Kai exhaled slowly, then stood up and glanced back at her still sitting on the bench. “We should get back to Gran. I told my dad I’d keep an eye on her.” His face suddenly turned guilty, like he felt that he’d failed in his duty since she’d gotten hurt. Jessie smiled as she stood with him; he seemed to have the same sense of responsibility for their grandmother that she did.
He watched her rise, then they headed back into the hospital together. A comfortable silence fell around them as they made their way to the second floor. Jessie watched his back as she followed a step behind. Images of his broad shoulders flooded her head, and she had to shift her gaze to his shoes to redirect her thoughts. Remembering what he’d said about getting his place together, Jessie recalled the piles and piles of boxes she’d seen in his tiny apartment. Then she remembered him sweetly telling her that she could stay if she wanted, right as she’d been hurrying to leave.
A soft, wistful noise escaped her at the memory, and Kai turned his gaze her way; concern darkened his beautiful face. “What?” he cautiously asked. By his wary expression, he clearly thought she was going to break down at any moment. He also seemed unsure about what he would do if she did. His nervousness made her laugh, and as they approached the stairs to the second floor, his cute look shifted to a disgruntled one. “What?” he asked again, less cautiously.
Jessie shook her head, her curly ponytail swishing back and forth. “Nothing, you’re just…nothing.” Knowing she couldn’t call her cousin adorable, not under these circumstances, she sighed and let it go. Kai just looked confused by her answer, so she softly explained with, “I was just thinking about what a mess your place was. Do you want some help arranging it?”
He frowned at her summation of his home, but then he smiled. Studying the ground for a moment, he murmured, “Yeah, not the coolest spread to bring a girl back to.” Flinching, he looked up at her; he seemed worried about how she would respond to a clear reference to their steamy encounter.
Jessie paused on the steps. Kai took one more, then stopped and looked back at her. A small sigh escaped him as their eyes locked. Jessie knew that they could easily destroy any connection they had, familial or otherwise, if they let this guilt they felt consume them. Even though her stomach was still clenching with horror, she decided that he was right when he’d said that they hadn’t known, and they couldn’t be faulted for knowledge they hadn’t had. Not knowing any other way to dissolve the building tension, and wanting that comfortable feeling to return, Jessie decided to try some lighthearted humor. Giving him a crooked smile, she coyly said, “Well, it worked. You got me.”
While Kai gaped at her, shocked, Jessie smiled and walked past him up the stairs. Her heart was hammering as she listened for his reaction. Then she heard him chuckle and mutter, “Well, all right then.” Smiling, she looked down in relief. He was going to try and not let this weirdness enter their relationship either. Good.
Once they both got to the top step, they were smiling at each other. Now that Jessie was looking for it, she thought she could spot some similarity to her in the bridge of his nose, the fullness of his lips. It was fleeting though, and she really could have been seeing something simply because she was told to see it; like a shape in the clouds, because someone let you know it was there. In all honesty, his looks were unlike anything she’d ever seen before. A beautiful blending of genetics that made him his own person, inside and outside.
When they got back to their grandmother’s room, she was staring at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. Jessie hoped she wasn’t thinking about her odd, dramatic exit. She really should have handled that better, but finding out she’d slept with a relative wasn’t exactly something that happened to her every day. There was no way she could have possibly been prepared for that shock.
Gram’s contemplative expression changed when she finally noticed that Kai and Jessie had reentered the room. She gave them both bright smiles as she patted the bed. “You two all right?”
Kai sat on the edge of the mattress while Jessie sat in a nearby chair. Gently folding his fingers over the old woman’s hand, he warmly said, “We’re fine, Gran. But how are you? Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?”
Their grandmother laughed as she patted his hand. “I’m fine, dear. They’re taking good care of me here. I’ll think they’ll keep me for a few days, just to watch over me.” She grunted in annoyance and rolled her eyes. “It’s completely unnecessary. I could hop on a horse if I needed to. I could swing dance, if I had a good partner.” She raised a suggestive eyebrow at Kai, clearly asking him if he’d consider it.