Page 54 of Explosive Prejudice

“Eww, no. It was disgusting.” Levi grimaced.

While the two of them moved on from the subject and continued to talk between themselves, Andrei didn’t look ready to drop it.

“What?” I asked, annoyed.

“Nothing. I just don’t want you to mess with him.”

“Like I need you to tell me that,” I grunted, my eyes focused on the half-eaten peach Shay-Lee left on my desk.

“I mean it.” Andrei grabbed the fruit and tossed it to the nearby trash can. “He’s a bad guy, Diesel. Don’t let him get to you.”

Yeah… Thing was, he already did.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

Dropping the garbage bag he was holding, Shay-Lee half turned to look at me. “You mean, other than picking up other people’s trash?” He pursed his lips while giving me an amused look. Today, we had to clean the forgotten space underneath the stadium bleachers.

“Don’t play with me.” I bit the inner side of my cheek, feeling even more irritated because of the sassy smile he had on.

“Oh my, how silly of me. I forgot you hate playing games.” He tilted his head. “And I wouldn’t want to anger you, would I?”

I swear to God, I was a second away from ripping off his head.

He sighed, pointing his finger at me. “From the look on your face, it looks like I failed to do that, didn’t I? You look pissed.”

Closing the distance between us, I grabbed the hem of his hoodie and yanked him close until we were an inch apart.

“Yep, definitely mad,” he chuckled, his intoxicating eyes filled with amusement. “But that’s sexy.”

Ignoring his last comment, I tightened my hold on his hoodie and forced myself to focus on the point. “Stop fucking around, and stop giving me shit.”

His forehead creased as he frowned. “Are you talking about my gifts? You were supposed to like them.”

He sounded so cute for a second, and I had to let go of him and step back, only to push the toxic thought aside. Sadly, I could still smell his sweet fragrance even from where I stood, and the warm, fuzzy feeling it sent through my body only pissed me off.

“Like them? Are you trying to mock me?”

“No,” he protested while fixing his clothes.

Today, he wore loose cargo pants, a beige hoodie, and a corduroy vest on top. Great, now I was checking out his wardrobe. I’m going fucking crazy.

“Why didn’t you like them?”

I glared at him. “What do you mean why?”

His frown deepened. “They were things you liked. The cheese plate? It was vegan cheese, for fuck’s sake. The dark chocolates? I made sure they weren’t too sweet. What about the sneakers? They were limited edition. Was the size wrong?”

The more he talked, the angrier I became, mostly because of how well he knew me. “Are you serious?”

“I’m dead serious.” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The familiar gesture rubbed me the wrong way.

“What the hell? Are you honestly offended right now?” Whenever something didn’t go his way, Llorón would do exactly that.

“Yeah, ’cause you’re being an ungrateful bastard.”

Was this guy for real?

“Because I don’t want you to buy me shit?”

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