Danger! Bad Boy(53)

“Uh-huh,” I responded vaguely.

“That she didn’t approve?” Unfortunately, my dad was going for the same vague approach.

“Overreaction on her part,” I assured him. “You would have liked him, dad.” That was probably a lie. Caleb was a father’s worst nightmare. Well, maybe not worst since there were guys way worse than him.

“Are you still seeing him?” Unlike my mother, I hated lying to my dad.

“I want to,” I hedged, afraid he’d tell my mom if I confided in him.

In a tired voice, he said, “Just be honest with me, Gianna. I’d rather you tell me the truth.”

“You won’t tell mom?”

“I won’t tell your mother.”

“I love him.”

My dad, just a year older than my mom, was still youthful in personality. Not like the woman downstairs who was only thirty-three but acted like she’s fifty-three. I knew he’d understand where I was coming from.

“Just be careful,” he advised with evident worry. Unlike my mom, my dad was more able to treat me like an equal. He would never try to order me around like she did, but he would want to help me make smart decisions.

“Don’t worry, dad, he loves me too.”

“I’ve got another call coming in, sweetie. Have Chance call me later?”

“Sure, and you’ll think about moving back here? There are plenty of people who need nose jobs and tummy tucks here in Denver.” As a plastic surgeon, I imagined it wouldn’t be simple for my dad to move here, but after a lot of effort it’d be worth it.

“I promise I’ll think about it.”

After getting off the phone with him, I flopped down onto my bed and turned on the television. I hadn’t told my dad about my mom smacking me because I didn’t want to make the situation worse than it was.

Ignoring the reality show on TV, I thought about my cute boyfriend. It was so amazing being back together. He’d changed so much from the guy he used to be. I trusted him not to hurt me. Even if I couldn’t claim him publicly, he was mine. He’d said the most romantic things today. Well, romantic for him and in between saying lots of naughty things. Not that I minded the naughty stuff.

I was anxious to see him at school tomorrow. Maybe we’d ditch and sneak off somewhere together.

Reluctantly, I pulled out of my backpack the book I was supposed to be reading for English. Our teacher had let us pick between Slaughterhouse-Five and The Scarlet Letter. My class had chosen Slaughterhouse-Five and the way the plot jumped around it was like a Quentin Tarantino movie. It was interesting, but I wished it had more romance in it.

I started to drift off to sleep while reading, but shot up when my phone beeped a text message alert. It was from Caleb.

Caleb: Hey, beautiful, I’m going to sneak into your house tonight and bang you

I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. Some things never changed. I’d better savor the few romantic words he’d said today and last night ‘cause he still thought like a player most of the time.

But now he was a one-woman player.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




“Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice,

but falling in love with you was beyond my control.”

-Anonymous



CALEB



I’d never thought there’d be a day when receiving attention from hot girls would be a chore, something undesirable.

As a cute brunette moved so close to me on the cafeteria bench her breasts were brushing against my arm, I felt something hit the back of my head. Twisting around to look down at the floor behind me, I spotted a baby carrot. I glanced up to see Gianna giving me a dirty look from one table over.

I gave her a helpless look and gesture. Rolling her eyes, she turned her head away to listen to whatever some guy had to say to her. Kevin, I thought his name was. Why the hell did he have to talk to her with his head so close? Did he just glance down at her chest?

I wasn’t sure I’d make it through a year and a half of this crap. Bending down, I picked up the baby carrot and chucked it at the guy talking to her.

Bullseye.

It thumped him right on the forehead. His eyes shot to mine, looking pissed, until he noticed my killing look. His face blanched and he must’ve got the message because he jumped up out of his seat in the pretense of taking his tray to the trash.

Gianna’s giggle improved my mood.

Maybe I should join a sport, I had good aim. Julie would approve since in her unstable mind, wearing a jock strap equaled being good enough to date her daughter.

Moving my eyes down the table where Gianna sat, I saw Josh sitting at the end, watching our exchange. I flipped him off and turned back around.

This entire situation sucked. Last night that hateful woman, Julie, showed up at my dad’s condo and tried to reconcile with him. She must have realized what an idiot she’d been to lose a devoted husband.