"You're really looking good out there, Nate." 

Cue inward cringe. I knew that voice. I hated that voice. Knowing I had no other choice, I turned around and plastered the fakest smile on my face. 

"Trish. How's it going?" And why are you here? 

She put the flirt on and gave me that puppy dog look. "When are we going to get another go around, Nate?" 

I shook my head. "Not gonna happen, Trish." 

"Right. You're off the market now." With a heavy sigh she added, "That's a shame. Anyway, that's the not the real reason I'm here."

Sure it wasn't. After the one-time hookup I had with Trish before summer break, she's been calling and texting me constantly. She finally stopped when word spread that I had a girlfriend. But I figured she would pull a stunt like this. 

"What can I do for you?"

She glanced to the left where Nick was taking off his pads. "You've been friends with Nick for a while, right?" 

I shurgged a shoulder. "Eh. Only about fifteen years."

"Well, I was wondering if you could put in a good word for me? Maybe he wants my number to hang out?"

I wanted to tell her the same thing I told her a few seconds ago. Not a chance in hell. I knew Nick almost better than he knew himself. There was no way he would date Trish. Or hook up with her.

"Sure, Trish. I'll tell him." 

"Thanks, Nate." With another wink, she turned and left. 

Once she was out of range, Nick came up to me and slugged me in the shoulder. 

"Ow! What was that for?" 

He jerked his head towards Trish. "What the hell was that? You're with Karma now, Nate." He held up his hand when I went tried to set the record straight. "Look, I know we've been best friends since the sandbox, but I really like your girl. I think she's good for you. I'm not going to let you hurt her by hooking up with the likes of Trish." 

"Are you done?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Good. I wasn't trying to hook up with Trish, Nick. She wanted me to see if you were interested in her." 

His face scrunched up in disgust. "What? Ew. No, I'm good." 

"That's what I thought." 

After taking off the last of my gear, I walked over to the bench to take off my skates. 

"Wait a minute. She didn't try to get back with you?" 

First, I took off the left skate, and then the right. "She did at first. I told her not a chance in hell." 

"So, I was the second choice? What the hell!"

I threw my skates on top of my bag. "I thought you weren't interested."

"I'm not. But I should be someone's first choice. Not second!"

Standing up from the bench, I grabbed my bag and chuckled. "You're sounding an awful lot like a teenage girl there, Nicky. Need a tampon?"

"Fuck you."

I shot my best friend a wink. "Nah. I'm in a committed relationship now. You should have hit on me sooner."

Nick's expression told me he wasn't amused. He called something out to me, but I was already headed around the rink to where my girl was waiting. 

Focusing during practice had never been an issue with me. But every time I looked up and saw Karma sitting in the bleachers, I had to literally force myself not to skate over there and kiss her. Hell, it happened once already today. I just couldn't help myself when it came to her.

Nothing was as it used to be anymore. For instance, after a practice, I used to either hang out with Nick or go hook up with some random girl that hit on me. Like Trish tried to do today.

But I had other plans for the rest of the afternoon. Since Lanie and my mom we're going to the gym together, and my dad was working, Karma was supposed to come over so we could hang out in my room and make-out.

I couldn't fucking wait. Kissing Karma was my new favorite past time. And once we started, it was hard to stop. There were so many times I had to force myself to pull away from her. Even though she seemed like she wanted more, we weren't ready for that.

I wasn't ready for that. Because when it came to having sex with Karma, I knew it was going to be completely different than what I've experienced with other girls. It was going to mean something. It was going to make what we felt for each other stronger. It was going to make both of us more vulnerable. More at risk of being hurt once we crossed tht line. Nah, we needed to wait. I don't care how many times it was going to end up giving me a fucked-up case of blue balls, we were going to wait.

When I finally made my way around the rink and to the bleachers where Harper and my sister were sitting, I looked around with a frown.

"Where's Karma?"

The two of them shared a look. Some silent message that I was not clued in on. Both of them had their arms crossed over there and chest, and Lanie had that look in her eye whenever she was pissed off at me.

"L, where the hell is Karma? And what the fuck is going on?"

Harper cleared her throat before answering me. "Uh, I think she saw you, Nate."

"Saw me what?"

"With Trampy Trish."

Goddammit. "Where is she?"

My sister finally broke her silence. "Like we're going to tell you. I warned you what would happen if you hurt her, Nate."

"I don't have time for this." I dropped my duffle with my hockey gear on the floor by where Lanie was standing. "I'm going to find her."

At a dead run, I sprinted towards the double doors that led to the parking lot of the school. The hard metal slammed against the wall, causing multiple students to look my way.

I didn't care. I was only interested in finding one student right now. Since I picked her up this morning to come to school, she was still here somewhere. But where? My high school wasn't exactly small. She could literally be anywhere.

Okay, this was Karma. Whenever she was upset, she wanted solitude. Or ice cream. Sometimes both. I tried to think about the possible places on campus where she could get some alone time.

That's when it hit me. I knew where she was. Like I was on a mission, I headed straight for the gymnasium. Thankfully, it was right next to where I practiced for hockey.

Once I got to the entrance, I wasn't surprised when I saw that the doors were locked. They only had it open after school certain days of the week and during certain times of the school year. But knowing Karma, she knew that there was another way inside.

I walked around the right side of the gymnasium to the rusted side door. There was a large tree that pressed against the building which kind of kept it hidden. Which was the reason not many students knew about it.

With my right hand I pushed the tree aside just enough so I could open the door and slip inside. The sound of the it shutting behind me echoed around the large space, giving away my presence. Even if it didn't, she would have known it was me.

And there she was. She was sitting on the side of the pool, her legs dangling in the water. Her back was to me and I saw her shoulders rise and fall with the deep breath she took.

Without saying a word, I walked over to her. I pulled up my pants legs before taking a seat next to her and dropped my feet into the warm chlorine.

"I thought you trusted me, Karma."

"I do," she whispered back to me.

"If you trusted me, you wouldn't be here right now."

Karma finally turned her head to look at me. "So Trish didn't hit on you?"

"Yes, she did." I sure as shit wasn't going to lie to her. "And I told Trish she didn't have a chance in hell with me." With a resigned sigh, I laid it all out for her. "Look, as much as I wish things were different, I have a past. I can't change that. And I can't control girls approaching me. Same way you can't keep guys from hitting on you." Just the thought drove me crazy. "But its like I told you...I'm with you. I'm committed to you."

Her eyes slid shut and she shook her head slowly. "You're completely right, Nathan. I'm sorry. And I do trust you. Really. It was more...jealousy than anything. These girls know you like I do and that—"

I cut her off. "No, they don't. Baby, no one knows me like you do. No one. And you don't have to apologize. Truth is, if I saw some guy chatting you up and smiling at you, I would probably be tempted to break my hockey stick over his head."

That got a chuckle out of her. "You wouldn't."

"I might," I replied with a smile. "I don't always think straight when it comes to you. You're different."

When she laid her head on my shoulder I told her, "Oh, by the way, I think you've stolen my best friend."

She sat back up with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Nick also saw me and Trish talking and punched me in the shoulder. Accused me of hitting on her and threatened me for hurting you." My smile widened. "Then he hit on me!"

She laughed and the last of the tenseness left her body. "No, he didn't!"

"Maybe he didn't. But I like giving him shit."

Karma's smile faltered, her expression changing to one of guilt. "I do trust you, Nathan. And I'm sorry."

Cupping her face with my hand, I stroked her cheek. "Nothing to apologize for. Now how about we get outta here and stick to our original plan that includes you in my bed for the next few hours."

She lightly pressed her lips against mine. "Sounds good to me."

***

Hope you guys enjoyed this one! I love writing Nate's POV! 🤣

Xoxo

🖤