Unexpected Arrivals(10)

“I’m getting an apartment. Live with me. Get a job for a year. Dude, your sister doesn’t need to own your life for the next decade.”

“Your girl won’t go for that.” He tried to dismiss my offer by sliding into the driver’s seat of his sedan. The dumbass didn’t realize his window was down.

“Cora and I aren’t going to live together, Neil. She’s going to be in the dorms. At least think about it before rejecting the idea. Call Natalie and tell her to hold off for a week.”

Even though he bobbed his head as if he agreed to what I asked of him, I could tell by the look on his face he’d resigned himself to his fate.

“One week. Seriously, Neil.”

“Talk to Cora. If she doesn’t have any objections, I’ll consider it.”

“I’ll talk to her, but I can already tell you she won’t care. She considers you a friend.”

He started the car and put a baseball hat over his sweaty hair. “Let me know what she says.” He lifted his head as the only acknowledgment that he was leaving and backed out of my driveway.

An hour later, I hung up the phone with Cora. Her heart was going to get her in trouble one of these days. She not only believed it was a good idea for Neil to come to North Carolina, she also wanted to pay for his tuition out of the money her parents had left her. There was no way he’d ever agree to that, yet I adored her even more for trying to do it. She loved Neil because I loved him, and she couldn’t bear to see anyone suffer or go without, so for her, what Neil’s parents had done was unforgivable.

When I called Neil, it took less than fifteen minutes to convince him to tell his sister to piss off, and all of three seconds for him to refuse Cora’s offer. But I had managed to get him to move to North Carolina, and somehow, I’d help him figure out the rest before the semester started.





3





James





There were several benefits to having money—not that I had any, but my parents did. Their absence proved to work in my favor when I asked about leaving for Chapel Hill earlier than expected. Sadly, they were excited by my ambition and desire to get a head start on college. I failed to mention that Cora and Neil would be joining me, and they didn’t question my need for a two-bedroom apartment versus one. Everything fell into place like the stars were aligned by celestial forces.

Life was perfect for those four years. Neil worked the first year we were there in order to establish residency and gain in-state tuition while Cora and I attended classes and did the whole freshman thing. Life in Chapel Hill so far surpassed anything I’d ever imagined it would be. And being on the UNC basketball team made Harbrook seem pitiful in comparison. I couldn’t go anywhere and not be recognized. As a starting freshman forward, I was the talk of the town, and ESPN loved to grace the screen with my face. I’d never anticipated the attention I’d get from the student body much less the girls on campus and off. My affection never left the dark-haired angel who’d owned my heart since that night on the beach.

Maybe I was pussy-whipped, or love-struck, or maybe she was just my destiny, but nothing was ever going to come between us. I counted down the days until graduation—even though it was three years away—to be able to propose to her and legally make her mine. Waiting that long was a risk, but I refused to be responsible for her not chasing her dreams as aggressively as I pursued my own. She supported me in everything I did, and I made sure to do the same—marriage might have derailed that, and we were still young. I had to remind myself daily that if we were meant to be that would still be true at the end of our senior year.

Like a girl with a juvenile crush, I dreamed about the day she’d take my last name. Cora was aware of how I felt even if I didn’t shout it from the rooftops.

“Why don’t you move in here after exams?” I twirled a piece of her hair as she lay on my shoulder. The feel of her warm skin pressed against mine was euphoric. Even though it was a chick thing to say, I enjoyed the afterglow of sex with Cora almost as much as I did the actual act.

“With you and Neil?” Her voice was groggy, and she was tired. This was the best time to get her to concede to my wishes. Sleep tugging at her lessened her will to fight.

“Yeah. You’re here all the time anyhow. It seems silly for you to pay for an apartment as a storage unit.”

“I’m not sure Neil would be all that excited about your plan.”

Neil and I had talked about it at length. The two of them had become incredibly close over the last year, and he’d grown to love her like a sister. She was his confidant as much as she was my own. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome between the two and never would have suspected this was where we’d be after that fight in the lunchroom our junior year of high school. Yet here we were, and Neil knew how much I loved Cora.

“Actually, he was the one who suggested it.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure how your parents would feel about you shacking up with me.” Her playful tone told me she was at least considering my proposition.

“Probably the same way your grandparents would. Somehow, it would get leaked to the press, and the paparazzi would be looking for the money shot to splash all over the tabloids and ruin their good names.” I did my best Perez Hilton impression to exaggerate their archaic thoughts.