The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

bike. “So they’re giving us time?”
    Damn it. Why did he have to read the message? He lets go off my arm and I lower my chin down into the jacket and tuck my hands into the pockets. “Seth’s just being weird.”
    He eyes me with suspicion and I’m worried I’ve already messed my chance up. But then he says, “Isn’t Seth always weird?” And I feel like his giving me an easy exit because maybe he wants a few minutes with me.
    I nod. “Yes, he is, but he wouldn’t be Seth if he wasn’t weird.”
    He returns my smile and then moves his hand toward mine, hesitating momentarily before he interlocks our fingers, slipping his large ones through my tiny ones. I glance up at him and his chest puffs out as he liberates a stressed breath from his lungs. We don’t say anything else. We just cling onto each other as we head toward the front door of the café that’s decorated with a picture of Santa holding a bag of toys.
    When I step inside, I realize how frozen I am. The coziness of the warm air encloses me and prickles the life out of my cooled skin. It’s not very crowded today in the café, but we still pick one of the corner booths hidden away at the back to get as much privacy as we can. Christmas tunes play from the speakers in the ceiling and on each table are unlit silver and white candles. It’s that time of year where people are happy and they try to sprinkle things with magic. I wish they would sprinkle some on us.
    Once I’m in the booth, I wiggle my arms out of Seth’s jacket, ball it up to the side of me, and then remove my own jacket that was beneath it. I’m a little disappointed that Kayden chose to sit across from me, but I just remind myself
skittish cat, skittish cat.
    He instantly reaches for the saltshaker and rotates it between his hands, channeling his nervous energy. It’s quiet, except for the flow of chatter and the clinking of glasses and pans coming from inside the kitchen. I struggle to think of something to say as Kayden stares at the saltshaker in his hands. I retrieve a menu from the stack on the table near the napkin dispenser and begin reading it over.
    The waitress comes to take our orders. She’s the same one who flirted with Seth and she gives me this knowing look, like I’m a slut. Her hair is braided to the side and her name tag says “Jenna.” I think I remember her from school. She was a grade lower than me and was friends with Daisy McMillian.
    “Hey, Kayden,” she says, adding a giggle at the end.
    He glances up and then shoves the saltshaker to the side. “Hey, Jenna.”
    “How are you?” She touches his arm with her manicured fingers, petting his muscles like he’s a dog. I have this insane impulse to slap her hand away. I don’t like it because it’s not me. “I heard you were in a car accident or something.”
    Kayden rolls his eyes and mutters, “Yeah, or something.”
    She laughs, but her eyebrows knit. “You’re so funny.”
    Kayden looks at me as he stretches his arm toward the stack of menus and my gaze darts to the table. I tuck my hands between my legs and focus on the list of appetizers.
    Kayden and she start conversing about their old high school days and how everyone’s missed seeing Kayden play and hanging out with him at parties. Kayden smiles at her every once in a while and it hurts a little because he’s barely said anything to me since I’ve seen him.
    “You know she misses you,” Jenna says, smacking on her gum with the pen poised against the order book.
    Kayden peers up from the menu at her, his eyes glazed over, looking lost. “Who?”
    She pops a pink bubble in out of her lips and glances at me from the corner of her eye. “Daisy.”
    I inch lower into the booth, wishing I were smaller or invisible, and position my hand to the side of my face, pretending to be fixated on the beverage list.
    “Yeah…” Kayden focus on the menu. “I think I’ll have the pancakes.”
    I smile, thinking of Seth and our pancakes endeavor and a little bit of courage surfaces in me. I sit up a little straighter and scoot my menu to the side. “I’ll have pancakes too, and coffee.”
    Her nose scrunches as she writes down my order and then smiles charismatically at Kayden. “Do you want anything to drink?”
    Kayden closes his menu. “I’ll have a cup of coffee too.”
    She scribbles that down, flashes a grin at him, and when she turns around to head to the counter, she scowls at me. I look away from her and focus my