Heartstrings - Forbidden Hearts Series Prequel

5| Late Night Rom-Coms

"Mrs. Jenkins," I muttered to myself, "this is why you are the best mom in the world."

I pulled the pint of Rocky Road ice cream out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Opening the drawer to the right, I pulled out a spoon before closing it with my hip.

I lifted myself onto the counter and reached for my guilty pleasure. Man, was I worn out from the beach. I didn't go to the beach much at home. I just didn't have much free time. Not when I had college to worry about.

My head shot up from staring into my frozen delight when I heard the front door open. Nathan peeked his head in, no doubt looking to see if anyone was awake.

"They're asleep."

His eyes found me and he entered the condo. Shutting the door behind him, he joined me in the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge door and studied it's contents.

"If everyone's sleeping, why are you up?"

I ignored his question. "Isn't it a little early for you, Nathan? You don't usually try to sneak back in until almost dawn. What happened with your date?"

He pulled out two pieces of pepperoni pizza and set them on a plate. "She bailed after we got some food. Said there was some emergency at home."

My mouth dropped in surprise at the exact same moment his body tensed. He never told us if a date went bad. If we suspected one did, he would exaggerate what really happened. When it came to his reputation with women, he would do anything to protect it.

"Did you just admit to being fake-emergencied?" I asked in awe. "Nathan...we must alert the media!"

"It was a real emergency!" he lied, cheeks red with embarrassment. "Shut up, Karma."

I couldn't help but smile. "It's okay, Nathan. I promise not to tell anyone about your failed date if you promise not to tell anyone that you saw me eating an entire pint of ice cream in the middle of the night."

He took a huge bite of his cold pizza and chased it down with some soda. "What's wrong, Karma?"

I dipped my spoon into the ice cream and scooped a huge bite. "Why would something be wrong?"

Something was wrong, actually. But I didn't want to talk about it, think about it, or dwell on it. Not tonight, at least. I just wanted to eat this ice cream. I wanted to drown in this ice cream until I got a brain freeze. Yes, because then my brain might be too cold to think about what was really bothering me.

"I might not be an expert with women," he explained, "but I know that when ice cream is involved, two things could be wrong. One: it's that time of the month." I rolled my eyes at that one. "And two, the ice cream eater is upset about something." Nathan stepped in front of me, placing his hands on the counter on either side of me, caging me in. "I don't think it's the first one. You don't seem bitchy and hormonal. So it has to be the second. What made you upset, Karma? What made you seek out a pint of Rocky Road ice cream in the middle of the night?"

Not meeting his eyes I said, "I thought we agreed you wouldn't delve into my private life. Not unless you want me to spill the beans on a certain date gone wrong."

"That wasn't the deal. I agreed not to tell anyone that you're downing this ice cream like it's going to save your life." His half-smile said gotcha! "Come on, Karma. You can tell me."

The words almost slipped past my lips. I didn't know why, but I came so incredibly close to telling him the truth. It was probably because I felt alone in this. The only people I wanted to talk to about it were the ones I couldn't talk to about it.