Beware of Bad Boy (11 page)

My head snapped Gianna’s way. “Yeah, what?”

“You’ve met Seth, right?”

The guy hadn’t done anything to piss me off yet, so I offered my hand. “Sort of. You’re friends with Josh, right?”

Seth shook my hand. I thought his grip was weak. “We’re on the football team together.” I hoped he
gripped a football better than that.

“Well, he’s on my shit list,” I informed Josh’s teammate.

Seth shifted uncomfortably on his seat and changed the subject. “So, you’re Caleb, Gianna’s brother.”

“
Step
brother,” I corrected. “We’re not really related.”

“Oh,” was his cautious response. I could so take him in a fight.

“Anyways,” Gianna interrupted, “I was just telling Seth we’ll be doubling on Friday after the game.”

A smile popped on my face when I spied Seth’s disappointment at the prospect.
Fucker had obviously looked forward to getting one-on-one time with Gianna.

I
knew Desiree didn’t care about the double date when she whispered in my ear that we’d have to get some alone time afterwards. I smiled a different type of smile then. The unwanted thought of whether or not Seth was thinking the same thing about Gianna entered my head. This whole situation with Gianna was starting to aggravate the hell out of me. I mean, how was I supposed to enjoy getting laid when I’d have to worry about Seth trying to get in her pants?

GIANNA

Desiree was such a slut! If she touched Caleb one more time, I was going to pull her away from him by her stringy hair. Dammit, she just touched him again. I needed to calm down. I’d have to get used to seeing girls touch him. Caleb was a manwhore and would likely be both that and my stepbrother for years to come. I was so going away for college. My dad would welcome me with open arms in Houston.

I
sat miserably at the football game Friday night with Caleb and Desiree. After the game, we were meeting Seth in the parking lot and going out to eat. Until then, I’d have to sit here in the bleachers, trying to ignore Desiree grope Caleb like a bitch in heat. Her skirt was so short I was sure anyone sitting down below could turn around and see her panties, if she were even wearing any.

As much as I wanted to say something snide to Caleb
, I couldn’t because I was supposed to be his protégé. The more convincing move would be to high-five him. Caleb pulled out his phone and started texting someone. My phone beeped a couple seconds later. It was from the man himself. What was he up to?

Caleb:
Why do you keep dogging us? Jealous?

I immediately
answered his taunt.

Gianna:
Just watching the master work. Taking notes for Seth later. Can’t wait to put my hands all over him!

His clenched jaw gave me immense satisfaction.

Caleb:
That’d make you a slut like Desiree, not a player like me.

Gianna:
I’m confused, aren’t you a slut too? What you’re saying is I should be the one with Seth’s hands all over me?

Caleb
didn’t text back again. He just rolled his eyes as if I were an idiot and put his phone back in his pocket.

CALEB

How was I to convince Gianna to remain a virgin and not be a player like me without sounding like a hypocrite? If Seth laid one sausage-fingered hand on her, I was going to break it. If I saw her put one hand on him, it’d be my own hand landing hard on her cute ass. Actually, the idea of spanking Gianna turned me on so it’d be no hardship.

After the game, we
met Seth in the parking lot and decided to take separate vehicles to the restaurant. Desiree rode with me and Gianna went with Seth in his car. Desiree was starting to get on my nerves, but I still planned on screwing her tonight. I figured the whole problem with Gianna stemmed from me going too long without sex. Obsessing and lusting after her was a result of not getting laid in awhile.

Our booth was large
at the restaurant. It was already past nine o’clock, so the place wasn’t full. Desiree slid up close next to me and Gianna eyed the lack of space between us. Desiree’s hand found its favorite spot on my leg under the table. If we didn’t have company, I’d be checking out what was beneath her skirt.

Seth
was pathetic in his admiration of Gianna. She wasn’t exactly discouraging him, responding politely and smiling when he sucked up to her like a little bitch. The whole scene was pissing me off. I kicked my leg out under the table.

“Ow!” Gianna
cried. Crap, I meant to kick Seth, the little bitch.

“Sorry, leg spasm,” I lamely
apologized.

“Are you alright
, Gianna?” Seth asked in exaggerated concern. I wondered if they’d believe my leg had another spasm.

She
gave him a sweet smile that he didn’t deserve. “I’m fine. Thanks, Seth.”

Obviously something had to be done about Seth.
Any good stepbrother would do the same. “So, Seth, how good of friends are you with Josh?”

Seth
appeared both wary and uncomfortable, as he should. “We hang out sometimes.”

“Are you a date rapist like him?” I
blurted out, earning a gasp from Desiree.

“Caleb!” Gianna
scolded through her embarrassment.

I
gave them the innocent look that stopped working with my mom years ago. “What? I just want to know if I’m going to have to pull him off you and beat his ass like I did Josh.”

Gianna’s blush darkened, but I was guessing it was also from anger.
Seth turned to her in shock, taking hold of her hand. “Babe, did that really happen? Is that why you broke up with him?”

Gianna glare
d at me as I took a sip of soda out of my straw. “Yes, last Friday.”

“I’m sorry
, Gianna, that’s horrible. I’d never try anything like that.” His earnest expression seemed sincere, but I wasn’t ready to give him the benefit of the doubt. To be safe, she shouldn’t either. In fact, she would be better off not dating at all for awhile.

Gianna, unfortunately, wasn’t of the same thought.
She gave him the sweet smile
again
. The smile that should be reserved for a guy more worthy. “I know, Seth, you’re a good guy.”
Agree to disagree
.

In my opinion, Seth was coming out too
good in this conversation. A guy shouldn’t earn brownie points for simply stating he wouldn’t force himself on a girl. Desiree rubbed higher up on my thigh. Instead of being able to enjoy it, thinking about what I’d be up to later tonight, I had to worry about what the couple across from us would be up to later that night.

GIANNA

Caleb was such a jerk to blab to these two about what happened with Josh. What the hell did he do that for? At least Seth was a gentleman. Caleb should be taking pointers from Seth on how not to be an ass. Why was I even attracted to Caleb? He didn’t want me because I was a virgin. He didn’t feel guilty about loving and leaving girls if another guy had been there first. Like it was okay to use girls if they’d already slept with someone else.

Seth was the type of guy worth my time. He was handsome and sweet.
He hadn’t given any indication he was expecting me to have sex with him tonight. And if I told him I was a virgin, I was sure his response would be a lot nicer than Caleb’s had been. Not that I would’ve slept with Caleb anyways. Not that I was planning on sleeping with Seth.

F
rom the way Desiree was acting she definitely planned on spreading her legs for Caleb tonight. Being a hotshot player, he wouldn’t pass up the offer. The thought of it was driving me crazy. Stupid sexy player, the way he kissed me all the time and made me want him. Stupid slut Desiree, being the kind of girl he wanted.

The whole point of th
e double date was to ruin Caleb’s date with Desiree. “So, Caleb, why’d you and Hannah break up?” I asked out of nowhere.

Caleb
threw me a suspicious look. “Hannah and I didn’t break up because we were never technically together.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. You don’t
do relationships. What was it you said again? That the word
girlfriend
is a bad word.”

Desiree’s head
jerked at my words. “Did you really say that?”

Caleb glared at me before answering
her. “What does it matter, I’m here with you now, aren’t I?” His logic sucked, but Desiree must’ve been some sort of idiot because she smiled as if satisfied with his answer.

I spoke to Desiree, turning her attention
away from Caleb’s neck. “Yeah, maybe Caleb would be willing to have a girlfriend. He told Hannah he’d let her be his girlfriend as long as she was okay with sharing him with other girls.”

Desiree put
her arms around his neck in a possessive way. “Probably because he didn’t like Hannah. But he likes me.” The face Caleb made said otherwise, but with her head on his shoulder she missed it. Caleb’s silence told me he didn’t plan on enlightening her and ruining his chance to get laid.

Frustrated,
I scooted out of the booth. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Desiree popped
up immediately. “I’ll go with you.”

Washing
my hands at the sink, I glanced at Desiree in the mirror as she came out of the stall. “So, Gianna, have you fucked Caleb yet?”

“What?” I ask
ed, surprised by the crude question.

Desiree
shot me a dirty look in the mirror as she smoothed down her hair. “I know you want him, you’re practically gagging for it. But he doesn’t want you back does he? That’s why you were out there trying to make him look bad in front of me. What’s the matter? The perfect Gianna Thorpe finally met a guy who doesn’t worship her?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I
denied while contemplating pulling her hair.

“I think I do. And you know what? After we ditch you two, Caleb told me we
’re going to be spending some alone time together, if you know what I mean. And if you don’t, I’ll spell it out for you. We’re going to be fucking each other’s brains out.” Her smirk made me what to sock her. She spun on slutty stilettos toward the door, saying over her shoulder, “Have a good night with Seth.” If I took both her kneecaps out, she’d have a hard time wearing shoes like those.

I studied my own reflection in the mirror. The jean shorts and cute tank top made more sense than her fancy getup.
She was pretty, but her outfit screamed desperation. Unfortunately, my hurt feelings didn’t care about how pathetic Desiree acted. I stood there for a minute gripping the sink, trying to hold back the stupid tears.
That bastard
. I wasn’t good enough for him, but that slut Desiree was? I needed to get out of there. I left the bathroom in a rush and strode back to our booth. I didn’t even bother sitting down.

“Seth, do you think we could go now?”

Despite his confusion, he readily agreed, “Sure, babe.”

We’d
only ordered drinks so far, so Seth dropped some money on the table and, without even looking at Caleb, I walked out of the restaurant holding Seth’s hand. I forgot about trying to ruin Caleb’s good time. He could do whatever and whoever the hell he wanted for all I cared. Hopefully he’d catch something from the nasty bitch.

CHAPTER 
FIFTEEN

“Beauty and folly are old companions.”

-Benjamin Franklin

CALEB

I
slapped my alarm off when it woke me up at eight o’clock Saturday morning. What the fuck? Oh yeah, Gianna, Saturday. I dragged my ass to the shower and dressed quickly. Catching up with her as she was going downstairs, I ignored her unhappy frown. What was her problem?

“Hey
, Gianna, I’m taking you downtown today.”

She
turned to face me where I stood on the steps. “Like hell you are!”

Julie walk
ed in on cue from the kitchen. “Gianna, watch your language. I think it’s a wonderful idea for Caleb to drive you. I get worried, you going down there by yourself.”

Gianna dropped her bag on the floor and asked her mom,
“So now you’re talking to me again?”

Julie hugged
Gianna, patting her on the back. “I just think you’re going through some sort of teenage rebellion thing. You’ll regret quitting and go back to it in no time.”

Gianna’s only reply was to grunt.
“Come on, punk, I don’t want you to make me late.”

So it
was back to punk again, was it? As we got into my car, I checked out the large duffel bag she threw into the backseat. Did she have the dress and lingerie in there? Should I chuck it out the window while on the freeway?

As I started the car
, Gianna switched it to a Top 40 station, turning it up full blast. Reaching out, I turned it back down. “What’s the matter, princess? Did you get your period this morning?”

“Nothing’s the matter. How was the rest of your date?” she ask
ed then turned her head to stare out the window.

“
Fantastic,” I enunciated slowly. “How was the rest of yours? Did that loser kiss you goodnight, or was he too much of a gentleman to kiss on the first date?”

“How was the slut?
Did you knock her up?” she retorted, sounding peeved.

I didn’t see Gianna after leaving the restaurant
last night. Desiree and I stayed to eat and Gianna didn’t respond to my texts later on. When I got home, Gianna was already in bed. “Why’d you rush out of the restaurant?”

“I couldn’t wait for dessert.
” Leaning one elbow against the door, her smug face and words insinuated that more than a kiss goodnight happened.

I grip
ped the steering wheel tightly and turned the music back up. A popular boy band sang about a girl being beautiful but I didn’t care. Thinking about Gianna making out with that loser made me wish I’d drug her out of the restaurant myself last night. Kissing better be all they’d gotten up to.

W
e neared downtown and I turned down the music to ask Gianna which exit to take. She continued giving me directions all the way to the ballet studio. When I found a parking spot a couple buildings down from the studio, she jumped out without even a thank you.

I step
ped out of the car and yelled after her, “What time do you get done?”

She
didn’t turn around, calling out, “Noon!”

“I’ll be here to pick you up!”

“Whatever!” she shouted back and disappeared into the building.
Ungrateful brat
. And here I was taking time out of my Saturday to chauffeur her, time I could be happily asleep.

“Hey
, Caleb!” I turned around to see Cece running down the street from a bus stop.

“What’s up
, Tiny Dancer?”

She giggled at the nickname.
“Just going to class. Hey, Gianna told me what you guys did to Josh’s truck. Freaking hilarious. He really deserved it. So, how’d the double date go last night?”

“Alright.
Do you think Gianna likes that Seth guy?”

“Well, I haven’t met him, but she
texted me last night saying he’s really nice. But, I don’t think she has any real romantic feelings towards him. I think she likes someone else, but she won’t tell me who it is,” she said in a frustrated tone.

Did she mean Jared? Is that why she wouldn’t tell Cece?
I hated that prick.

“I don’t know who
it could be,” I lied.

“Well, we’ll find out eventually. The guy would have to be an idiot not to want to go out with
her. She’s a sweetheart. See you later, Caleb.”

Jared
was
an idiot, but I knew for a fact he wanted Gianna. As Cece too was about to disappear through the large wooden doors, I called out, “I’ll be here at noon to pick up Gianna if you need a ride!”

Cece
spun around, holding the door open. “Don’t you mean 11:30? That’s when we get done.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant,” I
corrected. Satisfied, she simply nodded and went in.

So, Gianna told me the wrong time to try to dit
ch me?
Nice try, princess.
That gave me two hours to kill, so I drove over to my mom’s apartment to see her. Since she was out of town last weekend I hadn’t seen her in forever.

When I walk
ed in the door, my mom was making coffee in the kitchen. “Hey, mom.”

“Hi
, sweetie. What are you doing here so early?” Still in her robe, her black hair pulled into a messy bun, she came over to give me a hug.

“It’s already 9:45
, mom. It’s not that early.” The coffee smelled good and I planned on chugging at least two cups.

“It’
s early for you. You never wake up before noon on Saturdays.”

Feeling
weird, I told her, “I gave my stepsister a ride to ballet class.”

“That’s right,
you have a stepsister around your age. What’s her name again?”

“Gianna,” I
said nonchalantly. Why did I feel strange talking to my mom about her?

“So, how’
s everything going, living with your dad? Is his wife nice?” she asked, aiming for the same casual tone. I gave my mom a knowing look because she’d taken my dad remarrying pretty hard three years ago. My mom noticed my concern. “It’s okay, Caleb. I’m over it.”

“She’s alright.
She’s the exact opposite of you and the Martha Stewart type. She has a little boy also. He’s pretty cool and especially entertaining when he’s misbehaving.”

“Have you been staying out of trouble
yourself?” She has a concerned look on her face, as if bracing herself for disappointing news.

I
thought about the tiny bit of trouble Gianna and I had caused together. It didn’t count because we didn’t get caught. “Yes, mom, I’ve been a good boy. I haven’t even had detention yet. It’s so boring in the suburbs. I don’t know how I’d even find any trouble to get into.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, she beamed at me.
“I’m proud of you, sweetie. Maybe living with your father was just what you needed.”

She patted me on the cheek like she always did when I pleased her.
I’m not sure I agreed with her about living with my dad. Since meeting Gianna two weeks ago, it seemed like everything had gone to hell. I didn’t feel like myself anymore.

My mom
wasn’t in the mood to cook, big surprise, so we went to breakfast at the diner. Avoiding any conversation about Gianna, I told her about my new school and classes. We talked more about Julie and my dad. My mom really did seem okay now about it. I almost asked if she was dating anyone, but chickened out because it would be too weird to talk about.

I
was back at the dance studio on time to pick up Gianna. When she stepped out of the building with Cece, I stood out front, leaning against my car. Holding back laughter at her scowl, I opened the door to the passenger side.

She
approached me with Cece by her side. “Caleb, I usually go to Cece’s house right after class and the crew comes by to practice.”

“
No problem, I’ll drive you guys there.”

Before Gianna could argue, Cece was
climbing into the back seat. “Thanks, Caleb!”

GIANNA

I told Caleb the wrong time on purpose so I could get rid of him. Unfortunately, he showed up thirty minutes early to pick me up and now he was giving me and Cece a ride to her house. I didn’t want to be around him. I was still so pissed about him sleeping with Desiree last night.

Okay, so maybe I
was more than just pissed. As much as I didn’t want it to, it hurt. I cried myself to sleep last night over stupid Caleb! It was dumb to be upset about it. He was just being himself, doing what he normally did, easy girls. It wasn’t as if any girl, including myself, would ever be special to him. It took a special girl to tame a bad boy and he hadn’t met her yet.

I’d
stood there like an idiot in the bathroom last night while Desiree got her digs in. Since then I’d come up with a ton of comebacks I should’ve said to her. Now it was too late. What a whore she was. Ugh, I didn’t want to think of what they did last night. I’d start crying then Caleb and Cece would think I’d lost it.

Pulling up in front of
Cece and Jared’s house, I was about to say goodbye and good riddance to Caleb, but he turned off the engine and got out too. “What are you doing, Caleb?”

“I want
to watch the crew practice. That’s okay isn’t it, Cece?” he asked, smart enough to look to her for backup.

“
Sure, that’d be fun. Friends or the guys’ girlfriends sometimes come by Saturday afternoons to watch.” Cece and her super-friendly attitude would be the death of me. What could I say?
No, I don’t want Caleb to hang out with us because I’m unreasonably hurt over him screwing Desiree last night
.

Key word: unreasonable.
I had no right to be hurt and Caleb was nothing more to me than a sometimes-friend, sometimes-enemy and sometimes-confidant. Oh, and I couldn’t forget the stepbrother thing.

Inside the house
Jared sat on the couch. The memory of the kiss we’d shared last Saturday popped into my head and I didn’t know if it was going to be awkward between us.

It wasn’t. Jared acted completely normal.
“Hey, Gigi, are you ready for tonight?”

I let out a relieved breath before answering.
“Of course, we’re going to kick ass.”

Cece and Caleb walk
ed into the house behind me. Caleb must’ve heard our conversation because he said, “So, you guys have some sort of battle? Like a break dancing dance-off?”

Jared rolled his eyes, but sound
ed friendly when he explained, “Something like that and don’t call it break dancing. That’s what the media calls it. We either call it breaking, street dance, popping or locking, depending on the style. You can also call it b-boying.”

“Thanks for the lesson,” Caleb
joked irreverently. “So, where’s this happening tonight?”

I wanted to blurt out not to tell him, but didn’t want to sound like a spaz.

“At a warehouse not far from downtown,” Cece blabbed. “It’s going to be awesome. There will be other crews there competing.”

“Who decides who wins?” Caleb a
sked, appearing more interested.

“There are judges. This is an organized compe
tition, so it’s all pretty fair.” Jared got up off the couch, brushing by me on his way to the kitchen. “Anyone want something to drink?”

“Water, please,” Caleb answered, sitting on the couch himself.

Wanting to get away from Caleb, I told Cece, “Let’s go get changed. The guys will be over soon.”

I s
hould’ve seen it coming. Cece pounced on me as soon as her door shut. “So, Gianna, Jared told me about the kiss you guys shared last weekend.”

“What about it?” I played dumb.

“Just about how great it was. You know, he’s liked you for a long time, but you’ve always had a boyfriend. What do you think of him?” Shouldn’t she shun any conversation about her brother’s love life?

I like
d Jared, but the attraction I had towards Caleb was much stronger, which didn’t bode well for a relationship between me and Jared. Did I even like Caleb? I didn’t know. When he wasn’t being a player, he was great to be around. He seemed to genuinely care about me, in a stepsister sort of way. Of course, he did kiss me all the time, but maybe it was just what came naturally to him. He probably kissed any cute girl he was around long enough.

“I like Jared, I guess. I don’t know if we should date, though
. I don’t want to lose him as a friend.”

“
But if you’re really into someone, you have to take a chance,” Cece practically pleaded.

Maybe she
was right. Maybe I should give Jared a chance and it’d help me forget about any attraction I had for Caleb. I opened my bag and peeked at the dress and lingerie I’d bought for the trick I was playing on Caleb. Maybe I
should
give my virginity to Jared. He was one of my best friends and there was some chemistry between us. Either way, tonight after the battle, I’d put this dress on just to teach Caleb a lesson. Let him think I’d had sex with Jared.