Page 33 of Unexpected Prejudice

“No one,” he said, flipping onto his side and shoving his arm beneath the pillow.

“Okay, well… I’ll go shower,” I mumbled, feeling incredibly awkward. What was I supposed to do or say after the straight guy I was crushing over gave me a mind-blowing blowjob?

“Sure,” he said casually, turning the TV back on.

I grabbed a new pair of boxers and some sweats to sleep in.

“Oh, Jordan,” he said, stopping me midway to the bathroom.

“Yeah?”

“I saw you talking with those kids at the party. Did they tell you anything?”

I thought back to my conversation with Jess and Levi earlier this evening. How sweet and funny Jess was and how attentive and perceptive Levi was. I barely knew them, so why did I care so much?

“Jordy?” Shay-Lee asked again and looked at me with his big, angelic eyes that made me weak in the knees.

“They said Andrei spent a year in Juvie for beating a guy with a baseball bat.” I crossed my arms over my chest, uncomfortable sharing someone else’s secret. “Their whole group was sort of adopted by a guy named Chief. I’m not sure about that part.”

Shay-Lee pursed his lips. “I see.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“That Diesel guy? I would keep my distance. He sounds dangerous.”

Shay-Lee snorted. “It’s me who they should be afraid of, Jordan, not the other way around.”

Levi

“Dinner will be ready in five,” Jessie said, popping his head through the open door.

“Okay.” I put down the books I was holding. “I’ll just finish tidying our room and come downstairs.”

“Okie-dokie.” Jessie beamed and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Every Saturday, we had a tradition of eating together as a family, which was mandatory. I made it sound so official, but the truth was, we all enjoyed it. It was our chance to catch up, talk, and laugh—a way to feel like an actual family. Initially, it was hard for me to get used to because it reminded me of dinners with Dad and how much I missed him, but over the years, I’d learned to enjoy it.

Jessie was cooking with Chief tonight; if I wasn’t mistaken, fish tacos with fries and guacamole were on the menu. Of course, there would also be a vegan option for Diesel, who for sure, would say it tasted bad. No matter what we cooked, or how much we tried, he always complained. It was funny, how a guy like him could be so spoiled when it came to food.

After the way things had blown up between Diesel and Andrei, this dinner would do us good. Diesel had acted like a jerk at the party, which was nothing new, but Andrei had crossed the line by punching him. It had taken us all by surprise because Andrei had never been the type to throw the first punch at anyone, let alone his best friend. They were inseparable. Completely unshakable until last night.

I was putting some stray socks and boxers in our laundry basket and tossing empty cans of soda into the garbage when my phone chimed. I picked it up from the bed where I’d left it and saw I had one new text message.

Mom: Привет, лапочка. Как дела?

Hey, Lapochka. How are you?

My heart started racing, and my stomach twisted. I hadn’t heard from my mom for nearly two years. Why now? What did she want? The last time we spoke, her second husband, the one she left my dad for, had wanted me to join them for dinner. I’d planned on going and almost did, but as I arrived at their new fancy house, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of the car. I stayed inside Chief’s truck and watched my mom’s new family through their living room window. I knew her new husband had children from his previous marriage, but when I saw my mother hug her stepchildren the way she never hugged me, I asked Chief to drive away. It was too much.

It was the first time I truly felt abandoned by her. Until that evening, I used to tell myself she left because family life wasn’t for her. I imagined she was a lousy mother not just to me but to her new kids as well. But seeing her made me realize that it was just me who wasn’t for her all along.

I almost jumped out of my skin when someone poked the side of my stomach, and I turned to find Jessie right behind me.

“Are you coming?” he asked, looking at me with a big smile and his adorable mischievous eyes.

I tossed my phone back on the bed and nodded. “Yeah.”