this anymore with you,� she said, standing up and grabbing her bottle. �Nothing is going to happen between us when I�m Colby�s girlfriend. And I�m not breaking up with him anytime soon. And that is final.� With her last word, she walked back to the bar, leaving Eric still sitting at the table by himself, staring at the label of his Coors. Within a matter of moments, he heard someone sat down across from him. When Eric looked up, Jason MacDonald was sitting there, trying not to grin. �Mac, what�s up?� Eric asked. Eric knew that MacDonald knew something, and fully expected him to call him on whatever it was. �Not much,� Jason replied, taking a swig of his own bottle of Coors. �Maybe I should be asking you that same question.� Eric frowned. �How much did you hear and how much is it gonna cost me?� he asked, getting irritated with Jason�s babbling. �I heard that you kissed Ellie,� Jason said. �And that she likes you. And I�m not quite so sure as to what I want to do with this information just yet, so you don�t have to take out your wallet at the moment.� Jason paused while Eric sighed. �However. You do have to tell everyone that you do, in fact, know Ellie and that you�ve known her since she was eleven. Everyone knows it already, and I�m getting sick of you two skirting around the issue.� �Fine,� Eric muttered. �I�ll tell everyone.� He glanced at the bar, where Brielle was standing next to Matt. �Later.� |
 |
|
|
|