COLD WATER

seven.          the turkey

▬CORI BIT HER LIP TO keep in her moans. Her notebook had been pushed to the side, completely discarded as Carter hung over her. His lips attached to her neck, his elbows pressed into the mattress on either side of her small body, her arms wrapped around his neck and her fingers messing up his hair.

"Carter." The name came out as a mix between a giggle and a moan, making the boy's lips pull into a smile as he left warm kisses across her neck. "We're supposed to..." She gasped a little, her eyes springing open when he nibbled on her ear lobe. "...homework."

He chuckled as he pulled back, letting his body rest against hers as their eyes met. "We're supposed to homework?" He raised an eyebrow, amusement dancing in his eyes.

Her cheeks flushed and she moved her hands from his hair to cover her face. "I may have left out a few words." She muttered, her voice muffled by her hands.

"God, you're cute." He mumbled, his hands wrapping around her wrists to uncover her face then he lightly kissed the end of her nose.

"If my dad finds us like this he will kill you." She told him as he pressed her hands into the mattress before wedging his fingers between hers. "And he will check on us."

He stopped, turning his head to the side a little and Cori's eyebrows pinched. "I think we're in the clear." He hummed, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers as he shifted his weight to one leg as he moved the other. He brought his knee up between her thighs and she gripped his hands tighter as a gasp left her lips. He couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"Don't...laugh...at me." She mumbled, finding it hard to catch her breath as he trailed his lips down her cheek to her neck, this time traveling a little lower.

"I promise I'm not laughing at you." He pressed a kiss on her collarbone before pushing himself up so he could look at her again. "I just think your little reactions are cute. You gasp or moan at the slightest little touch." And just to prove his point his leaned down and lightly kissed the spot under her ear, she moaned as her eyes fluttered closed. "I love that about you."

"Don't tease me." She huffed, squeezing his hands a little as she wiggled underneath him. "You know that most of this is new to me."

He smiled, that warm, reassuring smile he always gave her when they found themselves in similar situations. "I know." He lightly pressed his lips against hers. "And we can go as slow as you want, but that doesn't mean I won't push just a little."

"I like it when you push." She mumbled, her cheeks embarrassingly red. "But just a little." He grinned as he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers and she pressed against him just a little harder before he pulled back.

"Back to that homework." He hummed, grinning when she let out a little huff then he pushed himself up and smoothed his hand over the back of his hair. Cori shook her head a little before she pushed herself up and pulled her notebook towards her. But she couldn't look away from the boy that sat before her and when he realized, he met her gaze. "What?"

"Are we still best friends?"

"Of course." He nodded. "Now with a few added... benefits." He smiled and she giggled as she rolled her eyes. "We don't have to be anything else. I know you're not over him and I'm not looking for a relationship. I just like making out with you."

"I love you, you know that right?"

"I love you, too, Peanut." He smirked and she grinned. "Now, back to physics."

"Anything but physics." She pouted and he laughed as he moved so he sat next to her and they got back to their homework.

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▬"DAD! THE TURKEY!" Cori shouted as she ran towards the kitchen, Charlie hot on her heels. Smoke was coming from the oven and filling the kitchen and spilling into the living room.

"Damnit!" He huffed as Cori rushed to open the window, letting some of the smoke out but when he opened the oven the smoke alarm went off and they both covered their ears. "This is why we shouldn't cook!"

"Clearly!" She shouted back as she lifted herself up onto the counter, she held onto the cabinets as she took small steps until she could reach the screaming device then she stretched and pressed the button. They both let out a sigh then the beeping stopped. "How'd you forget about the turkey?" She asked as she moved back down the counter where she had a little more space to sit.

"I don't know!" He coughed as he pulled the pan out of the oven and sat it on the stove, swatting at the smoke.

"Wow, that's really burnt." Cori mumbled, looking at the charred turkey.

"You think we really need turkey?" He asked, looking down at the girl then movement caught their attention and they turned to see Bella.

Bella had pretty much been a zombie since the Cullens left. She was a shell of her former self, she barely spoke, she barely left the house, hell, it was a shock that she was standing in the kitchen.

Her eyes bounced between the two before landing on the turkey but she simply turned and walked away without a word.

"Still not used to that." Cori mumbled and Charlie shook his head as he patted the top of her head.

"So, call everyone and tell them Thanksgiving is canceled."

"What? No!" She shouted. "Everyone's coming over! We can't cancel last minute. That's rude."

"The turkey is charcoal." Charlie told her, pointing at the burnt bird.

She stopped to think for a minute then she nodded her head, determination written all over her features. "I'll be back in thirty minutes." She stared out of the kitchen.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Stay out of the kitchen!" She shouted back and nodded, leaving the kitchen, but only after grabbing a beer from the fridge and opening a few more windows to let the smoke out.

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▬ CHARLIE WAS ABSOLUTLY STUNNED that Cori hand managed to find a turkey on Thanksgiving. When she had gotten back she told him not to ask and she started setting the table - they had moved the couch and brought out the big round table they kept in storage so they had room for everyone.

Along with the turkey, there were various other dishes, like stuffing and dressing, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, ham, deviled eggs, and gravy. And that's not including all the pies that had been brought over.

Everyone talked and laughed as they sat around the table and Charlie smiled, the house had never felt so full. But even with everyone talking and laughing, he couldn't help but notice that one chair was empty - Bella had opted out.

Billy whistled, getting everyone's attention. "So, Cori, let's start with you. What are you thankful for?"

The girl smiled, her hand gripping Carter's in her lap. "This. You guys." She looked around the table at all of her friends, people she had considered family. Carter and Noah sat on either side of her. With Paul next the quarterback, then Rachel and Kim, Jared, Sam then Emily. Charlie sat across from Cori with Billy at his side, next to Billy sat Harry and Sue, and Seth sat on the other side of Carter.

"Aww, Cori." Noah teased, poking her cheek and she rolled her eyes at him before swatting at his hand.

"Keep it going." She turned and looked up at Carter.

"I'm thankful for..." he stopped to think, trying to find the right words. "...my friends. That cared enough to help me stop smoking when no one else cared enough. Not even my parents."

Cori squeezed his hand a little and his eyes met hers as she gave him a small smile, and he returned it.

"You stopped?" Charlie asked, his eyebrows raised slightly. He knew the boy had smoked and that was one reason he was skeptical of the boy when Cori first brought him around.

"Yes, sir. It's been two months now."

"Almost three." Cori added, a proud smile on her face as she looked up at him and after a few congratulations they continued with Seth, who was thankful for the enormous amounts of pie his mom had let him consume and for his friends at school.

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▬ AFTER DINNER, Cori and Charlie cleaned up. Putting all the leftovers in Tupperware containers before putting them in the fridge. All the dishes were placed in the sink to soak while they took down the table Cori had set up earlier that day. All the decorations were carefully placed in a plastic tote labeled Thanksgiving! and they trekked out into the cold to put the table back in the shed.

Once that got back into the house, Cori started on the dishes and Charlie sat at the small table by the window.

"You gonna tell me how you got that turkey?" He asked and she chuckled as she washed a plate before putting it on the drying rack.

"When we agreed to make the turkey, I knew something was gonna go wrong. I didn't think it was gonna be that bad, but still. I asked Sue to make an extra just in case, I told her I would buy it and all she had to do was cook it." She told him as she put another plate on the rack. "She knows you and I can't cook to save our lives, so she agreed."

"You had no faith in me." He shook his head a little, mock hurt in his face.

"No." She laughed. "I just know that putting me and you in charge of food is bound to end in disaster. And I was right."

"You're a smart kid, you know that?" He asked as he pushed himself up.

"Yeah." She hummed and he chuckled as he kissed the top of her head before making his way into the living room.

"Dammit. I forgot we moved the couch." He huffed before making his way back into the kitchen. "We can move it back tomorrow, can't we?"

"Yeah." She laughed. "Go to bed. I'll finish up down here."

"Goodnight, Cori."

"G'night, Daddy." She waved, bubbles coating her hand and he chuckled as he shook his head before he made his way out of the room up the stairs. They both knew that at any moment Bella would wake them up screaming, so he needed to get what little bit of sleep he could before that happened.

Cori went back to washing the dishes, humming a song that had been stuck in her head. Then her phone buzzed. She washed the bubbled off of her hands before drying them, and when she grabbed the device off the counter her chest ached just a little at the text on the screen.

TREE
Happy Thanksgiving