Toxic Bad Boy(35)
Through the window, I saw as Cece said something to Gianna and she responded by hugging her. Dante was totally getting dumped.
Cece got out, her smile trembling as she approached her boyfriend.
“Hey,” he greeted gruffly.
Her eyes darted to me. “Can we take a walk?”
“Sure,” he answered, holding out his hand in a move to test her feelings.
When she slipped her small hand into his, I felt his hope. I watched them for a long moment as they headed down a walkway. Then I turned my attention to my own love life.
Gianna still hadn’t looked my way, probably praying I wouldn’t bother her. Instead of knocking on her window, I circled around her vehicle and hopped into the recently vacated passenger seat.
I would’ve found her yelp cute if my emotions weren’t experiencing such turmoil. She recovered quickly. “Get out.”
“No. We need to talk.” Did she have to look so fucking beautiful all the time? I wanted to both shake her and drag her into the backseat.
“Jeez, Caleb. Not right now,” she huffed. Her face held a stubborn expression, but I saw her eyes briefly shift down to my bare chest. I’d gotten bigger in juvie, working out with Ian when he’d made it into a competition.
My girl had just noticed. If she was still attracted to me, maybe I could use that to my advantage. “You broke my heart.”
Her face fell and I spotted real regret. Regret for what, exactly? She opened her soft lips to say something, then her face went hard. “But not your dick.”
Was she jealous of the drunk slut from the other night? Maybe I could use that, also. “You’re the one who cheated on me.”
“I didn’t cheat on you!” she shouted in the small space.
I tsked in disapproval. “Two boyfriends at once, Gianna. Shame on you.”
Her mouth snapped shut, her eyes working in thought. “We weren’t really together, Caleb.”
“You and Gage?” I pushed.
“Me and you,” she corrected.
“Could’ve fooled me,” I said. “With all the I love yous.”
“Caleb-”
“But those were phony, right? Because you don’t love me anymore.”
She turned her face to the windshield, her bottom lip quivering. “I still care about you a lot.”
“Be still my broken fucking heart. She cares about me,” I muttered darkly.
“You’ll get over it. From the sound on your end of that phone call the other night, you’re well on your way.”
“I wanted to be with you!” I hissed. It would be easy to tell her it had only been a drunken fumble, a half-hearted attempt to forget her that had epically failed.
But I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
Her expression changed, becoming something I couldn’t name. “It can’t be me.”
“Why Gage and not me?” I asked.
She sighed, making me want to catch it with my own lips even though I was angry with her. “He’s just...” she trailed off.
“Does he live for you?”
“Caleb-”
“Would he die for you?”
“Does it need to be that intense?” she asked, moving a strand of hair behind her ear.
It should be that fucking intense. She deserved nothing less and if he couldn’t give it to her, stealing her back would be no problem.
I wouldn’t only live and die for her, I’d fight.
Not giving her the chance to stop me, I dragged her onto my lap. “Don’t, Caleb!”
The feel of her body under my hands felt like paradise. One hand traveled up to her jaw, holding her in place for my mouth. Fucking heaven. “Does he make you burn for him?”
She was panting, her face scrunched up. “He doesn’t force anything on me.”
I released my hold on her immediately, allowing her to escape back to her seat. The reminder of what she’d been through made me ache to make it better, at the same time it made me wary of causing her more pain. “I would never hurt you.”
Her door opened and she stepped out without a word. Leaning forward, I rubbed my forehead roughly before following her.
Always following her.
Probably always would.
Her blue eyes were focused on where Cece and Dante sat on a bench, with Cece in Dante’s arms. As much as I craved touching her more, I held back. “So she isn’t breaking up with him.”
Gianna’s gaze moved to me. “Is that what he thought?”
Tilting my head, I stared down at her, searching her shocked expression. “She’s been ignoring him and she just got into that ballet academy.”
She bit her lip, hesitating before speaking. “It’s probably okay to tell you now that Dante knows.”
“What?” At this point, I was braced for anything.