“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 gripped 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.
We 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 stepped 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 ditch 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 walked 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.