Page 71 of Burn It Down

Cora. Her feminine voice reaches us before she comes around the corner. Reluctantly, I slide my hand from Dylan’s chest, but it’s too late. She saw it.

“Uh, y-yeah,” I stutter, trying to stuff my emotions back inside this life that no longer fits me.

“Your dad asked me to come check on you.” She cocks her head to the side and takes in my untucked shirt and my hair, which, no doubt is a mess after running my hands through it. “You don’t sound okay,” she hedges. “You don’t really look okay, either.” She places the back of her hand on my forehead. “You’re not feverish though.”

“I’m not sick,” I reply. “Just angry.”

“Ah,” Cora rocks back on one of her heels, folding her arms beneath her chest, a look of understanding on her face. She never succumbs to her emotions. I usually don’t either which is probably why we’ve never had explosive arguments.Even still, Cora is much better at processing in the face of anger, excitement, or jealousy than I’ll ever be. “This has Steve Ellington written all over it,” she says, calmly hitting the nail on the head. “It would be just like him to play the concerned father and send me out here to clean up whatever mess he’s made.” Almost as an afterthought, she adds, “He seems to be making quite a few of those recently.”

At the mention of my father, Dylan pushes off the wall. “I’ll give you two a minute.” Cora stops him from leaving.

“No, please stay with him. I need to get back inside.” She stares at Dylan a second longer before adding, “Actually, Dylan, can you take him home? I believe he’s come down with something. Now that I think about it, he did feel a little warm and I’ll be here late and I have an early meeting across town in the morning that I can’t miss. I’d feel better knowing he isn’t alone tonight.”

“Cora, this is your big event. I’m supposed to—” I try to argue, but she cuts me off.

“Aren’t you tired of doing what you’resupposed to,Jacob? You guys should go before your fever gets worse.”

“Are you sure?” I reach for her easily, the hug meant as athank you, but there’s an unexpected look of sadness on her face.

She hugs me back, gripping me hard, her breath against my ear. “You want him.” She pulls back to look me in the eye. “Am I right?”

Thank God it’s dark out so she can’t see the color rising in my cheeks.

Is she calling me out? Right here? Right now? With no warning?

When I fail to answer, she places a gentle kiss square on my lips and backs up, putting my hand in Dylan’s.

“We’ll talk about it later. I really have to get back inside and you two should get going.”

“Cora!” I call after her. “What am I supposed to do?”

Her face is completely devoid of emotion when she answers.

“Whatever you’ve needed to do ever since Dylan came into your life.”

“What about you?” It doesn’t feel right to just leave her here on this important night, in the middle of a breakup, left to clean up the carnage caused by my lustful heart.

“Jacob, I’ll be fine. This is my element.”

“Thank you.” My shocked whisper is full of the emotions humming under my skin.

She nods to me and turns to go back the way she came. Before rounding the corner, she looks at Dylan over her shoulder. “I’m trusting, after our few interactions, that you’re the man he thinks you are and that you’ll take care of him in whatever capacity he needs?”

Dylan swallows audibly. “Yes.”

“Good. I love you, Jacob. I always will,” she says with a straight face, disappearing back inside the clubhouse.

“I love you too, Cora,” I whisper to the closed door, meaning it more in this moment than ever before.

I slump against the wall, my knees having given out, and look down at my hand still in Dylan’s. My knuckles are white, silently begging him not to let go.

“If we’re leaving, we should go before someone else finds us.” He doesn’t saylike your father, but we both know that’s what he means. “Are you okay to drive?” he asks me, the words barely registering.

“I…really don’t think so.”

He laughs and squeezes my hand before dropping it. “Well, I can’t get the car from the valet because your dad will probablyhave me arrested for trying to steal it. You get the car and I’ll drive us back to your place.”

“Yeah, okay.”

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