Chapter 19
Cora
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Emily pushed her shoulder against mine as we sat out on the dock, watching the boats drive by. It had been three days since my date with Brody, and where everyone else had been hanging out off and on together, I hadn't seen him, or any of them, since our date. I was still confused over what had happened. Did he just want to have a quick warm up round with dinner and the movie and not sleep together?
He wanted to sleep with every girl on the island, but I make a move and he pushes me back? What the hell? Was I not good enough?
I guess not. I wasn't for Brandon, either.
"Cora?" Dedra nudged me from the other side. "Hey, tell us what happened. Did he force himself on you?"
"What? No. No." I glanced over at Dedra and then Emily. "No. I don't know what happened. Dinner was great, and we skipped the movie to go walking on the beachfront, and then we danced a little, and I don't know... I guess he thought I wanted to sleep together."
"So he asked you to spend the night, or what? You haven't said a word about this shit in three days. We're all a little worried." Emily gave me a stern look.
"No. He basically turned me down. I think. I don't know." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I guess he really just wanted a friend to talk to, and I felt a connection that seemed like more was happening between us. He was...I don't know. I'm done talking about it. I hit on him, and he shut me down. End of story."
I'd cried a few times over the situation simply due to the embarrassment of being the only woman on the island that wasn't capable of seducing the whore who slept with everyone. It was sickening to think that I'd tried. I'd tried, right?
"Hey, maybe you should just talk to him. Daniel said he's not doing so great himself. Maybe it's just an odd misunderstanding." Dedra reached over and ran her hand down the back of my hair.
"I'm not worried about how he's doing, Dee. He denied me and left me feeling like a two-bit whore. Whatever was starting between us was in my head and it's over now. No biggie."
"It is a biggie," Emily barked. "I want to spend my summer with you and Clay, but that's not possible."
"Well, excuse the fuck outta me for messing up your love story." I pulled my legs up and stood as she started to back track.
"Cora. That's not-”
"Save it. I'm not interested. I've been cool about all this bullshit where you guys want to hang out with the same fucking friend group of guys every day and night. Cool. Have fun with it, but I'm not fitting into the mold of hooking up with the forth member of their group. He doesn't want me. I'm sorry that once again, I'm not enough." My voice broke as tears filled my eyes. I turned and jogged back toward the house, not wanting them or anyone else to see me upset.
I busted through the door to find Cindy and Derek on the couch dry humping.
Cindy jumped up. "I'm sorry. We should...oh hell. What's wrong?"
I lifted my hand and let out a soft sob as I shook my head. "I should have knocked."
She reached for me, but I moved to the side of her and walked to the bedroom.
"Cora! What's wrong?" She followed after me. "Hey, talk to me."
"I'm good. Just tired." I stopped at my door and wiped at my nose and eyes. "I'm good. Really. Don't keep Derek waiting. I just need sleep."
"You sure?" She pressed her hand against my door as I walked into the dark.
"Yeah, I'll be out later," I mumbled and pushed the door closed, locking it and leaving the light off as I dropped down into my bed.
How in the hell some dude I'd met a week ago had me wallowing in self-pity like I had with Brandon was beyond me. It was a clear indicator of two things. One, I'd yet to truly heal from Brandon cheating on me, and two, I didn't need a summer fling. They always ended before they began.
Much like this one.
*
The phone ringing just beside my head brought me from my nap. I reached over in the darkness and patted the bed beside me, grumbling at the idea of talking to anyone.
"Hello?" I turned onto my back and cleared my throat.
"Hi, Cora. It's Mom." Her voice was warm and friendly.
I jerked up. Wherever my mother was, my father was close behind her. She was his puppet, which meant that if she was calling... he wanted something.
"Hey, Mom. How's it going?" I wiped my eyes and stifled the need to yawn as I moved to the edge of the bed.
"It's good. Your father and I were talking about some upcoming casework we have that's really unprecedented. It would be a great opportunity for you to see some of these things, but of course, they're happening during your summer vacation that you have planned."
"Right." I got up and walked to the door to flip on the light switch. "Can't I study the cases after they're completed? It would be the same right?"
"Not really." She wasn't going to force me to come back early, but that's the way my lawyer parents did things. They slowly twisted your arm until you made the conscious decision to do what they wanted, making it your call and leaving their hands clean of the repercussions of your disappointment or anger.
"When are the trials, Mom?" I let out a short sigh, wishing that I could hold myself back from letting her know that their request was a pain in my ass.
"They're mid-July, baby. I understand if you don't want to come back early, we just thought this would be a great opportunity. You know your father is always watching out for what's best for your future. You're going to make lots of money once you're a full-fledged lawyer, and then you can take loads of trips to the lake all the time. Right?" She chuckled as if something she said was humorous.
"How many trips have you and Dad taken?" I dropped down on the edge of the bed and tried to clear the haze sitting over me. I wasn't going to get out of going back early, but giving up any of my time with my best friends before starting to work for my parents was painful.
"We like what we do, Cora. You know that. We don't really need vacations. Do you want to talk to your dad for a minute?"
"No. I was headed out the door. I'll call you guys later tonight, and we can pick back up on this conversation then. Is that okay?" I ran my fingers through my hair as my stomach soured a little.
"Yeah. We can do that. I love you. Have fun, okay?"
"Okay, Mom. I love you, too." I dropped the call and flopped back on my bed, letting out a long groan.
The door to my bedroom opened, and Emily stuck her head in. "Hey, grumpy butt, we're heading out for a ride on the boat. Get on your suit and come with us."
"Yeah, alright." I sat back up and let out a long sigh. I hated fighting with her. We both were good about letting things go when we could. Now was one of those times.
"What's up?" She came in and closed the door behind her as I stood and walked to my dresser.
"Just my parents and their plans for me." I shrugged and pulled out a pink and black bikini. I didn't expect to see Brody, so there was no need for wearing something too terribly sexy.
"Well, you're not supposed to be thinking about that shit. It's the Fourth of July on Monday and we have plans to party like it's 1999, remember?"
"Yeah, but they're wanting me to come back into town in a couple of weeks, instead of the end of the summer like we talked about." I tossed my swimsuit beside her and pulled off my t-shirt and shorts.
"What? No. That's not how this works." She handed me the suit. "I'm jealous that you're already getting a tan."
"Well, at least it's not my boobs making you jealous anymore." I smirked, thinking back on all the times when we were younger when she would rant over me having boobs and her not.
"I have my own now, thanks." She lifted her eyebrow at me and smirked. "Wait... You're getting off subject."
"I think it's better if we do. I don't want another reason to feel like shit. Just drop it and we'll figure it out later. I'm not sure what I'm going to do." I tugged my shorts over my bathing suit bottoms and worked my hair into a short ponytail. "I should grow my hair back out. This shorter cut makes me look too young."
"You look great. You always do." She got up and stopped behind me in the mirror. "No more being bummed out, okay? Especially not if you think you're leaving us in a few weeks. Brody isn't worth all that. You guys didn't even date."
"Yeah, I know." I shrugged and reached over to grab a tube of Chap Stick from the top of my dresser. "I just wish we would have. The sexual tension between us is so delicious. I haven't felt so aggravated over a boy in a long time."
"Aggravated? And, this is a good thing?" She laughed and walked to the door, opening it and watching me.
"Yeah. You know," I turned to face her, "where you want him so bad it hurts, and yet you know it would be a horrible decision, so you act like a bitch and flirt a little here and there?"
"No. Sorry. This one is new for me, but it makes sense seeing how you've been acting the last week or so." She gave me a look. "Come on. Let's go have some fun and forget all of this shit. I didn't mean to snap at you out there. You mean the world to me."
"I'm sorry, too. Let's get out of here. No more moping. Especially not over the town whore." I left my phone on the bed, not interested in talking with anyone that might call or text for the next few hours. Brody was out of the picture from what I could tell, which was for the better. He'd made it quite obvious that he was interested in the chase, but that was all. Once I started to give in... He pulled back. Hard.
Funny how sweet he was at dinner, talking about the future and seeming genuinely interested in knowing more about me. All part of the game.
"There you guys are. We thought you were going to sleep the day away." Dedra stood up and picked up her towel. "You're starting to worry us."
"What? You guys are being mother hens." I grabbed my sunglasses off the table and walked outside, breathing in deep and deciding then and there that I was good. No more being upset about Brody. It was childish and stupid. Rejection stung like a bitch, but whatever. Maybe he was doing it because he wanted to save me from the havoc that he thought himself capable of reeking all over me.
"You look good in that suit." Cindy moved up beside me and wrapped an arm around my back. "And you know what?"
"What?" I glanced over at her and smiled.
"We can stop hanging out with the guys so much. There are loads of guys out here to hang out with. We're all being a little clingy with this group. It's getting old." She winked and released me.
"Are thinks not going well with the cowboy?" I chuckled and followed her down the stairs.
"No, they're good, but I'm here to meet lots of different people and have some fun. I'll settle down soon, but I'm not ready to do that over the summer, I don't think." She slowed down as I caught up to her.
"I agree." Dedra walked up on my other side. "Daniel and I are going to get a bite to eat tomorrow after I go to church, but it's just going to be a friendly date. Getting involved with anyone right now would be stupid, you know? A fling would be fun, but I think I need to keep it to that."
"Not me. Clay is exactly the kind of man I've been looking for most of my adult life." Emily skipped out in front of us in her short shorts and tank top and spinning around, which was so far out of character for her that I stopped in the middle of the road to watch her.
"Dear Lord...she's in love." I glanced at my other two friends as we cracked up laughing.
She turned to face us and put her hands on her hips. "Alright...keep it up!"
"We will." Dedra laughed and pulled me toward the boat. "Come on. You slept through most of the afternoon. Let's enjoy what's left of the sunlight."
I jogged down to the dock with them and moved to the front of the boat to lay out while someone else drove us around. The wind and waves stole my thoughts, and a few minutes later, all thoughts of Brody's rejection or my parents' demanding personas was all but gone.
"Hey. There's the guy's red boat." Emily sat down next to me, forcing me to sit up and scoot over.
I blinked a few times and let out a yawn as I turned to see Brody in the boat with a pretty blonde in his lap.
"Is he..." I scrambled to my feet to try to get a better view of him. Was he making out with the girl? No, surely not. "Move closer."
"What? Why?" Cindy stood up and turned toward the island. "Oh, shit."
"Move closer to their boat,” I barked and moved to the edge of our boat, standing on railing. I had to extend my arms to keep my balance, and though I probably looked like a dork, I could not have cared less. I needed to see if he had already moved onto his next victim. Where it would hurt like crazy, it would be a good thing, too. It would force me to abandon the what-if game playing in my head.
We got close enough for me to see the blonde in his lap, and they were laughing, but not making out from what I could tell. Obviously, I'd missed that part. He glanced my way and his eyes widened.
"Good day for boating." I smiled and tilted my head to the side.
He stood, almost dropping the poor tramp on the floor. "Hey. Cora. How are you?"
"I've never been better. Where is the rest of the group? We were thinking about skinny dipping tonight." I pulled my glasses off my face and kept my expression friendly. "I see you're busy, but can you give them the message? We just wanted to have a bit of risqué fun before the big event on Monday night."
"Skinny dipping?" The girl beside him moved up to his side and put her arm around him. "I wanna go."
He ignored her. "I'll be there. We'll all be there. What time?"
"Around ten? Bring your friend, too." I waved at her. "I'm Cora. Brody's little sister."
His expression turned sour as he shook his head. "Alright. Keep it up."
"Seems you have no problem keeping it up yourself." I chuckled as if we were old friends. "See you later, playboy."
I turned and dropped down into the seat beneath me as my heart contracted painfully.
"What the fuck was that?" Dedra turned to me, whispering roughly.
"I don't know." I shrugged. "But you guys have to go skinny dipping now."
"So do you." Emily pressed her arms to her legs as she leaned toward me. "And, you know he's coming now."
"No, he's not." I glanced up at her. "And no, I don't. I'm not going anywhere near him."
"Then, he wins." Cindy pulled off her hat and started the boat.
"Fuck. Fine." I glanced back over my shoulder to watch him watching me intently. "He's not winning. I'll go."
"Of course, you'll go." Dedra patted my leg. "It was your damn idea, anyway. Crazy girl."