The Coincidence 07 Seth & Greyson (8 page)

“Usually, I’m an honest person. Too honest sometimes. But I get where you’re coming from. I haven’t really been myself around you. Not completely, anyway.”

He swallows hard. “Is it something I’ve done or said? Because I know I can get a little weird—”

“No, it’s not you at all,” I cut him off, feeling like the biggest asshole. “It’s me.” He looks befuddled, so I add, “Some stuff happened to me in my past that makes me…” The scars on my hand throb. I feel so vulnerable standing there in front of him, trying to explain the secret I’ve kept locked inside me. “Hesitate.”

His gaze flicks to the scars on my arm. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe in the future.” Once I say it, I realize how much I mean it. One day, I hope I can tell him what happened without being terrified out of my mind. “But tonight was supposed to be about fun.”

“So, you want to have fun, then?” he asks with a dare in his eyes.

I feel like I might be getting in over my head, but I’m too drunk to back down. “That all depends. What did you have in mind?”

Lust fills his eyes and the look instantly fills my thoughts with lots and lots of dirty images of the fun things we could do. He stands up straight and motions for me to follow him through the dancing crowd. I trail at his heels and note every single person that so much as glances in our direction, wondering what they’re thinking or if they’re thinking anything. I really wish my mind was calm, but it’s racing a zillion miles a minute.

My adrenaline goes up a thousand notches when Greyson makes a right and turns down a hallway lined with a few open doors, all of which lead to bedrooms. I start to get so turned on just thinking about going in one of them. But the last time I was with someone intimately was with Braiden. Since I can’t even talk about what happened yet, I don’t think I’m ready to go down that road, despite how much my body wants to.

I open my mouth to tell Greyson I need to leave, but close my trap when he enters a room with a heavy game of poker going on.

“You’re into cards?” I question, staring at the table covered with poker chips and cards.

“It’s okay. It can be really fun when you’re drunk.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Are you?”

I mentally try to calculate a problem using the quadratic formula I learned in Pre-Cal, but then realize I couldn’t even figure out the answer sober.

“What are you thinking about?” Greyson's gaze zeros in on my lips and desire fills his eyes.

“You really want to know?” I ask and he nods. “The quadratic formula.”

The desire deflates like a balloon. “What?”

“Never mind.” I nod at the table five guys and three girls are seated around. “So, are we going to play?”

“Do you know how?”

“Of course.”

A thoughtful look crosses his face. “Okay, good, because I want to make a wager.”

“A wager?”

“Yeah, if I win more than you, you have to go to this art show with me.”

I hesitate. “And if I win?”

He shrugs. “You can have anything you want.”

My skin warms as thousands of very vivid images of what I want flash through my mind.

“All right, you have a deal.” I stick out my hand to shake on it.

He wraps his hand around mine, grips tightly and slides his finger along the inside of my wrist as he pulls away.

“Can I just say again that I seriously don’t understand why you think you’re awkward,” I tell him. “You’re kind of the exact opposite.”

“Well, I’m kind of a little drunk right now, so the alcohol puts the weirdo inside me to sleep.”

I shake my head, laughing under my breath. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“Wait, aren’t you going to tell me what you want if you win?” he asks, rolling his tongue along the inside of his mouth to stop himself from grinning.

I shake my head. “Nope. You’re just going to have to wait until after I win.”

His eyes glimmer with amusement as I hedge around him and take a seat at the table. He sits down beside me, we both buy a fair amount of chips, and the game begins. We’re not really playing against everyone else, so Greyson and I keep our own little tally as hand after hand is dealt. I’m a pretty decent player, but Greyson seems to be a bit better. He keeps smirking in my direction, like he’s sure he’s going to kick my ass.

Two hours later, I’ve gotten lost in the game and the worry about everyone watching me has dissipated. The downside, I’ve lost all my chips and the wager we made. My stomach churns as we leave the table and the party, knowing that I have no excuse not to go with him to the art show. Whether I’m over my fear or not, I have to go out on a date with him.

“A penny for your thoughts?” he asks as we stroll up the sidewalk toward the campus that’s a few blocks away.

“I was just thinking about how much I hate to lose.” I fake a pout. “I’m an extremely sore loser.”

“And I’m kind of an arrogant winner.” He forces a smirk, but then busts up laughing. “Okay, actually I’m not. In fact, I kind of feel bad that you lost.”

“Enough to let me win, perhaps?”

“No way. I’m holding you to our deal. Besides, I hate going to these art shows by myself. The room is always so stuffy and so are most of the people.”

“But you’re an art major.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean I fit the mold of art gallery people.”

We pause at the corner, checking for traffic before stepping off the curb to cross the street. My head is still spinning a bit, and I’m not sure if it’s the alcohol or Greyson. The streets are mostly deserted at this hour and it’s so quiet I can almost pretend that Greyson and I are the only two people who exist. If only I could feel that way all the time. Life would be so much easier.

“I’ll tell you what.” Greyson walks backwards so he’s facing me. “How about we consider both of us winners? You go to the art show with me and you get one thing of your choice.”

“You know, you’re putting a lot of trust in me right now,” I say as I hop up onto the sidewalk. “Giving me free reign to do whatever I want, especially when I have such a wild imagination.”

He stops walking and I almost run into him. “Okay, now you’ve got me wondering what the hell you’re going to pick.”

I flash him a wicked smirk. “Oh, no. I’m not going to pick something right away. I’m going to wait until the perfect moment and spring it on you.”

He restrains a grin as we start walking again. “Fine. But you still have to go to the art show with me. That’s the deal.”

I nod, shaking, terrified to death. “It’s next Friday night, right?”

He nods, slowing down as we reach the front of my lofty dorm building. Most of the lights are off and the air carries a stillness to it.

“So, this is me,” I tell him, digging my keycard out of my pocket.

I’m not sure what exactly I’m supposed to do. Invite him in? Yeah, I’m sure my roommate would love that. Then again, he’s never there.

I press my hand to my head. God, I’m getting a headache from the stress.

“I need to get home,” Greyson says, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d guess he was saving me from my inner conflict. “But I’ll call you tomorrow and give you all the details about the show. The time, place, and whatnot. Jenna and Ari are going to be driving. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course.” I turn to slide the keycard through the slot, feeling flustered for some reason.

“Seth,” he says tentatively as I’m opening the door.

I pause without turning around. “Yeah.” My voice shakes a little, which is ridiculous.

I’ve never been the nervous type, not even the first time Braiden and I kissed. It just kind of happened and I felt excited, but never nervous.

His hand touches my arm and he gives me a little tug. I turn around without thinking and he leans in and brushes his lips against mine. He kisses more tentatively than I’m used to, as if he’s nervous, too, which makes me feel a little better, yet I’m still a little hesitant. When my hands find his arms and grip tight, he backs me up into the wall and deepens the kiss. Suddenly, my reservations go right out the window and I’m completely and utterly turned on. It’s been so long since I’ve wanted a guy this much.

I wish I could say that it erases all the pain inside me, that the scars and memories suddenly fade away and are forgotten in an instant. But that’s the thing about scars. They always stay with us, whether visible or unseen. It doesn’t mean that I have to let them control me, though, so I let go and kiss him back with everything I have in me, allowing myself to momentarily forget about the terrible stuff that happened to me.

He tastes minty and I can’t figure out why. All I saw him drink was Bacardi tonight, and I wonder if he popped a mint in anticipation of this moment. I find the idea cutely amusing and smile against his lips.

He pulls away slightly. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing.” I chuckle again, sliding one of my hands around the back of his neck and kissing him far less timidly.

Our bodies press together and I can feel how much he wants me as he gently grinds his hips against me. God, I forgot how much I loved to kiss and touch. I get so into it I almost forget where we are. When someone drives by and honks their horn, I immediately pull away, catching my breath and trying to process what just happened.

Greyson looks like he’s teetering somewhere between being high and turned on as he backs up, his mouth tugged to a lopsided grin. “So, thanks and um, yeah, I’ll text you tomorrow with the details.” He rakes his fingers through his hair and he kind of trips over his feet as he turns for the grass.

I smile at the sight of his awkward side coming out. “And there it is.”

He gives me a wave from over his shoulder before disappearing down the sidewalk. I turn for the door, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down before I slip my keycard through the slot again and walk inside.

I instantly freeze when I spot Luke lounging in one of the chairs inside the entrance.

“Hey, man,” he says with a chin nod.

My heart pounds in my chest and blood roars in my eardrums. Did he just see us kiss? The taste of dirt floods my mouth.
Stop thinking about it, Seth, and relax. Just breathe. Everything will be okay.
“Hey…” I glance around the empty room. “What’re you doing down here?”

He shrugs, sitting up in the chair. “Well, I was going to go up to my room, but then Kayden texted me saying that Callie was spending the night and that I should crash somewhere else.”

“What the fuck?” I storm for the elevator. “I told him to keep his hands off her.”

Luke clumsily trips to his feet. “Would you relax?” He grabs my arm, stopping me. “He’s not sleeping
with
her. He’s letting her crash because of some red scarf on the doorknob or something.”

“How the hell do I know that’s true? I don’t really know him. Or you, for that matter.”

Luke pulls out his phone, taps the screen, and hands it to me. “Here, read his text. It should give you some peace of mind.”

I glance down at the message.

Kayden: Hey, I’m taking Callie back to our place because there was a red scarf on her doorknob. Could you find a place to crash? She’s a little nervous around people she doesn’t know and I don’t want her worried about anything.

“All right, that’s actually kind of sweet.” I hand him his phone, relaxing a little. “Where are you going to crash, though?”

Luke points at the front door. “I’m actually waiting for someone to pick me up for a party.”

“Weren’t you just at one?”

“Yeah, so? I want to keep the fun going. Besides, I’m not even close to being tired.”

“All right, gotcha.” I pull out my phone and send Callie a text to call me the moment she wakes up. “I’m actually not that tired myself.”

In fact, I’m extremely wired. My mind is racing with thoughts of Greyson’s kiss and how soft his lips felt, how fucking amazing it felt to be kissed again. The idea of going to sleep seems absurdly implausible.