Page 1 of Forgotten Prejudice

Ash

“Be safe,” Mom called after me as I dashed out the front door. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“You bet,” I shouted back, then jumped into the passenger seat of Kai’s Jeep.

“Don’t worry, Mel. I’ll take good care of him,” Kai shot at her.

“That’s what worries me,” Mom joked while waving us goodbye.

“Ready to go?” my best friend of twelve years asked with an easygoing smile glued to his handsome face.

The very same smile that made me realize I was in love with him freshman year of high school. Kai had no idea I was utterly obsessed with him, as I’d kept my attraction for him hidden for the past three years and planned on keeping it that way. For starters, Kai was as straight as they came, with a long history of hot girlfriends, including the one he’d been dating for a while now, Zoe. What was more, we were two months away from finishing junior year and had sweet plans for summer break. Plans I didn’t want to ruin by pointlessly confessing to Kai about the idiotic crush I had on him. Not only would it make things awkward between us, but it would also ruin our senior year. Being the idiots that we were, we planned on making our last year of high school un-fucking-forgettable. I had no idea how yet, but I trusted Kai’s crazy mind to come up with epic shit.

“Mom told me to invite you over for dinner,” I said, then turned on the radio.

“As long as she’s not cooking.” He grinned, showing off those smile lines I adored.

“She’s counting on you to cook, and you know it.” Kai was always the best in the kitchen. “Are you sure Nico’s cool with us tagging along?”

Moving his hand through his dirty-blond wolf cut, Kai nodded. “Yeah, for sure.”

Kai’s cousin Nicolas was in college, and sometimes, he invited us to parties his guys held. Those parties were much better than the ones held by our classmates, and Kai and I always jumped on the offer.

As Kai was racing the Jeep down the street, I suddenly wondered if it was smart to party tonight, considering I had the first shift at the restaurant tomorrow. Rob, the owner, was a strict yet fair man who always scolded us if we arrived at work looking like shit. Unlike Kai, who came from a wealthy family and only worked there because of me, I needed the job. My mom was a single parent, and although we weren’t struggling, my small salary helped.

“When will you stop with that crap?” Kai chuckled after he noticed me biting my nails.

It was a nasty habit I’d picked up years ago.

“What’s on your mind?” he then asked, already knowing I was worried about something.

“I can’t stay too late because I gotta work tomorrow.”

His smile once again grew, and he nodded. “Sure. Zoe will probably want to cut out early anyway. You know she hates parties.”

My heart pinched with jealousy. I stupidly hoped it would be just the two of us tonight, and learning about Zoe joining us was like taking a bite from a bitter fruit.

Hiding my disappointment, I nodded. “Cool.”

“I like your hoodie, Chief,” Zoe said while tracing her fingers over the cotton. “Can I borrow it?”

“Why would you borrow his hoodie?” Kai asked, pulling her onto his lap and away from me. “And when will you stop calling him Chief? It’s Ashy.”

Kai knew I hated being called that, and that was exactly why he kept on doing it.

For years.

Zoe pouted her lips. “Only you call him that! We all know him as Chief.”

The one who’d given me that nickname was my uncle, Aiden, unintentionally causing my friends to pick it up as well. Now, the only one to call me by my name was either Kai or Mom.

“Stop arguing,” I chuckled, cutting off the argument those two were having. “And I can lend it to you if you like it so much,” I added, causing Zoe to clap her hands together and give me a giddy smile.

“You’re the best, Chief.” Jumping from Kai’s lap, Zoe picked up a bottle of vodka from the table. “Let’s get fucked-up!” she yelled, raising her hands in the air. While doing so, she stretched her beautiful body, and her tight minidress rose up to reveal parts of her ass. My good mood turned sour as I watched with jealousy at how Kai’s eyes drank up her curves, probably imagining fucking her later.

Knowing I had to distract myself from those types of thoughts, I snuck away from them the first moment I could and went out to the backyard. The house we were currently in was huge, even bigger than Kai’s, and I wondered what its owners did for a living.

With too much on my mind, I began walking around the property, hoping the party would end soon. I was tired and not in the mood at all after watching Kai and Zoe being the perfect couple that they were. I yearned for the same thing, which was ridiculous, considering how no one even knew I was gay. My sexuality was a secret, mostly because of Kai. As free-spirited as he was, he came from a conservative family. His father was a strict man who, more often than not, stated his opinion about gay people, and let’s say his views weren’t all that nice. Far from it, even. I knew Kai didn’t share his father’s beliefs, as he had no intention of keeping himself for marriage like his father expected him to, but maybe some stuck—such as homosexuality being a sin.