The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #1)

Luke is making a joke as he enters and the other two girls walk in behind him, whispering and giggling to each other. It’s annoying me to no end, and by the time I’m knocking my fist against the door, I can’t wait to get inside and ditch them.

One of the members of the football team, Ben, is throwing the party. He’s a nice guy, although I don’t really know him. When he swings the door open, however, it would appear that we’re best friends.

“Kayden, man.” He sticks out his hand to pound fists.

I bump mine against his and arch my eyebrows. “Hey, man.”

He looks over my shoulder at Luke and the girls. “You brought guests.” Grinning, he steps aside so we can come in.

The apartment is much bigger than my dorm. Music plays from the stereo and there’s a foldup table in the corner where a poker game is going on. Alcohol bottles line the counter inside the kitchen, along with cups, chips, and a bunch of other food. In between the couches a horde of people are dancing.

My eyes zero in on a girl with her brown hair pulled up in a clip, wearing black jeans with a pair of lace up boots and a purple tank top. She’s talking with a guy, laughing and shaking her ass as she really gets into the music.

“Callie.” No matter how many times I blink, it doesn’t seem real.

“Do you want to get a drink?” The girl I walked in with coils her hair around her finger as she gazes up at me, biting her bottom lip.

I shake my head and my attention returns to Callie. “Maybe in a minute.”

She’s dancing with Seth, who’s really getting into the music as they shout out the lyrics with the crowd and then laugh, raising their hands in the air.

“What are they doing here?” Luke wonders as he steps up beside me. “This doesn’t seem like their scene.”

Seth notices us and leans forward to say something in Callie’s ear. She turns her head and looks at us. Her face lights up and she weaves around people toward me with Seth at her heels. For a second, I wonder if I’ve fallen asleep and this is all a dream because she looks really happy to see me.

When she reaches me, she flings her arms around my neck, and I can smell the vodka on her breath. “Kayden’s here,” she says, hugging me so tightly it kind of hurts.

My breathing speeds up a little as I put my hand on her back. “Are you drunk?”

She draws away, looking me in the eyes and nodding. “A little.”

“No, she’s wasted,” Seth explains as he pushes through the last of the crowd and joins us in the entrance, shoving up the sleeves of his black, button-down jacket. “And I mean fucking trashed.”

Keeping my hand on her back, Callie rests her face on my chest. “I thought she didn’t drink that much?”

He’s distracted by a guy in the corner of the room, who is sipping a drink and talking to a girl with really short auburn hair. “She doesn’t, but tonight she did. Look, can you watch her for just a little bit? There’s someone I need to talk to.”

I nod, tracing my fingers down her back. “Sure.”

“Make sure to keep your hands to yourself,” he warns, backing away with his finger pointed at me. “She’s drunk enough that she won’t remember a thing, which makes any touching on your part wrong.”

I shake my head at him. “What kind of a guy do you think I am?”

He shrugs with judgment in his eyes. “I have no idea.”

Callie blinks up at me with hardly any awareness on her face. “Who are the girls you’re here with?”

The blond standing to my right shoots me a dirty look and puts her hands on her hips.

I keep my eyes on Callie. “Hey, let’s go into the kitchen and get you some water.”

She nods her head up and down. “I am really thirsty.”

The innocence in her eyes and the way she clings onto my shirt as I guide her toward the kitchen makes me uneasy. She trusts me at the moment and I’m worried I’m going to fuck it up, like I always do.

Ben is in the kitchen talking to a girl with long, curly brown hair, a tight pair of jeans, and a low cut red top. When he sees us, a curious expression crosses his face.

“Who’s this?” he asks me, nodding his chin at Callie.

“It’s Callie Lawrence.” I move my arm away from her to grab a plastic cup off the top of the stack on the counter. “She goes to school here. Her dad was actually my coach back in high school.”

Callie lets go of my waist. With her hands out to the side of her, she attempts to control her balance as I turn the faucet on to fill up the cup.

“So, your father is a coach?” Ben leans back against the counter as the girl he was talking to wanders over to the bar to fill up a glass.

“Yeah, he’s been one for like twenty years or something,” Callie says with a slight slur to her speech.

“Did he teach you stuff?” Ben asks, crossing his arms. I don’t like the teasing tone in his voice. “Like what the plays are or how to throw and catch a ball?”

I turn around with a glass of water in my hand as Callie rolls her eyes at him. “Obviously, like I know that you’re the receiver.” She blinks her eyes, mockingly. “Which means you catch the ball.”

“Well, aren’t you just adorable.” Ben takes a step toward her with a look of fascination on his face.

My hand goes up against his chest to push him back. “No way. She’s off limits.”

Ben looks at me apologetically as I hand the glass of water to Callie and she tips her head back, downing it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were dating her.”

I don’t bother to correct him, for many reasons, some of which are really fucked up. When he leaves the kitchen, Callie moves the cup away from her mouth and licks the water off her lips, making me think dirty thoughts I know I can’t act on.

“He’s kind of an asshole,” she says, handing the cup back to me.

I crush it and toss it in the trashcan. “And you’re kind of feisty when you’re this drunk.”

When I face her again, she’s chewing on her bottom lip with her gaze boring into me. “Do you like that I’m feisty? Does it make you want me?”

Oh, fucking shit. She is wasted. “How about we get you home?”

She shakes her head, backing toward the counter with unsteady legs. Gripping the edge, she hops onto it and bumps her head on the cupboard. “I want to know.” She rubs her head, shooting a dirty look at the cupboard like it did something wrong. “When I’m like this, does it make you want me?”

I glance over my shoulder, praying to God Seth will walk in here and save me from this uncomfortable conversation. “I don’t know, Callie.”

She pouts out her bottom lip. “It’s because you don’t want me at all, isn’t it?”

Sighing, I put my hands down on the counter so she’s in between my arms. “No, it’s not that. Trust me. It’s just that I don’t want to have this conversation with you when you’re not going to remember it.”

She leans forward, reducing the gap between our faces. “I’ll remember it. I promise.”

I try not to laugh at her, clenching my hands into fists to resist the urge to slide them onto her hips. “Alright you want the truth?” I ask and she bobs her head up and down. “No, I don’t like you better this way. I like the sober Callie, the one that I can talk to. The one that is so sweet it’s fucking adorable.” I dip my face forward and breathe on her neck, moving toward the no touching line, but not crossing it. “The one that trembles just from the feel of my breath. The one that I want to kiss and touch so fucking badly it drives me crazy. The one that makes me feel things…” I trail off and incline away, glad to see that her eyelids are only half open. That way I know I’m still safe.

“I’m tired.” She yawns, stretching her arms above her and I catch a glimpse of her bare stomach; flat, tiny, and firm. “Can you find Seth so he can take me home?”

I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, you come with me, though. I don’t want to leave you here alone.”