Beware of Bad Boy(41)

I liked Jared, but the attraction I had towards Caleb was much stronger, which didn’t bode well for a relationship between me and Jared. Did I even like Caleb? I didn’t know. When he wasn’t being a player, he was great to be around. He seemed to genuinely care about me, in a stepsister sort of way. Of course, he did kiss me all the time, but maybe it was just what came naturally to him. He probably kissed any cute girl he was around long enough.

“I like Jared, I guess. I don’t know if we should date, though. I don’t want to lose him as a friend.”

“But if you’re really into someone, you have to take a chance,” Cece practically pleaded.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I should give Jared a chance and it’d help me forget about any attraction I had for Caleb. I opened my bag and peeked at the dress and lingerie I’d bought for the trick I was playing on Caleb. Maybe I should give my virginity to Jared. He was one of my best friends and there was some chemistry between us. Either way, tonight after the battle, I’d put this dress on just to teach Caleb a lesson. Let him think I’d had sex with Jared.

The guys show up for practice psyched for the battle tonight. We’d won a few in the past and had mastered some new moves since the last one. Cece’s parents let us practice in their garage as long as it wasn’t too early in the morning or too late at night. Caleb sat on a couch against the wall with a couple of the guys’ current girlfriends.

We practiced for the next few hours and the guys all went home to eat and change before the battle tonight. Cece, Jared, Caleb and I ate at Cece and Jared’s parents’ Mexican restaurant, Las Delicias.

Their parents’ came out from the office and kitchen to take our orders themselves and baby Cece. She was so spoiled, especially by her dad. Being little and cute had their benefits. They let Cece and Jared know they wouldn’t be home till around two in the morning, after they’d closed, cleaned up and prepped for the Sunday morning breakfast rush.

Their parents were pretty cool about everything. They knew Cece and Jared were good kids who got good grades, so they were okay with the crew using the garage and coming over Saturday nights.

I tried to ignore Caleb at the restaurant, but it was impossible with him sitting right next to me. Jared had made a move to sit next to me when we got to our table, but Caleb had smoothly slid in first.

After eating, we returned to their house to change. Tonight the crew was wearing black track pants, white tank tops, white sneakers and different colored neon hoodies. Cece and I both decided to wear hot pink hoodies and did our hair and makeup crazy. I scolded myself to forget about Caleb for now and focus on the battle ahead.

The four of us rode in Jared’s car to the warehouse to meet the rest of the crew. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Caleb had known Taye for years. With him being best friends with Taye’s cousin, Dante, I wondered if we would have eventually met even if our parents hadn’t married.



CALEB



I’d stuck close to Gianna all day. However, I could tell she was pissed at me about something and didn’t want me around. I wasn’t sure what her problem was, not that I’d ask her. Girls were irrational. I figured, if I didn’t let her out of my sight, how was she going to go through with her moronic plan to sleep with Jared?

The crowd at the warehouse was insane. The amount of hot chicks in skimpy clothing made me realize I should’ve been attending these battles sooner. Did Dante know about this? Taye was evil for not telling us about the massive amount of hot chicks that attended these events.

I could see where the judges were, because they had a table set up. From all the coordinated clothing, I counted five crews besides Gianna’s. Three crews performed before theirs and two would go after. When Gianna’s crew danced, they were awesome. Gianna and Cece left most of the more athletic breaking to the guys, but they did plenty of their own moves.

After all the crews had their turn, the judges decided it came down to Gianna’s crew and another crew. Each crew did a routine thing together then some of the individual members stole the spotlight to do their own routines.

Gianna looked so hot when she and Cece popped to a remix of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.” Cece was so damn little it was hard not to find her adorable. Her serious face while she danced made me laugh. In her head, she was a little badass in that moment.

The judges finally decided to call it, naming the other crew the winners. Maybe I was biased, but I thought DCK were the better dancers.

When we left, Gianna didn’t appear disappointed at all. She actually seemed really happy.

Starting my car, I had to wait for another car to clear out of my way before I could pull out. “Are you guys bummed out about losing?”