Toxic Bad Boy (15 page)

“
Got a girlfriend?” I
asked casually, hiding my amusement.

“
What? No!” He reached
into his pocket and handed me a key. “That was just Julie. She
asked me to pick up the balloons for Chance’s birthday party
tomorrow.”

“
Don’t tell me you’re
dipping in that again,” I told him, shuddering at the picture that
came to mind.

“
Caleb, watch your mouth.
I won’t allow you to be speak crudely about your
stepmother!”

“
Stepmother?” I choked
out. “Are you forgetting the divorce?”

He appeared embarrassed.
“Former stepmother.”

That sounded a hell of a
lot better. “So,” I drawled, “Chance’s birthday party is tomorrow?
Am I invited?”

A determined look came
over his face and he began typing something into his phone. I
laughed, walking out to my car. If Julie was trying to weasel her
way back into my dad’s heart she’d be forced to play nice with his
son.

Between her contrived
hospitality tomorrow and Gianna’s discomfort, the party could turn
out to be fun.

I only hoped I’d be invited.

“
What love we’ve given,
we’ll have forever. What love we fail to give, will be lost for all
eternity.”

-Leo Buscaglia

GIANNA

Caleb was here.

And I was freaking
out.

Helping with the party was
a good excuse to ignore him, but wouldn’t last forever. My dad gave
me strange looks as I ran around keeping busy. After a half hour,
he pulled me aside. “Why is Caleb glaring at Gage?”

“
Because
I broke up with him,” I answered with fake nonchalance. I
was
totally
freaking out.

His eyebrows shot up. “And
he blames Gage?”

“
Maybe,” I
prevaricated.

“
Tell
me,” he commanded. Jeez, I liked having my dad around full-time,
but he wanted to know
everything
.

I lowered my voice, not
wanting anyone to overhear. “I kind of told him Gage and I were
together now.”

“
Are you?”

“
Together?” I asked,
deciding how to answer. “Of course not, we’re just
friends.”

“
Why did you feel the need
to lie, Gianna?”

As if I’d tell my dad the
truth. Without getting too personal, I said, “I don’t think I’m in
a place to have a boyfriend right now.”

His face softened in
understanding and I had the urge to call my therapist to yell at
her. She needed to quit blabbing to my dad about me. “Just tell him
the truth, Gianna.”

“
I’ll think about it,” I
snapped, turning my attention back to the superhero piñata I was
stuffing candy inside.

“
Dad!” Chance called from
where he and his friends sat shoving pizza in their mouths. My
dad’s attention returned to the birthday boy as he moved to see
what Chance wanted.

It was odd to have
everyone here at my mom’s house. And I didn’t mean the Chance’s
friends. My mom, dad, Scott and Caleb were all here for the party.
How my mom was okay with Caleb’s presence I didn’t know. I
suspected the way she kept acting sweet to Scott might have
something to do with it.

The backyard was decorated
in an explosion of superheroes, with dozens of balloons tied to
chairs. We’d set up games for the kids and my mom had made both a
cake and cupcakes. Scott and my dad had met a few times, so they
were cool with each other. My mom had thawed out in recent months
toward my dad and they were finally on more amicable terms. Maybe
after two failed marriages, she’d realized she might be doing
something wrong.

If I weren’t in the middle
of it, I’d find it amusing that my mom was obviously making a play
for her ex-husband. Scott, not my dad, thank god. If she’d tried
the same thing with my dad, he’d run away back to
Houston.

“
Need help?” Gage asked
after joining me by the tree.

“
Sure,” I said, handing
him the rope to throw over a branch.

He tossed the end of the
rope up, making it on the first try. “Do you think he’ll try to
kick my ass again in front of all these kids?”

“
No, and I’m still sorry
about that.” I glanced to where Caleb stood talking to my mom. My
mom’s smile was totally fake, but she was trying to impress Scott.
When she put another piece of pizza on Caleb’s plate I wasn’t sure
if I wanted to laugh or cry.

Now
she makes the effort to get along with him.

Caleb was eating up more
than the pizza, clearly amused at my mom’s insincere
friendliness.

“
Don’t worry about it,”
Gage assured me. “But there’s something I should tell
you.”

“
Yeah?”

“
I’m surprised he hasn’t
yet, but I’m sure he’s just waiting for the right moment to spring
it on us.”

“
Then tell me,” I
urged.

Gage avoided my eyes. “He
and Ian paid me to be your friend.”

“
What?” I shouted,
bringing attention to us.

“
It’s not that big of a
deal.”

“
You’re not really my
friend?” I asked, hurt and embarrassed.

He grabbed my hand,
squeezing. “Of course I’m your friend. I’d even do it for
free.”

“
Ha ha,” I said
humorlessly. “So that explains you popping up out of
nowhere.”

“
I care
about you, Gianna. As a
real
friend. Say you forgive me?” His face looked both
remorseful but hopeful. He’d proved over the months we’d hung out
to be a true friend. At least it seemed that way.

“
Okay,” I agreed, pointing
a finger at him. “But don’t hang out with me unless you want
to.”

He grinned, returning to
the carefree guy I knew. “Never have.”

I chanced a look at Caleb.
He looked ready to murder Gage, his eyes narrowed on my friend. But
I was feeling just the opposite. I tried to keep the love out of my
expression as I gazed at him. He’d been so worried about me while
he was locked up that he’d paid someone to watch over
me.

Sneaky boy.

My heart melted for the
hundredth time since meeting Caleb.

*****

CALEB

Norah waited at the
gallery so I could drop off a couple paintings. The gallery was
closed on Sundays, but when I’d called Jim he’d set it up so Norah
could meet me.

Seeing Gianna and Gage
together at Chance’s birthday party today had put me in a foul
mood. I’d wanted to bash his cocky face in, but he’d been lucky to
have the buffer of eleven innocent children.

My girl had looked
gorgeous, wearing a blue summery dress with her hair pulled back in
a headband. When Norah met me at the entrance of the gallery,
holding open the door for me, she wore a tighter, shorter dress. I
hoped it wasn’t for my benefit, even if her ass was almost as
perfect as Gianna’s.

Norah’s breasts were on
display in the low neckline as they brushed against my arm. “You
can bring them to the back.”

I carried the carefully
wrapped paintings to where she pointed in the storage room. “Tyler
will move them where he wants tomorrow morning.”

Placing them gently on an
empty shelf, I turned around to find Norah standing close. “What
are you up to tonight, Caleb?”

I stepped around her,
heading out of the backroom. “Hanging out with a
friend.”

“
A girlfriend?” Her heels
clicked on the hardwood floor as she strutted behind me. I’d
noticed she had a good walk, proving she wore heels often, but she
didn’t have Gianna’s dancer gracefulness.

I stopped with my hand on
the door to outside. “No, just a friend.”

She bit her lip, scanning
my body. “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“
Why?” I asked, already
knowing the answer.

“
I thought we could get
together.”

Images of taking Norah to
the backroom and fucking her against the wall flashed through my
brain. I was on edge after watching Gianna and Gage while she did
her best to ignore me.

But I had an indiscretion
to orchestrate tonight.

“
Call me tomorrow and I’ll
let you know,” I told Norah before walking out.

*****

I’d been waiting outside
the party off the CU Boulder campus for three hours. Hailey texted
updates periodically, but still hadn’t completed her
mission.

Count on Boulder students
to throw a party on a Sunday night. This one was at a frat house
situated between other frat and sorority houses. The whole
neighborhood was rented out to students. Anyone else would be crazy
to live so close to one of the biggest party schools in the
country.

I’d thought about going
in, but didn’t want Gage to suspect anything. He’d been hired to DJ
the party so it could be awhile before Hailey got a chance to
seduce him. She’d already messaged to tell me she’d do him for
free, so I was a sucker for paying her. Money well spent if she
succeeded.

I felt no remorse. If Gage
was dumb enough to cheat on Gianna, he didn’t deserve her. Nobody
did, but I also knew no one would love her like I did.

It was good I’d avoided
the drunk fest. I was going out of my mind with my need to fuck and
being upset with Gianna was not the right frame of mind. On Friday
night I’d almost screwed that chick and I wanted to be able to tell
Gianna when we got back together that I’d stayed true to her in
both mind and body.

Besides, no girl was her
and I couldn’t imagine enjoying the act with anyone
else.

I rolled down my window,
letting in the night breeze. The weather was perfect and I imagined
what I’d be doing with Gianna right now. Probably curled up on the
couch together watching a movie until I could get her clothes off.
I’d taste her first, working her up until she was squirming. Then
I’d enjoy being inside her, relishing her moans in my ear until I
made her scream.

The passenger door opened,
jerking me out of my daydream. Hailey plopped into the seat. “I
can’t believe I had to stay sober for hours at a party. That party
rocked, too!”

“
He might not have fucked
a drunk girl,” I told her. “So, did he go for you?”

She waved a hand down her
body. “Did you doubt me?”

I couldn’t believe it.
That idiot had cheated on Gianna? Insane of him. “Are you
lying?”

Hailey sniffed, her lips
pouting. “You owe me a drunk night of fun.”

“
Tell me.”

“
At least one guy wants to
fuck me over that prissy bitch.”

“
Hailey,
details!”

“
Start driving, loverboy.
I’m hungry and I want Chinese food.”

I complied, eager to hear
the good news. I didn’t know where I’d find Chinese food this late
except for downtown. It’d take at least thirty minutes to get
there, giving Hailey time to fill me in. I don’t think I’d actually
believed Gage would be so stupid and needed to hear the dirty
details.

“
Where’d it happen?” I
asked. “And you better not be making it up.”

“
I don’t know why I’m
friends with you, Caleb.”

We weren’t friends. Did
she think I’d ask a real friend to do this? I was pretty sure we
hated each other at this point. She definitely wouldn’t be invited
to my wedding.

“
We did it in a bathroom
while he was taking a break.”

“
Seriously? Classy
guy.”

She huffed. “Like you’ve
never banged a chick in a bathroom at a party. I remember one
time-”

I interrupted her, “I want
to hear about this time.”

“
It was
good,” Hailey bragged. “Lucky Gianna has been enjoying
his
thick,
”

“
Shut up,
Hailey!”

She gave me an innocent
look. “I thought you wanted details?”

“
All that matters is that
it happened. I may need you to tell Gianna to her face.”

Hailey smirked. “She won’t
believe you? I would enjoy telling her
one
of her boyfriends fucked
me.”

“
I don’t plan on telling
her myself. I’m going to confront Gage and make him break up with
her.”

“
And you’ll be there to
pick up the pieces? How noble of you.” Her snide remarks wouldn’t
bother me.

All that mattered was my
endgame. Gianna mine forever.

I took Hailey to a Panda
Express open late on the weekends. She ordered a ton of food,
making me smile at knowing how she’d worked up her appetite. I
leisurely enjoyed my orange chicken, content in knowing I’d messed
everything up for Gage.

That douchbag had
backstabbed me by stealing my girl. It was simply karma and careful
planning that he’d lose her to me.