Kayden slides his finger out of me and kisses me gently, his breath hot against my lips. “Are you still good?”
I nod my head up and down, my breathing erratic and my skin damp with sweat. “I’m great.”
He smiles at my answer and I would probably blush under normal circumstances, but the high in my body still lingers. He lies down on his back with his arm tucked under my neck, his fingers combing through my hair, as he stares at the ceiling with a puzzled expression on his face. “I have to go meet up with Luke. He kept texting me, saying he needed to get the fuck out of the house. I told him I was stopping by here for a few minutes and then I’d be over.”
“Oh. Okay.” I’m kind of hurt he’s taking off.
“I promise we won’t hang out with him for the whole night.” He climbs off the bed and extends his hand to me. “We can come back here a little later or maybe go catch a movie.”
I take his hand and stare up at him. “You want me to go with you?”
He lifts me to my feet with his eyebrows dipped. “What? Did you think I just came over here to… to do that to you?”
I feel stupid. “Maybe. You were texting me all that stuff out of the blue.” I shrug. “I really don’t know what I was thinking.”
He keeps holding my hand as he steps toward the door. “Callie, I’m not using you. The whole texting thing was just my sexual tension catching up with me. If you don’t want to do stuff, you can say so.”
“I want to do stuff,” I say. “That night, when that stuff happened, I only panicked because of something you said that reminded me of what happened… with that other thing. It wasn’t because of anything you did.”
The worry in his eyes subsides as he brings my wrist to his lips and kisses it delicately. “So we’re good to keep going?”
I nod, even though I have no idea where we are going. I’m extremely interested to find out, though, especially after what we just did. I always believed that stuff like that wouldn’t be possible for me; that it would remind me too much of what happened, but all I was thinking about the entire time was Kayden. Everything else left my mind.
Chapter 16
#7 Do Something Just Because It’s Fun.
Kayden
I’m worried that I’m getting in too deep. I couldn’t stop thinking about her after Luke and I dropped her off at her house, which is why I had been staying away. The longer I did, the more intense my feelings got. All I could think about was being with her, especially because my dad has been an asshole ever since I got home. He hasn’t hit me, but he doesn’t make it easy to be around him, even just a little amount of time.
Finally, I decided to go see Callie because I knew seeing her would make me feel better. I was just going to make it a quick stop, but so many emotions raced through me, I couldn’t control myself and things ended up a little heated. When Callie came, I nearly died. All I wanted to do was rip off her clothes and thrust my cock inside her, feel her everywhere—feel everything. But I’m afraid of what will happen if we cross that line. What it will mean to her—what it will mean to me. My head’s so screwed up. I should walk away from her, but I’m too fucking weak.
Callie wanders around the small room in the basement of my house, taking in my trophies and pictures on the wall. She glances at the bed in the corner and then at the leather couches and television. The spot on the wall that I punched has been repaired, like that night never happened. But it did. And part of me is glad it did, because it brought Callie into my life.
“So what is this?” she asks curiously. “Like your bachelor pad?”
I open the side door that leads to the outside to let in Luke, who ran out to the truck to grab a cooler. My dad’s gone for the night, thankfully and my mom didn’t see us pull in. “I guess that’s what you can call it. Really, it’s just where my brothers and I use to hide out when we were trying to stay invisible.” It’s so strange talking to her openly about it.
She sits down on the back of the couch with her legs dangling over the edge. “I wish I had one of these rooms when I was growing up.”
“So what the hell are we doing tonight?” Luke stumbles inside carrying a blue cooler, his face is red, and there’s dirt in his hair. “Personally, I’d like to try and not relive the last night we hung out here.”
“What happened then?” Callie asks curiously.
“Someone got really trashed and ended up getting punched by Dan Zelman.” Luke glances at me as he drops the cooler down on the table. “You were really fucking stupid for picking a fight with him.”
I wince at the memory, flexing my hand. “Yeah, that one hurt.”
Callie looks at me. “Dan Zelman? He’s like huge. Why would you pick a fight with him?”
I shrug, joining her on the back of the couch. “I was drunk.” I lower my voice to a whisper and lean in toward her ear. “And I was upset that I didn’t have the guts to punch someone else earlier that morning.”
“Your dad?” she whispers, turning her head and her lips nearly touch mine.
I shift my weight uneasily. “Yeah, pretty much.”
Luke opens the fridge and beer bottles fall out onto the floor, the glasses clinking together. “Dammit! That wasn’t my fault.”
I roll my eyes with exaggeration and Callie giggles. I hop off the couch and go help him pick up the bottles, glad none of them spilled. The last thing I need is for my dad to come down here and find the carpet stained and reeking of beer.
After we get them picked up, Luke takes a bottle of Jack Daniels out of the cooler. “Shots all around.”
Callie shakes her head, sliding her legs off the couch and jumping onto the floor. “No shots.”
I flash her a playful grin. “What? Didn’t you enjoy the last time you got drunk?”
“I can’t even remember anything,” she says with a hint of laughter in her voice. “Although, you can. So you tell me. Did I enjoy being drunk?”
Grinning, I tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You seemed to.”
“It would be really nice if you just told me what I did and said.”
“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?”
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br /> “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 charmin
g 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?”
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden Page 25