Strawberry ice cream was my second favorite flavor. Especially when it was being served at Lloyd's Ice Cream Parlor. Just like the Rocky Road flavor I loved so much; the pink fruity dessert soothed my stress in ways that were unexplainable. And right now, I was in desperate need of it.

"So, tell me what happened with you and Gisel."

"Oh no you don't, Fitz. You need to tell me what the hell that was back at school."

Another spoonful of ice cream down my throat. Cold. Good. "No idea what you mean. So, you and Gisel-"

"Why was Nathan Jenkins talking to you?"

Change the subject, Karma. "He's Lanie's brother, Mike. And my friend. And he happened to be in my class. We were just talking."

Just talking? Yeah, okay. There was a little more than talking beneath the surface of that confrontation.

"Friend my ass, Fitz. He was not looking at you like a friend."

"How was he looking at me then?"

Mike's eyes bored into mine and I squirmed in my seat. Damn. I hated when he knew he was right about the serious stuff.

"Nathan Jenkins was looking at you the same way I look at Gisel. And he was looking at me like he wanted to punch me in the face. Repeatedly." His expression softened. "Tell me what's going on."

It was like word vomit after that. It all came spilling out. The movie night. The night at the club. Sleeping in Nathan's bed. The kissing...All of it. I told Mike every dark little secret about Nathan and me. And when I told him about the night Nathan snuck me into the carnival after hours, his jaw dropped a little.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

Another scoop of strawberry goodness. And another. "Tell me about it. Now he hasn't only talked his way into taking photography, but he also chose to sit in the desk right next to mine before telling me that he wants to be with me and I'm his and he's mine and blah blah blah."

"Well...it's true, isn't it?"

My eyes snapped up to his. "Whose side are you on?"

"I'm on yours, you know that. But I also won't let you make a huge mistake."

I ate a few more spoonfuls of ice cream. Damn. It was almost gone. Maybe I should get another order? Maybe a different flavor? "I thought you hated Nathan."

Mike leaned back in the booth and stretched his arm across the top of it. He was wearing a plain black hoodie and jeans today. Never liked the name brand stuff. "I hate the Nate Jenkins that's probably slept with every girl in the school."

"Ugh. Don't say things like that." I did not want to think about Nathan with any girl, let alone the whole damn school.

"Look, Fitz, all I'm saying is that the guy standing outside your photography classroom looking like he just watched his girl leave with another man, is not the same guy from last year. He's different. Even I can see that."

With a heavy sigh, I dropped my head into my hand. "I'm not really the type of girl who does any sort of risk-taking, Mike. Getting into a relationship-a real relationship-is a huge risk. If he hurts me, I don't think-"

"Nate won't hurt you. No way in hell. And if he does, he'll have me to deal with. Not to mention Lanie. Brother or not, that girl loves you to death. She'll probably geld him if he hurts you."

"Lanie is another issue," I pointed out. "What if she isn't okay with this? I don't want anything to jeopardize our friendship."

"Again, not gonna happen."

I slammed my hand down on the table, drawing attention from the other patrons in the parlor. "So, you just know everything now, Mike? Is that it?"

He looked at me earnestly. "No, I don't know everything. But it doesn't take a fortune teller to know that you, Lanie, and Harper are more than friends. You're sisters. And you'll be in each other's lives until you're old and in a nursing home, bickering at each other over who misplaced who's false teeth."

He was right. I knew he was. With how important we were to each other; nothing could come between the three of us. I've just been making excuses because I was scared. Scared that Nathan was going to be a lot more than some high school crush. And if he was a lot more, then I had more to lose.

I looked up at my friend who was waiting for me to come to my senses. "You're right. I do want to be with him."

"Alright then. Looks like it's time for you to do a little risk-taking."

***

My stomach felt like it was in my throat as I stood outside Nathan's bedroom window. I tried to think of the best way to do this on my way over here from the ice cream parlor. I couldn't think of anything original, so I stole his romantic knock-on-the-window routine. Hopefully it would work.

"Come on, Karma," I muttered. "Just tap on the damn thing."

Instead of doing that, I peered inside. Nathan was laying on his bed. He was shirtless with just a pair of basketball shorts on. And he was throwing a tennis ball up in the air and catching it. Over and over again.

Maybe I should wait to talk to him until he had a shirt on. Shirtless Nathan was dangerous. But I didn't leave. I knew if I didn't do this now then I was going to lose my nerve. So I lifted my hand and tapped my knuckles against the window softly.

His head lifted off the pillow and he looked in my direction. Surprise and something I couldn't name flickered across his expression. He threw the ball on the bed and swung his legs over the side before striding to the window. Eyes locked on mine, he opened it.

"What are you doing here?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I needed to see you. Can I come in? Please?"

Just like when he showed up at my window, there was a brief hesitation before I was allowed to come in. Once inside, I looked around his room. It resembled an eight-teen year old's room. Posters of favorite bands. A desk with clothes draped over it. His bed...

"What did you want to talk to me about, Karma?"

Karma. Not gorgeous. He was pissed. "I'm sorry, Nathan. For how I've been acting. I've been so back and forth about my feelings, and it hasn't been fair to you."

Nathan's arms were swinging loosely by his sides. Like he didn't have a care in the world. "It's all good. Believe me. I got your message loud and clear at school."

That's when I realized that he really did think I was going on a date with Mike. Now his demeaner made sense. He was hurt. God, I hated the look on his face right now.

"Just tell me what you want, Karma. I really just want to be by my-"

I grabbed his face and laid one on him. I put everything I was feeling for him into the kiss. My hope that this was going to work. My fear that it wasn't. And more importantly, the passion I felt for him.

Nathan responded to the kiss instantly. His tongue shot into my mouth with a desperation that matched my own. His arms were no longer loose and by his sides. Instead, they were wrapped around me, pulling my body flush against his.

"Are you sure?" he asked breathlessly when he broke the kiss. "Because I can't take any more teasing from you, Karma."

My left arm was resting on his bare chest, and with my right hand, I cupped the side of his face. "I'm sure. Nathan, I want to be with you. I was scared before. Still am a little. But if I don't give this a try, I know I'm going to regret it." Leaning forward, I lightly flicked my tongue against his lips. He groaned and tightened his hands on my waist. "Do you want to be with me, Nathan? I mean really be with me. A relationship."

"More than anything."

"Then that settles it. We're giving this a shot. A real one."

When I went in for another kiss, he pulled back. "Wait. Who was that guy you left school with?"

The edge in his voice told me he wasn't going to proceed with the kissing until I told him what he wanted to know. "That was Mike. I've known him since freshman year. And he has a girlfriend that he loves very much. We're just friends, Nathan. Completely platonic."

"Platonic my ass."

That made me chuckle. "I knew you were jealous."

"Well, yeah. Obviously." He reached up and stroked my cheek. "It's like I told you in class. You're my girl."

Such a romantic. I smiled like an idiot. "You don't have anything to worry about. Like I said, he's a very close friend of mine and he has a girlfriend."

"Doesn't mean he won't try something."

"Nathan..."

"Gorgeous, you're finally mine. Do you honestly think that I would let anyone or anything mess that up?"

I arched a brow at him. "I could say the same thing about one of your Happy Meals trying something."

He grimaced at the reminder of who he used to be. I felt bad for bringing it up, but he needed to understand that he could trust me. Especially if I trusted him.

"Alright, gorgeous. I won't hurt Mitch."

"Mike!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Enough talking about him. I rather do something else with my mouth."

My body heated instantly. I knew just what I wanted him to do with his mouth, too. And it wasn't only kissing. I barely fought the urge to rip off all of my clothes and his. That's how he made me feel. Sexy. Wanted. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

He didn't need to answer me. His tongue did that for him for the next several hours.