Free I Choose You by Bethany Lopez Page B

to Bree once they were seated.
                  “We really are,” Briana gushed. “I couldn’t be happier.”
                  “That’s so wonderful, Bree. You both deserve it.” Nicole chimed in, a little envious at Colin’s obvious adoration of Bree. She wondered again about Kent’s recent less than affectionate behavior.
                  Colin poured them each a glass of beer before he sat, then settled in to enjoy a pint of his own.
                  “So, how’s everything back home?” Colin asked.
                  They filled him in on the same things they had already told Briana, but Nicole also mentioned Rich helping Roni move in and the fact that he was on track to graduate in December.
                  “Yeah, he mentioned something about that last time we spoke, but it’s been a few weeks. I’ve been so busy at work that I haven’t had a lot of time to keep in contact with everyone.”
                  “Kent also said that Rich is planning to come down for Halloween. I’m sure he doesn’t want to miss the Halloween bash at the bar,” Nicole added.
                  “Oh, Babe, we should totally try to go home for that,” Briana said to Colin. “Halloween falls on a weekend this year, and it would give us a chance to see our folks. Plus, it’ll be great to see Rich again.”
                  “Yeah,” Colin agreed. “We’ll see what we can do.”
                  “Yay!” Bree exclaimed.
                  They finished the pitcher and decided to head back to the loft to drink and talk in a quieter environment.
                  When they got back, Colin excused himself and said he had to get up early and would give the girls a chance to catch up. He promised he would see them for dinner tomorrow and wished them a goodnight.
                  “I’m gonna go tuck him in,” Bree said with a wicked gleam in her eyes. “There are beers in the fridge. Help yourselves and I’ll be right back out.”
                  Kara went into the kitchen to grab them each a beer, while Nicole went to the bathroom to change into her comfy clothes. When she was done, Kara went in to do the same, and Nicole sat down on the couch and took a sip of her beer.
                  She looked around the loft and thought about how much she would love to be at the point in a relationship that Bree and Colin were in. They were so obviously in love, it made Nicole’s heart ache.
                  Kara came out of the bathroom in her flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt, with her hair piled on top of her head. She grabbed her beer and settled across from Nicole in a comfy looking oversized chair.
                  They were sitting there talking about how much they loved the loft, when Bree came walking out in her pajamas. She grabbed a beer from the fridge and joined Nicole on the couch.
                  “So, tell us everything,” Kara prompted.
                  Briana smiled and filled them in on her classes in culinary school.
                  “I am having so much fun and learning something new every day. Colin keeps joking about having to hit the gym twice a day, since I started trying my recipes out on him.” Briana looked so happy as she talked. “How’s everything at the bar?”
                  “Oh, you know, same old thing.” Kara said as she snuggled further into the chair. “Pam hasn’t changed at all. Remember the time we stayed late after closing to wait for her, and then we realized that she wasn’t in the backroom?”
                  Briana started laughing. “Yeah, she went home early and didn’t tell anyone. We would have sat there all night if Pete hadn’t gone back there to check on her.”
                  “The day I came in for my