21. Cory
Chapter twenty-one
Cory
A ny doubts I had before are long gone now. After years of playing the field and a disappointing first attempt at a relationship, I'm sure. I'm in love with Denise.
It's still fragile; a tiny green shoot bursting through the scorched earth where my heart should be. Or maybe it was never burned, just unused, like an old lawn mower left to gather dust for years in the basement. It took a few hard tugs, but eventually, the engine turned over.
That's how it feels; like my heart is sputtering to life in fits and starts. Even coughing out a little black smoke. But somewhere between the most embarrassing orgasm of my life and spooning under the covers while she fell asleep, it hit me like an arrow to the heart. She's felt different from the beginning—since that first morning after the wedding—and I'm finally ready to admit it to myself.
When I got to her building last night, I buzzed before I saw the door was already open. My heart almost stopped. What if someone broke in? What if someone hurt her? I've never run faster in my life.
And now she's here. She's safe in my arms. But my heart is still pounding in my chest. This woman seriously might be the—
"Are you going to stare at me all morning, or are you going to make yourself useful and get a pot of coffee going?"
I jerk my head to face her, but her eyes are still closed.
"How do you know I'm looking at you?"
"Because I can feel your eyes," she grumbles, though her lips curve in a smile.
I pull her closer and nuzzle her nipple with my nose before taking it into my mouth. She arches, pressing her warm body against me. Her lush curves mold to my hard planes, enveloping me, and it feels…perfect.
"Oooh, you can't start something like this before I've had my caffeine fix, baby," she half-whines, half-moans. Even grouchy and sporting a crease on her cheek from her pillowcase, she's adorably sexy. So enticing, you ignore the danger, like a baby tiger luring you to the cutest mauling ever. My heart's already in tatters.
I know I could get her to forget all about coffee—hell, forget her own name—if I kept going, but nature calls and we have quite a few of our own calls to make, so I release the tempting bud.
"Fine, fine. But only because we have a lot to do today."
I lift my head and wink. She rolls her eyes in response and stuffs a pillow over her face to block the sunlight filtering into the room. After a handful of sleepovers, it's safe to say my girl isn't a morning person.
I wash up and put on the jeans and sweater in my backpack. As eager as I was to get to her after the party last night, I'm surprised I even remembered a change of clothes.
"Babe?! Can you also grab us some bagel sandwiches from the bodega on the corner?!" Denise yells from the bedroom.
The pet name seeps into my skin, warming my insides. How the hell did this woman turn me so soft in just a few months? Is this what Adam was feeling with—?
I don't let myself finish the sentence. Can't even think it. If I start thinking like that, it won't be long until I let something slip, and she's already proven herself to be a flight risk. Just because I'm 90% sure about this woman, doesn't mean she's sure about me.
"No prob," I yell back, and hurry towards the door. Hopefully getting outside helps me get out of my head.
The crisp November air hits me in the face like a slap and I curse myself for not bringing a jacket. A woman shivering in a naughty nurse costume rushes past me to the bus stop, while a man in a Dracula costume across the street tries to wrap himself in his cape. I guess it could be worse.
I walk through the door of the bodega catty-corner to Denise's place and can't help but grin. A tuxedo cat lounges unbothered amid several loaves of bread, a mother and her toddler son peruse the snack cakes, and bachata blares from a speaker behind the counter. No matter the borough or the owner, every bodega is the same.
"Hola, papi! What'll it be?" the elderly man behind the counter asks when he notices me scanning the menu.
"I'll have two bacon, egg, and cheeses on toasted kaiser rolls, please."
He nods and sets to work on my food. I don't bother ordering coffee. Though breakfast sandwiches from a bodega are a New York institution, the coffee is always hit or miss. Plus, Denise has some at her place.
While I wait, I head to the refrigerated section and grab two bottles of orange juice and a couple of bananas for a balanced breakfast. Denise's keys jingle in my pocket as I walk. She gave them to me so she wouldn't have to buzz me up, but I wonder if I could talk her into making me a set. Not today, of course, but hopefully soon.
"Two bacon, egg, and cheeses on kaiser rolls!" the man behind the counter yells. I make my way back to the front to wait behind two women dressed as two-thirds of Charlie's Angels.
"You looked pretty cozy with Jake last night," Brown Hair says to Blonde Hair, raising one eyebrow. Blonde Hair responds with a shy smile.
"Yeah. He took me to his room to show me his vinyl collection and…"
"And what?" Brown Hair asks impatiently.
"And it's surprisingly… big ." The tone of Blonde's voice and the giggle that follows make it clear she's not just talking about records.
"Oh, yeah?" Brown Hair asks with a glint in her eye. "It's always the quiet ones packing the heat."
I reach past the ladies to pay for my food, and Brown Hair rakes her gaze over me appreciatively. She pulls down her top to expose more cleavage, so low now it looks like she might spill out.
"Hey, tall, dark, and handsome. What mischief did you get into last night?"
I chuckle.
"Have a good one, ladies," I reply, leaving Brown Hair to pout as I walk back out into the chilly morning.
This time last year, I might've engaged with her. She was beautiful and obviously interested; costumes make everyone bolder. But today, I'm a lovestruck fool, practically sprinting across the street and upstairs to Denise's apartment.
Once inside, I empty the bag onto the kitchen table with a flourish. Denise laughs and gives me a minty fresh kiss and a steaming mug of coffee. I bring ketchup and creamer to the table.
"So, what's the plan?" she asks around a mouth full of sandwich. Leaning over her plate, I can see all the way down her shirt to her ribcage tattoo, but a waving hand suddenly blocks my view.
"Uh, hello? Earth to boob fiend?" I smile sheepishly. "You said you wanted to help with my door, so help ."
Clawdette loiters around our feet, ready to catch any fallen bacon bits.
"Sorry," I mutter. I shake my head and try to get into work mode.
"OK. First, you should go ahead and call your neighbors and make sure they can pick up the new keys at some point today."
"And if they can't?"
"Yeah…," I ponder aloud. That would definitely throw a wrench into things. I wrack my brain, but it's still foggy from last night's drinks.
"How 'bout we cross that bridge when we come to it?" I hedge. "You're home most of tomorrow, right?"
" All of tomorrow, actually," she replies. "Kids are handing in their final designs for the student show today, and I'm setting aside tomorrow to review them. We need to start fabrication next week."
"OK, perfect." I start to clear the table. "You call your neighbors while I look up locksmiths. I'll have them come by after class and then we can hand off the new keys to your neighbors when they're done."
"Fingers crossed everyone is available. I really don't want this to eat up my whole weekend."
I intercept her on the way to the sink and plant a kiss on her temple.
"I have a feeling it'll all work out."
"Thank you so much for doing this, Ms. Jeffries," says a lanky 17-year-old kid with braces as he leans against Denise's doorway. "My mom kept calling the super, but he never called her back."
The kid is having trouble keeping his eyes off D's bountiful cleavage. While I can certainly relate, he's not about to ogle her right in front of me.
I clear my throat and shoot him a glare. The new keys clatter to the floor and he scrambles to pick them up. Eyes up, kid.
"You're welcome, Andy. Tell your mom I said hi and that my girl, Maya, wants her snickerdoodle recipe."
Andy nods before rushing out the door without so much as a wave.
"That was weird," Denise says. "Andy's usually so talkative."
I shrug and scratch my nose to hide my smile.
"That's all of them, then?"
She drops down onto her couch with a groan and I take a seat next to her.
"Yes, that's all of them. What a day!"
She puts her legs across my lap, and I immediately start rubbing her feet.
"Oooh, yes. Definitely keep doing that," she moans.
I shift her feet so she doesn't feel my hard-on. Apparently, being around her is like going through puberty all over again, complete with inconvenient boners.
"Thank you again for helping me with this," she sighs when I knead a particularly tender spot in the arch of her foot.
"Of course. What are boyfriends for?"
I feel her stiffen and immediately want to kick myself. Shit! Why did I have to force the issue?
"Boyfriend, huh?" She rolls the word around in her mouth like she's never used it before. Maybe she hasn't. "So you want to lock me down?"
"Not lock you down," I insist, doing my best to ignore the panic gripping my chest. "I just…" I let out a sigh. Who am I kidding?
"I really like you, Denise. And I know you want to keep things chill. I'm not trying to push you. But I'd like to be your boyfriend. I want you to be my girlfriend. Is that…OK?"
She's silent for a while, and I don't even risk taking a breath.
"It depends," she finally answers. "What do you consider a girlfriend?"
She didn't say no?! Hallelujah! I can't hide the goofy smile taking over my face now.
"The usual. Cooking for me. Cleaning my house when I'm at work. Sucking my dick on command."
I laugh when she pinches my arm.
"I'm joking!" I say through a laugh. "Nothing has to change. For me, a girlfriend is someone you like, someone you spend time with, someone you make plans with. It's all the things we're already doing, so we might as well use the titles."
I can see the wheels turning in her head.
"If nothing has to change," she says hesitantly, "then…yeah. OK. I'll be your girlfriend."
"Hell yeah!" I shout, not bothering to play it cool. "This calls for a celebration. Do you have any champagne? Or we can just toast with beer."
She gives me a wry smile.
"What am I? A barbarian? Of course I have champagne. I keep it on hand for exactly such occasions."
Mom does the same thing, I think as I watch her stand on tippy toes to get two flutes from above the fridge. I swallow a lump in my throat and immediately pump the brakes on that treacherous line of thought.
Denise comes back with two glasses full of the bubbly liquid. I raise mine.
"To the next step," I rasp, still a little choked up.
We clink our glasses together, and I kiss the sense out of her. I kiss her with everything I feel but can't say. When we break apart, she's panting.
"Damn! If I'd known being your girlfriend came with kisses like that, I would've volunteered sooner."
I kiss her again, softly this time, and she melts against me. We lose ourselves in one another, sharing secrets and whispering promises that I hope survive the light of day. With every moan, every whimper, my feelings for her become clearer.
But I just got her to admit she's my girlfriend. She needs time to adjust. Time to see I want her, not some cookie cutter version of her. My feelings will still be here when she's ready.