he Resolution of Callie & Kayden (The Coincidence, #6)(56)

‘Nothing.’ I reach for his shirt and slip it over my head. ‘I was just going to do a little writing because I can’t sleep.’

He rolls to his side and props up on his elbow as I move for my bag to get my laptop. ‘So when do I get to read this mystery story?’ he asks, tracing his fingers up and down my spine.

I consider what he said as I run back on the mattress, hurrying because the carpetless floor is freezing my feet. ‘When it’s finished.’

He glances from the laptop to me then cocks his brow. ‘And when will that be?’

I lean against the wall and position the laptop on my lap. ‘Probably tonight. I can feel the ending getting nearer.’ I open the computer and click on the screen. ‘Or at least the open-ending one.’

‘What’s it about?’ He leans over and reads the title on the screen. ‘The Truthful Fairytale.’ His gaze travels up to me. ‘It sounds like it’s about a princess and a prince.’

I shake my head as I put a pillow behind my back and stretch out my legs. ‘Nope. Just a boy and a girl.’

He gives me a curious look. ‘But you’ll let me read it, right? I love reading your stuff. I swear it gives me a little insight into what goes on in that head of yours.’

‘Which is sure madness.’ I do my best evil villain voice and he laughs. ‘And yes, I promise you’ll get to read it when it’s done.’

Seeming satisfied, he lies back down and gets comfortable. I only start really writing, though, when he falls asleep; otherwise, I feel like he’s watching me.

The first date was magical. They ate. They danced. They laughed. They smiled. By the end of the night, the air was so electric the girl had to glance around because it seriously felt like there were fairies hiding in the bushes, sprinkling pixie dust wherever they went.

‘I’m glad we did this,’ the guy said as they walked up a path they’d never taken before, side by side.

‘I’m glad, too,’ she replied. ‘I had a lot of fun.’ And it was the truth. She did have fun and it almost made the night surreal. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she’d fallen asleep and none of this was real. If that was the case, then she hoped she’d never wake up.

The stars and the moon shone above them and the houses around them were fast asleep. It was just them. No monsters. No expectations. No kingdoms and queens and kings and palaces.

It was perfect.

And for the first time in a long time, the girl felt safe.

Maybe even daring.

With every ounce of bravery she could summon, she reached over and took the boy’s hand in hers. She half expected him to recoil from the contact, half expected to do the same thing herself. Instead, the boy held on and she gripped tighter.

There wasn’t a spark or a zap from the contact, just a rush of energy as their flesh touched for the first time.

‘You know, I never would have been here if it wasn’t for you,’ he said so abruptly it threw her off guard.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, stopping with the boy beneath a lamppost. It was the only light on the street and it surrounded them.

He looked down at her with such passion in his eyes, begging for her to understand. ‘That night when you came … when you saved me, it changed the direction of my life.’

The girl felt breathless. ‘How so?’

‘Because I’d given up,’ he said, daring to graze his finger down her cheek, causing her to shudder and her heart to skip a beat. ‘I thought the world was full of monsters and there wasn’t really a point in fighting them anymore. That wherever I’d go, they’d be there to break me, but you … you showed me not everyone was a monster.’

‘You showed me that, too,’ the girl replied. The boy looked at her, confused, and she wanted to explain, but she couldn’t just yet.

Maybe that was the key to all this, after all? Not the key to getting her back to being a princess. She didn’t want to be a princess anymore, knew better than to believe in such things. But what she did want to be is a normal girl who could hold hands with a guy without feeling ugly and disgusted.

She just wanted to be happy in her own little world.

‘I wish I could do more,’ he replied with a sad expression.

She didn’t want him to be sad, though.

She wanted him to be happy.

The both of them.

But she had to wonder if maybe he could do more. Or maybe she had to do it herself. Maybe she was the one who had to be brave, to save herself.

Without even thinking, she started to lean in to kiss him, hoping she wouldn’t scare him. To her surprise, he leaned in, too, and the two of them met in the middle.

The joining of their lips didn’t set off an explosion of fireworks. There was no music announcing this was the starting point of their happily ever after. In fact, the light above them flickered off and there was nothing but darkness. But it couldn’t smother the light caused by the fire hidden deep inside each other’s hearts, a fire that could quite possibly burn forever if they chose to let it.

And it was a start.

To happiness.

To a life without monsters controlling them.

And really, that’s all both of them ever wanted.

Not a happily ever after.

Just a happy after.

I’m not sure how long I stare at the screen, deciding if that’s it, but I’m pretty sure it’s at least it for an hour. After the hour’s up, though, I decide I’m happy with it and save it in my portfolio file. Then I lean over to put my computer aside on the floor, not wanting to get out of bed and out from beneath the covers. The room is dark, the only light coming through the window of the door where I can see the moon up in the sky.