Beware of Bad Boy (22 page)

I
t was embarrassing when she found the drawing yesterday, but I was over it now. I had trouble telling her how important she was to me, so hopefully seeing that drawing clued her in. She let me know a few times how unromantic I was, so maybe tonight I’d work on that.

The plan
was to drive to my mom’s place and get ready there. Then we’d go out and have a good time. She couldn’t miss ballet tomorrow since she skipped last week to go camping. After ballet, she was going to practice with the crew and they’d do their thing tomorrow night.

Instead of her spending the night Saturday night at Jared and Cece’s house, I plan
ned on talking her into staying at my mom’s with me. If she still insisted on keeping with tradition and staying at their house, I hoped Cece’s bed was big enough for three. No way in hell was I letting her stay in the same house with Jared if I wasn’t there. She claimed he’d respect our relationship, as long as I didn’t fuck it up, but if he got desperate enough he’d probably try something.

I knew I sure as hell would try to steal her right out from under another guy.

Going into Gianna’s room, I found her zipping up her duffel bag. I took it from her just as she was throwing it over one shoulder. “Let’s go.”

After I
put the bags in the trunk, Gianna ran around to the driver’s side before I climbed in. “Can I drive, Caleb?”

“No, we’re taking my car,” I t
old her.

“I know that and I want to drive your car
.” She clasped both her hands together. “Please?”

“No way, princess.
I don’t let anyone drive my car.”

“Pretty please,” she wheedled.

In answer, I moved her out of the way, pointing her in the direction to go around the front of the car and smacking her ass to get her going.

“Oh okay,” she said
pathetically with her head down. She walked around the car and got in on the passenger side. She sat in her seat dejectedly as I started the car.

She looked so adorable when she was sad
that it was making my chest tight. “Fine! You can drive! But if you even fail to use a blinker, you’re pulling over and I’m driving.”

She clap
ped her hands together. “Yay! Best boyfriend ever!”

Instead of getting out of the car, she climbed to my side as I opened the door.
I thought she would maybe give me a reward for being the best boyfriend ever, but all I got was a push to help me out of the car.

“Get out and go around,
” she ordered excitedly. That was all the thanks I got for letting her drive my baby?

Feeling weird, I sat in the p
assenger seat for the first time. She had a big grin on her face as she hit the gas. I grabbed the dashboard. “Slower, Gianna.”

She glance
d sideways. “Slower? Really? I always took you for a harder and faster kind of guy.” Now she flirted with me, when I couldn’t touch her for fear she’d crash my car.

“Don’t try to distract me with your naughty words,
seductress. I’m watching the speedometer and I better not see you go a mile over the speed limit.”

She turned
the radio up to drown out the end of my lecture. By the time we reached the parking garage near my mom’s place, I was relieved Gianna respected all road signs and speed limits. However as soon as she parked, I snatched the keys out of her hand.

I retrieve
d our bags from the back. “I hope you enjoyed that, because it won’t happen again.”

She presse
d her body against mine and licked my bottom lip. “Are you sure?”

“Very,” I
managed, staying strong.

She rubbed
her chest against me and repeated, “Are you sure?”

“Mostly.
” I was getting so turned on now.

She grab
bed my hand and put it on her chest. “Can I please drive your car again, sometime?”

“Oh hell yeah,” I practically moan
ed as her hand went to the front of my pants.

She laughed
and darted away. “That’s what I thought, master player. You’re too easy.”

“Only around you,” I mumble
d to myself, watching her ass as she walked ahead of me.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

“There’s beauty to wisdom and experience that cannot be faked.

It’s impossible to be mature without having lived.”

-Amy Grant

CALEB

My mom was out of town again so I told Gianna she could use my mom’s bathroom to get ready for tonight. After a shower, I took more thought in getting ready than usual. In a pair of black dress pants and a blue dress shirt and skinny tie, I stood in front of the mirror styling my hair with a little pomade.

I’
d been on lots of dates before, but this was different. Tonight was about more than meaningless flirtation and a good time in bed. This was about romance. What the fuck did I know about romance? Obviously not much from what Gianna’s teasing indicated.

I d
id feel romantic towards Gianna, I supposed. The problem was my inability to show it with actions and words. I was going to work on that tonight. I wanted her to know how much she meant to me. In the short amount of time I’d know her, she’d become the person my world centered around. That person used to be myself. I’d left behind a life that now disgusted me by finding something special with her.

God, I hope
d I didn’t turn into one of those pathetic guys who held their girlfriend’s purse while watching her shop. I felt like I was becoming pussy-whipped without actually getting to enjoy the pussy. Shaking my head, I shoved aside those kinds of thoughts. Tonight was supposed to be about romance, not about my lack a sex life in recent weeks.

All in good time
.

When I
was ready, I waited in the living room on the couch. As I sat there, flipping through channels, Gianna strutted out from my mom’s room. My mouth dropped open and I snapped it shut. She wore a dark blue dress that covered only the tops of her thighs and some black heeled ankle boots.

“What?” Gianna scanned the front of her body as
if something might be out of place.

“Nothing.
” My first instinct was to throw her over my shoulder and carry her to my bed. Instead, I walked over and kissed her lightly on the lips, not wanting to ruin her lipstick. “You look beautiful.”

She smile
d up at me. “So, do you.”

“Not exactly what I was
going for, but as long as you’re dying to rip my clothes off, I’m satisfied,” I teased.

“I so
didn’t say that and you know it.” She tried for a stern expression but it melted away when she giggled.

“I could tell by the look on your face you were thinking it. I
recognize that look on a girl’s face when I see it.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. It was another example of the unromantic things I said to her which reminded her of what a manwhore I’d been in the past.

“You know
, Caleb-” she started to say and I could easily guess the rest of it.

I cut her off
before she could finish, “Forget what I just said. All other girls are ugly dogs and you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

She smirk
ed. “That’s more like it.”

I clear
ed my throat and looked at her pointedly. She returned my look with a confused one. “What?”

“This is where you compliment me back. The romance g
oes both ways in a relationship.”

She raised
two perfect eyebrows. “Oh really? You want to be romanced? Since you’re such an expert on relationships, what should I say?”

This playful banter was fun. Stroking my chin, I
pretended to think really hard. “Well, you could say, wow, Caleb, you look so sexy I just want to rip off your clothes and lick you all over. A guy couldn’t hear sweeter words than that.”

Gianna rubb
ed her forehead like dealing with me was taxing, but I could tell that she was trying not to laugh. “A guy would think that was a romantic thing to say, wouldn’t he?”

“Very.”

She took the hand I held out. “Well, I wouldn’t want to be unromantic, so I’ll say this. Caleb, you look very sexy, handsome and lickable.”

I lock
ed the door behind us and put my arm around her waist. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“I never said it was, but now that you’ve had your ego stroked,
can you tell me where we’re going?”

“
Gladly. First, I’m taking you out to a nice romantic dinner. Then, to a club where you’ll be free to drink girly drinks and dance to your heart’s content, while I stand sober guard.”

Gianna
entered the elevator before me, turning around. “Caleb?”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to try so hard to be romantic. I like you for who you are, despite the very unromantic things you say.” She wrapped her arms around me, leaning her cheek into my chest.

In a millisecond I’d processed her words. “Thank god,” I breathed out,
relieved.

Grabbing the back of her thighs, I
lifted her up to wrap her legs around my waist. Her gaze found mine, her blue eyes startled. I pushed her back against the wall of the elevator and went to town on her with my mouth.

“In that case,
can I just say that you look so fucking hot in this dress? Every time I look at you in it, I want to peel if off you and use it to tie you to my bed.”

She laughed in delight.
“There’s my special guy.”

The elevator doors open
ed and I reluctantly placed her back on her feet. On the way to my car, I asked her, “Does this mean you’ll be happy if I don’t take you to the fancy restaurant I book a reservation at?”

She squeeze
d my hand. “I’ll be happy no matter where you take me.”

“
Where I’d like to take you is to bed. But I haven’t been to the diner in forever and I’m also starving for food. We’ll go there, if you don’t mind.” I opened the passenger door for her when we reached my car. I may not have been the most romantic guy, but I could still be a gentleman.

“This time c
an I order for myself?” she asked once I got behind the wheel.

“Only if it’s something I like, so I can e
at your leftovers.”

“You’re horrible,” she
scolded.

“No, I’m sexy,
handsome and lickable. You said so yourself.” I pulled out of the parking garage in the direction of the diner. It wasn’t far from the apartment, but far enough not to want to walk.

Gianna leaned over to
squeeze one of my cheeks. “Yes, you’re those things too, babe.”

W
e sat at one of Jean’s tables at the diner and she squeezed my other cheek. What the hell? Was I that adorable today? Her smile was motherly. “How’s the new school, Caleb?”

“Great
.” I gestured to Gianna. “You remember my stepsister, Gianna?”

Jean
gave her the same smile but left her cheeks alone. “Yes, nice to see you again, Gianna. What can I get for you two?”

I order
ed my usual and Gianna ordered something I wouldn’t mind eating the rest of. We managed to finish our meal without any girls from my past showing up. After I paid for our meal, we walked back to my car and drove to a club where I knew the bouncers. I had a fake ID, but I wasn’t sure Gianna did.

On the way there, I
finally thought to ask her, “Do you have a fake ID?”

“Yep.
” She took it out of her purse and handed it to me.

I read off the name.
“Gigi Ramirez. Isn’t that Jared and Cece’s last name? Funny, you don’t look Hispanic.”

“
Jared got it for me.” She put it back in her wallet.

“
He gave you his last name? Remind me to get you a new fake ID,” I muttered. I’d let her keep that one for now. It figured the douche would do something so cheesy.

W
e didn’t have to wait in line outside the club since Ned was manning the door. I joked around with him before we went inside. Ned was a nice guy despite appearances. He shaved his head and wore a tight black t-shirt that showed off his huge biceps and two arms covered in tattoos.

I introduce
d them, “Ned, this is my girlfriend, Gianna.”

“
Girlfriend?” Ned repeated skeptically. “You mean, you actually claim this one out of the bedroom, Caleb?”

Gianna put out her hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ned. Where did you and Caleb meet? In prison?”

Ned looked
at me, still holding onto my girl’s hand. “I like this one.”

“I’m flattered,” Gianna sa
id sarcastically.

“And I’m charmed
,” Ned complimented, totally ignoring the line waiting to get in. “Actually, Caleb and I met when he was twelve. He showed up here with a shitty fake ID. When I called him on it, he tried to talk me into letting him in. He told me that middle school boys needed to get laid too. I told him to get his scrawny ass to the mall if he wanted somewhere to hang out. When I didn’t let him in, he started showing up every so often with his friend Dante. They would hang out at the door with me. Once they started growing some fuzz on their faces a few years later, I started letting them past the front door.”

“And now I get to benefit from their hormones
’ hard at work. Do you need to see my fake ID?” Gianna asked like a smartass.

“N
o, you two kids have fun inside.” Ned waved us in, shaking head big head.

“Thanks for telling my girlfriend an embarrassing story
, Ned. See you on the way out.” Holding her close, I guided Gianna inside.

Ned called
after me, “I’ve got more where that came from!”

Maybe I’
d take her to a different club next time. Somewhere where the bouncers hadn’t carried me out drunk or broken up catfights I’d unintentionally caused.

The music pounded inside and I led
her to the bar. Ordering us both a drink from the bartender I sat Gianna down on an empty stool. The stools on both sides of her were taken, so I stood behind her with one arm around her waist. That was a sure way to keep other guys away. Once we were both finished with our first drink, Gianna pulled me onto the dance floor. After two songs, I pulled her back to the bar for drink number two.

Still working on
our second drinks, someone I really didn’t want to see showed up. Actually, I’d been hoping to never see this fucker again.

He shout
ed over the music, “What’s up, Caleb? Still on probation?” I could see Gianna’s eyes dart to his face. I really hoped she didn’t hear that.

Holy shit, I want
ed to beat this prick’s ass. “Fuck off, Ian!”

“Is that any way to greet an old friend?”
His expression was of mock hurt.

“We were never friends. By the way, how’s Jackie? Are you two still together?” I ask
ed him. His pissed off face made me smile evilly. He’d really liked Jackie. Unfortunately, she’d cheated on him with me. Stupid prick had asked for it.

“What school are you going to now, Caleb? Gotten expelled lately?” I
was thinking about whether or not I should be punching anybody while on a date with Gianna when she stood up to step between us. It wasn’t lost on me the way Ian’s eyes roved over her face and body.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Caleb?”
She a placed one hand on my chest and I put one of my own over it, a gesture which Ian didn’t miss.

“No,” I
replied stubbornly.

The prick introduce
d himself, “I’m Ian Crenshaw. Caleb and I go way back. What can I call you other than beautiful?” With lame lines like that, no wonder Jackie preferred me between her legs.

One side of Gianna’s gorgeous lips twitched.
“I’m Gianna, Caleb’s girlfriend.”

“
Girlfriend?” he mouthed in astonishment just to be an ass. “What school do you go to?” The nosy prick wouldn’t be asking without a reason.

“Don’t worry about it-
” I began.

“Broomfield,” Gianna answer
ed innocently.

Ian’s grin was predatory.
“Do you like it there? I’m thinking of switching schools.” Fucker probably got expelled and was on the prowl for new stomping grounds.

“It’s alright, especially since Caleb showed up.
” That was my girl. As if Ian hadn’t been eating her up with his eyes, she turned to me. “Let’s go dance!” She grabbed my hand. “See you later, Ian.”

Yeah, peace out
, you fucking douchebag.

On the dance floor,
I yelled in her ear. “If that guy ever comes near you when I’m not around, don’t talk to him.”

“Don’t worry.
I have a good idea of what it’s like between you two!” Her body melted into mine as we got lost in each other and the music.