It's All Relative(79)

Walking into her home, Jessie steeled herself to be all right with whatever she might see. Stomach clenched in anticipation, her eyes quickly swept the living room. She let out a soft exhale when she discovered the room empty. Good. She didn’t think she could handle stumbling upon them kissing. Thinking the two of them were probably in the kitchen, Jessie turned to go to her bedroom; she didn’t want to see the two of them laughing and making small talk before heading out to destinations unknown. She’d seen enough of that recently to last a lifetime.

Moving away from where she thought they were, Jessie ended up facing them. She could only stare in shock as Kai and April stood at the far end of the hallway, in front of Jessie’s bedroom door. Her heart started pounding. Oh, God, they were bypassing the date and heading straight for the finish line. Jessie wanted to run, but she couldn’t move.

April had him cornered at the end of the hall. She was leaning into Kai, pressing as much of her body against him as she could. Leaning up, she touched her lips to his. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the contact and didn’t return the kiss, but he didn’t pull away either. Neither one of them seemed to notice Jessie standing at the other end of the hall, watching them.

April smiled, undaunted, and began peppering him with light kisses. Kai relaxed, and his lips began to move with hers. Jessie was horrified yet entranced by their progressing connection. As she stupidly continued staring, she noticed that Kai was tentative, not enjoying it nearly as much as April. Was that because of her?

Just as Jessie thought to leave them alone, her heart heavy, like it was slowly being crushed by a thousand lead weights, Kai pulled away from April. Face intense, like he was contemplating something important, he studied his date. Then, some silent decision reached, his hand wrapped around April’s waist, and for the first time that Jessie had ever seen, Kai leaned down to her, initiating the contact. A new kind of horror filled Jessie’s gut as she watched Kai’s mouth passionately move over her friend’s. Betrayal surged through her, forcing her to stomp down the hall. Oddly enough, it was the exact same feeling that had flashed through her when she’d caught Jeremy screwing that other woman.

Red-hot fire burned through every part of her. Seeing them make-out, knowing where it was going to end up…turned out it was more than Jessie could handle. Knowing she was out of line, out of place, and possibly out of her mind, she stormed right up to the pair.

“Hey! You guys mind not doing that right in front of my bedroom?” Jessie wasn’t sure which person her question was directed at. Both turned to look at her—April seemed annoyed at the intrusion, Kai looked guilty, like he’d just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Jessie focused on him. “Are you going to go on your date, or are you going to make out in the hall all night?”

Kai opened his mouth, but April was the one who responded first. “We were just getting ready to leave. I thought you were hanging out at your grandmother’s house tonight?”

“I changed my mind.” Jessie swung her eyes to her friend. She had a suggestive smirk on her face that enraged Jessie, and Jessie couldn’t hold back the words that were slowly killing her. “Don’t leave on my account, April. All you’ve talked about since you first saw Kai was getting into his pants. Why bother with the formality of an actual date, when you could just screw him right here on the floor?”

April instantly bristled, while Kai’s eyes widened in shock. “Wow, bitchy much? What the hell has you all bent out of shape? What do you care if Kai and I want to get to know each other better? We’re both consenting adults.”

Jessie knew April was right, and that knowledge pissed her off even more. “God, April, don’t be a whore. Have some self-respect,” she snapped.

April looked like Jessie had just physically assaulted her. “Seriously? You are gonna use that word on me? That’s interesting, coming from a girl who just a few weeks ago f*cked a total stranger whose name she can’t even remember. At least I’ve gone on a couple of dates with him.” She jerked her thumb back at Kai. He closed his eyes, clearly wanting to be anywhere other than here.

Jessie sputtered for a good comeback. All she had was, “At least I wasn’t the one walking around with a condom in my pocket that night! You were prowling for action!”

April’s eyes narrowed as she stepped into Jessie. “That pervy dude slipped it to me. And I might have had it, but you’re the one who used it!” She poked her finger into Jessie’s chest. Jessie started a rebuttal, but April was riled up now and beat her to it. “Am I not good enough to screw your cousin? Is that it? You just don’t want me near your family?”

Jessie hated this entire conversation, hated that she was fighting with her friend, and hated that April was pointing out Kai’s DNA. She didn’t want to think about that right now. She didn’t want to think about anything other than how to stop April from sleeping with Kai.

Jessie had a scathing comment on her lips, one that would probably end her friendship with April, but just as she opened her mouth to say it, Kai stepped forward and grabbed her elbow. She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was like iron. Turning to April, he said, “Jessie and I need to talk for a minute. We’ll be right back.”

Her face red and splotchy, April snipped, “Whatever,” and crossed her arms over her chest.

Leaving her fuming in the hallway, Kai pushed Jessie through her bedroom door, then walked in and closed it behind them. Jessie’s chest was heaving as she watched him slowly turn around to face her. He looked as angry as she felt. “What the hell are you doing? Do you want her to remember it was me at the club? Do you want her to know about us?”