Seth & Greyson (The Coincidence #7)(9)

When a girl wearing a tight red dress comes strolling out of the restaurant, the guy Seth’s with practically breaks his neck to check her out, cementing the fact that it’s definitely not a date. So what’s Seth’s deal, then? Why go from friendly to standoffish in a snap of a finger?

When Seth notices me glancing back and forth between him and the guy, he lets out another nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah, introductions right?” He motions at the guy. “Luke, this is Greyson. Greyson, Luke.”

I give Luke a small wave. “Yeah, I think we have bio together.”

He nods, still somewhat distracted by the girl in the red dress. “It’s nice to meet you, man.”

An awkward silence settles between us, and I decide it’s time to get my food before Jenna and Ari get here. I start for the door at the same time Seth steps for it and we slam into each other. I grab onto his arms as I start to stumble back and our gazes lock. His gaze drops to my lips and his fingers dig into my arms. A heartbeat goes by before he shuffles away from me, but it’s enough time for me to see the want in his eyes beneath the overwhelming fear.

I realize Seth’s afraid to be seen with me. While I was lucky to be born into an accepting family and never had too much of a problem openly being myself, I understand everyone isn’t that lucky. Sadly, I’m guessing Seth is one of the unlucky ones.

I wish I could do something to help him. Hug him or something, tell him it’s okay, that whatever happened to him is going to be fine. But unlike my mother, I don’t believe I can see the future.

As I walk into the restaurant, I decide I’m going to make an effort to get to know him. If for nothing else than to be his friend.

Chapter 4
Seth

I hate how flustered and confused I feel after watching Greyson walk away from me. Part of me wants to apologize for my ridiculous behavior, but part of me is relieved. Luke doesn’t seem like a judgmental person, but I can’t seem to help my reaction. The same thing happened when we were holding hands in class earlier today and a football player took a seat in front of me, sending me straight into a flashback.

I know not every guy is Braiden, but I still find myself drowning in memories of my ex, the star quarterback at my high school and one hundred percent gorgeous. I never thought he’d be interested in me, but during a project we got paired up on, we ended up making out in my room. One hot and heavy make out session led to secret weekend hookups. Deep down, I think I always knew things would end badly. Braiden wasn’t openly gay and refused to see me outside the four walls of my garage. What I didn’t expect was our relationship to end in such an ugly and brutal way.

I flinch at the memory and head back to the booth with Luke to join Callie and Kayden, who are engulfed in an intense conversation. While I’m curious about what they’re discussing, my thoughts are still caught up in Greyson and the look on his face when he walked away.

He saw the fear inside me, the fa?ade I put on that I’m always okay, always happy, all smiles, sunshine, and freakin’ bedazzled unicorns.

On our way out of the restaurant, I contemplate talking to Callie about Greyson, but she’s still pretty frustrated with me over inviting Kayden and Luke to dinner.

“I’m so going to get you back for this,” she hisses under her breath as we head to the car.

“Why?” I whisper innocently. “I thought it went pretty well.”

“It did, except for…” She bites her lip and looks down at her hands.

“Except for what?”

“Except for when you left, Kayden tried to thank me and then he touched my hand.” She wrings her hands in front of her with her head tipped down. “I freaked out and he probably thinks I’m even more of a weirdo then he did before.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I sneak a peek at Kayden. His attention is focused solely on Callie, the worried look on his face proof of exactly how concerned he is about her.

“I really don’t think that’s what he’s thinking,” I tell her in a low voice.

She peers up at me. “Why not?”

Sliding my arm around her, I shoot her a grin rather than answer her question, realizing she’s not ready to hear my predictions regarding the Callie/Kayden debacle. Sometimes you can just tell people belong together. Sometimes you just know.

Knowing is the easiest part. It’s accepting and opening up that’s complicated.

***

The weeks drift by in a sea of mind-numbing schoolwork. I spend a lot of my free time with Callie, and during class, I pretend not to notice Greyson. His hot-as-hell presence torments me, but I don’t attempt to talk to him. I’m too mortified over my behavior at the restaurant and frustrated with myself for letting my past control me. Since life doesn’t offer mulligans, I do the only thing I can. I just go with the flow.

I’ve just about convinced myself that I’m over my crush on Greyson when he leans toward me right in the middle of the professor’s lecture. Just like that, I’m right back where I started. Completely obsessed.

“So, do you get anything he’s saying?” he whispers under his breath.

My initial instinct is to look around and see if anyone is watching us, but I get caught up in the delicious scent of his cologne and blank out. “Yeah, a little bit.”

His brow crooks. “You said you weren’t a fan of school.”