Page 58 of Unexpected Prejudice

Was I willing to let Jordan or my mom get in the way?

Jordan

We lost tonight’s game. Of course, we did, since Shay-Lee wasn’t here, and Chad Tucker took his spot. Saying he was a shitty quarterback would be an understatement. Seriously, I knew football was a team sport and that you shouldn’t put the blame on one player, but how many bad decisions could one dude make in the course of one game?

I was already out of the showers and ready to leave when the other guys crawled back into the locker room. Despite our loss, it was a home game, so the team loved hanging around the field longer, but not me. I was never interested in small talk, especially after today’s failure.

Knowing the twins would try to convince me to come drinking with them, I quickly got out of there. Grabbing my gym bag, I snuck out of the stinky space without anyone noticing. Exhausted, mentally and physically, I made my way to the bus station. Halfway there, I pulled out my phone and dialed the one person I knew could cheer up my shitty mood, even just for a bit.

“Hey, Mom,” I said the moment she picked up.

“Hey, baby, how was the game?” Her voice was warm and comforting, but the tiredness in it was evident. Of course, she was tired. She worked her ass off.

“We lost,” I said.

“Aww, I’m sorry, baby.” Her words were already comforting, but my attention was caught by the music that came from the other side of the line. Was she still at the restaurant?

“Are you still at work?” I asked, checking the time. She was supposed to be at home by now.

“Yeah, baby. Rachel, one of the waitresses, felt sick, so I told her to go home.”

“Mom,” I said, irritated. “You already did three night shifts in a row. And you worked the whole day.” I knew my tone came out harsh, but I was angry. Not with her, never with her, but with my idiotic father, who put her in this situation. Who put us in this situation. Thanks to him being a coward and a liar, my mom had to pull out night shifts in a dirty 24\7 restaurant filled with creeps. Let alone work in a local supermarket and clean houses.

“I know, I know. But I’m not tired, I swear. Besides, Rachel is pregnant. How could I allow her to stay and wipe tables in her situation?”

Knowing my mom was too good of a person, I didn’t even argue. I didn’t think she ever put herself first before someone else.

“How about you treat yourself to something tasty? Some pizza, maybe?” she suggested.

“Nah, I’m not that hungry.”

“Jordan Keller. If you think you’re not going to have a proper meal after a game, you are delusional.”

I chuckled at her threatening “mom” voice. “And a greasy pizza is your definition of a proper meal?” I teased.

“Don’t you—” Before she could finish her sentence, I heard someone shouting, Serena—my mom’s name—and she went quiet for a moment before picking up the phone again. “Oh, baby, I have to go now. Someone spilled tomato sauce all over the floor. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She blew me a kiss through the phone, and I could barely tell her good night before she hung up. Times like this really made me curse my dad. I hoped he got his balls ripped off.

Still hearing noises coming from the football field, I increased my steps. I wasn’t in the mood to speak to anyone, and all I wanted was to get to our motel room and drop on my couch. I was halfway through the empty parking lot when I was blinded by the lights of a car that came to a sudden stop in front of me, almost running me over in the process. Once the lights turned off, I blinked several times until the blindness went away, and once it did, I stared at the white G-wagon parked in front of me.

“What the hell, dude?” I shouted, ready to get feisty with the idiot who almost hit me until saw who it was. “Shay-Lee?”

“Sup, Jordy,” he said with a shit-eating grin on his beautiful face as he leaned over the open door of his Benz.

“Where were you tonight?” I asked almost immediately.

Shay-Lee hadn’t shown up to school or practice since the incident on Monday when that crazy son of a bitch choked him. Coach told us he was sick, and I believed him until now, with Shay-Lee standing in front of me, looking as dazzling as always. Fuck that. Nothing about what he wore was normal. The black army-printed cargo pants he wore sat low on his narrow hips, showing off his defined V, while a dark mesh cropped top, only buttoned to the first knob, showed off his mouth-watering abs. All six of them. His blond hair was pulled into two sloppy braids, and the only part of him that wasn’t perfect was his busted lip.

The man was stunning.

No.

He was perfect, which left me even more confused.

“Coach said you were sick.” I took a step closer and examined his lip, which had a deep cut that wasn’t there on Monday.

He poked his tongue out and licked the bruised slit, and my eyes followed the action. Remembering how sweet and good his lips were, I had to fight back the urge to reach for him and take another taste.