When we don't know who to turn to, sometimes we turn to the ones we least expect.
Luke Salazar is a senior at Bay High School, and he's been pushed, shoved, and shut out for most of his life. Miles Jefferson has been the ringleader of a lot of that...
"Yeah, I guess. Luke, you have to tell Miles about this," I said.
"I know. I thought I might drive over there today since his dad is still out of town," he said, leading me back down the stairs.
"That's a good idea. Want me to go with?"
"No, this is something I need to do alone," he said, pushing my hair over my shoulder and kissing me.
"Okay, I understand."
"But as long as you're here, and my parents are on a fishing trip today..." His gaze flashed to the door to what must be his bedroom.
"Well, Lucas Graham Salazar, are you propositioning me?"
"I am. Did I succeed?" he asked, pulling me toward him in one motion.
"What do you think?" I asked, winking.
He grinned and threw me over his shoulder.
"Luke!" I giggled. "Put me down!"
"Okay," he said, laying me on his bed.
It was a king-size, plush mattress, the kind that you sink into as soon as you lie down.
"Nice bed," I said, scooting up so my head was on the pillow.
"It's even better with you in it," he growled, climbing on top of me with one leg on either side of my waist. He leaned down and kissed me, his tongue teasing mine.
I moaned, running my fingers down his spine.
"Brooke, you're beautiful," he murmured against my lips, and I smiled.
"Ah, you're so sweet," I said, my face turning pink. I always loved compliments, but from him, it meant more.
It meant everything.
Miles
I was sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water when my phone vibrated next to me.
Hey Miles, it's Luke.
Hey man, what's up?
I need to talk to you. I was wondering if I could come over. I need to talk to you about last night.
Sure, I'm just sitting out by the pool.
Good...because I'm in your driveway.
LOL. Come on through, the front door is unlocked.
A few seconds later, I heard the French doors open and Luke sat down next to me.
"Hey," he said, dipping his feet in the water next to mine.
"What's going on?" I asked.
He took a deep breath. "This is probably ridiculous, but I want to show you what I found, and explain why I freaked last night."
"Okay," I said, turning to face him, sitting cross-legged.
He pulled something out of his back pocket and handed it to me.
A photo.
"What is this?" I asked, but when I looked, my mouth fell open. "Why do you have a photo of my dad? Who's that with him?"
"That's my father."
My eyes widened. "Come again?"
"That's my dad. With your dad. See the resemblance?"
"Good God. They look like..."
"...brothers," he finished.
I nodded. "This is insane," I said. "That would make us cousins, right?"
"Yep. Who would've thought?" he asked.
I stood up and started pacing, and he joined me.
"How completely ironi—"
"Well, hello, son, who's your company?" a voice said from behind us.
Dad.
We both turned around. "Hey Dad, this is my fr—"
His face had turned scarlet.
"Lucas Salazar," my dad said, his voice frigid.
"Y-yeah, how did you know that?" I asked.
"Lucas, can you excuse us for a moment?" Dad asked, waving me in toward the kitchen.
"S-sure," Luke stammered, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.
I followed my dad into the kitchen, shooting an apologetic glance in his direction.
When we got into the kitchen, my dad turned on me.
"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
"What are you talking about, Dad? Luke is my friend," I said out loud for the first time.
"He is not. I ordered you a long time ago not to have anything to do with that boy," he said, advancing on me.
"What? You didn't—"
But then, I remembered...
Dad squatted down in front of me in front of Hutchison Elementary School, his hands on my shoulders.
"Have a good first day of kindergarten, Miles, and remember what I said..."
"Be nice to everyone; just don't talk to Lucas Salazar," I recited.
"That's right, son. I'll see you at 2:30," he said, patting my shoulder and walking away.
"Why?"
"You need not know the reason. Just stay away from him, Miles. Stay away from him, or you'll fucking regret it," he seethed, his nose inches from mine.
I knew the only reason he wasn't hitting me right now was because Luke was right outside the door, so I nodded.
He stormed out of the kitchen, and I leaned against the counter, exhaling harshly.
I had no intention of staying away from Luke.
We were going to figure this out—and we had to do it together.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
