James

I expected her to launch into a persuasive speech about school in the fall, but to my surprise, when we got to her house, she just led me to her room.

Cora dropped her backpack by the dresser and turned to me. Her tiny hand fisted my shirt and pulled me in before closing the door behind us. Her lips turned up in a coquettish grin that drove me wild, and I knew instantly what she was after. She didn't waste any time. Long fingers wrapped themselves around the hem of my T-shirt and started to lift. She wasn't tall enough to get it over my head, though all she had to do was start the ball rolling, and I'd take over. I reached between my shoulder blades and tugged the shirt off. With each inch of skin I exposed, her hands roamed further.

The warmth of her touch sent chills up my arms and down my back. She knew what she did to me, and I think she secretly enjoyed being able to bring a man twice her size to his knees. Her soft lips peppered kisses all over my torso, teasing me with a hint of tongue. Cora normally took her time, enjoyed foreplay, stretched things out, yet today, she was more interested in getting down to business. The button on my jeans came undone, and the zipper broke through the silence of her bedroom as it was lowered. She hooked her hands into the waistband of my boxer briefs and slid them, along with my jeans, down to my ankles.

All it took to excite me was a glance from Cora—it never failed to surprise her that I was fully erect by the time my clothes came off. Fuck, she was gorgeous, and she was mine. There wasn't a guy on the planet who wouldn't be sporting a chub the size of Texas at the mere thought of sinking into her. She didn't wait for me to help her with her clothes. As soon as mine were removed, she shimmied out of her own. I never tired of staring at her lean form. Cora had the body of a runner. She was petite and not overly endowed, although every inch of what she had was perfect, and I loved it. Her curves leaned in at just the right places, and her swells rounded in opposition. Even as thin as she was, there wasn't a hard edge to her.

She took my hand, led me to her bed, and encouraged me to sit on the edge. As little as she was, she had an uncanny ability to lead me in any direction she wished to go. Once I'd settled, Cora climbed into my lap and hooked her arms around my neck. Our height difference made it difficult for her to get much leverage with me standing, but in this position, we were equals. Just before she lowered herself onto my dick, her lips met mine, and her tongue invited my mouth to open for her. She deepened the connection in both places at the same time, and her heat captured me as she sank down.

My hands gripped her tight ass, kneading the firm flesh as she rolled her hips and lifted herself up and down. I spread my knees to allow for deeper penetration and couldn't help the moan that escaped from deep within. When our lips parted, her head fell back, and her long hair tickled the tops of my thighs. Nothing ever felt as right as becoming one with Cora Chase. Heaven found Earth in those moments and shed light on even the darkest of times. We worked in tandem, her giving, me taking until her face was crimson from exertion, and I knew her thighs burned from the workout. The way she clenched her muscles inside left me a slave to her touch.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I rolled her over onto the mattress, allowing her to rest while I took her to a place I never wanted to share with anyone else. I cocked one knee up under her thigh and lifted myself slightly onto the other for better leverage and made love to the most beautiful girl I'd ever encountered. When her heat intensified from within, she was close, and I drove longer and deeper. Each plunge took her closer to the place of ecstasy we both strived to reach. Her back arched, she gasped and held her breath, and I kissed the tender spot beneath her ear that sent her into orbit…just before I whispered, "I love you, sweetheart."

And we came apart, together.

Those last few rolls of our hips were my favorite part of the entire experience. Only the sounds of ragged breaths lingered in the air followed by the explosions of color behind my eyelids. It was my own personal nirvana.

I touched my forehead to hers briefly before rolling off to her side and tucking her frame next to me. I'd be the laughing stock of the school if anyone ever got wind of how much I enjoyed just being with her after sex. There was something peaceful in those moments I hadn't experienced any other time in my life.

She peered up at me with eyes so green Crayola would be envious, and a sated smile graced her lips. We didn't normally talk much after sex, but I could see words lingering on her tongue. Cora had something to say, and she'd used her body to prime me for the blow.

I pulled back slightly in anticipation of hearing something that would rock my world and prayed it wasn't anything that would destroy us.

"I got into UK and UNC."

My mouth hung open in shock, unsure I'd heard what I thought I had. Cora and I had gone round and round about colleges, yet never in a million years did I think she'd take the initiative to apply to one of the schools I'd gotten a scholarship to. "What?"

She propped her head on her hand, and that just-fucked look morphed into love. "I applied over the holidays. I didn't say anything in case I didn't get accepted. I wasn't sure since I'd waited so late to send in my applications. But I got both letters in the mail this week."

There were so many thoughts running through my head that she'd left me speechless.

The tips of her fingers traced soft circles on my chest while Cora refused to meet my eyes. "So all you have to do is decide whether it's going to be Kentucky or North Carolina." She paused and took a deep breath. "And if you want me there with you."

I'd never witnessed this side of my girlfriend—the one that was unsure, insecure.

With little effort, I raised my arm lifting her at the same time to move her on top of me. She immediately adjusted and pushed herself up to straddle my waist. I grinned at the pink tinge still kissing her cheeks and the glow that us being together had left on her skin.

"There's no question whether I want you with me. The question is, what changed your mind?"

She shrugged, and I couldn't help but laugh at how timid she suddenly appeared. "You're my only family, James. UK and UNC are great schools, and I just need an education. It doesn't matter where it's from. And you've got fantastic opportunities at both, so I didn't want you to feel like you had to choose between basketball and me." She cast her gaze down to my sternum in uncertainty.

I loved that in the year we'd been together, Cora had never taken to calling me Carp. She was the only person in the school, including teachers, who used my first name. "Babe, there's no way I could go anywhere without you." I lifted her chin with my fingers to force her to see the truth in my eyes. "I gave you my heart on the shore of Geneva Key. I have no plans to take it back."

She couldn't fight the smile that tugged at her lips and met her eyes. "So where's it going to be? Mid-west or the South?"

"Your grandparents don't care where you go?" I shouldn't have asked. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, they were a reminder that her parents weren't around to bounce ideas off of and talk things to death. I'd filled in the best I could, though sadly, we were teenagers living adult lives without much influence. "Forget that. Where do you want to go?"

She worried her bottom lip with her teeth while she contemplated her answer. And with wide eyes, she said, "North Carolina."

And just like that, we became Tar Heels.