“It’s Vegas time. Get your cute little ass up! We still have a few hours to drive and I’m hungry.” I slapped her ass to get her moving.
She sat up while rubbing her eyes. “Fine, but I still have to take a shower before we leave.” I was treated to a peek of her black panties as she slid off the bed. She might be right about me being the one to beg.
I got dressed while she was in the shower and looked around the room to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Once she was dressed, I was more than ready to go. We went through a fast food drive-thru for breakfast and were finally on the road by midmorning.
Gianna turned her phone back on to listen to her messages. From the look on her face, I could guess that her mom’s messages weren’t offerings of a truce.
We couldn’t stay away forever, so I decided to call my dad, to feel things out for when we did come home. He answered on the first ring, making me feel guilty if he’d been worried. The combination of separating from your wife and your son making off with your stepdaughter couldn’t be pleasant.
“Caleb, where in the hell are you?”
“School?” I joked badly.
“Not funny. Is Gianna still with you?”
“Yep.”
“You need to take her home to her mother. Julie is irate.”
And obviously taking it out on my dad. “No shit. She was irate before we left.”
“She’s even worse now, threatening to call the cops on you for kidnapping.”
“I thought she kicked you out. Are you still there?”
“No, I’m at the condo in Northglenn.”
“Isn’t that place empty? As in no furniture?”
“I bought an air mattress,” my dad replied, sounding defeated.
“We’ll be back in a few days. Gianna just needs some time away from her mom.”
“Where are you staying?”
I trusted my dad to a point, but Julie was relentless. Instead of answering him, I evaded the question. “Don’t worry, everything’s fine. I’m really sorry about you and Julie, dad.”
“It’s not really your fault, Caleb. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”
“I didn’t say-”
He cut off my protest, “You didn’t have to. I’ve been there twice before.”
I ignored his comment, thinking him totally wrong.
After my moment of silence, he cleared his throat. “You know, yesterday I saw a side of Julie I’d never seen before. I didn’t like it, Caleb. I love her, but if she has the ability to be so ugly towards my son and so easily throw away what we have, I’m not sure she’s the right woman for me.”
Hallelujah! Instead of praising the heavens above, I solemnly told him, “Sorry, dad.”
“So, what should I tell her about Gianna next time she calls?”
“Just tell her this is us showing her she won’t be able to keep us apart.”
“That may not go over so well, Caleb. I’ll try talking to her reasonably about it. I’m sure she’s mostly worried about her daughter’s wellbeing at this point. Assuring her Gianna is fine should help calm her some.” My dad added hastily, “A phone call from Gianna wouldn’t hurt.”
“That’s up to Gianna. Look, I have to go, I’m driving right now.”
“Call me soon, Caleb.”
“Will do.”
I tossed my phone onto the seat and glanced at Gianna. She had a satisfied smile on her face. “What are you so happy about?”
“You,” she said, leaning over to give me a peck on the cheek.
Okay, whatever.
By mid-afternoon, we were checking into a room at the Bellagio. Thank god for fake ids. When we got to the room, Gianna laid down for a nap. She wanted to be well rested for her first night in Vegas.
Sitting against the headboard as she slept beside me, I flipped through the channels. Tonight should be interesting. I came here with Dante and a couple other guys last summer. I had a feeling this trip was going to go a little differently. This time I’d only be having sex with one girl. In the past, that would’ve been a bad thing. Not so much now. But how long could that last? I was too young for this to be forever.
But it wouldn’t be ending anytime soon. We hadn’t even had sex yet. It did seem our relationship had come to that point. Gianna had indicated she was ready. I was way past ready. Was I supposed to tell her I loved her first? Would that make it more special for her? Do I even love her a little? I loved being with her, that was for sure. I’d been avoiding looking too deeply into my emotions where Gianna was concerned.
With love came complications neither of us needed. From what I’d seen of love, all it did was make people miserable. My parents were miserable together and now things were crashing and burning in my dad’s relationship with Julie. Everyone ended up miserable when love was involved. I cared about Gianna more than anybody and anything else in the world. If I told her that, would it be enough?