The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden(32)

Kayden steps up beside us, his fingers brushing up the inside of my arm, and the man’s eyes rise to meet his. His shoulders stiffen as he halts, his shoes scuffing against the gravel on the sidewalk.

“Shut your f*cking drunken mouth, turn around, and go home,” Kayden orders calmly pointing his finger down the street.

The man’s chapped lips part, but then he fastens his jaw shut as he takes in the sight of Kayden’s broad shoulders and height. He tosses the beer bottle out into the street where it shatters into pieces across the asphalt and then he drags his feet as he staggers toward the corner.

Seth and I blow out a breath of relief, our eyes wide as we stare at each other in shock.

Seth turns to Kayden. “You’re like a knight in shining armor.”

I catch a faint hint of Kayden’s musky scent mixed with cologne. From now on, whenever I smell it I’ll come back to this moment when I felt protected. “Thank you,” I tell him.

He smiles, leaning down so his face is near mine. “You’re welcome.”

We head up the sidewalk with Seth and me in the front and Luke and Kayden in the back. Luke keeps whispering to Kayden and then suddenly we hear a grunt. When I turn around, Luke is hunched over, cradling his gut.

“You f*cking *,” he growls and he collapses onto his knees.

My eyes bulge as he stands up straight and prowls toward Kayden, raising his fists. Kayden does nothing but stand there with a stoic look on his face.

“Oh my God!” I cry, instinctively stepping for him as the memories of that night when his father beat the shit out of him surface.

Luke surrenders his hands out in front of him and steps back from Kayden. “Callie, I was just messing with him.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I cover my hand over my mouth, feeling like an idiot. The drunken man has put my nerves up way too high.

Kayden shoots a piercing look at Luke as he edges toward me. “It’s okay,” he says cautiously. “Luke was just giving me a hard time about something so I hit him in the stomach as a joke. The whole thing was a joke.”

I free a breath imprisoned in my chest. “Okay, I’m sorry. I just thought he was going to hurt you.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.” He glances at Seth then back at me and his shoulder shifts forward as he wraps an arm around my shoulder.

I tense from the rush of his touch and the fear of it. It feels so much more personal then when we were climbing up the cliff, because there’s no point to it except to touch each other.

I look to Seth for help, but he mouths, relax and breathe.

I order my erratic heart to shut the hell up and even though it doesn’t listen, I manage to make it all the way to the door of the club with Kayden’s arm around my shoulder. It’s something new, fresh, and raw. While being insignificant, it’s momentous and a contradiction in itself.

Kayden

Callie is the most skittish person I’ve ever met, which says a lot since every time my dad would raise his voice, my brothers and I would scatter around the house and hide while we were being hunted.

Luke was giving me shit about checking out her ass, which I was, but I couldn’t help it. She’s so tiny and the way she swings her hips is captivating and kind of sexy, although she’s probably not doing it on purpose.

“You’re going to get yourself into a lot of trouble,” Luke remarks as we walk just a ways behind them.

I transfer my gaze off Callie’s ass and scowl at Luke. “Why?”

He points a finger at Callie with an accusing look on his face. “Because of her right there. Do you know what Daisy would do if you ever cheated on her.”

“Move on to the next guy that told her she had nice tits.” I stuff my hands into my pockets and step around a pole.

“Okay, you’re probably right on that one,” he says and aims his finger at Callie again. “But do you know what Daisy would do to Callie if she ever found out there was something going on between you two?”

“There’s nothing going on between us.”

“Yet.”

I shake my head, frustrated. “She’s not like that. She’s sweet and… innocent.”

“That’s a dangerous combination for someone like you.” He reaches for the pack of cigarettes in his front pocket. “I’m totally rooting that you find someone else, because I f*cking hate Daisy. Just break up with her first and don’t bring Callie into it. She seems sad.” He swallows hard. “She kind of reminds me of Amy.”