It's All Relative (24 page)

Jessie came across April as she was exiting the only bathroom in the house. “Oh, hey, Jessie. You okay?”

That last thought made her grimace. She slapped on a tired smile to cover it. “Yeah, of course.” She faked a yawn. “Just tired.”

April scanned her face. “Oh…are you sure? You look like you’ve been crying?”

Frustrated, and not wanting to chit-chat with April right now, Jessie wished girls were as oblivious about bloodshot eyes as boys. “I had an itch, scrubbed too hard. Damn wine,” she muttered.

April studied her a second longer, then grinned. “Huh, that’s funny. My big toe itches when I drink.” She giggled as she let Jessie go around her to get into the small room. With April still watching her from the open door, Jessie quietly prepared her toothbrush. She didn’t want to talk, but April sure did.

She let out a dreamy sigh. “God, your cousin is gorgeous.” She bit her lip as she leaned on the doorframe. “And sweet. He was being so shy with me.” Giggling again, she met eyes with Jessie in the mirror. “He told me that I made him nervous. Isn’t that cute?”

Feeling sick to her stomach, Jessie nodded, smiled, and then began vigorously brushing her teeth. April sighed again, and when she spoke, her voice was oddly serious. “He seems different than the guys I usually go for. More than just a pretty face.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she thought about the man Jessie routinely thought about. “I think I could genuinely like him, you know? Like serious, honest-to-God like him. Kind of scary, huh?”

Jessie carefully rinsed out her mouth. The lingering taste of peppermint from her toothpaste was doing horrible things to her upset stomach. She had
never
anticipated April falling for Kai. April never fell for anyone. But Jessie was certain they would hit it off if they gave it an honest try. Kai was just too…Kai. April falling for him was practically a given. Jesus, why hadn’t Jessie considered that outcome before she’d thrown Kai at April? But…maybe…it was for the greater good. It wasn’t like she and Kai could hold out for each other. There was nothing that could
ever
happen there. They wouldn’t wake up one day and suddenly
not
be family.

April’s face shifted to concern as she studied Jessie’s reaction. “Are you sure you’re okay with me dating him?”

Jessie hesitated. The question was a trap. If Jessie said she wasn’t okay with it, she’d damage her friendship with April. If she said she was okay with it…her vision of Kai and April together would happen right in front of her face. Throwing on a smile, Jessie faked nonchalance as best she could. “Of course I’m okay with it, April. You guys could be great together, amazing even. And he’s a great guy…you should definitely go for it.” God, she was definitely going to be sick now…but this was for the best. For everyone.

April seemed genuinely thrilled by the idea of a lasting relationship with Kai; she even squealed. “Oh, I hope so. I hope he calls soon!” With that, she spun on her heel and skipped to her bedroom. Jessie sighed and closed her eyes. What on earth had she just done? Exactly what she’d had to, that was what.

The next morning, Jessie slept in on purpose. She didn’t want to deal with everything that had happened last night. She didn’t want to see the excited, elated look on April’s face. Just hearing her chipper voice through the walls was bad enough. As she laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, she could hear her cousin’s name being mentioned more than once. She could also hear April and Harmony discussing how sweet and charming he was. Then, of course, April shifted to his prowess.

“God, I bet he’s a stallion in the bedroom.” She giggled, and Harmony laughed with her. Jessie’s stomach clenched. He
was
amazing in bed…and she never wanted April to discover that for herself.

Jessie heard Harmony add, “Yeah, he seems like the type who would be very…attentive.”

Rubbing her eyes, Jessie wished she could block out the memory of just how much of an attentive lover Kai was. She wished she could plug her ears, too, but almost like she was punishing herself, she kept listening to her girlfriends in the living room.

April was groaning at Harmony’s last comment. “God, I know. He’s got to be the type who is willing to go that extra distance.” She laughed. “Makes sure the woman has a least one good one before he’s done.” Jessie’s hands flew to her stomach as she remembered just how good hers had been…both of them. She tried to not feel queasy at the thought, but she couldn’t help the twinge of illness.

Harmony snickered at April’s comment. “Well, if you’re planning on dating him, I’m sure you’ll find out before too long.” Jessie groaned, her stomach felt even worse now. Hopefully it stayed down, because she did not want to dash to the bathroom. She never wanted to get out of this bed.

April seemed offended by Harmony’s comment. “Bitch, are you saying I’m easy?”

Harmony laughed again. “Hey, I’m only going by your past boyfriends. Have you ever gone past three dates?” Jessie bit her lip; she already knew the answer to that. April was very…descriptive of her
good
dates.

April was silent a second, then laughed. “Okay, yeah, you have a point.” She groaned again. “God, he’s so hot. Just picturing that man underneath me…good Lord, I need a cool shower now.”

Jessie’s stomach clenched into a painful knot, but her mind rewound to when she’d had that naked body writhing underneath her. The passionate look on his face, the heated breaths, the thrusting hips, the way he’d used all of his body to make her explode. Thinking about it made a rush of desire surge through Jessie, and her breath quickened at the memory. Damn it.

Harmony shushed April. “Quiet, that’s Jessie’s cousin you’re talking about, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to hear about you and Kai having sex.” Both girls giggled, and their voices dropped to a level Jessie couldn’t hear anymore.

Closing her eyes, Jessie replayed her night with Kai. As wrong as it was, she let herself relive every erotic thing they’d done. She generally shut her thoughts off when they drifted in that direction, but April had shoved the memories at her, and she couldn’t hold them back. Her body reacted to her thoughts, and a deep ache throbbed within her core as she remembered the way his body felt when he slipped inside her, when he rubbed against her in all the right places. Sucking on her lip, Jessie’s hands drifted under her shirt, to feel the smooth skin of her stomach. She shouldn’t think about him this way. And she definitely shouldn’t live out the fantasy, shouldn’t pretend her hands were his, and shouldn’t relieve the ache growing stronger every long second that she thought about his hard, perfect body. It was so wrong. She couldn’t let herself go there. Even still, she restlessly stirred in her sheets. She needed something, some sort of release. Her hand ran along her abdomen, slipped under the lacey edge of her underwear. Her legs tensed, her skin pebbled, and her breath grew heavy as her fingers slowly trailed downward, to where the painful need of wanting him was the strongest. She shouldn’t do this…but God, she wanted one more time with him, even if it wasn’t real.

Her finger hovered above her, a hairs-breadth from satisfying the ache, when the doorbell rang. Icy shock flooded her senses, dousing any fire she’d felt. Disgust filled her as she ripped her hand out of her underwear. She could
not
give in to fantasies about Kai. It was so…

Amid her confusion, she heard April brightly exclaim, “Kai! It’s so good to see you again.”

Jessie jerked upright in bed like someone had poured ice down her back. Her breath was still embarrassingly fast; her body was slightly shaky from the sudden shift in desire. Kai was here? Again? Looking over at the alarm clock on her nightstand, Jessie saw that she’d let herself sleep in past eleven. What was he doing here? And oh God…was he here for April?

As she listened to April leading Kai into the house, Jessie glanced down at herself; she was a mess and seriously needed to take a shower before Kai saw her. Jessie could hear his deep voice responding to April as he walked into the living room, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. Hearing his voice did odd things to her body, started reigniting the spark the doorbell had so thoroughly quenched. Wishing her heart and her breath would calm down, Jessie got out of bed and cracked open her door.

She could see him from the hallway. He had his back to her and was casually talking with April and Harmony like he’d known them for years, not just a day. Harmony was still seated on a couch, looking up at him with polite interest. April was practically attached to his hip with her hand curled around his arm. Thinking to sneak in a quick shower before Kai noticed her, Jessie began tiptoeing to the bathroom. April laughed at something Kai said and her fingers traveled all the way down his arm, until she was holding his hand. Jessie paused; she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the intimate contact.

Almost like he knew she was staring, Kai turned his head and glanced down the hallway. The smile on his face brightened when he saw her, and he instantly released April. Frowning, April followed his gaze to Jessie. Feeling dirty, grimy, and in desperate need of some refreshingly cool water, Jessie awkwardly pointed to the bathroom door. “I’m just gonna… I need…” Cursing her inability to speak, she gushed, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

Kai was nodding when she flew into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. She bit her lip so hard she almost punctured the skin. Jesus. If he only knew what she’d been thinking about just as he’d been arriving. What she’d almost begun… Actually, she really wasn’t sure how he would feel about it. He would probably be just as conflicted as she was. And probably just as turned on by it, too. It was yet another reason why Kai should date April. They needed to end this attraction. Now.

Even knowing that it was a good thing, Jessie hated the idea of April out there “entertaining” Kai, and she took the fastest shower she’d ever taken in her life. Leaving the water just barely above room temperature, it was also the coldest shower she’d ever taken in her life. The chill helped her regain focus though, and by the time she was scrubbing her hair dry with a towel, all of her inappropriate thoughts about Kai were securely locked away in the farthest corner of her mind, never to be looked at again.

After running her fingers through her damp curls, knowing full well they were going to frizz out when they dried, Jessie dashed across the hallway to her bedroom. She dressed just as quickly as she’d showered. All in all, she’d only taken about fifteen minutes getting ready, but the thought of April mercilessly flirting with Kai for that long left a frenzied feeling in Jessie’s stomach. She knew she’d have to firmly deal with that one day, but not today.

As she slipped on some comfortable shoes, she wondered what Kai was doing back here so soon. Surely he would have just called April to make arrangements with her. Cautiously peeking her head out the door, Jessie heard light laughter from the living room. She recognized the sound as both April and Harmony, and she was momentarily elated that Harmony was still here. At least April would keep the PDA to a minimum with her in the room.

Trying to feel a calmness that she really didn’t, Jessie lifted her chin and walked out to join the group sitting on the couch. Kai was talking with Harmony, but he twisted to look at Jessie when she entered. Warmth heated Jessie’s face, and she couldn’t stop her grin at seeing him. Even after all the drama last night, he never failed to bring a smile to her lips. But then April casually placed her hand on his knee, and the warmth evaporated. This was going to be so much harder than she thought. Feeling very proud of herself, Jessie managed to keep a neutral expression on her face.

Kai rose to greet her, and April’s hand slipped off him as he stood. With April openly admiring his backside, Kai stepped up to Jessie. “Hey, sorry to barge in on you again…after last night.” The smile on his face faltered some before returning. Searching those beautiful blue-green eyes, Jessie was fairly certain that he was forcing himself to be as calm and collected as she was trying to be.

She gave him a reassuring smile. They had to get through the awkwardness if they were ever going to truly be family. “Not a problem. Lord knows I’ve done it to you several times already.” Remembering how her barging in on him usually involved him being shirtless made Jessie laugh and sigh at the same time.

Kai grinned at hearing her humor. Sliding his hands into his back pockets, he gave her a mischievous smile as he nodded his head at the door. “Sorry, I just never got a chance to show you what I picked up for you yesterday.”

Intrigued, Jessie looked out the front window. All she saw was Kai’s sporty motorcycle. “You didn’t have to get me anything, Kai,” she said, surprised that he would do something like that for her.

Laughing, he shook his head. “Are you kidding, after everything you’ve done for me? I owe you…a lot.” The way he said those two words drew Jessie’s attention back to him. The look in his eyes matched his voice, and Jessie allowed herself to get lost in them for a few seconds, before remembering they weren’t alone.

Flicking her eyes behind Kai, she breathed a quick exhale of relief. April was still staring at his backside; she’d completely missed that tender exchange. But shifting her gaze to Harmony, she was met with a pair of curious eyes. Harmony hadn’t missed the softness of the moment. Jessie quickly smiled at her friend. Hopefully her casualness would throw Harmony off of whatever track she might have gotten herself on. Harmony smiled back at Jessie, looking none the wiser.

With all of that only taking a second or two, Jessie shifted her attention back to Kai and playfully asked, “Are you giving me your bike?”

Kai seemed caught off-guard by the sudden mood shift. Jessie was faking it for her friends, and hoped he played along. The more casual they were, the better. He broke out into a laugh. “Nice try, but no.” Taking a step away from the couch, he glanced back at Harmony and April. April’s eyes reluctantly lifted to his face when he spoke. “Mind if I borrow my cousin for a while?” He nodded his head at Jessie.

Harmony smiled and shrugged. “Just bring her back in one piece.”