Page 31 of Explosive Prejudice

“What the…” I mumbled, realizing I got the whole idea wrong because I’d just followed him to a cemetery. The flowers could still be for a girl, but from the look of it, she wasn’t among the living.

Parking my car in the farthest row from him, I stayed put as he parked his bike underneath a tree and took off his helmet. The rain finally stopped, and once it did, Diesel strolled off. There was a second where I thought I should respect the man’s privacy and leave, but it quickly passed, and a moment later, I was out of my car.

The rain and dirt covering the ground made it hard to walk without ruining my shoes, which were way too expensive to ruin with mud.

It was winter when my mom died, and I remembered it rained at her funeral as well. I also remembered how I didn’t want to go to her funeral. I cried and begged my dad to let me stay home, but instead, he dragged me there by force and didn’t let me look away, not even for a moment. I’d never forget how hard he gripped the back of my neck that day, forcing me to look as they lowered my mom’s coffin into the ground, all the while pretending to be the grief-stricken husband he wasn’t. My father’s act was so impeccable that to this day, he still wore their wedding ring around his finger. I also remembered what he whispered in my ear.

“It’s your fault your mother is in the ground.” His cold fingers stroked my cheek as his lips nearly brushed my ear. “That’s why you can’t look away. You must witness with your own eyes the consequences of your actions, you foolish boy.”

The sound of crying snapped me out of my horrid memory, and I looked aside to see a family gathered around a grave. A woman, probably the mother, was on the ground, her hands thrown over the freshly dug grave. If I died, would anyone care? Would anyone throw themselves on my grave as this woman did? Probably not. My dad wouldn’t be sad. He’d probably be the one to kill me.

Too caught up in my thoughts, I realized I’d lost Diesel. Shit. As I started to walk between rows, I scanned the area while trying to remain unnoticed. After walking for about twenty minutes, I gave up and was about to start making my way back when I spotted a bouquet of daisies resting against one of the graves. Diesel wasn’t there, but I was sure those were the flowers he held, so I stepped closer.

“Carmen Maria Gómez,” I read the name written on the stone. At first, I thought it might be his mother but ruled out that option as soon as I checked the dates. Whoever this person was, she was only eighteen when she died eleven years ago. That’s young. Too young. As I read her tombstone, I saw that today was her birthday. She would’ve been twenty-nine had she lived.

With a sigh, I moved a hand through my hair. Coming here was pointless and made me feel like a complete asshole. I was an asshole, but after what I’d been through, I should have had the slightest bit of respect for losing someone you care about. My thoughts immediately took me to Nero and how he’d shared his mother’s death with me. He never mentioned how she died, but neither did I. But what was I supposed to tell him? That the world thought my mom had killed herself, but in reality, I was pretty sure it was my dad? Nah. I could never tell him that because it would force me to reveal more of that story, and some secrets are too dark to ever see the light.

A drop of water landed on my head, and I looked up at the gray sky. It was about to start raining again, so I should get going. By the time I reached my car, I noticed Diesel’s bike was already gone. At least I didn’t have to face him again. That would have really made this day worse.

Shay-Lee

“You bought me pastries?” Nero asked with a smile while checking the contents of the box I gave him a minute ago.

“Yeah.” I shifted closer to him. “And before you ask, they’re all vegan.” We were both sitting on the edge of the bed in the private suite that became our regular meeting place whenever I came to the club.

Looking at me, his beautiful black eyes sparkled with joy. “For real?”

“Was it a bit much?”

“Not at all,” he said, taking an apple-filled puff out of the box.

“I also asked the girl working there to give me things that aren’t too sweet… I remembered you saying you don’t like it.” As I spoke, Nero had already taken a bite from the desert.

“Fuck, that’s good,” he moaned and then brought the apple puff to my lips. “Take a bite.”

I looked at his fingers holding the pastry, then up at him. “I prefer things with butter—” Before I could finish, Nero shoved the pastry into my mouth, so I had no choice but to take a bite. The sweet-and-sour taste of the apples was incredible, combined with the crunchy dough. I couldn’t tell it was vegan at all. It was simply delicious.

“That’s so good,” I said, licking my lips.

“So take another bite.” This time, when he held the pastry closer to my mouth, I parted my lips and opened wide as if he was finally offering me his dick. Nero’s hungry eyes followed the action, and I watched him carefully as he darted the tip of his tongue to wet his bottom lip. He visibly shrank when instead of wrapping my lips around the crust lovingly, I sank my teeth into the dough in a forceful bite like an animal.

“Glad it isn’t your cock?” I asked between chewing, and he smirked.

“Definitely.”

After finishing the remaining pastry, Nero put the box aside and got up. Walking to the dresser and grabbing something, he returned with a medium-size black box, closed with a silver ribbon.

“I also got something for you,” he said, sitting beside me and handing me the gift.

“Seriously?” I shook the box to see if it would tell me what was inside.

“Just open it,” he laughed at my silliness.

“What? It’s more fun this way.” I took the lid off and peered inside, but as I moved the silk paper away, my mouth went dry, and a small gasp escaped me.

“Do you like it?” he asked while I traced my fingers over the satin ribbon that was part of a white-laced garter.

“You bought me… lingerie?” My heart rate increased as I took the garter out to see the box also had a G-string and a pair of stockings.

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