# Chapter 17

Cory shut her bedroom door; she felt an inner peace like all the pieces suddenly fitted into place, even though the storm was pounding on the window, inside her heart she knew she had finally found the person she’d been searching for. Holly had settled herself on the bed and was already asleep. As Cory changed into her nightshirt, she reflected on her time with Sam, there had been a time when they never went to bed dressed and now she realised they spent all the time clothed. It had been months since they’d made love and that in itself made her think where they were headed. She knew she needed to talk to Sam, she’d tried many times to talk through her feelings but he never wanted to talk or listen. In her mind Sam was one of her best friends but nothing more, there was no passion, no emotion and without that Cory felt very alone and unwanted but now she was feeling again and that was all due to JJ. JJ made her whole, JJ made her wanted and JJ was the one she loved. She’d had more heart flips, blushes and hot flushes in 3 days with the tall American than she’d had in 6 years with Sam. She climbed into bed, her mind was too preoccupied to pay any attention to the storm, and she slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next day dawned quietly, the storm had blown itself out long ago and Cory couldn’t believe it was time to get up as Holly paced around beside the bed, it only felt like she’d just shut her eyes, she’d never slept through a storm before. The room was chilly; she stretched and climbed out of the bed. She needed to walk Holy, she grabbed the nearest pair of track suit bottoms and a top, she slowly pulled them onto her sleep saturated body and went in search of caffeine. She crept down the stairs, not wanting to disturb JJ’s sleep but as she reached the bottom step she could hear a voice. She didn’t want to pry but she couldn’t help herself, she was curious to know whom JJ was talking to, she walked by the door and peered in through the crack. JJ was pacing back and forth, her hands running through her black mane, a look of pain and anger mixed on her beautiful face. As Cory pulled away from the door she heard an exasperated plea off JJ.

“Sarah if that’s how you feel then go ahead I won’t stop you. You were the one who wanted me to call, I’m calling and you won’t listen, you won’t talk, all you want to do is shout and scream and demand things. I’m back on Saturday, if you move out before then that’s your decision. You’re blowing everything out of proportion and laying blame at the wrong door. Look I have to go, this isn’t my dime. Think about what I’ve said, I’ll see you Saturday, Ok?” There was a brief pause and then the door was flung open, JJ hurled out straight into a guilty, embarrassed Cory.

“Oh shit, sorry look this isn’t what it looks like.” Mumbled a shocked Cory as she picked herself up off the floor, the force of the collision having knocked her down.

JJ shook her head and felt her bruised jaw as she looked down at Cory, “What wasn’t what it looked like? Hey let me help you up, my fault for not looking before I crash out of a room. I had no idea you were there.”

“I wasn’t, well I was but not for long and I wasn’t really listening I was just surprised you were up and I wanted to say hi but i didn’t want to disturb you and you looked angry….” Her rambling was halted by a hand over her mouth.

“Whoa slow down there motor mouth and come up for some air. It’s your house and I should have asked first to use the phone, I promise to leave the money.” JJ ran her fingers through her hair and then felt her jaw again, it appeared okay but it had taken a huge blow from Cory’s head. Shit Cory’s head, if her jaw hurt what must Cory’s head feel like? She placed her hands on the blonde’s head and slowly felt around for a lump.

“Errrr JJ you okay?” Cory asked hesitantly, not that she minded JJ’s hands roaming over her head. “Quit that.” She waved her hands at JJ’s hands and smiled to show she wasn’t annoyed.

“Hey I’m checking for a lump, my jaw is killing me so your head must have one hell of a bruise on it.” JJ walked towards the kitchen, heading for the freezer and in search of ice cubes. To her dismay she found none. “Where’s your ice maker Cory?”

“My what? Oh ice maker we don’t have one and there aren’t any ice cubes in the freezer, not really any need for them in this weather.”

“What do you use on bangs then to take down the swelling?” JJ asked.

“Bag of peas or carrots. Something frozen, I have been known to put a frozen leg of lamb on a bruise or two! JJ I’m fine, I promise and as for using the phone I told you no problem, my house is your house. I was just surprised you were ringing at this time in the morning I thought everyone would be in bed?” Cory turned to put the kettle on and make herself a cup of tea that would calm her heart, which was still beating faster due to the shock. JJ could sure move when she needed to and silently.

JJ sat on the stool and leaned on the counter looking at Cory, “Usually they are but Sarah works the graveyard shift every four weeks. She emailed me yesterday to ask me to ring her, she said she had things she needed to tell me. I emailed back and told her if I could I would, to be honest, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to speak to her but then curiosity got the better of me.”

There was a moment’s silence, Cory was desperate to know what had been said to make JJ so wound up but she wasn’t sure whether she should ask or not. Was it any of her business anyway? She was just about to pluck up the courage to ask JJ when the brunette continued her talking, “Anyway I phoned her and she has decided it’s time to call it a day. She says she’s tried all she can and it’s obvious I have a love interest somewhere else. She thinks I’m in love with you, how absurd can she get?” At this JJ looked up into Cory’s eyes, searching for some sign from Cory, what she saw was concern and definitely friendship.

“Yeah absurd, you’ve been through this before with her, she knows I’m married. How can she think that?” Cory was disappointed that JJ thought the idea of them being together absurd. She was feeling hurt but she needed to support JJ at this moment, her feelings could wait.

“So I told her to wait until Saturday but she says she’s been offered a room in a ‘friends’ house and she’s going there today. She said she’ll still contribute towards the house but I should consider buying her out.”

“Seems very sudden, she’s not even prepared to talk it through with you.” Cory moved round the counter and rubbed JJ’s back, “I’m sorry JJ I know you loved her.”

JJ wasn’t about to lose the contact with Cory, it felt so nice, so right to have her rub her back but she needed to clear things up and make Cory realise her feelings for Sarah weren’t what she thought. “It’s probably for the best Cory, we make each other miserable most of the time, we tend to fight and do things to hurt the other. I knew she wasn’t the one for me but she was good to be around and I knew she would never hurt me, never have my heart and so she’d never break it. Sounds callous but it’s what I needed after Tina. It’s just hard that it ended this way, over the phone.”

“I’m sorry, I have no idea what to say. Do you want to stay here for the day, give yourself time to gather your thoughts?” Cory didn’t want to spend 2 minutes away from JJ’s company but she knew she needed to let JJ have her space.

“No I want to come, we made plans and I do want to see the school, plus it will take my mind off things. I’m sure you have a list of things a mile long for me to do.” She grinned and patted Cory’s back. “Fess up Williams what dirty jobs have you got planned?”

Cory gave her an innocent look, “Me? Me plan jobs for you to do? Me work you like a slave? As if I would! I’m hurt at the suggestion!” She feigned insult but failed miserably as she caught JJ’s eye and burst out laughing. “Okay I have a few things and the server in the ICT room has been playing up and it’ll be a few weeks before the tech visits. I thought you could use your magic hands on that.”

The two women spent an hour eating breakfast, discussing the day ahead of them, walking Holly and then they both headed off to shower and dress. They got themselves ready in a relatively quick time. Well quick for JJ as she wasn’t the quickest when it came to getting ready in the morning. She needed to get up at 4 just so she got out the door and had time to go to the gym before work. Cory was ready and waiting by the time JJ got herself downstairs, “I was just about to send a search party looking for you! You took your time!”

They both got in the car; JJ noticed Cory had loaded a box in the trunk of the car.

“What’s in the trunk?”

Cory started the car and looked blankly at JJ, “The trunk? Oh you mean the boot of the car. Just a box of files I brought home to look at but haven’t had time and some sandwiches in case you get hungry.”

“Me get hungry? You’re the little eating machine. For a small woman you can sure eat your way through a meal.” JJ buckled her seatbelt and relaxed into the seat. “So what’s the plan when we get there?”

“We have to get in there first. The boss said the painter would be there all holiday but I hope he has keys to the classrooms, as without those I’m knackered. Then if we get in I need to put backing paper up and then a display on Peru. This is where I need your help.”

JJ glanced sideways at her companion, “Hey I’m a computer tech not a designer or painter. I know nothing about displays.”

"Well you’re about to have a crash course! It won’t take us too long to get there," Cory said, "I work extremely close to home."

JJ was excited to see where Cory worked, she couldn’t lie to herself; anything and everything about Cory excited her. She couldn’t remember when she had been so relaxed, when she had so much fun and when she wanted somebody as much as she wanted Cory…Get over it Matthews she’s straight and married. No matter what you think you are feeling from her. JJ shook herself back to reality and snuck a glance at Cory as she concentrated on the road. JJ just gazed admiringly at Cory’s profile; a profile she decided she could look at forever.

“Hey Cory something clicked into place last night but I kept forgetting to ask. Your name is Williams and I called your mum Mrs Williams and she never corrected me, so I’m presuming you never changed your last name when you married Sam?” This thought hadn’t occurred to JJ until she’d made her joke last night, it had been a question she’d been meaning to ask.

“Oh yeah, well I did change to Sam’s name it’s just he was also a Williams. I got a lot of leg pulling from the staff about that one. Some of them said I’d only chosen him because it saved me having to change my documents and name! In a way it helped in the classroom as the children are so used to Williams. Many teachers tend to stick with their maiden name but I got lucky. In the UK, Williams is a very common name and with Sam being Welsh even more common, although my father will argue that we’re a Scottish Williams.

They pulled up to the small school in a matter of minutes after they’d left Cory’s house.

"I see you weren’t lying when you said you had a quick ride to work" JJ was amazed at how close Cory worked to home. JJ’s commute to work could take anywhere from 1-2 hours depending upon the traffic. The thought of a 7-minute drive was heaven "Is the car even warmed up yet?" JJ chuckled at her own comment.

Cory just gave her a stare, “No that’s the problem with the car, the short journeys are killing it. It never gets a chance to warm up and I’ve already replaced one exhaust pipe because of it. The exhaust fumes never get warm enough to evaporate hence the water lies in the exhaust and rusts it away. I’d walk if it wasn’t through country lanes and hills. It’d take me 30 minutes or more.”

“Ouch I guess I touched a raw nerve huh?” JJ smiled apologetically at Cory.

"So here is where i spend all of my days," Cory seemed a little nervous. "If you give me a minute I have to find the painter, then get him to unlock the door to my classroom."

"Don’t you even have a key to your own room?" JJ said somewhat surprised.

"No I think they are afraid we would lock the kids in and never let them out!" They entered the school and JJ followed Cory’s lead through a hall and down a corridor, at a door marked W6 she left JJ.

While Cory was looking for the painter, JJ took in every little detail of the school. It seemed like ages since JJ was in a school for that age bracket. She peered into the classroom, the desks and chairs and coat racks sized for the children aged 11 and under. She wondered what it would be like to see Cory in action. She could picture Cory helping the students with questions, getting lost in the crowd when she sat at a desk to help.

Cory came back with the painter and he unlocked the door. The classroom was small, smaller than it looked in the pictures Cory had sent. She took every last detail in. The display boards were big and JJ couldn’t figure out how they were going to finish it by the 2pm deadline Cory had imposed. She hoped that they didn’t end up arguing as Sarah and she usually did when they attempted projects together.

Cory had explained the first steps were putting the background paper and borders on the display board.

"I put the background paper on by myself last term" Cory said obviously proud of her accomplishment.

"How the heck did you do that? These boards are huge!" JJ was impressed.

"Don’t ask it took forever, and involved measuring tapes and knives. Having a second pair of hands really is a bonus."

“So now I find out my true worth, I’m just a pair of hands to you!” JJ pouted and received a teasing whack to the tummy.

“Suck it up girl! Your charm, and blue eyes may have fooled others, me I just see a decent sized pair of hands that can hold this here border paper. Plus you have the height I need so I won’t have to get the step ladders, an added bonus!” They toiled away for 20 minutes covering the boards with brightly coloured paper. JJ held the paper in place whilst Cory stapled it in place. They added contrasting borders and then Cory went in search of the Peru boxes and maps.

She’d decided that two of the boards could have Peruvian artifacts on them and the larger board would be a geographical display of all the places the kids had studied in their time in the school.

"Hey JJ can you do me a favour?" Cory asked hopefully.

"Yeah sure what is up?

"If I write on the board the areas the kids have studied could you type them up and print them?" Cory asked hoping JJ would say yes.

"Sure no problem. Just write better than you have in your letters, it takes me three or four times of reading to get a word or two I can’t read."

As she settled at the computer, Marjorie popped her head through the door. “Hey there Cory, I wasn’t expecting to see you in this time of the week I thought you had a guest?”

“I do, she’s over there. Hey JJ meet Marj, she’s our deputy head, year 5 teacher and the woman that keeps me out of mischief! Marj this is my American friend JJ.” The two women shook hands.

“I can’t believe you’ve dragged this poor woman in to help you on her holiday! What she doing for you anyway, the boards outside look great.”

“I need some labels printed off, so she’s doing those for me.”

“Well make sure the spelling is correct! We like using the U more!” Both Cory and Marj burst into laughter but quickly stopped when they saw the offended look JJ gave them.

“I’m sorry it wasn’t a personal dig at you, more at the fact that our spellings are never recognised on computers. You know like colour, favour etc. Well I’m out of here before I offend anyone else. Nice to meet you JJ I’m sure we’ll meet again some day!” With that Marj left leaving the two friends together.

“Hey it really wasn’t a dig at you. She was just joking, it was more a dig at computer software than you.”

“I understand Cory, at first I thought it was more personal but then I realised where she was coming from.” JJ sat herself behind the computer. This computer was not a PC and definitely not using Windows, which she was used to. JJ liked to think she knew something about computers, after all that was her job but she was having trouble with the word processor.

"Hey Cory can you come over and help me for a second? This isn’t a Windows platform so I’d rather not meddle with your server if you don’t mind."

Cory came over and leaned over JJ’s shoulder. She grabbed the mouse out of JJ’ s hand and took over. JJ noticed that Cory liked to be in charge, which was fine with JJ it was nice being the follower every once in a while. JJ could feel Cory’s breathing on her neck and it seemed to be connected to her southern regions. Being this close to Cory awakened a need she thought long dead. JJ swallowed hard hoping that she wouldn’t be exposed. Hoping that Cory couldn’t hear her heart beating faster. She lost all concentration at what Cory was saying and gave up listening. Cory’s smell was driving her crazy. The urge to turn and kiss Cory was overwhelming, what held JJ back was the fact they were in Cory’s school and they weren’t alone.

"Hey JJ have you heard a word I’ve said?" Cory asked, as JJ seemed to be in another world.

JJ was startled; she’d been caught out. "Huh, what did you say?”

"My point exactly!" Cory was trying to be stern. "You haven’t heard a word I’ve said Jessica Jane!" She playfully hit JJ on the back of the head; she knew using her full name would have the desired affect.

"Ouch." JJ went along with the game and rubbed her head.

The time in school flew as both women realised they worked extremely well together; they complimented each other perfectly. They seemed to know what was to go where and each was impressed with the others ability. The displays were finished in no time and by mid afternoon they were soon on their way to Cory’s parents house. This seemed to be a ritual of theirs and JJ didn’t mind, she knew it was important to her friend and as they were going to London the next day she knew it was important for Cory to see him before they left. She just hoped nothing happened to Fred whilst they were away, she’d never forgive herself.

They spent a couple of hours at the house, Cory’s mum looked shattered and JJ noticed how weak Fred had become, the little vitality he had had on previous visits wasn’t there but he still seemed pleased to have his granddaughter visit.

On the way home the two discussed the trip to London, JJ hadn’t wanted to take Cory away and Cory insisted on going. Cory pointed out that JJ had spent a lot of money coming over to visit and it was the least she could do, JJ argued that if anything was to happen she couldn’t handle knowing she was the reason Cory hadn’t been there. They finally settled on a compromise to pop in on their way down to London and check on him and then Cory could visit Saturday afternoon. Plus as she pointed out to JJ they were only going to be just over an hour away, if necessary she could drive back up and JJ would be right by the airport.

They visited the gym on their way back and fitted their workouts together, JJ liked to cycle so they did 30 minutes on the cycle machines, Cory preferred to stay on a manual program whilst JJ did the endurance ride, then they did some arm weights, each lifting very similar weights. JJ showed Cory how to use some of the free weights; Cory was impressed at how they worked some of the muscles better. After the weights they both ran 4km and came off the machines very hot and sweaty. Their final part of the workout was the abdominal muscles. The mats were free and there was enough room for them both to do it together.

When they reached the house, they took Holly for a walk around the field the conversation was kept light. JJ was curious to know all about Cory’s life in the school and what projects she had taught. She enjoyed listening to the blonde, she liked watching her face come alive and the animation in her body and voice was wonderful to see. She truly was an angel and JJ could see how much she enjoyed being with the children, how teaching was her life and how much she loved her job. This made JJ realise that even if Cory had the remotest interest in her would she ever really give up her life to move to the US and be with her, and if JJ moved there would Cory ever really be comfortable knowing they’d have to keep their relationship secret. She shook her head, she was dreaming again, Cory had never hinted once about them being a couple, she was just a friend and JJ would have to live with that. Come Saturday she’d probably only receive the odd email from Cory and they’d both go back to living their boring but safe lives.

Cory fed the animals, whilst JJ chopped up some vegetables and chicken for a stir-fry. She’d offered to cook as Cory had the animals to sort out. Cory had looked a little worried as she knew cooking and JJ didn’t quite fit into the same sentence, but JJ had reassured her that there were a few things she could muster up unsupervised. JJ liked Cory’s kitchen, it was big enough to move around in and everything was to hand. The meal took 20 minutes to cook; she’d thrown everything into the pan and added the rice. She tasted a little and was impressed with herself. The phone rang, as she was about to dish up, Cory went to answer it. She came back a few minutes later.

“That smells yummy, I hope it tastes as good. Sam says hello. He has to stay over tonight, the deal is closed but the architects took them round the golf course and of course they stayed in the 19th hole a little longer than intended! I told him about granddad and he said he might meet us there tomorrow or come straight home. I told him about us going to London; he suggested I ring the Travel lodge hotel to book us in. Remind me to do that after dinner.” Cory tried to sneak a quick taste of the food but her hand was knocked away by JJ.

They opened a bottle of wine and settled themselves in the lounge. The food was delicious, Cory couldn’t believe that vegetables and chicken could taste so nice, as she savored the last mouthful the phone rang, she juggled her tray and plate and reached for the phone. “Hello?”

“Hey Cory, it’s Marj, long time no see! I wondered if you, Sam and JJ would like to join John and I at the pub. The quiz is on and we could do with making up a team. I can apologise to JJ then as I think I may have offended her.”

Cory smiled, and then winked at JJ, “Well I did have a little bit of explaining to do, but I think you’re forgiven. Hold on a minute and I’ll ask her.” She covered her hand over the phone and whispered to JJ, “It’s Marj, do you fancy going to the pub? It’s quiz night.”

JJ shrugged, “Not bothered, if you go I’ll go. You sure I’m bright enough I am only a Yank.” She grinned as she said the last line trying to show Cory she was joking.

“Marj we’re up for it but can you do us a favour and pick us up as we’ve had a glass of wine. Sam’s away on business so it’s just the two of us.” She listened for a few minutes to Marj’s family gossip and then said her goodbyes.

“You sure you’re okay with the pub, it’s local and quite nice. They have a huge fire and the beer is good. They’ll be here in an hour so I guess we should shower and change, jeans and a jumper is all that’s needed but I know how long it takes you to get changed!”

An hour later, they were sat in the lounge working on their second glass of wine and watching the TV when a honk of the horn told them Marj had turned up. They grabbed their coats and headed towards the Peugeot. John was in the driving seat; he greeted Cory and shook JJ’s hand. The pub was a 5-minute drive and they were soon ensconced in the corner of the pub, near the fire with pints in front of them. The conversation was light; Cory filled them in on her granddad’s illness and JJ answered questions about life in the States. JJ liked the pub; it was small and cozy. It had a homely air to it and Cory was right when she’d said the beer was good. She’d decide to limit herself to one pint as it was a lot stronger than the stuff at home and she needed to keep her wits about her.

The quiz turned out to be fun, the pub had filled up and there had been about 10 teams, JJ had been impressed by the general knowledge of her friends but she also held her own and showed off that there was more than air between her ears. At the end of the evening they had come second and had won a bottle of wine each. JJ had kept her deal with herself and had just the one-pint, Cory on the other hand had had 3 pints of Guinness and although she was by no means drunk, she was a little tipsy.

They left the pub at 11pm, last orders had just been rung at the bar, the air was cold and Cory put her arm through JJ’s as they walked to the car.

“Did you have fun J?” Cory whispered, she was enjoying having the woman near and the alcohol had helped her to relax.

JJ liked the shortening of her name, she felt her friend relax into her and decided for just once she would just let things happen. “Sure Cory I had an excellent time.”

When they got in Cory was yawning, JJ helped her upstairs, the cold air seemed to have affected Cory and made her drunk. As they got to her bedroom door, Cory turned to JJ, stood on tip toes and planted a kiss right on JJ’s cheek, “Night night thanks for a wonderful day, you’re a star.”

JJ was too dumbstruck to do anything but smile and open the door for Cory. She closed it behind the blonde and headed for her own, very wide-awake and very frustrated.

Cory awoke with a jump, she remembered the pub and the quiz, she remembered getting into the car but past that her mind was a blank. She chastised herself for drinking more than she should have and hoped she hadn’t made a fool of herself. She glanced at the clock, 1am; she needed the toilet and couldn’t sleep. She’d been dreaming of her granddad in his coffin waving at her and saying goodbye, it had disturbed her. She was cold and didn’t want to be alone. She knew where she wanted to be but would she be welcome. It was the middle of the night for god’s sake but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, after visiting the bathroom, she found herself outside JJ’s door, she knocked timidly, no answer, she knocked a little louder and heard a muffled sound. She took that as a come in. She opened the door and walked in, her eyes picking out the bed and JJ’s prone form.

“JJ you awake?” she whispered.

“I am now honey, what’s the matter?” JJ replied worried about her friend.

“Nightmares, I can’t sleep, I wondered if you’d let me bunk down in here and chase the demons away.” Cory stood by the bed waiting patiently.

JJ lifted the duvet, “Sure come here, you must be freezing.” As Cory settled herself into the bed, JJ put her arms around her and pulled her near. Cory was cold, very cold and she felt the woman trembling under her touch. “Hey you are cold, let me warm you up. Cuddle closer.” Cory didn’t need a second invitation, JJ was like a furnace and she felt so safe. JJ began rubbing Cory’s back as she rubbed she increased the pressure and held her to her, closer and closer, she felt Cory responding, her arms circled JJ in return and she hugged her back. They lay like this for what seemed like an age, holding, squeezing, sending unseen thoughts through the air, each wanting the same thing, neither wanting to be the first to admit it.

Finally, JJ released her grasp of Cory and moved slightly back, this gave Cory room to rearrange herself and look straight at JJ. In the moonlight she could make out the tall woman’s profile and the glint in her eye. She stared at JJ, who returned the gaze, neither spoke but each understanding what the other was saying. JJ moved her fingers up to Cory’s face and stroked her cheeks; she trailed her fingers down to Cory’s mouth and traced the outline of her lips. Cory opened her mouth slightly and licked her lips, her tongue touching the fingers still on her lips. JJ didn’t remove the fingers and Cory decided to bite the bullet, she continued to caress JJ’s index finger, slowly, seductively. She pulled the digit into her mouth all the time staring into JJ’s eyes, she was sure she could see the blue of her eyes. She released the finger and the next one replaced it. One by one she sucked and licked the fingers as JJ changed fingers when she felt Cory had suckled enough. The electricity between the pair was fully charged, neither dared move, Cory could feel the moisture between her legs, she was swollen and she knew what she needed. She moved closer to JJ, she kissed JJ’s neck, JJ pulled her closer into a hug and in return nibbled the soft skin of Cory’s neck. Cory was on fire, she needed JJ and she needed her now, she moved herself up slightly and held JJ’s gaze, she lowered her head towards JJ’s mouth, and felt JJ’s hand on her mouth. She leaned forward her head touching JJ’s, the hand still between her mouth and JJ’s.

JJ swallowed, she summoned up all her strength, taking a deep breath she rasped, “Babe as much as I want you, and I do. You’re not mine to have.” She blew out another breath and removed her hand from Cory’s mouth; she looked into Cory’s face and noticed one tear trailing down the cheek. She kissed it gently away and pulled Cory towards her. They both clung to each other, both wanting what they knew they couldn’t or shouldn’t have.

Part 18

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