The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden

the row. I hop down and sense someone move up beside me. When I glance up, suddenly Seth’s little comment about a knight in shining armor makes sense. Kayden is in front of me, wearing jeans and a black hoodie, his brown hair disheveled.
     
    “Hey.” His shoulders are rigid and his voice is tight. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
     
    “Yeah,” I admit, fiddling with the corners of the pages. “I’m sorry about that. There was just some stuff going on.”
     
    “You don’t need to be sorry, Callie.” He rests his arm on one of the shelves and leans his weight against it. “I’d just liked to know what’s going on… Did I… did I push you to do stuff?”
     
    I shake my head. “Nothing about any of this is your fault, I promise. I wanted to… everything that happened, I wanted.”
     
    His shoulders unstiffen. “Then why did you run off?”
     
    “It’s complicated,” I say, staring at the spot on the floor in front of my feet. 
     
    He angles his body forward and lowers his face to capture my gaze. “You could talk to me about it. Maybe I can help. I’m pretty good at understanding complicated.”
     
    “It’s not anything that can be helped,” I say. “It’s just something I’ve got to work through.”
     
    He lets out a gradual breath. “I completely understand that.”
     
    “I’m really sorry for freaking out on you. I shouldn’t have just run off or avoided you for the last week. I just didn’t know what to say and felt stupid. I’ll try not to do it again.”
     
    “Is there going to be another time for you to try to not do it again?”
     
    I didn’t realize what I was saying. “I don’t know. What do you want?”
     
    He chuckles lowly. “I think I’ve been pretty clear on what I want. So it’s really up to you. What do you want, Callie?”
     
    My eyes travel up his long legs, his tight chest, and land on his eyes that care about nothing more than to hear my answer. I want him. I want him. I’ve scribbled it down in my journal many times because it’s the truth.
     
    “I want…” I pause trying to figure out the best words. “I want to spend more time with you.”
     
    His smile broadens and his posture loosens as he cracks his knuckles. “You were making me nervous there for a minute.”
     
    I can’t help but smile at him. “I was just trying to think of the right words.”
     
    His eyes move over my shoulder to the window where the sky is starting to turn pink as the sun descends below the hills. “I have to be at the stadium in like five minutes, but can you do something for me?”
     
    I tuck the book under my arm. “Sure. What?”
     
    “Can you come watch me play?” he asks. “I need someone to cheer me on.”
     
    “Isn’t that what cheerleaders are for?” I joke.
     
    “Cheerleaders are overrated.” He reaches toward my face, hesitates, and then grazes the pad of his thumb along my bottom lip. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll bring me a lot of luck.”
     
    I have to force my eyelids to stay open from his touch. “Alright… I’ll be there.”
     
    ***
     
    The sky is grey, the lights are bright on the green field, and the metal bench beneath my butt is colder than a freezer. There are clusters of people around me, yelling, laughing, and waving their hands in the air. It makes me antsy, but I work through it.
     
    “So what is it with football that makes people crazy?” Seth observes the field with wide eyes and then squints at the red digital timer on the board. “I really don’t get what the big deal is. I never have. I’ve even been to games before—watched… Braiden play—But I still don’t get it.”
     
    “Maybe it’s fun to watch guys run around wearing tight pants,” I suggest with a shrug.
     
    “You know what? You just made an excellent point.” His brown eyes sweep the field where the players are lined up as he tugs the hood of his jacket over his head.
     
    Kayden is easy to spot because he’s one of the tallest. Of course the “Owens” on the back of his brown and yellow jersey is kind of a dead giveaway, too. I think he’s glanced up at me a few times, but it’s hard to tell for sure.
     
    Five minutes later Seth grows restless, tapping his fingers on his bouncing knee. “I feel like I need to get up and dance or something. Liven up this party.”
     
    I motion my hand in the air. “Dance away.”
     
    He cocks his head to the side at the round man sitting next to him, wearing a beanie and a