Heartstrings - Forbidden Hearts Series Prequel

21| I Dare You To...

Fuck I was bored.

Today at the beach was a move in the right direction where Karma and I were concerned, but she still basically told me to fuck off when it came to anything more than friendship. The bright side was that I could see her softening up to me.

While Harper went off with that guy she was crushing on, Karma and I spent a few hours talking and laying in the sun. When I answered her question about why I was chasing her, she accused me of using it as pick up line. Then she wondered how many other women I used it with.

I tried to tell her the truth. I explained that she was the only one I ever said anything like that to. Naturally, she didn't believe me. I couldn't really blame her though. In the years she's known me, she's seen me with countless girls. I just needed to figure out a way to prove to her that I wanted her. I didn't want one of those other girls. It was that simple.

Suddenly there was a knock at my bedroom door followed by, "Nate, you awake? It's Harper."

I rolled off my bed with a groan. Being in the sun a lot really sucked out your energy. When I opened the door, Harper was wearing the same dress she wore to the club that night. Her hair was done and she had makeup on, too. Something was going on.

"Hey. What's up?"

She put her hands together like she was praying. "I need a huge favor."

Oh boy. "What is it?"

"Lanie's still holed up in her room with a killer case of the cramps and we we were supposed to do a girls' night thing tonight."

"But?" Where was this going...

"But Jake asked me out on a date and I really, really wanna go." Her eyes were pleading when she asked, "So can you please hang out with Karma tonight? You know, so she isn't alone and pissed that I bailed on her."

Hmmm...Maybe this was an opportunity to be alone with Karma and prove to her that I'm serious about my interest in her.

"Does she know you asked me to do this?" Instinct told me that was a big fat no.

"No. But why would she care? I just don't want to leave her alone the whole night. She's been stressed about something and won't talk to us about it."

So the girls knew she was stressed. Guess Karma wasn't really hiding it that well. I still had no idea why she just didn't tell them. They would be more understanding than hurt regarding the whole college thing. Besides, they would give her way better advice than I would.

"Sure," I said finally. "I'll keep her company. But you owe me, Harper."

She didn't really owe me. I was more than happy to spend some alone time with Karma. I just didn't want Harper to get suspicious of anything. If she and Lanie found out that I was jonesing for their best friend, then the whole thing was game over.

Harper pulled me in for a tight hug and a loud squeal. "Thank you! I really appreciate this, Nate!"

"No problem," I said with a laugh.

I waited until Harper was gone before walking back to my bed. Picking up my phone I called the pizza place we usually ordered from. If I wanted some alone time with Karma, I needed a little insurance.

After placing my order I finally made my way to Karma's room. I knocked on her door softly and waited for a response. When it never came, I tried again. Still nothing. Turning the knob, I opened the door softly.

My eyes found her immediately. She was laying on her bed, cocooned by the blankets as she napped. I quietly stepped further into the room until I got to her side of the bed. My god, she was beautiful.