CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“It’s sad when girls think they don’t have anything going on expect being pretty.”
-Keri Russell
GIANNA
Walking across the parking lot to the mall entrance, I asked Caleb, “What should we do first? Lingerie or dress shopping?”
His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He took a long time answering with, “Dress first.”
We shopped my favorite stores and I tried on the sexiest dresses they had to offer. I made Caleb wait outside the dressing rooms, coming out to model each one. At the third store, I found a slutty black dress that covered my butt and the top of my thighs only. It also showed off an abundance of cleavage.
I snickered before coming out of the dressing room to show Caleb. “So, what do you think?” Spinning around, I gave him the full effect.
Caleb got a burning look of lust in his eyes while taking in my showing. After a long moment of silence, he rasped out, “It looks like shit.”
“You liar!” I exclaimed. “I look damn right fuckable in this dress. Maybe you’re gay. Are you gay, Caleb? You can confide in me. As your sister, I accept you for who you are.”
“Stepsister,” he corrected me. “And, no, I’m not gay. Do you want me to prove it to you?” Amazingly, the burning lust in his eyes went a few degrees hotter.
Hell, yes, a big part of me wanted him to prove it to me. Unfortunately, Caleb was a player and I’d be one of many girls who’d hooked up with him. I sighed. “No thanks, I’ll leave that to your harem of skanks.”
I shouldn’t care who the sexy bastard spent his time with, but I did. At least I’d ruin his good time Friday night.
“Jealous?” he taunted, one pierced eyebrow raised. He probably practiced that look in the mirror until he’d perfected it.
“Yes,” I admitted and his jaw went slack in surprise. “I’m jealous that my harem of men is so much smaller than your harem of skanks. But I’m just getting started in this player gig. It won’t be long till I have so many men that I’ll start forgetting their names, too.” Then, as if the idea just popped in my head, I said, “Hey, what do you think about me dating older men?”
I saw his sour look reflected back at me in the mirror I faced. “I think I’d have to call the cops on them.”
“Have you dated any older women?” I couldn’t resist asking.
The self-satisfied smile on his face made me want to slap him. “Of course I have.”
Why did I even bother asking? Of course he had, I thought miserably. Now I was not only jealous of girls my age, but females not my age. He definitely deserved all of the revenge I dished out.
“Enough talk of the dirty old women you’ve fooled around with. I’ve decided on this dress. I can totally picture Jared ripping it off me on Saturday.” Strutting back to the dressing room, I said over my shoulder, “Time to go shopping for what he’ll see after he rips this off.”
Caleb wore a disgruntled look on his handsome face the whole time we were walking to Victoria’s Secret. I told him as we went inside, “I hope you’ll be more help here than you were dress shopping.”
Trying not to show my embarrassment at lingerie shopping with Caleb, I snatched up the first items I saw. I was irritated at every stupid older woman and teenage girl Caleb had ever slept with. He was so stupid. Didn’t sex mean anything more to him than getting off?
I put on the first item, a tight black halter babydoll with a plunging neckline. I’d never worn anything like it before. I’d never had a reason to. I had to admit, it looked sexy.
A blush formed on my cheeks at the thought of coming out of the fitting room and showing Caleb. How humiliating. I needed to remember why I was playing this game. He was an insensitive jerk when he found out I was still a virgin. The thought of me becoming the female version of him disturbed him. Any mental stress I caused him was just a little bit of justice. Not only for me, but for all the girls he’d used for sex.
I stepped out of the fitting room and moved to where Caleb sat leaning back in a chair. His eyes flared as he shifted in his seat. Yep, the embarrassment was worth it.
“So, Caleb, do you think Jared will want me when he sees me in this?”
The fierce expression mingled with the possessive gleam in his hazel eyes alarmed me as he stood up and closed in. I backed up a few steps towards my fitting room, wishing a sales associate or someone would show up. I was almost to the safety of the dressing room when he pushed me inside.
“Caleb, what are you doing?”
He locked the door and dragged me to him. The kiss was far from gentle and when it ended, I was practically panting. “I guess this one’s a winner. Too bad you don’t mess around with virgins, huh?”
“Maybe you’ll get lucky and I’ll make a temporary exception for you,” he purred, coming in for another kiss.
His arrogant remark reminded me that every girl was temporary for him. Temporary for as long as it took to get in their pants. I reached around him to open the door and push him back out. “No thanks, I’ll pass!” With that, I slammed the door in his face.
CALEB
I couldn’t believe Gianna just did that. She’d pass? She’d pass over me for what, that douche Jared? I didn’t think so. I’d kidnap her Saturday night if I had to, to keep her from sleeping with him. She’d looked so hot in the dress she bought earlier. Jared wouldn’t be the only guy having sexual thoughts about her after seeing her in that scrap of fabric. Not to mention the lingerie she just tried on. Jared didn’t deserve to see her in any of it.
She came out of the dressing room and paid for the lingerie. I’d have paid for it if she were planning to wear it for me. She purchased the first one she tried on that made me hard as rock.
We left the mall in silence and I burned with jealousy at the thought of Jared touching her and the fact she’d chosen him to give her virginity to. It almost made me wish I were the type of guy to commit to a girlfriend. Then Gianna would be mine. I’d make sure of it.
Julie opened the front door when we got home. “Where have you two been?”
Gianna shuffled in place, hiding the pink shopping bag behind her back. Taking pity on her, I told her mom, “We were just spending some quality time together shopping.”
Julie’s demeanor shifted from suspicious to delighted. “How fun! How was cheerleading practice, honey?”
“Um, great,” Gianna mumbled, running past both of us and upstairs.
“Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes, Caleb, so go wash up!” Julie ordered me before heading to the kitchen in her ruffled apron.
Wash up? I’d never get used to this wholesome family routine. My mom didn’t care whether or not I came home for dinner and if I did we usually ordered in or ate out. Even when she was married to my dad she wasn’t the homemaker type.
I followed Gianna upstairs and knocked on her door. “Come in!”
She sat cross-legged on her bed, texting. It bothered me to think she was exchanging cutsie little messages with Seth or Jared. “We need to talk.”
Her fingers stilled on her phone and she looked up at me. “About what?”
“About you telling your mom you quit cheerleading.”
An unsure expression flashed over her features. “I guess I should. She goes to most of the football games to watch me so she’ll notice me missing from the squad this Friday.”
Her phone beeped and she looked down to read the text. Her laughter put me on edge. “Who’s that?”
Her fingers moving over the screen, she answered while responding to the text. “It’s Cece. She’s being a weirdo.”
Annoyed for no good reason, I stepped out of her room to go next door to mine. I couldn’t believe what a spaz I was becoming. I felt like a jealous boyfriend ready to throw down with any dude who flirted with her. I refused to become pathetic like Josh or Jared.
At dinner that evening, World War C began. Gianna brought up the subject of quitting cheerleading soon after everyone had dug into t
heir tacos and rice. She was right, her mom freaked.
Her mom started off by trying to cajole Gianna into compliance. “Honey, why would you want to do that? You were meant to cheer. Just look at you. You’re beautiful, popular and so talented in dance.” Was this lady serious? The only part of her argument that made sense was the part about Gianna being a good dancer.
I finished off my first taco and waited for Gianna’s response. “But mom, it’s not fun anymore. I don’t want to do it.” Gianna plate was still full, her food ignored.
“Cheerleaders are hot!” Chance interjected through a mouthful of rice.
Surprisingly, I was the only one who laughed. My dad threw me a look as if to blame me for the kid’s wisdom. I gave my dad an innocent look back and his attention returned to his wife.
Julie was too focused on Gianna’s submission to care about her son’s inappropriate comment. “Honey, I got pregnant with you when I was sixteen years old and had to give up cheerleading. I missed out on so much. I couldn’t be a pregnant cheerleader.” Persuasion was turning into a guilt trip. How great of Julie not to abort Gianna so she could hop around with pom-poms.
Gianna wore a stubborn expression, leaning forward in a move of defiance. “Mom, I don’t care what you did or didn’t get to do when you were in high school. It’s not my fault you got pregnant with me. I shouldn’t have to do something because you wished you could have. This is my life and I’m not cheering anymore!”
My dad shifted in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with the scene, but unwilling to interfere.
Julie slammed her fist on the table. “Gianna Hilary Thorpe! You will not quit cheerleading and that’s final!”
“If you don’t let me, then I’ll go live with dad!” Gianna shouted, storming out of the dining room.
I swallowed down the last bite of rice and gathered my dishes to rinse them off in the kitchen sink. As I stepped through the doorway, I heard Gianna’s Jeep screeching out of the driveway.
That went well.