Page 100 of Dissolving Prejudice

Please don’t touch me.

Suddenly, those words echoed in my mind in a chilling voice, and for a moment, it felt like I was in a completely different room. But then, Jordan spoke, and this odd feeling washed away.

“Because I want you to come to New York with me,” he said.

A frown formed on my face. “So what’s the problem? I told you, you can skip the party, and I’ll just join you in the evening.”

“Now you don’t want me there?” he snarled.

From everything that I had just said, this was what he understood? What the fuck?

Shocked, I shrugged him off me. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I gaped and rubbed my arm as deep anxiety went through me.

“He’ll be there, too, right?” His eyes studied me intensely, and it got me even more nervous.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about Diesel,” he snapped, voice low. “He’s going to be there tomorrow, right?”

Yes.

“Maybe, I don’t know.” I attempted to sound as believable as I could, but I doubted he bought it, telling by the scowl on his face. Feeling suffocated, I turned to walk away when he once again grabbed me.

“It’s because of him, right?” Veins strained his rigid neck. “You just want to see him, don’t you? That’s why you want to go there, because of Diesel.”

Stunned by this sudden shift in him, I had no idea what to say. Maybe it was because of the shouting, or simply because I just got caught, I couldn’t do a thing to defend myself and instead stood there with my lips parted. Thankfully, I snapped out of it fast enough.

“What the fuck is your problem? Where is all of this coming from?” My brows pulled close before I released myself from his hold.

Biting his lips, Jordan averted his eyes away from me. He stayed silent, and I wondered what was going on inside his head because at the moment, he seemed so unstable. But hey, I was the only one to be blamed for it. I’m the screwup, right?

“If it isn’t true, then skip the party and come with me,” he said, his eyes back on me. Only there was no love in them, just suspicion and hurt.

Holding his stare, because I didn’t want to ignore his pain as I had so many times before, I allowed his question to sink in for a few seconds before answering it with a simple—

“No.”

I decided to be selfish.

I decided to be selfish because my love for Camilo was bigger than my conscience, and I did, in fact, want to see him at the party tomorrow. I wanted to see him so badly that even now, in the midst of this awfully tense atmosphere, I considered pulling out my phone and calling him just to hear his voice.

Jordan’s eyes widened with what I assumed was shock.

“Shay-Lee,” he pleaded my name, but his prayers fell on deaf ears.

“My answer is final.” I turned my back to him. “Do whatever you want with it,” I said and began walking toward our shower because, shit, I wanted to lock myself away from him.

Anxiety trickled through me with fear that Jordan might already know about Camilo and me, and my heart was going faster by the minute. And even though I wanted to break up with Jordan, I didn’t plan to tell him I cheated. In my head, we’d break up, and after some time had passed, Camilo and I would be together. Was it foolish of me to believe such a thing could happen? Maybe, most definitely yes, but it no longer mattered. Not with how I could still feel Jordan’s stare burning a hole through my back.

I thought of just telling him the truth and be done with it, but was quick to dismiss the idea since it was risky. Wait, what? Risky? Why would I even think that? Yet, before I could dive deeper into this nonsense—considering how Jordan wasn’t capable of hurting a fly—he spoke again, and his words caught me off guard.

“Dylan told me that you might be hiding something away from me, and now I’m beginning to think he might be right.”

Did he just say… “Dylan?” I hissed his name while slowly turning to face Jordan, my eyes narrowed. “What the hell does he have to do with us?”

Jordan’s expression hardened. “I like talking to him, and unlike you, he actually listens to me.”

Not knowing where all this was coming from and honestly too tired to care, I raised my hands up. “Okay, wow.”