Karma

27| Five Hours

Well, it was officially Sunday. I was back home and back in New York. I was glad to be back, and I was looking forward to going back to work. The only thing that sucked was the fact the deal Nathan and I made was over. I got lucky on the flight -- no pun intended -- and was surprised that Nathan went through with it. I saw him trying to resist. He was so close to leaving me alone in that tiny bedroom.

"I'll follow you anywhere, gorgeous."

My heart ached when I had heard those words. I know he didn't mean to say it. He got caught up in the moment. We both did. When we were in Florida, we both just let our hormones do the talking. It's been twelve years for me and eight months for him. He didn't tell me much about his ex-flings or whatever. He only said that whatever it was ended before Lanie had the baby. I could tell there was more to the story, but I didn't press him.

Ring-ring

I got up from my dining room table where I was sipping some coffee and grabbed my phone from the charger. I was so jet-lagged and had Nathan on the brain yesterday that I forgot to charge it before I went to bed.

I smiled when I saw Abby's name on the caller-ID. "Hey, Abbs. What's up?"

"Hey, girl! I'm so glad you're back!"

I fell onto my plush sofa. "Me too!"

"How's your dad? I know we spoke a few times while you were up there, but I wanted to make sure he was okay."

"He's doing great. Thank you, by the way. I appreciate you calling and checking on me."

There was a suspicious silence on the phone. I met Abby a few years ago and we both ended up moving back to New York at the same time. Besides Lanie and Harper, Abby was the only close friend that I had. It was refreshing, actually. She didn't know Nathan the same way the others did, so sometimes she was more objective.

"Abby. . ."

She sucked her teeth on the other line. "Okay, you told me I could get all the juicy details once you got back, soooo spill."

I couldn't stop the smile that broke out on my face. I told Abby that Nathan was in Florida with me, and like she said, I promised to give her all the details. "Well, let's just say. . . I took your advice."

"Oh. My. GOD! You slept with him! You sexcycled, didn't you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please stop calling it that." I still couldn't believe that Nathan heard our conversation at the cafe that day. "Yes." I breathed as I got up from the couch and started pacing in my living room.

"So? How was it?"

As if I could answer that question. "It was amazing, Abby. I know I told you that we had fantastic sexual chemistry, but damn. I forgot just how fantastic it was." I brushed my hair back before I picked up the picture of Nathan and I had Lanie gave me.

"Do you regret it?" She asked.

I ran my fingers over the picture. "No. I mean, there were some old feelings there and some things that felt very familiar, but. . . no, I don't regret it." I flipped the picture over, turned around and leaned my hip against the counter. "We had a deal. What happened in Florida stayed in Florida. Nothing was going to continue when we got back to New York."

"And you think that's really going to work?" Abby laughed into the phone. "Karma, you and the man you love are both single and in the same city. You've already had sex --- clearly the feelings are still there. Honey, it's only a matter of time before you guys fall into bed together again."

What bothered me the most, was that every single thing that Abby mentioned I thought of myself. When it came to Nathan Jenkins, I was weak. "I never said I still loved him."