Meant to Marry Me: Nashville Country Dreams Part 1 novel Chapter 7

Bree was furious! How could that jerk of a now-ex-boyfriend take the car and leave like that? It wasn't even his car! She'd borrowed it from her roommate because it had new tires on it and wasn't as likely to break down as hers. Jason didn't even own a car! He got to and from class on a little Vespa he called his baby. He was such an idiot. At least they were done, and she'd never have to see him again.

Her roommate, Lilly Edge, had gone home for the holidays, too, but her sister, who was a year younger than her, had stopped to pick her up on her way through town, so she didn't have to drive. Her sister had been attending a college in Ohio, but she decided to transfer for the next semester so she'd be closer to home. Now, she'd be going to the same school Trent attended. Lilly and her sister, Monica, were very close. Sometimes, Bree wondered why they weren't at the same school.

She'd called Lilly as soon as she realized what Jason had done, but she hadn't answered. Then, she'd called her mom. She was still on the line talking to her when Lilly called. "I've gotta go, Mom. Lilly's calling."

"Okay, honey. If you decide you wanna come home, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Tom will be coming right through there in a couple of hours on their way to Grandma's."

"Okay. Thanks. I'll let you know." She clicked over before Lilly hung up. "Hey, girl. I've got some news."

"Someone stole my car?"

"How did you know?"

"I just got a phone call from the state police that it was broken down on the side of the road near Paducah. I couldn't imagine what you'd be doing there."

"Paducah?" She shook her head. "I guess Jason was taking it home for the holidays. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. My dad's taking me to get it now. We are hoping it's just out of gas. But… what's going on? I'm glad you weren't with him. I mean, I'm assuming not."

"No. We had a huge fight last night and decided it was over. I was intending to leave first thing this morning, but I fell asleep with a pillow over my face to drown out the sound of his buffalo snores, and I guess I didn't hear him get up."

"Gosh, Bree. That stinks. How are you going to get home?"

"Well, he was supposed to be driving me to my house for the holidays after the weekend in the cabin, and then we'd go back together. But my mom said she'd take me back to college. I can get a ride to her house with one of my friends from high school. Or I can catch a ride with my aunt and uncle in a few hours. They're coming through here."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I don't really want to stay here. It's been nice seeing everyone, but I'm so mad at Jason, I don't even want to talk to anyone or have fun." She shook her head, her thoughts going to Trent. Now was her chance, but it just seemed dumb. Besides, he'd avoided her earlier when everyone else was trying to comfort her. She knew he felt like this was his fault.

"What were you fighting about?"

She blew out a hot breath. "It's a long story." She was sitting in a den in the back of the cabin, and she knew everyone was giving her space. She could hear them in the other room, playing a game of cards. It sounded like they were having a lot of fun, but she didn't want to be part of it.

"It seems weird you'd go all the way there to have a fight."

"Well… the fight was about someone who is here."

"Who?"

Bree had never told Lilly about Trent. She'd mentioned him in passing a time or two, but she hadn't told her about the almost kiss, or the fact that she'd had a huge crush on him for as long as she could remember. "There are a couple of guys here who are single. Jason saw me talking to one of them and got the wrong idea. But… he also said some pretty shitty things about me last night, like about me sleeping with him. So, it wasn't just about that."

"You're kidding? Bree, I've been trying to tell you he's a jerk. Sure, he's hot, but you need a nice guy, like that guy who got your guitar back for you. What's his name?"

"I honestly don't know," she admitted. "He's in a couple of my classes, but I don't know his name."

"Maybe you need to know his name."

"Maybe." She thought about the blond who'd chased down the thief. He was sweet and kind of cute with his goofy grin. But he wasn't exactly her type. It didn't matter. She’d already made up her mind the night before—for the foreseeable future, she wasn't dating anyone.

"Well, we're almost to my car."

"I'm so sorry about all of that, Lilly. I'll pay you for the gas money it's taking for you to go get it, and for whatever repairs need to be done." She had no idea how she'd afford that. She'd have to be gigging for the rest of her life to make it up to Lilly.

"No, it's fine. My dad's a mechanic. Besides, I'm guessing the moron just forgot to put gas in it. It's not wrecked or anything."

"If you change your mind, let me know. You did such a nice thing in letting us borrow it."

"Okay. I'll keep you posted. Just don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Lilly." She hung up and tried to decide what she should do next.

Christy and Abby knocked on the door and then opened it before she could say anything, like they'd been listening and heard her stop talking. "Hey," Abby said. "We brought you some hot cocoa." She carried it over and set it on the table next to Bree's chair.

"Thanks." She took a sip out of the cup, just to be polite. It was good, but she wasn't thirsty, or hungry, or anything else, except mad and frustrated.

"Soooo, have you decided what you're going to do?" Christy asked, sitting across from her on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I think so. My aunt and uncle will be coming through here soon on their way to my grandma’s house. I think I'm going to let them give me a ride home. I'm sorry. I would love to stay here and spend more time with you guys, but I'm just so angry."

"It's okay. We all understand, I think." Christy gave her a sympathetic smile.

"It's just…." Abby looked at Christy for a second and then back to Bree. "What about… Trent?"

Bree's eyebrows arched. "What about him?"

"Well, the fight was essentially over him, right? You do like him, don't you? I always got the impression in high school that the two of you would figure out that you were meant to be together eventually. But you never did. Now, you're both single for the first time in a long time. Maybe you should take this opportunity to… see where things go."

Bree had thought about that more than once while trying to make her decision. But now didn't seem like a good time to be jumping into a new relationship with anyone, especially not someone she cared about as much as she cared about Trent.

"Yeah, thanks, but I don't think now is a good time." She ran a hand through her long, strawberry-blonde hair. "I guess I'm just going to call Aunt Stacy and have them swing by and pick me up. I think I've had enough drama for one weekend."

"Okay," Christy said, though she looked sad to see that Bree was going to leave. "Maybe we can hang out some other time."

"For sure." Bree smiled reassuringly, and the other two got up and left. She dialed her aunt's number, her mind made up.

Later, Bree was upstairs packing when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. It was ajar, so when she turned, she expected to see one of the girls there. But it was Trent. "Hi," she said, timidly.

"Hi. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure." Bree checked the time. Her aunt and uncle wouldn't be there for at least another ten minutes.

He closed the door behind him and walked over to her, his hands pushed down deep in his pockets. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause problems between you and Jason."

"No, it's not your fault. Clearly, our problems predated this trip." She rolled her eyes and he chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe so. Still, I didn't mean to stir anything up."

"Don't worry about it." She had a sweater in her hands, so she threw it on top of her suitcase. That was just about the last thing she needed to pack. So much for the big bed….

"Listen, Bree, there's something I've wanted to ask you about for a while now, but I've never really gotten the nerve. Now, with you upset, it's probably not the best time, but since I don't know when I might see you again, I'll just come out and ask, and you can tell me to go to hell if you want to."

Her eyebrows were arched, and her breath was staggered. "What is it, Trent?"

"Do you remember that night at the homecoming dance, junior year, when I came out to the parking lot to talk to you? Your date was being a jerk, and you were ready to go home."

"I remember." Should she tell him she’d thought about that moment every day and night since it happened? No, probably not.

"Well, I was going to kiss you. I didn't because Hank came out. But I was going to. I don't know if it would've been a good move or not. All I know is, in that moment, that's all I wanted to do. I was just wondering… if I would have… would you have kissed me back?"

He was standing so close to her, she could hear him breathing, practically hear his heart beating in his chest. "Yeah, I would have," she admitted. "I thought you were going to. It might've been weird, because we were such good friends. But it might've been… really great, too."

Trent nodded. "Yeah. Okay. That's good to know. I agree. It might've been weird--but great." He ran a hand through his hair, and looked at her lips. Bree tried not to move, thinking maybe he would lean down and kiss her now.

Slowly, Trent leaned in, and Bree found herself moving forward to meet him. Finally, after all of these years, she had a chance to find out what would happen if Trent Walker kissed her. His mouth was so close to hers, she could practically feel the warmth on her lips. A few more seconds, and she'd finally know what he tasted like.

"Hey, Bree! Your rides here!" Hank shouted in the hallway before banging his fist on the door.

"Son of a bitch!" Bree muttered.

Trent looked away and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll, uh, help you with your suitcase."

Unable to believe her stupid luck, Bree nodded. "Okay." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she couldn't let him see them. Now was no time to be starting a relationship anyway. She looked around the room one more time, and seeing that she'd packed everything, she let Trent get her bag and headed for the stairs.