Page 28 of Unexpected Prejudice

I headed down a path to the backyard as I continued to think about my encounter with Laura. Perhaps I should learn from her and get some courage to ask Shay-Lee out. Now that Chloe was out of the picture, what was the worst that could happen? I knew for a fact he wasn’t homophobic, considering he was best friends with Miles. Their relationship also made me suspect that Shay-Lee might not be one hundred percent straight, either. He had girlfriends before, including the one who just broke up with him, but that didn’t necessarily prove he wasn’t into dudes, either. He did mention I was hot and said my new haircut looked good.

“Yo! Jordylicious.” A familiar voice chuckled, and I squinted my eyes to get a better picture of the couple spread on one of the patio benches. Levi was sitting with his hand behind the rail while Jess was lying down with his head resting on Levi’s lap and a cigarette between his fingers. No. Not a cigarette—a blunt.

“What are you doing wandering all alone, you fine-looking snack?” Jess asked, his voice tangled with amusement. “Oh, shit, was that a bit much?” He looked up at Levi, who took the blunt from him and brought it to his lips.

“Just a bit.” I chuckled. “Are you high?”

“Just a bit.” Jess winked then proceeded to steal the joint from Levi, who was busy blowing the smoke out in rings.

Once I sat on the empty chair in front of them, Jess offered me the joint.

I made myself comfortable on the chair and shook my head. “No thanks, I don’t do drugs.”

Jess snorted. “Drugs? It isn’t drugs. It’s weed.”

“Well, Kotik, weed is still a drug.” Levi’s voice wasn’t accompanied by giggling as Jess’s was, yet he sounded calmer and more laid-back than usual.

I suddenly realized this was an opportunity to learn more about them. Levi’s walls seemed to be down thanks to the high, and Jess… Well, did he even have any walls?

“So, how’s the party so far?”

“Meh.”

“Meh?”

Jess waved his hand in the air. “Yeah, we’ve been to better parties.”

“At your old school?”

“You bet,” he said, then took a deep inhale from the blunt, but instead of exhaling, he grabbed the back of Levi’s head and pulled him down until their mouths bashed together in a shotgun kiss. The act was hot, and my dick took notice as I watched the smoke slipping between their lips. Once done, they returned to their previous position, with Levi smoking the joint and Jess humming some songs.

“How long have you known each other?”

Jess turned to look at me. “Eight years. It will be nine next summer.”

Eight years was a lot, but I’d been positive they must have known each other their entire lives.

“And you’ve been together for?”

“We started dating a year after we got out of Juvie.” Jess’s eyes closed as Levi’s fingers softly moved through his pink hair.

“Juvie?” So, what Shay-Lee said about them having a criminal record was true. “Like, juvenile detention center?”

“Yeah.” Opening his eyes, Jess looked up at Levi. “Are you cold?”

“Not at all, Kotik.”

“Good.” He then looked back at me. “Yeah, exactly that. We were there for six months before Chief took us in.”

“Chief?” Was he talking about a person?

“Yeah, Chief. Our older brother. He isn’t really our brother, but it feels like that. Levi, Andrei, Diesel, and I all live with him. Wait, have you even met Diesel?”

I shook my head. “Not really, no. But I’ve seen him around school. Tall, gloomy, a bit scary?”

Jess chuckled, and even Levi snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, that’s him. He isn’t scary, though.” Jess stopped to rethink his words. “Okay, he is scary. But not always.”