****
Karma came into class Monday morning with a smile so big, I think might have been permanent.
“Wow, someone’s in a good mood today,” I said, as she sat down.
“Only four days until we leave for St. Lucia. You have no idea how excited I am.”
I chuckled. “I think it’s pretty obvious how excited you are. Do you know where you’re staying?”
“No. Everything is going to be a surprise. I can’t wait.”
Even though I hated the thought of her going anywhere with Anthony, I was happy for her. I don’t remember being that excited for anything in a long time.
“So,” she said, “did you make plans for Spring Break yet?”
“No. I’ll probably just hang out. Dad said something about getting in some time at the office so that might be an option.”
“I can’t believe you’re not going to party it up somewhere.”
“Major is going to Tulsa with Kayleigh. You’re going with Anthony. Zach and Chad have family things, so why would I go alone? Where’s the fun in that?”
“I see your point, but still, working with your dad? That doesn’t really seem like a break.”
“At least, I won’t be sitting here.”
The professor came in and started class. He announced a quiz on Friday and the whole room groaned. I had a feeling that was going to happen a lot with Spring Break only a few days away.
About halfway through class, I glanced at Karma. I could tell she was paying attention to the professor, but she still had a smile on her face. Right then, I wished it was me who was making her smile like that.
****
“Yo, dude, what’s up?” Major said, when I walked into the dorm later that day.
“This week is going to suck. I think I’m going to have a test in every class.”
“Same here. I guess it’s their way of making sure we’re still paying attention before the break.”
“You looking forward to going to Tulsa?”
“Sure. I mean, I don’t know how exciting the place is actually going to be, but I am looking forward to seeing Kayleigh get excited about showing me stuff.”
“When are you leaving again?”
“Friday night. I wanted her to be able to spend as much time as she could with her Grandma.”
“Was Kayleigh upset when she found out Karma wasn’t going home?”
“I think so. She says she’s happy for her, but deep down I know she was disappointed. What about you? Did you decide if you’re going to work for your dad?”
“I probably will. But I might take a couple of days and head to Mexico to do some surfing.”
“Lucky bastard. I know there’s no surfing in Tulsa.”
That made me laugh. “We’ll be hitting the waves here soon enough.”
I went to my room to study, but my heart wasn’t in it. So instead, I opened Instagram on my phone and went to Karma’s profile. There were a few new pictures, but the one that caught my eye was of her in a blue evening gown from Saturday. She looked incredible, so of course I saved a screenshot of it. Yeah, I wasn’t acting like a stalker at all.
Making myself put the phone down, I went back to my studying. A few hours later, I was hungry. Major was gone, so I decided to order in some Thai food. While I waited, I went back to the picture of Karma in that dress. Before I thought too much about it, I sent her a text.
Me: You looked incredible in that blue dress on Saturday
Her response was immediate.
Karma: Stalking me again?
Me: No. A picture of you popped up on my feed.
Karma: Sure, it did. And thanks, I felt like a princess.
Me: Why were you so dressed up?
Karma: Anthony took me to a fundraiser for a children’s charity.
Me: Did you have a good time?
Karma: Ya. He even bid a ridiculous amount on a basket of chocolate for me.
Me: Lucky you
Karma: I thought so
Karma: Aren’t you supposed to be studying?
Me: I was. Waiting for my food to get here.
Karma: What did you order?
Me: Thai
Karma: Did you get enough for me?
I laughed at that.
Me: No
Karma: Asshole
Me: Why does that make me an asshole?
Karma: You know I like Thai food
Me: So? It’s not like we eat together every day.
Karma: True. But I’m hungry.
I laughed again.
Me: Come over. I’ll order more.
Karma: Yay! You’re the best!
Me: Ya, ya, see you in a few minutes.
I called the Thai place back; doubled the order and told them I’d give them a big tip if they got it here in a hurry. Hanging up, I shook my head. We weren’t even in a relationship and I was wrapped around her finger, but I couldn’t help but smile that formed on my lips.
Chapter 32
Karma
By the time classes were done Friday afternoon, I could barely contain my excitement. I’d been physically in class but mentally I was already on a beach.
Our flight left at 5pm, but we wouldn’t get there until the next afternoon. I said bye to Kayleigh and told her to give her Grandma a hug for me.
My bag was already packed and at 2:00 I was downstairs waiting for Anthony. I was early, but I couldn’t sit in the dorm and wait. Luckily, he was early, too, and I grinned when I saw him walking towards the building.
“Hey beautiful,” he said, hugging me. “Ready?”
“I’m sooooo ready.”
He chuckled as he picked up my bag. “Let’s go then.”
The drive to the airport seemed to take forever, but in reality, it was only about thirty-minutes. We went through security and found the terminal we were leaving from. I was too restless to sit so I started to wander. I found a coffee place that looked good, so I got a caramel latte and a croissant.
Anthony was on the phone when I got back to him, probably with his father. I had the feeling that he was a little upset that Anthony was taking the week off. He walked away to finish the call and I opened the Instagram app on my phone. I took a picture of me at the airport and posted it. I laughed when I saw Bodie was the first one to like it.
“Everything okay?” I asked Anthony, when he came back over to me.
“Yeah. My dad’s not too thrilled with me. But I don’t want to talk about him right now. I’m going to share the first surprise of the trip. We are flying first class.”
“Really?” I couldn’t stop the smile. “I’ve always wanted to fly first class. This is so awesome. Thank you.” I threw my arms around him, nearly knocking him off the chair.
“If you’re this excited about first class I can’t wait to see your reaction when we get there.”
“Ooooh, now I’m really curious to see what you have planned.”
Finally, it was time to board. We were the first ones on the plane and Anthony was kind enough to let me have the window seat. We were served drinks in real glasses while the rest of the passengers boarded. Of course, I had to post it on Instagram. I was sure I was going to be doing that a lot over the next week.