The Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #6)

‘You think you can outrun me!’ Kayden calls out, laughing, his heavy footsteps close behind.

‘Of course I can!’ Laughter sputters from my lungs as I veer to the right and try to race across the snowy lawn, but it’s chilly enough that the snow is freezing the moment it touches the ground, making it slippery and complicated to run on. I curse as my feet try to part ways from underneath me and my hands shoot out to my sides in an attempt to keep my balance.

Right as I’m about to fall flat on my ass, a set of strong arms wrap around my waist. A split second later, a warm chest presses against my back as I’m helped to my feet.

‘You’re really asking for it, aren’t you?’ Kayden whispers in my ear, dragging his teeth across the sensitive spot of flesh right below it as he helps me stand back upright.

I shiver and not from the cold. ‘Maybe.’

His fingers dig into my flesh right below the hem of my black T-shirt. ‘I’ll take your phone as payment for saving your cute little ass from falling.’

I grip my phone in my hand, my eyelashes fluttering against the thick snowflakes. ‘No way.’

He chuckles lowly, a deep noise that vibrates from his chest and I have to bite down on my lip to keep from whimpering. ‘Okay, I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.’

‘Isn’t this the hard way already?’ I sound breathless.

He laughs again and then, without warning, his fingers sneak up my shirt and he starts to tickle me.

‘Stop!’ I shout through my laughter, my legs giving out on me. I almost buckle to the ground, but he’s there to hold me up and he keeps tickling me until I almost pee my pants.

‘Fine! I surrender! I surrender!’ I gasp through my laughter when I’m about one second away from having an accident.

His fingers instantly stop moving and he kisses the back of my head as he takes the phone from my hand then frees me from his arms.

I spin around and cross my arms over my chest. ‘That was cheating.’

He grins proudly as he hides my phone in the pocket of his coat. ‘No way. That was completely fair. It’s not my fault you’re tiny and adorable.’ He pokes me in the ribs.

I glare at him, pretending I’m upset. ‘If it wasn’t for the snow, I would have been able to run faster.’

‘Yeah, but I wasn’t really running. Just walking swiftly.’ He’s so smug right now. I’ve never seen him act like this – so confident. It’s sexy and I can’t help but jump onto him and kiss him right there in the middle of a blizzard.

He doesn’t hesitate, kissing me back with equal hunger, his hands sliding underneath me and cupping my butt. He groans when I bite at his bottom lip, and I gasp as his mouth trails down my jawline, leaving a path of heat simmering against my snow-kissed skin. The mix of heat and ice sends a combustion of sensations swirling through my body. It’s blissfully amazing. Mind-blowing. I want more.

‘We should go back to your dorm,’ I say, my head tipping back as his mouth finds the hollow of my neck. I tangle my fingers through his wet hair and guide him closer. ‘Or someplace where we can be alone …’ I trail off as his phone starts going off in his pocket and this time I’m not as surprised when he breaks the kiss, but am still equally as disappointed.

I sigh, hopping off him as he retrieves his phone. He reads the screen and then grins. ‘You know what? That sounds like a great idea,’ he says, lacing our fingers together as he tugs me toward the parking lot. ‘And I know the perfect place.’





Chapter 14


#156 Welcome Home.



Kayden


It’s taken me a couple of weeks to set this up and even longer to get the balls to do it. But after that night I spent with Callie, talking and reliving our past, I knew I had to. I have to give Seth most of the credit, though, for helping me out and for managing to keep it a secret. In the end, it was my speech about how Callie deserved this that won his sworn secrecy over.

I’m nervous the entire drive there, not just because I’m not sure how she’ll react, but because I’m uncertain how I’ll react. It feels like things are moving so quickly suddenly, not just with Callie and mine’s relationship but with life. I feel like sometimes I’m running my hardest to keep up with it, except when I’m with Callie. With her, I feel like we’re walking through it, enjoying every moment together. And that’s how I decided.

It was time.

‘Where are we?’ she asks, leaning forward to get a better look at where we are through the veil of snow hitting the window.

I turn off the car and the wipers stop, making it even harder for her to see. ‘It’s a surprise.’

‘At a park?’ she questions as she unfastens her seatbelt.

Nodding, I grab the door handle and push it open. ‘Yeah, follow me.’

The park is just part of the surprise. The rest of it is what’s right behind the building the park is connected to.

Her perplexity makes this even more entertaining as we get out of the car and she follows me through the snow and around the swing set to the slide. I’m rewarded even more when I start climbing up the ladder and her jaw drops.

‘What on earth are you doing?’ she asks, dumbfounded, as she watches me climb higher.

I glance over my shoulder back down at her. ‘If you want to find out, you’re going to have to follow me.’

She eyes the soaking wet ladder with skepticism, but I know she’ll do it – she’s too brave to let a little wet metal get in her way. And just like I knew she would, she starts up the ladder. When I reach the top, I hop into the tunnel slide and go down it, getting rewarded with a sopping wet puddle at the bottom and a bump on the head from the to-do list I had Seth secure in the slide just before we got here.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to put it there.

Reaching up, I unhook the string holding it in place and remove the small whiteboard. Seth’s erased the entire list, except for number one hundred fifty-five which might be my favorite number now. I tuck the board into my side, face down so the marker doesn’t get smeared by the snow.

‘You want me to slide down this?’ Callie calls down through the slide with bafflement in her tone.

I lower my head into the slide and yell, ‘Hell yes!’

There’s a pause and then I hear her squeal as she lowers her feet in then slides down.

‘Holy crap!’ She jumps up when she reaches the bottom as her ass gets wet. ‘That’s cold.’ Once she gets her footing, she looks from me to what’s in my hands. ‘What are you holding?’

‘Your surprise.’ I hand it over, still face down, but it’s more because of my nerves than the fear that it’ll get wet and ruined.

She rubs her lips together as she raises her brows at me. ‘You stole my whiteboard?’

‘No. I had Seth borrow it for me.’ I tap the back of it, noting that there’s a slight tremble to my fingers, something I blame on the snow, completely lying to myself.

A cloud of fog encircles her face as she releases a large exhale. Suddenly, she’s nervous, as if she’s realized this is no longer a game, but a very serious, life-altering moment.

‘I’m afraid to turn it over,’ she whispers, but does it anyway.

I hold my breath as I watch her read the two simple, but very momentous words written in red marker, along with the arrow pointing forward at the apartment complex straight across from where we’re standing. She must read it a few times because it takes a little bit for her to look up at me.