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

‘Welcome home?’ Her brows dip and her head angles to the side as she looks from me to the board, then her gaze tracks the direction of where the arrow is pointing. I know the moment it clicks in her head what I’m trying to say with this whole charade because her breath catches.

‘You and Seth are always doing crazy things like this whenever you ask me out or try to cheer me up,’ I tell her and nonchalantly shrug when her gaze locks on mine, even though I’m squirming in my skin. She hasn’t shown any signs of being happy and I’m getting worried that maybe this isn’t what she really wanted. ‘I thought maybe it was my turn’ – I brush her hair out of her eyes – ‘to do something surprising for you.’

She’s silent for what feels like forever, although her eyes never leave mine. It’s like she’s trying to read my mind or see into my soul or something. If anyone could, it’d be Callie. I just wish I could do the same with her right now because her quietness is becoming maddening.

‘This is what you want?’ She gestures at the board then the apartment complex without looking away from me.

I nod. ‘More than anything.’ Then I hesitate. ‘Is this what you want, though?’

She eyes me over for a moment or two longer like she’s searching for a hidden answer somewhere inside me. She must find it because suddenly she’s dropping the board onto the ground and throwing her arms around me.

‘Of course this is what I want.’ She hugs me more tightly than one would expect those thin arms of hers to be capable of. ‘I’ve wanted it for a long time.’

I hug her back with everything I have in me. ‘I think I have, too, but was afraid to admit it to myself, afraid to let myself have something good.’ I pull back to look at her. ‘Sorry it took me so long. Do you forgive me?’

‘There’s nothing to forgive.’ She slides her hand down my arm and threads our fingers, beaming as she looks up at me. ‘Now, let’s go see it.’

I scoop up the now soaked whiteboard and lead the way across the park to the sidewalk where we trot up the stairs of building number three.

When we reach the second floor, I take the key out of my pocket and nervously unlock the door, fumbling a few times before I finally manage it.

‘Welcome home,’ I say, then push the door open.





Chapter 15


#156 Welcome Home (Yeah, I know it’s the same as #155, but it seemed too epic not to get two numbers. Plus, the first time around it got erased).



Callie


‘It’s really small,’ Kayden says as he steps aside to let me enter our apartment. Yes, our apartment. ‘But it’s what we can afford, so …’ He trails off, ruffling his damp hair into place as he closes the door.

‘That’s okay.’ I take in the space that I’ll now call home. It’s not furnished yet, so it probably looks bigger than it really is. There’s a living room, which I’m standing in, and it’s attached to the dining room/kitchen that has a doorway that I assume leads to the bedroom. The space in front of me is about twice the size of the dorms, which sounds big, but it’s really not. I don’t care, though. At all. ‘I could live in a storage room and be okay with it as long as you were there.’ I’m starting to sound like one of those sappy romance books, but oh well – it seems fitting for the moment.

‘So you’re okay with it?’ Kayden stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans, appearing anxious. His brown hair still has drops of snow in it and his cheeks are red from the cold, and I just want to throw my arms around him and hug the crap out of him again.

So I do.

‘It’s perfect,’ I tell him, squeezing him tightly so he’ll know just how happy I am. His arms circle around me and we share our first hug in our very first home. ‘But I have to make sure’ – I slant back and tip my chin to look up at him – ‘that you’re okay with this because we’ve only been talking about it and then all of a sudden you get a place, and I just want to make sure that it’s what you really want because I don’t want you to feel pressure or anything. I can wait if I need to.’

He snorts a laugh, and when my brows knit, he says, ‘Sorry. It’s just that you kind of sounded like a teenage guy right there trying to convince his girlfriend he’ll wait to have sex with her.’

My cheeks heat, but I start to think about if he ever used that line on Daisy and my elation sinks. But then I realize that it doesn’t matter what happened with Daisy because he and I are here and he’s mine now, not hers.

‘You want to show me the bedroom?’ I give him my best come-hither look that probably comes off more along the lines of looking confused. At least, that’s what I think until his eyes drink me in and he bites at his bottom lip hard.

‘You’re starting to get a dirty mind.’ His smoldering gaze and husky voice sends warm tingles across my skin.

‘It must be Seth’s influence on me.’ My voice is off pitch. ‘Sometimes, it’s like he’s still going through puberty.’

Kayden shakes his head, laughing softly under his breath. ‘All right, no more talking. Let’s go show you our bedroom.’

We’re about halfway across the living room before our lips connect and the clothes start coming off. Shirts are discarded, shoes are kicked off, and we end up leaving a trail of clothing to the bedroom. It’s a little chilly in there, but I don’t care. Kayden can keep me warm, which is exactly what I tell him as we sink to our knees on the tan carpet and I yank his belt off.

‘We should do this every night,’ he says, unhooking my bra and pulling it off. ‘Only in a bed.’

‘No way. We should totally do it on the floor,’ I mutter between the kisses he’s showering me with on my lips, the arch of my neck, the spot where my heart beats.

He mutters something else, but trails off as my fingers skim down his chest to the top of his jeans. Flicking the button undone, I slip my fingers into his boxers and he groans, biting at my skin.

‘Callie …’ The sound of my name in that raspy voice he uses covers my arms with goose bumps. I become impatient, more than I ever have been before. It’s crazy, but the last few weeks have been intense, and I can feel myself changing, becoming more comfortable with myself and who I am with Kayden, so I let my hands wander downward and grasp onto his hardness, something I’ve never done so boldly before.

‘Fuck …’ He uses that tone again and I seriously can’t take it anymore. I’m about to rip his jeans off, literally tear the fabric to bits, when I hear a door open and close from somewhere inside the apartment.

We both freeze, panting for air as we kneel in the center of the room, half naked, our hands grasping at each other.

‘Did you hear that?’ I whisper, my eyes darting to the door.

Kayden nods, his lips parting, but he’s cut off by the sound of a voice.

‘Hello, lovebirds,’ Seth calls out. ‘Are you in here?’

Kayden and mine’s eyes widen at the same time. Then suddenly we’re scrambling to get our clothes, but it’s pointless since we both left our shirts and shoes somewhere between the living room and the hallway. My bra is nearby, though, so I get that on while Kayden does the button of his pants up.

‘What should we do?’ I whisper. ‘My shirt’s out there.’

Kayden shrugs, still looking high on the moment. ‘Ask him to hand the clothes to us.’

I wrap my arms around myself. ‘He’ll make a lot of jokes,’ I warn.

‘He’s already going to make jokes,’ Kayden states, giving me a sexy half smile. ‘So we might as well go face the music.’

‘Knock, knock, knock,’ Seth says as he raps his hand on the shut bedroom door. ‘Oh, Callie darling, I found something that belongs to you, I think.’

‘Oh, leave her alone,’ Greyson says. Then the door cracks and he sticks his arm in with our shirts in his hand. ‘Here you guys go.’

‘Thanks, Greyson.’ I take my shirt and hand Kayden his before I put mine on.

Once we’re both dressed, we go out together and face the music.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask as we walk into the living room.