Wondering how to answer her, Kai stared up at his ceiling. His hand traveled over his bare chest to scratch a phantom itch, and he finally let that sigh escape. He couldn’t tell his mom about his one-night stand, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant about meeting someone anyway. “It’s fine, I’m fine. But I’ve only been here a few days, Mom. I haven’t even had a chance to see Grandma yet.” He yawned into the phone again. “I was going to do that tomorrow…or, today, I guess.”
His mother sighed into the phone again, and he could easily picture her on their back porch, worrying about him as she stared out at the dark Pacific Ocean. He thought he could even hear the waves pounding in the background. It gave him a surprising twinge of homesickness. “Right, I’m getting ahead of myself. I just miss you. When do you start work?”
Lying back on his messy sheets, Kai wished he could fast forward this conversation and his headache; both were paining him at the moment. “Monday, Mom.”
“Right…of course.” She paused for a long time, and Kai thought to sneak in a, “Talk to you tomorrow,” so he could attempt to get back to sleep, but she beat him to it with, “Have you met your boss yet?” Her voice came out tentative, like she was unsure if she wanted to ask him that.
Kai frowned at hearing the odd tone. His new boss was his parents’ friend—or maybe just an acquaintance. Kai wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship was with the man, other than they’d all worked together once, back in Hawaii. It was how Kai had gotten a job here, all the way in snowy Colorado. “No…I’ve only talked to him on the phone. I guess I’ll meet him Monday too.”
Another long pause from his mom. “Oh, right. Well, I suppose I should let you get back to sleep. I love you, Kai. I’ll try not to call so early next time.”
He grinned into the phone. “I love you too, Mom. And thank you.” Kai ended the call and tossed his phone to the floor. Still praying for his head to stop throbbing, he shut his eyes and let exhaustion pull him back into his dreams about the beautiful, sensual girl he’d probably never see again.
He was awoken several hours later by a bright shaft of sunlight striking him in the eyes. Although it had to be close to noon now, Kai’s body was sluggish as he sat up and ran a hand through his dark hair. He couldn’t entirely blame the lethargy on his overindulgence last night. While recovering from the alcohol was definitely making him feel like he was moving in slow motion, it was more adjusting to the different time zone that was throwing him off. His body still wasn’t used to it, and while the clock on the microwave confirmed that it was nearly twelve-thirty, his body was trying to tell him that no, it was only eight-thirty. He hoped that he could finally convince his body to play along with Mountain Time by Monday morning.
Standing, he shuffled to the bathroom and stuck his head under the faucet to relieve his thirst; his throat felt like it had been scoured with a Brillo pad. Rifling through a box on the counter, he found a bottle of aspirin on the very bottom and took four of them. His head was still throbbing, and although the room had thankfully stopped spinning and his stomach had settled, he needed a little extra help to get through this hangover.
Kai decided to take a quick shower. As the warm water cascaded down his back, he again experienced a painful surge of homesickness. In the past, whenever he had overdone it at some party on the beach with his friends, he would just dive into the ocean to perk up his spirits. There was nothing quite like the mix of muggy air, warm water, and pounding waves to make you forget the throbbing, thirst-inducing torture of waking up from a drunken night of debauchery.
Wrapped in a towel after his shower, Kai’s thoughts again shifted to the mysterious woman he’d slept with last night. Thinking about his evening with her was almost like watching a movie about someone else—it just wasn’t like Kai at all to bring a strange woman home, toss her onto his bed, and drive into her like both of their lives had depended on it. But while it hadn’t been a typical night, he had to smile as he rummaged for some clothes in a box beside his bed. Whatever it had been…had been amazing.
Shivering a bit in the coolness of his apartment, Kai threw on some jeans and a couple of long-sleeved shirts. Then he shuffled the three steps it took to get to his kitchen. Since he hadn’t gone shopping yet, and didn’t have a whole lot of food in his cupboards, he made his standard meal: a bowl of cereal. He had every intention of getting the stuff he needed today and putting his place together…once his body stopped kicking him in the ass.