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."

She pushed open my door and held up my keys. "Do you mind if I take your car for fifteen minutes?"

"Excuse me? You don't have your license yet."

Lanie rolled her eyes and pulled something out of her back pocket. "I got my license before we left for the Florida trip, remember?"

No, I didn't. "Well, sorry. I need the car tonight."

"Please," she begged. "It's just fifteen minutes so I can return Karma's bracelet."

That got my attention. "Her bracelet?"

Lanie held up the gold charm bracelet in her right hand. "Yeah. Somehow it got mixed up in my stuff. It's her favorite bracelet and she's probably going to go nuts looking for it."

Walking up to her, I took the bracelet. "I'll take it for you."

"What? Why?"

"I have a date and Karma's house is on the way. I'll drop it off for you."

My sister eyed me suspiciously before pointing a finger in my face. "Fine. But don't do anything to piss her off or anything. She doesn't need your crap."

"Love you, too, little sis."

With the classic Lanie eye roll she left and went back to her room. I looked at the gold bracelet. There was a heart with a diamond in the middle, and a small inscription on the back of it that read Love, Mom. I'd seen the bracelet before but never really paid attention to it.

I wish I could say I didn't know why I volunteered to return the bracelet, but the answer was obvious. It was an excuse to see her again.

Not even ten minutes later, I was in my car and on my way to Karma's house. Growing up ten blocks from us, she was always a quick bike ride or a long walk away. Not that we were old enough to drive, it was even faster.

Something dawned on me when I finally turned onto her street. Even though I had the excuse of returning her bracelet, her parents were going to question why I was the one returning it. And how I got it.

Even though that part of the reason I was here was true, they knew me since I was a kid. Which meant they knew my unfortunate reputation with women. There was no way I was getting in that front door.

Fuck. What the hell was I going to do? It wasn't like I could turn around, go back home, and tell Lanie I couldn't drop off the bracelet because her parents would question my intentions.

This shit was so confusing now. Hard to believe how simple it used to be. With no other choice, I parked my Jeep a little ways down the street. Far enough that they wouldn't be able to see it through the window, but close enough that it was only a minute walk.

Great. Now the neighbors probably think I'm going to rob someone.

If they didn't now, they were definitely going to once I snuck into the Fitzgerald's backyard. Lemme just say that hoping an iron fence with spikes on top wasn't easy. But luck was on my side and I managed to get into their backyard with ease.

It was odd being back here again. There have been many BBQs here that I was invited to growing up. They were either on 4th of July or Karma's birthday. I usually came with Lanie and would end up leaving with some random girl that I met at the party.

The reminder disgusted me.

When I was finally standing outside of Karma's window, I hesitated. I had no idea if she was in there, let alone if she was in there by herself. If her parents were in there, that was going to be problem. And if she was in there with the guy, then not only would this be embarrassing, but it would probably cause a lot more problems.

With a deep breath, I lifted my hand and knocked on her window lightly. The light was on and I could hear music playing softly, so I was pretty sure she was in there. But when she didn't come to the window, I tried again.

And waited.

Finally the blinds were pulled up and the curtain was pushed aside. Karma looked at me with wide eyes before opening the window.

"Nathan?" She glanced over her shoulder quickly. Most likely making sure her parents weren't around. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I come in? Please?"

Knowing Karma and how she left things, I was expecting her to tell me to screw off and slam the window shut in my face. Not because she was pissed at me, but showing up here like this would probably cause issues with her parents. And I knew how much she wouldn't want that right now.

When she didn't answer, I whispered softly, "Please. We need to talk."

She cursed under her breath before stepping aside. "Come in."

I climbed through her window and waited while she went to shut her bedroom door quietly. My eyes took in her appearance. She was wearing a gray tank top and black pajama shorts. Her hair was up in a messy bun, the ends damp from the shower she must have taken.

She looked fucking beautiful.

Karma came back to stand in front of me with arms crossed and irritation rolling off of her in waves.

"You said you wanted to talk," she mumbled. "So talk."