It's All Relative (29 page)

Kai nodded at Jessie through the window, then popped his helmet on and slung the bag over his shoulder, positioning it in front of his chest so April could hold on to him. As he sat on the bike, still half watching Jessie in the window, he remembered the feel of her body clinging to him. When April slipped on the bike after him, her hands immediately drifted to the front of his jeans; she even slid her fingers through his belt loops. Knowing April wouldn’t hear it through their helmets, Kai let himself sigh. There were so many things about this night that he already wished were different.

Like his date.

Giving Jessie one last wistful look, since that couldn’t be seen either, he started the bike. Then, he left her. Kai could feel the heat of her gaze as he pulled away from her house, and he let out another sigh. This one came out stuttered, as a moment of intense, painful emotion washed over him. He never imagined when he’d agreed to this just how hard it would be.

Not noticing any of his turmoil, April giggled as she rubbed herself against his back. Her fingers explored his jeans, her thumbs slipping inside his waistband. Kai concentrated on the sensation of her touch, anything to block the emotion that threatening to consume him. Her thumbs slid back and forth over his stomach, and Kai found himself smiling. It did feel nice. Maybe he was being unfair to April, by not giving her a legitimate chance. They would definitely never amount to anything if he always compared her to Jessie, and as he sped away from his cousin, he vowed to not think about her anymore this evening. It was the least he could do for April.

When they arrived at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Kai couldn’t stop smiling. It was the most incredible blending of man and nature, and the epitome of everything that he believed in—that people could live in harmony with the world, instead of always trying to conquer it. For a moment, the awe-inspiring view before him took his breath.

Rows and rows of seats were carved into the hillside, directly between the largest, reddest rocks that Kai had ever seen. They proudly jutted out of the ground, commanding attention and respect. The stage was set up at the bottom of the sloping steps, and Kai had to imagine, what with the angles of the rocks and steps, that the acoustics in this place were amazing. He’d love to see a show here.

Standing beside him, April frowned as she pulled out her ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair. Kai could tell she wasn’t as impressed by the locale as he was. Maybe she’d just been here several times before.

With a sigh, April indicated the steps. “All the way up there?”

Kai followed her line of sight. She had a point; the steps were quite a ways from the parking area. Taking off his helmet, Kai smiled as he grabbed her hand. “At least we’ll be nice and warm when we get there.”

April glanced at him and Kai could have sworn she was resisting rolling her eyes. Slapping on a smile instead, she pulled him forward. “Let’s go then.”

By the time they got to the steps, Kai felt nice and heated, even a little out of breath as the exertion mixed with the high altitude. But he didn’t care, the place was amazing. He couldn’t get over the beauty of it. The sparse trees, the dusty stone steps, the towering rock monoliths, all of it made him feel about an inch tall.

Kai threw a beaming smile April’s way. She was breathing heavier, too, but she didn’t look so happy about it. She swatted at a bug flying around her face, then sighed when she examined the dusty stone steps they were going to be sitting on. As Kai noted her unimpressed expression, he couldn’t help but think that he was failing miserably at this date.

Suppressing a sigh, he opened his bag and pulled out the thin blanket he’d stuffed inside. It wouldn’t do much for padding, but it would help keep the dust off of April’s clothes. He laid it out on a wide path between two sets of carved benches. April gave him a polite smile as she sat down on her hip. She shifted a few times to get comfortable, then watched Kai as he sat down and began pulling various objects from his bag.

Not really knowing a whole lot about packing for a picnic, Kai had eagerly listened to Louis’s suggestions. Of course, Louis was into far more exotic foods than Kai, and had wanted him to pack caviar, escargot, and foie gras. Kai had decided to pack cold pasta, chicken salad, cheese and crackers, strawberries, and a bottle of red wine instead. It had sounded good to him, and Jessie had nodded in approval at hearing it, but as he studied April’s face while pulling out the food, he suddenly got the feeling that she would have preferred the snails.

Keeping a tight smile on her face, she immediately grabbed the bottle of wine. Kai wanted to sigh again, but instead he tried to begin a polite conversation with her.

The date went by slowly for Kai. It wasn’t that he was having a bad time or anything, he was having fun, kind of, but April was clearly not an outdoorsy girl and Kai could tell she wasn’t having the best evening. She kept her thick coat zipped all the way up and looked a little disappointed that she was covered. Kai remembered her tight, long-sleeved shirts and thought that April was probably more comfortable when she had her body to flirt with. Being bundled up was hampering her seductiveness. She constantly swished away bugs and other minute creatures that Kai didn’t even notice, and she picked at the food on her paper plate with her plastic fork. Kai suddenly felt really bad for not going to the cliché restaurant. She obviously would have preferred a high-class meal.

But if she was having a bad time, she never once complained about it. Kai had to give her credit for that. She kept up a nice stream of conversation, most of it about her and the many struggles between her and her parents. Unlike the relationship Kai had with his Mom and Dad, April’s parents seemed to continually disapprove of her life and her choices. Kai didn’t have much to add to the conversation, since he and his parents had almost everything in common. But for the fact that his parents were no longer married, and outside of work they generally didn’t talk much, Kai’s family was a pretty harmonious one. Well, it was, before Kai’s Dad had gotten so odd. Not cold, but definitely distant, like he was waiting for something.

By the end of the meal, Kai and April were sitting close together on the thin blanket with their legs stretched out in front of them and a plastic glass of wine in hand. April leaned into Kai’s side as she laughed at a joke he’d made. He wasn’t sure if she was laughing to flirt or laughing because she genuinely thought he was funny. Aside from finding him attractive, Kai was never entirely sure what April thought of him.

After finishing her glass of wine, April had a pleasant rosy glow on her cheeks. Kai was staring at her as the last gulp flowed down his throat. She watched him silently as she grabbed his glass and placed it inside of hers. Oddly enough, she made that simple movement suggestive. Intrigued, Kai watched as she blindly set the glasses on the step above them.

Her gaze suddenly locked onto his lips. Kai could clearly see what she wanted, what she expected, and he wasn’t sure if he could go through it. She had kissed him before, briefly, and he’d responded to that, but a part of him didn’t want this, and if he leaned down to her lips, if he initiated the contact…

Kai just didn’t know if he was capable of that yet.

They stared at each other, their faces tantalizingly close, her warm breath light on his cool skin. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he contemplated. April’s eyes tracked the movement, and she seemed to approve. Maybe tired of waiting for him, she made her move. Before Kai could even get nervous about kissing her, April’s lips were on his. She skipped right past the shy, tentative stage and engulfed him in a deep kiss. Kai didn’t want to like it, but she tasted good, smelled good, and felt good, and he couldn’t stop himself. His hand cupped her neck and pulled her into him.

April let out an eager moan as their tongues lightly brushed together. Kai’s body instantly reacted to the noise, even though he sort of wished it wouldn’t. Finally enjoying her evening, April ran her hands through his hair, tilting his head to get a better angle at him. His breath increased as her tongue flicked across his mouth, searching, teasing, tasting.

Leaning backwards, she pulled Kai with her. Against his better judgment, he went willingly. She lay down on the ground, her body half off the blanket, but now that they were connecting on an intimate level, she didn’t seem to mind the dust. April groaned as Kai’s upper body laid over hers. Their kiss heated as Kai ran his hand down her side to her hip. The lower halves of their bodies were still lying side-by-side, hers flat to the ground. It was a position that would be easy for Kai to take advantage of, if he wanted more from her. But as his mouth moved over hers, he consciously kept his hips away. He wasn’t ready. Honestly, he wasn’t ready for her hands running up his chest and her tongue probing his mouth, but she wanted him and she was being aggressive about it, and Kai sort of had a weakness for that.

But he wouldn’t let it go any farther. And he wouldn’t think of Jessie as April’s fingers trailed across his T-shirt, where the edge of his tattoo curled over his collar bone. He would not think of his cousin while he made out with her roommate. That would just be…wrong.

J
essie felt sick again. She was discreetly holding her stomach under the kitchen table, a fake, forced smile on her face as she listened to April describe her date with Kai. The date itself sounded like it hadn’t gone very well. April hadn’t liked her hair getting all out of sorts from the helmet. She hadn’t enjoyed the long, exertive trek up to Red Rocks; with a half-grin she’d explained that there was only one reason why she’d want to be sweaty with a guy on a date, and it wasn’t hiking. And she really hadn’t been impressed with the food options. She’d been hoping for lobster in a classy restaurant and hadn’t been too thrilled about freezing her butt off, swatting away too many bugs to count, and eating what she considered “camping food.” Personally, Jessie thought she was being a little prissy about the whole thing. Maybe it wasn’t April’s typical date night, but it sounded perfectly romantic to Jessie.

But the part of the night that April had liked, the part that she could not stop talking to Jessie and Harmony about, was the part that was making Jessie nauseous. April and Kai had kissed, and it was much more than just the tiny peck Jessie had witnessed. From the way April told the story, Kai had had her sprawled on the stone steps, moaning and groaning with desire, and had practically shoved his tongue down her throat. She went on and on about how he couldn’t plan a date worth a crap, but he definitely made up for it with his mouth.

April couldn’t wait to see him again.

Jessie couldn’t wait until she was alone in her room again; she had some pent-up tears that needed releasing.

She’d thought watching him leave with April would be the hardest part of all of this. Staring at his bike as it pulled away with April on it had ripped her to shreds. But this? Hearing April describe images that haunted Jessie’s dreams? His hands, his breath, his lips? It was too much to bear, and Jessie had no idea what she’d say or do the next time she saw him. She was anxious about their next meeting, nervous and impatient. She wanted to tell him to stop seeing April, wanted to demand that she was the only woman in his life. But she couldn’t do that to Kai. What life would that be? For either of them? Not truly having each other, but not having anyone else either…it sounded lonely to Jessie. Lonely and painful. But so was watching him fly away with April. Maybe Jessie should start seeing someone too. She just had no desire to see someone. Anyone but Kai, that was. But she couldn’t have Kai, and they both needed to move on.

Interrupting April’s hundredth retelling of making out with him, Jessie stood and set her cereal bowl in the sink. Faking nonchalance, she tossed over her shoulder, “I’m glad you guys had an okay time, April. I’m gonna head over to Gram’s, see if she needs anything. Catch you guys later.”

As she walked past the two of them still giggling at the table, she heard April brightly exclaim, “Have fun! So…how soon do you think I can call Kai?”

Closing her eyes, Jessie didn’t answer her roommate. She tried to let it go, but tears stung beneath her eyelids and her stomach roiled. It was right; it was natural. Unlike her and her cousin, Kai and April made sense together.

Her stomach finally felt a little better on the drive over to her grandmother’s…until she pulled into her driveway. Jessie sat in the drive with her truck idling, staring over at Kai’s bike in the spot right next to her. He was here. If she went inside, she’d have to see him post-date. Would he look different? Would he look like he’d been bitten by the love bug? Would he want to tell her all about it? Jessie had had a hard enough time listening to April, she wasn’t sure if she could handle hearing Kai talk about it.

Sighing, she shut the truck off. She wasn’t here for Kai. She was here to take care of Grams. Kai was a decent guy. He wouldn’t bring up something that would potentially hurt her. Well, he might want to make sure Jessie was okay, but he certainly wouldn’t go into specifics like April had. She couldn’t hide from him forever anyway. They were family, and family didn’t abandon each other. Plus, she’d been sitting in the driveway for a while now; she was pretty certain she’d already been spotted.