Page 30 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Oh my God,” Jessie squealed with his eyes wide-open as we entered the driveway to Ty’s house.

“Ugh, get off me!” Diesel barked at Jessie, who was plastered to him in his attempt to get a better look through the window.

“Stop pushing me!”

“Stop rubbing your dick over me. For god’s sake, there’s a window on the other side!”

“But this side has a better view. Oh fuck, is that a lake?”

Holding back a laugh, I parked my car in the first available spot I found. The place was already packed with cars and people coming out of them. It wasn’t a big surprise considering it was the first party of the year, combined with the celebration of our football team winning their first game for the season. As soon as I turned the engine off, Jessie practically jumped out of the car.

“What an idiot,” Diesel mumbled as Jessie stumbled, but then quickly helped him to stand up by grabbing his arm.

By the time I was out of the car myself, the guys had already vanished into the crowd and I was left alone with Andrei. At last.

As we made our way to the main entrance, I took the opportunity to appreciate how hot Andrei looked tonight. Scrap that. Andrei always looked hot, but the white jeans he wore combined with the white tank top he chose? It was unfair. His golden skin looked delicious against the white clothes, and with each move he made, the thin fabric of his shirt clung to his stiff muscles and showed how defined his body was.

We were hit by a wave of smoke, sweat, and music when we stepped into the fully packed house. Ty was known for the wild parties he threw, so I wasn’t surprised to see unfamiliar faces all over. Kids from neighborhood schools always found their way into our parties. I didn’t spare much time scanning the room. Why would I when the one holding my attention just offered me a beer?

“Thanks.” I reached to take the bottle from Andrei’s hand, when I noticed the cap was still on. Silly me was about to look for a bottle opener when Andrei lifted the bottle and pressed it to the side of his mouth and angled the cap to his teeth. Despite the loud music, I didn’t miss the cap’s quick click right before it popped.

“That’s impressive.” I grinned as I grabbed the now open bottle and took a deep gulp from the bitter drink. Ugh, I prefer champagne. My clear dislike for the beverage was probably apparent on my face because Andrei chuckled.

“You don’t like beer?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“You looked like a sad little Zaychik.”

A shiver went down my body at the sound of the accent rolling on his tongue. “I’m sorry, what?” I almost gasped, trying to hide my arousal.

“Zaychik, it means little rabbit in Russian. You know, a bunny,” he explained.

“First of all, aww, that’s cute. Second, and more importantly, you can speak Russian?”

“Da.” The short word was escorted by his pretty boy smile and two dimples.

“That’s hot,” I blurted out awkwardly.

He took a step closer and grabbed the beer I was holding. “Lucky me,” he murmured before he brought the bottle to his lustful lips and took a deep swallow. My eyes hungrily watched him as his Adam’s apple bobbed, and I licked my lips, suddenly thirsty to taste beer again. My wish was heard because the next moment, Andrei leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. A kiss that started gently, had quickly heated up as I opened my mouth for him. The bitter drink tasted sweet on his lips, and I wanted more. His firm hand on my jaw made me moan into his mouth. Wishing to be closer, I leaned forward and moved my hands to rest on his chest. I would have gone further than that, when a sudden scream took us both by surprise, bursting our little bubble. We stopped our kiss and turned to look outside, where a girl was thrown into the pool. She was fully clothed, and the guy who threw her in the water was laughing.

“This house is wicked,” Andrei suddenly said, his eyes scanning the space that looked big even with all the people in it. Ty’s parents were architects, and their house looked accordingly, with the high exposed ceilings, the metal windows overlooking the yard, and the unique structure of the staircase. Their home was a cross between a construction site and a museum but in a good, artistic kind of way.

“Come, I’ll show you around.” I grabbed his hand and started to make my way between my drunk classmates. Before getting outside to the pool area, each of us grabbed a cup of something from one of the drinks tables, and a small sip confirmed it was vodka mixed with some juice. Blueberry, maybe? I still preferred champagne, but it wasn’t as bad as the beer. Even though I drove here, I didn’t care about drinking. I could always call Fabian, my driver, to pick us up later. I almost never went to parties, so my parents weren’t happy about me suddenly wanting to go. I convinced them by promising that I wouldn’t drink. A promise I broke again just a moment ago, when Andrei offered me a shot and I took it.

“Miles!” a giggly voice yelled my name, and I turned around just in time to catch Margot, who threw herself at me. I lifted her curvy body and gave her a quick spin before putting her back on the ground. She took a moment to get her sandy-blond hair back into her iconic straight bob before she fluttered her long eyelashes and looked at me with her joyful honey eyes. Margot moved here from New York three years ago. She was funny and bubbly and thanks to her also being an equestrian, we quickly became friends.

“I was wondering if you’d come,” she started saying, when her eyes wandered to Andrei. “Oh! Where are my manners?” She laughed before offering him her hand. “Margot Smith. Nice to meet you.”

“Andrei,” he said as he took her small hand in his and shook it.

“Margot is a very talented rider and a good friend.” I filled in the missing information.

“A good friend whom you didn’t bother to text since school started!” She nudged my shoulder.

“Should I remind you that it was you who’s been in Europe and only got back yesterday?”

Margot pretended not to hear me as she snatched the cup I was holding and took a sip.