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

She nods, hopping off the counter, and I drape my arm around her back to hold her steady. We search the house, but Seth isn’t anywhere. I find Luke at the poker table, playing a hand, cheating just like his father taught him.

“Hey, man, I’m going to take Callie home,” I say as he glances up at me from his cards. “If you see Seth, would you tell him?”

Luke nods and then his eyes dash to the red and blue chips in front of him. “Yeah, man will do.”

Callie buries her face into my shirt as we walk out the door and into the quiet hallway. She leans her weight on me and I guide her down the stairs and out the doors. The air is chilly and she shivers against me.

“Where’s your jacket?” I ask, rubbing my hand up and down her arm.

She shrugs as she stumbles over the curb and I catch her with my arm. Her eyes are barely open and she keeps sighing. Finally, I give up and stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

She blinks up at me. “What’s wrong?”

I let go of her and speak slow because I know she’s struggling to comprehend anything that’s going on. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you back. Is that okay?”

She eyes my hands and then reverts her gaze to me. “Okay.”

I step cautiously toward her. “Put your arms around my neck.”

She obeys, sliding her hands up my chest and hooking them around my neck. She rests her head against my chest as I wrap my arm around her back. Bending my knees, I put my other arm underneath her legs and scoop her up into my arms. She nuzzles her face into my chest as I start up the sidewalk. I take my time because I love how it feels to carry her, the way she needs me, the way I need to protect her.

By the time I reach the McIntyre residence hall, I’m working really hard not to panic that I have to put her down. “Callie, where’s your ID card?” I ask. “I didn’t bring mine.”

“In my pocket,” she murmurs, reaching for it, but her arm falls slack to her side. “I’m too tired to get it out.”

“Try again, okay?” I practically beg by she’s nonresponsive.

Emptying my mind of any potential dirty thoughts, I brace her against my chest and slip my fingers into her pocket, quickly pulling her card out. Swiping it through the lock, the door unlocks and I get us inside. I take the elevators to the upper floor and find her room. When I extend my hand for the doorknob, she wakes up and grabs a hold of my arm.

“No, don’t open it,” she says, nodding at the red scarf tied around the doorknob. “That means my roommate is… she’s… preoccupied.”

I try not to laugh at the fact that even when she’s drunk, she has a hard time saying it. “Where do you want me to take you?”

She drops her head back against my chest. “You can just keep carrying me. It’s very relaxing.”

“What about Seth’s room?”

Her eyelids are shut and her warm breath flows through my shirt. “You’ll have to go get him…”

My shoulders slump as I shift her body inward toward my chest and start down the hall to my right. When I step outside, I walk across the grass to the Downy building and take the elevator to my room.

“Callie, I have to set you down while I get the door open,” I whisper in her ear.

She nods and I carefully lower her feet to the ground. She leans back against the wall, her eyelids closing. I tap my fingers against the lock, pushing the code, and then shove the door open. Flipping the lights on, I step back and pick her up, carrying her inside. Kneeling down on the bed, I lower her onto the mattress, gently setting her down. She rolls to her side as I stand back up and figure out what I’m going to do. I could sleep in Luke’s bed, but he’ll chew my ass out when he shows up.

“Where are you going to sleep?” She eyes me as I kick off my boots into a corner.

“That’s what I was trying to figure out.” I stare at her with hesitance. “Is it okay if I lay down by you?”

Her eyes enlarge a little and hesitantly, she wiggles her body, scooting over toward the wall. I lay down on my side, keeping space between us as her eyelids close.

“I’ve never shared a bed with anyone besides Seth,” she mutters. “I can’t sleep when I’m lying by someone else.”

I start to roll out of the bed. “That’s okay. I’ll go find somewhere else to sleep.”

Her fingers wrap around my arm. “You don’t have to go anywhere. I feel safe with you.”

I pause. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you make it seem like everything he did doesn’t exist.”

“Callie, what are you talking about?”

“It doesn’t matter.” She yawns and inches a little closer to me, tucking her hands under her cheek and curling her knees up. “I’m tired.”

My hand shakes a little as I reach out and smooth her hair back from her forehead. “It’s okay. You can go to sleep.”

She nods her head and seconds later, the sound of her soft breathing surrounds me. Without even thinking, I lean over and gently kiss her forehead, wondering what the hell I’m going to do when morning rolls around.

Chapter 12
#12 See How Far You Can Go With Something You’re Afraid Of

Callie

When I open my eyes, my skull feels like it’s cracked and my brain is throbbing. I’m aware right away that I’m not in my room. There are guy’s clothes all over the floor, a Play Station on a shelf near a flat screen television, and the blankets pulled over me smell like the cologne Kayden wears.

My eyes widen as I sit up in the bed, racking my brain for details of what happened last night. I remember Seth asking me what I wanted to do and I told him I wanted to have fun. So he took me out and we ended up getting drunk. After that, everything becomes hazy, but for some reason I can picture staring up at the stars while someone carries me.

The door to my right squeaks as Kayden enters the room holding two coffee cups. He’s wearing a hooded black thermal shirt that shows off his lean arms and his jeans hang at his hips.

He does a double take when he sees that I’m awake. “For a while, I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

Sunlight flickers through the window as I glance at the clock hanging on the wall above the bed. “Holy crap, it’s almost dinnertime?” The thought of food squeezes at my stomach.

He hands me a coffee and I gladly take it. “Seth told me that you love lattes.”

I nod, taking a swallow. It tastes divine. “God, my head hurts so badly.”

He balances the other cup on the nightstand. “That usually happens when you drink too much.”

I lower the cup away from my face. “Kayden… I can’t… I don’t know what happened.”

He sits down on the bed beside me and the mattress concaves under his weight. “Well, I only got the privilege of witnessing the last half of the night, but from what I heard, Seth said you drank a ton of vodka. By the time I met up with you at Ben’s party, you were trashed.”

I wince. “Did I do anything… weird?”

“Not really. You had to sleep here because I lost track of Seth and there was a red scarf on your door.”

“Where did you sleep?”

He tenses, looking guilty. “Next to you.”

I lick the froth from my lips and stare out the window at the clear blue sky. “If I remember right, you had to carry me?”

He nods. “You could barely walk… I didn’t mind doing it, though.”

I pull the blanket off my body and slide my feet over the edge of the bed. “I should probably go take a shower and try to eat. Although, I feel like puking my guts out.”

He places a hand on my leg, enfolding his fingers around my knee. “I actually want you to come somewhere with me. There’s something really important I need to tell you… It’s about what happened that night at the pool house.” There’s heaviness in his eyes and stiffness in his voice.

“Okay,” I say. “Do I have to go with you now? Or can I shower first? I feel really gross.”

He laughs at me. “You can shower first. I’ll wait for you out on the benches.”