Cora, Goddess of Spring

I sat there thinking what a fool Jack was. He probably didn't even realize he'd just been dumped by the most incredible woman known to man. I wanted the evening to go on forever but knew it was coming to a close. I left thirty bucks for our waiter and escorted Cora to the car. She seemed in a pensive mood on the way back.

As we stood outside her door saying goodbye, I was trying to raise the courage to kiss her. She saw right through all my hemming and hawing. "All that talent and bashful, too," she said, giving me a big smile. Cora stretched up to give me a peck on the lips. "You have my number," she said before disappearing behind her apartment door.

I didn't even remember driving home. I was bursting at the seams, wanting to tell Scott how amazing she was, but of course, he wasn't in our room. It was Saturday night, what did I expect? He didn't come back until Sunday afternoon. I was working on my song when he walked in.

"So, how did it go with your dream girl?"

"Scott, she's incredible. Not only is she gorgeous but she's smart and funny and... just incredible," I gushed.

"You said that already," he laughed. "Did you fuck her?"

"Jesus, Scott, is that all that a woman is to you? No, I didn't fuck her. I will never fuck her. When the time comes to get intimate, I will make love to her."

"Gray, girls like aggressive guys. I'm telling you if you don't maaake loooove to her soon she'll lose interest and find someone who will." He stretched out the two words to mock me.

"Sometimes, Scott, I don't know how you get girls to go out with you at all," I said while shaking my head.

"It's easy," he laughed. "When I see someone I like, I smile and go like this," he said while holding his hands apart in front of him.

I had no idea what he was talking about. "What's that mean?"

"Jesus, Gray, do I have to teach you everything? That's the international symbol for how big your cock is. An hour later, I'm between her legs."

Scott had been my roommate all year and I obviously knew he was a pussy hound, but I hadn't recognized what an ass he was until that moment. "I'll tell you what, I won't mess around with your love life and you don't mess around with mine, deal?"

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. I need a shower," he said, grabbing a towel and heading for the bathroom.

I had been debating on whether or not I should call Cora. Cindy's story about her being stalked had me treading lightly, but I didn't want her to think I was one of those guys who never calls, either, so I took advantage of Scott's absence and picked up my phone.

"Cora's phone." It wasn't Cora's voice and I didn't think it was Cindy's either.

"Hi, ah, is this Jennifer?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"It's Gray, I was wondering if Cora's around?"

"Hi, Gray, no she forgot her phone but she and Cindy went grocery shopping. They should be back in half an hour or so. You want me to have her call you?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

"I understand you're just full of surprises."

That was news to me. "How so?"

"Well, you write pretty good songs and it turns out you're apparently a connoisseur of fine restaurants."

I laughed, "Yeah, especially when my uncle owns them." I heard her laugh in response.

"I'll have Cora call you," she repeated.

"Thanks," I said before disconnecting. I felt pretty good. That was sure a better response than I got that first day at the picnic table. Slowly but surely, I was making progress.

I couldn't wait to hear her voice again and sat in anticipation. The phone rang just as Scott came back from his shower, so I went out into the hallway to answer. We only talked for a few minutes, just long enough for her to confirm she'd be at Plato's Place on Friday.

I had only been there a few minutes, myself when Cora came in with Jason and Cindy. They looked around and saw me sitting close to the stage and waving at them. Cindy and Cora headed my way while Jason went to the line for coffee.

I stood to greet them while pulling out two chairs. "Hi, ladies, have a seat." I think my pulse jumped to about a hundred beats a minute when Cora leaned over and kissed me on the cheek before sitting. "Is Jason getting your coffees?"

"Yeah," Cindy answered, "he knows what we like."

"Pumpkin Spice Latte, right?"

"You have a good memory," she laughed.

"What about me," Cora asked with a smile.

"I don't know yours yet, but I will in a minute. Here comes Jason." He announced each one as he set them down in front of the girls. "Caffe Mocha, I won't forget," I said to Cora. "Where're Bob and Jennifer, can't stand my caterwauling?"

"No, they went to a party at the Omega Delta house; Bob is a fraternity brother."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about it. Scott, my roommate is going. He's buddy, buddy with a couple of the members."

"You want to go?"

I was surprised by the question. Cora didn't strike me as the frat party type. I had only been to one and it was a pretty wild event, not really my style, but of course, if it meant spending time with Cora, I was all in.

"We have to go for a little while," Cora continued. "We're not really into frat parties, but Cindy and I promised Jen we'd show up after your performance. I don't want to go without an escort, though."

"Count me in," I replied, which brought a smile to my goddess's face. "I don't go on until almost nine-thirty though, is that too late?"

"For a frat party?" Jason laughed. "Hell, those things don't get going until after midnight."

"It doesn't sound like you're much of a partygoer," Cindy said.

"I wouldn't say that, I love a good party, but it seems most of the people that go to frat parties do it to get drunk... that I'm not really into."

"Get drunk and get laid," Jason chimed in, "you into that?"

Everyone chuckled and then waited to see what I'd say. "With the right person? You bet."

I saw a big smile reach across Cora's face. "Good answer."

I was really enjoying Cora's company, so much so in fact, I wasn't looking forward to going on stage. Normally, I pay attention to who's performing because I know who I follow and have my guitar out and ready to go by the time Andy introduces me, but not this time. I was caught totally by surprise when I heard my name announced. "Shit," I mumbled as I hurriedly unsnapped my case. I rushed up and used an old vaudeville joke. "And now I'd like to play a Chinese tune I learned a long time ago; it's called, Tun...ingg." Everyone laughed as I tuned up the guitar.

I didn't have any new compositions to debut but I had three older songs I hadn't done in a while. Of course, everyone clapped at the end of my set but it wasn't the rousing reaction I received the week before. Honestly, I didn't really care. The only person I was concerned about was Cora. I got another kiss on the cheek as I sat down. "I suppose you wrote all three of those songs, too?" She asked.

"Yeah, I only play what I write."

Cindy joined the conversation. "How many songs have you written?"

"I don't know exactly; somewhere around seventy or eighty, I guess. I don't play them all, though. Sometimes I'll write one that I don't really like that much. I'll stick it away for a while and work on it periodically until I like what I hear."

"So, how many do you play here? I mean, if you don't play any other songs do you play the same ones over and over?"

"No, not at all. I've got a good fifty or sixty that I play, plus I'm always writing new ones. I'm working on one right now, a very special one."

"Ooh, what's it about?" Cindy asked.

"I can't say... not yet, but it'll be the best song I've ever written."

"Really... "Cora interjected, "but you won't tell us what it's about?"

"Nope, it's a secret, and I can't let anyone hear it until the time is right."

The two girls looked at each other and smiled. "Sounds mysterious," Cora commented.

We talked for a little while longer, then started our trek to the Omega Delta Fraternity House. It was on the other side of the campus so it was a pretty good hike. I didn't want to take my guitar so I asked Andy if he'd lock it up in his office for me till the next day. It was a little before eleven when we got there and we already had to step over some guy who was passed out on the stairs. The party was in full swing as we walked in. Cora tightened her grip on my arm.

I was completely out of my element, so I was happy to follow Jason's lead. "Come on, let's go get a beer. We all started toward the kegs when we heard a familiar voice.

"Cora, Cindy, over here!" Jennifer was waving her arms in the air trying to get our attention.

Cora relaxed her grip. "Gray, would you mind grabbing a beer for me too? I'll be over there," she said, indicating Jennifer's location.

"Yeah, me too," Cindy told Jason. We both grabbed some plastic cups and joined the line to draw our brews.

We hadn't advanced very far when I felt a hard slap on my back. I could tell he was already half in the bag. "Hi, Scott."

"Man, I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't think this was your scene, but I'm glad to see you loosening up." I was about to introduce him to Jason but he didn't give me a chance. "Hey, who's the blond you walked in with? Is that what's her name?" He continued, again without giving me a chance to speak. "Fuck, man, I see what you mean; she's fucking gorgeous! Shit, if you don't tap that, I will."

"You stay away from her, asshole. She's not one of your tramps; she's a very special person."

He laughed, "Yeah, they're all special when they're on their backs with their legs in the air. What's the matter, afraid of a little competition?"

"I mean it, Scott, stay away from her, or you and I are going to tangle." He just laughed and wandered off.

"Jesus, who is that?" Jason asked.

"My roommate. He seemed like an okay guy at the start of the year, but he's turning into a real jackass."

"I'll second that. Let's hurry up and get these filled so we can get back to the girls." That is exactly what we did. By the time we joined them, Bob was there as well.

"Hi, Jason, Gray, the girls were just filling us in on your performance tonight. Sorry we couldn't make it, but I had to help get everything set up for tonight."

"No problem," I assured him. We talked some more but Bob and Jen had to go and mingle. As the party progressed, everyone saw people they knew and would wander off to say hello. We'd lose sight of each other for a little while, but would then catch a glimpse of one another again.

I'd been talking to a couple people from one of my classes and hadn't seen Cora for a while, so I decided to go look for her. I walked into the main room and saw her and Scott on the other side. They were face-to-face. Scott was leaning in toward her with his right arm straight out and his hand on the wall, effectively blocking her retreat in that direction. Cora had her back against the wall and was looking trapped. Just as I started toward them, I saw Scott learn in and try to kiss her. She turned her head and started to move left when he tried to block her by pushing his other hand against the wall.

I was still a few feet away when Cora brought her knee up and into his crotch. Several people around them heard the painful yell as Scott doubled over. I was already launching myself in his direction and pushed him into the wall. He hit with a thud and slid down onto the floor, holding himself between the legs with a grimacing expression on his face.

His words were slightly slurred. "Fuck, I was just talking to the bitch."

"First of all, asshole, she's not a bitch and you weren't just talking, you were trying to kiss her and wouldn't take no for an answer. You got exactly what you deserved."

Bob and Jen suddenly appeared from nowhere. "Scott, I think you've had enough. Go home." Bob then turned his attention to Cora and me. "Sorry, you two."

I turned to Cora, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine."

I could see she was still a little rattled. "Why don't we get some coffee someplace before I walk you home."

"Why don't you just walk me home and I'll make the coffee?"

"That sounds even better," I replied with a smile.

"You guys go ahead," Jen said, "I'm spending the night with Bob; I'm not sure about Cindy and Jason, but we'll give you guys some time in any event."

We both thanked her and asked her to say goodbye to Jason and Cindy for us before heading for the front door. Evidently, someone helped the guy who was passed out; he was gone when we left. We had walked a block or so in silence. My mind was a mess with jumbled thoughts of what to say and do when we reached her apartment. Cora finally brought me back to reality.

"You didn't have to come to my rescue, you know, I had it handled."

"You sure did," I chuckled. "I couldn't help it. When I saw the way he was trying to force himself on you, I just saw red."

"Well," she commented, "it was very gallant of you and I do appreciate it." There was a slight lull before she asked, "What if he wasn't forcing himself, what if I'd let him kiss me and kissed him back? What would you have done then?"

The question hurt. I had no idea what prompted it or how to answer, so—I asked my own question. "What would you want me to do?"

She let out a little laugh. "Gray, I'm trying to figure out what you want in a relationship. It was obvious from that day at the picnic table that you were interested, but you've made no advances or even tried to kiss me yet."

"Ah... "

"Hold that thought," she said, "here we are." She unlocked the door and invited me in. It was a nice apartment. I took a seat at the kitchen table while Cora started making coffee. "Okay, tell me your thoughts. How do you see us, as friends... as lovers... friends with benefits... what?"

"Cora, I've... I guess I've... well, as you know, Cindy told me about the stalker you had and I didn't... " She headed me off.

"Ah, I got it; you've been treading lightly so I wouldn't think you were another stalker."

"Yeah, well, I saw the reaction I got that day at the picnic table, and then when Cindy accused me of spying on you, I got scared."

"Spying on me?"

"Yeah, after I asked about the dog, I sat at that table and saw you come out of the teacher's building a couple of times. I wanted to apologize but chickened out."

"Oh, yeah, I saw you. Okay, I'll admit, having somebody stalking you is not pleasant. We had a different apartment last year. Evidently, you could unlock the door with a credit card. He broke in twice. The first time he stole several pairs of my panties, the second time he found my photo album and took a bunch of pictures.

"We called the cops, and unfortunately for him, he left his fingerprints all over the place. I knew who it was and told the cops. They arrested him and matched his prints but told me they didn't think he would spend any time in jail because it was his first offense and he didn't take anything of value. He was out of jail the same day and it didn't look like anything was going to happen so I finally dropped the charges, but I think the cops scared the shit out of him. We never saw or heard from him again."

She took a couple of cups down from the cabinet and set them on the table. "Since then, I've done some research on the personality traits of stalkers so I can recognize the warning signals and hopefully head off anything like that happing again.

"I know Cindy and Jen are still a little protective, but I'm not paranoid, Gray. After Cindy told me she met you and showed me your Facebook page, I did a little more research. I found you on YouTube playing a few of your songs. I also saw an interview you did for some local radio program where you talked about your music. At that point, I had already suspected you were a pretty nice guy and I wanted to meet you. So far, you haven't disappointed me and if it had been you trying to kiss me tonight, your balls would still be intact." She was laying it on the line. I gathered my courage and decided to do the same.

She had her back to me as she was getting ready to reach for the coffee pot and didn't realize I was standing behind her. I gently took her by the arm and turned her around before pressing our lips together. She reached around me with her arms and pulled me in tighter. I knew she could feel my hard-on by the goofy grin she gave me as we unlocked our lips. "Where's the bedroom?"

"Follow me," she answered as she took my hand and lead me from the kitchen. As we reached our destination, Cora had already started to unbutton her blouse.

"Wait, allow me," I begged as I reached for the next button-down with both hands. I could feel her body tremble as I slowly undid her blouse and gently slid it off her shoulders. She closed her eyes as I moved behind her and lightly kissed her neck as I unhooked her bra. I reached around and ever so daintily circled her hard nipples with my fingers while still caressing her neck with my lips.

"Oh, God, Gray, you've done this before," she moaned with a sigh.

"Not really, not like this, but I've dreamed of this moment and what I would do if it ever happened." My simple statement of truth seemed to spark a fire in Cora. She turned, put her hand behind my head and pulled me into a kiss that would reduce Greenland to an ice cube.

I knew her intention after breaking the kiss; she had intended to go down to her knees, but I had a different idea. I caught her halfway down and scooped her up in my arms. Her eyes never drifted from my own as I knelt on the bed and laid her down before scooting down to unbutton her jeans. She closed her eyes again as if to savor the moment as she lifted her hips. I carefully worked them along with her panties down her legs, letting them fall to the floor.

I would have loved to just stand there gazing at God's greatest creation, but I didn't want to break the mood. I gently separated her legs and heard her gasp as I licked between the folds of the most exquisite female form I'd ever seen.

She was extremely receptive, pulling at the sheets, arching her back and writhing her body wildly as I continued to manipulate up, down, and around her sweet pussy. She screamed in ecstasy when I sucked on her clit.

I had given her at least two orgasms and wanted to continue, but I was about to come in my pants. She was still coming down from her last one, so I took the opportunity to quickly shed my clothes and slip on a condom. Her breathing was still a little ragged as I moved into position. Without opening her eyes, Cora reached down and guided me in. I held off as long as I could, but it wasn't long before my body tensed and I erupted in an explosive climax. At first, I was disappointed that I'd come so soon until I realized Cora was coming again as well.

It's funny how a man's mind works. Men are competitive by nature. As we both lay trying to get our breath, I was wondering if I was as good in bed as Jack was. As soon as Cora's breathing settled down and she could talk, she unknowingly answered my question.

"Damn, Gray," she said between deep breaths, "no one has ever done that for me, I mean made it all about me like that; thank you."

"I hope we're not done yet."

"No, now it's my turn to reciprocate."

"Un-uh," I replied. "Cora, I have dreamed of this since I first saw you. Tonight is for you. You can reciprocate another time." She gasped again as I started sucking on her nipples.

It was after two in the morning by the time I got back to the room. Scott was out cold and the place stunk like vomit. He was sleeping on his stomach so I couldn't see, but I was sure he must have puked on himself. I shook him hard until he finally woke up.

"Take off your clothes and throw them out the window or something. You stink to high heaven."

At first, he grumbled at me to leave him alone, but I think the smell finally got to him, too. He stumbled into the bathroom to rinse out his shirt and the sheet he was lying on. That stunk just as bad. He came back out of the bathroom with no shirt, flopped back down on his bare mattress, and passed out again. Monday morning, I'd go to administration and see if they could give me a different roommate.