James collapsed on the couch. Wes just left. Corey was on his way over. He was exhausted. He probably should have rescheduled but… but a big part of him (that he was trying to deny existed) wanted to see Corey.

God he was a disaster. 37 years old looking forward to a 21 year old coming over. 37 years old and hiding his… relationship? Not quite the right word but sort of. He was hiding whatever they had going on from his brother for no other reason than a fear of letting him down.

37. 37 years old and this is the first time he’s felt something even remotely this strong towards someone since the day he took his little brother in.

A knock on the door distracted him from his spiraling thoughts. James heaved himself up. Cora grinned up at him when he opened the door. Freshly shaved face, curls styled back, but otherwise nothing overt told him it was Cora standing there.

“Hey, baby,” James greeted. Cora’s gaze softened at the endearment and warmth grew in James’ gut at knowing he was right. She stepped forward and James instinctively wrapped his arms around her. He took a second to breathe the moment in. Cora wore a soft perfume, lightly floral, not overwhelming in the slightest. Her curls were soft against his cheek when he dropped his head to lean against her.

It took a second, but Cora’s arms tightened around him. “Are you ok?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He didn’t loosen his grip though. “Guess I missed you.”

Cora let out a chuckle. “Yeah? I missed you too. Want me to show you how much?”

There was a small stirring of interest in his groin, but his mind wasn’t in it. “I was thinking we could just…” He let his voice trail off as he realized he shouldn’t have invited Cora over. Their agreement wasn’t about just hanging out. It was about sex. He wasn’t supposed to just… seek comfort in her arms and presence like this.

“Thinking we could what?”

James pulled away so he could cup her cheeks and leaned down to kiss her. It was a good kiss. He liked kissing Cora. His mind just still wasn’t looking for sex right now, even as his dick began to show interest. Cora smiled at him as he pulled away, but the smile slid away to be replaced by a look of concern. “What’s wrong?” she asked again.

James sighed. He stroked his thumb over her cheek. She wasn’t wearing any make-up since she came straight from the dorms and her skin was soft under his thumb. “Rough weekend.”

Cora’s brows furrowed. James swooped down for another kiss. The furrow was still there as he pulled away. “Do you want me to leave? You didn’t have to still invite me over if you didn’t want me here.”

“I want you here.” Cora didn’t look like she believed him. “I’m just not in the mood for sex.”

Understanding slowly dawned across her face. Her cheeks pinkened. James grinned and gave her another kiss. Apparently she wasn’t against just being there with him. “So what do you want to do?”

“A movie? I can make dinner if you haven’t eaten yet? Or we can order delivery.”

Cora was flipping through the channels as James ordered a pizza. “Hey, next time you come over why don’t you bring some clothes and make up to leave here? I told you before that you could get ready here, but I want you to have some stuff in case you’re already here when…” He didn’t know how to phrase it so James just let the sentence end.

Cora froze. “Are you sure?”

James kept his eyes on his laptop screen even though the order had already gone through. “Yeah, I want you to be comfortable here.”

There was silence for long enough that James had to do something. He shut the laptop and slid it under the couch before turning to Cora. She was staring at the tv menu and her cheeks darkened under his gaze. She glanced over at him. “I’ll bring a bag next time.”

He grinned at her and tossed an arm over her shoulders and pulled her into him. “Good, baby. Now what’re we watching?”

“Insidious is just starting. Have you seen it?”

“Never heard of it. Turn it on.”

Turns out there was a reason he’d never heard of it. After the third time James jumped Cora burst out laughing. “Should we change it? I didn’t realize you were scared of everything.”

“Not everything!” James protested. “Just, creepy movies that have weird ghost kids dancing to freaky music.”

Cora was still laughing as she flipped the station to something more light hearted.

“How’s it end?”

“The dad gets stuck in the other world and the woman in the black dress takes over his body and kills the woman who helped them get the son back.”

James stared at her. “None of that sounds like an enjoyable movie. That’s a terrible ending.”

“Well they can’t all have a good ending. Don’t watch Sinister either if you’re looking for a happy ending. That one messed me up.”

There was canned laughter on the tv. James shook his head at the idea of anyone voluntarily putting themselves through creepy movies. “What’s your monday class load like?”

“Nothing until the afternoon. Why?”

“Just wondering if you were going to stay the night again.”

Cora hummed and turned her gaze back to the tv. A smile played on her lips. “I could be persuaded.”

James chuckled and pulled Cora in. Her head settled on his shoulder. She tucked her feet up onto the end of the couch. Now that the horror movie was off, it was the perfect evening after his emotionally draining weekend. Speaking of which… He tightened his arm and smiled at Cora’s quiet grumble.

“My parents died 10 years ago yesterday. Wes and I went back to their hometown to visit their graves.” Cora stiffened in his arms. “Just thought I should explain why I’m not… I didn’t want you to... “ James didn’t know what he was saying. He stopped.

“Thank you for telling me,” Cora murmured. She kept her head on his shoulder. Laughter rang out on the tv again. “Do you want to talk about them?”

“No.”

“Ok.”

Easy acceptance. James felt the tension leaving his shoulders. Tension he didn’t even know he’d been carrying. He dropped a kiss on Cora’s head. “Thanks.”

Cora hummed. “Of course. I love being here for you. This has been a great evening.”

“It has,” he agreed.