Page 124 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Hopefully, Diesel,” Margot mumbled, not very quietly, and I had to shake my head. The girl was determined when it came to hot guys.

Not that I’m saying Diesel is hot. Eww. Never. Okay, maybe he is.

“It’s probably Jordan!” Jessie jumped from his seat and ran toward the door.

“Jordan?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I told you they are friends now,” Andrei answered casually, still busy with his plate. It was adorable how much the guy loved his food.

Levi didn’t seem happy with his boyfriend’s reaction. His irritation was visible on his face, which said a lot considering his usual poker face. I liked Jordan. Especially after I found out he was no longer a part of Shay-Lee’s gang.

“The house is epic. Right? I mean, they have a tree inside their hallway!” I heard Jessie’s voice floating through the open space a few moments before he came back with Jordan by his side.

Jordan, much like Levi, wasn’t a man of many words. I assumed Jessie had some sort of a spell over the introvert type.

“Jordy!” Margot got up and greeted him with a tight hug. “My handsome boy. How are you, baby?”

“Good.” He let go of her and gave her a shy smile before he turned to look at me, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thank you for inviting me. Eh, how are you feeling?”

He was a big guy. Tall, with wide shoulders, a ripped body, and a face gods would fight over, and yet, he was so shy and awkward around people. I wondered why.

“I’m doing much better. Thank you for coming.” I waited for him to sit down before I offered him a plate. “We’ve already begun eating, but help yourself with whatever.”

He hummed a quiet “thank you” before taking the plate from me and loading it with food.

“Jordy, you’re taking biology class. Right?” Margot asked, leaning on her elbows.

“Yeah.”

Margot waited for a bit and when Jordan didn’t volunteer any more information, she asked, “So did you know Laura?”

Laura Myres. She was a student in Beverly Bay until she committed suicide last month. I never knew her, but I felt for her more than anyone else. At least, I thought I did.

Andrei told me the little he knew about her after I promised him it wouldn’t trigger me or anything. It was a little bit annoying to be treated with kid gloves. But I couldn’t be mad at him. He was doing his best. And I was grateful.

“I didn’t,” he said quietly, not looking at any of us.

“Mhmm, I see.” Margot sighed. “What a shame. I heard she was a nice girl.”

“Did she also swallow pills?” Jessie asked, only to get a nasty look from Andrei. “Oh, shit. I didn’t mean anything,” he apologized, his eyes on me. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I assured him, “I swear.”

“Still, I’m sorry. I know I have a big mouth,” he mumbled, and I watched as Jordy finally looked up from his plate and bumped his shoulder with Jessie’s.

“You don’t have a big mouth,” Jordy said in that deep voice of his, making Jessie chuckle.

Weird.

“Where are you going?” Andrei asked as Levi suddenly got up from the table.

“To smoke.”

“Wait, I’ll join you.” Jessie jumped up after him and ran outside.

Whatever was going on there smelled like a mess. As far as I knew, Jessie and Levi were together. Only that, from the looks of it, they were having some trouble in paradise. Good-looking, ocean eyes trouble named Jordan.

At some point after lunch, we moved to sit in the living room. I made everyone iced tea, of course I did, and we chatted about everything and nothing while they helped me catch up with some hot gossip and asked me some questions, which I gladly answered.