Page 25 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Sorry, bro, it was a mistake.” It was beyond me what his groupies found so funny that they laughed as if he had just told the funniest shit ever. But I guess for dumb bubbleheads like them, bullying was hilarious. Morons.

“No.” Diesel smiled as he got up. “A mistake is what your parents did when they didn’t use a condom, you dumb fuck.”

Shay-Lee’s smirk washed off his annoyingly handsome face and was replaced by evident fury as his brows pulled closer and his square jaw tensed. “What did you say?”

For each step Shay-Lee took closer, Diesel took two, until they stood eye to eye.

“I said that if your mother hadn’t been such a whore, she would have saved us the mistake known as you. You little prick.”

“Don’t you dare talk about my mother,” he warned through gritted teeth, which seemed to turn on Diesel even more.

“Or what?” Satisfaction rippled through his voice, but I had to end it.

“Or nothing,” I said as I passed the ball to Shay-Lee, who moved fast enough to catch it. With the attention now on me, I stepped closer. “Whatever your problem with me is, leave my friends out of it.”

“You think I’m scared of you?” He tilted his head back slightly.

“No, but you think that I’m scared of you.” I smiled and tilted my head to copy his gesture, “Just to make it clear, I’m not.”

Despite his mocking smile, his anger didn’t escape me. I also noticed the sort of rage the guy was holding underneath this whole King of the School persona. It wasn’t intimidating but familiar. Intuitively, I stole a glance at Diesel before looking back at Shay-Lee.

“Come on, man, I swear I’m not here to intrude on your kingdom or some shit. So let’s be cool, all right?”

“But you are.” He grabbed my shoulders and leaned forward. I was sure he was about to hit me, but instead, he pressed his lips to my ear, and in a whisper only I could hear, he spoke.

“Stay away from my Miles.” He backed off just a bit, with one hand still squeezing my shoulder. “So be a good boy and listen, okay?” To deepen his superiority, he patted my cheek before walking away with his pack of hyenas.

Clenching my fists, I reminded myself I was better than this, than him. No matter how much money his dad had in the bank, how pretty his face was, or him being the king of the fucking school, no one would tell me what to do and especially who to date.

“Hijueputa.” Diesel spat on the ground where Shay-Lee just stood before turning to face me. “The fuck, Andrei, why didn’t you let me punch the little shit?”

“He’s not worth it.”

“Not worth it? No one has ever deserved a punch more than that Caremonda!” He shoved his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a cigarette while mumbling things involving Shay-Lee’s mom, dog, and, I think, a shoe? Did I mention I am terrible at Spanish?

“For once, I’ll have to agree with Diesel,” Levi said as he threw his leftovers in the nearby trash can. “The guy is a major dick.”

“Yeah.” Jess nodded in agreement. “What does he even want from us?”

Not from us, my sweet Jess, but me. The thought of my brothers being dragged into this mess because of me boiled my blood, but at the same time, the idea of staying away from Miles seemed impossible. And as if my thoughts had summoned him, Miles stepped out from the cafeteria with a water bottle in his hand. It took him a moment to spot me, and as soon as we locked eyes, he started making his way toward me, with a beautiful smile on his sculpted face. Yep, no way in hell I’m staying away.

Miles

My math teacher, Mr. Orlov, wanted to discuss my poor grade on our last test. I wanted to blame it on my lack of time. Between training, competitions, and events, I had very little time to spare for studying, but those were mere excuses. The truth was, I sucked when it came to math. Overall, I wasn’t a bad student. In fact, I was a straight A student in all but math. Something about those numbers makes me see black. So thanks to our conversation, which took longer than needed—because he decided to speak with Jordan, another student—I missed most of my lunchtime. I picked a bottle of water because the food in this place was inedible; you could blame that on the high standards of having a French dad. Taking my water, I decided to sit outside for a bit before my next class began.

The sunlight blinded me, and it took me a few seconds to get used to it. Once I did, I started to scan the yard for a place to sit, when I spotted someone whose face I would like to sit on. Yes, Miles, keep it classy.

Not only did he take the bus and come to watch my 6:00 a.m. practice, but Andrei also stopped to buy us fresh croissants from a cute little French bakery on his way. Could he be any better than that? Only when naked.

He waited until I took a shower, and after we ate the croissants he’d brought, he walked me to my class. I was convinced I was wearing the same goofy smile as I did this morning, but who cared? The guy brought me freshly baked pain au chocolat.

“Hey,” I said in a short breath as I stopped in front of Andrei.

“Hey.” His warm smile welcomed me, and I could stand there and stare into his jade eyes all day. The same mesmerizing feeling that came over me every time I saw him made my heart flutter. Looking at him made me want to be wild and free. I’d never felt this way before, like I could lose my purpose in someone else’s presence. But then again, I’d never really dated.

“Is this a staring contest?” A hoarse voice startled me, shaking me back to reality. I turned to find Jessie leaning close to my side, staring at us with his green eyes wide-open. “I’m the best at them, by the way, so who’s winning?”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. It’s like a cheap rom-com.” That was Diesel, no mistake with his pissed tone. He came to stand beside Andrei, a cigarette in his hand.