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

“What are you—”

Before either of us can protest, I seal my lips to hers, stealing our breaths away. My hand touches her face and I hold her cheek in my palm while my other hand presses against her lower back, arching her body against mine. I slip my tongue into her mouth, just a quick kiss, but it conveys all the hunger I feel inside. Our legs give out and my hand snaps out, bracing us against the wall before we fall to the floor. She lets out a soft moan and I pull away, knowing if I go any farther it’s going to be that much harder to let her go.

She blinks her eyes wildly as I back down the hall with a grin on my face. “And remember, you promised.”

With a dazed look in her eyes, she walks inside her room, and tosses her notebook onto her bed, before shutting the door.
***
“Do you have your old year book with you?” I ask Luke when I enter our room.

“I think so,” he says, looking away from the television for a split second. He’s playing a racing game, totally zoned out as his fingers hammer at the control buttons. “Why?”

“Can I look at it for a second?” I grab a can of soda out of the mini fridge.

He points at the closet door, his eyes returning to the screen. “I think it’s in my trunk in there.”

Setting the can down on the foot of my bed, I go into the closet. Unlatching the locks of the trunk, I raise the lid and search through the books until I find it tucked in the side. I fan through the pages until I get to the “L” section and find “Callie Lawrence.”

The girl in the picture is not the Callie I know. Her hair is to her chin and choppy, like she cut it herself. She has on a baggy jacket that hides her slim shoulders and heavy black eyeliner that swallows her beautiful blue eyes. The same sadness is there, though; haunting her.

I scan some more pages for her, but it’s like she barely existed. I get to my feet, put the book back, and shut the trunk, wondering what it would have been like if we had been friends in high school. For some reason, I think that maybe things would have been a little easier and the pressure on my shoulders would have been a little bit more bearable.

Callie

Seth wakes me up the next morning by nudging me a ton of times in the ribs. He has iced lattes in his hands, his blond hair is a little messy, and a he has a determined look on his face.

“I had this dream,” he starts, lowering himself onto the edge of my bed. “That you may need to talk to me. In fact, I have this really bad feeling that you’ve been keeping something from me.”

He’s right. I haven’t told him how I broke down in front of Kayden. He’s been really happy lately, going on dates with Greyson, and I didn’t want to ruin his mood with my dark thoughts.

I sit up and take the iced coffee, nearly downing it in just a few sips. “I thought you were heading home this morning?”

He nods, sipping on his straw. “I am, but I’m giving Greyson a ride, so I have to leave a little bit late.”

I guide my legs to my chest and rest my chin on my knee. “Is he going home with you?”

He shakes his head with a look of astonishment on his face “No way. Could you imagine if I brought a guy home to meet my mom? Besides, I barely know him.”

I elevate my chin away from my knee and chew on my straw. “But how long do you have to know someone before it means something?”

He sits down on my bed and rests his arms on my knees. “That’s for the people who are in the situation to decide, which brings me to part of the reason I stopped by.”

I fake a pout. “It wasn’t to say good-bye to your best friend?”

“That’s part of the reason,” he says in a serious tone. “The other reason is that I ran into Kayden this morning. Now, typically we have quick little chats about really stupid stuff, but today, he kept asking me about you. He wanted to know if I knew what you were doing for Thanksgiving and if I’d checked on you lately. Now would you like to tell me anything?”

I frown. “Do I have to?”

He nods, placing the plastic cup on the ground beside his feet. “Did something happen between you two?”

I dither. “Maybe.”

He waits patiently for me to explain. Sighing, I finally spill it out to him leaving out a few of the more intense details but giving him enough that he gets the gist of it.

“You told him?” he says, his brown eyes huge. “Like told him, told him? Why did you not tell me this earlier? That is the kind of info that should be divulged to me as soon as it happens.”

“Because you were happy and because I don’t even know how I feel about it. I mean, I told him by accident.” I throw the blankets off me and scoot over to the edge of the bed, swinging my feet to the floor. “During a freak out moment on my part.”

“Because he was touching you?”

“No, that wasn’t it. I liked that he was touching me, he just said something that reminded me of… it.”

He stirs his straw around in his drink. “Kayden was okay with you? He didn’t hurt you or make you feel like shit after you told him?”

“He seemed okay.” I grab my drink and the condensation dampens my skin. “But he could have been doing it because he felt sorry for me.”

Seth thrums his fingers on his knee. “Or because he understands what it’s like to have someone hurt him.”

I wipe my wet hand on the front of my pants. “That might be, but I don’t want him to have to deal with my problems. He has so many of his own.”

“Or maybe, it’s that he scares you because he makes you feel things your uncertain about.” He points out.

“Are you Psych 101ing me again?” I ask, getting to my feet.

He shrugs. “Maybe, but the thing is I think he really cares for you. You should have heard him that day when you were in the library and I called you so he could find out where you were. He was really worried about you.”

I grab a rubber band from the box on top of my dresser and fasten it around my hair, leaving pieces out around the front of my face. “Probably because I ran out on him after I…” I trail off.

“Had an orgasm?” he finishes. “Orgasm. Orgasm. Orgasm. It’s not a bad word, Callie.”

“I know that.” I finish off the last of my drink, sucking the whip cream off the straw before tossing the empty cup into the garbage.

“Okay, then.” He stands up, smoothing out the wrinkles on his skinny jeans. “Here’s what I suggest. You should go home for Thanksgiving. Ride with Kayden and Luke, go back and have some fun. Don’t sit around here by yourself. It makes me nervous.”

“I want to go with them,” I admit. “But what if he’s there?”

He hands me my phone. “Call your mom and find out.”

I snatch my phone from him. “I’ll send a text.”

Me: Who all is going to be staying at our house for Thanksgiving?

Mom: No one so far. Your brother said he wasn’t coming back and Grandma and Grandpa canceled. Please tell me you’re coming home sweetie.

I hesitate and let out a frustrated grunt.

Me: I’ll come home, but I need to see if I can catch a ride still.

Mom: Dad can come get you if you need him to.

Me: I might be able to ride home with someone.

Mom: Who?

Me: Someone

Mom: Callie Lawrence, what are you keeping from me? Is it someone I know?”

Me: I don’t know.

Mom: Callie, just tell me. Please. I’ll bake you your favorite pie.

Me: Gotta pack. C u soon.

“Wow,” Seth mutters as he reads the text from over my shoulder, blowing his coffee breath on me. “She’s super obsessed.”

“She’s not use to me having friends.” I change my ringer to vibrate and put my phone into my back pocket. “She probably knows it’s someone from back home.”

A conniving grin expands across his face as he taps his fingers together. “What do you think she’ll do when she finds out who it is?”

I shrug, grabbing a bag from under my bed, and then dramatically wave my hands in front of me. “Freak out. Jump up and down and go, ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"