Page 76 of Unexpected Prejudice

The Beverly Hills street was decorated with pumpkins and bats and was crammed full of people. Each massive house we passed on our way to the party was filled with different types of decorations. Although I was used to seeing the city dressed for the holiday, I wasn’t used to seeing how the rich did it. Everything was so excessive and over the top; it was ridiculous and made me think about all the money being wasted, and for what? If only people invested half of what they had here on meaningful things, such as centers helping at-risk kids, homeless shelters, or developing struggling neighborhoods, the world would be a better place.

Putting those thoughts aside, I glanced at Jessie who was busy fixing his white apron. He looked awfully sexy dressed in his maid’s costume. His tall, lean frame looked divine in the black dress, thigh-high stockings, and that cute white headband with cat ears. He’d made a real effort and spent hours online searching for the pieces that made our costumes. While he was a maid, I was a butler, and despite how much I didn’t like dressing up, I appreciated the vintage three-piece suit he got me, and I had to admit, we looked cool together.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Fuck yeah. Let’s go.” He reached for my hand and led the way toward the party. Five minutes later, we arrived where the action was and walked through a path marked with tombstones and zombies that led toward a huge house. I was still not used to the size of the houses around here. When there was a party from our old school, it was usually in a cramped apartment. Here it was a freaking production. Hollywood wouldn’t be ashamed to use this yard as a setting for their next horror movie.

“Holy shit, look at this place,” Jessie gasped as he looked around, taking in the horrors and charms. “I can’t wait to see what they did inside,” he said as he started to run toward the front door, almost bumping people on the way. I was at the door when someone pushed by us and walked inside before we could. Putting aside that he’d almost shoved me to the ground, I was more focused on his costume. An orange jumpsuit—an inmate. That was an unfortunate coincidence.

“You okay?” Jessie asked after he noticed that guy bumping into me.

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get inside.”

The moment we stepped in, the size of our mistake occurred to me.

“Wait…” Jessie stopped at once. The same realization that just hit me struck him with the same force. “This looks like a—”

“Prison.”

The inside of the mansion was decorated with metal bars, ghosted cells and skeletons dressed in striped jumpsuits. And that was only the entrance.

“Well, they did a shitty job of capturing it. Juvie looked nothing like this.” Jessie gave me a lopsided grin and fixed his headwear to sit better on his platinum hair. “Let’s start partying.”

I wanted to say no and tell him we better go home, but I didn’t have the heart, not wanting to be a buzz-kill boyfriend on top of being a liar. So, instead, I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, let’s.”

After dancing while taking shots and drinking a few beers, we went outside to find somewhere to sit.

Despite my worries, everything had been good so far. I didn’t appreciate the football team dressing up like a bunch of inmates with those ridiculous orange jumpsuits, but I guess that was the point. It bothered me more at the beginning of the party, but after I had enough to drink? I didn’t care as much.

“Hey there, gorgeous!” said Margot, Miles’s friend, as she came to join us on the couch near the swimming pool. Miles introduced her to us during lunch break a while back, and she and Jessie had hit off immediately.

She wore a nurse costume, with a tight little pink dress that captured her curves perfectly and red fishnet stockings the same color as her high stilettos. Her blonde hair was set loose, and her makeup was on point.

“Yo! Look at you,” Jessie simpered and got up so he could hug her. “So gorgeous,” he said, lifting her in the air and spinning around.

“Like you’re the one to talk.” She giggled as he let her down and gave him a once-over. “You look better than I do in a dress.”

“Well, I do look wonderful.” Jessie fluttered his eyelashes before the two slumped down on the bench.

“You came alone, huh?” She darted her eyes between us.

“Yep, Andrei preferred to stay home, and Miles—”

“Is attached to his hip,” Margot finished my sentence, and we all laughed because it was the truth.

“God, I never met such a clingy couple before. They legit can’t stay away from each other.”

“I know, right?” I chuckled. “And their annoying PDA thing?”

Margot pushed back from the couch and looked at me. “I know, right?” She laughed, “Last week in the cafeteria—”

“When they had to share that chocolate cake?” Now, I was the one to finish her sentence because that scene was ridiculous. They fed each other cake while we all sat at lunch together. It was as if we weren’t even there. Diesel looked genuinely disturbed while Jessie tried to convince me to do the same with a forkful of cake.

“Oh, my god, it was hilarious.”

“I thought it was cute,” Jessie protested.

“They are way too lovey-dovey for my cynical ass to process all that rom-com shit they’ve got going on twenty-four seven,” she laughed.