Toxic Bad Boy by April Brookshire Read Free Book Online Page A

scared he’d take one look at me and realize he didn’t want me
anymore. I had no doubt Caleb cared for me, but would he still love
me the same?
    Hell, I didn’t even want me anymore.

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    “ A kiss that is never
tasted, is forever and ever wasted.”
    -Billie Holiday
    VALENTINE’S DAY
    CALEB
    Showering this wonderful
morning, I whistled under the warm spray, eager to get my day
started. Valentine’s Day falling on a Saturday worked out perfectly
for me.
    I passed by Ian as I
exited the bathroom. “Stop with your god damn happiness,
Caleb.”
    “ Just ‘cause you don’t
have a beautiful girl visiting you today.”
    I wasn’t about to let him
ruin my good mood. It’d been four months since I’d last seen
Gianna. Today felt like my birthday, Christmas and Valentine’s Day
all rolled into one.
    Ian eyed the guard nearby
before answering. “Actually, I do have a girl visiting me
today.”
    “ Only approved family
members are allowed to visit. Is she a cousin or
something?”
    His lazy smile was
conspiratorial. “Nope.”
    Now my interest was
piqued. “Your do-gooder pen pal?”
    The smile transformed into
an intense scowl. “I would never let Alexandra come to this
hellhole.”
    Trying to keep a straight
face, I asked, “Oh, it’s like that, is it?”
    “ No,” he snapped, turning
his back to me.
    “ Move along,” a guard
ordered when I began laughing tauntingly.
    In our cell, I sat down on
my bed and ran a palm over my buzzed hair. I wondered what Gianna
would think of my shorter hair. Closing my eyes, I imagined the
feeling of her hands last time they were in my hair. In my mind,
her nails were painted red as delicate hands journeyed below my
neck, stroking my chest. One hand dipped inside my pants as her
lips met mine....
    Aw, fuck, juvie was
killing me.
    I threw myself back onto
the thin mattress, clenching my fists in an effort to control the
porn show taking place in my mind.
    Ian showed up, strutting
into our cell as he ran a comb through his wet locks. My eyes
rolled at his primping. He started rummaging through my stack of
magazines. “Do you have any cologne samples?”
    I jumped up, snatching
the GQ magazine
my mom brought me on her last visit and rifling through it until I
found a Calvin Klein sample. As I rubbed some onto my skin, I gave
Ian a victorious smirk.
    Unfazed, he grabbed it
from my fingers and did the same. “What the hell, man? I don’t want
to smell like you!”
    He went back to playing
with his blond hair. “Don’t worry, Caleb. You’re too ugly to be my
Valentine.”
    “ So, how do you plan on
getting a chick in here if she isn’t family?”
    His grin widened. “My
lawyer got her on the approved list, said she was a second
cousin.”
    A terrible thought came to
me. “Do I know her?”
    His eyebrows rose along
with an evil smile. “Do you mean, have you screwed her?”
    I granted him a black
look. “With Gianna finally coming I don’t want any
surprises.”
    Ian frowned, rolling his
eyes. “Her name is Trisha...something.”
    “ Real helpful,” I
muttered. Then again, even with a last name I couldn’t be
sure.
    I snagged the red gift bag
from under the bed that my mom had brought my Christmas present in.
I didn’t have the tissue anymore, but I carefully placed into it
the painting I’d made for Gianna.
    It was kind of cheesy, but
I’d painted the memory of when we’d gone tagging. I’d included
myself in the painting and it was a view of our backs as we stood a
few feet away from each other. Our arms were extended as we each
gripped a can of paint, aiming at the wall in front of us. Black
paint coated several of my fingers and bright blue paint dripped
down Gianna’s index finger and over the top of her hand.
    While sketching it, I’d
thought it was kind of cool to paint a piece depicting the time
we’d created art together. I’d even painted part of our handiwork
that day.
    Gianna’s delay in visiting
already had me feeling uneasy, so I