Chapter Five
Cora
"A party?" Cindy snagged shotgun on the way back to the house, which was almost comical. She rarely sat up front, but seemed to be in a rather playful mood. "We've been here two weeks without an invite and you guys show up and get one your first day? No fair."
"Stop bitching and be grateful. You wanted us to bring the party with us, right? Well, we did." Emily chuckled in the backseat.
"Cora, there's the basketball court. Let's go check it out later tonight after dinner. Yeah?" Dedra reached up and pointed, tapping the window beside me.
"Absolutely." I stopped for a guy jogging in a pair of tiny shorts. "Wow."
"Nothing to ogle over. If a guy can wear shorts like that, then he's not got much to hide, you know?" Dedra dropped back in her seat.
Cindy smirked and turned to look into the backseat. "Not like your chocolate man, right?"
"Homeboy was packing something in his swimsuit. I could see it from the boat. That, ladies, is why I almost wrecked the boat."
I snorted and laughed, pressing my hand over my mouth. "I swear you guys are worse than boys most of the time."
"You love it," Cindy smiled over at me. "You want me to show you how I make this homemade lasagna we're having tonight? I know it's your favorite, and there will come a day when we don't get to do this anymore."
"Do what?" I glanced at her quickly before turning my attention back to the road. I'd never been more nervous driving a two-mile stretch of road. There were more people than trees, plants, and animals combined.
"Get together as a friend group," Cindy shrugged, but I could sense a change in her mood.
"Don't start this. We get to do this sappy shit at the end of the summer, not the beginning," Emily spoke up. "Besides, we'll always be friends. Tell me about the party and the guy that gave you the invitation, Cora."
I nodded and reached over, squeezing Cindy's hand as she teared up. "He was totally your type. Lanky, brown hair, rich, baggy clothes."
"Ha-ha," Emily reached up and tugged at my hair, causing it to fall from the makeshift bun I had it in. "Was he cute?"
"In a little boy way, yeah." I shrugged and released Cindy to put both hands back on the wheel. I pulled up in the driveway to the house and let out a short sigh. "One of you guys is driving next time. That was stressful."
"We can walk, too, you know." Dedra got out and stretched as I climbed out of the car and took another deep breath.
"I need to find a quiet place to sit and think. I've been waiting for this vacation all year." I closed my door and leaned against the car as my eyes moved across the faces of people walking by.
A cute guy waved and nodded as he called out, "Hi there."
"Hi." I smiled and turned back to the car as my cheeks warmed. I wasn't shy or a prude, but tucking myself away from the possibility of dating for the last few months had me feeling like a virgin again. Madonna started to play in the recess of my head, and I rolled my eyes at myself as I helped with the groceries.
"Did baggy brown-haired boy have a name?" Emily moved up beside me. "Were there any pleasantries exchanged or did he just spitball the invitation to you and run like hell?"
I chuckled. "You're so dramatic. Are you sure you don't want to look into something like acting? Your science degree will be used against you if you get all exaggerated like you always are."
"Whatever. Did he have a name?" She opened the door as Cindy and Dedra walked in ahead of us.
"Yeah. Cliff, maybe?" I walked into the kitchen and sat my stuff down before nabbing the last cookie on the plate.
"Clint." Dedra glanced over her shoulder as she worked to unpack one of the bags of groceries. "He was cute. Totally your type, Emily."
"Cliff? Where did you get that from?" Emily shook her head at me. "I swear you're losing brain cells, or maybe you writing off guys really is going to work this time."
"She hasn't written off guys," Cindy said as she bent over to pull a large pot from the cabinet beside the stove. "Get this."
I walked over and took it from her. "Want me to put some water in it?"
"Yeah." She stood up and put a pan on the stove, looking at me over her shoulder. "You haven't given up on guys, right?"
"No, but I'm not actively looking, either." I walked toward the sink and started to fill the pot up as I glanced out the large window in front of me. A guy was pressing a girl to the side of my car, laughing and touching her face. "What the..."
"What's up?" Emily glanced up from chopping up lettuce as I walked past them.
I opened the door and moved out to the patio, putting my hands on my hips and clearing my throat. While I wasn't super materialistic, having some dude make out with his girl against the side of my new car was not cool.
They didn't pay me a bit of attention.
I took a few steps toward the stairs as the guy whispered something against the girl’s hair and turned to glance up at me.
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry." He backed up and lifted his hands. "This yours?"
"Yes." I lifted an eyebrow at him. He was impossibly hot with his defined abs and tanned skin. His blue eyes moved across my face like he was trying to uncover some hidden secret.
"Brody," the girl called to him, touching his arm. "Do you know her?"
"No, he doesn't." I took another step toward them, waiting at the edge of the stairs. "Perhaps you can find somewhere else to seduce this chick besides the side of my new car."
"Her new car? I thought you said-” the girl started, but he wasn't paying her a bit of attention. He was still watching me.
Stalker. Hot stalker, but still a stalker, nevertheless.
"It's not mine. I lied." He walked to the bottom of the stairs as she made an angry sound and stomped off, cursing him all the way down the road.
"I see you have a way with the ladies." I lifted my eyebrow and held the smile that wanted to lift my lips under tight control. There was no way I was actually getting involved with anyone over the summer, least of all the playboy in front of me. He had several strikes against him, the first being his golden hair.
"Brody. Nice to meet you," he extended his hand.
I glanced down at it and scoffed. "Find someone else's car to covet."
"No introduction, hmm?" He chuckled as I turned and walked back to the door. "You could at least give me your name, seeing that you just ruined my afternoon."
"My bad." I rolled my eyes, wishing I were more disgusted than curious. My stomach tightened with desire, but I ignored it, not wanting to even begin to entertain the thought of conversing with this guy.
"I'll forgive you this once." He glanced over toward the car, giving me a few moments to let my eyes run over him. "I like your wheels. I bet they ride real good."
I stopped at the door and glanced over my shoulder, hating myself for being the cocky brat I fought not to be most of my life.
"Better than anything you've ever taken for a spin, I'm sure." I walked into the house and tried to still my racing heart. Just the idea of flirting with someone so insanely hot was nerve-wracking. It was going to be a long summer, as guys like him were a dime a dozen.
"What was that all about?" Emily handed me a bowl of salad. "Dressings are on the table."
"Some idiot had a girl pinned to my car, making out with her." I grumbled and walked to the kitchen table, dropping down across from Dedra and pouring salad dressing into my bowl.
"Was he hot?" She wagged her eyebrows as I glanced up.
"He was a white chocolate man," I laughed and took a big bite of my salad. "Yeah, he was hot."
"Most of the guys out here are, but be careful." Cindy walked into the dining room and sat a few wine glasses on the table. "I learned the hard way our first week here that they aren't looking for summer romances."
"No? I'm surprised to hear that." I moved over a chair as Emily joined us.
"Summer flings, yeah, but no romance. They just want a night of grunting and then they're gone." Cindy shrugged and lifted the glass of wine nearest her to her lips, downing the whole thing.
"Whoa." I watched her. "Obviously, you have some storytelling to do."
"After a few more glasses." She filled it back up and turned to go back into the kitchen.
"Do you need help?" I called after her.
"Nope. Just enjoy yourself and rest. It's your downtime for the next few days."
"And, after that?" I took a glass of wine and took a quick sip, hating how tart the dark liquid was. I was a beer drinker, but the smell turned my friends off completely, so I would abstain for our first night.
"After that, we're going to bike, hike, and boat the hell out of this place." Dedra picked up a piece of bread from the center of the table. "Don't overeat. I don't want you to have any excuses when I whoop your ass on the courts later tonight."
"Excuses? You're going to whoop me, regardless. I'm soon to be in law school, and you're a basketball star. Is this a joke? Am I being punked?" I glanced around as she chuckled.
"You're good enough to be on the team, and you know it. You just don't want to deal with your folks over it." She dipped her bread in her salad dressing and shrugged. "I get it. My parents expected me to play, and yours would have died had you brought it up."
"Why is your dad so strict? I never have figured out the reason behind it all." Emily glanced over at me. "Was your grandfather strict?"
"He lost his parents when he was little." I took a big bite of my salad. I rarely talked about my parents. It wasn't a conversation that created warm fuzzy feelings inside of me, so I usually avoided it.
"And?" Dedra leaned back in her chair.
"And, it made him callous and overbearing. He sees how finite life really is and wants to make sure I get the most out of it." I glanced up as Cindy walked back in and sat down.
She pulled her salad toward her and stirred it around. "But whose right is it to define what 'most' looks like? Maybe you getting the most out of life is dancing on Broadway or cooking for the president."
"Has he seen you dance or cook?" Emily laughed, causing all of us to join in.
"You're right, but he is who he is. I love him either way, though I wish I could come up with a solid argument to fight him with. I don't want to be a lawyer. Not in the slightest." I took another bite of my salad. The summer with my friends was set up to be a great time, but the four of us had been friends for ages. It was hard not to dive deep into each other's lives. I expected tears, but not on the first night.
"You'll figure it out." Emily reached over and squeezed my arm. "When you get to the point where their disapproval doesn't outweigh your desire, you'll fight back."
"Very true." I leaned back as the image of the sexy guy against my car rolled through my mind. I snorted and shook my head.
"What?" Dedra lifted her eyebrow at me.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about that guy outside. He had some nerve telling that poor girl that my new Beamer was his. What if she asked for a ride?" I sat back and licked at my fork.
"Then he probably would have given her one. The ride of a lifetime." Dedra bit her lip seductively as we all laughed at her.
"How much longer until the lasagna is ready?" I pushed my bowl away and fought against the desire to get outside. I'd been cramped up all year. I wanted the freedom being out in nature would provide.
"About an hour and a half, maybe?" Cindy took a sip of her wine.
"Let's go shoot hoops for an hour and get back to clean up and eat?" I stood up, turning my attention back to Dedra.
"Sounds good to me." She bolted up. "I'd never give up the opportunity to play."
"You guys wanna come?" I turned my attention to Emily and Cindy.
"No." They answered in tandem.
"Let me change into some shorts." I moved out of the dining room and grabbed my suitcase, walking down the hall and taking the last bedroom available. They were all about the same size—not that I cared. I lugged my suitcase onto the bed and grabbed a pair of shorts, a tank top, and some thicker socks.
After changing as quickly as I could, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked back into the kitchen, finding Dedra already bouncing the basketball.
"Where is the court? Do we need to drive?" I reached for my keys.
"No. We can walk. They're about half a mile, but it's nice out. No more than a 10-minute drive at most?" Dedra cupped the basketball against her chest and moved to the door. "You bums sure you don't want to join us?"
"Not only no, but hell no." Emily glanced over her shoulder as she slouched in her chair and yawned again.
"Suit yourself." I plucked a crouton from the large salad bowl on the table and walked out to the patio where Dedra waited for me.
"Thanks for this. I love Cindy, but I'm at my limit on shopping and ogling at men for the week. The month. The year?" She chuckled as she looked over at me.
"I'm just going to enjoy myself this summer." I reached over and took the ball from her. "If I want to shop, I'll shop. Sleep in? I'll do that, too."
"Have a one-night stand?" She took the ball back, bouncing it around me as we moved down the sidewalk. Her skills were incredible. It almost seemed like a waste to not watch her go into the WNBA, and yet her shoulders were giving her far too many issues to push her body to perform the way she would have to. She wasn't over the devastation of turning down the offer, nor did I think she would ever be.
"A one-night stand sounds fun, but I'm usually horrible with those." I shrugged and glanced over my shoulder. "Let's cross the street."
"I think a one-night stand would be perfectly acceptable. It's much better than falling for some guy that's headed to Maine after college and you having to stay here."
"This is true, but I'm not worried about any of it. Guys are the least of my worries, right now."
"Oh, yeah? What's your top worry?"
"How I'm going to hold my tongue when I whoop the Arizona State girls’ basketball captain at her own sport." I ran by her and stole the ball, laughing as she raced after me.
She might be on the team, but she was right about one thing: I could have been, too.