It's All Relative (18 page)

She was always asking Jessie to check on him, to make sure he was getting along in the city okay. Finding out where everything was could be confusing to a new person. Jessie constantly assured Grams that she would take him sightseeing when she got some free time. She’d even told her that they might go exploring this weekend. Grams had loved the idea.

She also seemed to be in love with the idea of setting Kai up. Jessie hated whenever Grams asked her for advice or help in finding Kai a girl. He was fine being young, single, and free. He didn’t need to be saddled with a relationship right now. Although, in a bit of a shocking revelation, Grams had hinted that she wasn’t necessarily talking about a “relationship” for Kai; she’d even used the phrases “sow his oats” and “explore his options”. Jessie still had a hard time believing the old woman was actually suggesting her grandchild should sleep around. Shouldn’t all parental types be opposed to such a thing? At least on the surface?

Jessie felt heat rising in her cheeks as she pulled her hair into a curly French twist. She couldn’t even think about Kai’s love life without thinking of their intimate moment together. It haunted her sometimes, slipped into her mind at the most inopportune times. For that reason alone, it was a small relief to her that she hadn’t seen him in a few days, regardless of how much she missed him. Kai had a way of looking at her, being close to her, or even just breathing on her that instantly shoved Jessie’s thoughts into the “do not enter” zone. Space was good. Distance was good.

And hard.

Jessie was ready to see him again. Aching for it really. Once she was home for the day, she frequently found herself imagining that she was knocking on his door. She pictured how surprised he would be as he laughingly swept her into a hug. And of course, he was almost always shirtless in her fantasies. Jessie couldn’t help it. He had a pleasing shape. Wrong as it was, she ached to see his body again, too.

Jessie did often wonder how he was getting along without her. Not that he needed her or anything, but she liked to think that he was missing her as much as she was missing him. What he was doing wasn’t as much of a mystery. Jessie and Kai usually exchanged texts throughout the day or talked on the phone. He also called Grams a lot, and the old woman seemed to relay every single in-depth conversation they had back to Jessie. If Jessie were a different sort of person, she might have been a little jealous over how close Kai and Grams were. But she wasn’t that type of girl. And really, it only reaffirmed why they had to stay away from each other. He was family—beloved family. There was just no way to get around that fact.

Gram’s conversations about him usually centered around Kai’s job, and she always seemed concerned when she brought up his work. Jessie couldn’t be sure, but she felt like Grams was waiting for something bad to happen. Jessie had no idea what that might be. From all of Gram’s stories, it was pretty clear that Kai was loving it there. He’d healed from the bee fiasco, and luckily hadn’t had any other sting incidents, and was thoroughly getting into the plant and animal life of the Rocky Mountains. He’d even adjusted to the new time zone and wasn’t suffering from as much exhaustion.

Jessie was happy to hear it. He’d seemed so tired when he’d fallen asleep in her arms, his own wrapped around her. Those warm, strong arms…

Sighing, Jessie gazed at herself in the mirror. A couple of untamed strands had fallen out of the clip securing her thick locks in place. Refusing to redo the style, Jessie tucked them behind her ear. She shouldn’t think about cuddling with Kai, about him asking in a whisper if it was all right, then telling her that she felt good. Those words should not give her stomach a jolt of electricity. But they did.

Watching her deep brown eyes start to water, Jessie shook her head and turned on the faucet so she could splash her face with cold water. She shouldn’t linger on that last kiss either; her lips pressing into his mouth, him responding ever so slightly. The softness, the heat, the light exhale along her skin… She needed to move on from the memory, and so did he. Maybe Grams was on to something. Maybe she should set him up with someone. Maybe she should set him up with April, since April still asked Jessie nightly if her mysterious cousin was making an appearance anytime soon.

Straightening, Jessie dried her face and started doing her makeup. Their tryst had only been a week ago. A week ago tonight. Was that long enough for her inebriated friends to forget his face? Jessie had no idea. Only one way to know for sure, she supposed.

Slipping on her shoes as she sat on her bed, Jessie glanced out her bedroom window. On her cement patio, under a shaded overhang, was a round table with two matching chairs. It was the wrought iron type that you might see outside a small Parisian café. Jessie stood up and walked over to the window to look at it closer. It was a tiny set that had seen better days. The girls never really used it, as evidenced by the spider webs laced throughout the bars. Jessie occasionally went out back to read a book in the sun, but she generally sat in the more comfortable lounge chair when she did.

Remembering how Kai was eating his meals on his bed, or probably standing in the kitchen next to his sink, made Jessie smile. She recalled mentioning to him that he should get a table for his place. He’d made a joke at her comment, but he hadn’t seemed opposed to it. It had been more like he’d felt Jessie was doing too much for him. That wasn’t true, though. Really, besides buying him some more nutritious food, all she’d done was given him a bunch of odds and ends that she hadn’t needed.

Her mind made up, Jessie headed out back through a slider in the living room. The patio set was pretty light, and Jessie got in through the house and into her truck with relative ease. She even wiped off the stray spider webs. As she closed the end of her truck, she realized that she now had a legitimate reason to knock on Kai’s door again. She couldn’t stop the grin that exploded onto her face, or the nervous butterflies that flew through her stomach at just the thought of seeing those ocean eyes again. Oh boy, she really needed to stop that reaction.

Moments later, Jessie was walking into the warm, cheery office where she worked. As she smiled hello to the receptionist, she took in the large space that was her current home away from home. Soft music was coming through the speakers inlaid in the ceiling, and every wall was painted a pleasing, butter-cream color. The accents were all done in various shades of green, resulting in a waiting room that was peaceful and relaxing. A dozen or so padded chairs lined the walls with several round tables sprinkled throughout, each holding several different types of magazines. One or two clients were already there, flipping through the pages, waiting to get their chemical peel or facial scrub from the esthetician, or maybe even waiting for a body rub from Jessie.

Getting ready for the day, Jessie tucked her purse into a drawer in her desk and hung her jacket on an awaiting coat rack in the corner. Her room was designed for ambiance with her massage table taking center stage. The plush, padded slab had a circle cut out of the top so a person could rest their head straight down, keeping their spine perfectly aligned for Jessie to work all the kinks out of overworked muscles.

The walls were a beautiful mauve color, showcasing an assortment of dewdrop photos. If you looked really closely, you could see images and reflections in each drop. They were astounding, but most people that came in here never really got to see them, as the room was kept pretty dark. Jessie switched on a softly glowing lamp, highlighting the various oils and creams she used without over-lighting the room. Then she lit a half-dozen scentless candles placed in clumps throughout the space. As she’d quickly discovered when she’d started working here, some of her clients couldn’t handle heavy scents; it hadn’t taken Jessie long to switch to odorless mood lighting.

Once the room was flickering with a peaceful glow, she turned her stereo on low, a stream of calming music quietly spilling out. Opening a bottle of lavender oil, she poured a small amount into a potpourri dish. The light scent filled the room with subtle tranquility.

Sitting on the edge of her table, she looked over at the clock on the wall. Her first client should be here soon. As the peace of her office flowed into her, Jessie warmed her hands for a day of action. Her thoughts drifted to Kai as she did. She pictured him spread out on the table she was sitting on, imagined his broad back, his lean body, his bare legs, and only a plush towel resting over his hips as her hands glided over his body. Then she imagined her hands slipping under that towel…

“Jessica, can you believe it’s Friday again already? Where does the time go?”

Jessie was startled out of her inappropriate thoughts, and her heart was pounding as she glanced at the door. The older gentleman that she saw every Friday morning was standing there, smiling at her. Hopping off the table, Jessie calmed her heart and returned his smile. “Good morning, Mr. Tinley.” Giving him a playful grin as she patted the table, Jessie prayed that she wasn’t bright red. At least the dim lighting would hide it if she were. “The week may have gone by fast for you, but the time until I got to see you again, dragged on and on for me.”

He laughed as he sat on the table and began undoing his shoes. “Careful now, Jessica. Flirt with me anymore, and I may just think I’ve got a shot with you.”

Jessie laughed at the man old enough to be her grandpa. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, Mr. Tinley.”

He nodded and Jessie stepped out of the room to give him time to undress and lay on the table. Heading to a bathroom, Jessie quickly stepped inside and exhaled a long breath. Her brief fantasy of Kai had gotten her a little worked up. Even now, knowing Mr. Tinley was in there changing, she was picturing her cousin slinking off his clothes. And if Kai were here, she wouldn’t have left the room.

The arousing thought made Jessie’s stomach tighten uncomfortably. Stepping over to the faucet, she stared at herself in the mirror. “Stop it, Jessie. You can’t be with him, so stop thinking of him like that,” she whispered to herself. With her own irritated eyes glaring back at her, she sighed again and turned on the water. Wishing she could splash some on her face without completely ruining her makeup, she settled on feeling the rushing coolness filter through her fingers instead. After another long, cleansing moment, she headed back to Mr. Tinley.

Her brief self-scolding in the bathroom cleared her head a little, and for part of the day, she was able to tuck Kai away into a tiny, unused portion of her brain. But not for long. Eventually he came out, disrupting her work by churning her stomach and igniting her body. The first time he slipped out, she was massaging the shoulders of a man whose back was covered with wiry gray hairs. But Jessie didn’t see the gray hairs. She rarely ever noticed her clients’ oddities, more focused on the muscles beneath the skin, but today her mind completely evaporated the chalky whiteness glowing in the candlelight, and replaced it with the deep, sun kissed shade of Kai’s skin.

And that was only the first time he disrupted her thoughts. She thought about him while working on a strained calf muscle, a bad case of plantar fasciitis, and a shoulder blade stress knot. She pictured her oiled hands running over his taut body as she rubbed down a figure that was not so toned. She visualized the swirl of his tattoo as she worked on a woman whose skin rivaled the depth of color in that dark ink. And between clients, she found herself staring out the window in the break room, hoping to see Kai pull up in that sporty bike of his.

No, as much as she tried, Jessie just couldn’t seem to get Kai out of her head, and it made her feel awful. But wonderful.

With her thoughts drifting and her cousin filling up her brain, Jessie’s day was a long one. She was grateful when it was over, and she was waving goodbye to the receptionist. Glancing at the patio table in the bed of her truck, she wondered if maybe she should wait to drop it off later; he was just affecting her more than usual today, and she wasn’t sure what might happen if she were around him right now, especially if he was being affected by her absence, as well. But then again, while talking on the phone with Kai was soothing and refreshing, it wasn’t enough to keep Jessie satisfied. She needed more. She needed to see him.

And maybe not seeing him for a while was the cause of her problems? Maybe he was something she needed to gradually pull away from, not quit cold turkey. Not that she ever intended to truly quit him. Kai was family, and family didn’t abandon each other, even if being around one another was difficult at times. Her decision reaffirmed, Jessie climbed into her truck and set off to her cousin’s place.

Jessie sighed in disappointment when she pulled into his underground parking garage. The spot reserved for his bike was empty. He wasn’t home yet. Not sure whether she should leave the table in front of his door or not, Jessie climbed out of her truck and stared at the white lines outlining the space where his motorcycle should be. She’d really been hoping to see him.

As if fate wanted them to keep meeting up, Jessie heard the growl of his bike while she was staring at the white lines. Joy lifting her spirits, she twisted around to see his sleek form approaching on that smooth bike. He looked completely natural on it, like he’d been riding bikes his entire life. Effortlessly pulling into the spot she was standing beside, he set his feet on the ground as he shut the bike off. Pushing down the kickstand, he turned to look at her. Beneath the pitch-black helmet, Jessie had no idea if he was happy to see her or not. She was hoping he was. She was certainly happy to see him.

Sitting back on his bike, he popped his helmet off. The grin Jessie saw there was exactly the one she’d been hoping to see. “Hey there, cousin. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

Jessie suppressed a cringe at hearing the familial term he’d placed between them. Usually she was grateful for the reminder, but after all the fantasies she’d had this afternoon…well, she sort of wanted to forget.

Mad at herself for actually wanting to forget they were related, Jessie smiled brightly at him. “I have a surprise for you…cousin.”