Acting hara.s.sed, I pushed myself off the bed and turned around so she could get a look at the tattoo Donna had inked onto my back nine months ago. Her fingers traced over the artwork, trailing down to the waistband of my boxer briefs. "I can"t believe you did this," she whispered. "What if we break up for good?"
I spun, s.n.a.t.c.hing her hips and pulling her against me. "You planning on breaking up with me again?"
"No," she said quietly. "I like it, by the way."
"It"s a good thing I won"t ever let you go." Brushing her smiling lips with mine, I said, "Tell me you love me."
"No," she said again. Grabbing a short fuzzy robe, she wrapped it around the body that drove me insane with desire. "I"m going down before my dad comes looking for me." She closed the door only to peek back inside and whisper, "I"ll bring you breakfast."
Smiling to myself, I went into the backroom and glanced over my shoulder with my back to the mirror. The artwork was of the picture I"d drawn of Gianna last year. It portrayed her as an angel, her head tilted slightly down. Ian had teased the c.r.a.p out of me when he"d first seen it in juvie, but he"d given up when he realized it didn"t bother me.
As a wedding present someday, I planned on adding her name to it.
I moved to her bedroom window to watch for when her dad left. The moment his SUV pulled out of the driveway, I returned to the bathroom to start the shower. Smirking, I left the door to the bathroom open and while taking my shower. Through the wet gla.s.s, I saw when Gianna came into her room, coming to a halt as she saw me.
If I was going to help her overcome her fears, arousal was a good place to begin. She moved away from my sight, likely placing the plate and gla.s.s she carried onto her desk.
I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist. She sat at her desk gazing at her laptop screen. Drying off, I dressed, figuring she"d had enough for now. As I went for my breakfast, I kissed the top of her head. "Thanks, princess."
She shifted in her chair to watch me eat. "What do you have going on today?"
"Spending time with you. I"m surprised your dad left you alone."
She blushed, biting her lip. "I told him you were on your way to pick me up and we were hanging out with Cece and Dante today."
"Liar," I whispered scandalously, stabbing a piece of French toast. "Get ready. We"ll stop by my place so I can change clothes."
She stood, going into her closet. "Where are we going?"
"To drop off a painting."
Her face careful, her words hesitant, she asked, "At the gallery?"
After yesterday, it wouldn"t be somewhere she"d want to go. "At the warehouse where they store art. Their preparator, Tyler, runs it and handles their inventory."
She disappeared back into the closet. "Okay."
I wouldn"t mention that Norah made trips to the warehouse sometimes on errands for the gallery owner or manager. It was unlikely she"d be there.
The small warehouse was on the outskirts of downtown Denver, in the middle of an industrial area. Across the street were several businesses related to granite and home remodeling.
I"d picked up the painting when we dropped by my dad"s place. Gianna had seen my little studio set up in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I did some of my painting at my mom"s apartment but it was convenient to also have a place to work at my dad"s.
I didn"t think Jim would want to use this particular painting of a depressed kid in solitary for suicide watch, his wrists already covered in bandages from a failed attempt. Who would want to buy it? It wasn"t something a person could hang over the fireplace. Jim swore the rawness of my art would appeal to a certain type of buyer, but I didn"t see it.
When Gianna saw the painting before I wrapped it, all she said was, "That"s sad." Blue eyes had searched my face, I wasn"t sure what for.
The only other vehicles parked in front of the warehouse were a black van and a white truck Tyler used to transport the art. I"d set up a time with him yesterday to make sure he"d be here.
Gianna stood a few feet away as I retrieved the painting from where it lay in my trunk. "You"re so grown up," she said with a thoughtful look. "I"ve never even had a job."
I stopped in front of her, holding the painting. "You don"t need to work. I"ll support you."
She made a face. "I already have a daddy, Caleb."
"I"m serious, Gianna. When we move in together-"
She interrupted. "Move in together? Are you crazy? My parents would kill me."
"I"m not talking about right now, when we start college or after our first year."
"Oh." Her lips adorably formed a circle on the word.
"Come on, Tyler is waiting."
She jogged ahead to open the heavy metal door for me and I took the opportunity to check out her a.s.s in the skirt she wore. Tyler as nowhere in sight, so I carefully placed the painting onto a worktable.
From what I understood, Jim Doran, the gallery owner, was a collector himself. He was loaded and the gallery was basically a hobby for him.
Along with the rawness of my paintings, I knew my actual talent was raw too. But the gimmick of a juvenile delinquent who painted the reality of youth corrections and city life would gain exposure for the gallery. If I decided to make a real career out of it, I"d have to go into an art program to mature my talent.
Tyler came from one of the aisles carrying a wrapped sculpture. "Hey, Caleb." In his mid-thirties, Tyler had worn gray coveralls each time I"d seen him.
I moved to help him place the sculpture onto a dolly. "I put the painting on the table."
"Okay, thanks." Tyler noticed Gianna standing near the door. "Who"s this?"
I held out my hand. "Come here, baby." Gianna approached, taking the offered hand. "This is my girlfriend, Gianna. Gianna, this is Tyler."
"Hi," she said, slipping her hand out of mine to shake the hand he"d ripped a work glove off of.
"Nice to meet you, Gianna."
I realized the moment he recognized her from some of my paintings, especially the one of the attack. I shook my head minutely and he got the message.
"Is this the last one?" he asked, going over to the painting to uncover it.
"I think so," I told him.
Tyler covered it back up. "Jim plans on coming down here next week to make his final decisions on yours and Sydney"s pieces."
I was curious about the other artist"s work. I"d met her at dinner one night, but I"d yet to see her paintings. Jim said she had a different style, but that her work would complement mine.
"If I paint anything else, I"ll give you a call, Tyler," I said before letting the man get back to his job.
"He seemed nice," Gianna said as I opened her car door.
"I like him. Now, what do you feel like doing for the rest of the day?"
"Can we go to the zoo?" Her expression was hopeful and I couldn"t deny her.
"Of course," I answered, shutting the door before she could glimpse my lack of enthusiasm.
So we went to the zoo and, for the first time ever, I felt sorry for the animals locked in the cages. I could relate. When I got home that night I started a new painting. It depicted Ian wearing black and white prison stripes and looking dejected while locked in the gorilla cage at the zoo.
A sign posted outside the cage said, Don"t feed the animals.
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pa.s.s into nothingness."
-John Keats CALEB.
I drove my car into a parking garage near the Italian restaurant we were meeting our parents. Downtown was less busy on Sunday evenings, most people at home relaxing before the coming workweek. Gianna sat in the pa.s.senger seat in a dress and heels which I thought could be put to better use than dinner with family.
Finding a spot on the second level, I cut the engine and ran a hand up her silky thigh. "Spread your legs, baby."
"Stop it, Caleb. Don"t get me all fl.u.s.tered before we meet them," she scolded, pushing my hand away.
She made to open her door. "Stop, wait until I come around and open it for you."
With an arm around her waist, I led her to the restaurant. I gave the hostess my dad"s name and we were ushered to a table in the middle of the place. My dad and Gianna"s mom sat across from each other and I wondered if it was by design so Gianna and I would be forced to do the same.
"Hi, honey," Julie said, getting up to kiss Gianna on the cheek.
My dad greeted us, staying seated.
Pushing her chair in, I took my own seat and leaned forward with my elbows on the table. "Let me guess, you two are hooking up again?"
"Caleb," my dad began, only for Julie to finish.
"Your dad and I still love each other very much. We"re trying to work things out." Her smile creeped me out. She hadn"t smiled genuinely at me like that since before she found out I was f.u.c.king her daughter.
Gianna looked as weirded out as me. "Mom, are you guys getting married again?"
"Those lawyers were a waste of money," I muttered, earning a reprimanding look from my dad.
My dad answered Gianna. "If things go in that direction, you two will be the first to know."
Gianna smirked at me. "So we"ll be stepsister and stepbrother again?"
I winked at her, making her giggle. "Does Chance know?" I asked my dad.
When he nodded with a grin I knew that conversation had gone well. "He"s excited for us."
Looking Julie in the eye, I had to test her. "Well, you"ll be my mother-in-law one day, so may as well add stepmother to that."
Did her fingers whitened as she clenched them around the stem of her wine gla.s.s. "Caleb, your dad said you have a show on the 12th? Congratulations."
Ah, so Julie was seeing the possibility of green in Gianna"s future. Did that make me more palatable as a future son-in-law? "Yes, the show will co-feature another artist. You"ll be coming?"
Her eyes moved to my dad. "Your father asked me to come with him." My mom would enjoy that. She no longer loved my dad, but she couldn"t stand Julie.
"Dad is coming, too," Gianna informed them of something I already knew.
"Will you be going to an art school after you graduate?" Julie asked me.
Keeping eye contact and resisting looking at Gianna, I told her, "I"ll go to whatever college Gianna does."
"That should be the other way around, Caleb," Gianna said. "Your art is important and I don"t even know what I want to major in. If you go to an art school, I could attend a regular college nearby."
I reached for her hand across the table. "They"d have to be close. It"d be easier for when we get an apartment together." Gianna glared at me, suspecting I was trying to rile her mom. My eyes darted to Julie to take in her reaction.
Her face was carefully blank and I knew whatever she was really feeling couldn"t be good. She forced a smile for my dad. "Scott, don"t you think the kids are too young to discuss moving in together?"
From my dad"s concerned expression, I knew he agreed with her. "Caleb, you two haven"t been together long enough to think about cohabitation or marriage."
I shrugged. "Fine, we"ll talk about it again after we graduate next spring." I"d had my fun. Julie had to at least pretend to tolerate me dating her daughter if she wanted to win my dad back. Whether or not she ever approved of me no longer mattered, never really had.
"So, Gianna," her mom began cheerfully in an obvious change of subject, "Tell me about Cece"s invitation to the Colorado Ballet Academy."
Keeping a straight face, Gianna said, "She turned it down."
"Why it the world would she do that?" her mom asked.
Because Dante knocked her up.
Instead of the truth, Gianna lied, something she"d gotten in the habit of doing a lot lately. "She doesn"t think she can handle the pressure."
My girl looked at me, her face turning red. Had she been this bad of a liar the night she"d claimed to be with Gage? Thinking of Gage p.i.s.sed me off. Gianna informed me earlier that she"d be hanging out with him tomorrow. It made me extremely unhappy, but I"d declined the invitation to see a movie with them. If I beat the c.r.a.p out of him, Gianna would be angry with me.
The memory of what I"d done with another girl in a theater recently popped into my head. Perhaps I"d join them after all.
"That"s too bad," her mom said sincerely.
Gage would be moving to Boulder in August for college so at least Gianna wouldn"t be able to hang out with him very often. I hadn"t seen Jared since I got out but I knew he"d be off to college soon. Unfortunately, he was going to Metro State downtown, so he"d still be around.
Especially when Cece"s baby was born.