Page 136 of Explosive Prejudice

“Are you going to shut up at some point?” I looked behind me to where Shay-Lee had decided to stop in the middle of the path.

“Did we seriously just drive an hour to see the ocean on this remote beach at night?” He stomped his foot. “It’s completely dark! You can’t see shit.”

He was exaggerating. It wasn’t that dark. The moon and the stars provided all the light we needed.

“Fine, so stay here, Princesa. I’m going down.” It only took me five steps before he ran after me.

He shoved at my shoulder. “Were you actually going to leave me behind? What if some creep was lurking in the dark, just waiting for the right time to kidnap me?”

“With how much you talk? He’d return you to me right away, saying he feels sorry for me.”

Shay-Lee gasped, then shoved me again. “I was serious. What if it was a serial killer then?”

“You just spent forty minutes talking to one and didn’t seem to care. Not to mention you’re about to live in his house for a week.”

Huffing, Shay-Lee waved his hand in the air. “Not the same thing, and if anything, it’s only proving my point that we should spend tonight fucking and not hiking on some stupid beach.”

As we reached the shore, I looked around. It was empty, so I began to undress.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I tossed my clothes at Shay-Lee, my boxers hitting his face, then ran into the water buck naked.

“If you’re drowning, I’m not coming in there to save you!” he shouted after me.

When I reached the water, it was still cold but not enough to keep me from jumping in headfirst. Like a slap to the face, the water awakened me in seconds. This feeling of being alive was like no other, and it never got old.

Wiping my face and pushing my fingers through my wet hair, I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, enjoying the warm evening. The moon and the stars shone so brightly, reminding me of Iván, Carmen, and my mom and how they should’ve been here, too. For a brief second, I was awash with loneliness, something I was familiar with, but then Shay-Lee called for me, and those feelings left as quickly as they arrived.

“I can’t believe I got in,” he complained while making his way toward me and pulling his hair into a messy bun on top of his head. “I better not get stung by a jellyfish.”

It was absolutely insane how this spoiled, overly annoying, and pampered brat managed to save me from myself. Then again, he wasn’t just spoiled, and he wasn’t just pampered. He was sweet and kind and, as much as he’d argue otherwise, not at all selfish. He was the most flawed soul I’d ever met, but beautiful nonetheless. One that drew me in right from the beginning. Even if we had a rough start, it was for good reasons because sometimes, you need to hate before you learn how to love.

“Are you even listening to me?” he asked, stopping before me, the water reaching his waist.

“Marry me.”

“What?” Shay-Lee spat, his face turning to shock.

Grabbing his waist, I pulled him close. “I said, marry me.”

He slapped me. Of course he fucking did.

“What was that for?” I grunted, rubbing my cheek.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” he growled, eyes fierce.

He wouldn’t be the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with if he didn’t react this way. Chuckling, I leaned in and placed a gentle kiss over his lips. “After graduation, let’s skip the after-party and drive away. Escape this place forever.”

He froze in my hold. “Are you serious?”

I hummed a low yes, grabbed his jaw to angle him to look up. “We can stop in Vegas, get married there, and go on to who knows where. We can leave the state and travel around the world. Do whatever we want. Go wherever we want.”

Suddenly, the thought of running away with him made so much sense. From the beginning, he was the one thing I lacked, so why push it away? Why waste our time? We were only going to be on this planet for who knew how long, so we better do whatever the fuck we wanted.

“What in the last hour made you want to marry me?” he asked, his eyes narrowed. “Was it the nonstop whining, the complaining, or all the bitching?”

“Pretty much all of it.”

---