The Coincidence 07 Seth & Greyson (4 page)

“Sorry,” I tell him. “But I really would like to get out of my apartment. I’m starting to go stir crazy.”

Jenna claps her hands, jumping up and down and sticking her tongue out at Ari, who sighs again before chuckling.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he concedes. “But only if we can go home and get some work done before we go out.”

Jenna agrees and we say our good-byes, the two of them waving as they head off toward the parking lot, leaving me to make the five-mile walk home by myself. I don’t mind being alone, though. It gives me some time to clear my head.

My thoughts drift back over the day’s events, feeling pretty content with the way it played out. Well, outside of Seth freaking out on me. I can’t stop stressing about what I could have possibly done wrong.

***

Before I go out with Ari and Jenna, I decide to pick up takeout because I’m tired of pizza. I call in my order before beginning the short walk to the restaurant, zipping up my jacket and pulling my hood over my head when the chilly evening air hits me. Staring up at the full moon, I think about what an awesome picture it would be and curse myself for not bringing my camera.

I’m almost to the restaurant when my phone rings. Fishing it out from my pocket, I smile when I see Jenna’s name flash across the screen.

“What’s up?” I answer, putting the phone up to my ear.

“Nothing,” she says cheerfully. “We were just getting ready to head to your place, but then I realized I don’t have your address.”

“I’m actually walking right now to pick up some takeout.”

“From which restaurant? We’ll just meet you there.”

“I think it’s called the Moonlight Diner.” I glance up at the street sign as I approach the corner. “It’s on Cherry and Peach.”

“That sounds like the name of a slushy,” she remarks. “Oh! We should totally stop at the Snow Cone Palace on our way downtown.”

I hear Ari holler something about being tired of snow cones and Jenna yells, “You can never get tired of snow cones.” There’s a pause and then she says, “Wait at the restaurant for us. We’ll be there in ten.”

“Okay. See you in a few.” I hang up and pick up the pace, noting how much better I feel than I did just a few moments ago.

I don’t know why I was so worried about making friends. I’m doing okay, at least with Ari and Jenna.

As I turn into the parking lot of the Moonlight Diner, though, I’m reminded that not all my friendly endeavors were a success.

Standing near the entrance doors below the neon signs and twinkling lights is Seth. He’s near the ashtrays, smoking a cigarette and talking to a guy with short brown hair that I think is in my Biology class.

Seth is talking animatedly, his hands flailing through the air as he speaks. “I know. It’s so crazy, right…” He trails off when he spots me.

Even though it’s pretty dark, I can see him stiffen. He seems so uneasy about the prospect of talking to me that I consider letting him off the hook, but I’m fucking hungry and I’m not about to walk away from my dinner.

I cross the parking lot, stuffing my hands into my back pockets as I reach the two of them. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Oh, hey,” Seth replies tensely. He glances at the guy then scratches his head and takes a drag of his cigarette. “What are you doing here?”

I point at the diner sign. “Getting takeout.”

“Oh, right.” He laughs nervously. “I almost forgot we were at a restaurant.”

I don’t know him very well, but his behavior seems strange and twitchy. Again, I wonder if I misread his signals earlier today when I thought he might be into me. But we held hands for so damn long and I know I saw him checking me out a time or two. Maybe he’s nervous because he’s still trying to find himself? Or perhaps he’s on a date with this guy? I don’t think the latter is the case, though. I’m not really picking up on a date vibe between them.

When a girl wearing a tight red dress comes strolling out of the restaurant, the guy Seth’s with practically breaks his neck to check her out, cementing the fact that it’s definitely not a date. So what’s Seth’s deal, then? Why go from friendly to standoffish in a snap of a finger?

When Seth notices me glancing back and forth between him and the guy, he lets out another nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah, introductions right?” He motions at the guy. “Luke, this is Greyson. Greyson, Luke.”

I give Luke a small wave. “Yeah, I think we have bio together.”

He nods, still somewhat distracted by the girl in the red dress. “It’s nice to meet you, man.”

An awkward silence settles between us, and I decide it’s time to get my food before Jenna and Ari get here. I start for the door at the same time Seth steps for it and we slam into each other. I grab onto his arms as I start to stumble back and our gazes lock. His gaze drops to my lips and his fingers dig into my arms. A heartbeat goes by before he shuffles away from me, but it’s enough time for me to see the want in his eyes beneath the overwhelming fear.

I realize Seth’s afraid to be seen with me. While I was lucky to be born into an accepting family and never had too much of a problem openly being myself, I understand everyone isn’t that lucky.  Sadly, I’m guessing Seth is one of the unlucky ones.

I wish I could do something to help him. Hug him or something, tell him it’s okay, that whatever happened to him is going to be fine. But unlike my mother, I don’t believe I can see the future.

As I walk into the restaurant, I decide I’m going to make an effort to get to know him. If for nothing else than to be his friend.

Seth

I hate how flustered and confused I feel after watching Greyson walk away from me. Part of me wants to apologize for my ridiculous behavior, but part of me is relieved. Luke doesn’t seem like a judgmental person, but I can’t seem to help my reaction. The same thing happened when we were holding hands in class earlier today and a football player took a seat in front of me, sending me straight into a flashback.

I know not every guy is Braiden, but I still find myself drowning in memories of my ex, the star quarterback at my high school and one hundred percent gorgeous. I never thought he’d be interested in me, but during a project we got paired up on, we ended up making out in my room. One hot and heavy make out session led to secret weekend hookups. Deep down, I think I always knew things would end badly. Braiden wasn’t openly gay and refused to see me outside the four walls of my garage.  What I didn’t expect was our relationship to end in such an ugly and brutal way.

I flinch at the memory and head back to the booth with Luke to join Callie and Kayden, who are engulfed in an intense conversation. While I’m curious about what they’re discussing, my thoughts are still caught up in Greyson and the look on his face when he walked away.

He saw the fear inside me, the façade I put on that I’m always okay, always happy, all smiles, sunshine, and freakin’ bedazzled unicorns.

On our way out of the restaurant, I contemplate talking to Callie about Greyson, but she’s still pretty frustrated with me over inviting Kayden and Luke to dinner.

“I’m so going to get you back for this,” she hisses under her breath as we head to the car.

“Why?” I whisper innocently. “I thought it went pretty well.”

“It did, except for…” She bites her lip and looks down at her hands.

“Except for what?”

“Except for when you left, Kayden tried to thank me and then he touched my hand.” She wrings her hands in front of her with her head tipped down. “I freaked out and he probably thinks I’m even more of a weirdo then he did before.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I sneak a peek at Kayden. His attention is focused solely on Callie, the worried look on his face proof of exactly how concerned he is about her.

“I really don’t think that’s what he’s thinking,” I tell her in a low voice.

She peers up at me. “Why not?”

Sliding my arm around her, I shoot her a grin rather than answer her question, realizing she’s not ready to hear my predictions regarding the Callie/Kayden debacle. Sometimes you can just tell people belong together. Sometimes you just
know
.

Knowing is the easiest part. It’s accepting and opening up that’s complicated.

***

The weeks drift by in a sea of mind-numbing schoolwork. I spend a lot of my free time with Callie, and during class, I pretend not to notice Greyson. His hot-as-hell presence torments me, but I don’t attempt to talk to him. I’m too mortified over my behavior at the restaurant and frustrated with myself for letting my past control me. Since life doesn’t offer mulligans, I do the only thing I can. I just go with the flow.

I’ve just about convinced myself that I’m over my crush on Greyson when he leans toward me right in the middle of the professor’s lecture. Just like that, I’m right back where I started. Completely obsessed.

“So, do you get anything he’s saying?” he whispers under his breath.

My initial instinct is to look around and see if anyone is watching us, but I get caught up in the delicious scent of his cologne and blank out. “Yeah, a little bit.”

His brow crooks. “You said you weren’t a fan of school.”

“Yeah, I’m not. It doesn’t mean that I suck at all my classes, though. I just prefer not to have my head crammed with mostly useless knowledge.”

His gaze drops to his open textbook then lands back at me. “Maybe you could tutor me, then. English isn’t really my forte.”

I question whether he’s being serious or just using tutoring as an excuse to hang out. “What is your forte? Because I’m really curious.” My flirty tone comes out and shocks me a little.

 “Photography.” He pats his bag, where a camera strap is hanging out. “I actually got a scholarship. That’s part of the reason why I ended up here.”

The professor dismisses class and we start to gather our stuff.

“Seriously? That’s fucking cool.” I glance down at his bag as I stand to my feet and stretch out my arms. “Can I see some of your photos or is that too personal, like people with their journals?”

“No, it’s okay.” He gets to his feet, unzips his bag, and pulls out his camera.

“Are you sure? Sometimes I have issues with crossing the boundaries of personal space. Or so I’ve been told. Personally, I don’t see it.”

He chuckles as he taps a button, the screen lights up, and he hands it to me. “No, I promise you’re cool. A lot of my photos have been entered in contests, so tons of people have seen them.”

“Awesome.” I hold the camera in my hands and try to figure out how to get to the slideshow.

He leans over, pressing a button on the screen, and his fingers brush mine before he pulls away. My stomach spins like a disco ball, but I focus on flipping through the photos.

Scrolling through each one, I notice a few landscapes, but most are of people. In each shot, he manages to capture a passionate sense of emotion. “Wow, these are amazing.”

I’m a little stunned when I recognize the people in the next frame. I stop, staring down at a photo of me laughing with Callie outside on a bench. I tap to the next one and then the next, both of which are of me. In fact, the next twenty are all of me. Some I look happy in, but in a few, I see the pain I always carry with me.

I look over at Greyson. “When did you take these?”

With his brows furrowed, he leans over to see what I’m looking at. Then his eyes widen. “Fuck, I forgot those were on there.” He snatches the camera away from me, shuts it off, and stuffs it into his bag. “I swear I’m not a stalker. I just saw you on the first day of school and,” he slings his bag over his arm, and then fiddles with a leather bracelet on his wrist, “I don’t know, I just wanted to take pictures of you.”

He’s so embarrassed he’s actually blushing, which is quite possibly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.

“It’s okay,” I tease, falling right back into the flirty again, for a moment being the old Seth. “I know how irresistible I can be.”

A small smile rises on his lips as we head out of the classroom. “So, you’re not completely weirded out?”

I shake my head. “Oddly, I’m kind of flattered, but that’s probably the attention whore side of me speaking.”

He peers around the empty room and then stares at me.

“What?” I pause in the doorway, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“It’s nothing. I just realized you never did answer me about the tutoring thing.”

“You really need a tutor?” Because I’m highly suspicious that this is his way of asking me out.

“A little bit.” The lie is written all over his face, but he doesn’t seem like he’s trying very hard to cover it up. “Maybe you could come over to my apartment tonight and help me with that stupid essay we’re supposed to be writing. We could get some pizza or takeout.”

As we step into the hallway, I open my mouth to answer, still unsure whether I’m going to reject or accept his offer. I never get to find out how brave I’m feeling today, because my phone goes nuts inside my pocket.

“Hold that thought.” I hold up my finger while I dig out my phone from my pocket.

Callie: Hey, you want to go to a carnival tonight? Luke and I are headed to one.

Me: Luke and you? WTF?!?!? I thought you were into Kayden?

Callie: It’s not like that. We’re just friends. I helped him out with something today. And FYI, Kayden and I are just friends, too.

Me: Sure u r ;)

Callie:  Le sigh.

Me: Don’t le sigh me, baby girl.

Callie: So, will u come? It should be fun. Plus, I really need u there. I know Luke’s cool and everything, but I still get nervous sometimes and Kayden’s going to be there, too. I’ll be the only girl.

Me: U know I’ll always b there for u.

Callie: Thanks :) You’re the best.

Me: Well, duh. That’s kind of a given. I think I’ll text Kayden and see if he wants a ride. I know he doesn’t have a car.

Callie: Sounds good. Text me when u get there.

I send Kayden a text and we make plans to ride over together. Stuffing my phone back in my pocket, I offer Greyson an apologetic look as I squeeze past people crowding the hall. “Sorry, but I can’t make it tonight.”  When his smile falters, I feel like the worst person in the entire universe. Well, besides Kayden’s girlfriend, Daisy. That bitch is seriously evil. “I’d love to help you, but that was one of my friends on the phone. She needs my help with stuff,” I stumble over my words as his frown deepens into a full-on pout. “Carnival stuff.” As soon as I say it, I realize how stupid it sounded. “I swear to God, I’m not blowing you off. I just have this friend who has a hard time around guys and needs me to be there for her when she hangs out with the guy she likes.”

“Is it that girl you were with in the photos?” he asks, relaxing a tad.

“Yeah, she’s been through a lot and is always there for me. If it were anyone else, I would’ve said no. I promise.”

“No, it’s cool. I get it.” He pauses, stopping near the exit doors. “I actually promised a couple of my friends I’d go to the carnival with them sometime this week, so maybe I’ll head down tonight and we can meet up and hang out. Maybe ride the Ferris Wheel or something.”

“Ferris Wheel?” I arch my brow at him. “Isn’t that the one that takes forever to go around in a full circle? Like, the boringest ride ever?”

“What? I find it relaxing,” he says with this sexy half-grin. “Besides, it’s probably one of the best date rides ever because you get to spend all your time talking during the slow circle.”

He waits for me to agree that we should meet up. I know what agreeing would mean, that I’m deciding to open myself up again, to love, to heartache, to pain.

My heart thrashes in my chest as I surprise myself and nod. “Okay, I’ll see you there.”

He grins as he takes out his phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you when I get there.”

I give him my phone number and he punches it into his contacts. Moments later, my phone vibrates from inside my pocket and I take it out.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Greyson. Thought you should have my number, too.