Tucking a dark strand behind her ear, April looked over to the kitchen, “Can I help with anything?”
Jessie smiled and shook her head. “Harm beat you to it.” She nodded back to the kitchen. “She’s already in there making a salad.”
From the kitchen both girls heard, “A kick-ass salad!”
April laughed and rolled her eyes. Jessie tried to calm her nerves by twisting to go check on the potatoes again, but April interrupted her. “You okay?”
Jessie tossed on an unworried smile as she swept her eyes over her place, looking to make sure that everything was tidy and in the proper spot. It was. She’d spent all afternoon making sure of it. “Yep, just making sure everything is perfect for Kai.” Not knowing how that sounded, she added, “He’s a long way from home, so I want to make sure he feels welcomed.” She shrugged, a little lamely.
April gave her a crooked grin, leaning back on her elbow on the armrest of the couch. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he feels plenty welcomed.”
Jessie frowned at her friend’s provocative position. She really didn’t want April entertaining him in that way, although, she really had no say in the matter. Putting her hands on her hips, she adopted an obviously teasing stern stance, even though it was completely real in her head. “You stay away from him.”
April smirked as she sat up. “Why? If he’s new in town, he might want some company.” She smiled suggestively. “I’m great company.”
Jessie sighed and rolled her eyes, trying to hold her irritation at her friend inside. It wasn’t April’s fault she was a flirt. “Well, just tone it down then. “ She smacked her friend’s boot. “You’ll scare him straight back to Hawaii.”
April laughed and then purred. “Mmm, Hawaiian boy. Yum.”
Giving up, Jessie made herself laugh at April and walk into the kitchen to her more reserved friend. The redhead was cutting fresh vegetables at the counter and smiled over at Jessie when she entered. The deep color of her hair contrasted nicely with the dark green of her blouse, making Harmony nearly look like the embodiment of autumn. Cocking a fiery eyebrow, she tilted her head at Jessie. “You do look a little freaked. Everything okay?”
Jessie made herself laugh causally. “Yep, just hoping I didn’t burn the potatoes.” Her heart racing faster than normal, Jessie popped open the oven. The heat wave hit her in the face and she pulled back a little to let it escape.
“Hmmm…I’m sure it’s fine. He’ll probably appreciate the sentiment anyway. I mean, he probably hasn’t had a home cooked meal in a while, right?” Harmony asked, her hands flying over red and yellow bell peppers.
Jessie poked a knife in the potatoes and smiled when it easily went straight through. Straightening, she closed the oven door and turned down the heat to the warm setting. “Yeah, I think he’ll love it.”
Harmony narrowed her eyes slightly and Jessie realized that she’d sighed in a way that nearly sounded romantic. She had to imagine her face was also looking a little love struck. Not liking that taboo thought, she rolled her eyes and went to the fridge. She really should avoid looking like she was in love with Kai. Sure, she was attracted to him, but he was family, so although she did love him, she couldn’t love-love him or anything. That was just the ways things had to be. Whatever she’d felt building when she’d stupidly told him that she was falling for him, she had to put the brakes on it.
Sighing at the order she still mentally arranged him into, placing attraction before family, she looked around for some wine to have with dinner. Over her shoulder, she asked, “Do we have any of that chardonnay left, Harm?” Jessie could have sworn that she’d opened a bottle just a couple of nights ago.
The sound of chopping resumed as Harmony went back to her salad prep. “Nope. April had a guy over Wednesday night. They drank it all.”
Jessie sighed as she shut the door. So much for that. She really should have known an open bottle wouldn’t stay open for long around here. From the living room she heard, “Sorry!” She sighed and went about making some Crystal Light. Shaking her head, she was grateful that at least she wasn’t offering him Kool-Aid.
Just as Harmony was mixing her special blend of spices into a small bowl of mayo – her secret salad recipe that she wouldn’t share with anybody – the doorbell rang. Jessie nearly dropped the pitcher of juice she was putting in the fridge. Before she could set it in and close the door, she heard April exclaim, “I’ll get it!”
Cursing, she hurried her slow hands. In her haste, she banged the pitcher on the lip of a shelf and bright red liquid sloshed over the edge to splash on the floor, a couple of drops hitting her sweater. Thankfully, she was wearing black.
“Damn it,” she muttered, grabbing a towel from Harmony, who’d automatically reached over for one. As she cleaned up the spill and Harmony worked on the salad, Jessie heard April’s excited greeting, followed by a flirtatious giggle. Jessie could just imagine April’s thrill at actually seeing her cousin. He was…well, just about the most attractive man Jessie had ever seen.
Wanting to see him herself, she slopped up the mess and tossed the towel in the sink. She finished just when Harmony finished with the salad, and they both walked into the living room together, where Jessie could hear April already chatting away with Kai.
Holding her breath, Jessie took in the sight of him. Smiling politely at April, he was holding a canvas bag in one hand, his other shoved causally in his dark jacket. He was angled in such a way, that his tattooed shoulder blade was facing Jessie. She felt her face flush as she stared at the spot under all those layers of clothes where his ink was hidden away from the world. It gave her a thrill that none of her friends were aware of it, like it was a secret that only she was in on. Then April’s hand came out to that shoulder as she slinked her hand over his body, in no way being discreet about checking him out. Jessie frowned at the obvious move.
Ice flashed through her as she noticed Harmony move past her to walk up to Kai. While April probably wouldn’t think about where, or if, she’d seen Kai before, Harmony might. Jessie anxiously watched her friend’s face, feeling barely on the edge of holding it together. But watching her closely, Harmony only looked curiously interested and politely happy. Her pale eyes took in his face as he twisted to greet her, but those eyes didn’t narrow with suspicion, and her smile widened as she extended her hand and told him her name. His hand came out of his pocket as he relayed his back to her.
Hearing him say his name made Jessie’s fast heart do even stranger things. Swallowing, she struggled to get back her control. Harmony was smiling, April was smiling. They were both small talking with him, asking him how he liked it here so far. Nothing about their stance or appearance looked horrified. Nobody was piecing together anything.
Feeling better, Jessie completed her walk into the room. Kai completely turned to face her as she did. He took a step towards her, like he was going to hug her, but then abruptly stopped, like he suddenly thought that maybe he shouldn’t. Jessie felt her body heat, but only smiled at him. As always, those absorbing eyes took her breath, transported her to a place where only the two of them existed. For a moment, just a fraction of a moment, they were the only two people in the room, maybe even the world.
“Hey,” he finally said to her.
She felt hot to the touch as she watched his eyes drift over her face and then discretely, her body. She prayed that she didn’t look like she was blushing to her friends. She prayed that Kai liked how she looked. “Hey, glad you could make it.”
He cleared his throat, seemingly realizing that he was examining her, and then twisted to take in the house. “This is a nice place. Much better than mine.” Bringing his eyes back to hers, he added, “Thank you for having me.”
Harmony finally noticed the bag in his fingers. “What’s that?” she asked politely, stealing a quick glance at Jessie. Jessie bit her lip that she hadn’t immediately asked him that. Seeing him just sort of took a minute for her to get used to.
Kai grinned at Harm
ony and reached into the bag. “Well, I wasn’t sure what we were having.” He pulled out a bottle of white wine and handed it to her, then reached back in and grabbed a bottle of red. “So I brought one of each.”
Harmony smiled as she took them. “We were just saying we needed some.” She raised an eyebrow at him and smiled, the warmth in it matching the striking shade of her hair. “You must be psychic.”
Kai glanced down at the floor, looking embarrassed. It was adorable and Jessie watched both of her roommates smile even brighter at him. Shaking his dark head, he reached back in the bag for the final mystery in there. Peeking up at Jessie, he handed her a small bouquet of flowers. Well, he started to hand her a small bouquet of flowers. As soon as April noticed what he was doing, she squealed and snatched them out of his hand.
“Oh, carnations, my favorite.” April beamed as she smelled them, then she gave Kai a swift hug. Kai blinked, looking a little shocked as he loosely held her back.
Jessie frowned, knowing that he’d meant the flowers for her. She couldn’t exactly protest too loudly over that though. It would appear better if he’d brought them for the “house.” As April giggled, Kai shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well, it was all they had at the store I went to.” He looked at Jessie after he said it, a clear apology in his eyes that April had snagged her flowers.
Jessie shook her head and gave him a small grin. Maybe it was for the best anyway. He really shouldn’t be bringing her flowers. This wasn’t a date.
April bounced on her toes, clearly delighted at both Kai and his gifts. “I should put these in some water,” she announced brightly. Backing away from him, she pointed to the couch. “Make yourself at home, Kai.”
He nodded at her and slipped his jacket off his shoulders, slinging it over the side of the couch. All three girls took a moment to appreciate the fit body that not even multiple layers of clothing could hide. Giggling as she watched him sit down, his hands clasping together over his knees as he looked around, April grabbed Jessie’s arm and dragged her into the kitchen with her. Lightly laughing at April, Harmony followed them.
Once in the other room, April turned on the water then twisted to look back at Jessie. Her face looked incredulous. In a whisper that Kai wouldn’t hear, she said, “He is hot! Why didn’t you tell me he was hot?”
Jessie shrugged, a flush running through her body. “He’s family. I don’t see him that way.” Even Jessie could feel the lie in her words.
Harmony appeared to as well. “Yeah, sure, Jessie,” she said playfully as she slipped the white wine in the fridge. Setting the red on the counter, she leaned back against it. “My oldest brother may be family, but even I’ll admit he’s good-looking.” She smiled knowingly as she tilted her head back towards Kai in the living room.
Feeling uncomfortable and a little trapped, Jessie reached up for a vase, giving her hands something to do. “Fine,” she muttered, filling the vase with water. “He’s…attractive.”
April snorted as she unwrapped the flowers. “Attractive? He’s downright edible.” Smiling at thoughts that Jessie was sure were lurid, April popped the carnations in the overly full vase. Water seeped out the sides and Jessie sighed.
Well, she supposed that them being attracted to him was preferable to them knowing that he was her one nighter. She’d sort of suspected that April would be interested in him anyway. Shaking her head, she set the flowers on the counter. Carnations were April’s favorite, really? Jessie knew for a fact that that was a lie. April was a classic red rose girl. It was really the only “traditional” thing about her. Jessie had often heard her tell guys that every other flower was just the roses sadder, inferior cousin.
Jessie felt a little like those poor, unappreciated carnations at the moment.
Giggling at the exotic man waiting in their living room, Harmony and April started to head back to him. Jessie stayed where she was, making a show of examining the roast; really she just needed a second to recollect. After they disappeared, April suddenly ducked her head back around the corner. Giving Jessie a playful smile, she whispered, “I’m gonna ask him out. That okay?”
Jessie’s mouth fell open and she sputtered. She had absolutely no reason to not let April date him. She couldn’t tell her close friend that the idea sickened her. She couldn’t tell her friend that she wanted to be the only woman in his life. She couldn’t tell her friend that her stomach hurt, just picturing his hands on her. And she couldn’t tell her friend that earlier this week, a few days after having an incredible one night stand with him, Jessie had told his sleeping body that she was falling for him. And against her earlier thoughts of halting those feelings, Jessie was a little afraid that it was too late, that she’d already fallen.
Not being able to say anything of that, she shut her mouth, smiled as realistically as she could, and shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t really care.”
April giggled and bounded out of the room. Jessie sighed and closed her eyes; they burned with unshed tears. It was for the best anyway.
Giving herself several long moments to slowly count to ten, Jessie straightened, lifted her head up confidently, and strode back into the living room. Her step nearly faltered when she came upon April, sitting as close beside Kai as she could, flirtingly playing with a long strand of her dark hair. For his part, Kai only seemed to be engaged in a friendly conversation with her, not ogling her, as April appeared to want him to.
Kai was sitting on the edge of the couch, with April practically on his hip, so Jessie sat on the smaller couch with Harmony. Jessie’s friends politely asked him questions about his life and his family, but Jessie spaced out, listening to the rise and fall of his voice more than the actual words. Sitting back on her elbow, she rested her head in her palm over the arm of the couch.
She watched the way his lips formed phrases, the way the edges curved up, the way his teeth gleamed when he smiled. Jessie had a sudden mental image of her tongue running along those teeth. So deeply lost in the thoughts that she tried to never have, she let herself run away with them. She stared at him blatantly as he gestured with his hands while telling a story about work. Jessie pictured those hands on her again. Biting her lip, she felt her breath pick up, just a little.
His tropical eyes, eyes that would rival the most fabulous oceans in all the world, flicked a glance at her every now and again. When she bit her lip, they locked right onto the movement. She watched him adjust how he was sitting on the couch and let herself imagine that he was reacting to her. Clearing his throat, he looked away, over to Harmony who’d just asked him a question.
Jessie saw him adjust his posture again and pull his jeans down, just a little bit. She let herself imagine that they were getting tighter. Running a finger down the v-neck of her shirt, she pulled it over slightly to play with her bra strap. Harmony and April were too fascinated with Kai to notice, but his eyes immediately came back to her. Stuttering for a second on his words, he ran a hand through his hair. Not knowing why she was doing it, Jessie let her fingers travel over the cup of her bra, swirl around her nipple. He stopped talking and ran a hand over his jaw. His eyes flashed up to hers and Jessie could see the desire there, burning just slightly under the surface. She adjusted in her seat now, as desire pooled in her too.
Then April set her hand on his thigh, pretty far up it actually, and Kai jumped a little as he turned to look at her. Sudden horror that she’d actually been flirting with her cousin flowed through Jessie. Her hand clenched over her mouth, just in case her stomach decided to heave. God, that was so wrong, on so many levels. She watched his face go through all the conflicting emotions that she was sure hers was going through, as he listened to April tell him some story about her job. Jessie was pretty positive he wasn’t listening to her. Even though his skin really hadn’t changed color, Jessie imagined that he was about ten shades paler.
Standing up suddenly, Jessie found everyone’s attention swinging around to her. “I’m gonna…open the wine for dinner.” A drink, t
hat’s what Jessie needed. A great big drink.
As she quickly walked out of the room, she heard, “I’ll help you.”
She sighed at hearing Kai’s deep voice, knowing that he was going to follow her into the small, private room. At the moment, she didn’t really want to be alone with him, but she couldn’t exactly tell him to not be polite and offer his help. Crossing her fingers, she hoped eager April followed him. As she heard the rustling of April and Harmony moving to sit together, followed by light giggles, Jessie thought that they were unfortunately taking this opportunity to talk about him. And just when she could have used their interference.
It's All Relative Page 18