It's All Relative(29)
Jessie’s gaze snapped to his at hearing the loud clatter. As Kai turned back to the sink, cursing, she sat up on the bed with furrowed brows. The plate in the sink was now cleanly split in half. Great. Kai didn’t know how to smoothly talk his way out of this one; he turned on the faucet simply to give himself something to do. He was pretty sure his cheeks were bright red. They felt on fire. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Sometimes it was so easy and causal to be around her. Other times…it was the exact opposite. Kai hung his head as the situation suddenly overwhelmed him. Why her? Of all the girls that he’d ever slept with, which really wasn’t all that many, why did she have to be the one who stirred his desires the most?
Kai leaned against the counter, his head still down as he watched the water swirl some of the smaller chips down the drain. A hand came up to rest on his back, and he closed his eyes and sighed. Why her?
He heard the water shut off, felt her fingers on his face, turning him to look at her. Kai opened his eyes to see her brows knotted in concern as she examined him. He felt wiped. He’d had to adjust so much coming here—the different time zone, the different climate, the different altitude, leaving all of his friends and his close family behind—but adjusting to Jessie…that was harder than all of it.
Her hand rubbed small circles into his back as she stepped closer to him. “Kai,” she whispered. The soft murmur of her voice sent a painful ache through him—awful, wonderful. Shaking her head, Jessie looked him squarely in the eye. “It will get easier, cousin.”
Closing his eyes, he melted into her embrace. Yes, it had to.
Monday morning, Kai woke up before the alarm he’d set on his phone. That surprised him, since seven in the morning still felt more like three. And because he’d had trouble sleeping. He’d had trouble falling asleep, and he’d had trouble staying asleep. His dreams, when he’d slipped into slumber deep enough to have them, had all centered around a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl with amazing curves and an unbelievable smile. A girl he dreamed of kissing, but shouldn’t have. He’d give anything to stop thinking about Jessie that way. How had one woman so completely turned his world upside down?
Standing and raking his fingers through his hair, he decided that a nice, long, hot shower would help. And he would not think about her body while he was in the shower, either.
When he was done showering, Kai considered dressing in every piece of clothing he owned. He would be up in the mountains today, and it was bound to be even colder there than in the city. Smiling as he rummaged through his grandmother’s dresser drawers, he thought about Jessie’s comment about long johns yesterday. That was actually a pretty good idea. Maybe he’d pick some up later.
Kai made a quick bowl of cereal after slipping on his multiple layers. When his stomach was full of the sugary substance that he’d lived on before Jessie’s generous shopping trip, he took a moment to savor the feeling of being nice and toasty warm in his apartment. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t feel that way for the rest of the day. Inhaling a deep breath, he grabbed his jacket and prepared for his first day as a research assistant at Kriley Research Center. Their base was located near Golden Gate Canyon State Park, about thirty miles outside the city.
Sliding onto his motorcycle, Kai shifted his thoughts to what was important right now: his new job. He wanted to make a good impression on his parents’ friend and wanted to be an invaluable member of his team. Maybe if Kai played his cards right, he could take over when the man retired. From what Kai’s father had told him, Mason Thomas specialized in entomology, and was making huge strides in discovering why certain honeybees were dying off for no apparent reason. While that seemed small to some people, Kai understood that it wasn’t; every creature was connected to the earth, and what affected one species, no matter how small, eventually affected all of the rest. What happened to the lowliest animal could happen to those higher up.
Kai started his bike and began his journey out of town. Thinking about his father and his new job brought Kai’s mind around to his mother. She had called him again last night, thankfully not as late—or early—as the last time. She’d again asked about his job, and he’d again reminded her that he hadn’t started yet. There’d been a really long pause after he’d said that, and then she’d apologized for not remembering. Kai wasn’t sure why she was bringing up his job so much. She did almost the exact same thing in Hawaii, just with a different sort of habitat than what he would be studying. Maybe she was just hoping that he would hate it here and come home.
As Kai approached the majestic mountains, the cool wind whipping his jeans as he sped along, he thought his mother might be in for a disappointment. He could learn to love it here, once he got used to the colder temperature. The snowcapped monoliths were a thing of beauty, and even though it was approaching winter, colorful flora dotted the lower portions of the mountains. The Aspens, ranging from bright yellow to deep red, washed the hills in a sea of glorious color. Kai couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen something quite so beautiful. Well, maybe last night, when Jessie had smiled while saying goodnight.
Frowning under his helmet, Kai recommitted himself to not thinking about his cousin like that. Unfortunately, he had a feeling he’d be reminding himself to not think about her in that way for a very long time. He purposefully tried to think about anything other than the way Jessie had laughed last night, or the way she’d run a hand back through her curls, or how she’d shown her never-ending concern for him by asking if he needed anything else before she left. Failing miserably at pushing her out of his head, Kai eventually made it to the outskirts of the state park.