Page 46 of Bratty Badboys

Even though I was bummed, I canceled my reservations for the restaurant I had picked and went on a long drive. It always cleared my head, made it calm as I weaved through zooming cars. I didn’t do anything dangerous, or my dad would murder me, but I liked the thrill and adrenaline. Just me, wind and my bike. Once I was calm enough, I turned around, making my way to my place.

Home was cozy with warm-colored furniture and earthy wallpaper. I sighed, walking through the entryway and dropping my keys in the bowl, my house slippers padding along the wooden floorboards. I didn’t want to admit it, but I missed dad sometimes. His huge frame rummaging through the washing machine, asking me if I did my laundry, making extra kimchi and storing it in the fridge, or lounging on the couch with his glasses and iPad to read through his old cases for fun.

He moved in with Emma in her big ass mansion and they occasionally dropped by for dinners or to watch a football match, even though her house has a home-theater. I think they forced me to socialize with them because they think I don’t have any friends… or a partner. Which is rubbish.

I have friends. I just prefer my solitude more.

Staring at the floor, I thought about Anna. And how she rejected me.

Be calm, Caleb.

But could I stay calm when Kyle lived right beside her and probably stalked her through his square-framed thin glasses and wooed her, making her his girlfriend or worse… married her?

No. Not on my watch.

“Fuck it.”

I ran upstairs to my little office nook and turned on my computer. Blue LED strip lights gleamed on the plain wall with a few movie and anime frames. I sat on the gaming chair and started moving my fingers on the keyboard, flickering my eyes between the two horizontal monitors and a vertical one where my code was running.

I didn’t want to be a creep, but I could find out anything and everything I wanted from her internet presence.

I had always been smart and had to depend on my brain after my injury in high school. Not many people knew about it, but I was one-step away from getting a scholarship for quarterback, but… life happened.

Getting an internship in one of the most famous 500 fortune companies by ethically hacking into their database with a few tweaks was easy. They were impressed with my code and wanted to give me full time, but I moved to another company with better pay as soon as my internship ended. Now I barely worked ten hours a week—unless there was a crash in the backend—and secretly helped Elena, my dad’s boss, by sending tip-ins for any illegal things I found on the internet.

The angel on my left shoulder was disappointed when I started searching about Anna, but I didn’t care. I would make her agree to go on a date with me. The reason she had given me was bullshit, and she knew it. If it was truly a one-nightstand, then I wouldn’t have left her that day and would have gladly resigned from my job, but I knew it wasn’t.

My eyes scanned the information on her old Facebook account and noted down the names of her exes. My jaw clenched seeing their faces and remembering Timothy from Aaron’s wedding. He was almost bald, smoking and harassing her. Thank God, she had unfriended him. He didn’t have a single picture with Aaron or Alice.

After a couple of hours, I knew why.

Anna was the top student in her theater class. After a school play, an agent reached out to her for the music video for the song Touch Down. She did brilliantly and wanted to pursue more, but her parents discouraged her. She was seventeen and could be in a relationship with Timothy, who used to drive a motorcycle, had tattoos, popular among ladies and wooed her in his bed, making her pregnant. Timothy didn’t want to raise a child since they both were the same age, and her parents forced her to abort it, but she didn’t.

They kicked her out and her younger sister, Katie, who was working part time with her as Felix took her in. Felix was her recent ex, but they had known each other since they were children. Their parents were neighbors, and they used to go to church together every Sunday.

Anna had Aaron, Katie and Felix helped her and maybe Anna fell in love with him and married him before getting certifications for Pilates and fitness instructor. They had Alice and six years later, they were divorced and now… Anna was single.

I frowned, leaning back on the chair and stretching my hands above my head.

When did Kyle come into the picture?

I thought that they might have had a little make-out session after her divorce or something more. But I didn’t think either of them dared to make a move until…

Until I did.

Removing my glasses, I massaged my temples. I remembered the night with Kyle clearly.

And it had ended with me wishing I had the number of the clumsy, tall, cute man.

23

STUBBORN

ANNA

“You should give him a chance!” Valeria swooned, peeking out of the window curtains with Alice to look at Caleb.

I sighed, keeping my hands on my hips. It had been three weeks since I rejected Caleb for the date. Kyle wasn’t too happy when I politely declined his invitation, but we had been having family dinner on weekends with Jem, his grandma, and Alice.

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