Free Erica's Choice by Sami Lee

think.”
    Erica doubted Corey needed much luck. “I don’t think you’re stupid, not at all.”
    Doug, with all his degrees and publishing credits, didn’t have an ounce of emotional sensitivity. Corey had that in spades. As far as Erica could see, there were different kinds of intelligence.
    Erica was also very well aware of how difficult high school could be for someone who didn’t quite fit in. She’d been quiet, with shocking red hair and an almost obsessive interest in books. She hadn’t exactly been a popularity queen herself.
    “You’re a nice person, Erica. I want to get to know you better.”
    “I’m not so nice.” Erica thought of the way she’d used Corey and Griff to assuage her own fears the other night, then kicked them both out sans explanation.
    Misconstruing her meaning, Corey murmured. “If you’re naughty, it’s only in the good way.”
    If he’d poured simmering honey all over her, Erica couldn’t have felt more cocooned in sweet warmth. Knees weakening, Erica sank into the couch with a sigh. She couldn’t quite keep the smile out of her voice. “You’re teasing me.”
    “It’s my revenge. Thoughts of you have been teasing me for days. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
    “Oh, Corey,” she sighed. “I’m not in a position to start anything. I’m not a good bet right now.”
    It was so close to what Doug had said to her before he’d left for the last time that Erica shivered. She hated to think she’d bought into Doug’s low opinion of her “prospects”, but it was true. She was in no position to offer Corey any kind of hope, not when she was hanging on to every last shred of it for herself.
    “I don’t believe that,” Corey countered. “I think you’re exactly who I want to take my chances with. Have dinner with me, or we’ll go to a movie. Go roller blading in the park if you want.”
    Erica released a faint chuckle. “I’m not much of a roller blader.”
    “Phew. Me neither. Roller blading is so out.”
    Erica closed her eyes as disappointment sank like lead to the pit of her stomach. “Everything is out, Corey. I told you, now is not a good time for me to get involved with anyone.”
    There was a pause on the other end of the line. Erica sensed Corey mulling something over in his mind. Then he asked, “What about Griff?”
    Erica’s heart skipped. “What about him?”
    “Maybe you’d relax your rules for Griff. Did you like him better than me?”
    It was a fair-enough question, under the circumstances, yet Erica was gobsmacked. It was like comparing the exceptional to the extraordinary and asking which had more value. “That’s not what this is about.”
    “Are you sure? Because if you want things the way they were last time, all three of us together, it’s okay.” Corey’s voice went threadbare, as if imagining the setup tightened his vocal cords. “Because I want it that way again too.”

Chapter Six
    Suddenly Erica was achingly aware of her almost naked state. She was dripping water from the shower all over the hardwood floors and leaking another kind of moisture onto her thighs. The mere suggestion of indulging in another night like the one she’d had with Corey and Griff aroused her unbearably.
    How could she feel like this when there was every possibility a dreadful disease was decaying her insides?
    At last she stammered, “I don’t know what to say.”
    “Say you’ll come to the Sovereign tomorrow night and meet us for a drink.”
    “I can’t .”
    “Somewhere else is fine, anywhere you want.”
    “Corey…does Griff know you’re asking me this?”
    His admission was slow in coming. “No. But he likes you, Erica. He likes you a lot.”
    Her heart hammered like a schoolgirl’s with her very first crush. “He does?”
    Corey chuckled softly. “What did you think?”
    “I don’t know. That maybe he liked you .” By the stunned silence on the other end of the phone, Erica realized she’d put her foot in it. “I’m sorry,