The Redemption of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen Read Free Book Online Page A

jacket, with the sleeves
    pushed up, and skinny jeans. “Or an iPod hookup. I swear I’m
    having flashbacks of mullets, spandex pants, and crimped hair.”

    “I think you’re going back a little too far.” Luke has his hood
    pulled over his head and a leather band on his wrist that has the
    word redemption on it. I wonder if it means something to him or if
    he believes in redemption. I wonder if I believe in it. He stretches
    his arm in front of me and flips open the glove box. “Back to the
    eight-track era.”

    I cringe at how close he is, but then release the tension,
    refusing to go back to that place. I zip up my jacket, because it’s
    cold inside due to the fact that they keep rolling down the
    windows to smoke.

    It’s early in the morning, the sun is kissing the frosted land,
    and the highway is a hazard from last night’s storm so we have to
    drive slowly. There are a few cars stuck in the mounds of snow in
    the strip of land in the center of the opposing traffic and people
    have turned off onto the ramps because they’re too afraid to drive.
    Luke and I are used to it though. It’s the conditions we grew up in.

    Seth slaps his hand away from the glove box and Luke looks
    at me in disbelief, but I just laugh. “No, eight-tracks were still in play in the eighties.”

    “Early eighties,” Luke corrects. “They faded out by
    mid-decade.”

    I laugh because they are fighting over something so
    ridiculous and I’m tired and nervous and my head’s in a very
    strange place. “You guys are fighting like an old married couple.”
    As soon as I say it, I want to take it back, because I’m not sure how Luke will take it.

    When I look at Luke, he seems perfectly fine. He shrugs and
    then sticks his hand into the glove box and pulls out a tape labeled
    Let’s Get High. “Whatever,” he says and feeds it into the tape
    player. “As long as I’m the guy in the relationship, it’s all good.”

    Seth rolls his eyes. “Whatever, you’d totally be my bitch and
    you know it.”

    That’s it. I can’t hold it in any longer. My body falls forward
    as I cover my mouth and my shoulders shake as I laugh into my
    hand. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that.”

    “Yes, you can.” Seth pats my back. “I wouldn’t be me if I
    didn’t say the first thing that pops into my head.”

    He’s right. Seth is blunt and funny and he totally says
    whatever the hell he wants. And I love him for it. I sit up, wiping
    the tears from my eyes, and then give him a quick kiss on the
    cheek. “Thank you for making me smile,” I say.

    He grins. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

    Luke shakes his head, but there’s a grin on his face so I know
    he’s not offended. I like Luke. He’s not judgmental and he seems
    accepting. I almost lean over to hug him and then realize how
    weird it is because it doesn’t freak me out. What does that mean?
    Crap. What does that mean?

    “Come on Eileen,” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners, blasts out
    from the speakers.

    “This is so eighties,” Seth says and begins snapping his
    fingers and bobbing his head. He really starts to get into it,
    shaking his hips and shimmying frontward and backward. “Come
    on, Callie, you know you want to dance. It’ll make you smile even
    more.”

    I grin from ear to ear. “No way.”

    Cold air fills the cab as Luke cracks the window. The lighter
    flicks and then the smell of cigarette smoke flows through the air.
    Seth keeps dancing as he reaches into the pocket of his hoodie
    and takes out his pack of cigarettes. Out of the corner of my eye, I
    see Luke bobbing his head as he sucks on the end of his cigarette.
    He takes a long drag, and then puckers his lips and a thin trail of
    white smoke laces out of his mouth. Seth starts thrusting his hips
    wildly as he flicks the end of his lighter and puts it up to the tip of the cigarette. The paper curls in and turns black as he takes a long
    drag. The car starts rocking as the chorus comes on