Page 57 of Forgotten Prejudice

“H-Hey,” Ash muttered, making it the first time I’d heard his voice in over four years.

My heart skipped a beat, and I jumped to my feet, almost stumbling while rounding the couch to stand in front of him.

“Hey.”

Kai

I’d hoped to see Ash again and assumed it would happen eventually, now that I’d moved into Aiden’s house. Yet, I didn’t expect it to happen on my first day here.

There we were, me looking like an idiot wearing a pair of dirty joggers that had seen better days and Ash looking as dazzling as you could imagine, standing in front of each other without saying a word.

Fuck. Ash looked exactly as I remembered and, at the same time, not. He’d matured, but it had more to do with his clothes and hairstyle than his beautiful face. He was dressed like a member of my dad’s golf club, with tailored shorts, a polo, and loafers. When did he ever wear loafers? His brown hair, which he’d never put any effort into and just kept it short, was now longer and styled with not a single hair out of place.

But as soon as his initial shock melted and a small, bashful smile crept onto his plump lips, I saw the guy who always wore the ripped jeans he had bought in a secondhand shop by the beach and who didn’t care if he walked an entire day with sand in his hair. The guy, I realized a little too late, I was in love with.

“What were you just doing?” Ash asked, breaking the awkward silence we fell into.

Moving my hand through my long hair, I offered him an awkward smile. “Took a selfie.”

“Of your…” His eyes darted to the waistband of my sweats, which still hung low enough for a bit of my pubes to peek from underneath.

“Well, you know how it is nowadays with all those dating apps.” I laughed, but it died slowly as Ash kept quiet.

“I don’t know, actually… Never used one.” He looked at the floor.

“That’s right. You’ve been in a relationship for… how long now?”

“Five years.”

Fuck. That was a long fucking time to be with the same person.

“That’s nice.” I stretched my neck and scratched my chin. “So things between you two are good?”

Ash’s eyes looked everywhere but at me when he muttered a low yes that could hardly be heard. He was always a quiet guy, even more so when he stood next to me, so I didn’t dive too deep into why he seemed so awkward. It was probably because of me. After all, we hadn’t seen each other for years.

“So, what did you come for?” I tried to get us talking again. It was better than continuing to stand in silence like two strangers at a bus stop.

“Aiden said he bought Pacha a collar. I came to pick it up.”

“Pacha?”

“Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck, the same way his uncle often did. “Pacha’s my dog. A pit bull.”

“That’s cool. You always wanted a dog, right?”

He nodded, and I noticed how he was still avoiding my eyes. It was a shame because I loved his eyes, but I didn’t want to push him or anything.

“Anyway, Aiden went camping for a few nights.” I turned around and grabbed my shirt from the couch. “But let’s check, maybe he left it in the kitchen? He told me all kinds of things before leaving, but I was distracted by the TV.”

“Were you watching The Bachelor?”

I stopped before putting on my shirt and side-eyed him.

“It’s a great show.”

“Yeah, sure.” He chuckled. “You always had lousy taste.”

I’d loved that show since we were kids because it was fucking awesome. Ash, who couldn’t see the point in that masterpiece, loved teasing me over it. But at least teasing me made him look at me again, and now that our eyes met, I kept admiring how sexy he was.