The Ocean Between Us (23 page)

Emma teased Cory about his crown all the way across the parking lot after the dance. “Should I call you Sire or Your Highness?” she asked. “Or Ye Olde Homecoming King?”

He grinned and spun the cheap crown on one finger. “Just don’t call me late for a party.”

“Too bad they didn’t let you keep the robe and scepter.”

“Right. They’d come in handy at my next coronation.”

She had no doubt that many coronations, in one form or another, awaited Cory Crowther in his life. He was talented and favored by circumstance. It had been no surprise that he’d been named Homecoming King. Of course he was the anointed one, a handsome senior who had saved yesterday’s game.

Dad hadn’t sounded too thrilled when she’d sent him an e-mail saying she was going to the dance with Cory. “I have no choice but to trust your judgment, Em,” he’d written her, and she knew he was still thinking about the beer incident.

As they walked past other kids leaving the dance, people called out, teasing and congratulating him. Shea Hansen, Homecoming Queen, swept past on the arm of her date.

“’Night, Cory,” she called. “Thanks for the dance.”

“No problem.” Once they’d passed by, he took his crown and settled it on Emma’s head. “Should have been you. If you hadn’t saved her from drowning last summer, she wouldn’t even be here to wear a crown.”

“Shea was the perfect choice,” Emma pointed out. Shea was pretty and popular, but most of all, she was a local girl. Newcomers didn’t get elected Homecoming Queen. Not even newcomers who knew CPR. People expected their queens to stick around.

They encountered Katie and Jimmy Bates heading for the bus circle to be picked up by Jimmy’s mother. Katie was giggling, but when she spotted Cory, she stared at him as though he were a rock star.

“Hey, Bates. Katie,” he said, winning them over with a gleaming smile. “Did you have a good time tonight?”

“Yeah, we did,” Katie said, almost comically starry-eyed behind her glasses.

“We did,” echoed Jimmy. “So, uh, we’ll see you around.”

Emma handed Katie a cellophane bag with her corsage and folder of photographs. “Take this for me, okay?” she said. “And tell Mom not to wait up.”

“Good idea,” Cory murmured, holding open the car door. “I’ve got plans.”

Since Darlene Cooper’s father had gone to sea, her apartment had become a gathering place for seniors who didn’t care to be bothered by adult supervision. After the dance, Emma and Cory dropped in to find the lights low and the music high. An interesting mix of students and young enlisted men and women milled around the cluttered kitchen and the dining room, where the table was covered with open bags of chips and six-packs of wine coolers and beer. Sailors were absolutely forbidden to mingle with the local high school kids, but that never stopped them.

Darlene wasn’t the best housekeeper in the world. Emma felt a little sorry for her as she tried to ask people to go outside to
smoke, or ran around trying to clean up spills. She didn’t even seem to be enjoying herself.

“I’ll come over tomorrow and help you clean up,” Emma said to her.

“Thanks. That’d be great.” Darlene seemed to relax a little.

Shoot, thought Emma. Tomorrow was moving day. She’d have to figure out how to be two places at once. She looked around briefly for Brian, but saw no sign of him or his date.

“I say we check out the hot tub before it gets too crowded,” Cory said, grabbing a six-pack of Tequiza as he walked past the table.

“Good idea.”

They headed out to the courtyard, which contained a pool that had been covered for the season and three hot tubs aglow with underwater lights and foam from the jets. There was a dumpy little cabana house with bathrooms and changing rooms. Emma hurried to shuck her dress, shivering from the chill. She’d brought along a tote bag with her swimsuit, a towel and a change of clothes. She put on her bikini, laid her clothes across a bench, wrapped herself in a beach towel and went out on the deck.

Shea motioned her over, and Emma lowered herself gratefully into the hot, bubbling water.

“This is Jax,” Shea said, indicating the guy next to her. “Jax, this is Emma—and Cory,” she added when he joined them.

Emma didn’t recognize Jax from school. Judging by his haircut and physique, she figured he was in the Navy. Over the years of observing her father’s men, she had come to know that look. When raw recruits showed up at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and spent eight weeks in basic training, something happened to them. They all came out with a certain look about them, and Jax had that look.

Hanging around with local high school girls was one of the chief taboos of a sailor’s life, but it happened all the time. Neither Emma nor Cory said anything to Jax about their fathers being senior officers.

They looked at the stars and listened to the faint thump of
music from Darlene’s apartment. The four of them chatted awhile, the conversation becoming more random and amusing as they finished off their bottles of Tequiza. Eventually Shea and Jax got out and melted into the shadows. Alone with Cory, Emma felt a little beat of excitement. She hadn’t had an actual boyfriend since last May, and she was lonely for the kind of closeness you could only find with a certain kind of boy.

Cory reached his hand toward her. The underwater lights glowed weirdly between them as they twined their fingers together. Then Cory gave a sudden, playful tug and brought her next to him. They kissed, and then she pulled back and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“This is nice,” she said.

“Mmm.” His fingers slid down her back, pausing to toy with the fastening of her bikini top. “So, how does this work?” he whispered.

She grinned and slipped away in the water. She was not going to get that friendly with him. Not yet, but maybe in the future. The fact was, she liked fooling around, teasing and flirting. She was curious about sex and not ashamed to admit it. But she simply didn’t feel ready. “The way it works is, you wait until I say it’s okay.”

“And then it magically opens like Aladdin’s cave.”

“Not exactly.”

“So, what are you waiting for?”

Emma shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Then how will you know when it’s time?”

“I’ll know.” She laughed at his pained expression. “We’ve only gone out a few times, Cory. I think we need to spend more time together to make sure this is right.”

“Of course this is right, Emma. I’m crazy about you. I think about you all the time.”

She let herself float a little closer. “Really? What do you think?”

“That you’re hot,” he said, pulling her against him for another kiss.

She thought she could feel his erection through his swim trunks. That awareness was both weird and…intriguing. But she figured she’d better keep her distance, maybe change the subject.

She gently pushed away from him. “So how’s your application going?” she asked. College apps were a constant topic of conversation among the kids in their class. Deadlines were approaching, hopes flying high.

“Fine,” he said. “I might have smoked a little pot a couple of days before my physical at the Naval hospital.”

“Oh, Cory. I can’t believe you did that.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“But if anything shows up, you’ll be disqualified.”

He leaned his head back on the concrete edge of the hot tub. “Not a problem,” he said. “My dad will make it go away.”

“My dad would kill me if any test I took came back positive for pot. Fortunately, my tests are done, applications in, and Senator Murray wrote me a letter of nomination. How about you?”

“I’ll probably get nominated by the vice president,” he said, leaning back again.

Emma nodded. The vice president selected only fifty candidates nationwide who were particularly outstanding, or particularly well connected. But she noticed Cory hadn’t said he’d been selected yet.

“Why are you going through all this, anyway?” he asked, opening another Tequiza. “You don’t really want to go to Annapolis, do you?”

“Maybe I do.” After getting over the shock of meeting Josh Lamont, Emma had met with him several times. And each time he encouraged her more and more. She was nearly convinced that she wanted to do it. Brian knew what she was up to, but she’d sworn him to secrecy.

“It’s eighty-five-percent guys,” he pointed out.

“Eighty-three. I don’t have a problem with guys.”

“Oh, no? Then why do you keep scooting away from me?” He captured her again and gave her a long, hot kiss, tongue and everything. “Anyway,” he said, “I doubt you’ll make the cut.”

His annoying comment broke the mood, just when she was starting to feel pretty sexy. “Doubt all you want,” she said. “I’m taking my shot.”

He crossed his arms behind his head, showing off his bulging muscles. “They’d make you cut off all your pretty blond hair.”

She hugged her knees to her chest. “You know what I think? I think you’re pissed because I’ve got a real chance at getting in, just like you.”

“You’re a cupcake.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Why do you want to go into the Navy, anyway? For the guys?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” she said with a laugh. “I just can’t get enough guys.”

He scooted closer to her. “All it takes is one.”

She scooted away. Cory’s sense of entitlement and privilege sometimes got on her nerves. “Not unless I say so.”

“So what do you think you’ll do at the Academy? There’s no degree program in Home Ec.”

That did it. She splashed water in his face. “Very funny, Cory Crowther. You watch me. I’ll get in.”

With a wet chuckle, he wiped his hand across his face, then propped his arms on the sides of the pool. His eyes twinkled as his gaze slipped over her. “I’ll be watching, all right.”

She couldn’t help smiling as she hoisted herself up and out of the tub. “I’m glad you have a sense of humor about this.”

“So where are you going?”

“Time to head home. It’s late.”

“Aw, Emma—”

“You promised my mom you’d have me home by midnight.”

“She’ll be fast asleep. Moms never make it to midnight.”

Okay, so she couldn’t expect him to be perfect. He wouldn’t be the first to go back on his word to her mother. And he was definitely right about moms not making it to midnight. Emma had lost count of the times she had tiptoed in after a date, only to find her mother asleep on the sofa with the lights still on, her book turned upside down on her chest, infomercials playing on the TV.

“I still want to get home,” she said. The mood was gone; he had ticked her off with his comments and she was tired.

The underwater lights flickered across his face, creating angry shadows around his eyes. Emma was momentarily taken aback, but then he smiled. “Whatever the lady wants,” he said agreeably enough, and headed for the men’s locker room. Emma went in the opposite door to dry off and put on the jeans and sweatshirt she had brought to put on after the party. She set them on the bench next to her gown and peeled off her wet bikini. She was just reaching for a towel when the lights went out.

“Hey, I’m still in here,” she said, wrapping the towel around her.

“I know.” Cory stepped into the shadowy room. He stood limned by the pale light from the courtyard outside. Wisps of steam rolled off his damp body.

Emma tucked the towel more snugly under her arms. “Wait for me outside, Cory,” she said. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“I’m through waiting.” He strode across the room and took her in his arms.

She was startled by his strong embrace, but she felt a little thrill of pleasure, too. She let him kiss her, although she kept a firm grip on the towel. She considered forgiving him for his crack about the Naval Academy.

“Emma,” he said, crushing her against him, “I swear to God, I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re so beautiful.” He kissed her again and, with his mouth locked to hers, maneuvered her down to the wooden bench.

“Hey, watch out for my dress,” she protested, hearing the soft rustle of satin-lined velvet beneath their straining bodies. “You’ll ruin it.”

“Ruin what?” he muttered, and kissed away her reply. His hand found her thigh, fingers gently squeezing and moving upward under the towel.

The sensation took her breath away, and he pressed her down until she felt smooth velvet against her back. Between kisses he gave a helpless moan and tugged at the towel. Emma was drowning in sensation. The sharp physical need in her body, the giddy anticipation of discovery and the light brush of fear welled up in her, and she found herself struggling to think straight.

Her burning body and the Tequiza she’d had muddled her thoughts. But a little corner of her brain cleared, and she recognized that she had only seconds to make up her mind about what was bound to happen if she let him continue. Should she give in and go for it, or stop now?

She’d been thinking a lot about sex lately. She couldn’t seem to avoid it. Maybe it was time to do a little exploring. But she wanted her first time to be a little more special then a make-out session in a cold locker room that smelled of mildew.

Cory brushed the towel aside and opened the fly of his trunks.

“Jeez, Cory,” she said, trying to twist out from under him. “Cut it out.”

She pushed at him, but he pressed down harder. The tiny flutter of fear that had felt so delicious earlier beat harder now.

“God, Emma,” he murmured. His lips touched everywhere—cheeks and neck and mouth. “You are so—”

“I am
so
telling you to stop,” she interrupted. The fear rose up through her now, pounding in her ears. It was the clean, unmistakable sensation of a real danger. God, how did she let herself be maneuvered into this position?

She tried to calm down. This was Cory. He was practically her boyfriend. She really shouldn’t panic.

He pushed her legs apart and shoved himself down on her. She tried to clamp her legs together, but he thrust so hard that he pushed all the air out of her lungs.

She rocked her head from side to side. “Cory, no.”

“Yes,” he said, covering her face with kisses. He twined his fingers into her hair and held her head still. “I sure do like your blond hair, Emma. Your nice, long, blond hair.” As he spoke, he pressed her legs down on opposite sides of the bench and sank himself into her.