Danger! Bad Boy
Book Two of the Beware of Bad Boy series
April Brookshire
CHAPTER ONE
“Falling in love is like jumping off a really tall building.
Your brain tells you it is not a good idea,
But your heart tells you, you can fly.”
-Anonymous
GIANNA
The whole way out of Colorado I’d expected red and blue flashing lights to come up behind us. Imagining Caleb and me being hauled into the nearest police station to wait for our parents to pick us up had not been fun. Driving down Interstate 70 into Utah, I’d let out a sigh of relief. My mom wouldn’t think to look for us outside of Denver. Cece had texted me an hour ago asking what the heck was going on and why my mom had been blowing up her phone. My mom had even gone so far as to call Cece’s mom.
Two seconds after texting her that Caleb and I had sort of ran away together, my phone started playing “The Jump Off” by Lil’ Kim.
At Caleb’s look, I asked, “What? Cece picked it.”
“Figures,” he muttered, shaking his head.
“What’s up?” I asked breezily upon answering, as if I weren’t on the run with my boyfriend.
“Gianna!” Cece screeched, making me pull the phone a few inches away from my ear. “Where the heck are you?”
“Somewhere in Utah,” I told her. “Actually, we’re coming up on a town called Richfield. It’s late so we’re checking into a hotel for the night.”
“What the heck are you doing in freaking Utah?” Cece yelled into the phone.
“Promise not to tell anyone?” I asked, wanting to assure her secrecy and hopefully calm her down. “Especially my parents or yours?”
“Of course,” Cece scoffed like it was a given.
Feeling scared, alive and crazy at the same time, I needed to confide in my best friend. “Caleb is taking me to Vegas!”
My phone beeped and I knew it’d be another text from my mom. She’d given up on calling a couple hours ago. Caleb had answered a call from his dad before we were even out of Denver. His dad wasn’t happy about us taking off and was even less happy when Caleb informed him we’d be gone for a few days. At the same time, his dad was dealing with the emotional fallout of separating from his wife. Caleb had told him we’d be at a hotel for the next few days but he purposely failed to mention the hotel would be in Las Vegas.
“Aw!” Cece whined as I ignored my mom’s text. “I want to go to Vegas!”
“Next time we’ll go as a group,” I assured her.
“Group road trip!” Cece squealed. I was sure the image in her head was like in commercials where friends on road trips had a crazy good time. The ones where the sun was shining, the windows were rolled down and nobody wore their seatbelt.
Caleb pulled off the freeway and into a gas station. At just past midnight in this small town there was only one other car in the lot, probably the clerk’s.
“Look, Cece, I have to go, we’re stopping at a gas station.”
“Fine, but you better call me when you get to Vegas tomorrow!” she ordered, still sounding put out about not being invited.
“Of course,” I replied on a yawn.
“Love you, Gigi!” she said. “Be careful!”
“Love you, too.” I hung up the phone and got out to stretch my legs. Caleb was already pumping gas; filling up for the four hours we still had to drive tomorrow. “I’m going to get some snacks. Do you want something?”
Every once in awhile, at normal moments like this, it’d hit me how weird it was that we’d gotten together. How had this guy gone from being the bane of my existence to the center of my world in such a short period of time?
He looked as tired as I felt, but he hadn’t complained once while driving over seven hours over the Rockies and through the Utah desert. “Gatorade, barbeque chips and cashews.”
Having his order, I walked into the convenience store and headed straight for the bathroom first.
As I browsed the aisles, grabbing Caleb’s snacks and a few things for myself, the middle-aged male clerk mostly ignored me while reading his car magazine. Actually, it was more like a car porno, with a girl in a bikini sprawled across the hood of a classic car on the front cover.
The bell on the door chimed and I looked up with a smile, expecting it to be Caleb. It wasn’t. A shady looking guy in his early twenties headed straight to the back freezers where the alcohol was kept. Feeling suddenly nervous about being in a gas station in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, Utah, I snatched a bag of chips on my way up front to pay.
My arms were full and I clumsily dropped the items on the counter. “Can I get these in a bag, please?”
“Sure,” the clerk answered, warily eyeing the skuzzy-looking shopper still lingering in the back.
Just as my purchase was totaled, the bell chimed again and Caleb strode in. I’d almost used my debit card then rethought it when I remembered that people were always tracked in movies that way. Instead, I handed the guy a twenty. Caleb grabbed the bag while I was given my change and ushered me out of the store.
He’d moved the car and was parked right outside the door. “Did you see that guy?” I asked him.
“Yep, that’s why I came in to get you.”
“Do you think he’s going to rob the place?”
Caleb chuckled. “It’d be pretty stupid of him. He walked here, so it wouldn’t take much for the cops to chase him down. He’s probably just shoplifting.”
“Oh,” I said dumbly, wondering if we should call the police. Caleb didn’t seem too concerned and the clerk had been eagle-eyed, so I figured the guy had it covered.
I still couldn’t believe I’d taken off with Caleb like that. I intended on going back home when things had cooled off some. After having a little fun with my hot boyfriend in Vegas, of course.
Holy crap, my mom was probably going berserk right now. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I glanced over a Caleb as we pulled out of the gas station parking lot. “You do realize my mom is freaking out?”
His smile said he wasn’t sorry. “She was doing that already. We just gave her something to really freak out about.”
“Yeah, I suppose, but now she’s going to spaz out even more. I’m so dead when we get back to Denver.” Gripping my head in my hands, I added, “Not to mention the days of school we’re ditching.”
“I think this is a great idea. We needed to show your mom that we won’t bow down to her bullying. I bet she’s already regretting kicking my dad out.”
“That was pretty bad,” I commented, inwardly cringing at the memory. “You know, if they get divorced, we won’t be stepsiblings anymore.”
“A silver lining,” Caleb muttered.
“So you’ll still want to be with me if it’s no longer taboo?” I teased him.
Coming to a stop in the parking lot of an economy hotel, he scanned my body up and down with unmistakable heat. “Still very interested.”
“You better say that,” I scolded with a fake glare.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Caleb pulled out his wallet, sliding out his fake ID. “You stay here while I get us a room, princess. With no makeup you look younger and we don’t need anyone asking questions.” Before shutting his door, he ducked down to look at me. “Keep the doors locked.”
He was gone for fifteen minutes and I was about to call his phone when I spotted him coming out. “What took so long?”
All I got was a sideways glance as he started the car. Finally, he said, “The nighttime front desk girl offered to join me in my room when her shift ended.”
“What?” I asked in shocked outrage. Caleb was moving the car around the building to park in back. It kind of made me feel like he was hiding me.
“Did you flirt with her?”
His smirk was answer enough. “Maybe a little. Got us a great discount on the room.”
“I’m thinking I may just sleep in the car,” I grumbled.
“She wasn’t as pretty as you,” he said cajolingly.
My scowl told him that wasn’t going to get him off the hook.
His laugh irritated me even more. “I found her repulsive,” he tried again.
“Liar,” I accused, holding back laughter at how manipulative he could be. First he used his charm on that girl to get a cheaper room and now he was using it on me to get out of trouble for flirting with her.
Too bad for him I knew him so well.
Caleb handed me a keycard and grabbed our bags out of the trunk. I walked ahead of him to scan my keycard and hold the back door of the hotel open for him. “Room 206,” he informed me while hitting the button for the elevator.
“So, what did you tell her?” I asked, still annoyed with him.
Caleb stood on the other side of the elevator staring at me, while biting his lip to stop from smiling. “Princess, I was just messing with you. The front desk clerk was an old dude who took forever checking me in because he was half-blind.”
My mouth dropped open in a mixture of anger and admiration. “You suck, Caleb.”
His shoulders were shaking in laughter as he ushered me out of the elevator ahead of him.
Quietly, in respect for the people sleeping in the rooms we passed, we made our way down the brightly lit hallway to our room.
Mad and at the same time relieved that my boyfriend hadn’t been flirting with some hotel skank, I opened up my suitcase, digging through it for some pajamas and not finding any. “You forgot to pack me some pajamas.”
He gave me a naughty grin. “Did I? Maybe you won’t need any.”
Going over to where he stood at the foot of the bed, I pressed my body against his. “Are we gonna do it?” I asked in a scandalized tone.
His eyes were hooded as he licked his bottom lip. His body was stiff as he gazed down. Relaxing visibly, he teased, “I’m offended, Gianna. You make me feel cheap. Don’t you want to make love to me?”
“I don’t remember love ever being mentioned between us,” I said casually, feeling mixed up inside. Caleb didn’t say anything in response, so to spare his player sensibilities and myself unneeded embarrassment, I went back to the original topic. “So, do you?”
He looked confused as he slowly asked, “Do I?” He must’ve still been on the second topic that I now desperately wanted to avoid. “Oh, um, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said carefully. “I’m exhausted from the drive and I don’t think you want your first time to be in some crappy hotel, in some crappy town in Utah. Especially not after the drama with your mom today. Plus, it should be special for you and I wouldn’t want to put in a poor performance after driving all day.”
Wow, if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought Caleb was nervous at the prospect of having sex with me. His rambling was uncharacteristic. Was Mr. Sexy Player nervous about having sex with little ole virgin me? Interesting. And perhaps my chance at payback for his trick earlier.
“Caleb?” I said his name sweetly.
“Yes, Gianna?” Caleb’s face wore a strange expression, a mixture of excitement and wariness.
“You wouldn’t happen to be nervous at the thought of us having sex, would you?”
He hesitated before answering. “Maybe a little.” His forehead wrinkled as he cleared his throat. “It’s just that you’re a virgin and I normally avoid sex with virgins, too much potential for disaster.” He visibly shuddered. “On top of that, you’re special to me. I don’t want to mess it up.”
“Potential for disaster,” I echoed his words. Well that’s a turn on, I thought sarcastically.
Caleb seemed to recognize his poor choice of words in describing my state of virginity. He tried to recover by saying, “Not that I think it’d be a disaster between you and me. I just think if we are going to do it on this trip, as you so eloquently put it, then we should wait until we’re in Vegas. When we aren’t tired and we’re in a nicer hotel.”
“This is such a surreal moment. After all the guys who have tried to get in my pants . . . and I’m getting shot down.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Amazing.”
Caleb’s lips turned up in a cocky grin. “I am enjoying the experience of you begging for it.”
I shoved his chest. “I so wasn’t begging.”
“Whatever you say,” he taunted.
I stroked his arm, giving him a flirtatious look. “We’ll see who does the begging before this trip is over.”
Moving away from him, I rummaged through his bag and pulled out one of his t-shirts. With my back still to him, I took off my clothes and stood in just my bra and panties. The bra went next. The chorus of that old R&B song by Tweet about stripping off her clothes began running through my head. The sound of him hissing in a breath made me smile. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as I pulled the t-shirt over my head.
Turning around to meet his dark eyes, I asked in the most innocent tone I could muster, “What?”
Standing up with clenched fists, his hazel eyes darker than usual, he rasped out, “I’m going to take a shower.”
Right before he closed the bathroom door, I called out, “A cold shower?” The door slammed shut and a moment later the water turned on. I dropped onto the bed and gave my laughter free reign.
CALEB
Wrapping a towel around my waist before leaving the bathroom, I found Gianna already asleep on the bed, looking all sweet and sexy in my shirt. I couldn’t believe she’d stripped in front of me. Even getting only the back view of her, it was the hottest thing I’d ever been privileged to witness. Amazingly, it was even hotter than two chicks making out.
How much hotter was the front view going to be? Not to mention the sex. Dammit, if I didn’t stop thinking about it, I was going to need another shower. I pulled on some basketball shorts and slipped under the covers with her. Lying on my stomach, with one arm draped over her, I thought how nice it’d be to sleep with her like this all the time.
Especially after sex.
*****
The next morning, I came awake with my arms and legs wrapped around Gianna. Not able to resist her sleeping face, I woke her up by showering kisses all over it. She grumbled moodily and pushed my face away. “Go away, Caleb.”
“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.