Being as gentlemanly as he could, Kai opened the front door for them. Harmony and April played up their gratitude as they sauntered through. Jessie peeked up at him from under her lashes as she passed. “Thank you, Kai,” she whispered. He wanted to sigh in a disgustingly happy way at hearing those simple words falling from her lips. It gave him hope that she wasn’t too upset with him.
Settling back into Harmony’s vehicle, Kai was once again shoved into the back seat with his cousin. While the girls seemed to be getting along better than before, April still didn’t want to sit by Jessie. If Harmony’s attempt to smooth things out this weekend didn’t work, Kai was going to have a little heart to heart with April. She needed to let go of her hurt and forgive Jessie; Kai knew from experience that Jessie’s friendship was worth…well, just about anything.
Almost like April knew Kai was thinking about her, she twisted in her seat to look at him. Her long, black hair was pulled up into an intricately twisted up-do. It highlighted her elegant neck, along with the off-the-shoulder sweater she was wearing. April was sure to get some attention tonight. With an amused smirk, she told Kai, “Don’t get too disappointed, but the restaurant we’re going to doesn’t use plastic utensils.” She winked at him before turning back around.
Kai had to smile at her obvious reference to their disastrous first date. Shaking his head, he met eyes with her in the mirror. “Cute…Prima Donna.”
She laughed as Harmony pulled out of the parking lot. “And don’t you forget it!”
Harmony giggled at her friend as she pulled onto the road, and even Jessie softly laughed. She looked over at him and her hand twitched, like she really wanted to touch him. Kai wanted to touch her too, so badly he had to clasp his hands together in his lap.
The dinner wasn’t super fancy, but it was nice enough that it took a while. After drinks, appetizers, main courses, and dessert, Kai was feeling a bit run down. Especially when his body started letting him know that he’d used muscles today that had never known hard labor before; he was sore in places that he hadn’t even known could become sore.
When Harmony and April struck up a conversation with a couple of guys sitting at the bar, Kai was certain that the evening was nowhere near wrapping up. He really just wanted to crawl into a ball somewhere and sleep, even if it was the floor. Jessie watched him yawn, then she glanced over at April and Harmony. They had their backs to Kai and Jessie. Harmony was twisting a red lock around her finger, while April was letting out a throaty laugh—flirting at its finest. Returning her eyes to Kai, Jessie rested her hand on his thigh under the table. Kai immediately felt alertness seep into him at the contact. Her touch was better than coffee.
“Come on, we can get a taxi back to the lodge.” She nodded her head toward the dark of night visible through the large front windows. Kai wanted to object, to tell her that she could stay with her friends and he’d go back alone, but he found himself nodding at her instead. Smiling, Jessie squeezed his thigh once before standing and walking over to her friends. That dress curved perfectly over her backside, framing it in such a splendid way that Kai couldn’t look at anything else.
Jessie spoke with Harmony for a minute. They both twisted to look at him. Thankfully, Kai snapped his eyes to their faces just in the nick of time. Giving them a dopey wave, he ordered his suddenly surging heart to calm down. He desperately needed to stop looking at Jessie like that. Harmony nodded, then gave Jessie a quick hug before separating. The guy Harmony was talking to smiled wider at hearing she was staying. His eyes drifted down to her chest, cleverly being emphasized by a teal wrap shirt that knotted right under her breasts, and stayed there.
Jessie slowly walked back to Kai, her eyes drifting over his chest before settling on his face. She smiled that soft smile that he absolutely loved on her, then extended her hand. With a wide grin, he took it. After helping her put on her jacket, he slipped on his own. Then they waved goodbye to the pair of flirty girls and darted outside.