It's All Relative(9)

She disconnected the phone, and Kai risked shifting his gaze to look at her. Stumbling on her feet, she stuffed the phone back in her purse. “I have to go…my friends are here.” She frowned, like she really did want to stay, and then her eyes slowly raked over Kai’s body. Even drunk, tired, and on the verge of vomiting, Kai reacted to her inspection; he could feel himself begin to harden, and wished her friends weren’t here and he felt better, so they could do all of that again.

Not noticing his growing arousal, Jessie sighed and attempted to lean down to kiss him. She ended up falling over his body instead. Still trying to not be sick, Kai laughed with her as he carefully helped her regain her balance. Jessie paused, hovered over him. Her long ringlets curtained their faces for a moment, blocking out everything but them. She let out a wistful sigh; the faint scent of alcohol on her breath worried his stomach, but ignited his body. Cupping his cheek, she whispered, “I had a great time.” Then she leaned down and placed those full lips on his again.

Desire, passion, and need trumped the queasy sensation in his gut, and more than anything, Kai wanted her to stay. He knew she couldn’t though. Angling his head to feel more of her mouth on him, he deepened the kiss. He wanted to savor this; he wanted to remember this. His hands dug into her curls, holding her head to him for a moment. She let him explore her, feel her, but eventually, she pulled away. Expression reluctant, she murmured, “I have to go,” just as Kai heard a car honking on the street. Also hesitant, he released her. Suddenly exhausted, he nodded as his eyes fluttered closed.

With another conflicted sigh, she gave him one last lingering kiss. Then her lips retreated, and Kai heard her grab her coat from the kitchen and open the door. “Bye,” he whispered, before he lost the war against sleep.

As he started to fade away, he heard her say, “Goodbye,” in return and close the door behind herself. It was only then that he realized they hadn’t swapped numbers. He didn’t know her last name, didn’t know where she worked, didn’t know much about her at all. He had no way to contact her, and goodbye was the last thing he’d ever hear her say.

Kai slept fitfully, tumbling in and out of consciousness as he dreamt of the encounter over and over. He would have dreamt about it all night and well into the morning, but long before an acceptable hour, his phone started ringing. His cell was set to an annoyingly loud, shrill tone, and right as his hand flopped over to find the damn thing, he vowed to change the setting.

Cursing that he couldn’t find his phone, he also vowed to get his place in order soon. He’d moved in a couple of days ago, and had only meant to go out last night to explore his new city. Not knowing many people here, he’d set out in the hopes of finding someone his age to hang out with. He had certainly never expected what had happened. One-night stands were not his thing. He liked steady dates that eased into sexual relationships. But that girl… Something about her had appealed to every single part of him. Plus he’d been a little tipsy to begin with, and when she’d started supplying drinks, well, everything had sort of amplified after that.

Sitting up, he squinted in the bright lights of his still-lit studio. Bringing a hand to his throbbing head, he grunted in pain; his annoyingly loud phone was not helping anything. Wishing he could ignore it, he pushed himself to his feet; he wobbled a bit before he gained his equilibrium. Seeing his jacket near the door, he sighed and staggered over to it. Grabbing the thick material with half-numb fingers, he shoved his hand into the pocket and gratefully silenced his phone by answering it.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, his forehead pounding. He’d definitely overdone it last night. On several different levels.

A too-bright voice answered his slurred greeting. “Oh, hi, honey. It’s Mom.”

Kai contained a sigh. His mom always announced that it was she who was calling, like somehow, after twenty-three years, he wouldn’t recognize her voice. “Hi, Mom.” Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at the time on the microwave. Just as he’d suspected, it was hardly a decent hour for her to be calling. “You do realize I’m four hours later than you, right?”

His mother gasped as she realized the time. “Oh, shoot. Sorry, honey. Sometimes I forget just how far away Colorado really is from Hawaii… I hate you being so far away.”

Kai stifled another sigh. He loved his mother, but it was entirely too early for this, and his head was killing him. Returning to his mattress, he yawned as he sat down. “Why are you still awake? It must be past midnight there?”

She let out a dreary exhale. “I just couldn’t sleep. I’ve been worrying about you. Are you all right? Is it nice there? Have you met anyone yet?”

Wondering how to answer her, Kai stared up at his ceiling. His hand traveled over his bare chest to scratch a phantom itch, and he finally let that sigh escape. He couldn’t tell his mom about his one-night stand, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant about meeting someone anyway. “It’s fine, I’m fine. But I’ve only been here a few days, Mom. I haven’t even had a chance to see Grandma yet.” He yawned into the phone again. “I was going to do that tomorrow…or, today, I guess.”

His mother sighed into the phone again, and he could easily picture her on their back porch, worrying about him as she stared out at the dark Pacific Ocean. He thought he could even hear the waves pounding in the background. It gave him a surprising twinge of homesickness. “Right, I’m getting ahead of myself. I just miss you. When do you start work?”