Previously: “Um, Cory? I thought you were taking me to a bar?” I questioned. I look up at his house in wonder. “No, I said I was going to take to somewhere that has the best bartender in town…me. Look, you’re a freaking celebrity, the last thing you need is to be seen wasted out of your mind at a bar,” he explained. He leads me upstairs and to his bedroom. I walk over and bend to look at all the alcohol he has stored. “I’ll have a strawberry margarita my good man,” I tell him just as properly as he had. “You’re already drunk,” he laughed. “I’m not drunk,” I clarified. “Isyss, don’t. You’re drunk,” he tried. “I’m not drunk,” I defended. “Isyss,” he began, his voice a little shaky. “You’re drunk,” he continued, finding a lame excuse for my actions. “I’m not drunk,” I tell him yet again. “Cory?” I said. “Hmm?” he said. “I think I’m drunk,” I admitted. “I know,” he rubbed my back soothingly as I drift off into a blissful sleep in his arms. This. This is my Utopia…
Chapter 24
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Oh. My. Heavens. What in the hell is that un-Godly awful sound?
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Make it stoooop. I keep my eyes closed and cover my head with a pillow, trying to muffle the sound.
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Oh to the M effing G! What is that stupid sound?! I hear a groan from next to me before feeling the bed shift.
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
“Ugh,” a voice cries in frustration, wanting to make the noise stop as much as I do. I open one eye and look over to him. He was wrapped in his covers next to me.
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
It was then I realized that I’m in bed with Cory; in his bed. Both my eyes shot open as I realized this. I gasped and sat up, the covers falling from my upper body. I looked down at myself and noticed I was in the same clothes I came over here with. Phew!
I sighed in relief. That’s a good sign. I would have hated to have done something with him and not remember in the morning. Wait, what do I remember from last night? I sighed and rubbed my hands up my face and through my hair. My fingers caught a few tangles in my hair so I continued doing so until it was straighten.
Errrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I heard the noise again. Cory groaned in aggravation again. “Make. It. Stop,” he mumbled from under the covers. I giggled at the irony of him saying what I said in my head. I looked around and tried to find the source of the noise. His phone. It’s on the bedside table next to me. I picked it up and lay on my back on the bed. I looked at the screen.
“Someone’s calling you,” I say with a laugh. The name that popped up is saved as Don’t Answer. Really? He named someone that? Cory shifted under the cover and soon I saw his head pop out. His hair was ruffled from his movements and his eyes were heavy from sleep. He looked at me, almost shocked to see me.
But soon after, his shock turned to remembrance as he looked all over my face. He closed his eyes and licked his lips. “Answer it,” he told me casually, not caring who exactly it is. I furrowed my eyebrows at him. I know it’s not her calling now, but shouldn’t he be worried that it’s Sandy or something? Wouldn’t that stir up some drama if I answer Cory’s phone this early in the morning?
“But it—”
“Answer it,” he said with exaggeration, snuggling deeper into the covers. I rolled my eyes and pressed the answer button. I yawned before greeting the stranger.
“Hello,” I greeted in a friendly tone.
“Who’s this?” a voice asked loudly from the other end. Suddenly, my head began pounding. Ugh, my mind catching up with my actions.
I yawned again and placed my free hand on my forehead. “Who’s this?” I replied, answering her question with a question.
“Jeanine. Now who the hell are you to be answering Cory’s phone? He never lets anyone look at his phone, let alone touch it,” the girl, Jeanine, said in a vicious and jealous voice.
“Jeanine…” I trailed off and looked to Cory. His eyes are still closed. He sighed in annoyance as he put his index finger to his temple, raised his thumb up, and proceeded to shot himself. I can’t help but check out his arm muscles as he did so, seeing that he’s not wearing a shirt. His skin is as sun kissed as ever.
“Uh…” I trailed off, trying to get my thoughts back on track. “Cory’s…busy right now. Can I take a message?” I said with extreme politely, knowing it would probably upset her more. I was correct.
“A message?! Yeah here’s a message for him! Tell him that when he’s done playing with sluts like you, he needs to call me,” she said.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise by her boldness. Okay, rudeness. “Sluts say…?” I drawled out quickly and curiously.
“What?” she asked in pure confusion, not knowing what I said.
“Exactly,” I say before hanging the phone, not bothering to waste my time arguing with the headache I have. The room grew quiet and I placed Cory’s phone on my stomach, not wanting to reach over and put it back.
“What did she say?” Cory asked through mumbles.
“She said to stop wasting your time with sluts like me and call her,” I recited.
He chuckled and snuggled closer to me. “Well, let’s keep wasting time, slut,” he jokes, causing me to lightly hit on his head. He laughs at my reaction. I watch as he laughs, his eyes still closed. It’s crazy how comfortable we are with each other.
Years ago, I would’ve never guessed that he and I would be as close as we are now. I think I actually consider him a close friend. I watch as his eyes slowly open, revealing those breath taking irises. His eyes were shining with what I can only assume is joy.
Out of all the pranks we pulled on each other, out of all the teasing we put each through, this is the first time we’ve been in the same bed together and did nothing. Nada. No sexual touching…not a thing. I have to admit, it’s nice laying here and laughing with Cory, it seems so carefree.
He looked over my face and a sudden frown appeared. I furrowed my eyebrows in return. What’s with the quick mood change? “Ya know, when I imagined an irritating noise while waking up next to you, I figured it would be your snoring—hahaha not my hahaha not my phone!”Before he could even finish his story I began hitting him upside the head with a pillow.
Not funny! It’s not my fault I snore! He continued laughing through my assault. It wasn’t until a few seconds in that I caught on to what he just said. Wait, what? He’s imagined waking up next to me before?
“Oh, so you’ve imagined waking up next to me?” I decided to tease him so I can hide those freaking butterflies that tried to fly around in my stomach. He shrugged his shoulders before answering.
“I had a thing for you Isyss, so of course I’ve thought about it,” Cory answered casually, as if it’s no big deal. It didn’t take me long to notice the past tense he used in that sentence. Okay butterflies, you can go back into your lonely, sad cocoons, because it’s not time to come out just yet.
I sighed and laid on my back again. I picked up his phone and hold it above my face too see the screen. I turned to him and caught him absorbing me. Instead of asking him why he’s looking at me like that, I decide to ask him something complete off topic.
“What’s your passcode?” I asked him, knowing he probably won’t give it to me. I remembered what the rude chick said on the phone a while ago; He doesn’t let anyone near his phone, let along touch it.
“5424,” he told me without hesitation. My eyes widened in shock. Did he seriously just tell me the passcode to his phone? Wow! I eyed him suspiciously. Unless…he’s lying. Cory noticed my look and chuckled. “If you don’t believe me…” he trailed of while holding his hand out to take his phone away.
I glanced at his hand, considering whether or not to believe him. I look back to his face and see him waiting patiently with an amused smile on his face. I look at the screen of his phone and type in what he told me. I gasped mentally. Oh wow, he actually gave me the code to unlock his phone.
Yet again, to my surprise, his home screen is a default picture too. “Ya know, when I imagined looking at your phone, I thought you’d have some creepy pictures of girls doing belly shots off their naked bodies as your wallpaper,” I teased, using the same tone he used with his familiar sentence.
“You may not want to look at my gallery then,” he said with a mischievous tone as he wiggles his eyebrows. I gave a distasteful look.
“Thanks for the heads up,” I commented back while thinking of what to do next with his phone. I viewed his apps. No games. Well, that doesn’t necessarily surprise me; we all know how Cory likes enjoys to playing around.
Cory moved in closer to me and placed his head on my shoulder as he looked up at the screen. He scooted as close as possible without touching any other part of my body.
I raise his phone higher so I can we both can see it properly. Hmm, let’s see. Aha! Contacts. Let’s see if his girls have someone decent about them, like their names. Cory doesn’t stop me and stays quiet as I browse through his contacts.
I raised my eyebrows at some of the names. He’s given a few nicknames I see. “Who’s Always Fun?” I ask him. Yes, he’s named someone Always Fun.
“A girl name Patrice, and yes, she is,” he says simply. I didn’t have to look at him to see a smirk on his face.
“And we’ve already established that Don’t Answer is that rude girl named Jeanine,” I said thoughtful as I scan through the list. There were a few actual names in here, but they didn’t outweigh the nicknames. I noticed a lot of female names, and potential female nicknames. For instance…“Who’s Pretty Eyes?” I asked in curiosity.
“Tracey.”
“And I take it she has pretty eyes?”
“Very,” he answered simply. I nodded in response. So he finds her eyes attractive. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever known which part of the female body he’s attracted to the most.
“Hey, Cory, what part of a female’s body is the most attractive to you?” I asked him shortly after scanning through his long list of contacts. Dang, does he know everyone in America?
“Eyes,” he answered in mock adoration. I laughed softly. Well, he must’ve first took interest in my personality, because my dark brown eyes are as dull as a twenty watt light bulb. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be the color of her eyes, just how intriguing they are. You can tell a lot about someone just by looking into their eyes. You can see their intentions, their desires, what turns them on, and shit like that,” he continued casually.
Oh, I was assuming he looked at the eye color alone…way to jump to conclusions. I nudged my shoulder, causing him to raise his head and look at me. “What do my eyes tell you?” I asked him, looking deep into his.
He smirked a little as he stared down into my eyes. Do my eyes tell my feelings for you? Do they tell you how much I wish you still wanted me? Do they admit that I hate seeing you with another girl? Do they tell you how tempted I am to rip your clothes off and—
Okay, okay, okay. Let me stop before I get myself started on something that won’t get finished. Cory’s smirk dropped as he blinked at least three times. He scrunched his eyebrows as he continued looking into my eyes. I wonder what he’s thinking. But of course, him being Cory, masked his emotions before I had a chance to catch it.
“They’re saying…” he trailed off as his face turned humorous. I mentally rolled my eyes, knowing he’s about to say something silly. “They’re saying that you want to save your number in my phone,” he replied with sly smirk.
I tilted my head. Really? My eyes were telling you that, Cory? Really? “How many times have you used that line?” I joked as he laid back down on my shoulder. He chuckled, though he seems a little on edge, like he just witnessed something that got him a little spooked.
Hmm, maybe it has something to do with how he was just looking at me. His eyes had grown intense before they became guarded and turned into humor. Well damn, what happened? “Only the best for you,” he mocked as I scanned through his phone again.
I see a contact named Other Half, which can only be one person; his twin. I sighed when I think about how everything went down yesterday. How she reacted so defensively was only a sign of her guilt. I remember Cory telling her to just tell me something; I wonder what that something is.
I put my number in his phone, but as soon as I began putting my name in, Cory snatched the phone from my hands. “Hey,” I protested as he started typing in something. I watched as he put My Cheerleader.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “Your cheerleader?” I questioned, to which he chuckled.
“Yep, last night you said you wanted to be a cheerleader,” he answered within his laughter. I rolled my eyes and groaned. Ugh, please tell me he’s joking.
“Noooo, I didn’t,” I drawled out in embarrassment. Cory laughed at my agony. Great friend he is.
“Yep. You even put on a little show for me,” he added, clearly amused as he remembered what happened last night. I face palmed when he said that. What the hell did I do? “Who would’ve known you were a dancing drunk? I honestly thought you’d be an emotional drunk…crying and stuff, completely in your feelings. Good thing you wasn’t because I don’t do well with crying girls,” he rambled on.
Like I said, he’s a great freaking friend. “My embarrassment deepens,” I mumbled as I sat up on the bed, moving Cory off me in the process. Cory chuckled and I stretched my arms. I sighed and looked around his room. The evidence of an alcoholic night was visible on the bar.
Suddenly, Cory got off the bed. He had on some plaid pajama pants with no shirt, his chest completely on display. I spotted something that heightened my curiosity. “You have a tattoo?” I questioned while squinting to see the small artwork that’s places on the side of his body, precisely next to his chest and under his underarm.
Cory lifted his arm up, giving me a full view of the tattoo. He shook his head in denial. “No, I like drawing on myself from time to time. Just to get in touch with my artistic side. I admit I had a hard time reaching this specific area, but with time and patience comes success,” he mused, causing me to roll my eyes in response.
I climbed over the bed and sat on my calf muscles as I got a better view of the tattoo. It’s the outline of a half circle, with the digits 10:15 a.m. written in script under it. I gave him a questioning look.
“It’s the time I was born. Courtney has the other half of the circle, with the time she was born,” he answered. I nodded in understanding. It wasn’t a very big tattoo. It’s smaller than my palm. Cory walked over to his dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a dark blue, muscle shirt.
All too suddenly, I felt a peg of disappointment. I feel disappointment because I didn’t get a chance to check him out. I feel disappointment because I can think of the one person who gets to look at his hot bod anytime she wants. I feel disappointment because that same person gets to be the Maid-of-Honor at my bestfriends wedding. I’m disappointed because it seems as though that person is getting everything I want.
I shook my head and scratched the back of my head, shuffling my hair around in the process. Well, I guess our little time is over. I got off the bed and couldn’t stop myself from stretching and yawning. Cory had left sometime between my mental ramble, because he wasn’t in the room anymore. I found my shoes on the floor and placed them on my feet.
I looked around for my phone. Damn it! I just realized that I left my phone at Courtney’s house, smack dab on the bed to be exact. How the hell did I not remember to grab it? I usually never forget to have my phone.
Errrrrrrrrrrrr. Errrrrrrrrrrrr. Errrrrrrrrrr.
I looked toward the bed and see Cory’s phone going off again. At that moment, Mr. Popular himself walked back in. He has a toothbrush in his mouth as he sent me the most charming smile he can muster without dripping toothpaste from his mouth.
I pointed to his phone. “Someone’s calling you again,” I let him know. His eyebrows shot up in wonder as he walked over and picked up his phone. He took the toothbrush out of his mouth and answered. “Yo,” was his greeting.
I shook my head and chuckled. Some things never change. “Hi Cory, how are you? Oh! I’m awesome Twin, thanks for asking!” he stated, insinuating that what he said would’ve been a better greeting than what the person, Courtney, had done. I held back my laughter as I watched his reactions.
“She’s right here. Nope. Yep. Yes, I’m aware of that,” he spoke into the phone. I noticed him roll his eyes extremely dramatically, causing me to laugh a little.
“No, we didn’t,” he looked over at me and allowed his eyes to freely scan my body. Hmm, I wonder what she’s saying. “Believe it or not, that’s not all I think about. Occasionally, I like thinking about whether or not I should dye my hair blonde. Then, I’d really look like the Greek God girls describe me as,” he continued, sending a wink my way.
I shook my head toward him, letting him know no one calls him that. In return, he cracked a small, amused smile. Cory sighed. “Yes, Courtney, I know that. I’m the one dating her, not you,” he spoke, this time with a hint of aggravation. Courtney must’ve brought up Sandy.
“It’s not like I called her and said ‘there’s a clandestine hangout in progress so don’t come over’. You’re making it into something it’s not,” he continued, the aggravation in his voice heightening.
Instead of further standing there like some weirdo, I decided to busy myself somewhere else. I walked over to the small den area that’s located by the window. I looked out and saw that it’s a beautiful day outside. Birds and butterflies are flying, flowers have blossomed and the sun is beaming.
I looked down toward the street and noticed a familiar car parked alongside the curb; Andy. I smiled. He’s always there for me when I need a ride. I wonder how he knew I was here. Maybe Andrea told him since she knew I left with Cory yesterday.
Speaking of Andrea…damn it! I left her yesterday. I remember she said she was going to the bathroom before we left, then I ended up leaving with Cory. I shook my head at the thought of ditching her. I’m definitely going to get an earful from her when she sees me.
At that very moment, another car pulled into the driveway, right behind Cory’s car. I crossed my arms and waiting for the person to get out, but they didn’t just yet. “Boo,” someone said from behind me, causing me to jump in shock instantly.
I groaned after I heard Cory chuckle. “Don’t do that,” I protested as he moved to stand next to me. He raised his right arm and placed his elbow against the window frame. He allowed his right hand to sit on top of his head as he looked out the window as well.
I took that second to admire him. Damn, he is one attractive guy. His muscles are almost structured to perfection. I wonder if he works out to get those muscles or if he sticks to his way of exercising: sex.
“Sandy, always one for surprises,” he muttered pragmatically to no one in particular as he looked down at the car in his driveway. He didn’t say anything else as he continued to watch Sandy finally get out of her car and start walking toward the front porch.
Yep, our little time is definitely over…
[AN: Boom, that just happened. Here it is ladies and gents. Sooooo, how's life been treating you? Lol I don't really have anything to say so...yeah.
Anywho, it's time for Know Your Characters!
Question #24: How do you think Sandy will react to seeing Isyss at Cory's house?]