Page 93 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Sometimes I do, but sometimes it’s too much.”

“Is anyone giving you a hard time?” I already knew the answer to that.

“You mean more than Diesel?” he joked, and I knew it wasn’t entirely false. Diesel wasn’t kind to him or anyone else lately.

“I’m sorry you guys have to go through all that because of me.”

“Because of you?” he questioned, his cheek pressed against me. “Why would you even think that?”

“Well.” I tucked one arm under my head and looked at the ceiling. “If it weren’t for Miles and me—”

“They would have had different reasons to pick on us.” His words carried in the air like the sound of the waves that broke from the outside. “We’re just too cool for them.”

“You are.” I hugged him tighter. “You’re the coolest. You know that, right?”

“Nah-ah.” He shook his head, rubbing his nose against my skin while doing so. “You’re the coolest. We all think that. Even Chief. If it weren’t for you”—he stopped to yawn like a sleepy kitten—“if it weren’t for you, none of us would have been here.”

His words were the comfort I needed. They didn’t change anything, and I still went to bed feeling like I’d ruined everything, but at least Jess didn’t hate me. And it was good enough to help me fall asleep.

***

Jess was fast asleep and curled into a ball with my blanket when I woke up freezing. Levi often complained Jess was a blanket thief, and I couldn’t say it didn’t make sense that the guy was just as much of a pickpocket in his sleep as he was awake.

After a quick shower, I dragged myself to the kitchen, desperately searching for coffee.

“Good morning.” I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of Miles’s voice. Wait, Miles? I rubbed my eyes to ensure I saw correctly, and yes, I was. Miles was leaning against the kitchen counter, a cup of iced tea he probably bought on his way here in his hand. He was dressed casually, in a pair of white trousers and a button-up. His beautiful hair was on point and his skin as flawless as ever, while his nose had a—

“Septum.” I stepped closer. “You got your nose pierced?”

A smile almost split his face in two as he wrinkled his nose. “Cute, isn’t it?”

“It’s… a septum,” I said again. I knew I sounded dumb, but Miles’s nose had a ring stuck in it.

“Yeah, I know.” He chuckled. “After you left last night, I thought it would be a nice change. I was like, Andrei has a piercing, so why shouldn’t I have one? Of course I didn’t want to do the same one, so I went with a septum.” I did have a nipple piercing. I did it back in tenth grade on a whim and kept it.

“I brought you coffee and muffins.” He cut off my thoughts as he wiggled a cup of coffee and a paper bag in my face.

Taking them from him, I brought the cup to my lips and took a much-needed sip that boosted my caffeine levels to an amount that would allow me to go through this morning.

“Where did you get it?” I pointed at his nose.

“We’re still on about that?” he asked, amused.

“Yeah, I mean. The wedding is this weekend.” His sister’s wedding was this Saturday, and it would be a huge event. Miles was her best man, his outfit and accessories were picked months ago. I highly doubted she’d be happy with his pick of jewelry for his face two days before her wedding.

“So?” The smile slipped from his face, and I could already sense the tension building up between us. The last thing I wanted was for us to fight again, especially before I knew what he was doing here.

“You know what, it’s gorgeous.” I rested my hand on his shoulder. “I like it.”

“You do?” His whole face lit up, and he pressed his palms together. “I knew you would!” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. “Mhmm. Coffee.” He licked his lips and rested his palms on my chest, smiling at me as if nothing had ever happened and he didn’t kick me out of his house last night.

“After it heals, we can buy matching piercings and stuff. Oh, fuck. How about a pearl septum to match the nipple one I bought you? I’m sure I can find one right now.” He pulled out his phone and started typing when I put my hand on the device and lowered it down.

“Miles, about yesterday,” I started saying, but he stopped me.

“I know. I know,” he said casually. “That’s why I’m here. I don’t want us to fight, Andrei. So let’s just forget and move on, all right?”

It wasn’t a question, more of a declaration. I did agree with him. I didn’t want us to fight, but we still needed to talk about how he lashed out at me so quickly. I may have overstepped by asking if he was high on something, but his behavior was what led me to that.