A/N: First, I want to thank you all for your continued support towards the story! It is such a rewarding feeling to know what great supporters I have, and you are all so amazing!

This is an incredibly long chapter – and I am SO proud of it! In all, it came out to fourteen pages on Microsoft Word – it was a ton of work, but I have never been so proud of a chapter before! I was able to address so many things and I really got the ball rolling on everything – I just hope you all enjoy it!

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Thanks for being so wonderful! xoxo Therese

Chapter 14

I was really impressed with myself. After everything that happened – the make-out session in the shower, the cuddling and teasing in bed, and Cory stepping up and DOING MY LAUNDRY (really, is Cory a man? Who seriously does this?), I hadn't mentioned a word about anything to anyone. Not even Dianna and Jenna, who I can tell anything and everything to, just because I figured that I didn't want to ruin a good thing until Cory and I really figured out what we both wanted to do with this lusty, romance thing between us. Well, let me rephrase that, I wanted to help Cory figure out what he really wanted to do with the lusty, romance thing between the two of us, because when it comes to me, I knew exactly what I wanted. A wedding at a beautiful vineyard at sunset with a black-tie, classy reception to follow, which would all be maybe two or three years down the line. I had to convince him that that's what he would eventually want as well. Maybe not tonight, but I'd work on it. I might or might not also have the wedding party planned and paired up as well…

So, to get out of the house, Cory and I told everyone that we were going out to scout out restaurants so we could have a large dinner out the next night. It sounded good at the time when Cory and I came up with the excuse, until we realized halfway to the beach that we actually had to go back to the house with an idea on where to go.

I really tried to dress as best for the occasion as possible. I knew we weren't going to the beach to get a tan, so I didn't wear my swimsuit and a cover-up. I also didn't want to be too dressy, so I decided against wearing a fancy dress. I figured, as best as I could, a simple flowing sundress would be best. It was a sage-colored green halter dress that landed just around my knees. Plus, I figured, just look at what Cory is wearing, and work around it. He kept it simple with khaki shorts and a white t-shirt, so I figured I was dressed well enough.

Besides the first few minutes we spent together when we first woke up, we didn't spend much time together during the course of the day. Cory went jogging with Mark, Kevin, Chord, and Harry during the afternoon, and the girls, Darren, Chris, and I hung out around the pool. We were all pretty quiet, as we were all trying to spend the day recovering from the alcohol-filled night. I didn't even drink any real hard liquor – beer and wine are my best companions. But everyone else, well, they were paying their price. Plus, I had my eyes closed as I laid on that deck chair, so people had assumed I was sleeping. Nope, just working on my sun-kissed look while slathered in SPF 50.

"Such a beautiful night," I remarked to Cory as we drove down the one-lane road to get to the beach, which snapped me out of the thoughts of the day and brought me right back to the car. We both had our windows open, and the sea-salt-kissed air flowed throughout the car. I hadn't bothered to try to straighten my hair, since I knew it would frizz right up, so I curled it lightly and sprayed it with practically a half a can of hairspray.

"I know," he agreed. "We've been really lucky with the weather this week. It's been nothing but perfect."

I smiled before looking over at him. "It just knows we're all here. Doesn't want to make itself look bad in front of us or anything."

He giggled before looking quickly over at me. "I'm telling you, if you weren't an actress, you should have looked into the meteorology field."

"I'd good at it, don't you think?" I asked him before I put both of my hands in the air. I pretended to hold a clicker in one hand as I gestured on a pretend map with my other. "Nothing but clear skies here in La Jolla, with the temperature being a comfortable 76 degrees. We have an area of high pressure sitting right over California, which really puts us in a great place for the next few days. No rain anywhere on the map, so you know what that means, get out there and enjoy the night!"

Cory paused before speaking again. "Where's the five day forecast?" he asked with a small smile curled on his lips.

"No, no, that part comes during the next segment. You know how they like to keep you waiting for the next half hour to tell you what it will be like for the upcoming week."

"I should have figured that," Cory laughed as he adjusted his Ray-Ban sunglasses on his face. "See, you really are perfect. You know all the timing and everything."

I looked back out the window, trying my best to hold everything together. I could just joke around with Cory everyday of my life, and just laugh at everything he says. I just don't want to come off as the girl who will laugh at anything, though. I want him to work for my smiles, my chuckles, my outbursts of loud and obnoxious laughs… but when you work with someone for over two years, and you become each other's best friends, you just know what gets the other person laughing. And that's what Cory knows about me – he knows my sense of humor. It's incredibly sexy, and scary, at the same time. At the same time, I know his sense of humor. It's more spontaneous than mine. Cory can sing every word to any song that The Lonely Island has made, including my favorite, 'Jack Sparrow.' Just something about that Michael Bolton collaboration…

Which would explain why we were listening to The Lonely Island as we drove to the beach.

'Motherlover' was playing in the background. Cory would sing Justin Timberlake's part around set, and Kevin would sing Andy Samberg's part. It was probably the funniest thing that these two did together… I should ask them to do it later. That would be AMAZING, considering they hadn't done it in a few months. 'The Creep' is another winner, between Cory, Mark, and Kevin – and Amber would sing Nicki's part. I'm surprised none of us have recorded it and tweeted it yet. But you know, if other people knew about this, they'd just put it all of their fan fiction stories, and it'd be completely ruined and overplayed. We didn't have much that stayed between just the cast anymore, since the fans always seem to find out everything. We all appreciated having something sacred.

I could hear him humming the song under his breath while we weren't speaking to each other. He had no idea how badly I just wanted to get to that damn beach, and it felt like he had been driving for an hour. I mean, we could have stopped anywhere on that damn street, parked the car on the side of the road, and walked for two minutes over sand dunes and over small wooden fences to dip our feet in the ocean. But I didn't question him. My mom always told me never to question a man when he is driving, unless you know for absolutely sure he is going the completely wrong way. And in this situation, I had no idea. So, heeding my mother's advice, I kept my lips shut and let Cory drive.

When I mentioned earlier that we were driving down a one-lane road, I really meant it. About ten minutes after our conversation about the weather, the street that we were driving on discontinued. The black-top led us directly to a small empty parking lot. "We're here," Cory informed me as he turned his car into a vacant parking spot, before cutting the engine,

"This is the beach?" I asked, looking out the window. There was no boardwalk, a public bathroom, a food and drink shack, or even a beach house, anywhere in sight. Just the parking lot that we had parked in, and a small wooden flight of stairs that led to a small ramp over a sand dune.

Cory nodded as he hopped out of the driver's seat. I decided to follow suit, so I took off my seatbelt and hopped out of the car, leaving my handbag behind. I had a feeling I wasn't going to need my wallet or anything.

Once Cory came around to my side of the car, he helped me push my door shut before locking it. He slipped the keys into his pocket, and took the lead up the flight of stairs that connected to the ramp. "How did you find this place?" I asked him as we climbed the stairs, my high heels clicking on the hollow wood.

Cory didn't answer my question, but instead, offered a suggestion. "You might want to take off your heels. You're not going to be able to walk on the sand."

Good point, Cory Monteith. I paused and leaned on the wooden railing of the stairs, and I pulled off my oh-so-adorable white espadrilles. I held them by the strappy backing on a hook that I created using my index finger, and I jogged slowly to catch up to Cory, who was just a few steps ahead of me.

We were on the small wooden ramp for only a few steps before it led directly to the sand and beach. Cory stopped at the end of the ramp and waited for me, and he smiled at me when I finally reached him. "Isn't this spot great?"

I didn't reply to him. I was completely overtaken by the sights. The sun was setting over the ocean, and just like the night before, the skies were turning all sorts of beautiful colors. The sky and clouds were beautiful pink, purple, and orange hues, but everything tonight was so much more vivid and eye-catching than it was the night before. The warm sea breeze continued to blow, and when the salty air landed on my lips, I couldn't help but to lick them. I'd never been to a beach as deserted as this one, besides for that one photo shoot with Cory and I for Teen Vogue. And you have to remember; I'm a New Yorker that had relocated to New Jersey. In those parts, there are no such things as an empty beach. There was always someone around, whether it was a crowd or just a few random people all spread out. I had never seen a beach as calm, peaceful, and as clean as this one. After finally taking it all in, I looked up at Cory with a bright smile on my face. "Let's go down there."

"After you," Cory smiled as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

Never one to hold back, I dropped my shoes on the ramp and took my first steps into the sand. It was still warm from the day's sun exposure, and it was the softest grained sand I had felt in a long while. My feet sunk into the sand comfortably, and I began to walk down to the water. I was about halfway down the beach to the water when I looked back to speak to Cory. I whipped my head around and opened my mouth to speak, but he wasn't there. Instead, I spotted him on the ramp still, his hands still tucked into his pockets, but the smile on his face had shrunk into a small smirk. I paused, and I turned my whole body to face him. The wind continued to blow through my hair, and my skirt danced around my knees.

It was like a scene out of another damn Nicholas Sparks novel. We just really looked at each other for a long time, and I couldn't really even think about anything to say in the moment. It was like the scene in 'The Notebook' when Allie came back to Noah at the end, and she stood in the driveway with her suitcases after she left Lon, and Noah stood on his balcony wrapped in his blanket, and he accepted her back into his life. Yes, that was exactly this moment. Only there was no Lon in my situation, and I didn't have any suitcases. And Cory didn't have a blanket. But you get the idea!

"Get down here!" I finally yelled out to him, after I broke free of my thoughts. I was dying to get into that water, and I just wanted Cory to be with me.

At my request, Cory stepped off of the ramp, and he made his way down towards me. God, could that man be any more beautiful to look at? His t-shirt was blown up against his body, revealing his perfectly (to me, anyway!) sculpted chest, and his brown, slightly curly hair moved in the breeze. It was as if I had lost my breath for a few minutes, and I lost my balance in the sand. I changed my footing as Cory approached me.

"Finally," I smirked as I reached out and grabbed his hand. As I gripped his hand in mine, I led him towards the water. "Let's go," I squealed as I started jogging down to the crashing waves, pulling him behind me.

Together, Cory and I jogged down to the water. It was almost like we were jogging in slow motion. We both stopped right as we got to the water's edge. Cory kicked his flip-flops off and tossed them to the side before we both took our last few steps towards the water. We were still holding hands, and I could feel the electricity just pulsing right through us. It was like our pulses were completely in sync, our breathing patterns one in the same. It was pretty cool.

A small wave crashed ashore, and it rolled up the sand just high enough to get our toes wet. The water couldn't have been any more comfortable. Really, this was too perfect. Where were the camera crews hiding? The director to yell "Cut!"? How was all of this really working out like this?

"We need to go in deeper," Cory suggested before giving my hand a quick squeeze.

"Okay," I agreed, and Cory pulled me closer to the water. We were now standing at that point that no matter what sized wave came in, you were going to get wet. Every time a wave came in, Cory and I held onto each other's hands tightly and braced ourselves. The bottom of my dress and Cory's shorts were pretty wet after the first few large crashes of waves, and I wasn't quite sure how we were going to explain to everyone why we were both wet. Maybe, though, we could just sneak into the house without them noticing. We'd work in it later.

"We're not in deep enough," Cory smiled as he looked down at me.

"What are you talking about, you crazyhead?" I asked him with a laugh. "Look at us, we're soaked!"

"Come on, we're at the beach," he responded, his lips curled up into a mischievous smile.

"Then why didn't you tell me to wear a bathing suit?"

"What fun is that?"

"You can't make me go in," I laughed as I tried my best to bury my feet into the wet sand.

Cory let go of my hand before smiling. "Oh yeah?" he asked before walking behind me. Now, at this point, I would have moved away, but I had buried my feet in the sand, and I couldn't get them out in time to run away. So instead, Cory wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up from behind, swiftly pulling my feet out from beneath the sand.

I couldn't help put squeal and kick as Cory held me in his arms. At first, I was terrified because the last thing I wanted him to do was to toss me into the water, because that's just not a good look for me. But then, when I realized that he was coming into the water with me, and that he was going to get just as wet as I was, I didn't mind it so much. We'd be equal. I began to laugh and beg, "No, no, no!" as. Cory carried me farther into the water, and now in his arms, I was getting soaked from the splashing and crashing waves.

"I won't let go," Cory assured me with a laugh as we took a few more steps into the water. He stopped with me when he was about waist deep, which meant that the water levels were going to be right up to my breasts, but he didn't put me down. Somehow, and I'm not sure how he managed hit, he was able to turn me around, so we were face to face. At first, I hadn't realized that I was laughing hysterically in his face as we were getting pounded with water, but then when I realized that I was all up in his face, I calmed myself down.

"What are we doing?" I had to ask him before getting splashed with another wave. My hair had started to get wet, and my outfit was a lost cause. But it was okay - his was too.

Cory looked into my eyes for a while, and I wasn't complaining. I knew he was trying to formulate what he was going to say to me. And in that moment, he could have told me that the sky was falling and I would have thought that it was the most romantic thing in the world. Finally, he gave up on his words, and he leaned in and kissed me. Yeah, this was good too. I don't know how long we had been kissing, but I could feel the ocean current pulling us in, and it had been a struggle to maintain the kiss and our position in the water at the same time. I did know, though, that it was one of those deep, passionate kisses - a kiss that we had never used in front of the cameras. There was just so much rooted meaning and feeling, and it was one of those kisses that you never wanted to end. Cory played with my wet hair as I ran my hands up and down his soaked back, and I had eventually wrapped my legs around his tree-trunk of a waist.

Cory pulled his lips off of mine once the current became too strong to stand against. "You want to go back to the sand?" he asked me as he looked straight into my eyes.

Without even blinking an eye, I nodded my head. Against the current, Cory somehow managed to get us both back to land, and when the water was low enough for me to be able to stand, he put me down. I looked down at my outfit after we got out of the waves, and I looked like a hot mess. It was one of those dresses that just didn't look good when it was wet, but I was stuck in it. There was no option to change, or even take it off, because I could only imagine what my underwear looked like. Instead, I bent down, gathered my skirt, and tried my best to wring all of the water out of it.

"I don't think that'll work," Cory laughed as he took my hand and led me to dry sand. He didn't even give my skirt a chance, but I was okay with it. I just hoped that we would dry off as time went on. My heart was beating practically out of my chest when he had grabbed my hand, and he led me over to a small mound of sand that overlooked the ocean perfectly. "Sit down," he directed me as he took a seat on the sand, and he had pulled on my arm as he went down. I quickly followed suit, and sat closely next to him.

"What's with all of this, Cory?" I asked him as I looked deeply into his copper-brown eyes. "Carrying me into the water, getting us two absolutely soaked, kissing me… and now bringing me back here. What are you up to?"

Cory just smiled at first as he looked at me. His eyes darted from my eyes, to my lips, and then back to his eyes. I know from experiences on set that whenever he looks at my lips, he wants to go in for the kiss, but I wasn't letting him have it so easily this time. Every time I saw his eyes travel down to my lips, I folded my lips inside my mouth, hiding them from him. And every time I did that, he smiled a little wider, and I knew that he knew why I was doing what I was doing. I guess it was just a part of the connection that we shared. After a few moments of looking at me, he finally spoke up to explain himself.

"Do you remember that first day we met, when I asked you for coffee in your trailer?" he asked me as he reached for my hand.

I nodded my head. "Of course. You had spilled it all over your floor."

"Well, when I first saw you in your trailer, you looked so calm and normal, and my insides were just one big ball of nerves. I always loved how you kept it all together, even though this was such a big deal. Us being on television in our own show and everything."

I wasn't quite sure where Cory was going with all of this, but I did appreciate the backstory. I gripped onto his hand tightly as he took a pause to collect his thoughts.

"We've always been close, Lea, and I've always loved that, that connection that I think that we have between us that I'm not sure if anyone else in the cast has between them. I feel like we can always go to each other about anything, and I know that whenever I'm around you, whether it's just for a few minutes during lunch or when we're together much longer, it always makes me feel happy. A level of happiness that I'm not really used to, but it's a level that I like being at."

I'm pretty sure I was as beaming as brightly as the sun was shining at this point, and I knew I had to interrupt him and say something. I licked my lips slightly before speaking. "I know exactly how you feel, Cory. You know me, I'm not a morning person, really. But when I know that I get to be around you at an insane hour of the morning, or really any time of day, it makes waking up easy. I look forward to time I get to spend with you."

"Stop stealing my lines!" Cory joked as he nudged me with his shoulder into my arm.

"Sorry," I laughed. "Okay, you keep talking then."

"Well you took my whole 'morning person' speech away from me!"

I laughed again, and I dropped my head into my chest. "I whole-heartedly apologize."

"Fine, apology accepted," he replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "Now, where was I?"

"Level of happiness," I reminded him quickly. It was like I was already archiving this speech to refer back to on our wedding day.

"Right," he nodded, and we both looked back at each other. "So, you just make me feel like I'm better at everything. Before this show, I felt like a terrible singer, and even my scenes were less than stellar. But as soon as I got to work with you, it was like I was learning from the master. You knew how to carry yourself, how to really get your point across in your songs, and just pull people in to direct all of their attention on you. I always admired that about you, and I don't think anyone gives you enough credit about that."

I didn't verbally reply, but I did nod my head with a sincere smile. He was just being so sweet, and I didn't want to interrupt him.

"The problem is with all of this, Lea, is that over all of this time, over the filming and the working together off of the set, and over all of the time we spent together as just friends, and over all of the time we were on tour, and over all of the time we just spoke on the phone with each other about our days or whatever bullshit it was, is that I feel like I can never get enough of you."

Honestly, if I could have collapsed at this point, I would have. It was probably good planning on Cory's part to sit me down, because my knees would have buckled and I would have hit the sand like a rock if I were standing up. And through all of this, I'm fairly sure my heart had stopped beating. I was just running on reserved energy now.

"Do you have any idea what I'm getting at?" Cory asked as he squeezed my hand tighter. I think he knew that I wasn't breathing at this point, and all the blood had rushed out of my face and pretty much into every square millimeter of my female reproductive organs, and I wasn't even menstruating.

"Yes," I was able to mutter with wide brown eyes, and I cleared my throat just to get my blood moving again.

"I have a confession to make," Cory admitted.

"Oh, um, okay," I stammered as I readjusted my sitting position on the sand. It wasn't where I thought he was going with the progression of this conversation, and it threw me off.

"I didn't go jogging with the guys before like I told you."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Okay," I replied slowly, not quite sure if I was supposed to be happy about it or continued to be puzzled.

"All the guys know how I feel about you, and they've known for a while now. After we spent that first night together in bed, well, I guess you could just say the other day, even though it feels so long ago now… I knew that I just couldn't continue to lay next to you and not have you know what has been running through my mind. So, instead of jogging, the guys and I went looking for the spot that I would be bringing you tonight. And here we are, this is what we were able to find. It was a small little deserted beach, far off the beaten path, but as soon as we all saw it, we knew it was the perfect spot. No distractions, no interruptions, just us."

At this point, I was so speechless. This was all supposed to be my thing, this forbidden love situation where I hide these feelings and admire the man I love from afar, all while being his best friend. I was in love with Cory for years, I was the one who wanted to be with him more than anything the world, I was the one who was planning our wedding, I was the one who could see ourselves living one of those happily-ever-after stories that you only hear about in romance novels. It just blew my mind to hear the man that I was in love with say these things back to me, without even any cues or hints from me. I was supposed to be the one searching for this location that only we could go to and spend alone time together, this spot that would be exclusive and all to us, and no one else would ever know about it. And really, why did we waste all of this time? Why couldn't we have done all of this YEARS ago?

"So, what I'm really getting at, is that I really want to give this thing we have between us a chance. And I'm asking you to do this, blind to what you are feeling about me. I guess I should have asked you sooner how you felt about me, but you know what, I felt like you needed to know where I was coming from. It would allow me to explain my actions of the past few days, and if any of this makes you feel uncomfortable, or if you don't want to take this any further than it is right now, I will somehow manage to understand."

It didn't take me long to figure out how to respond, but I felt that talking in this situation would completely take away from that whole confession of love that Cory made to me. Instead of using my words, I used my actions to really show him how I felt. I leaned into Cory and I pressed my lips against his, kissing him forcefully but passionately. I really leaned into him (I was excited!), and I put so much pressure on him and the kiss that he laid back onto the sand. I followed his lead, and with a quick motion, I found the strength to swing my leg over his body, and I straddled him. My chest was pressing up against his chest, my arms rested on the sand on both sides of his body, and my wet hair was draped into his face. We made out for a long while, and it wasn't one of those kisses that felt like a while but really only lasted a few minutes – this kiss really consumed time, and our energy. Cory wrapped his arms around my waist as we were getting into it, and he managed to flip me over, so he was on top – similar to the position that we were in when we were in bed earlier in the morning. His lips traveled from my lips to my chin, and then from my chin to the side of my neck. It was the same sweet spot that he had been kissing earlier, the one that made me moan – and I was really impressed that he remembered where my sweet spot was. He was really focusing on me and my body, and really, I would have ripped all of my clothes off right there if I could have. Too soon, maybe?

"Cory," I moaned to him as he played with my neck with his lips and teeth, pulling at my skin before kissing it and sucking on it lightly.

"Yeah?" he responded as he moved his lips off of my neck and inched his way back up towards my mouth.

"Look at me," I asked him, and right away, I caught his attention. He lifted his head completely, and looked at me right in the eyes.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and his face grew concerned.

"Oh, yeah," I assured him before leaning up on my elbows. I smiled as I kept eye contact with him. "I just wanted to tell you something."

He nodded his head and anticipated my response to everything – really, a whole lot had happened after we got out of his car when we first arrived here at the beach.

"I've wanted to give you everything I had since we first got to know each other," I completely admitted, not sugar-coating anything. "I've only dreamed about being with you, and all I've ever wanted is to be something more than friends with you. I want to be with you, Cory – everything you feel, I feel it a hundred times stronger."

As I spoke to him, I could tell it was difficult for him to hold in excitement, and I was feeling the same way that he was. I laughed before leaning up further towards him, and I placed a small kiss on his lips. "Be my boyfriend?" I asked him.

"So now I can be your best fake boyfriend and your best real boyfriend?" he joked, referring to my nickname for him on set.

I nodded my head excitedly before kissing him once more. "I'd be your best fake and real girlfriend. I'd rock both of your worlds!"

He laughed before cupping my chin with his hands. "Well, then, I want to be rocked," he smirked before kissing me again.

I don't quite know how much longer we were at the beach. We made out for a little while longer, and then we watched the sunset over the ocean in each other's arms. The last thing I really remember is laying back onto the sand with him and staring up at the moon and stars in the sky, with our hands folded together, his thumb rubbing up against my thumb, my head resting on his rising and falling chest. I must have fallen asleep to the thumping of his heart and the soothing sound of the rolling waves coming ashore. It was the most comforting feeling in the world – I finally got what I had always wanted.