Page 48 of Explosive Prejudice

“The least you can do is apologize, you know,” I hissed. I wasn’t about to stay quiet about this. If Shay-Lee got me into this mess, the least he could do was to amuse me with his tantrums.

“And why should I do that?”

“Because not only did you puke on me, which was fucking gross, but you also got me to do this shit for the next month.”

“It’s not my fault I got sick from seeing your face,” he muttered. “Besides, you’re the one who punched me.”

A smirk pulled on my lips, and I took the last drag out of the cig before tossing it into the empty paint can. “You and I both know you deserved to be punched.”

“Why’s that?” he asked, finally turning to face me. His face was still pale, and he looked off. Maybe he really was sick, not that I gave a damn.

“’Cause you’re a piece of shit who thinks he owns the fucking world and can do whatever without facing the consequences.”

His jaw tensed before he bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Then what is this?” He raised the paintbrush in his hand, then threw it on the ground. “What the fuck is this if not facing the fucking consequences?” he snapped and kicked the paint bucket until it hit the wall and spilled all over.

Taking a step back so I wouldn’t get dirty, I watched him as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets.

“All my life, I’ve been facing the fucking consequences,” he muttered in a nearly choked voice before he turned around and walked away.

I wanted to shout after him and tell him to get his ass back here so we could finish the goddamn job. But I didn’t. Looking back at the wall, we still had about halfway to go.

“Screw this,” I said and tossed away the paintbrush. There was no way in hell I was about to stay here and finish this shit by myself. Besides, it was getting late, and I wanted to wash off the smell of paint before meeting my Llorón.

Diesel

I arrived at the club earlier, thinking it might get me to meet Llorón sooner, only that it didn’t. Two hours later, I was still waiting for him to show up. The first room you saw as soon as you entered was the lounge, so that was where I was, taking the main stage to perform my regular dancing routine. With my eyes fixed on the door, my heart stopped for a second each time it opened and closed, hoping it might be Llorón entering the room.

Throughout the day, I had doubts that he might not show up, doubts I tried to ignore. But after sleeping with him, the idea of never seeing him again sounded impossible. I wasn’t sure I could get over it. Last night wasn’t only the best sex of my life but the closest I had ever felt to a person, and even though he might not want it, it was time to finally meet one another. Unlikely as it was for me to wish for it, I wanted the two of us to take whatever was going on between us outside the club, and for that to happen, we needed to take off the masks. Llorón might be scared at first, but I’d calm him down, as I did last night, because there was no reason for him to fear me. I wanted him, and that fact wouldn’t change.

After dancing for what felt like a double shift but was probably only fifteen minutes, the door to the lounge opened, and the man I was waiting for with bated breath walked in. As soon as he did, the whole room lit up. It wasn’t just his beautiful appearance that made the dark space shine so bright, but his aura. Speaking of beautiful, tonight, he wore an open white blouse that showed off his chest while a matching pair of slacks sat loosely around his slim waist. I adored his style, even more so when he looked like an angel.

As he walked in, I waited for our eyes to meet, only it didn’t happen. Usually, we’d track each other before one of us could even take a breath, but not tonight. Rather than glancing up at the stage and searching for me, he looked over his shoulder at the person who walked right behind him.

Dion.

If it wasn’t bad enough that the two walked in together, Dion also placed his hand on Llorón’s waist as he leaned close to whisper something in his ear. I had no idea what he’d just told him, but from how Llorón nodded and allowed Dion to lead the way, I had my guess, and it was enough to make me see red. Gritting my teeth, I jumped off the stage and ran in the direction they’d disappeared.

Stopping at the beginning of the long hall, I saw the two walking toward the elevator at the end. “Llorón,” I said, swallowing hard and clearing my throat.

The two turned to look at me, making me feel pathetic, not that it mattered. Right now, I only cared about Llorón not getting into that elevator with Dion.

“Don’t do that.” My voice came out hoarse, and I continued to stay put and watch him as the elevator arrived and its doors opened.

While Llorón continued to stare back at me, Dion walked into the elevator, one hand keeping the doors open while he offered the other to Llorón to take.

“Mon péché, you coming?” Dion asked.

“Llorón,” I said again and stepped closer, but suddenly, there was this invisible wall between us that forbade me from getting any closer. A wall that hadn’t been there before, not even the first time we met.

Still holding his stare, I saw the shred of remorse behind his eyes a moment before he turned around and walked inside the elevator. He refused Dion’s hand but still stood close enough to him that their shoulders touched. Then, he looked down at the floor right before the doors closed.

I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest as I waited in the hall for him to return. I’d been in the same position since he got into that damn elevator about three hours ago, and I had no intention of moving, not until I saw him again and made sure he was okay.

All this time I waited, what I felt wasn’t anger but worry. Llorón didn’t even try to be subtle about going to sleep with another man, and here I was, worried out of my mind that he’d be okay.

He isn’t okay.

The concerning thought made me clench my jaw, mostly because I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why. What had changed since we parted ways last night, what turned him this toxic? I knew he’d panicked, but we made that promise. After confessing his fear that I might hate him, I promised it would never happen and that all he needed to do was show up today. Of course, the idea that he’d show up with Dion hadn’t crossed my mind, and now that it had happened, it left me concerned. What was going on with him? Why was he pushing the self-destruct button all of a sudden? What the fuck had changed?

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