Page 74 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Holy shit.” I breathed heavily as Shay-Lee rolled off my lap and slumped his ass on the car seat beside me.

“I take it I did good?” He smirked and pushed his blond hair away from his perfect face.

I snorted. “Did good? You’re like a fucking professional.”

“Should I be offended?”

Should he? He just rode me in the back seat of his G-Wagon in the middle of my motel parking lot and made me come faster than I ever had.

“Absolutely not.” I turned in my seat so I could give him a quick kiss before I took off the used condom and tied it up to toss later.

We’d got into this position after he tried to cheer me up. I was kind of down since our football team lost its final game of the season. I knew the chances of us winning the state championship were low, but it didn’t make losing feel any better. Apparently, Shay-Lee had taken our loss a lot better than I had.

To be honest, things had been pretty good between us for the last three weeks. Since the night Shay-Lee confessed to being behind Andrei’s ambush, our odd relationship only became tighter. Of course, I had kept my mouth shut, and we’d acted like nothing had ever happened. I hadn’t questioned him about what he had or hadn’t done, and in return, he continued to make me feel like he actually cared about me. We spent more time together and had tons of sex. Even though he’d made it more than clear that whatever was going on between us was casual, Shay-Lee still made me feel like I was special. Ever since I started whatever this was with him, I was happy. Genuinely and stupidly happy.

After months of constantly feeling like I was buried alive under the pressure of my father’s life mistakes, I could finally say I was happy. Sure, I still worked whenever I could and almost always worried about my mom, but Shay-Lee kept helping me with my debt. Ever since that time Mike beat the shit out of me in our motel parking lot, I hadn’t missed a payment, and as shitty as the situation was, I had it all under control.

Did taking Shay-Lee’s money make me proud? Absolutely not. But I had no other option. I sort of repaid him by stalking Jess and Levi, but lately, even that stopped. Shay-Lee generally seemed less interested in them, or at least, he tried to hide his interest in their group away from me. I wanted to believe it was because he was developing real feelings for me.

“So, what do you say? Should I pick you up at ten?” he asked as he tucked himself back into his boxers and pulled up his gym shorts.

Today was Halloween, and like every year, the football team held a massive party to celebrate the holiday. While the team pretended to care about the holiday, the main reason behind the party was to get drunk and get chicks. At first, Ty was supposed to host it, but after the mess Shay-Lee and Diesel caused at the back-to-school party, his folks grounded his ass. Hence, tonight’s party was taking place at the twins’ mansion.

“Yeah, works for me.”

“Maybe I should pick you up a bit earlier,” he murmured as he leaned closer and moved his hand over my chest. “I really want to see you in that costume we bought.”

It was a tradition for the whole team to dress the same, and this year, we all voted on a prisoners theme, which had been the twins’ idea. Did it have anything to do with the new kids and their criminal record? Probably. I didn’t like it, but I had no plan to go against it.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it a little. “We’ll have all night for that.”

He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. “You’re right. After all, I reserved us a gorgeous suite for later.”

I looked at him, surprised. “Seriously?”

He grinned. “Fuck, yeah. I planned on letting my sexy inmate corrupt me all night, but my dad’s gonna be home, so I just got us a suite. What’s the matter? You don’t want to spend the night with me?”

“Of course I do!” I answered so quickly that I almost choked—a reaction that happened to me way too often whenever he was involved.

“Good.”

I moved to get out of the car. “Are you sure those aren’t see-through?” I pointed back at the windows.

“Yes, for the millionth time. They are one hundred percent tinted.” He chuckled and leaned forward. I thought he was about to kiss me, but he pushed the car door open instead. “Now, go. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I climbed out of the car, but I had to get that under control. If I went inside looking like a love-sick puppy, my mom would question the hell out of me.

I really wanted to tell her about Shay-Lee and me, and about what we had been sharing. But if I did, it would make this thing between us real, and he may not like that. I also didn’t want to finally come out to her just for a guy.

“Yeah, see you soon,” I shot back before he hopped to the driver’s seat, and I closed the door behind me.

It was past midnight when I walked into the packed party all alone.

Shay-Lee said he’d pick me up at ten tonight, so when ten thirty came and went, I assumed he was running a little late. When the clock turned eleven, and there was still no sign from him, I thought something had come up, so I tried reaching him again. When none of my texts and calls were answered, sitting alone in my motel while wearing an orange inmate costume seemed too damn depressing, so I’d decided to come here by myself.

The twins’ house was hardly recognizable. While the yard was turned into a creepy graveyard filled with zombie puppets, green jack-o’-lanterns with smoke coming out of their eyes and mouths, and hanging skulls, the inside of the house was turned into a haunted prison. It was fucking scary.

The party was as busy as expected, and I tried to search for Shay-Lee between the hundreds of drunk teens. It turned out to be a difficult task, especially with everyone dressed up. I pulled out my phone and tried to call him again, only to be sent straight to voicemail. I was starting to get worried when someone grabbed my shoulder, and I turned around to find Ty.