The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

about anything. It makes no sense to me and maybe that’s why I’m drawn to her.
     
    Even though I shouldn’t, I move across the dance floor, turning sideways to fit through the couples dancing, and getting rubbed on by a couple of girls along the way. Seth’s eyes locate me first and he whispers something into Callie’s ear.
     
    Turning her head, she looks at me and her eyelids lift slightly. Her pupils look huge below the hazy lights, her skin pale, and her hair soft.
     
    “Mind if I cut in?” I ask over the music.
     
    Seth lets go of her hips. “Be my guest.” He winks at Callie and walks backwards off the dance floor, turning as he arrives at the edge, where the crowd closes in.
     
    Callie’s gaze lingers in the spot he vanished from, her shoulders stiff and her fingers tucked into her palms.
     
    I put my lips beside her ear. “You don’t have to dance with me, if you don’t want to.”
     
    Her shoulders jolt upward and she rotates her tiny body to face me.  Her gaze scrolls up my legs, my stomach, and it makes me kind of uncomfortable. She knows where my scars are hidden and she’s the kind of person who wonders things.
     
    “It’s fine. We can dance.” Her nerves show through the shakiness of her voice.
     
    I hold out my hand and she wavers before placing her palm on top of mine. Enclosing my fingers around her hand, I slowly lure her body toward mine with my eyes fixed on hers. She’s looking at me helplessly, like she’s praying I won’t hurt her. It takes me back to a time when I was younger and my father was furious with me because I’d knocked a vase off the shelf. He came at me with a belt in his hand and rage in his eyes as I dove under the table trying to hide. The cuts from the previous days beating hadn’t healed yet, and all I could do was hope he didn’t kill me.
     
    “Can I put my hand on your hip?” I ask and she nods.
     
    I spread my fingers around her waist and her eyes get a little wider, especially when I position my other hand on her side. I listen to my heart thud inside my chest, louder than the music. I’m feeling things I haven’t felt before and I might be getting in over my head. What if I continue to get to know her and the feelings amplify? I don’t deal with feelings.
     
    She unwinds a little as her hands glide up my chest and hook around my neck, her head angling back so she can look up at me.
     
    “I don’t really like to dance,” I admit. “I kind of developed a fear of it when I was little.”
     
    Her lips twitch upward. “Why’s that?”
     
    Digging my fingertips gently into her hips, I draw her toward me so our feet touch and I feel the heat of her breath on my neck. “When I was ten, my mom went through this dance faze where she took all kinds of dance classes and when she practiced at home, she liked to use my brothers and I as her partners. I’ve hated dancing ever since.”
     
    She smiles. “That’s cute that you danced around with your mom.”
     
    My fingers inch around her back and graze the sliver of skin between the top of her jeans and the bottom of her shirt. “You can’t tell anyone that. I have a reputation to uphold. At least I did back home. Here I’m not so sure.”
     
    Her smile expands as her head tips forward and pieces of her hair veil around her face. “It can be our little secret.”
     
    I laugh softly as she looks back up at me. She seems happy.  As the music shifts to an upbeat rhythm, I decide to show off, just to keep her smiling.
     
    “Hold on,” I warn.
     
    She bites down on her lip, and the urge to kiss her compresses at my heart. Suddenly, I can’t decide whether to leave her there on the dance floor, or continue to show off.
     
    Shoving her away, I glide my hand up her arm until our fingers interlace. Her eyes widen as I yank her back toward me and twist her around, before colliding her body into mine. Her lips are inches away from my mouth as her heaving chest brushes against mine.
     
    “Do you want more?” I ask in a low voice, hoping to make her shiver.
     
    She doesn’t shiver, but she nods with excitement gleaming in her blue eyes. My palm slides down her back possessively, feeling the heat of her skin emitting through the thin fabric of her shirt. I pull her hand forward and tip her body backward. Her hair dangles to the floor, her back arches, and I have the perfect view of her tits and the sliver of skin peeking out from the bottom of her top. Taking a deep breath, I