Girls' Night Out (Bad Boys) (18 page)

“Oh, yeah. Touch and go for some.”

“Is that what you’re about to do? Check on the news, or are you going to add your own version?”

Ashley glanced down at her cell. “Of course not. I for one can’t thank you enough for last night.” Her cousin snickered, dropping her hand curled around her phone. “The NFL sure as heck can throw a party. Better than hanging out with a pack of rowdy women from Annona. We can do that any day of the week back home. Right?”

Heat flared up Cory’s neck. Ashley was bolder than brass, standing there as if both of them were rebel conspirators. “Don’t talk to me as if you and I are anything but related by chance birth. You’re pitiful.”

“No, I’m not,” Ashley sneered. “You and me are more alike than not. We both left that slowpoke town to go to school and have more on our horizons than those lug nuts who stuck around. You’ll see. I’m hooking up with those players again tonight. I bet I’ll see you.”

“You’re wrong. I’m changing and staying put. Did you even see the babies?”

Ashley studied the screen of her phone. “All babies look alike. What am I supposed to do? Pretend to be impressed?”

“Why did you even come with us?” Cory asked, not expecting an answer.

“I’d do anything to escape Annona. Even if it was for a family weekend. Look at you. You came home and had to plan this big getaway. You’re no better, Cory. Stop pretending you fit in, when shoot, we all know how much you want to escape.”

Cory had a choice: to punch her cousin so hard Ashley’s head spun around or walk away. If her mother wasn’t in need of calming news, she’d have smacked some sense into her cousin.

“You’ve got some serious issues,” Cory retorted, turning on her heel and walked away. She took the elevator up to her room, the one she shared with Gillian, wishing she could put Ashley’s barbs aside. She wasn’t trying to escape her hometown. She wanted to find out who she was beyond the tight circle of her family. She’d not thought about what she’d do after school. Well, not as far as where she’d go.

She stopped outside the door with her keycard in her hand when she heard a thudding inside the room—laughter and then a familiar man’s voice and more thudding— and she opted to knock. Loudly. After a minute, Gillian came to the door, her hair mussed up and a lazy smile on her face.

“Afternoon,” she called over her shoulder.

“You won’t believe what—” Cory stopped talking, seeing Stephen stretched across one of the double beds. “Oh, I thought I heard you.”

“Don’t start pointing fingers at me.” Her brother sat upright and slipped on a pair of sunglasses.

“I believe good afternoon is in order,” Gillian mused, flouncing on the bed, next to her brother.

Cory nodded. “Very good. How long have you all been here?”

“Long enough to know you’ve been missing again,” Stephen answered. He brought his sunglasses further down his nose and peered over the rim at her. “I hope you’re not becoming a bad penny.”

“I’m so happy Gillian is here so we don’t have to go into how you’d know anything about being a bad penny,” Cory mocked him.

He laughed at her. “Girl, I have never seen you this rebellious. Ever.”

“
That’s what he said…
,” Gillian quipped. Stephen grinned, then grabbed hold of Gillian around the waist. “Stop, now, Stephen McLemore.”

Cory rolled her eyes at her brother. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“So were you with him the whole time?” Gillian asked as Stephen curled a leg over hers.

Cory walked over to the other bed, lifted the covers, and plunked down on the edge of the mattress. “Yes. We’re trying the dating gig.”

“Excuse me?” Both Stephen and Gillian asked simultaneously.

Cory looked over at them lying next to each other. More like wrapped around one another with arms and legs entwined and sooooo into each other. And then she thought of the card in Brett’s bathroom. Of course, he’d have a physical therapist’s card. No biggie. It was just the note.
You’d better call me.
And the heart, or it could have been a lopsided circle. There was the date that had her wondering. Next Tuesday written inside the weird-shaped heart.

“Just trying as in,
a long distance relationship with a football player might have problems so let’s see how it fits
kind of thing. No big deal. If we can hook up, we will as in a date here or there. How is Mama?” She kept staring at them, waiting for a response. “Did she enjoy the massage and spa treatments with Miss Louisa today?”

They exchanged quizzical glances and Stephen shrugged. “Met up Dad when he was getting some ice. He didn’t say. We’re meeting for dinner. You in? You can ask all about mom’s day then.”

She fell back against the pillows. “Sure. Can you wake me? I want to take a nap.”

Gillian rested her head against Stephen’s chest. “Lie down and we’ll get you up.”

Cory didn’t know why her chest felt heavy. All she kept thinking about were the curlicues, the pink heart, and next Tuesday as she turned over and closed her eyes.

~~~

When Cory awoke to the sound of her cellphone alarm, there was a light shining from the bathroom and she squinted, trying to read the red digits on the clock. Over by the bureau, her cell went off again with a shrill alarm from somewhere near the television. Had to be Stephen’s doing to make her get up instead of shutting it off and going back to sleep. She blinked until the numbers on the clock came into view. Yawning, she sat up and reached for the sheet of paper with her brother’s handwriting.
Meet us downstairs in the restaurant at six.

Great, she’d be late unless she got a move on, and pronto. She slipped out from under the covers and picked up her cell on her way to the bathroom. There were a smattering of messages; she scrolled through several and stopped. There were two from Brett, which seemed to stand out prominently, and she felt the zing to her senses like a thunderbolt to her chest where her body clenched and even her nipples hardened.

Damn, she didn’t know if she liked this electrical skittering reaction just from seeing his name on her cell screen. Very soon, she might be left in an dust cloud to deal with an ache too large to contain. She closed her eyes, reliving the way it felt to be naked with Brett, skin to skin. The things they’d done, and his adept ability to unleash a wild side in her to the point that she’d come unhinged, bordered on insane.

Was she really going to start having doubts about something that might be a big nothing? She couldn’t judge him guilty. That wasn’t fair to him or her. It was simple, if she could get her head screwed on right. Either she trusted him or not, and she’d already addressed this nonsensical line of jealousy with Brett already.

Stop being a worrywart
. She huffed. Focusing on her phone, she pressed the icon and laughed out loud. He’d sent a picture of his two dogs, Crash and Chase, seated on the tractor seat along with a message:
I’m learning from them.

Had he stayed awake after their night and morning together? She scrolled down and read his next message, then read it again while twisting her hair around her finger, and finally leaned against the bureau, and let out the breath she realized she’d been holding.

“Brett,” she whispered. Could her heart pound any harder, or her skin flush any hotter?

Either he was a poet or the devil…the things he described in a few words about what making love to her was like for him.
Making love
. A low moan escaped her lips. That was what they’d done. Sure, him thrusting into her with enough force to make her teeth chatter and bring her to an orgasm that made her scream—actually scream—skirted white-hot crazy, but they weren’t screwing around. She’d made love to him as well.

“Oh, Jesus,” she groaned, clutching the skin at her neck.

She looked up, and found her reflection in the mirror. Lifting her hair, she stared at the marks on her neck. The sore space between her legs throbbed, and she bit her lip, wondering what he’d be doing tonight. Seriously out of control thoughts flickered in her mind.
Cory, get a grip!
She wasn’t going to go head over heels nuts and begin to obsess like he was some sort of drug and she needed a Brett-sex fix.

Glancing down at her cell screen, she began tapping out a message.
“So good, so hot, so wish you were here. NOW!!!”

She bit her lip.
Stop overanalyzing everything.
She pressed the send icon, then set her phone down, and went into the bathroom. After a round of cold water splashed to her face, teeth brushed, and hair combed she dressed without much consideration. She still had to rein in her thoughts from returning to Brett and his expert bedroom skills.

Downstairs, she sucked it all in and smiled at her family up ahead. They’d agreed to meet in the restaurant downstairs and then were separating into groups based on the messages she’d received. Some wanted to head over to a huge modern mall for holiday shopping, another few were going to a comedy club, while some of the girls were hip on visiting some famous saloon. She wasn’t about to try to commandeer any of the groups. Heck no, tonight she wanted to ride the current of fun, enjoying herself.

“Mama,” she said, and breathed out a sigh of relief seeing her mother in high spirits, chatting, and laughing. Her mother turned and her eyes were lit with merriment. “You’re looking rested. Did you enjoy your day?”

“My goodness, yes. This spa is something else. A girl could get used to this level of pampering. Wore Miss Louisa out, though. And you?” Her mother had a new haircut, and her make and nails were done. Mama looked like her old self with color in her cheeks and even her father couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

“Did you go back to the hospital?” Cory asked, already having gotten several messages along with snapshots of the twins and proud parents. It was for sure that her niece and nephew would be spoiled in no time flat.

“We did.” Mama beamed and squeezed Cory’s arm. “Our grandbabies are so precious. Did you hear? Carolina and the twins are being released tomorrow.”

Cory’s brows drew together. “What time?”

“Early in the morning. We’ll stay the night, and then head on back home.”

“Oh. I see,” Cory responded, her stomach tensing.

“You don’t look pleased,” Mama remarked.

“It’s just…I made plans with Brett,” Cory broke off, wondering if she’d have to cancel.

Her mother tilted her head. “You like him a lot.”

She gazed at Mama, her throat constricting from the torrent of emotions she kept bottled up. “Yes, ma’am,” she said hoarsely.

“Take it slow, if you can. You already know Daddy and I didn’t. So, I’m not going to pretend I know any different. It’s just that your father swam in a much smaller pond and that made it easier on me. A man who has means and is in a field where things happen quickly, doesn’t always get the chance to sit back and make decisions.”

“You mean like
think
before he leaps?”

“Sort of. And being in the news where things don’t come out as they should. Bits or pieces, downright fabrications can be taxing. And more so on you, when you’re not there to know what to believe. I’m only saying, it can make a relationship that much more complicated.”

“I understand,” Cory said.

“Just remember, Cory,” Mama paused, then said, “if you get overwhelmed, take a breather and don’t act on your emotions in public. There’s bound to be someone with a camera, and cheap headlines can’t be erased easily.”

“I know, Mama. After the other night, I’m well aware of how fast news travels, especially in small circles.”

Her mother glanced over at Daddy and Cory noted the exchange. “We didn’t know if you wanted to invite Brett to join us this evening.”

“I didn’t ask him or make plans, if that’s the underlying question.”

“If I wanted you to tell, I’d have asked. I promise. We only wanted you to know Brett is more than welcome to join us.” Her mom gazed at her, smiling.

Cory bit the side of her mouth. She’d wanted to call him, but in her thin book of dating rules, nagging a guy wasn’t the cool thing to do. The proverbial phone call after the first date was in his court. But date didn’t adequately describe what they’d experienced, and she didn’t know what to do, considering she’d never jumped off the high dive into this type of fast-moving current.

Oh Christ, she couldn’t ask Mama. “Excuse me, I need to find Gillian.”

“She’s over there.” Her mother motioned to the corner.

Per the norm, Gillian was attached to her brother. Definitely, those two had a collective volume of experience in the zero to sixty type of stupefying affair she had going on with Brett.

“Hey,” Cory said coming up to them. “Think you can let go of your fiancée for a couple of seconds?” She addressed her brother

Stephen smirked. “I expected you to be lip-locked with your new
date
.”

She bracketed her hips with her hands. “Well, here’s the thing. I need some advice from someone who has experience with over-the-top men. You get my drift, brother?”

“I’m not experienced with crazy cowboys.” Her brother’s mouth lifted on one side. “Now, if you needed my opinion about a beautiful dance teacher, I got a ton of handy advice.” Her brother squeezed Gillian and she chuckled in his arms.

“Mr. McLemore, you’re insufferable. Just quit.” Gillian arched a brow and pushed on his chest.

He stroked a hand down Gillian’s face. “Baby, give me a reason to leave you alone and I’ll go see about our dinner reservations.”

Cory rolled her eyes at their heated exchange of a kiss and hug, before Stephen finally let go of his fiancée. “What’s going on?” Gillian asked. “Did something happen?”

“I need advice about what to do, after…you know.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders.

Gillian tapped her arm. “You mean after the first time you’ve done it?”

“Yeah. I had a whole night of firsts and don’t know if that means we’re still supposed to go by dating rules or if I get more latitude?”

“Number one, after quote-unquote
dating
your brother, I learned that there aren’t any rules with men like ours.” Gillian inhaled a shaky breath. “Go with your gut instinct. Are you thinking about if you should be the one calling?”