Page 117 of Under the Influence

I want you, anyway.

I want you, anyway.

Her words echo in my head until she is lifted off of her seat and straddling my lap. She kisses me back, and I can taste the anticipation on her tongue.

Warmth fills my entire body as she whimpers against my lips. A fire igniting between us that’s quickly doused when she pulls away, fast and hard.

“I can’t.” she whispers, upset and confused. She quickly positions herself back in her seat and pulls the seatbelt over her shoulder, like it will keep her there.

“I’m sorry,” I pant. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I just… I really am sorry.”

“Let’s just get coffee,” she sighs.

I reach out, grabbing her chin and turning it to me gently, making sure she knows exactly where I stand. “I don’t want closure, Corinne. Never.”

She reaches over me, turning the key to start my Jeep back, “Don’t kiss me like that again until you can do it without an apology attached.”

Note taken.

We grab some coffee and head to school. I try to think about anything other than how she felt on top of me. The hard-on beneath my jeans is obvious, so I reach down to adjust myself. The feeling makes me want to scream and melt into a puddle at her feet simultaneously. It’s just the effect she has on me.

When we pull into the school parking lot, she opens the door as quickly as possible, not bothering to wait for me or say anything else. She walks away, and I let her go.

It’s like watching my heart run away from my body. I just hope that one day, maybe she’ll run to me instead of away. I lean against the door of the Jeep, defeated. I’m still not sure where we stand, but at least she’s speaking to me.

“Why do you look so fucking pathetic?” Jovie steps in front of me, blocking my view of Corinne.

I sigh, “What do you want?”

She crosses her arms over her chest, “Well, since you asked.” Her voice is seductive and makes the hair stand up on my arms, “Homecoming is coming up, and I just wanted to know what color dress you wanted me to wear?”

I take a step to the side, trying to see around her ego-filled ponytail, searching the steps that lead to the main doors for Corinne.

“Nash!” Jovie yells. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

I push past her, growling, “Why the fuck would I care what you wear?”

My eyes finally land on Corinne and Carson, as they walk through the double doors. Jovie’s voice echoes behind me, “Okay, I’ll send you a picture so you can match!”

I ignore her, practically sprinting to catch up to them, but I stop when I see her smile at him. The harsh reality sinks in that I’ve never made her smile like that, and I probably never will.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FIVE

CARSON

After practice, Nash leaves pretty quickly. He is rushing around to make it to the marina on time, trying to act like he isn’t going to sit in his car for fifteen minutes, getting high first. But I know better.

When I pull into my driveway, I notice Cori sitting on the edge of the dock, her Converse-covered feet hanging over. I sit in my truck and watch her for a minute as she stares into the water. It has been a while since I’ve talked to her outside of school. She stopped crawling through my window, afraid that she’d come between Nash and me. I wonder if she is still having the nightmares that only I know she has…

A knock on the window of my truck makes me jump, my dad smiling on the other side.

“You scared me,” I laugh.

“I was just snapping you out of it before you started drooling.”

“Shut up!” I laugh, getting out and shutting the door.