Heartstrings (Prequel) Forbidden Heart Series

10| Who's the real Nathan?

Nathan regarded me skeptically -- and I didn't blame him.

He wasn't the only one who felt out of sorts after the awkward brace we just shared. That was the main reason I decided to ask for my second wish. It would buy me a little alone time to process all this.

"And what would your second wish be?" He asked.

"I'm hungry. . . but I don't want to eat the food here. How about you ask some of the workers what's good in the area. Then after we finish our games, we can grab some food."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Your wish is for me to find out what restaurants are nearby. . . so I can take you to get some food?"

"Yeah. But the challenge of this wish is that I'm a picky eater," I explained. "Let's see how much you really know me, Nathan. Once you find out what's nearby, you pick the place and surprise me."

Uncertainty clouded his eyes. "I don't know if--"

"My wish," I reminded him, repeating his words from earlier. "Your command."

His shoulders fell and she sighed with defeat. Then a sardonic smile followed by, "I did say that, didn't I? I'll be back in a few minutes."

I fell into the chair behind me after he was gone. What the hell was going on here? For the past fifteen years, Nathan Jenkins has always been my best friend's older brother. He was the boy in school that almost every girl wanted.

And he didn't hesitate to give in to them.

I kept trying to convince myself that all of this was just him being nice, but there was this little voice in my head that said it was something else. I refused to investigate what that could be. There could never be anything other than friendship between Nathan and me.

First off, he slept with girls as often as he inhaled oxygen.

Two, he and I believed in totally different things. I wanted to be in love someday. He didn't.

Yin and Yang.

And three, I didn't even like Nathan that way.

You sure about that? Yes. I was. I had to be.

Okay, fine. . . I wasn't blind. It was obvious to any girl with eyes that he was one of the most attractive boys in school. Hence the Happy Meals that chase after him.

But it wasn't like I stole glances of him without his shirt on. Or had dreams about him.

Never. Not once.

Shit. Okay, once. Maybe twice.

It never happened before the night that we watched Idle Hands. Even before that, when we were on the beach and Harper sprayed him with sunscreen, I could tell he started looking at me differently. If his eyes betrayed how he really felt, then that would mean he was interested.

Interested in me. Or something about me.

But why? I was nothing like the other girls he hooked up with. I was not a one night stand type of girl. I was a relationship girl. And Nathan Jenkins did not do relationships. Ever.

Not to mention he was Lanie's brother. My best friend's brother. That had to be against the rules or some girl code or something.

Not that I'm interest in him anyway. . .

God I was going to drive myself crazy thinking about all this.

"I'm back." Nathan said in a singsong voice.

Glancing up at him, I arched a brow. "That was quick. You picked a place already?"

He nodded and came down the steps to the lane area. "I did."