In Full Bloom (Second Chances 1)

“Fuck that guy, Taryn. I wouldn’t have held Evan back. That abusive little shit needs an ass-beating,” Cora said.

Taryn snorted and said, “You’re not lying about that. I couldn’t let Evan get in trouble. Jeremy would have totally pressed charges after what happened on campus.”

“True. But I hope you at least put him in his place?”

“Evan caught that, too, which meant I had to go into the whole story with him. The way he treated me, what I allowed him to do? It’s embarrassing to look back on. Not a fun night last night,” Taryn admitted.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Cora said. “I’ll tell you that any time you need to hear it, babe. I didn’t understand it back then, but I get it now. That guy was a fucking predator, taking advantage of someone who didn’t realize she deserved better.”

“I know, but still.”

“You know better now. You have better now,” Cora added, squeezing her knee. “Evan is pretty great.”

“He’s…” Taryn trailed off, unable to put it into words. A smile crept across her face that she couldn’t contain.

Cora flicked a quick glance at her and said, “Oh my god. You’re totally in love with him!”

Quietly, Taryn said, “I think I might be. At first I thought all of the warm feelings were just because he finally managed to break my sexual moratorium, but he’s incredible. He does all the right things. He says all the right things. I’m scared it’s too good to be true.”

“Stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, honey. Go with it.?

?

“We’re moving slowly. Taking things one day at a time,” Taryn said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable about her previous admission.

“Not that slowly. Jamie says you’re going to Thanksgiving dinner,” Cora said as she pulled into the parking garage.

“Yeah,” Taryn said. “His mom popped in one night. Totally interrupted us by the way. Mortifying. Anyway, she invited me. She’s a pistol. Beware.”

Cora grinned as they pulled into an available parking spot and then she turned off the car. She said, “Thankfully I’m not meeting his mom yet.”

“How’s that going, by the way?” Taryn asked.

Cora blurted out, “I slept with him.”

Taryn felt her mouth drop open.

“Holy freaking shit! What happened to saving it for marriage?” Taryn asked, recovering from her shock.

“I wasn’t necessarily waiting for marriage,” Cora explained. “I just didn’t want to waste it on someone who wasn’t worthy.”

A moment later, she winced and said, “Sorry, Tare. I didn’t mean that you wasted it. I meant that—”

“Calm down,” she said. “I did waste it. He was a fucking asshole. I didn’t know any better. I’m glad you didn’t make the same mistake I did. So glad.”

She reached over and squeezed her knee, then asked, “Well? How was it?”

“It hurt for a second but, not like I was expecting. After that it was pretty amazing,” Cora answered, a stupid grin on her face.

“So he knows what he’s doing?” Taryn asked.

“Yeah. Wow. He really knows what he’s doing,” Cora said. “I didn’t realize it would feel like that.”

Impulsively, Taryn reached over and hugged her tightly. She said, “I’m so glad. It should always be like that.”

Cora said, “He told me that he was falling in love with me.”

Narrowing her eyes, she asked, “Before or after?”