Beware of Bad Boy(43)

He held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, man, I know she’s your sister, but I only have good intentions towards her.”

“Stepsister,” I corrected him. “And I don’t give my blessing.”

Gripping her arm, I drew her off the bed and away from Jared. “What are you doing, man?” Jared asked. He made a move to get up, but I put a hand to his chest and pushed him back onto the bed.

“Family emergency, don’t interfere.” Ignoring his confusion, I guided Gianna out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind us. I took a detour into Cece’s room to grab Gianna’s bag of tricks. A few weird looks were thrown our way in the living room as I pulled her behind me and out of the house.

I’d parked my car in front of the house next door, so in seconds I was ushering her into the passenger seat. “Get in.”

I was surprised by her immediate compliance. She didn’t put up the slightest argument. Maybe she was going with the silent treatment as she stared out the window while I drove down the street. Passing a park, I pulled into the parking lot.

She was still turned away from me as I turned off the engine. “What the hell, Gianna? Are you turning into a fucking whore?” In the quiet of our isolation, my words sounded harsh.

She flipped around in her seat and even in the dark I could see the flash of anger in her eyes. “Me? I’m just following your example. Why do you care who I have sex with?”

“I don’t!” I shouted back at her on a big fat lie.

“If you don’t care, then why don’t you drive me back so I can fuck Jared!” she yelled at me. It was like she wanted to rile me up.

“Like hell!”

Grabbing her shoulders, I brought her close, meaning to forcefully plant my lips on hers. Instead, I teased her mouth with mine, planning to persuade her to see things my way. It was driving me crazy that Jared had put his hands on her. She didn’t know what he got up to during the week. He could be sleeping around with the nastiest of chicks. Yes, soon she’d be seeing things my way.

She jerked back before I’d given her the good stuff and smacked me across my left cheek. “No, you don’t get to kiss me and then go around screwing every girl you meet!” She was breathing hard, but not worked up in the way I’d intended.

Where did that come from? “I don’t want to fuck anyone else.” Why did girls have to be so unreasonable?

“Yeah, at this very moment you don’t. But you screwed Desiree last night and you’ll be screwing a new chick as soon as you meet the lucky girl. How do you think that makes me feel after you kissed me?” A sheen of tears in her eyes glistened in the dark, which made me enormously uncomfortable.

“I don’t see any other girls in my immediate future and I didn’t fuck Desiree last night.” Thank god I could honestly say that.

Gianna opened her mouth to say something then closed it, blowing out her breath. In a calmer voice, she finally said, “She told me in the bathroom that you told her after you ditched me and Seth, you were going to take her somewhere to have sex.” Her suspicious tone made it clear she didn’t believe me.

“Actually, that was all Desiree’s idea,” I gladly informed her.

She made a skeptical sound. “So you didn’t plan on having sex with her?”

I was almost home free! If only she hadn’t asked that question. “Well, I did plan on it.”

She interrupted me before I could smooth things over. “See! Don’t kiss me ever again. You can’t play these games with me, Caleb.”

Trying to soothe her temper, I brought up my hand to the back of her neck and started rubbing circles. “Let me finish, princess. I didn’t have sex with her, and trust me she was more than willing, because I didn’t want her.” Her shoulders relaxed as my actions and words began to work. “I thought if I had sex with her, I’d stop obsessing and wanting to be with you, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t even get past kissing her. I took her home and, believe me, she wasn’t happy.”

Gianna’s teeth gleamed in the dark as she smiled. “You’re obsessed with me?” Just like that, her mood changed from pissed to pleased.

I let out a disgusted sigh. “I must be. I don’t know what else to call it. I spend most of my time with you and when I’m not with you, I’m thinking about the next time I’ll spend time with you.” A chuckle escaped from my throat. “It’s pathetic. I’ve never spent so much time with one girl and we’re not even having sex.”

She shook her head slowly and I moved my hand to allow the movement. “Caleb, only you would think liking a girl for more than just sex for one day is pathetic. It’s too bad though, because even if we like each other, it does no good. I’m still a virgin and you still think girlfriend is a bad word.” She paused then continued in a defeated tone, “Might as well take me back to Jared. Neither one is a problem for him.”