Heartstrings - Forbidden Hearts Series Prequel

25| Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde

I caught the small tennis ball that I threw up in the air for the two hundredth time. I've been laying on my bed for hours, trying to figure out what the hell happened in Florida. More importantly, how I let it happen.

After the whole 'what happens in Florida stays in Florida' thing, I was hoping returning home to New York would bring me back to reality. I was hoping everything that happened in Florida would have turned out to be a fucked up nightmare that I had. A very fucked up nightmare.

Not so much.

We returned a few days ago and I still couldn't get Karma out of my mind. She was there all the time. Memories of that night at the club. Our first kiss. Kissing her again. There was the brutal reminder of that night I held her while she slept. And there were other thoughts, too. Other thoughts about other things.

"What the hell is wrong with me," I muttered, throwing the ball again and catching it. I half-hoped it would hit me in the face and knock some sense into me. For crying out loud, I was Nate Jenkins. I needed to get my shit together and get back to business as usual.

But I didn't want to get back to business as usual. Even though it was a horrible comparison, this felt like some Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shit.

Dr. Jekyll was Nathan-the man Karma brought out of me in Florida. The one who danced with her and very much enjoyed kissing her. It was the man that, for once in my life, thought about sharing a real future with someone. Having a real relationship.

Mr. Hyde was Nate-the womanizing asshole that enjoyed hooking up with random girls and not bothering to call later. The asshole that, when it came to the future, didn't think any farther than when he was getting laid again.

So, who was I? It was a stupid question, honestly. I knew the answer already. I felt nauseated at the idea of hooking up with some random girl. It just felt wrong. And everything about Karma felt right. It was kind of like...why haven't we been doing this the whole time?

I actually had a dream about her last night. Everything was dark around us, and we were dancing. It wasn't like at the club. It was slow, intimate. Something I've never done before. And when we kissed in the dream, it forged a strong connection between us. Something deep and real. One in a million.

But then I woke up in my bed. No Karma. Just the harsh reality that I wanted something that wasn't mine to take. It wasn't within my reach, and if I was being truthful, it wasn't something I even deserved to have.

I've done alotta shady shit in my life. I mean, the girls didn't call them Happy Meals for nothing. I tended to go with the whole 'hit it and quit it' mentality. But the girls I hooked up with were girls that knew what I wanted and who wanted the same things.

Karma was not one of those girls. And that was one of the problems. I actually liked her. And the fact that she was real and warm. Kind. And fucking sexy. I've never been more attracted to any other girl before. I was actually surprised she didn't have a boyfriend right now.

Jealousy ripped through me at the mental image of her dancing with that gut at the club. I didn't want another guy touching that body or kissing those lips. No one else but me.

Calm the fuck down, I thought to myself. This whole jealously thing was going to ruin me.

"Nate? You decent?"

Great. Now wasn't the time to deal with my little sister. Now was the time to mope and have a mental argument about a certain brunette.

"Come in, Lanie."