Free The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

hand on my arm. “I swear I can give it back.”
     
    He laughs softly and then his fingers graze the inside of my wrist, causing my entire body to shiver. “I promise. No harm, no foul.”
     
    “I’m really sorry,” I repeat.
     
    He looks at me with this strange expression, like he’s conflicted about something. He licks his lips and then presses them together, holding his breath.
     
    I’ve often wondered what a guy would look like when he was about ready to kiss me. Would it be the same as my first and only kiss; a glimmer of conquer blazing within the pupils? Or would it be something else entirely different? Something less terrifying? Filled with more passion and desire?
     
    Turning back to the cliff, he frees my wrist and his hand begins to tremor. He flexes it, elongating his fingers and letting out a sigh.
     
    “What’s wrong with your hand?” I ask, struggling to maintain a steady voice. “Did you hurt it climbing up?”
     
    He balls it into a fist and places it on his lap. “It’s nothing. I just broke a few bones a while ago and it gets that way sometimes.”
     
    “Does it effect how you play?”
     
    “Sometimes, but I can handle it.”
     
    I stare at the scars on his knuckles, remembering the night when they were split open. “Can I ask you a question?”
     
    He stretches out his legs and leans back on his hands. “Sure.”
     
    “How did you get the scars on your hand?” I reach out to touch them, the need to feel him so intense it temporarily overpowers my doubts, but life catches up with me and I swiftly move my hand away.
     
    Putting his weight on one arm, he elevates his hand out in front of him.  At the bottom of each finger is a thick white scar. “I punched a wall.”
     
    “Excuse me?”
     
    “Not on purpose,” he adds, and then makes a path with his finger along each bump and groove. “Accidents happen sometimes.”
     
    I recollect his dad slamming his fist into his face. “Yeah, I guess they do, but sometimes bad things happen on purpose by the hands of bad people.”
     
    He nods, then gets to his feet, and dusts the dirt off his jeans. “We should head back. I got a killer Literature paper I have to write.” He offers me his hand to help me up, but I just can’t bring myself to take it.
     
    I turn over onto my hands and knees and push myself to my feet. “Now I just have to make it back down,” I say with a sigh as I walk toward the cliff and peek over the edge.
     
    He laughs quietly as he follows behind me. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you down, if you’ll let me.”
     
    My eyes broaden at his words and then at the cliff. What a dilemma. But I trusted him once and I decide to do it again. I just pray to God he doesn’t shove me down and break me, because I’m already in too many pieces and I just don’t know how much more breaking I can take.
     
     
     
     
     
    Kayden
     
    I’m nervous helping her scale down the cliff and not because I think she’s going to fall. My arm is around her back and her weight is against me. She’s safe and I’m glad she is.
     
    The problem lies inside me. The entire time we’re climbing down, my heart is thumping in my chest. I want to reach over and feel her skin, suck on her lips, even let my fingers graze her ass. I’ve never wanted anyone like this before and it’s fucking scary as hell. For a second, I considered kissing her while we were up on the cliff, but it would have been wrong of me. Not only because I shouldn’t be kissing someone as nice as Callie, but also because I have a girlfriend and it wouldn’t be fair to anyone.
     
    Even though our conversation on the cliff was a minor moment in time, it held more depth than any other conversation I’ve had. When I talk to Daisy, it mostly focuses on shallow things, like homecoming, what she is going to wear, and where the parties are going to take place. That’s how I want my life. Simple. I already have enough complexity locked away inside me to shadow