Tears formed, absolutely gutting me. Getting up, I slid onto her side of the booth. “Fuck, Gianna, please don’t cry.”
Elbow on the table, one hand covered her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“And don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It hurts.”
“She didn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t want her.” Meeting no resistance, I pulled her against me. “I love you, princess. No other girl exists.”
Her shoulders shook. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Okay.” Reluctantly, I let her out of the booth. She disappeared into a back hallway.
I never wanted to see that pained expression on her face again. No matter what problems we had in the future, I’d never turn to another girl to make myself feel better. The experience wasn’t worth it and I was worried what happened with Norah could break something between us.
She came back ten minutes later more composed. Her quiet demeanor bothered me. I wanted her smart mouthed and teasing tone.
Our food arrived, steaming and filling the large plates. I’d ordered myself chiles rellenos and tamales, and for her chicken tacos. “Please eat, baby.”
She brought a taco to her lips, taking a bite. She managed to finish two of the three tacos and even ate a little of the rice and beans. I cleaned my plate, having not eaten since lunch at Dante’s.
While we waited for the server to run my debit card, I asked, “Did her roommate call you?” Not that I wanted to discuss it further, but I couldn’t understand how them meeting came about.
Gianna’s arms were crossed defensively. “No, she followed me to the grocery store.”
“How the hell did she even know who you were?”
“She says she found out online, from pictures posted last year on Facebook, I’d guess. But I don’t know how she found out where I live.”
“That’s insane.”
Gianna shifted in her seat, scanning the other diners. “Can we talk about this after we leave?”
My girl had a lot to deal with at the moment. Just when we were finally working things out between us, she gets another hate letter in the mail and finds out about a girl I rebounded with.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Candy is childhood, the best and bright moments you wish could have lasted forever.”
-Dylan Lauren
CALEB
The urge to prove she was mine was strong. If things were normal between us, I’d have her in my backseat already. Not that sex could fix our problems, but it’d satisfy the primal need in me to show her who she belonged to. Another time spent in the backseat of my Camaro with her underneath me sprung to mind, not helping the situation.
I’d stupidly thought once I got out of juvie everything could return to how it was before, both of us having fun and loving each other. We’d get there eventually, but first there was all the drama to wade through.
Not wanting her dad to hear what was to come, I drove to the mall and parked out in the lot away from other cars. The sun was setting and the mall would close soon so there weren’t many shoppers. Mostly it was young people using the place to hang out in the summertime.
Gianna turned to me with hurt still lingering on her beautiful face. I wasn’t happy with what I had to do, but everything needed to be out in the open so we could get past it. She’d been blindsided today by Norah’s roommate and I didn’t want that happening again.
“Caleb, what are we doing here?” She’d taken in where I’d parked and that we weren’t here to shop.
“We’re here to talk in private about the other girls.”
“Girls?” she said, her expression alarmed. “Are there more than Norah and the girl at the party?”
When she shifted forward, I grabbed her chin to bring her face to mine. She didn’t fight me, but the look in her eyes was combative. “I love you, Gianna. There can’t be secrets between us.”
“Say what you have to say, Caleb, then take me home!”
“The girl at the party didn’t go far. I’d drunk way too much and was bent on fucking away the pain.”
She flinched, squeezing her eyes shut as if it hurt too much to look at me. “Shut up, Caleb.”
“Then you called,” I continued. “And I wanted you to feel my pain.”
“Mission accomplished, I cried myself to sleep that night.”
“And then I puked all over the floor of the bedroom we were in.”
“You touched her?” she asked in a strangled voice.
“Some,” I answered truthfully.
“That hurts!” she cried, covering her face with her hands. “I don’t want to hear that crap!” Her hands moved to bat mine away.