Beware of Bad Boy Read online

  High on adrenalin, I took hold of her hips before we went through the front door and kissed her. She must’ve felt as exhilarated as me because she matched my enthusiasm. Her arms twined around my neck. God, I loved her mouth. I kept telling myself to stop before I became addicted, but already nothing was better than kissing Gianna. As long it didn’t go any further, I figured no harm done.

  Gianna was the one to end the kiss. “Thanks for the fun, Caleb.”

  “Glad to be of service.” I watched her ass as she went inside and upstairs ahead of me.

  *****

  The next morning, I drove Gianna to school again. Eating the breakfast burritos Julie made us, we waited in my car in the parking lot for Josh to arrive. When he did, last night’s efforts proved to be well worth it. Everyone who caught the show laughed along with us. Josh exited his truck, still obviously clueless. He had a bewildered look on his face until he rounded the back of his truck to the other side where a crowd was gathering.

  Since my car windows were rolled down his, “Who the fuck did this?” was loud and clear.

  Written along the side of his truck was his first and last name, but that wasn’t all. For each letter of his name, coming down from that letter, Gianna and I had added a word to describe the wonderfulness that was Josh Larsen.

  Jackass

  Obsessive

  Shithead

  Hater

  Limp-dick

  Asshole

  Rapist

  Sleaze

  Evil

  Necrophiliac

  We’d run out of room on the last word, but he’d get the gist of it. I was itching to go over there and beat the shit out of him for hurting Gianna, but I realized he would know then Gianna and I had vandalized his truck. I didn’t want him going after her for it. A target on my back wouldn’t have bothered me, but Gianna couldn’t fight back. I still owed him a beating. First chance I got, he’d meet my fists. Until then, I’d keep a close eye on Gianna at school.

  Still sitting in my car, I warned her, “Gianna, I want you to be careful at school from now on. Go everywhere with at least one other person and wait at your locker for me after school. I’ll drive you to and from school for awhile.”

  Shifting in her seat, she looked worried. “Okay, I guess.” Then with an impish smile, she added, “Do you think we should offer him the can of black spray paint we didn’t use to cover it up?” She laughed so I knew she wasn’t serious.

  Picking up her backpack along with mine, I said, “Come on, princess, I’ll walk you to first next class.”

  I had second and fourth periods with Gianna and I actually found myself eager to get to them. Last week she ignored me like a stranger, but this week she smiled at me when I came into class. I always sat in the back of my classes, so my view was of the back of her head in second period and her profile in fourth. I was so pathetic, acting like all the other guys at this school who worshipped Gianna.

  I definitely needed to get laid on Friday night. That’d clear my head of her. During fourth period, I browsed through the contacts in my phone to figure out my date’s name on Friday. Desiree was her name. Such a gentleman, making sure I knew the name of the girl I’d be screwing. Gianna would be proud.

  Catching up with Gianna at the end of fourth period, I took her backpack off her shoulder and carried it. “Princess, we’re going to work on number eleven now.”

  She looked at me quizzically. “Number eleven?”

  “Yep, make new friends.”

  “I can’t do that,” she breathed out.

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because I belong with the popular group. The other kids always treat me weird, like I’m so above them. They won’t have a real conversation with me or anything. They just agree with whatever I say and stare at me.” Her face was so sad I couldn’t resist putting my arm around her and bringing her close. The situation was ridiculous and it just showed how silly kids my age could be.

  “Well, that’s where I come in.” Confidence mixed with humility always worked.

  “What do you mean?” she asked suspiciously. As if I’d ever steered her wrong!

  I smiled knowingly at her. “You’ll see.”

  We went through the lunch line. “So, being brave, where’d you like to sit?”

  She scanned the lunchroom before her blue eyes settled on a table. “Do you see those people over there?”

  Following her gaze, I spotted a group of guys and girls near the windows. “Yeah, why them?”

  “Well, I was friends with a couple of them in elementary school. Do you see how they don’t all dress the same? From looking at them, you wouldn’t even think they had a lot in common, but they’re friends. That tells me they all accept each other for who they are, not for what they look like or what they wear. I’ve always thought it’d be cool to hang out with them.” From her pink cheeks, she was embarrassed about opening up about something she’d obviously given a lot of thought to.

  Not wanting to discourage her, I ignored her embarrassment. “Wise choice, let’s go introduce ourselves.”

  Her nervousness was cute as we walked to their table. It was funny that the most popular girl in the school was afraid of not being accepted by what looked like a group of misfits. I liked them for that alone. Taking an empty seat at their table, I pulled Gianna down onto the seat next to mine.

  I start eating my food as if sitting with them was an everyday occurrence, but Gianna sat there looking down at her food. Swallowing my food, I glanced around the group of shocked faces. “What?”

  A petite Asian girl with red streaks in her hair whispered shyly, “Why are you guys sitting here? Shouldn’t you be over there, with your friends?”

  “And what if we want to sit here?” I challenged her, taking another bite.

  A guy with a face pierced like a pincushion said, “That’d be cool, I guess,” but he was looking at Gianna as he said it. That, I hadn’t anticipated. If he hit on her, perhaps we’d find a new group of potential real friends.

  My eyes met Gianna’s to see her staring nervously back at me. Breaking the ice apparently wasn’t her forte. “I’m Caleb, I started here last week. Do you guys all know my stepsister, Gianna?”

  A kid with spiked blonde hair and black Buddy Holly glasses answered for the table, “Everybody knows who Gianna is. She’s like a celebrity here.” His sarcasm wasn’t appreciated.

  Gianna stiffened next to me and I sensed her disappointment. I quickly blurted out, “Celebrity?” and laughed derisively. “That’s ridiculous! Besides, she’s sitting right here, so you shouldn’t speak as if she isn’t here.”

  “Sorry,” the blonde kid mumbled.

  I nudged Gianna and she finally spoke to the Asian girl, “Hey, Kara, do you remember when we used to walk home from school together in elementary school?”

  “Yeah, I remember,” Kara answered shyly. Then she laughed abruptly. “Do you remember that one time we raced and you fell into a puddle of mud in that dirt field?”

  Gianna joined her laughter. “I remember that. My mom was so mad at me for ripping a hole in my jeans.”

  The rest of lunch was more relaxed and we got to know the other kids at the table. They were actually pretty cool. Definitely cooler and less fake than the friends Gianna had before. The entire lunch period, I saw kids from other tables staring and whispering. Thankfully Gianna was oblivious to it. It was the first time I’d seen her like this at school, happy. By the end of lunch, Gianna had talked about tattoos with a guy whose brother was a tattoo artist and she’d invited all of them to come watch her and her crew on Saturday at a battle. They were pretty surprised to find out Gianna was a breaker.

  Leaving the lunchroom, Gianna spontaneously hugged me. “Thanks, Caleb.” I watched her walking to her locker, feeling good I’d had a hand in her joy. As much as I appreciated her gratitude, when she hugged me, I couldn’t help thinking about how hot her body against mine.

  After school, I waited for her by her locker. As
she dumped some books in it, she said, “I missed cheerleading practice yesterday. I can’t miss today or they’re gonna bitch.”

  “Well that’d be number seven on the to-do list. Quit cheerleading,” I stated unbendingly.

  That brought a frown to her face. “My mom would be so mad. She loves cheerleading.”

  “That’s been established, but do you love cheerleading?”

  “Well, at first I loved it, especially the dance routines, but after a while, my mom made me feel like it was a duty. Since then, I’ve sort of resented it. She would seriously freak if I quit, Caleb.”

  “How about this then, you quit temporarily. Just to show to your mom it’s your choice to make. Then, if you want to go back to it for the fun of it, you can.”

  She bit her lip, considering my suggestion. “Um, okay. I guess I could try that. But, I’ll have to stop by practice to let them know I won’t be there for awhile.”

  “Fine, but I’ll go with you,” I told her, thinking Josh could be waiting around practice to try and get her alone again.

  We entered the gym and Gianna approached the squad to let them know what was up. A couple of them looked kind of pissed, but I wasn’t concerned. What I was worried about was Josh, who stood off to the side as if he’d been waiting for Gianna to show up. He stared Gianna’s way with an intense expression on his face. Lucky for him, he didn’t try confronting her, probably because I was there.

  Taking the opportunity, I stalked over to him. “Do you remember what happened Friday night?”

  He scowled back at me and bit out, “Yeah.”

  “Now that you two are broken up, I’ll expect you to stay away from her.”

  “And if I don’t?” he asked, his eyes darting around.

  “I already owe you a beat down for hurting her yesterday which believe me is still coming your way. If you do it again, I’ll put you in the hospital while I’m at it.” With that parting line, I walked to where Gianna waited for me, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

  She gave me a questioning look and I offered her a reassuring smile as we left the gym. Now, if only I could threaten every other guy who was interested in Gianna, I’d feel much better. Starting with Jared and Seth.

  Gianna had a mischievous gleam in her eyes as we got in my car. “Since I’m not going to practice, I know what we can do!”

  Reaching over to buckle her in, I asked. “What’s that?”

  “We can go shopping for the lingerie and outfit I’ll be wearing on Saturday when I lose my virginity!”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “It’s sad when girls think they don’t have anything going on expect being pretty.”

  -Keri Russell

  GIANNA

  Walking across the parking lot to the mall entrance, I asked Caleb, “What should we do first? Lingerie or dress shopping?”

  His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He took a long time answering with, “Dress first.”

  We shopped my favorite stores and I tried on the sexiest dresses they had to offer. I made Caleb wait outside the dressing rooms, coming out to model each one. At the third store, I found a slutty black dress that covered my butt and the top of my thighs only. It also showed off an abundance of cleavage.

  I snickered before coming out of the dressing room to show Caleb. “So, what do you think?” Spinning around, I gave him the full effect.

  Caleb got a burning look of lust in his eyes while taking in my showing. After a long moment of silence, he rasped out, “It looks like shit.”

  “You liar!” I exclaimed. “I look damn right fuckable in this dress. Maybe you’re gay. Are you gay, Caleb? You can confide in me. As your sister, I accept you for who you are.”

  “Stepsister,” he corrected me. “And, no, I’m not gay. Do you want me to prove it to you?” Amazingly, the burning lust in his eyes went a few degrees hotter.

  Hell, yes, a big part of me wanted him to prove it to me. Unfortunately, Caleb was a player and I’d be one of many girls who’d hooked up with him. I sighed. “No thanks, I’ll leave that to your harem of skanks.”

  I shouldn’t care who the sexy bastard spent his time with, but I did. At least I’d ruin his good time Friday night.

  “Jealous?” he taunted, one pierced eyebrow raised. He probably practiced that look in the mirror until he’d perfected it.

  “Yes,” I admitted and his jaw went slack in surprise. “I’m jealous that my harem of men is so much smaller than your harem of skanks. But I’m just getting started in this player gig. It won’t be long till I have so many men that I’ll start forgetting their names, too.” Then, as if the idea just popped in my head, I said, “Hey, what do you think about me dating older men?”

  I saw his sour look reflected back at me in the mirror I faced. “I think I’d have to call the cops on them.”

  “Have you dated any older women?” I couldn’t resist asking.

  The self-satisfied smile on his face made me want to slap him. “Of course I have.”

  Why did I even bother asking? Of course he had, I thought miserably. Now I was not only jealous of girls my age, but females not my age. He definitely deserved all of the revenge I dished out.

  “Enough talk of the dirty old women you’ve fooled around with. I’ve decided on this dress. I can totally picture Jared ripping it off me on Saturday.” Strutting back to the dressing room, I said over my shoulder, “Time to go shopping for what he’ll see after he rips this off.”

  Caleb wore a disgruntled look on his handsome face the whole time we were walking to Victoria’s Secret. I told him as we went inside, “I hope you’ll be more help here than you were dress shopping.”

  Trying not to show my embarrassment at lingerie shopping with Caleb, I snatched up the first items I saw. I was irritated at every stupid older woman and teenage girl Caleb had ever slept with. He was so stupid. Didn’t sex mean anything more to him than getting off?

  I put on the first item, a tight black halter babydoll with a plunging neckline. I’d never worn anything like it before. I’d never had a reason to. I had to admit, it looked sexy.

  A blush formed on my cheeks at the thought of coming out of the fitting room and showing Caleb. How humiliating. I needed to remember why I was playing this game. He was an insensitive jerk when he found out I was still a virgin. The thought of me becoming the female version of him disturbed him. Any mental stress I caused him was just a little bit of justice. Not only for me, but for all the girls he’d used for sex.

  I stepped out of the fitting room and moved to where Caleb sat leaning back in a chair. His eyes flared as he shifted in his seat. Yep, the embarrassment was worth it.

  “So, Caleb, do you think Jared will want me when he sees me in this?”

  The fierce expression mingled with the possessive gleam in his hazel eyes alarmed me as he stood up and closed in. I backed up a few steps towards my fitting room, wishing a sales associate or someone would show up. I was almost to the safety of the dressing room when he pushed me inside.

  “Caleb, what are you doing?”

  He locked the door and dragged me to him. The kiss was far from gentle and when it ended, I was practically panting. “I guess this one’s a winner. Too bad you don’t mess around with virgins, huh?”

  “Maybe you’ll get lucky and I’ll make a temporary exception for you,” he purred, coming in for another kiss.

  His arrogant remark reminded me that every girl was temporary for him. Temporary for as long as it took to get in their pants. I reached around him to open the door and push him back out. “No thanks, I’ll pass!” With that, I slammed the door in his face.

  CALEB

  I couldn’t believe Gianna just did that. She’d pass? She’d pass over me for what, that douche Jared? I didn’t think so. I’d kidnap her Saturday night if I had to, to keep her from sleeping with him. She’d looked so hot in the dress she bought earlier. Jared wouldn’t be the only guy having sexual thoughts about her after see
ing her in that scrap of fabric. Not to mention the lingerie she just tried on. Jared didn’t deserve to see her in any of it.

  She came out of the dressing room and paid for the lingerie. I’d have paid for it if she were planning to wear it for me. She purchased the first one she tried on that made me hard as rock.

  We left the mall in silence and I burned with jealousy at the thought of Jared touching her and the fact she’d chosen him to give her virginity to. It almost made me wish I were the type of guy to commit to a girlfriend. Then Gianna would be mine. I’d make sure of it.

  Julie opened the front door when we got home. “Where have you two been?”

  Gianna shuffled in place, hiding the pink shopping bag behind her back. Taking pity on her, I told her mom, “We were just spending some quality time together shopping.”

  Julie’s demeanor shifted from suspicious to delighted. “How fun! How was cheerleading practice, honey?”

  “Um, great,” Gianna mumbled, running past both of us and upstairs.

  “Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes, Caleb, so go wash up!” Julie ordered me before heading to the kitchen in her ruffled apron.

  Wash up? I’d never get used to this wholesome family routine. My mom didn’t care whether or not I came home for dinner and if I did we usually ordered in or ate out. Even when she was married to my dad she wasn’t the homemaker type.

  I followed Gianna upstairs and knocked on her door. “Come in!”

  She sat cross-legged on her bed, texting. It bothered me to think she was exchanging cutsie little messages with Seth or Jared. “We need to talk.”

  Her fingers stilled on her phone and she looked up at me. “About what?”

  “About you telling your mom you quit cheerleading.”

  An unsure expression flashed over her features. “I guess I should. She goes to most of the football games to watch me so she’ll notice me missing from the squad this Friday.”

  Her phone beeped and she looked down to read the text. Her laughter put me on edge. “Who’s that?”