Harmony glanced back at the hallway as the object of Jessie’s preoccupation returned. Kai grinned at seeing both of the girls watching him. Shrugging again, Harmony twisted back to Jessie. “The last time he called, he called to talk to me.” Her smile turned bright. “We had our first date last night…and it was great. He’s smart and funny and so nice, and he loves to ski as much as I do…and you’re not mad, are you?” She said all of that really fast, and her expression turned anxious, like she was sure she’d just done something really wrong.
Shaking her head, Jessie laughed and hugged her again. Kai came up to them and cocked a curious eyebrow. Jessie ignored him for a second and answered her friend. “Of course I’m not mad.” Giving Kai a pointed look over Harmony’s shoulder, she added, “I was never interested in dating Simon anyway.”
Kai smiled as he looked down at the floor. Harmony pulled back and squeezed her friend’s arms. “Good, because I really like him.”
As Harmony started giggling and going on about how great Simon was, April stepped into the room from the kitchen. Jessie waved at her and April’s face went ghostly pale. Quicker than Jessie would have thought possible, April ducked back into the kitchen. Jessie exchanged looks with Harmony then Kai. Both of them seemed puzzled and an odd tension began to build in Jessie’s belly. What the hell was that about? Maybe April had decided she couldn’t handle the strangeness of Jessie and Kai’s relationship. Maybe she couldn’t even stand to be around them now.
Feeling like her legs were suddenly made of lead, Jessie trudged to the kitchen. Kai and Harmony followed her. April was dressed to the nines and chugging back a glass of wine. She looked like she was about to head out for the evening, either on a date or searching for one.
After swallowing the last bit in her glass, she let out a nervous giggle and quickly spat out, “Oh, you’re back, great. I can’t wait to hear about your trip, but I have a date tonight with that guy from your work, Kai. Louis. Remember, I asked about him once? Well, yeah, he called, and he’s taking me to that four-star downtown, so I gotta go. Anything I should know about him, Kai? He’s not a psycho or anything, right? Well, I guess I can handle a little bit of craziness for Lobster Thermidor. Oh, look at the time…I should go. We’re meeting there, and I don’t want to be late on my first date with him…”
All of that was spat out rapid-fire in one breath. Jessie blinked several times as she absorbed the multitude of information. No one in the room answered any of April’s various questions as everyone gawked. Clearly, April was a nervous, babbling mess. Thinking maybe she was just anxious about her date, although, Jessie had never seen her anxious for a date in her life, she asked, “You okay, April?”
Her gorgeous friend closed her eyes and slumped against the counter; she suddenly looked exhausted. Peeking one eye open, she wrinkled her nose. “Don’t kill me.”
Sighing, Jessie crossed her arms over her chest. This wasn’t going to be good. Kai looked over at Jessie then back to April. “Hate you for what?” he asked.
April inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she flung her hands out to her sides, and she started babbling again. “Okay, see the thing is, I thought since the two of you had come out of the closet, or whatever, everyone knew about it. Especially since you were going to talk to Kai’s parents in Hawaii. I just sort of assumed that it was common knowledge that you two are bumping uglies now.”
“April!” Jessie exclaimed, trying to steer her friend back on track. “What happened?”
She sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “Your dad called.”
The hair on the back of Jessie’s neck started to rise. She definitely didn’t like where this was going. “And?” Jessie felt Kai slip an arm around her waist, and it was only then that she realized her posture was rigid. Dropping her arms from her chest, she tried to relax.
April sighed, yet again. “He asked for you, and I told him you were on your way back from Hawaii. Then, he was naturally curious about what you were doing in Hawaii, and I didn’t think much about it, because again, I thought it was common knowledge, so…I told him you and your boyfriend were visiting his parents there.”
She shrugged and Jessie swallowed. Well, that was okay…she could work with those facts. Nodding, she muttered, “All right, if that’s all he knows, then it’s not that big of a deal really.”
April shot down that slim hope with her next comment. “I might have also gone on to mention that Kai was your boyfriend, and that his parents included your uncle…”
“You didn’t!” Jessie felt herself tightening back up. Her dad was currently under the impression that she was dating her cousin…shit. “Damn it, April, all you had to do was tell him that I’d call him when I got home!”
April cringed then stuck her chin out. “I’m sorry, but your dad is like this super scary FBI investigator dude. He cornered me! I had to talk!” She shrugged apologetically. “I tried to explain Kai’s situation, but your mom flipped out and grabbed the phone and we sort of got disconnected.” She pointed to the handset on the counter. “It just happened like twenty minutes ago, so I’m sure you could call back…”