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

“Nah, it’s better if I keep it to myself. Trust me, what you don’t know can’t hurt you.”


“I’ll tell you what?” Luke steps forward, unscrewing the cap off the bottle. “We can make it a game. That way, if you’re really good, you won’t ever have to drink.”

Callie glances back and forth between us. “What kind of a game?”

Luke gives me a sidelong glance and I shake my head, knowing where he’s going with this. “The rules are pretty easy. Someone says something like, I’ve never fallen asleep on the front lawn of the next door neighbor’s house, because I was so fucking drunk I thought it was my house.” He extends the bottle toward me. “And now he has to drink.”

I snatch the bottle from him, let my head drop back, and force a large mouthful down my throat. “Thanks for making me the example.”

“So what?” Callie asks. “If you’ve done what the person has said, then you have to drink?”

I lick the alcohol from my lips. “Yeah, but you don’t have to play. We can just hang out. Luke just thinks everything has to center around alcohol.”

Luke yanks the bottle away from my hand, cutting me a harsh look. “That’s not true. I’m just trying to cure my boredom. There’s nothing to do around here now that everyone’s gone.”

Callie gives a one-shouldered shrug. “We can play. I haven’t done much of anything, so it seems like the odds are in my favor.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know much about us,” Luke says wickedly. “So it’ll be tough for you to come up with things to get us with.”

She shrugs again with a look in her eye that makes me wonder if she does know something.

We settle on the couch with Callie on one side, and I sit on the other. Luke takes the recliner, kicking his feet up on the coffee table as he takes a drink straight from the bottle.

He sets the bottle down on the table. “So, who wants to start?”

“I will,” Callie offers, raising her hand.

“Really?” I ask her. “Because you don’t have to. You don’t have to be a part of any of this.”

She smiles innocently, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger. “I don’t mind. I promise.”

“Let her go,” Luke says, draping his arms on the back of the sofa and relaxing back. “I’m really interested to hear what’s going to come out of her mouth.”

I motion at the bottle. “Okay, let’s see what you got.”

She bites on her lip, mulling it over, and then her eyes lock on Luke. “I’ve never argued with my coach about not being drunk when clearly I was wasted during a game.”

Luke’s expression falls. “How did you know about that?”

She shrugs. “My dad’s the coach and I hear things.”

With his eyes fastened on Callie, he tips his head back and gulps more than a shot out of the bottle. “Okay, so now I’ve got to get back at you.”

“Those aren’t the rules!” Callie glances at me for help, her blue eyes enlarging with panic. “Are they?”

“They’re my rules.” Luke taps his finger on his chin as he leans forward. “I’ve never stepped on a spray paint can and left a mess on the floor for the checkout guy to clean up.”

She rolls her eyes with a smile emerging on her lips, showing a competitive side that I wish was directed at me.

Luke dangles the bottle in front of her face, taunting her, and she snatches it from him. Making a disgusted face at it, she puts her lips to the top, leans back, and sucks out a tiny swallow.

Gagging, she thrusts the bottle in Luke’s direction with her head turned and her eyes shut. “Oh my God! That’s worse than the vodka.” She shudders as she blinks like crazy.

Laughing, I scoot closer to her on the sofa and put my arm around her shoulders. “Luke plays dirty, Callie. Since you went after him first, he’ll probably go after you a lot.”

She sticks out her bottom lip, pouting, and it’s glossy from the Jack.

“Hold on, you have something on your lips.” I lean forward and suck it off.

Her eyes widen as I slide my tongue along my lips and move back. “You’re right, Jack is pretty fucking gross.”

“It’s terrible,” she agrees in an unsteady voice.

“Okay, I have one,” I say, clearing my throat. “I’ve never walked home wearing just a pink robe and a pair of slippers.”

Callie snorts a laugh as Luke narrows his eyes. “You’re fucking asking for it. I’m going to tell her all your dirty little secrets now, you fucking douche.”

I laugh, kicking my boots up on the table. “That was just to get you back for going after her first.”

“Can I hear why he had to do that?” Callie asks as Luke takes a shot. “Because I’m really curious.”

“He was over at this girl’s house,” I start, ignoring Luke’s death glare. “And while they were having sex, her parents showed up. They’d taken off all their clothes out in the living room, so he had to borrow her robe and slippers because it was the only thing he could fit in.”

“It was fucking cold, too,” Luke recollects as he drinks from the bottle again. “Although, having sex with Carrie Delmarco made it kind of worth it.”

Callie covers her mouth, her chin tipping down, probably to hide her embarrassment. It’s fucking adorable and suddenly I find myself wishing Luke would leave so I could be alone with her.

“I have one,” Luke declares, shooting a malicious grin in my direction. His eyes are turning red and his speech is a little unbalanced. “I’ve never told a girl I was the lead singer of Chevelle just so I could hook up with her.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you for that one.” I reach over the table to confiscate the bottle from his hand. “You know that, right?”

He grins at me as I take a drink and look at Callie. “I was fifteen. I did a lot of stupid things back then.”

She doesn’t seem bothered, but sometimes she’s hard to read. “You don’t have to explain it to me.”

“Alright, I have one.” I focus on Luke, wanting to beat his ass. “I’ve never stripped teased on a table in front of an entire room full of people.”

His brown eyes are cold as he slams back a shot and then forces the alcohol down his throat with a jerk of his neck. “I’ve never woke up crying in the middle of the night because I had a nightmare after watching Halloween.”

“I was like ten,” I protest, yanking the bottle from his hand. I knock back a big gulp, starting to feel the alcohol burning in my system. “I’ve never pissed my pants because I was locked out of the house and couldn’t get in.”

Luke grabs the bottle from my extended hand, spilling some Jack on the coffee table. “I’ve never sent a girl a check yes or no letter. Do you like me Tami Bentler? Do you think I’m cute?”

Callie busts up laughing, slapping her hand over her mouth as her shoulders hunch toward her knees. “I don’t even know what to do with all this information.”

I force another shot down my throat and wipe my lips clean with my sleeve. Even though I’m pissed off that Luke is making me look like a jackass, I’m glad she’s happy.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” I ask and she lifts her head up, wiping tears from her eyes, nodding. “Because I can get you easily.”

She shakes her head, still smiling. “You don’t know that much about me Kayden, so I’m not too worried. Besides, I already told you I haven’t done much of anything.”

I lean toward her, putting my lips next to her ear, tucking her hair out of the way. “I’ve never made out in the rain and had one of the best kisses of my life.” I’m fucking drunk and admitting more than I normally would, but my drunken mind doesn’t care at the moment.

She shivers from my breath, her shoulders shuddering upward. “But you have, haven’t you? Or maybe you haven’t. I don’t know.”