Toxic Bad Boy (11 page)

“
Not now, Cece!” Dante
snapped.

“
Sorry,” Cece
mumbled.

“
I need to talk to her,” I
told Dante. “Help me find her.”

“
No way. You can talk to
her tomorrow.” Dante drove into a fast food parking lot, cutting
the engine.

“
I’ll fucking kill him. He
was paid a lot of money to watch out for her, not make her fall in
love with him.”

“
What are you talking
about?” Cece leaned forward to peer at me with big brown
eyes.

“
I was worried about her.
I set it up with Kara, but Ian had his lawyer get the money to
Gage. He enrolled in her school to make friends with her and watch
out for her.”

“
So that’s what your
comment was about earlier. That’s crazy.” Dante stroked Cece’s
face. “Baby, is it okay if I drop you off at home so I can hang out
with Caleb?”

“
Yeah,” she said softly
and I turned away from the pity in her eyes. She would be on the
phone with Gianna the moment she stepped inside her
house.

Dante dropped Cece off ten
minutes later. She hugged me awkwardly around the neck from behind
before jumping out of the car. “I’m sorry, Caleb.” Words I was
beginning to hate. “I just want you to know I’m still Team
Caleb.”

Dante walked her to the
front door and spent a minute talking to her. I rolled down my
window, wanting to hear if Cece said anything about Gianna. I
pulled my new phone out, scrolling to Gianna’s number.

This is Caleb. I need to
talk to you.

As Dante got back into the
car, I stared down at the screen waiting for a reply. “Do you want
to go to my house?” he asked, tapping the steering
wheel.

“
No.”

Still no response from
Gianna.

“
I texted her.”

Dante winced and I
imagined he thought me pathetic. “She and Gage are together all the
time, but I thought they were just friends.”

“
I guess fucking
not.”

“
He always seemed cool,
but I would’ve kicked his ass for you if I’d know he was moving in
on her.”

She still hadn’t texted
back.

“
Where to then?” he asked,
driving away from Cece’s house.

I sighed, closing my eyes
as I leaned my head back. “Right now I just want to get
shit-faced.”

“
Party it is,” Dante
muttered grimly.

*****

“
Kiss me again, Caleb,”
the girl moaned against my ear.

I complied, our mouths
colliding in a haze of alcohol. She was a sloppy kisser, but her
tits were fucking spectacular. I palmed one, squeezing roughly as
she wrapped long legs around me.

“
Fuck me,
Caleb.”

I was going to do it this
time. This was the second party and the third girl I’d made out
with. As horny as I was after months of going without, I needed
pussy pronto. I hadn’t been drunk enough before with the other
chicks to forget blue eyes in a gorgeous face.

I would’ve eased Gianna
back into sex, but with this slut I’d be able to fuck her as hard
as I wanted. “Take your clothes off,” I told her, pulling away to
find the condom Dante had given me earlier.

The girl stumbled as she
peeled off skintight jeans. Her pink halter top was next, baring
those spectacular tits. A tiny hot pink g-string covered almost
nothing. I unzipped my pants and tore open the condom packet.
Losing the panties, the redhead laid spread eagle on the
bed.

My head felt dizzy from
all the liquor I’d downed. I hadn’t been this wasted since I was
fifteen. Concentrating on my dick, I rolled the condom on
slowly.

The text alert on my phone
beeped. I fumbled to get my phone out of my pants
pocket.

“
Ignore it,” the girl
slurred, playing with her nipples.

“
Hold on,” I mumbled,
unlocking the screen.

It was after one in the
morning, but Gianna had finally texted back.

If you need to talk, call
me tomorrow.

I dialed her right
then.

She answered sounding
tired. “Hello?”

“
Did you let him fuck
you?” I snapped.

“
Jeez, Caleb,” Gianna said
with a sigh.

I sat down on the edge of
the bed when my stomach roiled. The girl on the bed sat up to
nibble on my ear. “How about you fuck
me
?” the chick said, giggling
drunkenly.

“
Who is that?” Gianna
asked, her volume increasing on each word.

“
This slut I’m about to
fuck,” I said unapologetically, drunkenly.

“
Where are you?” she
asked, her voice tight.

“
In a bedroom at some
party.”

The redhead’s hands rubbed
over my chest, venturing down. When Gianna didn’t say anything, I
thought she’d hung up.

“
Gianna?”

“
I want this cock in me,”
the girl purred.

My phone beeped as Gianna
hung up.

I got to my feet, the
chick’s hand slipping from my dick. She slid off the bed to her
knees in front of me, her lips aimed for my cock. “Wait.” I grabbed
onto her shoulder. “I need to think.”

“
I’m going to blow
you.”

“
Hold on.” I pushed away
from her, my head beginning to pound. “I don’t know if this is a
good idea.”

She returned to the bed,
spreading her legs again. “Then just fuck me.”

My phone beeped in
hand.

Obviously there is nothing
to talk about.

Ignoring what was on
display, I typed back,
You fuck
him?

She didn’t answer. Was she
upset? Jealous? I couldn’t think straight!

It didn’t matter. She
loved Gage now, not me. Instead of hunting down Gage, I crawled
onto the bed over the hot slut waiting for me to screw
her.

And barely moved in time to throw up on the floor
instead of the girl’s naked body.

“
A broken bone can heal,
but the wound a word opens can fester forever.”

-Jessamyn West

CALEB

“
We’re going to be late if
you don’t hurry, Caleb!” my mom called out from the living
room.

I’d barely been out of
juvie for two days and I already had an appointment to meet with
the director of the art gallery about the show. He’d decided to
exhibit my work in the same show as the urban realist painter. I
didn’t mind, less pressure on me that way.

Shoving my shoes on, I met
my mom by the front door. “Let’s go.”

My mom drove while I
texted Gianna for the millionth time. She hadn’t answered me since
my drunken fiasco the other night. Cece had heard the story from
Gianna and told Dante, so he’d filled the gaps in my
memory.

I was alternately
horrified and pleased that Gianna knew I’d been messing around with
another girl. How dare she fall for another guy while I was in
juvie? I loved her and she broke my heart. She had no right to be
upset about me hooking up with some chick, or almost hooking up as
the case was.

As pissed as I was at her,
I still fucking loved her. I still needed to talk to her. If she
didn’t answer me soon, I’d show up at her dad’s house.

I don’t love you anymore,
Caleb
, she’d said.

It was impossible to
convince my heart her words were true.

Gage and I have fallen in
love
, she’d said.

If she loved him, then she
couldn’t have ever really loved me. It didn’t work that way. I
couldn’t imagine falling out of love with Gianna in the first
place, much less falling in love with another girl.

Impossible.

We were supposed to be
forever.

It still
felt
like forever to
me.

When another text went
ignored, I sent one to Hailey.
This is
Caleb. Need to ask you a favor.

Her response was
immediate.
What?

Talk to you about it
later.

You out of
juvie?

Yes. Call you
later.

The art gallery was in the
heart of downtown. It had dark wood floors and white walls, with a
few black accent walls here and there. It was set up in sort of a
maze layout, with small spotlights shining on the pieces hanging.
Sculptures were scattered throughout, along with several benches to
rest on while admiring the artwork.

My mom introduced me to
the gallery manager who met us at the front desk. Debra was around
my mom’s age, wearing a tan pantsuit, with her blond hair pulled
back.

Debra showed us to the
back office where the gallery director and owner, Jim Doran,
waited. Jim was in his early thirties and dressed more casually
than Debra, in jeans and a navy polo shirt. His office was painted
a bright yellow with several black and white paintings hanging on
the walls. It wasn’t easy on the eyes.

He heaved himself up from
behind a glass desk and came around to shake my hand. “Caleb, good
to finally meet you. I’m Jim Doran.”

“
Nice to meet you,
Jim.”

Debra took a seat, as did
the rest of us. My mom clapped her hands together. “So, now that
Caleb is here, do we have a date for the show?” Her excitement was
catching. Now that things had gone to shit with Gianna, I needed a
distraction.

“
Mid-July,” he answered.
“That should give us enough time to organize it and add any new
paintings the artists create.”

I suspected he referred to
me painting the night of the attack. I’d been resistant, but things
had changed. Gianna didn’t want anything to do with me. She loved
Gage now. She probably wouldn’t even care if I painted
it.

“
I’ll do it,” I
said.

“
Excuse me?” Jim asked,
leaning his elbows on his desk.

“
I’ll paint the night of
the attack.”

His smile widened. “Great,
great. Tyler, our preparator, has stored all of your paintings so
far until it’s time to set up for the show. Any work you complete
before then, bring in and if I approve it, he’ll store it at the
warehouse.”

“
When will I meet the
other artist?” It was weird to consider myself in the same
category, but I’d better start doing so if I wanted
respect.

“
Her name is Sydney
Atwood,” Debra said. “She’s twenty-two and this is also her first
show. Your mom has already met her. We’ll all go out to dinner
together soon to get better acquainted.”

“
Have Norah book us a
reservation,” Jim told Debra, who took notes on a
tablet.

“
Who’s Norah?” I
asked.

Jim answered, “Our intern.
She’s a sophomore at the University of Denver.” Jim clicked on his
mouse, gazing at his computer screen. “This Wednesday all right
with you?”

Having nothing planned, I
let my mom decide. “That works for us,” she told them, her hands
clasped together in eagerness.

“
Good.” He stood up,
reaching for my hand again. “See you then, Caleb,
Eliza.”

Debra walked out with us.
As we neared the front desk, I noticed the girl sitting behind it.
“This is Norah,” Debra said. “Norah, this is Caleb and you’ve met
his mom, Eliza.”

Debra jumped up, shaking
my hand. “It’s great to finally meet you, Caleb. I love your
work.”

“
Thanks,” I said, dying to
get out of here to see if Gianna responded while my phone was on
silent.

“
I’m no artist, but I hope
to run a gallery someday.”

My mom wandered off with
Debra to check out a new piece. Since I’d be sort of working with
Norah, I figured I should be polite. “Jim said you’re at
DU?”

Norah’s smile brightened,
making her green eyes sparkle. I belatedly noticed she was really
pretty, with dark brown hair that fell halfway down her back. “I
just finished my freshman year.”

“
I just got out of youth
corrections,” I told her, wondering if she knew.

Her head tilted, but she
didn’t lose the grin. “I know. It’s being used to drum up interest
in the buyers.” Green eyes swept down my body and I recognized her
interest.

Fuck it.

“
Are you going to be at
the dinner on Wednesday?”

She put a hand on my arm
and I was disappointed it wasn’t another girl’s. Then I was pissed
at myself for being disappointed at all. “If you tell Jim you want
me there, I will be.”

“
I’ll let him
know.”

“
Ready, Caleb?” my mom
asked as she and Debra returned.

“
Sure. Debra, will Norah
be coming Wednesday night?”

She glanced between us,
hesitating only a moment. “Of course. I’ll let Jim
know.”