Make It Last (Friends & Lovers 1)

Colin chuckled and punched him good-naturedly on the arm. “Get to work.”

Chapter Sixteen

Briana hadn’t had an opportunity to speak with Kara since the party at Rich’s house. She was dying to know what had happened between her and Pete. But Kara wasn’t home, so Briana went into work early, hoping to catch her before their shift started.

When she walked into the back room, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Kara and Pete sat at the break room table. Kara was sitting in his lap and they were kissing each other heatedly.

Briana cleared her throat, which caused them to jump apart. Kara caught herself before she fell to the floor, giggling. Pete’s fair skin colored instantly.

“What’s going on?” Briana asked.

“Shh.” Kara responded, holding a finger to her lips. “I don’t want Pam coming back here.”

“Why not? What’s going on?”

Pete stood up and headed towards the door. “I’ll leave you two alone so you can talk.”

He winked at Kara and walked out. Briana started out after him, then turned to Kara, who was smiling wider than she’d ever seen.

“Did I just enter the Twilight Zone?” Briana quipped, which caused Kara to giggle again.

“OMG, Bree things are totally crazy.”

Briana had never seen Kara look or act this way, like a lovesick girl.

“Are you guys, like, together now?”

Kara sobered a bit and tried to look more serious, but she was so happy that even without the smile, she glowed.

“I’m so sorry about what happened the other day, Bree. I never should have started drinking, I knew we had to work, but one drink led to another and the next thing I knew, that asshole started looking pretty good. I should have listened when you came over and tried to get me to leave with you. I feel so bad about the way he treated you, and the way he treated Pete.” She got a dreamy look on her face. “God, Pete. Can you believe the way he stood up for me? I mean, I always knew that he was a great guy and that he was crushing on me, but I’ve never had anyone do that for me before.”

“What happened after I left, Kara?” Briana asked, taking a seat as she spoke, baffled by the look on Kara’s face.

“Well, Pete took me back home. I was sorry that he’d gotten hit, but I was pretty pissed that he’d butted in. At least, at the time I was. I yelled at him and told him to mind his own business, that I wasn’t his problem. He just watched me with that calm way he has, and let me rant. When I was done, he told me that I was a wonderful person, and that I deserved better than some drunken asshole pawing all over me at a party. That set me off again and I started yelling at him. When I was done he told me that he loved me, that he’s loved me for the past year, and that he wants to spend the rest of his life proving to me how amazing I am.” Her eyes began to fill as she spoke, and Briana started to get choked up.

“Then what happened?”

“I stopped yelling and started talking. I told him about my father leaving when I was a baby, and my mom blaming me for it. I told him how she’d lock me in a closet so she could go out and hook up with guys. I told him how she told me every day that I was worthless. I laid it all out for him and then explained that I wasn’t good enough for him. He’s a great guy and he deserves better than me.” Kara smiled through her tears. “He got mad and told me that if he ever heard me talk about myself like that again, he’d bend me over his knee. Ha. Then he said that I was exactly who he wanted and needed and that if he needed to, he would remind of that every day. Can you believe it?”

Briana smiled back at her, through tears of her own. “Yes, I believe it. You’re wonderful and Pete is the most amazing guy alive. You both deserve each other and you deserve to be happy.”

They hugged each other and cried softly in each other’s arms. When they pulled back Briana looked at the clock and said, “We’d better get cleaned up and get to work.”

She passed Pam’s office as she walked towards the kitchen, and noticed Pam talking to Nicole.

“Bree,” Pam called out to her.

Briana poked her head into the office. “Hi, Pam. What’s up?”

“Nicole is going to start serving next week. I was wondering if you knew anyone who might be good for the hostess position, before I post it in the paper.”

Briana looked at Nicole and smiled. “Congrats.” Then she turned back to Pam. “I might. I think I saw her in the dining room when I walked in, let me go check and see if she’s still here.”

Walking into the dining room, Briana spotted Roni sitting at the bar eating a salad and headed over to her.

“Hey, Roni, how’s it going?”