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.

Her finger traced circles on my skin, and she nuzzled into me.

"Have you talked to them recently?" I wasn't brave enough to inquire about them when she was awake.

"My grandmother sent me a couple emails. They're more like newsletters than personal contact. I can't figure out why she bothers. If she showed half as much interest in me as she does fundraising, our relationship would be completely different." She refused to admit how she wished they were close, though I knew the truth. What I didn't know was why Cora never accepted the olive branches her grandmother tried to extend.

I was losing her attention by the sleepy response she'd given me regarding Gwendolyn Chase, except she hadn't answered my original question. "Will you think about it? Moving in. Neil and I could move your stuff in a day."

Cora didn't answer with words. Instead, she kissed my jaw and cuddled down into the crook of my side where she loved to sleep, and I loved to hold her.

When I woke the next morning, the bed was empty, and I could hear voices in the kitchen. After throwing on some basketball shorts, I made my way toward the scent of freshly-brewed coffee to find Cora and Neil huddled around the kitchen table chatting.

Before I could even consider what had them in a verbal uproar this early in the morning, I had to have caffeine. Just the smell brought life to my tired limbs. One sip awakened my senses and the second brought me to functioning as a human. Joining them at the table, I lifted Cora and took her seat before easing her onto my lap. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Cora moving in." Neil smiled at her as though they had some secret I wasn't privy to.

"As in Cora agreed? Or you two are debating it without me?" I snickered. They wouldn't be up to anything that would hurt me. Not once had I felt a single twinge of jealousy where Cora was concerned—she hadn't given me any reason to.

"Yep." She popped the P with a grin that overtook her cheeks and resonated in her eyes.

"So Neil can convince you, but I can't?" I feigned hurt, throwing my hand across my forehead in exasperation.

She playfully swatted my chest. "No, silly. I just needed to make sure everybody felt the same way."

Cora had worried for over two years about intruding on my friendship with Neil. What she hadn't considered was that she was now just as much his friend as she was my girlfriend.

"When are we moving you?" I no longer needed the coffee to start my day. It wasn't that this would change much because it wouldn't. Other than having her stuff here, our days would remain the same. I couldn't remember the last time she'd stayed at her apartment. "I'll go put on tennis shoes so we can get started."

"Down, boy," she teased. "I just figured I'd start leaving stuff here as it showed up. There's no need to go racing into the night to move furniture we don't need."

I hadn't thought about what we would do with her stuff. I didn't think she had an emotional attachment to any of it. She'd bought it when we moved here after deciding against the dorms—the smell of teenage spirit drove her away—and since she was never at her place, there was little chance she'd grown committed to it.

"What do you want to do with it?"

She shrugged. "Not get rid of it. I guess just put it in storage. I spent a lot of money and won't get it back if I try to sell it. Eventually, I'll need it for a house."

Cora winked at me and set the butterflies in flight in my stomach. Even after being together over two years, those bright-green eyes never failed to erupt the flame that burned in my heart for her like she'd just doused it in gasoline.

Neil sat there looking perfectly content, as though nothing made him happier than seeing the two of us together. He'd struggled a lot this year. The financial change had been difficult for him, although the emotional pain he endured from his family's absence had taken a greater toll. I thought that was why he and Cora had become so close. While his parents hadn't died, they might as well have. They were so engrossed in their own bullshit that the moment he was no longer in their home, they'd completely let him slip away. Add to that, Natalie had basically given him an ultimatum to either move to New York and go to Syracuse, or she was cutting him out as well. And she remained true to her word. All he had left was the two of us by the time we had arrived in North Carolina.

There was no doubt in my mind that once he started school in the fall and hopefully earned a place on the basketball team, I'd watch him come to life again. Seeing him this way now made the corners of my mouth lift in a goofy grin.