‘And what’d it say?’
He shrugs, bracing a hand on the wall beside my head. ‘Nothing important really.’ He leans in to kiss me, but I place a hand on his solid chest and stop him.
‘Your jaw’s twitching right now,’ I remark, somewhat amused, but a little bit upset.
He gives me a mock offended look, pushing back from the wall to press his hand to his chest. ‘Are you accusing me of lying?’
I narrow my eyes at him, but it’s a playful gesture. ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m doing?’ I point a finger at him as we reach the bottom floor and the elevator doors glide open. ‘I know you’re keeping something from me and I’m going to find out.’
He’s completely entertained now as he follows me off the elevator and toward the exit doors. ‘And how do you plan on doing that?’ He shoots me a cocky grin.
‘Wow, aren’t we a little bit cocky today.’ I retaliate with an arrogant squaring of my shoulders as I reach into my pocket. ‘But we’ll see who’s the cocky one after I text Seth.’
His amusement suddenly shifts to worry as I pull out my phone. ‘Seth knows he’s not supposed to tell you.’
I raise my phone up in front of us and wiggle it around, teasing him. ‘Seth is terrible at keeping secrets. You and I both know that.’ I really don’t have any intention of texting Seth. I’m simply having fun and hoping he’ll just tell me whatever his little secret is.
‘Callie, don’t,’ he warns, but he’s fighting back a smile.
I let mine slip through, though, full on grinning as I run backwards toward the door. ‘I’m totally doing it.’ I laugh then whirl around and burst through the doors. Snow is tumbling from the sky and the wind is howling, but I continue to sprint down the sidewalk toward the parking lot.
I know he’s going to catch me soon, my short legs don’t stand a chance against his long, very in-shape ones, but I’m still going to try my hardest because it’s fun and I’m enjoying myself. And really that’s kind of the point of everything, isn’t it? To enjoy life and have fun. I spent so much time never smiling, laughing, enjoying anything, and I feel like I missed out on so much, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make up for it now, or for the rest of my life for that matter.
‘You think you can outrun me!’ Kayden calls out, laughing, his heavy footsteps close behind.
‘Of course I can!’ Laughter sputters from my lungs as I veer to the right and try to race across the snowy lawn, but it’s chilly enough that the snow is freezing the moment it touches the ground, making it slippery and complicated to run on. I curse as my feet try to part ways from underneath me and my hands shoot out to my sides in an attempt to keep my balance.
Right as I’m about to fall flat on my ass, a set of strong arms wrap around my waist. A split second later, a warm chest presses against my back as I’m helped to my feet.
‘You’re really asking for it, aren’t you?’ Kayden whispers in my ear, dragging his teeth across the sensitive spot of flesh right below it as he helps me stand back upright.
I shiver and not from the cold. ‘Maybe.’
His fingers dig into my flesh right below the hem of my black T-shirt. ‘I’ll take your phone as payment for saving your cute little ass from falling.’
I grip my phone in my hand, my eyelashes fluttering against the thick snowflakes. ‘No way.’
He chuckles lowly, a deep noise that vibrates from his chest and I have to bite down on my lip to keep from whimpering. ‘Okay, I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.’
‘Isn’t this the hard way already?’ I sound breathless.
He laughs again and then, without warning, his fingers sneak up my shirt and he starts to tickle me.
‘Stop!’ I shout through my laughter, my legs giving out on me. I almost buckle to the ground, but he’s there to hold me up and he keeps tickling me until I almost pee my pants.
‘Fine! I surrender! I surrender!’ I gasp through my laughter when I’m about one second away from having an accident.
His fingers instantly stop moving and he kisses the back of my head as he takes the phone from my hand then frees me from his arms.
I spin around and cross my arms over my chest. ‘That was cheating.’
He grins proudly as he hides my phone in the pocket of his coat. ‘No way. That was completely fair. It’s not my fault you’re tiny and adorable.’ He pokes me in the ribs.
I glare at him, pretending I’m upset. ‘If it wasn’t for the snow, I would have been able to run faster.’
‘Yeah, but I wasn’t really running. Just walking swiftly.’ He’s so smug right now. I’ve never seen him act like this – so confident. It’s sexy and I can’t help but jump onto him and kiss him right there in the middle of a blizzard.
He doesn’t hesitate, kissing me back with equal hunger, his hands sliding underneath me and cupping my butt. He groans when I bite at his bottom lip, and I gasp as his mouth trails down my jawline, leaving a path of heat simmering against my snow-kissed skin. The mix of heat and ice sends a combustion of sensations swirling through my body. It’s blissfully amazing. Mind-blowing. I want more.
‘We should go back to your dorm,’ I say, my head tipping back as his mouth finds the hollow of my neck. I tangle my fingers through his wet hair and guide him closer. ‘Or someplace where we can be alone …’ I trail off as his phone starts going off in his pocket and this time I’m not as surprised when he breaks the kiss, but am still equally as disappointed.
I sigh, hopping off him as he retrieves his phone. He reads the screen and then grins. ‘You know what? That sounds like a great idea,’ he says, lacing our fingers together as he tugs me toward the parking lot. ‘And I know the perfect place.’
Chapter 14
#156 Welcome Home.
Kayden
It’s taken me a couple of weeks to set this up and even longer to get the balls to do it. But after that night I spent with Callie, talking and reliving our past, I knew I had to. I have to give Seth most of the credit, though, for helping me out and for managing to keep it a secret. In the end, it was my speech about how Callie deserved this that won his sworn secrecy over.
I’m nervous the entire drive there, not just because I’m not sure how she’ll react, but because I’m uncertain how I’ll react. It feels like things are moving so quickly suddenly, not just with Callie and mine’s relationship but with life. I feel like sometimes I’m running my hardest to keep up with it, except when I’m with Callie. With her, I feel like we’re walking through it, enjoying every moment together. And that’s how I decided.