It's All Relative(33)

As the second set of double doors hissed closed behind him, Kai hoped he could impress his boss with his first task. He’d never wrangled bees before. Containing a small frown, Kai hoped he didn’t get stung.





Jessie rubbed a sore spot in her back while she opened the door to her place. She’d had a long day and had been dreaming about a bubble bath for the last twenty minutes. The irony of Jessie’s muscles being sore wasn’t lost on her; she was a masseuse and alleviated kinks for a living. Jessie preferred to think of her work as physical therapy and was based out of an esthetician’s office and not a spa. She was thinking about expanding her talents into acupuncture one day, or maybe concentrating solely on sports therapy. She still wasn’t sure what course she wanted to steer her life.

Setting her purse on the kitchen table, Jessie noticed some of the things she’d thought to bring Kai yesterday. Smiling to herself, she wondered how his first day at his new job had gone. She still wasn’t entirely sure what he did for a living, but he’d seemed excited to do it.

Forgetting all thoughts of a relaxing soak to ease the ache in her back, Jessie headed to the laundry room to grab the large box that the girls used as a dump area for laundry left behind in the dryer.

Walking into the living room with it, she squinted her eye, tilted her head, and tried to picture her things through Kai’s eyes. What might he like to see in his home? Picking out the more masculine things she owned, Jessie began filling the box. First, she found the candles in her closet. Then she went through some of her picture frames. Removing her photos first, especially the one of her when she was twelve with mile-high hair and god-awful braces, she tucked them into the box. Finding a couple of black throw pillows in a corner, victims of April’s last temper tantrum, she stuffed those in as well. In the bathroom, she picked out a few decent towels, since she knew his weren’t very plush. On a whim, she included a six inch figurine of a camel that her dad had brought home for her once. The thing was atrocious and gaudy, but it always made her smile for some reason. She loved the thought of it making Kai smile.

Just as she was closing the top of the box, Jessie heard the front door open. April walked into the room, chatting on her cell phone. Jessie could tell by the high-pitched timbre of her friend’s voice that she was talking to a boy. As Jessie took one last sweep of her home, mentally searching all of her rooms for anything she might have missed, April sank onto the couch and plopped her feet up on the coffee table. Noticing some old magazine under the table, Jessie squatted down and grabbed a couple. Kai might like something to read on the nights he stayed up late, unable to sleep.

Jessie reopened the box to smash some gossip magazines inside. Tossing her phone on the couch, April tilted her head and asked, “What ‘cha doing?”

Thinking about showing up on Kai’s door with a box full of goodies made Jessie smile. She didn’t know if he would be home yet, but she could always leave it in front of his apartment door if he wasn’t. Then she frowned. Would he think it was weird that she was giving him a box of what, she supposed, he could consider crap? Most guys weren’t into dressing up their place, not as much as girls at any rate. And Jessie didn’t own anything garish for his bachelor pad—no beer signs or nudey magazines—although Kai didn’t strike her as the type of guy who was really into either of those things.

Her smile returning, she answered April. “I’m going through some of my extra stuff. My cousin just got into town, so I thought I’d share the wealth.” She laughed, once again hoping that Kai saw value in the trinkets she was offering him.

April set her feet on the floor and leaned forward over her knees. “Oh, cousin? Are we taking her out this weekend?” She wriggled her hips on the couch in a movement that Jessie was sure meant dancing.

Jessie smirked at her eager-for-adventure friend. “He. My cousin in town is a guy.” A very attractive guy who Jessie knew all too well, in some ways at least. She bit the inside of her cheeks to hold back another frown. She really shouldn’t think about that anymore.

Successfully hiding her thoughts from April, she watched as her friend’s face lit up; she was truly excited now. “Oooh, a guy…is he hot?” She raised her eyebrows alluringly.

Jessie sighed. He gave new meaning to the word. To April, she shrugged. “He’s family…I don’t know.”

Frowning, April stood up and smoothed the loose cardigan she wore over a long, modest skirt. April worked as a receptionist in a medical office. Her daily appearance was surprisingly reserved, considering her provocative personality. April’s parents highly approved of work-April. “Only one way to know for sure. I’m coming with you.”

She pointed to the box, and Jessie bit her lip. She really didn’t want to introduce Kai to April right now. For one, she wasn’t sure if April would remember Kai or not. Secondly, April was attractive and seductive, two things that usually got a man’s attention. And once April saw Kai…she’d go straight for him, especially since Jessie had just written him off as nothing more than family. Jessie knew she couldn’t hold up Kai’s love life, since they really were nothing more than family, but, she didn’t want to speed it along either. She wanted him to herself for a bit.

“Um, actually, he’s not home from work yet. I’m dropping and dashing.” She really wasn’t sure if he’d be home or not, but she wasn’t about to let April know that. Guilt washed through Jessie as she realized just how many lies she’d told her friends lately.