The Redemption of Callie & Kayden

I’ll go get your jacket from inside.”
    She nods and starts to take her phone out of her pocket as I head inside. A few of the people at the tables give me notable glances as the door swings shut behind me. They’re probably the ones who have heard the story. Gossip spreads quickly around here and I wish I could get the hell away from their stares. From the snow, from the town, from my home, from life.
    I hurry up and grab Callie’s jacket and ignore Jenna’s penetrating stare as I wind around the tables and hurry out the door, relieved when it swings shut behind me. Jenna was a friend of Daisy’s and I don’t want word to get back to Daisy that Callie and I are together. I’m worried Jenna’s already called Daisy and she’ll show up here in any minute. That’s the last thing I ever want Callie to have to deal with.
    I immediately bust up laughing as soon as I see Callie. I haven’t laughed in forever and it cramps up my chest. “What are you doing?”
    The sky has blackened and snow showers down from the vapory gray clouds. Callie has her hands on the handle of my bike, trying to push it forward so it’s underneath the shelter of the carport and out of the snow. Her feet are slipping against the ice and she’s barely getting it to budge.
    I step up behind her and feel her tense as I place my hands on top of hers. “You’re going to hurt yourself,” I say, dipping my head forward and sneaking a smell of her hair, remembering the first time I did it. I lift her hands off the bike and step back, guiding her with me. “The snow’s not going to hurt it.”
    She leans back, tips her chin up, and looks up at me. “Are you sure? I thought I read somewhere that motorcycles were not made for snow.”
    I press my lips to her forehead and leave them there for a moment, savoring the feel of her skin before pulling back. “Where on earth did you hear that?”
    She shrugs. “I don’t know. Somewhere, like in a magazine or something.”
    Shaking my head, I smile and hold up the jacket for her to put her arms in. It’s been so long since I’ve smiled that the muscles around my lips kind of hurt. She turns to the side and slips her arm through the sleeve, then rotates to the other side and puts her other arm in.
    I let go of the jacket and glide my palms down to her waist. Pressing my fingertips into her, I spin her around to face me and her eyes snap wide. I inch my fingers around to her stomach, never taking my eyes off her as I pull the zipper up to her chin and her breath eases out in a thin fog. My fingers shiver as I draw them away, and then I bend forward and kiss her forehead, shutting my eyes as I inhale her, fighting to keep my eyes open. I’ve missed the feel of her skin over the last month and touching it instead of dreaming about it is surreal. But it’s also wrong. I’m not the best thing for her and she should have the best. More than that. She should have everything and I am far from everything. Numbness drains through my body as I realize that eventually I’m going to have to let her go.
    “Seth and Luke will be here in a minute,” she whispers, clinging onto the bottom of my shirt, with her face pressed into my neck.
    I can’t feel my fingers, my arms, my heart. “Okay.” I feel fucking helpless, but all I can do is stand and shiver and pretend like it’s just from the cold.

Chapter 9
    #6 Run away—run to the beach
Callie
    I’m confused. I can tell that Kayden wants to hold me, but he keeps pulling away, fighting the urge to touch me. What we need is a long talk so I can understand what he’s thinking and what he wants, and so he can understand what I want because I don’t think he knows. We need a week at a beach house with plenty of alone time, which is what Seth and Luke are trying to give us.
    Later that day, we’re in Luke’s truck, which is parked out back of the grocery store. It’s getting dark, but the lampposts light up the snow dancing from the sky. It’s the day after Christmas but it still looks and feels like Christmas. The buildings around us are decorated with various colored twinkle lights and the sidewalk has flashing candy canes and wreathes bordering it.
    “I thought Callie was joking about that,” Kayden says. I’m sitting on his lap with my back leaning against the door. The window is wet and my hair keeps sticking to the glass. “But by the serious looks on your guys’ faces I’m guessing I was wrong.”
    Seth squirms his shoulders forward