Page 37 of Explosive Prejudice

“That’s better,” he groaned after sipping from the aromatic brew.

I’d known Kai since I moved in with his best friend slash lover, Chief. But unlike my relationship with Chief, which was mainly built on respect, with Kai, it was different. I actually liked the man. He was one of those rare authentic people who never hid their fuckups. And trust me when I say he had a lot of them. Rather, it was him being a teenage dad, divorced before the age of twenty, or his lifelong battle with alcohol and drug addiction. He wasn’t ashamed of any of it, and he had no reason to be. Now in his thirties, he had his own restaurant, was on cool terms with his ex-wife, and had rebuilt his relationship with his kid. Some would say his story was inspirational, but even if it was, he never sold it that way.

While fixing himself another coffee, Kai brushed his blond hair back, reminding me of Llorón. Although Kai’s hair was shorter and straighter.

“Did you let Ash know you spent the night?” he asked.

Once in a while, I needed to get away from Chief and the other guys. At first, I used to wander around the city at night, but that worried Chief. Kai, who could never stand seeing his dear Ashy upset, told me I could crash at his place whenever I needed. He even got me a spare key and made some room for me so I could keep a few clothes here. Last night was one of those times I took him up on his offer.

“Yeah, I texted him.” I put my empty glass in the sink and washed it.

“Is everything cool?” He sounded concerned about my reasons for staying here. Usually, those reasons weren’t good, so his worry made sense. Yet, tonight I came because of the pouring rain and that his place wasn’t too far from the club.

“Yeah.” Drying my hands, I turned to look at him. “Great, actually.” Still high from my kiss with Llorón, life felt pretty fucking sweet. Saying last night was hot would be an understatement, mainly because it was so much more than that. Last night was a game changer. The connection and comfort I felt with Llorón and the invisible string that pulled me to him every time he came to the club left me in awe. He was simply different from anyone I’d ever met before, so unpredictable and unique. Who would have thought that a snobby brat like him would bother himself to wake up early and buy me vegan pastries? How fucking sweet was that? Just remembering that moment he handed me the box with a hint of embarrassment brought a huge smile to my face, a smile Kai noticed and wasn’t about to let go.

“What’s up with that?” He grinned like a jackass.

Rolling my eyes, I went to sit on the barstool beside him. “Nothing.” My smile grew bigger because now I thought about how adorable Llorón was when he tried to play it cool about waking up early and standing in line to buy sweets just for me.

“Nah, you can’t fool me. Our Diesel finally met someone?”

I could shrug him off, but what was the point?

“You could say that I have.” Sure, Llorón was a client, but not really. I never treated clients the way I treated him, and what we had going on for the past month was something I’d never experienced with anyone else before. I wasn’t talking about the sexual aspect, which blew my mind away, but the emotional one. Even with Andrei, when we were on good terms, I never shared as easily and as naturally as I did with Llorón. But it wasn’t only that we talked with each other. We understood one another. The way he looked at me told me he knew exactly what was going on inside my head. Moreover, he knew what questions to ask and what answers to give.

He was brilliantly intoxicating.

Patting my shoulder, Kai gave me a warm smile. “That’s awesome, Diesel. What’s she like?”

I snorted for obvious reasons.

“What’s wrong?” He looked confused.

I rubbed my jaw as images of Llorón’s perfect cock filled my mind, turning my dick a bit stiffer. “Nothing, just trying to find a way to answer your question. Let’s just say he has a rather intriguing persona.” Intriguing? How about mind-blowing.

“What?” I grunted after noticing the idiotic grin on Kai’s face.

He shook his head, the annoying smirk still glued to his lips. “You’re something special. You know that, right?”

“As if I give a shit.”

Stretching his arms behind his head, he let out a deep sigh. “All I’m saying is that I wish I were as cool as you when I found out I liked guys, too. It would have saved me a few trips to rehab.”

Liked guys, too? It wasn’t that I ever liked women to begin with. I slept with them, that part was true, but did I like them? Was I drawn to them? Not really. I always assumed that eventually, when the right woman would come, I’d finally feel something. As it turned out, it was the right man. Before Llorón, I’d held zero interest in men, hence my rule, but then he showed up and proved me wrong. It may have shocked me the first time we were together, but that shock had worn off and been replaced by want, and I had no doubt that I wanted him. So why should I restrain myself? That was the thing… I shouldn’t.

Realizing I’d left Kai hanging, I pulled a packet of cigs out of my pocket and shoved a smoke between my lips.

“One guy.” I pointed at him while lighting my cig. “Uno.” Standing up, I was ready to go out to the balcony to smoke when I stopped and looked at him. “And to make it clear, I didn’t come out or some shit, so don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Does it look like I would?” he asked while taking some vegetables out of the fridge. “Have you told Andrei?”

Suddenly, my good mood soured. “What’s there to tell?”

Noticing the bitterness in my tone, Kai gave me a sympathetic look I didn’t appreciate.

“I know you two aren’t in the best place right now.”

Yeah, because Andrei was slowly becoming one of those pretentious assholes we used to hate.

---