The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden (35 page)

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.”

“I love it when you ramble. It’s cute.” I put the bottle to my lips and slant my head back, sipping a shot, letting her know my answer. I aim the bottle in her direction with my gaze on her. “Your turn, unless it’s not true.”

Her fingers tremble as she wraps her hand around the bottle. I watch her mouth move as she inclines her head back and takes a deep swallow. I probably shouldn’t be staring, but watching her lips move is distracting and turning me on.

She coughs, her cheeks puffing out as she places the bottle on the table and smears the sleeve of her shirt across her lips. “God, it burns so bad.”

Luke collects the bottle from the table and gets to his feet. “I have to fucking take a piss.” He opens the door of the basement and staggers outside, leaving it cracked behind him.

Callie looks at me bewilderedly. “Why did he go outside?”

“It’s a drunk thing with him.” I relax back on the couch with my arm still around her. “He likes to go outside and piss.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Callie tucks her leg underneath her. “He seems pretty drunk. What if he wanders out into the trees and gets lost?”

“He’ll be fine.” I wave her off, not wanting to talk about Luke anymore.

We sit quietly for a moment and I watch her out of the corner of my eye, wanting to touch her so badly, like I did earlier in her room.

Callie rotates her body toward me, pressing her lips together, restraining a smile. “So you really made Tami Bentler a yes or no letter?”

“Let me clarify that that happened in third grade.”  I relax on the couch, grab her shoulder, and guide her down beside me, so we’re lying side by side and I wrap my legs around hers.

She bumps her head on the arm of the chair as she gets situated. “Ow… what did she say?”

“Here lift your head up.” I tuck my arm under her, before she lies down, letting her use it as a pillow. “She said no way.”

She turns on her side, facing me. “That’s so sad. I would have said yes.”

“Would you have?” I question. “Because I wasn’t as charming as I am now.”

She chokes on a laugh and then lowers her head toward my chest. “I kind of had a crush on you back in grade school.”

“What?” Fixing a finger under her chin, I elevate her head, so I can look into her eyes. “Really?”

“I think you know that almost every girl did, which makes me surprised Tami said no.”

“I think Tami may have taken the letter better if it was from someone like you.”

“You mean… she liked—likes girls?”

I shrug, staring up at the ceiling. “That’s what I heard, but who knows if it’s true.” I pause, glancing down at her as she wets her lips with her tongue. “How drunk are you?”

“I’m not drunk at all,” she says. “I had two tiny swallows.”

I pinch her side and she cradles her arm against her ribs protectively. “Yeah, but you’re tiny and a lightweight.”

“I’m not that tiny,” she protests. “And I promise I barely feel a thing.”

I pause, examining her eyes, and then move forward with caution. “So if I kissed you right now, I wouldn’t be taking advantage of you?”

“No, but I might be taking advantage of you. Your breath smells about as bad as the bottle.” She fans her nose with a smile.

“Trust me. You can take advantage of me and I won’t mind, even when I sober up.” I press my lips to hers, feeling my heart thump in my chest as her breath catches.

It grows silent as we lie with our foreheads touching and our breaths mingling. I place my hand on her hip, shutting my eyes, feeling the intensity of the moment like an open wound.

“I have a question,” Callie whispers. “How many people saw Luke walking in that robe?”

“You know how every Christmas they do that caroling thing down in the town center?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, he walked through there.”

She laughs, rolling in to me, and nestling her face into my shoulder as her leg slides across my stomach. “There are always a ton of people there. Oh, my God, I bet my parents were even there. They always go.”

“I know…” I smell the scent of her hair; shampoo mixed with cigarettes from Luke smoking in the car on our way here. “Callie, I….” Fucking hell. What the hell is happening to me? “I really want to kiss you right now.”

She freezes, her chest grazing against mine as she exhales. “Oh yeah?”

I sweep her hair out of her face and she peers up at me through her long eyelashes. “Can I?”

She stays motionless for a second and then nods her head. “Yeah, you can.”

I let out a tense breath and lean toward her, tipping my head to the side as I seal my mouth to hers. Nipping softly on her bottom lip, she lets out a breathy moan that floods my body with a hunger. I dive into the kiss, opening my mouth and caressing her lips with my tongue. She’s warm and tastes like Jack and I want more—more than we’re probably ready for.

Grabbing her waist, I pull her onto my lap so she’s straddling me. “I can’t stop myself with you.”

A tiny gasp escapes her lips as my hard cock presses against her. “Kayden…” she starts, but trails off as I knot my fingers through her hair and escort her face toward mine. Moving my lips down her neck, I suck on her skin, devouring the taste of her.

“I have to tell you something.” The back of my mind screams at me that I need to shut up. That I’m drunk and what I’m going to say isn’t good, but I do it anyway. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

Her body goes rigid, her breath feathering against my neck. “What?”

“You and me… I like it so much. I’ve never liked the idea of being with anyone before.”

Exhaling slowly, she pushes upward and climbs off the top of me. “I think maybe we should talk about something else.”

“Like what?” I’m worried I’ve scared her, like I’ve done with myself.

“Like something that makes you happy,” she suggests. “Or something that you’re not going to regret in the morning.”

“That’s you. Callie, you’re the only person that’s ever made me feel happy about anything. That night you saved me, you changed something in me—you made me want to live.” I tell her the truth, knowing that when morning comes around, it’s all going to catch up with me.