As Jessie’s eyes locked onto Harmony’s pale face, her body went rigid. Kai, lying beside her now, shifted his position as he woke up. He sat up on his elbow as he tried to push away the fatigue and figure out what was happening. Blinking sleepily, he looked up at Harmony; the redhead’s mouth was practically on the floor as she gaped between the two of them.
Kai startled and glanced down at Jessie, a horrified expression on his face. They’d both been so tired that they’d slept until evening and hadn’t heard her roommate come home. They hadn’t had time to dress, and Kai’s bare chest, combined with Jessie’s bare shoulders as she held the covers in place, made what they had done all too obvious, even to the most clueless person. And Harmony wasn’t some dimwit who would have needed it spelled out anyway. Just the two of them being asleep in a bed together would have been enough proof; adults just weren’t found together like that for innocent reasons.
The bang of the front door closing signaled the arrival of her second roommate. April’s voice drifted back to them. “Kai parked in my spot, is he here? And what’s up with Jessie’s clothes everywhere?” Snapping out of her daze, Harmony fled from the room.
That got Jessie moving too. “Shit, Harmony, wait!” She scrambled out of bed, finding the first pieces of clothing she could—her underwear and Kai’s bundle of T-shirts. Throwing them on, Jessie dashed out of the room to talk to her grossed-out friend.
Rushing into the living room, Jessie saw a sickly pale Harmony shaking her head and lifting her hand at April, like April had asked her what was wrong but she just couldn’t speak. Not sure what to say first, Jessie slowly walked up to her. “It’s not what you think, Harm.”
Harmony took a step back with her nose wrinkled. “Really? Because I think it’s exactly what I thought.”
April alternated her gaze between the two of them. “What are we thinking?” Her dark eyes flicked down to Jessie’s odd outfit. “Hey, you get lucky today, Jessie?” Then her gaze locked onto the name of the center where Kai worked, embroidered on the front of the polo. “Hey, isn’t that where…?” Her voice trailed off as her attention was diverted by something behind Jessie.
Jessie wanted to close her eyes and disappear, but instead she twisted to look at what—or who—had stolen April’s attention. Kai was walking down the hallway, dressed only in his slacks, since Jessie had stupidly put on all of his shirts. Given the fact that he’d just left Jessie’s bedroom, given the fact that Jessie was wearing the other half of his outfit, and given the fact that most of Jessie’s clothes were strewn about the living room and hallway, April should have immediately understood what was happening. Oddly enough though, the first thing she commented on as Kai stepped up to Jessie’s side was his tattoo. Biting her lip, she murmured, “Nice tat, island boy.”
With an annoyed grunt, Harmony smacked her shoulder. “April, God, concentrate.”
Taking a deep breath, Jessie reached down and laced her hand together with Kai’s. That maneuver seemed to finally snap the pieces into place for April. In rapid succession, she pointed at their hands, their semi-dressed bodies, Jessie’s shirt piled on the floor by the end table, Jessie’s bedroom, and then back at them. Her mouth dropped as wide open as Harmony’s had. “Holy shit! Were you two fucking?”
“No! God, April.” Even though technically April was right, what they’d done couldn’t possibly be classified as crudely or simply as she’d put it. Not in Jessie’s head anyway. Fucking implied a lack of feeling. And between her and Kai, that was never lacking.
April looked lost. “Well, why does it look like you were, and why are you two…doing that.” She waggled her finger at their laced together hands.
Jessie sighed as Harmony raised an expectant eyebrow at her. Jessie was about to say something when Kai spoke up. “We’re in love.”
April scoffed. “Well, duh, you’re family. Of course you love each other.”
Kai raised his hand and shook his head, but Harmony beat him to his explanation. “That’s not what he said, April.” The incredulity on her face was evident, so was the disgust.
April started to turn toward Harmony, but then she stopped and stared at Jessie. “Oh… You’re…in love.” April gasped in surprise, then her eyes softened. Shifting to Kai, she asked, “She’s the girl from your past, isn’t she? The one you couldn’t get over. The one you couldn’t be with.”
Kai nodded as he looked over at Jessie. Squeezing his hand, Jessie gave him a small, sad smile in return. Being forced apart had hurt them both so much. Harmony closed her eyes and raised her hands, like she was trying to ward off the vision of their tender connection. “Okay, you’re in love, fabulous. But I really don’t want to hear the details of this freaky incest thing you’ve got going on here. If you’ll excuse me, I have…somewhere else to be.”
Harmony started leaving, and Jessie dropped Kai’s hand to grab her arm. Jessie thought April would be the one most upset, but she was simply staring at Kai with speculative eyes. “Wait, Harm, it’s not like that. We’re not family.”