"Oh my God, Cora. Oh my God. Why didn't you tell me?" Evie says as she slurps her water loudly while returning from her run. I hate it when she exercises. My best friend smells like a rancid goat when she gets back from her morning runs. I don't understand why people run, it hurts my knees and makes my ankles ache."What are you talking about?" I really hope this isn't about Dante I'm not in the mood."Benjamin told me that you drew another sketch for Dante. And that Dante put it up on his wall. At this rate you both will be dating and your v-card issue will be solved."It's not Evie's fault that she doesn't know I find Dante unattractive. It's not her fault that I don't want to actually date him. I just keep him around just in case things with Professor Oakley don't work out. They probably won't because of that blonde woman, his Helen of Troy, will claim his heart."Yeah, it's great we are hanging out." That much is true. I do appreciate Dante as a friend, but I never plan to date h

Coming home was a bad idea. When I told Jessica Evans, I lived nearby what I meant was an hour away. It's not an uncommon practice for college students to move an hour away. Close to home but far enough away that being an adult feels real. I'm not sure I will ever feel like a real adult with the way my mom takes care of me.When I texted her that something happened she jumped right into action. Mom's always had my back, even as a small child she would snuggle me so tightly to keep my innocence a little longer. But now as a young woman, we have an understanding that I will tell her something is wrong and she won't pry. I don't like people prying and interrogating me, Evie is still learning this with me. But not mom, mom's got me figured out like a science. Mom knows I will tell her eventually. I need a few days to process and then I come out of my shell like a sly little turtle emerging for the first time. Evie pokes the turtle in me with a stick, but not this time. This time she is b

Someone knocks on the door of Professor Oakley's office. Papers are everywhere on his desk and books are knocked off on the floor. My hair is a mess and his lips are covered in my pink chapstick. The person knocking on the door appears to be a male figure. The door is locked as the person continues knocking."Hey Blake, are you in there?"Professor Oakley adjusts his shirt and fixes his tie. I give him a comb from my purse and he brushes his hair."Be there in a minute I had an accident," Professor Oakley replies as he stares at me. Luckily for Professor Oakley there's a large closet in the back of the room."Why is the door locked? Do you need help in there?"I quickly stuff loads of Professor Oakley's books into my backpack. Next, I take his papers and shove them into a box in the closet. I hide in the closet. He turns the lights off. I hand him a Kleenex to rub my chapstick off his lips.It's almost sexy getting caught. But not sexy enough. The man who enters the room has loud foot

The cats out of the bag. There's no turning back now. My best friend knows my deepest darkest secret. That could be a good or bad thing. If she lets her tongue slip, then Professor Oakley will have his livelihood taken away. I would get kicked out university but could take classes online at my mom's house. My punishment is far less severe.It's Saturday and Blake and I have our date tonight. I can hardly contain my excitement at the thought of us dancing together. I look at the photo of him I have hidden in my purse. Stacey still looks good in that blue dress. Maybe Blake will be mad if I wear this. As a precaution I sneak another blue dress in my purse that's shaped like a backpack.If Blake gets mad I took this one from his office I can always change at a restaurant and apologize. I just wanted to surprise him but maybe this is not the best course of action.I start getting ready for our date. But then I realize if Dante sees me like this he will want to jump my bones with flowers,

"Hello, Zac. It's nice to meet you. I'm Cora. If you'll excuse me, I am going to finish getting ready for the day." I take my leave before Isaac can ask how we met. I'm not sure what Blake's game plan is here. Maybe his brother is trustworthy and maybe he isn't. I will leave it up to Blake to decide.I overhear Isaac in the background. His voice is deep and strong. He's strong and bigger than Blake. His arms are hairy and there must be a story there. They hardly looked related at all."Blake, what about Jessica? I thought you and Jessica were getting back together."My stomach drops low into my intestines. I don't know what's going on. An hour ago Blake and I were in love, and I was happy to give my virginity away. Now his brother shows up and whispers about Jessica. If it's the Jessica I think it is, then the hall of my dorm has just gotten harder to walk down. The campus is already hard to walk through and it will be even harder to waltz down once my heart and soul have gone missin