With all of that only taking a second or two, Jessie shifted her attention back to Kai and playfully asked, “Are you giving me your bike?”
Kai seemed caught off-guard by the sudden mood shift. Jessie was faking it for her friends, and hoped he played along. The more casual they were, the better. He broke out into a laugh. “Nice try, but no.” Taking a step away from the couch, he glanced back at Harmony and April. April’s eyes reluctantly lifted to his face when he spoke. “Mind if I borrow my cousin for a while?” He nodded his head at Jessie.
Harmony smiled and shrugged. “Just bring her back in one piece.”
April pouted; she obliviously wanted to be the one being confiscated. “Sure. I guess.”
Kai looked back at Jessie. “Want to go out to lunch with me?” The look in his eye spoke volumes. Her friends couldn’t see it from their angle, but there was a pleading quality there, like he knew he shouldn’t be here, at her house, asking her to drive off with him, but…he couldn’t stop himself either.
Jessie sighed softly. She shouldn’t say yes. He was supposed to be moving closer to April, not her. Wanting to tell him that she was too busy today, and that he should take April instead, Jessie found herself saying, “Sure, sounds like fun.” She just couldn’t tell Kai no.
He smiled broadly at her, looking very relieved. Eying the light shirt she was wearing, he glanced out the window. “You may want to dress a little warmer.” He shivered under his thick jacket, and Jessie grinned. She hadn’t been outside yet, but she was pretty sure it was mid-fifties at least, thankfully dry after the earlier storms, and not nearly as cold as Kai thought it was. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep the heat up in my truck.”
Kai rocked back on his heels and chuckled. “We’re not taking your truck.”
He winked at her, and Jessie felt her heart surge and butterflies swarm her stomach. Then what he’d said sunk in, and she turned to look outside at his suddenly frail seeming bike. She’d never been on a motorcycle before. Personally, she thought they were death traps. Her eyes widened at the thought of zipping down the road on one, the concrete flying by just a few inches below their toes. When she returned her gaze to Kai, he was clearly amused. “Your bike? But…we’ll be cold?”
Kai smiled at her, admittedly, dumb objection. “Which is why you should dress warmer.”
Knowing Kai would be even colder than her made Jessie cringe in embarrassment. If he could hack it, she could hack it. But being chilly wasn’t really her objection. Seeing her reluctance, April stuck her hand up. “Hey, if she’s too scared to ride on a bike, I’ll go to lunch with you, Kai.”
Jessie tossed April a quick glare. It was more in reaction to her trying to snag Jessie’s afternoon with Kai than for calling her scared, but she didn’t want April to realize that. Hoping to throw her off, she calmly said, “I’m not scared.”
Kai shifted his stance as he watched Jessie; his eyes were amused at her reluctance, but he also looked a little worried, too. Maybe he was wondering if she just didn’t want to go, didn’t want to spend time alone with him anymore. Not wanting him to ever think that, Jessie smiled. “I’ll just layer up, and we can go.”
He smiled brilliantly, relieved again. “Great.”
Jessie darted to her room to add some more layers and a jacket to her outfit. As she was slipping on the fluffy outwear, she heard Harmony lightly knocking on her open door. “Hey, you got a minute?” she asked.
Even as she slapped a smile on her face, Jessie tensed. Oddly, her very first thought with Harmony entering her room was, Shit, Kai’s alone with April now. She shook her head to forcefully remove the thought. Kai and April were going to be very alone when they started dating, and she would have to get used to it sooner or later. Trying to relax, Jessie asked, “Sure, what’s up?”
Harmony leaned against the door frame. She glanced down the hall to the living room and returned her attention to Jessie. “Everything okay with you?”
Jessie paused in zipping up her jacket. Oh God, had Harmony noticed something? Praying she hadn’t, Jessie smiled brighter. “Everything’s fine, Harm. Why?” She resisted the urge to cross her fingers as she waited for her friend’s answer.
Harmony narrowed her eyes at Jessie and then glanced back at Kai. Sighing, she swung her eyes into the room again. “Nothing, it’s just been weeks since…the breakup…and I like to check in with you every once in a while.” She gave Jessie a halfhearted smile, like she felt bad for bringing it up.
Jessie smiled in earnest. “I’m so over Jeremy, Harm. No worries there.” Walking over to her friend, she placed a hand on her arm. “Thank you though, for being concerned about me.”
Harmony rolled her eyes as they started walking back down the hall. “Of course I’m concerned about you. With all your family but Grams gone, it’s up to me to bug you about men.” She grinned and laughed.