Danger! Bad Boy(16)

Having the issue settled in my mind, I followed the girl in my arms into sleep.



GIANNA



Waking up to the feel of an unfamiliar weight across my chest, I slowly opened my eyes. The sunlight peeked from the bottom of the hotel room curtains letting me know it was now the morning after. What happened from here? Awkwardness? Closeness? More sex?

Caleb’s arm pinning me to my current position, though it was bit heavy, wasn’t unpleasant. Neither was the concept of no longer being a virgin. However that, too, would take some getting used to. I felt no twinge of doubt or regret about Caleb being my first. In the very least, he knew what he was doing when it came to sex.

Perhaps my one teensy regret was blurting out that I loved him. The strong emotions I had towards him couldn’t be anything but love. They were different than the indulgent and protective love I had for my little brother and more than the affection and friendship I shared with Jared.

I didn’t regret loving Caleb, but with his history and personality there was a need for caution. Even if he loved me back, he was bound to get scared easily. Our relationship was already unexplored territory for him and I was afraid of making him feel tied down. At this point, his ability to commit only went so far. A slow progression into deeper feelings was needed. Caleb was emotionally a virgin. For all the sleeping around he’d done, he’d never experienced love.

Imagining him saying those three words had me thinking giddy thoughts. I loved him so much. Never had I imagined feeling this way. You couldn’t truly imagine what you hadn’t experienced.

Caleb tried so hard to be a good boyfriend, despite not having a romantic bone in his body. Where it really mattered, he was everything a boyfriend should be; protective, strong, caring and considerate. Therefore, I could do without the romance.

It didn’t bother me that he was sort of a perv and said whatever naughty thoughts came to mind. I’d rather not be with a guy who tried to cover it up with pretty words. I wanted him to be who he really was, not what he imagined he should be for me. I loved my bad boy just the way he was.

Speaking of bad boy. . . .

I gently lifted his arm off my chest and sat up. Twisting a little and holding the sheet over my breasts, I stealthily dragged the sheet down Caleb’s torso. At the point where it covered only his crotch, I stopped uncovering him.

There was a cursive word tattooed on his lower abdomen. The word “hello” was stylized in lowercase black cursive letters.

Why the hell would he have the word “hello” tattooed down there?

“Caleb!” I nudged him impatiently on the shoulder.

“Huh?” was his groggy reply.

“Wake up!”

“No.” he refused, rolling over onto his stomach.

I pushed harder against his arm. “Why the do you have hello tattooed right above your crotch?”

That got his attention. Flipping to his side and dragging one hand over his eyes, he asked in a harassed voice, “Gianna, do we have to do this so early in the morning?”

“I want to know,” I insisted stubbornly. “And it’s not that early.”

Raised up on one elbow now, he gave me a look, like the answer was obvious and I was too dense to grasp it. “Can’t you guess?”

“No,” I said, thinking hard and getting annoyed.

He sighed dramatically. “Oh, Gianna, you still think like a virgin.”

I evaded his attempt to gather me in his arms. “Don’t mock me, Caleb.”

He stopped trying to wrap his arms around me, his expression wary. “I’m not going to apologize for who I was before I met you, Gianna.”

Glaring at him for implying I’d be so stupid, I was becoming beyond annoyed. “I’m not asking you to. I just want to know what the freaking tattoo means.”

“Think real hard. Who’s likely to see the tattoo and in what position would she be in?”

It clicked.

My mouth dropped open in shock. “That’s really bad, Caleb.”

The grimace on his face and the way his body stiffened let me know he was anticipating an argument. “You know who I was before I met you.”

“A freaking sex addict? How many girls have gotten on their knees to see that tattoo?”

He rubbed his jaw in a nervous gesture. “Not that many. I’ve only had it for six months.”

I laughed humorlessly, wishing this were a nightmare. “I don’t even know what to think. I mean, I know what you were like. I just didn’t expect something in my face like this!” I pointed down to where the offensive tattoo was covered by the sheet once again. First time in my life I’d been offended by the word “hello.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Gianna. It’s just a tattoo.”