Page 18 of Mistaken Prejudice

“A half sister from my dad’s previous marriage.”

“Are you close?”

Before marrying Papa, my dad was married to a woman named Claudia, and they had a daughter together, my half sister, Maya.

“She’s way older than me and grew up with her mom, so we didn’t hang out that much, but now we’re closer. She’s actually getting married in a few months, and I’ll be one of the bridesmaids.”

“Will you wear a dress?” Andrei grinned at me.

“Wouldn’t you want that?” I teased back, leaning closer to him.

“Fuck yeah.” He cupped my face and pulled me closer, softly brushing his lips against mine, then quickly pulling back. His sweet taste of mint lingered on my lips long after the connection was gone.

“What about you? Tell me about your family,” I said in order to distract myself from the raging thoughts involving his mint-flavored lips and my dick.

Stretching his legs and leaning back on the rock, he sighed deeply. “It’s a bit complicated.”

Andrei

I knew this question would come. I wasn’t ashamed to answer it. The truth was, I had the best family one could have asked for, but talking about my family often involved talking about my past. And that I didn’t like.

“How so?” Miles looked at me with empathy and care, making me feel safe enough to tell him my story. Or a part of it.

“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Remember the guys you saw me with? In the cafeteria and later on, in detention?”

Miles nodded. “Yeah, your friends. The pink-haired sunshine, the grumpy doll, and the Fuck Off guy.”

Fuck Off guy? I let out a burst of a laugh. Diesel earned that nickname.

“Yeah, them. By the way, never let Levi hear you calling him a doll,” I said as a side note, just in case, before continuing. “So they’re more like my brothers. I mean, they are my brothers,” I spoke steadily, ensuring this part was clear. “You see, all four of us were fostered by a guy named Chief. We still live with him even though we’re all over eighteen.” I moved my hand through my damp hair. “When I was thirteen, I was sent to juvie for assaulting someone with a baseball bat. Whether that person deserved that or not, it doesn’t matter. I met Chief while I was in juvie. He volunteered as a consultant. As soon as my year there ended, he took me in, knowing I had nowhere to go.” The crashing waves reminded me of those days. I was scared, alone, and angry at the world—so freaking mad at only thirteen years old. And then Chief came along and made me believe in myself and others. I looked from the waves back at Miles, who was observing me with this look—not judging me, but seeing me.

“So yeah, I started living with him, and not long after, he took in the other kids. Each one had his own story, yet we were all connected.” Connected by the future Chief gave us. “He gave us a future.”

Putting his hand on mine, Miles shook his head.

“No.” It was almost a whisper. “He gave you a chance. You’re the one who made it into a future.”

A strange and unfamiliar emotion spread through my body, and I needed to look away because, for a moment, everything felt raw. Miles’s words were a dart to the heart. I swallowed the lump of emotions that formed in my throat and coughed to clear it.

“Yeah,” I stuttered with a faint smile, feeling embarrassedly raw and exposed.

“Chief sounds like an amazing person, and it’s clear that you care a lot about him.” He caressed my back gently. “Thank you for sharing your story with me, Andrei.”

Warmth kept spreading through my body.

“It’s already dark. We should start going back.” I stood up and offered Miles my hand so he wouldn’t slip while doing the same.

“Yeah, sure.” He took my hand, and I held it tight.

Chapter 8

Miles

By the time we returned to my car, the sun had completely set, and we were surrounded by darkness. The sound of the waves was the only thing that betrayed us being by the shore. Climbing into the car and closing the door, I buckled up, while Andrei did the same. We took our phones out of the glove box, and I picked a playlist before putting the phone in its holder. I put the car in gear and was about to reverse when my stomach let out a growl, loud enough to wake the dead. What can I say? I was too excited to eat earlier.

“Someone’s hungry.” Andrei chuckled, and his laugh quickly became one of my new favorite sounds.

“Hell yeah. I know this amazing Thai restaurant downtown. Wanna go?”