Unexpected Arrivals(6)
For the first time in my life, I breathed for someone else. My heart pumped to fuel my body to make her day better. She gave the same in return. There was nothing about our relationship that was one-sided. As soon as Neil recognized that and realized Cora wasn’t going anywhere, he got on board and fell for her just as hard as everyone else who ever came into contact with her. Despite the tragedy she’d faced, Cora had a smile that won over rooms. She was friends with people in the band, on the varsity track team, and in the debate club. Her acceptance had no limits, and truth be told, she made Harbrook a better place to be.
Our senior year, I found myself sitting with people at lunch that I’d gone to school with for a decade and didn’t know their names. That was Cora’s style—she never wanted anyone to be excluded. Everything about her was beautiful—inside and out.
“Have you decided on a college, Carp?” Jordan was one of the many people Cora had made friends with when she first got to Geneva Key, and they’d become close since.
This was a sore subject between Cora and me, and I hated for people to ask about it when the two of us were together. “The University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina both offered me a basketball scholarship.”
Cora, Jordan, Neil, and I all sat together during study hall. Having finished our homework, we had nothing better to do than chit chat. Unfortunately, this topic occupied the minds of most seniors in Geneva Key—we all wanted out. Cora hadn’t applied to the same schools I had, and we now had to make the choice of one following the other or try the long-distance thing.
“Are you going to take one of them?” Jordan kept digging, though her curiosity was innocent.
“I’m not sure. They’re both good schools with great basketball teams.”
“Except he can’t live without Cora within arm’s reach.” Neil’s sarcasm grated on my nerves, and I shot him a glare to demonstrate just how irritated I was.
The bell rang before the discussion could get heated. Neil knew I wouldn’t put up with his shit where Cora was concerned. She was my world, and if I had to give up a scholarship, then I would. I didn’t need it anyhow. My parents had plenty of money and didn’t give a shit where I went to college as long as I went.
I kissed my girlfriend goodbye with a quick peck on the lips and parted ways, then Neil and I headed to our next class together.
“You’re too young to be making decisions based on a girl, Carp.”
“Says the guy who has never gotten laid.” I rolled my eyes without looking at him.
“Dude, do you have any idea how much pussy you will be abandoning if you two go to school together? I get this is great in Geneva Key where there are no options, but you’re a fool if you let that girl dictate your life.”
I stopped and stared at him like he’d lost his damn mind.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’d say that to any guy about any girl. If she’s it, she’ll still be it after college when you’ve had a chance to enjoy freedom.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Neil? It’s not like I have parents breathing down my back, or hell, even a chaperone. I certainly wasn’t a fucking virgin when I started sleeping with her. You don’t get the connection because you’ve never felt it. I don’t have a desire to be away from her.”
“That’ll change.” His matter-of-fact tone pissed me off.
“No, dude, it won’t. I don’t care if my dick never meets the warmth of another pussy. She’s it for me.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Neil was once again saved by the bell signaling the start of our next class. By the time the period was over, my anger had calmed and he’d forgotten about the conversation entirely. And when I saw the inky hair and bright smile of the girl I loved, I no longer cared.
I stopped at her locker while she exchanged books. Cora closed the metal door, and instantly, her hands met my hips, her body pulled into mine. She stared up through the fourteen-inch height difference and waited for my lips to touch hers. This was her MO—she did it every time she saw me. I probably should have been embarrassed by her affection and my need to reciprocate it, but I never was. I loved showing the world who I belonged to, and I refused to ever let distance stand between us.
I escorted her to our last class of the day. After, I knew what was coming. I couldn’t avoid the conversation. We neared a time we’d both have to make decisions, and it couldn’t be put off any longer.
“You coming over?” she asked like it was really a question. Her refusal to assume my time belonged to her only served to keep me interested.
“Of course. Anyone going to be there?”
“Is anyone ever there?” Her chest heaved in frustration.
Cora had made a life in Geneva Key, even though she felt slighted by her grandparents. She never came out and said she would have been better off with her mom’s friend Faith in White Plains after her parents passed away, but I knew she thought it. Losing that relationship had almost been as hard as losing her parents. Her grandparents had insisted she live with them, the only problem was that they only maintained a residence in Geneva Key; they didn’t actually live there. All they’d done was ensure she was alone without any adult supervision—not that she’d needed it—or guidance, which she craved.
She hadn’t shared a lot about Gwendolyn and Owen Chase with me. Her father had written his parents off when Cora was just a baby, and whatever had happened in the family left an indifferent taste in Cora’s mouth. Her grandmother tried to connect with Cora, but Cora remained loyal to her father and the legacy he’d left behind. She was never rude—she just wasn’t inviting.