Toxic Bad Boy (14 page)

Dante and Taye laughed at
my miss as I went to fetch the basketball. My phone beeped and I
pulled it out of the pocket of my shorts.

I need the rest of my
money. When are we gonna do this?

Hailey was eager to spread
her legs for Gage. I was equally eager to show Gianna what a
douchebag he was.

I’ll figure it out and let
you know soon.

No way was I paying her
the rest until she’d at least attempted to seduce Gage. We’d have
to wait for the right opportunity, a time when Gianna wasn’t
around. Some people might think it was wrong to ruin her
relationship with Gage, but when it came to Gianna the only wrong I
knew was us not being together.
Right
was her being my
girl

“
Throw the dang ball,
Caleb!” Taye called out, prompting me to fling it at him, aiming
for his head. We’d teamed up two on two with a younger kid who’d
been shooting hoops by himself. Dante and the kid were kicking my
and Taye’s asses.

“
Hold up!” Dante yelled,
his phone in hand.

I strolled over to where
he stood with a sick look on his face. “What’s up?”

His eyes met mine. “Cece.
She wants to know where I am so we can meet and talk.” He ran a
hand over his sweaty face. “Aw, fuck. She’s gonna break up with
me.”

“
You tell her where you’re
at?”

Dante picked up his
t-shirt, using it to wipe off his perspiration. “Yeah. She’ll be
here soon.”

I had a towel in my car
I’d use later. My own t-shirt I flung over my shoulder. I’d driven
us here, where we’d met Taye, so I’d stick around to see if Dante
needed a ride. Or moral support. Taye and the kid, Carlos, had
dissolved into playing one on one.

We waited by my car,
leaning against it and talking about anything other than the shitty
situations with our girls. I’d like to assure Dante he wasn’t about
to be scraped off by Cece, but with her joining the ballet academy
I wasn’t sure. Maybe she’d realized her new hectic schedule
wouldn’t allow time for a boyfriend, even one she loved. I hadn’t
witnessed the past eight months of their relationship, but I
assumed she was as crazy about him as he was her.

But who was I to judge?
I’d thought Gianna loved me.

It wasn’t Cece’s car that
pulled into the parking lot, but a white Jeep. My heart began to
beat like a hammer. I’d finally get the opportunity to talk face to
face with my girl. Good thing her pipsqueak boyfriend wasn’t with
them or I would have reenacted Friday night.

Through the window, I saw
as Cece said something to Gianna and she responded by hugging her.
Dante was totally getting dumped.

Cece got out, her smile
trembling as she approached her boyfriend.

“
Hey,” he greeted
gruffly.

Her eyes darted to me.
“Can we take a walk?”

“
Sure,” he answered,
holding out his hand in a move to test her feelings.

When she slipped her small
hand into his, I felt his hope. I watched them for a long moment as
they headed down a walkway. Then I turned my attention to my own
love life.

Gianna still hadn’t looked
my way, probably praying I wouldn’t bother her. Instead of knocking
on her window, I circled around her vehicle and hopped into the
recently vacated passenger seat.

I would’ve found her yelp
cute if my emotions weren’t experiencing such turmoil. She
recovered quickly. “Get out.”

“
No. We need to talk.” Did
she have to look so fucking beautiful all the time? I wanted to
both shake her and drag her into the backseat.

“
Jeez, Caleb. Not right
now,” she huffed. Her face held a stubborn expression, but I saw
her eyes briefly shift down to my bare chest. I’d gotten bigger in
juvie, working out with Ian when he’d made it into a
competition.

My girl had just noticed.
If she was still attracted to me, maybe I could use that to my
advantage. “You broke my heart.”

Her face fell and I
spotted real regret. Regret for what, exactly? She opened her soft
lips to say something, then her face went hard. “But not your
dick.”

Was she jealous of the
drunk slut from the other night? Maybe I could use that, also.
“You’re the one who cheated on me.”

“
I didn’t cheat on you!”
she shouted in the small space.

I
tsked
in disapproval. “Two
boyfriends at once, Gianna. Shame on you.”

Her mouth snapped shut,
her eyes working in thought. “We weren’t really together,
Caleb.”

“
You and Gage?” I
pushed.

“
Me and you,” she
corrected.

“
Could’ve fooled me,” I said. “With all the
I love yous
.”

“
Caleb-”

“
But those were phony,
right? Because you don’t love me anymore.”

She turned her face to the
windshield, her bottom lip quivering. “I still care about you a
lot.”

“
Be still my broken
fucking heart. She cares about me,” I muttered darkly.

“
You’ll get over it. From
the sound on your end of that phone call the other night, you’re
well on your way.”

“
I wanted to be with you!”
I hissed. It would be easy to tell her it had only been a drunken
fumble, a half-hearted attempt to forget her that had epically
failed.

But I wouldn’t give her
the satisfaction.

Her expression changed,
becoming something I couldn’t name. “It can’t be me.”

“
Why Gage and not me?” I
asked.

She sighed, making me want
to catch it with my own lips even though I was angry with her.
“He’s just...” she trailed off.

“
Does he live for
you?”

“
Caleb-”

“
Would he die for
you?”

“
Does it need to be that
intense?” she asked, moving a strand of hair behind her
ear.

It
should
be that fucking intense. She
deserved nothing less and if he couldn’t give it to her, stealing
her back would be no problem.

I wouldn’t only live and
die for her, I’d
fight
.

Not giving her the chance
to stop me, I dragged her onto my lap. “Don’t, Caleb!”

The feel of her body under
my hands felt like paradise. One hand traveled up to her jaw,
holding her in place for my mouth
. Fucking
heaven
. “Does he make you burn for
him?”

She was panting, her face
scrunched up. “He doesn’t force anything on me.”

I released my hold on her
immediately, allowing her to escape back to her seat. The reminder
of what she’d been through made me ache to make it better, at the
same time it made me wary of causing her more pain. “I would never
hurt you.”

Her door opened and she
stepped out without a word. Leaning forward, I rubbed my forehead
roughly before following her.

Always following
her.

Probably always
would.

Her blue eyes were focused
on where Cece and Dante sat on a bench, with Cece in Dante’s arms.
As much as I craved touching her more, I held back. “So she isn’t
breaking up with him.”

Gianna’s gaze moved to me.
“Is that what he thought?”

Tilting my head, I stared
down at her, searching her shocked expression. “She’s been ignoring
him and she just got into that ballet academy.”

She bit her lip,
hesitating before speaking. “It’s probably okay to tell you now
that Dante knows.”

“
What?” At this point, I
was braced for anything.

“
She’s
pregnant.”

“
What?”
I had not expected that at
all.

“
Yeah, I know. Surprise!”
Her tone was sarcastic but her expression worried.

“
Holy crap. She’s gonna
have it?” I asked.

Gianna spun, facing me.
“Do you think she shouldn’t?”

“
I
didn’t say that. I just thought with her dancing and them
being
seventeen
, she might be inclined in that direction.”

“
Well, obviously the
academy is out.”

Damn, Dante was going to
be a dad. What a nightmare. Then again, if I could knock up Gianna
maybe I’d get forever. “What would you have done?”

She avoided my eyes, her
cheeks turning the prettiest shade of pink. “If I got
pregnant?”

“
With
my
baby,” I clarified.

She waited so long, I
didn’t think she’d answer. Finally, she said softly, “I would have
kept it.”

If that didn’t give a guy
hope....

“
Are you fucking Gage?” I
blurted, needing to know but at the same time dreading
confirmation.

“
Jeez, Caleb! None of your
business! I don’t ask about who you’re screwing.” She got back into
her Jeep, locking the doors before I could do follow.

She didn’t unlock them
until Cece returned from her talk with Dante. They were all lovey
dovey with smiles, but I saw the strain in my friend’s eyes as he
kissed her goodbye.

On our way to eat lunch as
his house, he let me know how he really felt. “I almost wish she’d
broken up with me instead.”

“
And I wish I’d knocked up
Gianna instead,” I replied, reminding him that I still had it
worse.

“
My parents are going to
kill me,” he groaned.

Yes, his mom would be
especially worked up over the prospect of becoming a grandparent so
early. “They may smack you around, but they’ll love your
baby.”

“
I gotta get a job.” He
sat up straighter, his dark eyes wild. “And buy a ring.”

“
First you have to ask her
dad permission,” I joked, amused by his panic.

His head snapped in my
direction. “Her dad is going to kick my ass. I knocked up his baby
girl and ended her dancing career before it even
started.”

“
Jared will probably hold
you down for him.”

“
I’m a dead man,” he
whispered, making me laugh.

“
You could always ask for
a job at their restaurant,” I suggested.

“
I like Mexican food,” he
mumbled.

“
Obviously,” I drawled,
earning a punch in the arm.

To take his mind off
dawning parenthood, I changed the subject. “I need you to find out
something for me....”

*****

My dad inserted a key,
turning the doorknob to let us into the house. “It’s small, but
bigger than the condo.”

I trailed him inside,
taking a look around his new home. He’d sold the condo in
Northglenn and closed on a three bedroom house in Englewood, near
the high school I’d be attending in August. It’d be nice not to
have to make the drive from my mom’s apartment.

Everything was outdated
inside, from the carpet to the kitchen. “It’ll do,” I told him, not
caring that we’d be living in the ‘70s. “Can I have the master
bedroom?”

“
No,” he answered, his
mouth pulling up at one corner.

“
I had to try.” Taking the
stairs two at a time, I found my room upstairs. It faced the street
and was surprisingly spacious. I’d still get my own bathroom, but
it’d be down the hall. My dad informed me the third bedroom would
be his office, but I could do whatever I wanted to the finished
basement.

I ventured down there
next, deciding in my head where the television and couch would go.
I’d find a couple armchairs and maybe a pool table off Craigslist.
The couch would have to be new since I planned on having Gianna on
it. In the far corner I’d set up an easel and shelving. The drive
to paint wasn’t only about an outlet anymore. I needed the money to
provide for Gianna in the future and I wanted to give my girl the
world.

Just had to get rid of
Gage first.

Remembering my task, I
pulled out my phone to shoot Hailey a text.
I know where Gage will be tomorrow night.

This doesn’t make me a
slut, right? Just a good friend.

It totally made her a
slut.
Of course not. You’re an awesome
friend.

An awesome friend would do
it for free. But then I’d be a shitty friend for asking in the
first place. It was a good thing Hailey and I weren’t friends
anymore.

Feeling a little bit evil
for my scheming, I put my phone away and met my dad in the kitchen
upstairs. “So, are we moving stuff in tomorrow?”

My dad slapped me on the
back. “Tonight!”

Great, manual labor on a
Saturday night.

His phone rang and he
fumbled in his rush to answer it. “Hello?”

My eyes narrowed on his
back as he walked out the back door for privacy. Did my dad have a
new woman? If that were the case I’d be damn happy. He came back
inside a few minutes later with his face
glowing
.