It's All Relative(120)

Kai pulled back from her suddenly, his eyes wide with understanding. “That’s why.” His gaze drifted over her shoulder as his mind made some mental connection. “That’s why my mom always asks about work, always asks if I like my boss. She’s been waiting to hear if he…” Kai sighed and closed his eyes. “And my dad…no wonder he’s been so distant lately. They were both waiting for me to…to suddenly hate them or something.” Opening his eyes, he shook his head. “Their entire reason for arranging for me to be out here was a lie. How am I supposed to feel about that?”

Jessie ran her fingers down his shoulder to grab his hand again; it was finally warm. “Angry. Hurt. Confused.” She shook her head. “Whatever you’re feeling right now is just what you should be feeling, and it’s okay to feel it.” Kai stared at her a moment, then nodded. Jessie sighed as she gazed at their joined fingers. “Do you think…Grams…knows?”

She peeked up at him when she heard his weary exhale. “Yeah…I think she does. She stopped coming around when my parents got divorced. I didn’t think much about it until I was older, and then I just figured she didn’t like someone hurting her son…” Hanging his head, he shrugged. “But that wasn’t entirely it. She hates my mom because she knows about the affair. Because she knows about me.”

Jessie lowered her head to look up at his face. “You can’t know that. Divorces happen for all sorts of reasons, Kai. She didn’t necessarily know. Your dad might not have told her.”

Kai’s features smoothed to blankness and his voice lost all emotion. “She asks if I’m happy at work almost every time I see her. Why would she do that…if she wasn’t waiting for me to be suddenly unhappy?”

Jessie looked away, thinking. He was right. Grams always seemed like she was waiting for Kai to have a breakdown. In fact, she was always telling Jessie that she needed to stay close to Kai, that he needed the two of them. Jessie had just assumed that she’d meant in the grand scheme of things, they needed each other, but she hadn’t. She’d specifically meant that once Kai found out the truth about his father, he would need their support.

Compassion for Kai flooded through her. Everyone he was closest to had kept this from him. She slowly nodded. “You’re right…she knows, she’s always known.”

Kai’s face crumpled into a worn, heartbroken expression that tugged on Jessie’s soul; she hated seeing him in pain. Closing his eyes, he leaned into her side. “I’m so glad I have you, Jessie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Jessie’s eyes started to brim with tears. Not able to stand his grief anymore, she pulled him in for another hug. Kai buried his head into her shoulder as he held her tight. Gently rocking him, Jessie warmed and comforted him the best she could. She wasn’t really sure how to help him though. How do you help someone who just found out that the person they believed was a family member their entire life…wasn’t family at all?

A sudden realization struck Jessie to her core. He…wasn’t family. Not to Jessie. Genetically speaking, Kai was as much of a stranger to Jessie as Jeremy had been. Every muscle tensed as stiff as stone, as she finally comprehended what Kai’s news meant for the two of them.

Confused by the rigidness in her body, Kai pulled back to stare at her. “Jessie?” he whispered, searching her eyes for some clue of what was wrong.

Jessie didn’t know what to feel. She’d wanted him for so long, but he had always been out of reach. Taboo. But now…while they would still seem like cousins to most, they weren’t. That changed a lot. That changed everything.

“We’re not related, Kai,” she murmured, her voice as dazed as his had been earlier.

Kai studied her for a moment before his mouth fell open in understanding. He’d been so preoccupied with trying to come to terms with the reality of his parentage that he hadn’t had a chance to think about their situation, and what his true lineage did for them. His eyes flicked across her face. “We’re…not related,” he repeated.

They both stared at each in silence, processing. Jessie’s heart began to race as Kai’s eyes pierced through every inch of her. Her breath increased as they watched each other, frozen, unable to move. Being in love with each other had been so wrong for so long that it was a little hard to move past that feeling.

But…they did.

At the same time that Kai leaned toward her, she leaned toward him. Their mouths met, and they exhaled in relief as they were finally able to connect without feeling the bitter bite of guilt and revulsion. They kissed softly, letting just their lips explore the other’s. It was simple and honest and pure, and it nearly split Jessie’s heart wide open. She’d wanted this for so long, wanted him for so long…and it was finally okay to have him.

Kai strung his fingers through her hair, not deepening the kiss in any way, just savoring the curled strands that he loved. They sat on the couch side-by-side and moved their mouths together as innocently and sweetly as if it was their first kiss…with anyone. Jessie reveled in his soft lips, the way his hand brushing through her hair would sometimes run down her cheek. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been with a boy and just enjoyed the simple act of kissing.

But they weren’t teenagers anymore, and they’d been denying themselves this moment for a really long time now. After a long eternity of tenderly feeling each other, Jessie pressed harder against his lips and finally flicked her tongue against the tip of his. Kai’s chest rumbled with approval and he tilted his mouth so he could caress his tongue along the length of hers.