Authors: April Brookshire
The
guys show up for practice psyched for the battle tonight. We’d won a few in the past and had mastered some new moves since the last one. Cece’s parents let us practice in their garage as long as it wasn’t too early in the morning or too late at night. Caleb sat on a couch against the wall with a couple of the guys’ current girlfriends.
We practice
d for the next few hours and the guys all went home to eat and change before the battle tonight. Cece, Jared, Caleb and I ate at Cece and Jared’s parents’ Mexican restaurant, Las Delicias.
Their parents’ ca
me out from the office and kitchen to take our orders themselves and baby Cece. She was so spoiled, especially by her dad. Being little and cute had their benefits. They let Cece and Jared know they wouldn’t be home till around two in the morning, after they’d closed, cleaned up and prepped for the Sunday morning breakfast rush.
Their parents
were pretty cool about everything. They knew Cece and Jared were good kids who got good grades, so they were okay with the crew using the garage and coming over Saturday nights.
I tr
ied to ignore Caleb at the restaurant, but it was impossible with him sitting right next to me. Jared had made a move to sit next to me when we got to our table, but Caleb had smoothly slid in first.
After
eating, we returned to their house to change. Tonight the crew was wearing black track pants, white tank tops, white sneakers and different colored neon hoodies. Cece and I both decided to wear hot pink hoodies and did our hair and makeup crazy. I scolded myself to forget about Caleb for now and focus on the battle ahead.
The four of us ro
de in Jared’s car to the warehouse to meet the rest of the crew. I still couldn’t get over the fact that Caleb had known Taye for years. With him being best friends with Taye’s cousin, Dante, I wondered if we would have eventually met even if our parents hadn’t married.
CALEB
I’d stuck close to Gianna all day. However, I could tell she was pissed at me about something and didn’t want me around. I wasn’t sure what her problem was, not that I’d ask her. Girls were irrational. I figured, if I didn’t let her out of my sight, how was she going to go through with her moronic plan to sleep with Jared?
The crowd at the warehouse was insane
. The amount of hot chicks in skimpy clothing made me realize I should’ve been attending these battles sooner. Did Dante know about this? Taye was evil for not telling us about the massive amount of hot chicks that attended these events.
I
could see where the judges were, because they had a table set up. From all the coordinated clothing, I counted five crews besides Gianna’s. Three crews performed before theirs and two would go after. When Gianna’s crew danced, they were awesome. Gianna and Cece left most of the more athletic breaking to the guys, but they did plenty of their own moves.
After all the crews
had their turn, the judges decided it came down to Gianna’s crew and another crew. Each crew did a routine thing together then some of the individual members stole the spotlight to do their own routines.
Gianna looked
so hot when she and Cece popped to a remix of Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.” Cece was so damn little it was hard not to find her adorable. Her serious face while she danced made me laugh. In her head, she was a little badass in that moment.
T
he judges finally decided to call it, naming the other crew the winners. Maybe I was biased, but I thought DCK were the better dancers.
When we
left, Gianna didn’t appear disappointed at all. She actually seemed really happy.
Starting my car, I had to wait for another car to clear out of my way before I could pull out.
“Are you guys bummed out about losing?”
Cece leaned forward from the backseat.
“No, we know we can’t always win. As long as we do sometimes, we’re satisfied. Plus it’s just fun to compete.”
“
So, did you have fun Caleb?” Jared sat next to me up front since Gianna had turned down the spot.
“Ye
p, you guys were awesome. Plus, I got like three chicks numbers,” I bragged. With the radio off, I could hear Gianna mumble something under her breath from the backseat.
S
ome of the crew and their girls beat us to Cece and Jared’s house. I would’ve invited one of the girls I met tonight, but I didn’t want to be distracted from keeping an eye on Gianna and Jared.
The party wa
s small, less than thirty people total. Gianna and Cece had been shut in the room for quite a while. Anxiety was clawing at me as I sat on the couch talking to Taye. I tried to pay attention to what he was telling me about his college plans for the following fall, but I was too agitated about Gianna’s own plans for tonight to listen.
W
hen the girls finally came out of the room, changed from their earlier outfits, Cece wore a pink dress with a flared skirt and Gianna had changed into that damn black dress she’d bought earlier this week. Gianna spotted me staring at her and winked impishly. It couldn’t help visualizing what she was most likely wearing beneath the dress. It turned me on simply imagining it.
She
wasn’t really going through with this, was she? No, she definitely wasn’t. That was why I was here, watching her every move. Jared wouldn’t get the chance to touch her. As if to mock my determination, Jared came up to her and casually put his arm around her shoulders. He probably thought he had a shot because they kissed last Saturday. Well, I’d kissed her several times since then.
Leaning down,
Jared whispered into her ear and Gianna nodded. Coming to some sort of agreement, they walked out of the room together and back down the hallway where she’d just been with Cece. But it wasn’t Cece’s bedroom they went into. Oh hell no.
GIANNA
Way less confident than I hoped, I’d come out of Cece’s room wearing my slutty black dress. I’d feel better about the whole Caleb situation once I’d gotten a little payback. Coming into the living room, I’d rejoiced at the dark look in Caleb’s eyes. Just to annoy him, I winked.
Are you worried, master player?
Caleb’s broody expression turned broodier when Jared put his arm around me.
“You look hot,” he whisper
ed in my ear, making me shiver. “Can we go somewhere to talk about what happened last weekend?”
This was working out better than I’d planned. Nodding
my head in agreement, I let him take my hand and lead me to his bedroom. Pretending Caleb didn’t exist, I never glanced back. Jared sat on the foot of his bed, gently pulling me down next to him
“I’m just going to get straight to the point
, Gigi. I’ve liked you for a long time and I want to be more than just your friend.”
Caleb’s face flickered
through my mind for a brief second. “I like you too Jared, but I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”
“You won’t. No
matter what happens,” he promised before kissing me softly.
I
returned his kiss like before, feeling unsure and thinking my plan may end up blowing up in my face. Without breaking the kiss, Jared maneuvered us so we were lying back on the bed on our sides. Jared had skills and kissing him was nice, but not as explosive as kissing Caleb, which only fueled me to put more into kissing Jared. He placed his hand on my bare thigh and moved my leg up over his. The position made me feel vulnerable, but I trusted him. His warm lips moved across my neck.
The door slamming open, letting in the light from the hallway
like a spotlight, came as shock. Jared yanked his head up and I peeked around to see Caleb standing there like he was about to kill someone.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen.
But if you are beautiful at sixty,
it will be your soul’s own doing.
-Marie Stopes
CALEB
I debate
d for about one minute whether or not to follow them down the hallway. Was Gianna planning on giving her virginity to Jared right now? Maybe so, and that was enough for me. I followed them to what I figured was Jared’s room, the sly fucker.
Standing outside the closed door
, my fists were clenched and I felt pumped like I was about to get in a fight. After all we’d shared over the past week, Gianna was going to fuck some other dude? It didn’t matter how long she’d known Jared, it wasn’t happening. Thinking I might have to break it down, I swung the unlocked door open with more force than I needed to.
On the bed making out
, Gianna’s leg was propped up over Jared’s hip. He had one hand on her thigh, stroking the smooth skin. Jared’s head whipped up and Gianna’s eyes slowly met mine. Coming closer, I pushed Gianna’s leg off of him.
He
held up both hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, man, I know she’s your sister, but I only have good intentions towards her.”
“
Step
sister,” I corrected him. “And I don’t give my blessing.”
Gripping her arm, I
drew her off the bed and away from Jared. “What are you doing, man?” Jared asked. He made a move to get up, but I put a hand to his chest and pushed him back onto the bed.
“Family emergency, don’t
interfere.” Ignoring his confusion, I guided Gianna out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind us. I took a detour into Cece’s room to grab Gianna’s bag of tricks. A few weird looks were thrown our way in the living room as I pulled her behind me and out of the house.
I
’d parked my car in front of the house next door, so in seconds I was ushering her into the passenger seat. “Get in.”
I
was surprised by her immediate compliance. She didn’t put up the slightest argument. Maybe she was going with the silent treatment as she stared out the window while I drove down the street. Passing a park, I pulled into the parking lot.
She was still turned away from me as I turned off the engine.
“What the hell, Gianna? Are you turning into a fucking whore?” In the quiet of our isolation, my words sounded harsh.
She
flipped around in her seat and even in the dark I could see the flash of anger in her eyes. “Me? I’m just following your example. Why do you care who I have sex with?”
“I don’t!” I shout
ed back at her on a big fat lie.
“If you don’t
care, then why don’t you drive me back so I can fuck Jared!” she yelled at me. It was like she wanted to rile me up.
“Like hell!”
Grabbing her shoulders, I brought her close, meaning to forcefully plant my lips on hers. Instead, I teased her mouth with mine, planning to persuade her to see things my way. It was driving me crazy that Jared had put his hands on her. She didn’t know what he got up to during the week. He could be sleeping around with the nastiest of chicks. Yes, soon she’d be seeing things my way.
She
jerked back before I’d given her the good stuff and smacked me across my left cheek. “No, you don’t get to kiss me and then go around screwing every girl you meet!” She was breathing hard, but not worked up in the way I’d intended.
Where did that come from?
“I don’t want to fuck anyone else.” Why did girls have to be so unreasonable?
“Yeah, at this very moment you don’t
. But you screwed Desiree last night and you’ll be screwing a new chick as soon as you meet the lucky girl. How do you think that makes me feel after you kissed me?” A sheen of tears in her eyes glistened in the dark, which made me enormously uncomfortable.
“I don’t see any other girls in my immediate future and I
didn’t fuck Desiree last night.” Thank god I could honestly say that.
Gianna op
ened her mouth to say something then closed it, blowing out her breath. In a calmer voice, she finally said, “She told me in the bathroom that
you
told her after you ditched me and Seth, you were going to take her somewhere to have sex.” Her suspicious tone made it clear she didn’t believe me.
“Actually,
that was all Desiree’s idea,” I gladly informed her.
She
made a skeptical sound. “So you didn’t plan on having sex with her?”
I was almost home free!
If only she hadn’t asked that question. “Well, I did plan on it.”
She interrupted me before I could smooth things over.
“See! Don’t kiss me ever again. You can’t play these games with me, Caleb.”
Trying to soothe her temper, I brought up my hand to the back of her neck and started rubbing circles.
“Let me finish, princess. I didn’t have sex with her, and trust me she was more than willing, because I didn’t
want
her.” Her shoulders relaxed as my actions and words began to work. “I thought if I had sex with her, I’d stop obsessing and wanting to be with you, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t even get past kissing her. I took her home and, believe me, she wasn’t happy.”
Gianna’s teeth gleam
ed in the dark as she smiled. “You’re obsessed with me?” Just like that, her mood changed from pissed to pleased.
I
let out a disgusted sigh. “I must be. I don’t know what else to call it. I spend most of my time with you and when I’m not with you, I’m thinking about the next time I’ll spend time with you.” A chuckle escaped from my throat. “It’s pathetic. I’ve never spent so much time with one girl and we’re not even having sex.”
She shook her head slowly and I moved my hand to allow the movement.
“Caleb, only you would think liking a girl for more than just sex for one day is pathetic. It’s too bad though, because even if we like each other, it does no good. I’m still a virgin and you still think
girlfriend
is a bad word.” She paused then continued in a defeated tone, “Might as well take me back to Jared. Neither one is a problem for him.”
Was she trying to make me angry again?
“Fuck that! He’s doesn’t get to have sex with you or call you his girlfriend.”
“Oh,
” she said in a way that warned me her temper was also rising. “So I’m supposed to remain a boyfriend-less virgin because you say so?”
“No,” I
responded slowly. I couldn’t believe the words were about to come out of my mouth. It was like watching a car wreck in slow motion. “You’re going to be . . .
my
girlfriend.”
I could almost hear her mouth dropping open and her giggle sounded a little hysterical.
“What if I don’t
want
to be your girlfriend? I mean, why would I want a boyfriend who’d be flirting with other girls and probably cheating on me?”
“Gianna,” I
said her name sternly. “I would never cheat on you. You mean more to me than that.” Deciding on persuasion again, I told her, “Look, if I’m willing to commit to you, I obviously don’t plan on cheating on you. I couldn’t even fuck another girl last night, when you weren’t even my girlfriend yet. Do you think I’m going to be messing around with other girls now that you are?”
“You
sound like you resent not wanting other girls.”
More confident
now I’d get what I wanted, I pulled her into my arms. “I don’t resent it as long as I have you. Now say you’ll be my girlfriend.”
“I’ll have to think about it. You haven’t
exactly been romantic about it.” What did I know about romance?
“I guess
I’ll just have to convince you.” When I kissed her again, I gave her the good stuff, starting out gently with a slow build to a hot climax.
Her efforts to pull away this time were weak because
she didn’t really mean it. Her lips were so sweet, her willing response even sweeter. Dragging her onto my lap, so she was straddling me, I fingered the hem of her dress.
“Caleb,
what are you doing?” she mumbled against my mouth.
“Convincing you.
” Using the hem of her sexy dress, I quickly peeled it up and off her body, tossing it over my shoulder into the backseat.
“What the
heck, Caleb?” she squeaked, trying to cover herself with her arms.
“
Why aren’t you wearing the babydoll you bought?” I pouted in disappointment. She wore a lacy black bra and matching panties, a suitable consolation prize.
She made
an exasperated sound. “I wasn’t going to actually have sex with Jared. I was just messing with you.”
“Oh really?
And why would you do that?” I asked, feeling absurdly happy as I wrapped my arms more tightly around her. With her wearing practically nothing, I had access to a lot more nakedness than if she were wearing the babydoll. Suitable consolation prize, indeed.
“Because you pissed me off, treating me like something was wrong with me because I was a virgin.
Plus, I knew it’d make you jealous to think I was going to have sex with Jared. And it did,” she finished smugly.
Running my hands over silky skin, I thought on her words.
“I’ll owe you for that one. I’ve been stressed out about it all week. I’d be expecting some payback for that, if I were you.” For now, her hot body could start making it up to me.
Despite her words, she didn’t try to stop my exploration. “
I already think you’re going to have sex with every willing girl you meet, so I guess we’re even.” Hitting a sensitive spot, I had her moaning and squirming in my lap.
I cupped her jaw to look her in the eyes.
“Gianna, I only want to be with you. Now say you’ll be my girlfriend.”
Her nervous wiggling was torture.
“Caleb, I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know if I could trust you. Plus, what will people think? Our parents are married. Even though we’re not actually related, they’ll think it’s weird.”
“Just give me a chance
, Gianna,” I pleaded softly. “I’ll prove to you how much I care about you. Forget about what everyone else thinks. If you want, we can wait to tell them.”
She sti
ll looked doubtful as she nodded her head. “Okay.”
I never thought I’d
beg a chick to be my girlfriend. It was always the other way around, girls thinking just because we’d had sex I’d commit to them, eager to claim me as their boyfriend.
With Gianna, i
t strangely felt good. Only because it was her that would call me boyfriend. Finally able to do what I liked without restraint, I got lost in her taste, touching her wherever I had access. My fun came to an end when headlights flashed into the parking lot from a car pulling in.
“Crap!”
I searched for her dress in the backseat. Sliding it over her head, I regretfully helped her smooth it back over her body.
The other car didn’t park anywhere near us, but we still lacked complete privacy. Reaching over to buckle her seatbelt, I
felt a sense of possessiveness. She was my girlfriend now, belonging solely to me.
After we’d pulled out onto the street, Gianna asked
, “What about the problem of me being a virgin?”
I
gave her my patented panty-melting look. “Trust me, it won’t be a problem for long. And I’ll be expecting to see you in that babydoll real soon.”
In response, she rolled her eyes.