Falling for her best friend's brother was NOT a part of her summer plans...
Karma Fitzgerald never saw Nathan Jenkins as anything other than the womanizing big brother of her best friend, Lanie. That all changed during a summer trip to the beach, wh...
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"I'll trade you five hundred bucks plus Oriental and Connecticut for those two railroads."
I waited patiently with an amused smirk while my dad balked at my mom's offer.
"Are you kidding me, Minerva? That's the worst trade offer I've heard yet."
My mom batted her lashes at my dad. "Come on, Hank. You know how much I love having all four railroads. Please?"
"Oh fine," my dad replied with a sigh before accepting the cash and playing cards from my mom and handing over the two railroads she so desperately wanted. "I know I'm going to regret this later."
My mom had a huge smile on her face as she arranged her four railroad card in front of her. Tonight was family night at the Fitzgerald house. It was just the three of us circled around the Monopoly board. Our kitchen still carried the aroma of pizza and popcorn as we played. It was a tradition we did once a month and one I was very proud of. When we had nights like this, it helped me forget about the stress of college and everything that came with it. At least, it usually did.
But as I sat there and watched the romantic exchange between my parents, I couldn't help but compare it to Nathan and myself. Everyone with eyes knew my parents were very much in love. They were college sweethearts and got married right after graduation. My mom was lucky and got to spend her four years of college with the man she loved. A selfish part of me wanted to do the same. It also made me want to step up and ask my mom if she had been in my place, would she do what she was asking me to do? Would she give up the love of her life just to go to a school that her parents wanted her to go to? It wasn't like there weren't any other good schools. Yeah, I understood that they were worried about paying for the tuition, but there were grants and loans available.
A big part of me regretted even submitting that application to USF. Even though it was before Nathan and I got together, I still didn't want to go to that school even then. Nathan wasn't the only person in my life that I cared about more than anything. Leaving Harper and Lanie also felt like a knife in the heart. I didn't know anyone in Florida. Not a single soul.
My life was here. My family and my friends were here. My boyfriend that I never wanted to spend a day apart from was here. Everything was here.
Even though I was dreading that letter coming in the mail, there was a part of me that was also hoping it would get here already. I was praying every night that that letter would come in the mail saying that I was not accepted. And that hope was the one reason I haven't told my mom yet that I was never leaving Nathan. If the letter came in the mail and said I was denied, I would have no reason to have that argument with her. If it came back and said that I was accepted, then I was going to tell her the truth.
"It's your turn, Karma."
The sound of my dad's voice drew my thoughts back to reality. I reached for the dice he was holding out and started shaking them around in my hand.
