Best She Ever Had (9781617733963) (16 page)

Cynthia had been dating Bill off and on for months, based on her mother's urgings. She did it to keep her mother off her back. Needless to say, Korey hadn't been too happy with the arrangement despite Cynthia's explanation. He said it was cheating.

“What if I up and decided to date someone else too, huh? Just to ‘keep up appearances,' ” he had said, quoting her words back to her.

The idea of him going on a date with another girl made her jealous and furious, and he knew it. They had had many arguments about that.

And we're about to have another one because I have to tell him I'm engaged to Bill,
she thought sadly.

“I remember what I said,” she finally answered, “which is why I asked to see you again. I regret how I handled it. I owe you more than that. We need . . . we need to talk, Korey.”

“Fine. So talk.”

“Not here. Please, let's go to our spot. To the spot where you took me the first time we went on a car ride.”

He sighed and nodded.

They arrived at the creek fifteen minutes later. It was, of course, deserted at this late hour. The fishermen who sometimes sat at the dock with rod in hand were at home. The crabgrass-covered shoulder along the waterfront that usually served as a makeshift parking lot was now empty.

When Korey parked the car and turned off the lights and engine, Cynthia stared out the window at the creek's undisturbed, moonlit surface. The fireflies were here too, like they had been back on the Gibbons property, along with the crickets. Frogs croaked steadily, creating a wall of sound. She committed the scene to memory, hoping she would remember this moment for the rest of her life.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Korey asked softly.

“Remember . . . remember you told me once that you had been watching me for years,” Cynthia began, still gazing at the creek. “You said that you used to sit in the back of geometry class, trying not to stare at me. I thought it was . . . so . . . so sweet, that you were . . . that you were so scared to approach me, to even say hi.”

“I was intimidated by you. Most of the guys in school were.”

“I know. But you're the only one who talked to me anyway.” She turned to him. “Why?”

He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned his head back against the headrest. “Because that day you looked like you needed help, that you needed rescuing. It's not like I planned it.”

“Well, I'm glad you did it. I'm glad you finally talked to me. I never would have done it myself, even though I . . . even though I had been watching you too,” she confessed, making him widen his eyes in surprise. “It's true, Korey,” she said with a nod. “I had been watching you just as much as you were watching me. I'd been doing it since junior high, but . . . but I knew it was pointless. You don't come from a family with money. You don't drive a nice car. You're a small-town guy who will probably always
be
small-town. I'd just be wasting my time with you.”

“Oh, thanks,” he said flatly, clenching his jaw, sounding wounded.

“But none of that was true,” she added quickly, grabbing his arm. “
None of it.
You weren't a waste of time. Being with you . . .” Tears pricked her eyes. “Being with you, Korey, has been the best thing in my whole entire life. I'm not going to get this again. I know that. I'm never going to love anyone or be loved like this again.”

“So why end it?” he asked, placing his hand over her hand that held his arm. “If we love each other so much and it's so perfect, why throw it away?”

The tears were spilling now. “Korey, don't you get it? Don't you get what I'm trying to say? I don't want to, but—”

“Then don't.” He cupped her face. “Who the hell cares what your mother thinks! I don't, and you shouldn't either. If you don't want to break up, then we don't have to. It's that simple!”

No, it's not,
she thought fiercely, her heart crumbling. She was already engaged to another man. They were supposed to get married in a couple of months and had planned to go on a romantic getaway to New York in a matter of days, a getaway that would more than likely include she and Bill having sex for the first time. She had put off getting intimate with Bill for months, but she knew that now that he had given her a four-carat engagement ring, he wouldn't wait to get into her pants any longer. But how was she supposed to tell Korey all of this?

“Korey, I—”

She didn't get to finish. He leaned forward and kissed her before she could.

I should push him away,
she thought as he coaxed her mouth open and their tongues danced.
I should tell him to stop.

But she didn't want to. The sensation felt too good, and she had missed this. She missed his kisses and the feel of his hands on her body. She missed the passion they shared and the delicious thrill it gave her. Why not enjoy it? Why not savor it for one last time?

He lowered his hand to her breast, making her nipples go rigid. He nuzzled her neck, licking at the peach-scented skin. His hands shifted from her breast and descended lower. He pulled up the hem of her ruffled jean skirt and rested his hand between her legs, teasing her through the cotton fabric of her panties. Cynthia spread her legs wider in invitation. She moaned just as his mouth returned to hers.

The kisses were getting heavier now, more fervent, and the steering wheel and emergency brake were getting in the way of them getting at each other. Cynthia shoved Korey back, catching him by surprise. She gave an impish smile before climbing into the more spacious backseat of the sedan. Within seconds, she was pulling her pink T-shirt over her head. She tossed it aside, revealing the black lace bra underneath. She then hooked her finger, beckoning him to follow her.

Cynthia didn't have to tell him twice! He dove into the backseat after her, landing face-first on the cushion, making her laugh. As he tried to sit upright, she was tugging at his shirt, pulling it off of him. Those tight quarters became a whirlwind of flailing limbs and flying clothes. The two snorted and cackled with laughter as they undressed each other.

When she was down to just a skirt and panties and he was only in his boxers, they started kissing again. But then Korey suddenly wrenched his mouth away.

“Cindy, I didn't bring anything,” he confessed. “I wasn't exactly expecting this.”

She shook her head. “It's okay. Don't worry about it. I'm still on the pill,” she assured him before cupping his face and kissing him again.

They hadn't had sex without a condom before. She had always been too terrified of getting pregnant to not use one, but there was no way she was stopping this.

Not now,
she thought.

The pace became less frantic and Korey did what he did best: made her toes curl, made her whimper and moan. She didn't mind the rug burn she was getting from the seat upholstery or the window handle that kept grinding into her back. He fondled her breasts again, toying with the nipples, licking and squeezing them until she cried out in ecstasy. He showed just as much attention to the moist spot between her legs. He finally just took off her panties and tossed them over his shoulder. They landed on the dashboard. She squirmed and bucked. She moaned and groaned.

“Oh, God,” she whimpered. “Oh, my . . . my God! Oh, God! Don't you dare stop, Korey!”

And he didn't. He coaxed her to orgasm with his expert fingers, and when the tremors started undulating all over her body, she let her legs fall akimbo and cried out again. She returned the favor by taking “Big Korey” in her hands and stroking him. Korey groaned when she leaned down in the backseat and took him whole in her mouth. He threw back his head and closed his eyes almost reverently as she sucked him.

Minutes later, he eased her back against the seat so that her head rested near the window. Cynthia spread her legs again, as far as space would allow, letting Korey lie between them. He hoisted one of her legs higher so that the heel rested on the back of the driver's seat. He then kissed her again and plunged forward. She took an audible breath as he entered her.

She told herself to remember this, to remember the sensation of him swelling inside her, of feeling his hips grind against hers, of hearing his heavy breaths and moans against her ear. But instead of committing it to memory, she got lost in the moment. Her hips rose up to meet him stroke for stroke. She dug her nails into his shoulders and his back. She felt her legs trembling under the strain of spreading so wide to accommodate him and yet another impending orgasm.

When she came, she cried out one last time. He did also, soon after, crumbling against her with a satisfied grunt.

By the time they finished, the windows of the Chevy were so fogged up that neither of them could see the creek outside. Only the hazy glow of the moon reflecting off the water came through the window.

They lay holding each other, not talking, listening to the steady
creek, creek, creek
of the frogs and
chirp, chirp, chirp
of the crickets nearby. She wished the moment could last forever, but, of course, it couldn't. It was time to do what she really came here to do.

Time to say good-bye,
she thought.

“I should be getting back,” Cynthia whispered.

Korey raised his head and looked down at her. “Yeah, I know. It's getting late, isn't it? Everyone will be waking up in a couple of hours, and the fishermen around here get an early start.” He chuckled. “I'd hate for them to find us this way.”

“I would too.” They sat upright. “I don't exactly look my best right now.”

She was topless. Her hair was standing all over her head. Her mascara had run, and her lipstick had smeared.

“What do you mean? You look beautiful,” he whispered as he handed her her shirt.

And with those words, it was like a dagger had been driven into her heart.

“So when can I see you again?” He pulled his T-shirt over his head and stuck his arms through the sleeves. “Next week? Are you free Saturday? Should I pick you up at the house or meet you at—”

“Korey, we can't . . . we can't see one another again.”

He paused from dressing and squinted at her.

“What do you mean we can't see each other again?”

“That's what all this was about. That's why I wanted to see you one last time. I was saying good-bye.”

“Yes, good-bye. I'm . . . I'm getting married.”

His mouth fell open. He stared at her, dumbstruck. “
You're getting married?
What the hell do you mean you're getting married? Getting married to
who?
” he shouted.

“To Bill Simpson,” she explained. “To that . . . to that guy I was dating. I told you about him.”

She watched as Korey closed his eyes and dropped his head into his hands.

“He proposed last week. We're supposed to get married in August. That's what I came here to tell you.”

“So you . . . you let me think . . . you let me think this whole time that we . . . that we were . . .” His voice trailed off.

She became alarmed when he started to chuckle. It was a small laugh at first, then it went into full-on guffaws that filled up the car with the loud noise. His shoulders were shaking because he was laughing so hard.

Cynthia frowned. She didn't see what was so funny and asked him as much.

Korey finally pulled his hands away from his face and looked at her, shaking his head. “What's so goddamn funny, Cindy, is that I let you do this.” His laughter finally trickled off. “I let you pull the same shit you always pull, and I let you do this to me. I let you set me up like this even though I should have known better!” He shook his head again. “I'm so stupid. I'm so gullible and so . . . so stupid!”

“Korey, I wasn't setting you up. I meant everything I—”

“Bullshit!” he spat. “Bullshit.” He then tore his gaze from hers, as though he couldn't stand to look at her any longer. “Put your clothes back on. I'm taking you home.”

They rode back to her house in silence. This time he didn't bother to turn off the headlights when they drew closer to the Gibbons property and she didn't ask him to. When they reached her driveway, he pulled to a stop and she climbed out.

“Korey,” she whispered, feeling her heart break.

He didn't respond. He didn't even turn to look at her.

She'd barely shut the door before he pulled off with tires screeching. She stood there and watched until his taillights disappeared around the bend.

She didn't see Korey again for several months after that. Though they lived in the same town, she went out of her way to avoid him, and he seemed to do the same. When she finally did see him, he was squiring Vivian Brady around town.

Korey and Vivian were in line at the post office on Main Street, and a very pregnant Vivian was showing off her new engagement ring to a group of ogling women in front of her. The proud papa-to-be was answering questions about the impending nuptials and the baby boy they had on the way.

When Cynthia stumbled upon that scene, she immediately turned around and left the post office, the package she had wanted delivered now forgotten. Cynthia had heard about Korey and Vivian getting together, but it was something completely different to have the fact that he had moved on staring her plainly in the face.

Cynthia, pregnant with her own little girl, waddled with tears in her eyes back to her car—a new silver Jag that Bill had given her as a wedding gift. All she could think about was that night at the creek with Korey and how she had walked away from the only man she would probably ever love.