Beware of Bad Boy(23)

“She’s still thinking about what to get, Donna,” he informed her.

“Okay, just let me know if you have any questions.”

I thanked her and we looked through books. Too curious to resist, I asked Caleb, “Do you have any tattoos?” I’d avoided looking at his body when I’d seen him in a towel and I was regretting it now.

“Yes, and if you’re lucky, you might just get to see them someday.”

I rolled my eyes at his cockiness. “I think I want to design my own and I already have something in mind.”

“And what’s that?”

“Maybe if you get lucky, you might just get to see it,” I mimicked him. “How do you get tattoos without a parent’s consent?”

“Oh, Donna used to live in the same apartment building as me, so she doesn’t care,” he explained. “Are you ready to get one today?”

“No way, I want to work on the design a little first and mentally prepare myself.” I wasn’t looking forward to it hurting either.

“Let’s go then.” Caleb called out a goodbye to Donna and told her that we’d be back.

We were heading to his car and I wondered if we were finished for the day. Surprisingly, hanging out with Caleb hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought. “What now, boss?”

“You got that right. Actually, I was wondering about number six. Why haven’t you done that before?”

“Well, sometimes there are b-boys dancing on the street at the 16th Street Mall. I’m sure you’ve seen them, having lived down here. Even my crew does it every once in awhile, but I’m too afraid someone my mom knows will be there shopping or eating at a restaurant. If they see me and tell her, she’d freak.”

“I think it’s more important that you’re happy. Sometimes you have to take risks. If she finds out, we’ll deal with it then. You should ask about the next time the crew is planning on going and we’ll meet them there.” A group of guys our age were about to pass us on the sidewalk and I was surprised when Caleb steered me to the right of him so they’d pass near him.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Jared,” I told him, still thinking of what just happened.

“How about you talk to Cece?” he suggested, looking irritated.

“Jealous?” I teased him.

“I don’t get jealous,” he said smoothly. “Other guys have never been much competition for me.”

“Your ego is ridiculous!” True, he looked good, especially in the striped t-shirt and jeans he wore, but an ego like that couldn’t be healthy.

“Nope, just honest.”

When we got back to his car, he drove to the parking garage near his mom’s apartment. We had to go back to the apartment for my bag. I followed him to his room where it sat on his bed. He had a lot of band posters and drawings on his walls.

Remembering what I’d forgotten to ask him this morning, I said, “Are these yours?”

“Yes, I guess I got the gene from my mom.”

Turning away from the drawings, I smiled at him. “They’re really good. I should have you draw the design I want for my tattoo.”

“Sure, no problem.” His expression changed to something indecipherable. “You know, I don’t usually let girls come to my place. It usually results in stalkers. You should feel lucky.”

“Jeez, that’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me,” I replied sarcastically. “No wonder you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“You shouldn’t say bad words.”

“I didn’t just say a bad word.” His serious demeanor was confusing me.

“Yes you did. You said the G-word,” he whispered. “Girlfriend.” His fake shudder was over the top.

“You’re horrible, do you know that? A complete player.”

He put his arms around my waist, pulling me into his body. “I know, but if I did want to enter the form of slavery called being in a relationship, it’d be with someone as hot as you.”

I glared up at him. “Wow, that was the second most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me. You’re on a roll, Caleb. Anything else?”

“Yep,” His lips came crashing down onto mine.

Responding, I went into this kiss with my eyes wide open. I knew he was a player and developing any real feelings would be a disaster. I’d just have fun with it while it lasted. We moved over to the bed with me on top. My lips roamed from his lips to his neck. Instinct told me to mark him. I sat up laughing.

“What?” he asked, brows drawn together.

“I gave you a hickey!” I declared triumphantly.

“Are you trying to mark your territory?” he asked, gripping my hips to grind me against him. He didn’t seem bothered at all.