DISCLAIMER This story contains depictions of male on male, graphic sexual interactions. The characters are high school aged and sometimes have unsafe sex. ALWAYS USE A CONDOM! This is a complete work of fiction and any similarities to persons or events is purely coincidental. Enjoy the story and any feedback is welcome.
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Chapter 13
The Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Nolan and I sat in the living room looking through cooking magazines. We were trying to find recipes that we wanted to try out. My family always had a big dinner party on Thanksgiving. It was tradition to invite other families over and all be thankful together.
Nolan's family was always invited. Pastor Smith and his family always came too. I'm still so surprised Blake never made a move in the past. He had one chance every year to get me alone and tell me how he felt, but instead he just ignored me the whole time. I wondered if that's what would happen this year.
"What about cranberry sauce pie?" Nolan looked up at me. I turned up my lip in a grimace and stuck out my tongue, "That sounds disgusting. What if I made like a special chocolate pumpkin pie?"
"Chocolate and pumpkin? Now THAT sounds disgusting," he returned
his attention to the magazine, "So are you gonna invite Sam to the big Thankstravaganza?"
Sam and I had gotten a lot closer in the past month. We hung out just about every night. I ended up telling her about the contract and about how I felt about Blake. I told her about kissing Nolan and him kissing me. She told me some personal stuff too. But that's a secret I swore to take with me to the grave, so don't even try to pry it out of me.
I shrugged, "Yeah I suppose I'll probably ask her."
"Oh that will be nice," he was trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing.
"Do you like her?" I asked looking at him suspiciously.
"No," he responded too quickly. I got up and pounced on him and gave him a noogie.
"Admit that you like her!" I demanded, messing up his dirty blonde hair. He was much stronger than me so I wasn't surprised when he got out from underneath me. Nolan rolled us over, pinning me to the ground. He was breathing heavily. The air in the room grew intense. He leaned in a little but then he stood up and went to the kitchen.
He returned a couple minutes later with a glass of water, "I was thirsty," he explained.
"What do you think about pecan pie?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"I think it's okay, a little rich for my taste," he flipped through a Better Homes and Gardens magazine from four years ago. I crossed it off the list.
"Oh, before I forget, Mom wants to know if Millie is going to make that amazing stuffing she makes every year," I looked up at him awaiting the answer.
"Most likely, I can ask her tonight and text you when I get a response," Nolan sipped his water and then stood up, "I have to go."
"Oh, okay, I'll walk you out," I got up and we went to the door. I opened it just as Blake was about to knock.
"Blake?" I said, confused as to why he'd be at my house.
"Hey..." he looked at Nolan.
Nolan said goodbye and walked past him. I said bye back but he was pretty far away in seconds. I gestured for Blake to come in.
"What brings you here?" I asked getting a little excited.
"My mom sent me over to get that one casserole dish she sent home with your mom last week," he said looking at his feet.
"Oh," I know I sounded disappointed, "It's in the kitchen." I walked past him and headed to the kitchen.
"Mom also told me to tell you that we will for sure be going to the Thanksgiving day party. Mostly because Dad loves to watch the game on the TV in your dad's den."
"Will you be bringing Shayla?" I asked trying not to sound jealous.
"I hadn't planned on it. It's not really my place to invite people..."
"Well I figure I'll probably invite Sam so her whole family will be welcome, including Shayla." I went to the dish drainer and grabbed the dish he'd come for. I turned around and he was a lot closer than I'd thought. I dropped the ceramic dish but Blake caught it.
"How clumsy of me!" I said running my hand through my hair. Blake leaned forward and pecked my lips with his. He pulled back and my face was red and I was looking at the floor.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he turned and bolted from the kitchen. I raced after him and grabbed his arm.
"I was hoping you would, Blake," I said, looking at him through my eyelashes.
"I'm with Shayla now. I'm sorry, but it's not to fair her. I should have realized that when you were with Logan. It's not okay," he pulled from my grasp.
"I guess now it's my turn to want what I can't have, huh?"
"You had your chance, Cori, and you blew it," Blake walked past me and left. I stood there alone. I really should have taken his offer when he gave it to me. That was the moment I regretted everything with Logan.
On Thanksgiving Day, I woke up early to the sound of pots and pans in the kitchen. I pulled on a white button up and a thick maroon sweater that resembled a bath mat. I got on my nice black slim pants and a pair of house shoes. I fingered my curls until they looked nice and then I went downstairs to join Mom.
She was wearing a pretty, orange, butterfly-patterned housewife dress and her nicest pearls. She always got really dressed up for this party. Everyone did. She was wearing an apron and was rolling out some dough for cinnamon rolls. Her kitten heels clacked on the linoleum with every move she made.
"Good morning, Sweetheart, did you sleep well?" she asked. No.
"Yes," I smiled at her and pulled on an apron.
"Okay, guests will be arriving at eleven, the turkey won't be done till noon. It's six right now..." Mom was muttering to herself. I grabbed all my ingredients and started on the last of the three desserts Nolan and I finally decided on. Last night I made a maple cheese cake with roasted pears and crushed pecans and some cranberry clafouti.
Cranberry clafouti is a batter that's similar to pancakes but once the fruit is added, it becomes a creamy custard. It tasted amazing and is super easy to make. The dessert I was making today was the one Nolan demanded. A six layer caramel chocolate cake. The tricky part is the caramel. You have to keep it at a certain temperature, too cold and it won't work, too hot and it burns.
I've been making this cake since I was in middle school. Everyone knew not to talk to me while I was working on the caramel. I grabbed the ingredients and mixed up the cake and put it in the oven, Mom had just put the turkey in the broaster. I got the ham, cream cheese and dill pickles and started on the traditional pickle wraps.
"Mom, when did you and Daddy start having this Thanksgiving Party?"
"Oh...about when you were two."
"Why?" I asked, slicing the pickle wraps just so.
"Well..." she pondered on this for a moment, "we wanted to celebrate how thankful we were with our friends and family."
"Oh," I said thinking about it for a moment, "tell me the Thanksgiving story."
She peeled the hard-boiled eggs so she could start deviling them, "Once there was a princess whose name was Mayflower. She was lovely and kind and adored every animal. One day, the kingdom decided to have a big celebration..."
As mom continued the old story she'd made up for me when I was five, I started putting together the mandarin salad that Pastor Smith loves so much. About a year ago, I drew a picture book of the Thanksgiving Story and now it's sitting on the family bookshelf. Mom dictated the anecdote and I wrote it down and then drew the pictures. The pictures are of a princess trying to protect a turkey from being eaten on Thanksgiving.
"...and so, the kingdom rejoiced as they ate the turkey. All but the princess who cried so much she turned into a river. The end."
I admit, it's kind of a morbid tale, but when I was younger I l- o-v-e-d it. Tommy and Dad came downstairs just in time for cinnamon rolls. I was starting on the caramel and the room grew quiet. In silence I finished the six-layer cake.
Pastor Smith, Dianne, Georgia, Blake and Julie showed up at eleven on the dot. Mom and Dianne and Georgia went directly to the kitchen. Dad and Pastor Smith took to the den. Julie and Tommy went up to his room and that left Blake and I alone in the parlor. Blake had on a tribal-print, short sleeved button up that was cuffed around his biceps, making them look huge. The shirt was tucked neatly into a pair of form fitting khakis. A pretty teal bowtie pulled the whole look together. He looked dreamy as usual.
"I-"
"So-" we both started talking at the same time.
"You first," Blake said.
"I was just gonna say I should probably start setting the table," I said awkwardly, kind of trailing off at the end.
"Oh, can I help?" he asked running a hand through his thick brown hair. He'd started growing facial hair and it looked good on him.
"Yeah sure, let's go get the place mats," it was still so awkward. How could things go from hostile to comfortable to awkward in such a quick time span? I went to the giant china hutch my great-grandfather made for his wife. I pulled open the beautifully crafted drawer and grabbed the pretty autumn place mats out. I handed them to Blake and started grabbing out the good china.
"So did you make those jalapeno poppers with the bacon on them that I love?" Blake asked setting down the mats in front of each of the ten seats. Traditionally, the people younger than twenty- one were expected to sit at the breakfast nook. This year, however, with Sam and Shayla planning on showing up there wasn't room for all of us at the nook so we had to set up a smaller table for Julie and Tommy.
"Of course I did. It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without Blake's poppers," I teased him. Finally the tension subsided and we got to chatting about random things. He'd just learned how to play a Led Zeppelin song on his guitar. I told him about how I made a new pair of sailor shorts and I couldn't wait to wear them this summer.
"I bet they look great on you," as soon as he said it I could tell he wished he hadn't. He thought I'd think he was flirting and that I even had a chance with him.
"They do," I said it as monotone as possible but with a smile so he would chill out. The doorbell rang and I went to get it. Nolan and his brother Derrick stood outside.
"Mom and Dad are arguing in the car," Nolan rolled his eyes and carried in the huge pan of par-baked stuffing. Derrick smiled at me and followed Nolan inside.
"How's college?" I asked Derrick, making conversation.
"Eh, it's chill. Better than high school, that's for sure. Harder too," he shrugged. He was wearing a tacky hoodie and jeans. Nolan had on a light brown sweater over a button-up and some jeans that fit him well. Before we even left the foyer there was a knock at the door. I answered it; Shayla, Sam and their parents, Hayden and Cindee, were waiting on the porch.
I ushered them in, Millie and Gregory, Nolan's parents, followed closely behind. Sam had on a lavender dress that went to her knees and a thick floral cardigan over top. Shayla was wearing a candy pink dress to match her sickly sweet personality.
"Daddy and Pastor Smith are in the den watching the game," I said to the guys, "and Mom and Dianne are finishing up the meal in the kitchen."
Derrick, Gregory, and Hayden made their way to the den and Millie and Cindee went to the kitchen. Nolan, Blake, Sam, Shayla and I went to the rec room in the basement. The boys decided to play a game of pool and Sam and I started up a game of Mario-Kart.
"Do you wanna play?" I asked Shayla.
"I'm no good, I'd rather not," she rejected me politely.
"Suit yourself," Sam said flatly. Shayla's smile faded but only for a second and then it was back and stronger than ever.
At noon everyone was upstairs to eat Thanksgiving dinner.
"Blake wrote me a song the other day," Shayla said excitedly as she buttered a dinner roll, "but it was silly, he called it African Daisy."
My ears perked up when I heard this, "What did it sound like?" I asked.
"Sing it for them, Blakey!" Shayla bounced up and down and patted his arm.
"No one wants to hear it," he said embarrassed.
"I wanna hear it," Nolan laughed. Blake scowled.
"The moon caresses your pale cheek,
When I look at you my knees go weak.
When you enter a room, the world goes hazy,
You are my African Daisy," Blake sang quietly,
"Flowers in your hair,
Dancing without a care.
The way you laugh brightens the day,
You are my Roman Holiday," he stuffed some turkey into his mouth, "That's all I've got for right now." He snuck a peek at me and I smiled at him.
"Well it's pretty good so far," Nolan said as he stuck a pickle wrap in his mouth.
"I agree," I said before stuffing a deviled egg into my gob. Blake looked up at me and grinned showing off the dimple in his cheek.
Sam looked at me and then Blake and then me again and gave me a knowing look. I shook my head so that she knew not to say anything.
"Can you believe that they already have all the Christmas stuff up across the road?" Sam asked, "Like, we pulled in and I was just, like...astounded."
"They've always been like that, and then afterwards they leave them up for way too long," I said rolling my eyes.
A while later everyone was making their way toward the door. We said our goodbyes and gave our hugs and the "drive safe" speeches. Blake and his family were the last to leave as usual. They were helping us clean up the kitchen and put away leftovers. I went into the dining room and Blake followed.
He grabbed me and spun me around and before I knew it, his lips were pressed to mine. I lost my breath and I almost fell but as usual, Blake kept me upright. When he pulled back he looked me in the eyes. My hands were on his chest and I could feel his heart beating rapidly.
"I wrote that song for you... Shayla came over to surprise me and caught me playing it so I lied and said it was for her."
"I figured. I love it," I said to him, brushing his hair away from his eyes.
"Cori," he grabbed my hand and took it from his face but didn't let it go.
"Do you love her?" I asked him seriously.
"I don't know. I feel something for her, though. It just seems like Fate doesn't want us together. When I'm single, you're not. When you're single, I'm not," he sighed and dropped my hand.
"Run away with me," I whispered.
"What?"
"Come with me to the cabin," I laughed nervously.
"Cori, are you kidding?" he took a step away from me to take in my whole face.
"No! We have the next three days with no school. Let's just go."
"I can't, I'm sorry," we heard his family leaving and he walked out of the room. I stood there, feeling like a fool. Who was I to think that I could change his mind after I'd pushed him away for so long? I put the place mats away and went to my room.
It was cold in my bedroom. Maybe it was from the sadness that had found its way into my life recently. Why did this all have to be happening to me? I mean, sure there are way worse things happening in the world but this takes the cake in my life. My life had become a young adult novel.
A tiny piece of me missed Logan. A slightly larger piece still wondered what was going on with Nolan and I. The biggest piece of me was saved for the regret I had for not choosing Blake sooner.
AUTHOR'S NOTE Hello all! Thanks again for reading my story. I decided it was imperative to explain a few things. First, I have a lot of readers who assume that Blake is gay and has yet to come out of the closet. I apologize, Blake is not gay, he is bisexual. He has interest in partners of both sexes. This being said, when Cori says that Blake is lying to himself with Shayla, all he means is that Blake is lying to himself about loving Shayla not about the idea of being attracted to her. Next, I'd like to apologize to anyone who was hoping that Cori would end up with Nolan. Nolan is not gay and you'll soon find out why he did the things he did. The only two options Cori will have in the end are Logan and Blake. I hope this cleared up some questions or thoughts that anyone might have. Last, I need to thank Robbie for his lightning fast editing skills so that I can publish a chapter a week. Oh and, side note, the story will only be about nineteen chapters so we are approaching the end very soon. Thanks for sticking with me this long guys! –Kit =^.^=