The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

you want, I can get her in a situation with you where you’ll have your chance to do whatever you want with her.”
     
    “You know I just broke up with Daisy, right?”
     
    He rolls his eyes. “And you seem so sad about it.”
     
    I find the glasses near the trashcan and pick them up, plucking off the grass stuck in the cracks of the frames. “I’m not sure I want to do anything with Callie.”
     
    He pulls his unlit cigarette out of his mouth and stares at it. “I can’t remember where I left my pack.” He pats his pockets and then turns in a circle, looking at the ground.
     
    Luke has this thing with losing stuff, especially his cigarettes. Nicotine is his sedative and without it, he flips out. “Where the fuck did I…” he trails off walking backwards toward a bench and sighs as he scoops up the pack. He tucks it into his pocket and shuts his eyes, like he thought he just lost an arm. “We could do a challenge.”
     
    I open and close the ends on the glasses. “We haven’t done that since sophomore year.”
     
    “When you started dating Daisy,” he points out. “Man, I miss those days.”
     
    I stare off at the rides whipping around in various directions. “Yeah, I don’t think I can trick Callie into going under the bleachers with me. It’d feel wrong.”
     
    Luke thrums his fingers on the side of his leg to the beat of the rock song playing nearby as his gaze roams to the jungle gym ride in the corner. It’s dark inside and no one’s standing at the gate. “Hang on. I got an idea.”
     
    “Care to share the details of your idea?” I ask. “I don’t want to walk into this blind.”
     
    “Think challenge to the max.” He walks backwards across the dry grass toward the exit gates. “I’ll be back in five minutes. All you need to do is follow my lead and, as a thank you, you can let me drive that motorcycle you don’t let anyone touch when we go home for Thanksgiving.”
     
    “No fucking—”
     
    He disappears out the gates, waving me off. Shaking my head, I return back to Callie and her bear, feeling guilty. But deep down, I know I’m going to go through with Luke’s plan, because I want to, more than anything at the moment.
     
     
     
     
     
    Callie
     
    As Seth puts the finishing touches on the bear, Luke comes strolling up with an unlit cigarette between his lips. He has a jacket on with the hood pulled over his head and the front pocket is bulky.
     
    “What the hell is that thing?” He squints down at the cardboard sign in the bear’s hand. There’s a glittery tiara on its head, sunglasses covering the eyes, and a string of beads around its neck. He reads the sign aloud, “ Will be ridiculously cute in exchange for a loving home, food, water, and a little cuddle time .” He flicks the ear with his fingers. “What the fuck is this?”
     
    I laugh, biting down on the top of the pen. “We made it so it would get adopted and so none of us has to take it home.”
     
    Luke glances at Kayden, who shrugs. “I thought it was kind of funny. And be thankful. For a while, Callie was trying to get me to take it home.”
     
    Luke scrunches his forehead, takes the cigarette out of his mouth, and sticks it into the bear’s mouth. “There, that’s much better.”
     
    Kayden rolls his eyes at him and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “So what’s next on the list? And I’m speaking figuratively, not about your actual list.”
     
    I look over my shoulder at the rides twirling, twisting, and sparkling against the night. “We could ride some more rides, I guess.”
     
    “I actually have a better idea.” Luke strolls off without finishing his thought and the three of us trade glances before hurrying after him. He marches toward a jungle gym made up of ropes, ramps, netting, and bars. There are three levels and a short gate borders the bottom. I think the point of the ride is to get to the top and then down to the bottom again. 
     
    “I don’t think it’s open,” I say as Luke reaches for the latch on the gate.
     
    With his hand in his pocket, he checks over his shoulder and then nudges the gate open with his foot. “Oh look at that. It is now.” He walks inside and signals us to follow. “Come on. It’s nothing but a giant playground. Besides, we’re celebrating.”
     
    “Celebrating what?” Seth and I ask at the same time.
     
    He grins and then glances at Kayden. “The end of the Wicked Witch.” He starts humming a tune from