The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

the mat. Fuck. It stings. A lot.
     
    She grins as she returns her foot to the mat.  “Did it hurt?”
     
    “Kind of,” I admit, shaking my hand. “You know, you’re as sweet as can be, but give you permission to kick me, and holy hell, you’re ruthless.”
     
    “I’m sorry.” The laughter in her voice says otherwise. “I didn’t mean to kick you so hard.”
     
    “I think you did.” I pick up another glove and wiggle my fingers into it. “Alright, let’s see what else you got.”
     
    She gapes at me with her hands out to her side. “Are you joking? You want me to fight you.”
     
    I punch one glove into the other. “I won’t fight back, but I’ll try to stay out of your wrath.”
     
    She laughs and it makes my heart jump alive inside my chest. “Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
     
    I grin at her as I move forward. “Give it your best shot.”
     
    She attempts to look dangerous, her lips a straight line, her eyes unblinking, but it’s more entertaining than anything. She steps to the side, and I think she’s going to pop her foot up and kick, but she keeps overlapping her feet as she circles me. I turn with her, curious what she’s doing and then out of nowhere, she springs up and slams her foot into my hand. I barely block it and she lowers her foot, giving me hardly any time as she twirls around on her toe and jabs her shoe into my other glove.
     
    She stations her foot onto the ground with a cocky look on her face. “Had enough yet?”
     
    I shake my head as I reposition my feet. “Okay, if you want to play dirty, then let’s play dirty.”
     
    She bounces up on her toes, getting ready to jump up and kick me. Before she finishes it, I dash forward, wrap my arms around her waist and flip her around, pressing her back against my chest.
     
    I freeze, wondering if she’s going to panic, but she swings her arm up toward me as she tries to squat down and slip out of my arms. I strengthen my hold on her and pin her against my chest.
     
    “This isn’t fair,” she says. “You’re breaking the rules.”
     
    “Come on,” I tease her as she tries to kick me in the shin and I jump back, keeping my grip on her. “You acted all tough when you were the one having all the fun.”
     
    Her body suddenly stills. Then she reaches up, grabs my arms and with no warning, flings them off her. Trying to keep a hold of her, because I was enjoying the feel of her warmth against me, I seize the bottom of her shirt. She stumbles back into me and our legs entangle together. Spinning around, we trip over each other’s feet and tumble to the mat on our sides. She quickly hitches her leg over my midsection and mounts on top of me, pinning my arms down with her small hands.
     
    Her ponytail has partially fallen out and her hair touches my cheeks as she hovers over me. Her chest heaves up and down, her skin damp, and her eyes stern.
     
    “I win,” she says, shifting her weight.
     
    The feel of her on top of me, the way she smells, the way her legs are spread around my hips is intoxicating. I’m starting to get turned on and she’s going to feel it pressed up against her.
     
    “You’re vicious when you fight,” I state. “I really didn’t think you had it in you.”
     
    Her forehead creases. “Me either.”
     
    I let a few more seconds pass, even though I should be moving out from under her. My gaze zones in on her lips and I almost glide my hand up her back, tangle it through her hair, and pull her down for a kiss.
     
    “Okay, as much as I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment here,” Seth says as his face appears over us. “I’m going to have to. Miss Callie here has somewhere to be.”
     
    She blinks, her cheeks turning pink, like she’s coming out of a daze, and she swiftly hops off me. “I’m sorry. I got a little carried away.”
     
    I prop up on my elbows. “Where are you heading?”
     
    “Umm….” She slips the elastic out from her hair and refastens it into a tight ponytail. “I’m meeting Luke somewhere.”
     
    “Luke, as in, Luke?”
     
    She nods, glancing at Seth. “Yeah, that’s the one.”
     
    I push up from the ground and wiggle my hands out of the gloves. “Why?”
     
    She runs her arm across her forehead. “I can’t tell you why.”
     
    I toss the gloves onto the ground near the corner, irritated. “Okay.”
     
    “I want to tell you,” she hurries and adds, “but I can’t.”
     
    “It’s fine. I have to head out