Page 32 of Dissolving Prejudice

“Shay-Lee, wait.” Stretching my hand forward, I grabbed his arm, only for him to turn around and snap out of my hold.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” he yelled, his face red.

No one was currently around us, which was good, considering the situation.

Taking a step back to give him room, I held up my hands. “Okay, okay. I’m not touching you,” I said and watched him tensing like a scared little cat. After we both took a short breath to calm down, I spoke again. “Why are you so angry?”

“Why?” His eyes narrowed. “You’re actually asking me why?”

“Yes.” I took a step closer while he didn’t move. “It was just a question.”

“About him!” he yelled, pushing my chest. “You have no right asking about him. About me. About what we had.”

What they had? I frowned at his pick of words because he almost made it sound as if his father was some saint who died tragically.

“What are you saying?” I hissed, still unable to understand his rage.

He gave me a frosty look. “That you’re not allowed to bring him up.”

The way his eyes glistened with tears fucked me up because it looked like—

“It almost sounds like you miss him.”

His face took the form of shock before his brows pulled into a deep frown.

“What if I do? Would you judge me for that?” he asked, nothing but pain in his eyes.

His response shocked me so badly that, speechless, I stepped back. Why would he miss that monster? It made no fucking sense. But then again, it didn’t matter if I understood him or not because—

“I’ll never judge you, Shay-Lee,” I said, voice firm as I held his stare. “Never.”

Finally, his mask cracked as he chewed on his bottom lip, allowing a bit of his vulnerability to slip away. I missed it. I missed seeing him with his guard down. But the moment passed as quickly as it had arrived once he cleared his throat and stuck his nose in the air. “Well, whatever.” He swallowed back his tears and sniffed. “You smell so bad that I can’t stand to stay near you.”

I snorted. “Well, someone spilled beef tartare all over me.”

He side-eyed me before passing me on his way back to the restaurant, probably to get his car.

“You deserved it for being annoying.”

“Me? You made me eat raw meat, asshole.”

Turning to look at me over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes. “Well, you’re the one who said I could choose the restaurant.”

He was about to turn around when I spoke. “By the way, it hasn’t been an hour.”

“What?” He frowned, and I pulled out my phone to show him the timer I’d started once we sat at our table.

“The agreement was one proper meal that would last at least one hour.” Looking at my screen, I smiled. “So far, only forty-two minutes have passed.”

“So?” he snarled.

“So, you’re going to keep hearing from me, Llorón.”

His lips twisted. “You’re pushing it.”

“Good. I love it when you snap. It’s sexy.”

He huffed. “You’re a hopeless case.”