It's All Relative(46)
“You all right?”
Kai looked up at hearing Jessie’s concerned voice. Trying to look as carefree as he could, he brightly said, “Of course.” Pointing to Jessie’s half-eaten plate of spaghetti, he attempted to distract her from deciphering his mood by asking, “Is it okay?”
Jessie glanced at her plate and smiled. “It’s wonderful. I haven’t had spaghetti in forever.”
Kai felt a little guilty that he hadn’t made something more elaborate, even the sauce had been from a jar, but she seemed genuine with her answer. “Good…I’m glad.”
As he went back to eating, Jessie paused with her wine glass to her lips. Kai studied her thoughtfully while he chewed his food. She seemed like she wanted to ask him something. Wondering what she might possibly question him about made him a little nervous. If she brought up them, and what had almost happened downstairs…well, he wasn’t sure what he could say about it. Nothing that he should probably say out loud. It was best if Jessie didn’t know just how often he thought of her…how often he dreamt of her.
When she pulled the glass from her mouth, Kai froze; he was rigid with tension when her question finally escaped her lips. “Would you like to come to my place tomorrow night? Have dinner with me…and my roommates?” She added that last part after a momentary pause.
Relaxing, Kai swallowed his food and smiled. He’d been imagining much harder questions. “Sure, I’d love to see your place.” He thought about that for a second while she smiled. “Would your roommates…? I mean…has it been long enough…? Would they suspect that you and me…?” Kai let his voice trail off. He didn’t know how to ask her if her roommates would figure out that he was Jessie’s one night stand once they saw him. God, even thinking the question made him nauseated.
Knowing what he was vaguely referring to, Jessie immediately averted her eyes. “No, I don’t…I don’t think so.” She looked back with a shrug. “If I introduce you as my cousin, the thought shouldn’t even cross their minds. They’ll just assume that you and I would never…” She bit her lip as her cheeks turned a beautiful shade of pink.
Nodding, Kai took a large gulp of his wine. It seemed reasonable enough to think that her friends wouldn’t make that connection. Because who would suspect that, as family, they’d never met before that night? That, thanks to nicknames and lots of alcohol, they hadn’t recognized each other in the club. That they’d gone all the way without ever really finding out anything about the other. That they’d had mind-blowing sex without ever realizing that they shared the same last name.
No, who would ever be twisted enough to come up with that scenario?
Kai woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty good. And not just because he had finally adjusted to the time change and was up at a reasonable hour for a weekend morning. No, what had a smile plastered on his face when he opened his eyes, was the thought of going to Jessie’s place later.
Standing and stretching, he threw on a T-shirt and shuffled to the kitchen to make some coffee and have some cereal at his new table. He smiled the entire time he ate his breakfast, enjoying the ease of sitting at a table, and the sentiment behind the gift. His cousin was such a generous person. As Kai finished his bowl, he idly wondered if there was anything he could give to her. Some small, reciprocal token of appreciation. Unfortunately, he really didn’t have much yet. Maybe later, when he started getting some decent paychecks, he would get her something, or maybe take her out to a nice meal. Nothing too date-like though. Kai wouldn’t want to make either of them uncomfortable.
His first week had gone by in a blur. Getting to and from his job was a longer commute than he was used to, but the freedom of riding a motorcycle was something he enjoyed, so he often looked forward to his rides. Although, he could already tell that he was going to have to wear something heavier over his work clothes when he rode. He was just getting too cold. Maybe he’d do a little shopping today.
The actual work part of work was going smoothly enough. Truly, doing the work was the easiest thing about his job. Cataloging, studying, analyzing…they were all tasks that he found intriguing. It was dealing with all of the various personalities at the research center that was the real challenge.
Louis seemed to think that he and Kai were best friends now, and while Kai liked the man, he wasn’t sure if he liked being treated to the non-stop rendition of the Tao of Louis. He had an opinion on everything, and was none too shy about sharing it. He was also 100 percent certain that Kai had screwed Missy on that very first day in the backroom. He hadn’t even hesitated to ask Kai for the details, and had only been surprised when Kai had refused to admit they’d done the deed. To Louis, it was just another fact catalogued in his brain. His sureness made Kai wonder if Missy was telling people that was what had happened.
As for Kai’s actual relationship with Missy, well he probably had a decent case for sexual harassment on his hands. He wasn’t about to take it that far—he could handle being hit on every day without formally complaining—but it was taxing at times. Kai hoped that after a while of his purposeful disinterest in her advances, she would stop. So far, she hadn’t yet. If anything, she’d gotten a little bolder as they grew more comfortable around each other. Just yesterday, when she’d been bugging him about the bike, she’d also grabbed his ass.