Page 83 of Forgotten Prejudice

I slowly watched how the joy washed away from his face as memories sucked him in, and the mood at the table shifted. It frustrated me that no matter what Ash did, somehow, it always returned to Soren. I knew it had only been a few weeks, but a part of me hoped that Ash coming here tonight was a sign. A sign that he was beginning to let go.

The mere mention of Soren’s name pissed me off beyond words, and if only I could have erased the fucker’s name from Ash’s memory. But life didn’t work that way, and if I wanted him to get over the prick, I had to work for it. Good thing I already had an idea.

Standing up, I offered Ash a hand. “Come,” I said, watching the confusion form in his eyes.

“Where to?”

“You’ll see.”

He took my hand and slowly got up. “B-But what about your work?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Of course he worried about it, and when we stopped in front of my bike, he shook his head.

“It’s too dangerous. You know I don’t like motorcycles.” He handed me the helmet I’d just given him, but I refused to take it back.

“When we were sixteen, I recall you being obsessed with a gorgeous Harley so much that you pinned its photo above your bed.” I pushed the helmet back at him.

“Well, I’m no longer sixteen.”

“Well aware of that.” I grinned, giving him a once-over. “And thank fuck ’cause you’re way sexier now.”

Ash’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something before closing it and swallowing hard.

With a chuckle, I climbed onto my bike.

“What about my car?” he asked.

“We’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

“But—”

“Come on, Ashy, live a little,” I cut in. “Life’s too fucking short.”

Locking eyes with me, Ash then took a deep breath and put his helmet on. “Just don’t drive too fast. Okay?” he asked after climbing behind me and hugging his arms around my waist.

I kicked the gas, and the bike roared to life. Ash immediately hugged me tighter, and I smirked.

“You bet, Ashy.”

Ash

“You can open your eyes now. We’re here,” Kai said, not trying to hold back the amusement in his voice.

“You said you’d ride slow,” I grunted and hit his back before getting off the bike, my legs shaking with how frightened I’d been for the last forty-five minutes.

“I did ride slow,” Kai protested, laughing.

Ready to hit him again, I suddenly noticed where he’d taken us. “This is—”

“Our place.”

Getting off his bike, Kai moved to stand beside me. Now, we were both looking at the beach where we used to spend days and nights. Memories flooded me at once: hours of paddling in the water and catching the most epic waves, campfires, nights of looking at the stars, and days bathing in the sun. The days before the drama and pain. Days that were pure fun, where fifteen-year-old Ash followed fifteen-year-old Kai without a single worry on his mind.

“Let’s go for a swim,” Kai said, jolting me out of my head.

“Now? But it’s dark.”