What felt like mere minutes later, they were back in the heart of Denver. Kai took them to a small diner that Jessie had been to several times with her friends, and they parked in the back lot. As Kai dropped the kickstand and shut off the bike, Jessie realized that her hands had drifted down to rest on the front of his jeans. She could even feel the basic outline of him. Immediately removing her hands, she felt her face flush red-hot.
Once again glad that the helmet obscured her features, Jessie hopped off the bike. Needing Kai to not touch her for a minute, at least until her embarrassment cooled, she fumbled with the strap under her chin. Determined to remove the helmet on her own, she successfully loosened it as he stepped up to her; his helmet was already resting on the handlebars. Jessie popped it off just as he lifted his hands to help. Kai beamed with pride, and Jessie’s emotions evened. She could do this.
The pair enjoyed a leisurely lunch, neither one wanting to hurry their afternoon together. Jessie shared pieces of her life that Kai didn’t know about—her dad’s recent move to D.C., her mom grudgingly following him there then discovering that she loved it, the numerous amounts of children her brothers had, how she’d decided on her career and where she wanted to go with it, and the details of her romance with Jeremy.
Kai frowned as she explained the details of their failed relationship. “Jeremy sounds like an idiot.”
A brilliant smile erupted on Jessie’s lips. “Yes, yes he is.”
As they ate, Kai talked about things in his life that Jessie didn’t know about—his friends back home, being an only child with divorced parents, why he loved his work so much and what he hoped to accomplish with it, the few not very serious relationships that he’d had, most of them ending amicably, unlike her and Jeremy.
After their long lunch, Jessie felt like she’d been around Kai her entire life. He just fit into every section of who she was, and she couldn’t imagine not having him around now. As odd as it seemed, since he’d only been in the city a little over a week, it was difficult for her to imagine a time when he hadn’t been around. Jessie wasn’t sure why that was, and she was both comforted and disturbed by the revelation. Especially since she knew their tight bond was about to get a lot looser. Kai had a date with April next Saturday. And then there was Missy. Jessie still wasn’t sure just what their relationship entailed. Maybe her bond with him wasn’t as tight as she believed. Maybe, like Jeremy, Kai was hiding things from her too.
The thought had her feeling melancholy when Kai eventually dropped her off at her house. Jessie was sullen when she got off her bike and removed her helmet. She tried to hide the sadness, but she was suddenly drowning in doubt about Kai’s honesty. And to be honest with herself, she was extremely disappointed that their afternoon was over. She didn’t want him to see that though, didn’t want him to notice the tears pricking her eyes, so she left her head down and let her hair hide her face.
“Thanks for the ride, Kai. I’ll talk to you later.”
With that brief goodbye, she spun around so she could make a beeline for the door. She just wanted to hide out in her room, where she was going to spend at least an hour listening to depressing music. But Kai wasn’t going to let that happen. He grabbed her elbow as she spun away from him. Stopping, she reluctantly looked back. His expression concerned, he whispered, “Jessie? What’s wrong?”
Not sure what she should or shouldn’t say, Jessie turned her body to face him. Since the thought of him being dishonest hurt, she decided she wouldn’t be dishonest either. Shuffling through her turbulent emotions, she picked a topic that affected her friends as well as her. “That woman you work with…Missy…do you have something going on with her?” She quickly added, “Because April is my friend, and she should know if you’re seeing more than one person.” Her cheeks heated with embarrassment as she said it. Yes, it was an honest statement, but it really wasn’t why she wanted to know.
Kai looked surprised at her conclusion, then he broke into soft laughter. He stopped when Jessie crossed her arms over her chest. Fixing his face, he asked, “Are you serious? Missy?” His voice was as incredulous as his eyes.
Jessie only worried her lip while she waited for a definite answer. Because laughing wasn’t a no. Kai’s gaze turned adoring as he looked over her face. One of his hands came up to run through a springy curl, and for a second, he seemed torn; Jessie’s heart started pounding. “No, I have no interest in Missy.” He let out a sad sigh as he played with the strand of hair in his fingers. “Really, I have no interest in anyone...” Hanging his head, he peeked his eyes up at her.
Jessie thudding heart stuttered. With the longing look in his eyes, she could clearly hear the words he wasn’t saying—no one but you. Butterflies of anticipation swarmed in her stomach as his eyes flashed over her face. Dropping his hand from her hair, he raised his chin. “My only interest right now is concentrating on work, taking care of Gran, and…taking care of you.” He whispered the last part.