I tapped the steering wheel of my jeep repeatedly. Then I adjusted the mirror. And another time. Brushed off the passenger seat, making sure it was as clean as possible. Checked my hair in the rearview for the third time.

Everything was perfect. Abso-fucking-lutely perfect. It was finally Saturday. My one chance with Karma. Perhaps my only chance to prove to her that I could be the guy she wanted and deserved.

Fuck, I was crazy about her. Hours before I left my house, I stood in front of my closet, trying to figure out what to where tonight. That wasn't something I've ever done before. Hell, it wasn't something that guys did in general.

And I was nervous. I honestly felt like I was growing to throw up. What if I blew it tonight? What if this whole date thing I had planned wasn't good enough for her? When she asked me what I had planned, I told her I wanted to take her to dinner. But when I thought about it, taking her to dinner just felt so...cliche. I wanted to do something special for her.

The sudden sound of tires over gravel interrupted my thoughts. Glancing to the right, I saw Karma's car pulling into the parking lot of Tony's Bistro. It was a little Italian place that I've eaten at with my family. Karma said she liked the place too when I told her where to meet me. Little did she know, I had other plans for us that didn't include italian cuisine.

She parked in the spot beside mine and I took a deep breath before getting out. The sound of her car door open and shut stood out as I walked around the front of my jeep. And I froze when I saw her.

Her dark hair was pulled back in a long braid. It was surprising because she seemed to always have it down. Almost like she was trying to hide from the world. Not tonight, apparently.

She was wearing a loose, dark blue dress that went to mid-thigh. I fucking loved when she wore dresses. A silver necklace was draped around her neck, and at the center hung the letter "K".

"Wow," I breathed. "You look beautiful."

Even though it was dark out here, I could still see the pink in her cheeks.

"Thank you. You look good, too, Nathan."

We both exchanged shy and awkward smiles before she cleared her throat and gestured to the restaurant.

"We going in? If we are then we better hurry. They close in like an hour." Frowning, she added. "Actually, why did you want to meet so late?"

My smile this time was pure confidence. I took her hand and led her to the passenger side of my jeep.

"Wow, look at you," she teased. "Holding the door open for me like a gentleman."

I shot her a wink. "I'm saving my A-game for you, gorgeous. Just you wait and see."

The drive to my special destination wasn't far. Just shy of twenty minutes. And Karma loved small talk.

"So where are you taking me? I thought we were going to dinner."

"It's a surprise, gorgeous. You just gotta wait."

I could sense her excitement. And her impatience. "And you're so sure I'm gonna like it? That's a little cocky, Nathan."

"Not cocky. I know you, Karma. And I can guarantee that you'll love it."

Just like when we got Mel's Hotdogs in Florida, I thought.

She laughed softly. "I hope so. I have high expectations for tonight."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," I said jokingly and turned into the parking lot. "I know it's all champagne and red carpets for you, gorgeous."

Karma punched my arm playfully. When she looked back out of the windshield, she recognized where we were instantly. "Coney Island? But the carnival closed a few hours ago."

I killed the ignition before getting out and going around to her side to open her door. "Just trust me."

After a brief hesitation, she placed her hand in mine. "Fine. But if we get arrested, I'm telling them this was your idea. And that you kidnapped me."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on."

I led her to a side entrance of the carnival; and when we got to the door, I knocked three times as instructed when I set this up. A few minutes later, it opened.

"Hey," I said to the guy. "We still good?"

"Absolutely." Stepping back, he held the door open for us. "Come on in, Romeo."

Karma looked at me curiously.

"Trust me," I whispered.

With a single nod she followed me inside the empty carnival. It was dark and, to be honest, a little eerie. But that wasn't going to last long.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing here?"

This time I didn't answer her. I just led her to the very center of the carnival and made sure I was in eyeshot of the worker who let us in.

Stepping behind Karma, I wrapped my arms around her waist and placed my lips to her ear. She tensed in my arms, but only for a second.

"Close your eyes," I whispered.

When she did as I asked, I nodded to the worker. Suddenly the carnival came to life. Not all of the rides got turned on though. I mean, I wasn't an idiot. Last thing we needed was to draw attention and actually get arrested for trespassing.

"Okay, gorgeous. You can open them now."

Karma gasped as she took in all the lights and sounds of the rides. "Nathan...what did you do? I mean—How?"

"I have my ways. And it's like I said. I know you, and I know you were worried about people seeing us together. Now you don't have to worry. It's just me and you here."

"And that worker," she mused.

"Yeah," I laughed. "But I'm pretty sure our secret is safe with him."

"I have to say I'm pretty impressed. So, what's first?"

A corner of my mouth lifted in a sly smile. "You're favorite ride."

Her eyes followed my finger when I pointed to the far right. Then her face lit up like she hit the lottery. "Bumper cars? Really?"

"Yep."

Squealing with excitement, she grabbed my hand and jerked me towards the ride. The few times I actually paid attention to my little sister when she talked about the carnival, I remembered she said she always felt bad they didn't do the bumper cars. So I thought this would be something Karma would enjoy. And I was right.

Once we got inside, she ran to a red car, and I went to a blue one. All the others were pushed aside. Just like I wanted.

"You better watch out, Nathan. I'm an exceptional driver."

"Ha! We'll just see about that."

Once I signaled to the worker that we were ready, the cars shot into action. Karma squealed and laughed as she poorly tried to steer the car and crash it into me.

It made me smile. I loved seeing her like this. Happy and having fun. It was the complete opposite of the few times I saw her upset at the beach in Florida. Like when she cried in my car.

I really didn't like the crying.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed when we were finished. Getting out of the car, she stretched before clapping her hands together. "Its been so long since I've had a chance to do bumper cars. This was an awesome idea, Nathan. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I walked over to her and clasped her hand in mine. I just loved touching her. "The night's not over yet, gorgeous."

"There's more?"

"Of course. Champagne and red carpets remember?"

"And a limo next time," she teased.

With a smile, I reached out and stroked her cheek. "You got it."

The walk to the next ride wasn't far. This was the last thing I had planned for us tonight—and the one I was most nervous about.

Being nervous was a strange feeling. I was never nervous with those other girls before. But one thing I've come to learn over the past month or so, was that Karma Fitzgerald was nothing like those other girls.

"Here we are."

Karma looked at the ride with wide eyes. "Are you serious? This? Nathan..."

"Come on. Please? I did your favorite ride. This one is mine."

With a resigned sigh, Karma's eyes met mine. "Okay, okay. I just really don't like heights."

We walked up to the ferris wheel where the worker was waiting for us by an open seat.

"Ladies first," the worker said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Karma climbed in and I didn't miss the anxiety radiating off of her.

When it was my turn to get in the seat, I leaned forward and said quietly to the worker, "Can you stop it when it gets to the top? And can you turn on some music for us? Doesn't matter what station. Just something slow."

"You got it, boss," he replied with a wink.

Climbing inside the seat of the ferris wheel, I sat beside Karma. The side of my body wash flush against hers and I was fighting the urge to wrap my arm around her right now.

Even though she agreed to come on this date, I knew she was still on the fence about the whole idea of giving it a real shot with me. I didn't want to spook her.

Just as the worker started the ferris wheel, I heard the sounds of Coldplay coming out of the large speaker near the ride. I was grateful that he put it on a station with decent music. Last thing I needed right now was too hear Britney Spears or something.

"This is nice," she said softly. "I've ridden the ferris wheel before, but never when it's been so quiet in the carnival. There's no loud sound from the games or people screaming. It's peaceful."

Yeah, it was peaceful. And it was also a perfect setup to my little romantic climax of the evening.

Just as our seat got to the very top of the ferris wheel, it stopped. Karma regarding me skeptically, arching a brow and biting back a smile.

"I know this is your doing, Nathan. You asked him to stop the ride up here. I have to say, it's pretty romantic. For you. There is something I want to know. How did you get us into the carnival after hours? And get that worker to help you with this date?"

"Sorry, gorgeous. Its a secret."

Short laugh from her. "You bribed him, didn't you?"

With a deep sigh I said, "Yeah, I bribed him."

"How much?"

Her question had me turning my head to look at her. The smile on her face right now was worth every single penny I spent to make this night happen.

She was worth...everything. Why didn't I notice before?

"Nathan? Why are you looking at me like that?"

I was about to answer her when I suddenly heard the song Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol playing through the speaker. A line from the song stuck out to me...

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

I didn't know how to answer her question with words. So as the song that hit so close to home played, I cupped her face with my hands and crushed my lips to hers.

This kiss was different than the times I kissed her before. Very different. I put every single thing I was feeling into it.

And Karma noticed.

***

"You haven't said a word the whole ride back," I whispered after parking my car next to hers. "If I did something wrong-"

She interrupted me instantly. "That's not it. You didn't do anything wrong, Nathan."

"Then why can't you look at me right now?"

I thought the whole ferris-wheel-romantic-kiss-thing was a way to show her how much she meant to me. I had no idea it was going to backfire and lead to this. To her hiding from me like she did before. Hiding what she felt.

When she finally turned towards me, tears started to run down her cheeks.

"Karma?"

"It was supposed to be different. You were supposed to be different. Tonight wasn't supposed to be this amazing. It wasn't..."

That's when it dawned on me...

"You thought tonight was going to be a bad date, didn't you? That I was going to do or say something to prove you right and that way you had an excuse to not date me."

She didn't need to answer me. The look on her face said it all. And it also gave me a good idea of what she was going to say next.

"Thank you for tonight, Nathan. But I can't date you." When I went to argue with her, she leaned forward and kissed me. "Please, don't say anything. Don't...want me."

She got out of the car and glanced at me one more time. "Goodbye, Nathan."

Then she was gone. Just like that.

I sat in my jeep for a long time after she left. I thought about every thing that's happened since she and I developed this connection. My gut told me that letting her go would be a big mistake. The biggest of my life.

I guess that left me with one option. I was going to have to fight for her.

"Whatever it takes."

***
Hey guys!! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Its the last chapter of Part 1 of Heartstrings.

What do you guys think of Nate and Karma's story so far? Im so excited for what I have planned for Part 2!!

Part 2 will start at the beginning of February. That way I can work on finishing Falling Into Place and outline Jamie's story 😊

Also, if you haven't already, make sure to check out the Spotify playlist for this story! Playlist title below.

🖤