Page 4 of Mistaken Prejudice

He took my hand and I appreciated how soft his skin felt.

“Miles Williams Dufort,” he replied, still not letting go of my hand. Well, ain’t that a fancy name.

We stood there for a while without saying a word, and when he finally released my hand, I had the strange urge to reach forward and pull him back to me.

“Senior?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Me too.” He smiled. “Welcome to BH.”

“So we’re still at Bay High?” I asked, pretending to look around. “Well, I guess stables are a necessity in a rich kids’ school. Aren’t they?”

“Of course they are. How else would we arrive at school if not for our Arabian Horses?”

“Maybe with one of those sports cars parked outside.”

“Well, where’s the fun in that?”

A smile split my face, and I wasn’t shy about it; I knew I was handsome. I had a long list of people who’d vouch for that, but something about Miles made me feel all sorts of clumsy.

“I was about to put Blanc back in his stables when he decided to go this way…”

As he spoke, Blanc moved closer to me, sniffing my bag. It was then I remembered the goddamn sandwich. I opened my backpack and took out the smelly bread, then offered the two of them an apologetic smile.

“…So that’s why.” Miles raised a knowing eyebrow as if he was blaming the horse for wanting an egg salad sandwich for lunch.

“Anyway, I was about to put Blanc back in his stall and head to the cafeteria. If you don’t mind waiting, maybe we can go together?”

Don’t mind waiting? Please, I’d jump off a plane if he asked me, and fuck, all I knew was his name and that his ass looked criminally good in riding pants.

“Yeah, sounds good. I’m starving.”

We exchanged smiles, and then I awkwardly followed him to the stables. Not caring about being late for my next class, I watched him as he untacked Blanc and checked his stall for food and fresh water.

“So horse riding is popular at BH?” I asked as soon as we started making our way back.

“Yeah, equestrianism is popular around here. Well, not as much as football and basketball, but it’s popular enough for the school to have stables. There’s also a swimming pool, a gym, a theater and well… a football field. I can show you around if you want.” He looked straight into my eyes while offering to be my private tour guide, and one needed to be a fool to refuse eyes like his.

“Yeah, sure, I would love that,” I shot right back, almost choking on my own tongue. Smooth, Andrei, so fucking smooth.

“So, do you like sports as well? You look like you enjoy some sort of athletics.” He smirked, and I loved how flirtatious he was.

The guy is shameless. “I surf and jog.”

“Surfing in LA? Who would believe that? Are you also an aspiring actor?”

“Aren’t you a clown?” I faked a laugh. “But yeah, I live by the beach, and we own a surf club, so when I’m not at school or working, I surf.”

“We?”

I didn’t get to answer his question because it was just then that we arrived at the cafeteria, and my attention was caught by the gathering of people around one of the tables. My people, among several others.

“Fuck.”

In the middle of the busy room, surrounded by a bunch of guys, Diesel, Jess, and Levi were standing. By the look on Diesel’s face, I knew better than to wait and quickly made my way into the circle.

“For the last time, I’m telling you to take your shit and fuck off.”