Chapter 31
Cora
The time for me to leave was getting closer and closer. I hated the thought of heading back home without my friends. It almost felt like doing so would be the end of the summer affair Brody and I had started. While I knew we could make things work after getting back to life, I didn't know if it was the best answer for either of us. He had dreams and ambitions, and I did, too.
I let my thoughts go and enjoyed the next few days with him, playing on the lake and taking long walks through the city streets together. We promised each other that we would watch a chick-flick a day for fun, and so far we'd gotten through three of his top five.
After a long day of hanging out at the island with our friends, we made our way back to his place and made hot dogs before settling down on the couch together.
"Are you excited about the casework next week? I mean," he licked mustard off his fingers, "it has to be pretty cool to see that stuff from behind the red tape, you know?"
"I'm a little excited about it, but honestly, if you knew my parents, you'd understand why I'm dreading it all the same." I took a big bite of my hot dog and kept my attention on him.
"Overbearing?" He popped a few chips into his mouth.
"My dad is. My mom's just his puppet." I finished my hot dog and stood up. "I'm not sure why she lets him run all over her."
He followed me into the kitchen. "Because she loves him, maybe? People do weird shit for love. My mom stayed with my dad, even though he was a cheating bastard. Crazy. I couldn't do it, you know?"
His words drove a stake of fear down the center of me, but I worked hard to play it off. The last thing I needed to do was ruin our last few nights together thanks to my insecurities.
"Yeah. I couldn't do it, either." I reached for his plate and threw them both away. "How long are you guys renting this place?"
"Through August, but I'm serious about leaving a little early." He licked at his lips as he pulled me close to him. "Come get in the shower with me. I wanna touch you all over."
"Sounds like a good deal to me." I lifted to my toes and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him deeply and melted into the strong frame of his chest. He was everything I'd dreamt a man to be, and yet my fears trapped me in an odd state of mind. His sister was a cheater, and so was his dad. Hell, he was a self-proclaimed whore—or had been a few weeks before.
"Come on, baby." He moved back and surprised me by picking me up.
I laughed and smacked him in the chest. "I'm too heavy for this."
"Are you kidding me? I could bench press you with one arm tied behind my back. Blindfolded. While skating on ice in socks." He scoffed, and I snuggled against him, chuckling.
"You're so fucking cocky."
"You love it." He leaned down and brushed his lips by mine.
"Damn straight, I do." I wrapped my arms back around his neck as he lowered me to the floor and pulled my dress over my head. He sat down on the toilet and tugged me over to him, undoing my bra and leaning in to circle his tongue around my nipples one at a time as he squeezed me softly.
I slid my hands through his hair, scratching softly as I let out soft moans to spur him on. He was damn good at making sure I had no doubt to his ability to bring me pleasure by the bucket load.
He kissed my breasts a few times before tugging my panties down. His gaze moved up to mine as his expression hardened a little. "Tell me this isn't it for us, Cora. I want to come see you in the city. Are you getting a place or staying with your folks or what?"
It was odd to see someone like him showing insecurity. It turned me on beyond anything he could do physically to me.
"I'm getting a place with Emily at the end of the summer, but I'll be staying with my parents until then." I leaned down and kissed him a few times as his hands moved over my legs.
"I have a few friends in the city. We'll stay with them when I come to see you." He stood and tugged at his clothes as I turned and started the shower.
"Alright. We'll figure it out when we get there." I forced myself not to dive into why we should just enjoy ourselves and let things lay where they did when I left. Who knew if he would end up staying in Arizona? As badly as I wanted to think about the future with him in it, I wasn't willing to let myself dream that big just yet. Life had a way of taking everyone's attention off of the things that mattered most. I would leave, and he would most likely find someone else.
I stepped into the shower and moved up into the spray as he climbed in behind me.
"I hate how badly you make me wanna offer you the world." He slid his hands around my waist and up to cup my breasts as he pressed himself to my back.
I groaned in delight and pressed my hands to the wall in front of me, arching my back and rubbing my ass over his erection.
"I want to do the same, Brody, but you know that isn't how things work. Let's stop talking about it and enjoy our time together, instead." I glanced back at him, memorizing the way his gaze said that he coveted me. Goosebumps raced across my exposed skin as he reached out and took charge of me, forcing me to turn and lift my ass just a little.
"Alright, baby. Alright." He pressed into me and gripped my shoulder tightly as he fucked me long and hard.
I could barely stand by the time he pulled out, panting loudly. "I don't have a rubber. We'll finish it later."
I'd come three times over the course of our long shower. There was no way I was watching him go without release.
"No way." I turned and gripped the soap in my hands, rubbing a lather between my fingers, and I reached out to stroke him a few times.
He groaned as his teeth sunk into his lower lip and his hips jutted forward, forcing his thick cock to squeeze through my tight fingers.
"God, yeah." He gripped the side of my neck and moved back with me as I washed the soap off and replaced my hands with my mouth, taking him in as far as I could, and massaging the base of his cock where I couldn't reach.
His groans got louder and louder as I worked him thoroughly. His legs locked into place as he gripped my hair and glanced down.
"Move back, Cora. I'm right there, baby." The look of pain etched on his face tore at me.
"Come," I mumbled and moved back down, taking his thick head in my mouth and sucking as I pumped my fingers over his swollen flesh.
"Fuck," he cried out and thrusted farther into my mouth as he let himself go. I held on and took as much as I could, enjoying how much he seemed to lose himself in the moment.
I moved back and washed my face and hands as he pulled me closer and wrapped me in his arms from behind.
"Delicious." I glanced over my shoulder as he captured my face and leaned down for a long kiss.
"Jeez. I swear I'm falling in love with you. I've never in my life been with a woman that knew how to take such good care of me." He kissed me again as his words tore through my mind. I wanted to be that woman for a long time, but the warring emotions inside of me just wouldn't rest.
"Come on, let's go pile up in the bed and watch T.V." I turned off the water and got out, towel-drying quickly and sneaking down the hall to his room with a large white towel wrapped around me. I got into his bed as weariness washed over me.
I wasn't going to last much longer, but it was good. We'd had a lot of long nights and far too many full days out in the sun not to give in to the need to sleep, even though it felt too early to do it.
He closed the door and climbed up into the bed next to me, dropping down on his back and lifting his arm. "Come here and lay on my chest."
"Nowhere I'd rather be." I moved up and snuggled into his side as a yawn left me. "I'm not going to be able to keep my eyes open."
"Good. Sleep here with me tonight. I'll make you breakfast in the morning." He kissed the side of my head, and I couldn't seem to respond. He didn't need to make me breakfast. He was supposed to sneak out in the middle of the night and leave my heart whole and protected, but he wasn't going to do that.
Maybe I needed to?
*
I woke the next morning with far too much on my mind. The clock beside the bed read 4 a.m., and I knew that I needed to head back to the house to think things through for a while. I would be leaving in a few days, and my heart ached in my chest at the thought. I was working so hard to protect myself, and yet if I was being honest, at all, I knew I was without a leg to stand on anymore. I wasn't falling for Brody. I'd already fallen for him.
After slipping out of the bed quietly, I dressed and closed his door behind me. The house appeared to be quiet, and the deep sound of someone snoring caused my lip to lift in a smirk. The guys were all so cute in their own way, and having met them over the summer would most likely prove to be a life-long friendship with each of them.
I snuck down the hall and stopped as I reached the kitchen and realized there was someone standing by the window, looking out toward the lake.
"Clay?" I turned and smiled as he glanced my way.
"Hey, Cora. How are you?" He walked over and gave me a friendly hug. "Did you leave the oaf in there asleep?"
"Yeah." My heart constricted as I glanced back down the hall. "Tell him that I needed to get back to my own bed?"
"Sure, but that's a weird message to leave him." He chuckled. "Is your bed so much better than his?"
"It's far safer." I laughed, but the sound fell flat. "Anyway, I should be going."
"Cora." Clay reached out and gripped my wrist likely. "You know that you don't have to care about him just because he cares about you. He's a big boy. If you don't want this thing between you-”
"What?" I smirked. "Why would you think that?"
"I don't." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But I can tell you that he does want it. He's not stopped talking about you since you guys bumped into each other at your cabin the first day."
A smile lifted my lips. "You know he had some hot little number pressed to my car, trying to convince her that the car was his?"
He smiled. "That sounds a lot like my old friend, but not so much like my new one."
"What's that mean?" I gripped my keys in my hand as emotion raged deep inside of me.
"It means that people can change. Just like you might be a great girl today, and tomorrow you could make one mistake that ruins everything. People make mistakes. All of us. You included."
I nodded. "I agree with that. I've made plenty of my own and certainly have suffered at the hands of a few mistakes made by others around me."
"Right, but on the same token, people who live their lives full of mistakes and bad choices can change in a heartbeat, too. It just takes the right person coming into their lives, and they want to be someone different. Not for themselves, but for that special someone. You know what I mean?"
Tears burned my eyes. "I think so. I'm just not sure that's me. I'm honestly terrified of letting someone like Brody into my heart. It wouldn't be a fling that I could just discard as summer fun, Clay. It would be so much more."
"Yeah. It would be fucking amazing." He smiled and touched my shoulder. "You would be amazing for him, and man, do I think he would rock your world, too."
I chuckled and let a few tears roll down my cheeks. "Alright. I'm going home. I need to think things through a little more. Tell him to call me when he gets up?"
"Absolutely." He winked and let me go without another word.
I drove down the few blocks to our cabin with indecision rushing through my heart. I knew what the right answer was, but it seemed like a huge risk to take on someone I didn't know that well. I'd been straightforward with Brody over the fact that I really wasn't a fling-type of girl. And, I wasn't. I wanted long-term again, but I knew I wouldn't be much good at it until I could process everything that had happened with Brandon.
"Or maybe that's just an excuse." I growled and pulled into our driveway. My phone sat in the cup holder beside me, and before I chickened out, I reached down and grabbed it to call my mom.
She answered on the first ring, which was a little surprising seeing that it was so early.
"Baby? What's going on? Are you hurt?" The concern in her voice was enough to melt me.
I let out a soft sob and sunk back in my seat. "I'm fine. Just so torn right now, Mom."
"About what, Cora? Talk to me. Do I need to come get you?" She cared. I could hear it for the first time in a long time.
I wiped at my eyes. "No. I just met someone and he reminds me so much of Brandon, but I don't think he's anything like him. I want so badly to figure out if there's something between us, but I need more time, Mom. Coming home is something I'm doing for you and Dad, but I don't want to live my life for you guys, anymore. I'm almost twenty-three. I want to live it for me."
"Oh, Cora. Why didn't you just say something? Your father simply thought you were being timid about coming to work because you're so unsure of yourself with all this legal stuff. Remember last summer when you helped us out and you were scared like hell you were going to mess something up?" she laughed softly.
"Yeah. Who wouldn't be scared? Dad fired some poor guy the first five minutes I was there." I reached for a napkin in my glove-box and wiped at my nose. "I just don't want to let you guys down, but I really like this guy, Mom. I need more time. More time to spend with him, to make sure he's the one before I do something stupid."
"Then take it, baby. I'll talk to your dad about all of it when he wakes up."
"He's going to be upset. I don't want him taking that out on you." I sniffled and got out of the car as the darkness started to give way to daylight. The sunrise was sure to be beautiful and seeing that I was never up this early, I didn't want to miss it.
I walked down to the pier and let my eyes move across the lake as my mom's voice filled my ear.
"Get mad at me?" she laughed. "That wouldn't happen in a million years. You only see the demanding side of your father, baby, but he treats me like a queen when no one is around. We're just old school. I love him and would follow him anywhere. If I could have more time at the lake when we were younger, I'd have upset my parents and his, too, without thinking about it." She laughed again.
"Really?" I crossed my arm over my chest.
"Absolutely. Stay out there and we'll tape everything for you. We support you and your decisions, too, Cora. You just need to start making more of them with your future in mind. The future you want." She sighed. "I love you, baby. Call me later, and we'll chat some more."
"Okay, Mom. I love you, too." I slid my phone into my back pocket as realization washed over me. I'd completely seen what I wanted to with my mom and dad. He was demanding and seemed to always be in charge where she or any of us were concerned, but to hear it from her...she liked it that way.
"Cora." Brody's voice was thick and full of emotion.
I turned and smiled, walking toward him and sinking into his embrace. "Hey, baby."
"Why did you leave?" He leaned down and touched the side of my face. "Was it something I did? Something I didn't say?"
He was so precious in his navigating our relationship. I needed to keep that in mind as we moved forward.
"No. It was me needing to think through what I wanted most for my future." I lifted to my toes and brushed my lips by his. "My parents are good with me staying the rest of the summer. I told them I might have a chance at something really great and I wanted to explore it more."
"Oh, yeah?" A smile broke out on his face that would rival the beauty of the sun rising across the lake just behind me.
"Absolutely. Let's figure this out." I squeezed him tightly to me.
"You figure it out for yourself. I already know that I wanna try this thing between us. I want to see if forever is really what they say it is." He brushed my hair back and gave me a cheeky grin as my heart melted in my chest. "You know what?"
I smiled and watched him closely. "What, baby? Tell me."
"We are totally a chick-flick right now."
"Or a horror movie?" I laughed as his expression changed.
"Never. Not in a million years." He picked me up and pressed his lips to mine. Even though I was scared to death to take another risk, a larger part of me was far too afraid not to.
It seemed to right. Too good. Like so much more than a summer fling.