I flipped the blueberry pancakes I was making in the frying pan. I sent Karma upstairs to take a shower before coming back to eat. After the tearful embrace when she saw me—which I was not expecting—she complained about wanting something to eat and to 'wash the airplane smell off of her'. Personally, I thought she smelled amazing. Focus, Nate. 

I put the now-ready pancakes on a plate and turned the burner off. Karma told me to fix whatever, so I chose this. I remembered how much she liked blueberry pancakes, and it seemed like a good comfort food. I heard the shower cut off upstairs and I leaned against the counter. I still couldn't believe I was here.  

I was here...in Florida. With Karma. When Laine handed me that ticket, I kept telling myself to rip it up and throw it in the trash. I told myself that Karma was a big girl—that she didn't need me. But that's not what I did. Instead, I packed a bag, drove to the airport, and boarded a plane.

Lanie somehow also conveniently had the address for Karma's parents. After I packed my bag and walked out of my room, she was waiting with a piece of paper in her hand. I didn't want to disturb Karma or upset her by going to the hospital, so I got an Uber and came here.  I arrived here about an hour before she had pulled up in the driveway.

But she wasn't pissed that I was here. She was relieved. After she had hugged me, she asked me repeatedly what I was doing here. I told her I would explain everything after she took a shower and got some food in her stomach. That was the deal. Know I had to wait anxiously as I heard her descending the stairs. Looks like I had some explaining to do.

"Hey," Karma breathed as she came around the corner.

I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling over her body. She was wearing short light blue shorts and a matching t-shirt. Her hair was wet and curly and hung over her left shoulder. Seeing her like that...

I cleared my throat and turned to grab the pancakes. "Hey. I made you pancakes."

"Blueberry?"

I gave her a wry grin. "Of course."

"Thank you." She poured some syrup over the pancakes and stuck a very large bite into her mouth. Her sigh of bliss was well worth any anxiety I had about flying out here. At least I was able to do one thing right.

"Feel better?" I asked as she ate a little more.

Her eyes met mine for a moment before she quickly glanced away. She picked up a napkin from the breakfast bar and wiped her mouth.

"What are you doing here, Nathan?"

Ah, there it is. "I always cared about your folks."

Karma scoffed. "Translation: Lanie made you."

"Okay," I said with a laugh, "she may have handed me the plane ticket, but..."

"But what?"

I shrugged. "At first, I wasn't going to come. I thought it wouldn't be the best idea. But then, I thought about it. I knew how much this would affect you. I know you, Karma. I wanted to be here for you."

"Well, I appreciate the thought; but as I said before I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl now."

"Please," I huffed, "you would have starved on that porch if I hadn't have been here."

She sighed with defeat. "Touché. I can't argue that." She smiled, but it was fleeting. "Thank you, Nathan. I'm glad you're here." 

We were both silent for several minutes. She continued eating and I cleaned up the dishes and the mess I made from the pancake batter. Once she was done, I put her plate in the sink and refilled her glass of water. 

"Wanna go to bed?" I regretted it as soon as the words left my lips. 

Karma's eyes went wide and suddenly I lost all common sense. And my ability to talk. 

"Not to bed—I mean, if you want...not with me, of course." I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my neck. "This is coming out all wrong." 

She covered her mouth as she started laughing. Even though I made a fool out of myself, it was good to hear her laugh. I would give anything to hear her laugh instead of seeing her cry like I did yesterday morning at her place. 

"It's okay, Nathan. I know what you mean." She sighed and slid from the stool. "No, I don't want to go to bed just yet. I know I should, but I'm feeling restless. Fidgety."

I completely understood what she was feeling. When Little Nate was in the hospital, I nearly lost my mind. It's best to keep busy; and I would help her any way I could. 

"So, what should we do? FRIENDS marathon? Monopoly? Stand-up Comedy? Braid each other's hair?"

She gave me a teasing smile as she walked over to me and brushed her fingers though my hair. "That last one sounds fun. But I don't think you got the real estate for it." 

"Nah, I guess I don't." 

She lowered her hand and tapped her chin as she thought about what she wanted to do. "I got it!" She went into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of wine. She poured us both a glass and handed me one. "You still like red, right?" 

"Yeah, thanks." I took the glass and sniffed at the wine. It actually smelled pretty good. While I did like red wine, I haven't drank it in awhile. Lately, it's been all whiskey all the time.

I watched Karma as she walked into the living room. I couldn't stop myself from admiring the sway of her hips or the bare skin of her lower back. Skin that I knew would be very soft if I touched it. 

She went over to the large entertainment center and opened the glass door. She knelt down and pulled out an old CD holder. So old, she had to blow the dust off of it. 

"Wow," I said as I joined her in the room, "I haven't seen that thing since—"

"Since high school," she finished for me. "Yep. It's time to dust off some classics. I think it's just what we need tonight." 

She pulled out a CD and slipped it into the CD player. When the music filled the room, nostalgia flowed through me. All we needed here was Lanie and Harper. And...my parents. I smiled at her and shook my head. "Really? This?" 

"Mhm," she nodded. "We used to listen to this sound track all the time in high school. It definitely fits tonight."

She chose Days of Our Lives by Bone Thugs N Harmony. We all used to sit up in my room or Lanie's and listen to Bone Thugs, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and many more. 

I took a seat on the sofa. "My mom used to come yell at us to turn it down." 

Karma smiled at the memory. "Then your dad would come in and tell us to turn it back up. Then he would embarrass you and start dancing in the room." 

I threw my head back and laughed at that. "Damn. He couldn't dance for shit." My chest tightened with a profound sadness. "I would give anything to see him dance like that again, though," I said quietly. 

I stared into my wine glass as the loss of my parents hit me hard. It never went away. It just came in waves. This wave, however, was a big one. My dad and I were closer than close. He was my best friend. 

Karma walked over to me and held out her had. 

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "We're dancing." 

"I don't dance, Karma." Nope. Not a chance. 

She took my wine glass from me and sat it on the coffee table. She had a determined look on her face when she came back to stand in front of me. She grabbed both of my hands and pulled me to my feet. "I happen to know for a fact that that's a lie." 

When I just stood there, she stuck out her bottom lip and made a pouty face. "Come on," she begged, "let's do it for our dads." 

I groaned with defeat. I couldn't deny her...and she knew it. "Fine. But if anyone hears about this..."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved my warning away. "Come on, Jenkins. Man up." 

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I placed mine on her waist. We moved our bodies to the slow tempo of the song that was playing. I could feel her body relax more and more and I was grateful for it. Although, I wish it didn't take dancing with me to loosen her up. Being this close to Karma—smelling the vanilla scent of her shampoo—made me feel things. Things I thought were long dead. Things I couldn't feel again. Things I refused to feel again. 

After we danced through another two songs, we both started getting tired. We sat on the couch and turned the TV on. Karma was always a sucker for FRIENDS. She made it through one episode before she fell asleep. 

The way she was positioned on the couch didn't look comfortable. I got up and turned the TV off before I made the decision to pick her up and carry her to her room. I put one hand under her knees and the other under her arms and lifted her from the couch. I ignored how familiar this felt.  

My bad leg screamed at me as I ascended the stairs to the second floor. Karma told me earlier that her parents kept her old room just the way she left it. She told me it was at the end of the hall on the left, so that's where I took her. I knew I had the right room when I saws her suitcase in the corner and her purse on the edge of the bed. 

I carefully laid her down and tried my best not to jostle her awake. She burrowed into the pillow and stretched her body a little. Her foot hit her purse and knocked it to the floor. I grabbed a blanket from her closet since I laid her on top of her comforter and covered her with it. 

For a moment, I just stared down at her. She really was breathtaking. She was going to make a lucky man very happy one day. It just wasn't going to be me. I burned that bridge a long time ago. Allowing myself a moment to be selfish, I reached my hand out and ran my fingers through her hair. Feeling the silky strands on my skin gave me goosebumps. It made me want more. 

I exhaled a shaky breath and stepped away. I went to pick up her purse and the contents that fell out. Her wallet, some make up, and a picture—

"Holy fuck," I whispered. 

It was the picture of Karma and I that Lanie took when we were going out. I remembered that day clearly. How did Karma get this? How long has she had it? 

More importantly...why was she carrying it in her purse?