The Coincidence 07 Seth & Greyson (12 page)

“I wish you could make it go away, too, but unfortunately you can’t… You can make it better for a little while, though.”

“How?”

Without giving a verbal answer, I lean forward and smash my lips to his. With a gasp, he splays his fingers across my cheeks and opens his mouth, deepening the kiss. At first I take my time, kissing him slowly, savoring each movement of his tongue, the warmth of his skin when I run my hands up his arms. The best part about it all is the sense of security I feel. I never felt this safe with Braiden. It was always, “Shut and lock the door. I don’t want anyone finding out about us.”

As I lie down on the sofa, Greyson moves over me, covering my body with his. I run my fingers through his hair, tugging hard, and bite at his lip. He groans, grinding against me, and my pulse quickens in both fear and excitement at the feel of him. The slow, teasing burn suddenly shifts to uncontrollable want and I get rock hard inside my jeans. I tug off his shirt and pull him closer, never wanting to let him go.

“Seth,” he whispers through ragged breaths when I trail my hand down his sexy-as-hell stomach.

“You know, you made it sound like you went to the gym every so often.” I trace his muscles with my fingers. “But I’m thinking you must be one of those people who are workout psychotic.”

“Maybe… just… a… little…” He seems severely distracted as I fiddle with the button of his jeans.

I mess around with the button just a bit longer before I undo it, drag down his zipper, and slip my hand down his boxers. He groans when I grasp him, rocking into me. I get lost in the feel of him as I move my hand up and down, getting more turned on by the second.

I raise my head to kiss him, but he pushes back, grabbing the bottom of my shirt and jerking it over my head. He rolls over beside me and I move with him, confused about his intent until he undoes the button of my jeans and gives me exactly what I’m giving him.

I don’t know how to react. Braiden was never like this with me. He was always a taker and I the giver. I think about telling Greyson that, that he’s the only guy that’s ever touched me like this, but my lips can’t seem to function.

I’m not sure how I went from being afraid to kiss and tell my secrets to pouring my heart out and being with him like this. My mind is racing so quickly I can’t keep up, and rather than getting lost in my own head, I cling to Greyson, holding tight all the way to the end.

After things settle down, we lie on the sofa with our foreheads pressed together.

“You okay?” he asks as he struggles to catch his breath.

My heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest as I nod. “I’m more than okay… I’m perfect.”

When I say it, I realize how much truth those words carry and how long it’s been since I felt this way about someone. In fact, I don’t think I ever have. Whatever I’m feeling is completely new and raw and terrifying, but in the best way possible.

I just hope that I can hold onto it.

Seth

Going home. Le sigh. What can I say about that other than it’s absolute, one hundred percent suckage? My mother is pretending I’m the son she wishes she had, telling every relative that came over for dinner that I fell in love with a girl at college and that I’m majoring in math, of all things. It’s annoying and degrading and I’m one step away from screaming at the top of my lungs who I’m really seeing. I swear to God, I’m going to do it right here in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner.

“Seth, did you hear what your grandmother said?” my mom asks from across the table covered with pies, side dishes, and a turkey.

I look up from my plate and shake my head. “But it doesn’t matter since she can’t even hear
with
her hearing aide.”

My grandmother smiles at me, confusion swirling in her eyes, while my mother looks she’s contemplating stabbing me with her fork.

“Watch it, young man,” she warns, cutting a piece of turkey. “I’m not going to tolerate your attitude.”

“Then I guess I better not talk.” I stab my fork into my salad, stuff my mouth full, and sarcastically grin at her.

She glares at me, but not wanting to cause a scene, drops the conversation and focuses on my aunt, who’s getting ready to marry husband number five.

After dinner, the family gathers into the living room to reminisce. Half the stories are either embellished, complete bullshit, or just plain dull. Bored out of my mind, I decide to text Callie and see if her trip home is going any better.

Me: Hey, darling. How’s it going? Good, I hope. Did you eat some delicious treats?

Callie: Maybe…  But what kind of treats r u talking about?

Me: OMFG!!! Did u? Because I had this really weird feeling that you did.

Callie: Did what?

Me: U know what.

When she doesn’t answer me back, I can’t help but smile. She’s come so far from the girl I met back in the summer and I wish I could be there to hug her or something. Honestly, what I wish is that I could be as brave as she is, say to hell with fear, flip it the bird, and put myself out there for the world to see. Whatever happens, happens and I’d be able to handle it. Instead, I’m sitting in a living room filled with people who believe I’m a math major dating a girl named Sally.

Swiping my finger over the screen, I start a new message.

Me: Hey! How’s the vacation going?

Greyson: Mine’s going good. I’m actually sitting on the beach right now.

Me: That’s so not fair. I’m jealous :(

Greyson: If it makes you feel better, I’m thinking about u. Have been ever since I got here.

Me. Ha, ha, you’re such a sap. JK, I’ve been thinking about u, too.

Greyson: What are u doing right now?

Me: Sitting in the living room, listening to my mother tell fake stories about my college life.

Greyson. Seth… I’m so sorry.

Me: It’s not your fault. It’s my own damn fault for letting her.  I just want to stand up and scream the truth.

Greyson: It has to be hard when it’s your own mother. I can’t even imagine. I can’t imagine a lot of stuff that you’ve gone through. You’re so strong.

Me: Yeah, right. If I was strong then I’d tell everyone the truth.

Greyson: It’s okay to be scared, Seth… I still am sometimes.

Me: Really??? U don’t seem like it.

Greyson: It’s not often, but sometimes when I hear someone say something stupid, I get a little uneasy.

Me: How do u deal with it so well? Because I’m dying to know.

Greyson: Honestly, I just shrug it off. Even though it’s hard, in the end it doesn’t really matter what other people think of you, as long as you’re happy. Life’s too short, you know, to let other people drag you down.

Me: Wow, you’re like super wise. Seriously. Maybe u should be the psych major.

Greyson. Yeah, that’d go well. I may be able to talk to you, but when it comes to complete strangers, I’m not as smooth.

Me: So u used all your smoothness on me, huh?

Greyson: Obviously. I just can’t help it. You’re too adorable.

A ridiculously goofy smile takes over my face as I move my fingers to type back.

“Seth, who are you texting?” my mother asks, interrupting me. “Oh. Is that Sally?”

I bite down on my lip and clench my phone in my hand as something snaps inside me. I think about what Greyson said. He’s so right. Life’s way too short to keep living like this.

I glance at the faint scars on my hand, the ones my mother made me cover up, and it fuels me with enough rage to stand up and confront her in a room full of people.

“Actually, that was Greyson,” I tell her. “You know, my boyfriend I met at college.”

Her face drains of color as her fingers strangle the cup she’s holding. “He’s kidding,” she says to everyone with an off-pitch laugh.

“No, I’m not.” My voice shakes, but I manage to stand firm. “And you know it. You’ve known it for a while now.”

“Shut your mouth,” she snaps, slamming the glass down on the table in front of her.

“”No, I’m not going to stay silent anymore,” I reply, my voice growing firmer. “This is who I am and you’re going to either have to accept it or stop forcing me to come home.”

It grows so quiet you could hear a pin drop. One of my uncles chokes on a cough and my aunt starts crying.

My mother trembles with rage as she rises from her chair and points to the door. “Get out of my house.”

“Gladly.” My legs shake as I pick up my coat and storm out the door. “Fuck,” I curse when I realize my car’s blocked in.

Having nowhere else to go, I slip on my coat and start walking down the icy sidewalk. The air has a nip to it and a layer of snow covers the grass. Goosebumps dot my arms and my teeth chatter, but I continue moving until finally I reach the gas station about a mile away. Inside, the place is practically empty. Even the tiny diner at the back has a total of zero customers. Taking a seat at one of the tables, I pull out my phone to text Greyson, but realizing how much I need to hear his voice, I end up dialing his number instead.

“Hey,” he says as he picks up. “I was just thinking about you.”

I slump back in the seat. “That’s because I’m hard to forget.”

“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately. “And don’t say nothing. I can tell by your voice there’s something wrong.”

I blow out a breath. “So, remember how when we were texting, I said I wanted to scream the truth to everyone?”

“Oh, my God, you did?” He sounds worried.

“Well, not so dramatically, but yeah, I kind of declared to everyone that I was dating you.”

He hesitates before he asks, “And what happened?”

“Pretty much what I thought would happen.” I trace the cracks in the table. “My mother threw me out.”

“Seth, I’m so sorry. I wish I was there with you… But I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks.” I glance out the window as snow begins to fall. “I think I’m going to drive back to school tonight.”

“I don’t like the idea of you on the road that late. Or spending the weekend by yourself,” he says. “Isn’t there somewhere you can crash until Sunday?”

“My car.” I sigh tiredly. “It’s better if I go back. Being here… It brings up too much painful shit.”

“Well, if you do, call me while you’re on the road and I’ll talk to you during the drive.”

“You know it’s like a three-hour drive, right?”

“What? I can talk for three hours straight,” he says and I snort skeptically. “Okay, well, you can, then.”

“Sounds good… God, I can’t wait until Monday when everything goes back to normal.” I peer over my shoulder as the door dings and someone walks in. When I see who it is, my sullen mood sinks further. “And the day just keeps on getting shittier.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, Braiden just walked in.” I don’t know why I’m so surprised. Mapleville is a small town. I should have known there was a chance I’d cross paths with him.

“Huh? Where the hell are you?”

“At a gas station.” I rise from the chair as Braiden spots me.

He freezes in front of the cash register with a deer in the headlights look on his face.

“Don’t hang up on me,” Greyson begs anxiously. “Just walk out of there, okay? Seth, are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, I’m listening.” I keep my eyes on Braiden.

He looks the same; tall, muscular, with brown hair that matches his eyes. I’m sure he’s still fucking hot, but right now all I can see is the anger he had in his eyes when he tried to break me.

My pulse is racing so quickly I feel like I’m one step away from dropping dead. Somehow I manage to put one foot in front of the other and move toward the door.

Braiden glances over his shoulder at the cashier, who’s reading a magazine and chomping on her gum. He relaxes a bit as he turns around and gives me a tense smile. “Hey.”

My scars pulsate as I force words out of my mouth. “Are you
serious
?”

His expression drops. “Huh?”

“You seriously think you can speak to me?” I wrap my fingers around the door handle. “You have no right to talk to me anymore. You made that decision six months ago.”

“Seth, if you’d just talk to me, I could explain myself. What happened… I didn’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a
choice
,” I snap. “You made yours the moment you showed up in that truck with your so-called friends. And trust me, I regret my
choice
of not reporting what you guys did to me to the police. ”

“What the hell did you expect me to do? Tell them the truth?” he hisses, stepping toward me.

I raise my hand in front of me. “I’m not going to get into this with you. I don’t want to talk to you, see you, or have anything to do with you ever again. I’m so over it.”

“Seth,” he starts, but I don’t want to hear it.

Turning my back on him, I push open the door and step into the flurry of snow drifting from the sky.

“Are you still there?” Greyson asks as I hike across the parking lot.

“Yeah, I’m still here.” My breath puffs out in front of my face. “I’m headed back home to get my stuff and hit the road. Stay on the phone with me for a little while, though, okay?”

“Of course,” he says like it’s the easiest thing to do. “You know I’m always here for you.”

I shuffle through the snow toward the neighborhood where I grew up. “I know you are.”

Even after all the drama of the day, I manage to smile as the truth warms all the cold around me. It may feel like I’m completely alone right now, but I’m not. Callie was right. I do have people in my life that love me for who I am.