Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (80 page)

               
“You wish.” Kayla giggles.  “Give me some clothes.”

               
“Everything I own will be a nightgown on you anyway,” Jackson replies.  He
walks over and opens his closet.  “What do you want?”

               
Kayla shrugs. “I don’t know.”

               
He grabs a few things out of his closet.  “We have three options.  A
T-shirt, which is always cute on a girl; a sweatshirt, which would be the most
practical; or a dress shirt, because that
’
s
just sexy.”  All humor drains away from Kayla’s face.  Jackson looks
at her and then groans.  “I’m sorry.  William…I didn’t think. 
He made that a bad thing.”

               
“No,” Kayla states, shaking her head.  She walks over and takes the dress
shirt from him.  “He can’t touch me anymore.  If you think I would
look sexy in only your dress shirt, then that’s what matters.  I won’t let
him ruin anything else.”

               
“Kayla, you don’t have to do this.   Put on what makes you
comfortable.”

               
“I’m comfortable in anything, because I’m with you.  You will protect me
from the bad things in the world.” 

               
Jackson kisses her on the forehead.  “You’re my number one concern
now.  Do you want to take a shower?  I’m not sure how chilled you
are.”

               
“With you?” Kayla chirps, giving him a seductive look.

               
With a chuckle, Jackson looks up at the ceiling.  “No…yes…no, what’s the
right answer here?”

               
She giggles.  “I don’t know.  I always think about you holding me,
soaking wet, dressed only in a towel.  Talk about a turn on.”

               
Jackson groans. “You’re making this difficult on me.”

               
“I know,” Kayla quips, walking backwards.  “I’m going to take a shower
now.  Do what you feel is best.”

               
He looks at her with heat in his eyes.  “Go, take a shower.  I’ll
meet you out here.”

               
“Are you sure?” she teases.  Kayla starts to walk backwards, slowly
pulling the nightgown up.  “I’m going to be naked in a hot shower. All by
myself.  It may get lonely.”

               
“Kayla.” Jackson gulps.  “You need to go before we overstep lines.”

               
A big grin passes over her face.  “All right, I’ll think of you
then.”  She turns and walks into the bathroom.  Being a little bit on
the sassy side, she doesn’t shut the door.  Kayla turns on the shower and
waits for it to get hot.  When it’s finally warm, she daringly strips off
her nightgown and underwear and climbs into the shower.

               
She hears, “Dear Lord, Kayla,” and the bathroom door closes.  She bursts
out laughing.  Kayla takes a long shower to try and get the chill out of
her bones. Despite her earlier protests, part of her wishes Jackson will come
in, but he doesn
’
t. 
With a sigh, she steps out of the shower and puts on in his dress shirt. 
Taking a deep breath, Kayla walks back into his bedroom.

               
Soft music drifts from his stereo.  He turns and looks up at her.  A
smile spreads across his face.  “Hey, beautiful.”

               
“You didn’t join me.” Kayla giggles, walking over to him.

               
“I didn’t think that would’ve been appropriate,” Jackson states.  “Though,
with you dressed like that, the thoughts in my head aren’t remotely appropriate.”

               
She pulls him against her.  He’s only dressed in pajama pants now, so
Kayla places her head on his bare chest.  “That’s okay.  We love each
other.  Inappropriate thoughts are fine.”

               
Jackson wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head.  “I like
hearing you say that.”

               
Kayla looks up at him.  “You know, you fought it tooth and nail, and now
you like to hear me say I love you.”

               
“I was stupid,” Jackson replies, gently stroking her face.  “From the
first moment I saw you, something changed in my world.”

               
“I was a bitch to you.” Kayla giggles.

               
The corner of his mouth twitches.  “No, I meant when we were kids.”

               
“You remember that?  I don’t.”

               
“Yeah, I remember it.  How could I forget?  You were my first kiss,”
Jackson quips.  “You don’t forget those things.”

               
“Why don’t I remember?  I have no recollection of meeting you.”

               
Shrugging, Jackson says, “I think your parents messed with your memories. 
I spent the day trying to tell you what we are.  You wouldn’t believe me.”

               
“I wish I could remember.  That’s a great memory to have.”

               
“Here, I’ll show you how it went,” Jackson whispers, bending down to her. 
He gently places his lips on hers in a gentle, sweet kiss.  “See,” he
breathes out.   “Perfect.”

               
“Mmhmm,” Kayla hums, pulling him back down.  The kisses turn from innocent
to
heated
in under a second.  Kayla whips her
energy out of herself and into Jackson.  He gasps and tenses instantly,
but doesn’t break their connection.

               
They stumble their way backwards to the bed.  Jackson lifts her up and
places her gently down on the blanket.  She wraps herself around him and
kisses him feverishly.  They spend the rest of the night passionately
embracing each other.

               
The next morning, banging on Jackson’s door wakens them.  “Jackson. 
Jackson!  Wake up!  Kayla is missing.”

               
Both Jackson and Kayla sit up in bed.  Kayla rubs her eyes and
yawns.  “Mom,” Jackson yells.  “She isn’t missing!”

               
“Her parents woke up and she’s gone,” his mom shouts.

               
Grumbling, Jackson gets out of bed and opens the door.  When Kayla can see
his mom, Jackson waves his hand.  “She’s right there.”

               
His mom stares at her for a second and then gasps. “Oh
my
gosh
, Kayla!  Your parents are worried sick!”

               
“Sorry,” she whispers, suddenly feeling awkward.

               
“She is fine and alive, perfectly in one piece.” Jackson yawns.

               
Looking from Kayla to Jackson, his mother chirps, “I’m not sure what to say
about this.”

               
“Well, wait for it, I’ll leave you speechless in two seconds,” Jackson
counters.  “Kayla is pregnant…with my baby.”

               
All color drains from his mother’s face, leaving it ashen white as she
processes the information. She looks at Kayla.  Kayla smirks and says, “If
it’s a boy, we’re going to name him Macon.”

               
“
What
?” his mom screams.

               
Kayla bursts into a fit of giggles and falls over on the bed.  Jackson
laughs right along with her.  “Mom, we’re kidding.  Kayla isn’t
pregnant.  We were just pulling your leg.  But doesn’t it make her
sleeping over a little less of a bad thing?”

               
“Jackson!” his mom spits out.  “That was not funny.  You two, get
dressed and get her home.”

               
“Yes,
Mother
,” Jackson groans as he shuts the door.

               
Still giggling, Kayla looks at him.  “We are in so much trouble.”

               
“I’ll show you trouble in about five seconds,” Jackson murmurs, climbing on top
of her.  “She said we had to get dressed, which means we have to be undressed
at some point to get redressed.”

               
“Mmm,” Kayla hums.  “Why do I feel like you’re going to use that to your
advantage?”

               
“Could be because I am,” Jackson whispers, before he bends down to kiss her.

               
“Stop,” Kayla giggles, brushing Jackson away with her shoulder.

               
“No,” he murmurs, kissing her on her neck again.

               
Kayla pushes his head away with her hand.  “Come on.” She laughs. 
“Damien’s calling any second.”

               
“I was planning to enjoy the company of the woman I love,” Jackson growls
playfully.  “But nooooo, she would rather talk to my cousin.”

               
She rolls her eyes.  “Honey, we can make out anytime we want.  I
haven’t talked to him in weeks.  I have to thoroughly yell at him for
missing my graduation party.”

               
“Damien was here for our actual graduation,” Jackson reminds her.  “He’s
part of the council now.  That comes before us in importance.”

               
“He’s like my male best friend.  I miss him.”

               
“Yeah, I know.” Jackson sighs, pulling up a chair next to her.  “I miss
him too.  There’s no one to spar with around here.”

               
A pinging noise comes from Jackson’s laptop.  Kayla clicks on a button and
Damien appears.  “Hey!” she exclaims.

               
“Hey back at you.” Damien chuckles.  “How are two of my favorite people?”

               
“Good,” Kayla replies.  “You missed the most epic graduation party
ever!  Especially, since yours truly was valedictorian.” She shoots a grin
at Jackson and he rolls his eyes.

               
Damien sighs. “I know, but I couldn’t help it.  I have even more
responsibilities now.”

               
“That’s all great and everything, but you better be coming to visit in the next
two weeks.  It’s our summer before we go to college!  There is so
much for us to do.”

               
“Actually, that’s why I called.  In three weeks you’re invited to a rather
large event.  This is the first time we’re doing this.  It could go
one way or another, but I think it’s a good idea.”

               
“What is?”

               
“We’re doing a rendezvous for Neturu teens,” Damien states.  “It’ll be
held at a private resort.  There will be activities and workshops. 
It’ll be fun.”

               
Kayla leans closer to the screen. “I’m totally in.  I need to meet more
Neturu girls.”

               
“There will be plenty there.  We’re already getting a big response to
this.”

               
“Hey,” Kayla chirps mischievously.  “If I’m meeting new Neturu girls,
maybe you can too.”

               
Rolling his eyes skyward, Damien groans. “Kayla, I love you, but I don’t need
your help.”

               
“It’s been a year since you’ve even gone on a date Damien,” Kayla whines. 
“Come on.  You have to meet someone.”

               
He puts his hands out.  “I went on a few dates.”

               
“They all ended badly because they wanted your money or they wanted in your
pants,” Kayla draws out in annoyance.  “I know, I know.”

               
“He doesn’t need your help.” Jackson chuckles. “He does know what he’s doing.”

               
She turns and looks at Jackson.  “I want Damien to meet a girl that clicks
with his personality.”

               
“I’m going to be at this thing for business purposes.” Damien snorts.  “My
enjoyment will be from seeing you guys.  Anyway, the downfall of being me
is that every Neturu girl knows exactly what and who I am.  It makes me
immediately doubt things.  It’s not, ‘Hey, who are you, oh it’s nice to
meet you.’  No, it’s, ‘Oh my God, you’re Damien, the son of the Merjyet
line!’
”

               
Jackson starts squealing like a girl and waving his hands around. “OH MY GOD,
not THE DAMIEN BLAKELY!”  That makes Kayla burst out laughing.

               
Damien slams his hands down on the table in front of him and goes, “He’s so
hot
and
rich
too.”

               
Kayla’s laughter borders on hysterics, and she holds her stomach.  “His
eyes are so dreamy,” Jackson draws out, twirling his hair.

               
“You think I have pretty eyes?” Damien retorts.  “Why thank you.”

               
“I’ll show you how pretty your eyes are when I give you a black eye from
sparring,” Jackson states, cracking his knuckles.

               
“Oh, now it’s on,” Damien quips back.  “Mock my beauty.”

               
Kayla manages to get her laughter under control to rejoin the conversation. “I
think you have beautiful eyes and so do a lot of other girls,” Kayla
declares.  “You’ll meet someone.  Just make sure you’re open to it.”

               
Damien shakes his head. “It’s not that I’m not open to it.  I just haven’t
met anyone that takes my breath away.  I want to have what you guys have.”

               
“You will, I promise.  I just want you happy.”

               
Damien sighs. “My life is so busy right now, I don’t think I’d have time to
date.  It would have to be someone that could deal with me being on the
council.”

               
“You’ll meet someone, and hey, maybe it will be at this rendezvous.”

               
“I highly doubt it,” Damien chuckles.  “I’ll just be happy to see you
two.”

Meanwhile in L.A....

               
Throwing on her helmet, Claire runs down the front steps of her house and
climbs on her motorcycle.

“Claire!” a voice bellows
behind her.  “
Stop
!”

               
Claire turns and sees her mom on the porch.  Her mom crosses her arms and
gives her an angry stare.  Claire starts her bike, the revving engine
growling her response. When her mom puts her hands on her hips, Claire rolls
her eyes and takes off down the street.  She obeys the speed limits until
she gets to the freeway.  Once Claire hits the on-ramp, it’s a whole other
story.  She cranks the throttle and speeds past all the cars in front of
her.

               
Her anger and adrenaline drive her to push her bike to the max. She doesn’t
slow down until she approaches her desired exit. Ten minutes later, she runs up
the steps to her brother’s apartment and bangs on the door.

               
It takes her brother almost an entire minute to open the door. “Claire?” her
brother chirps.  “What are you doing here?”

               
“Our. Mother. Has. Lost. Her. MIND!” Claire seethes.

               
Ben snorts. “You just figured that out?
”
He holds the door open wider. 
“
Come
in and tell me what happened this time.”

               
“I’ll tell you why,” Claire snaps, brushing past him.  “We got an invite
in the mail the other day, and Mom signed me up for it.  She didn’t even
ask if I wanted to go.”

               
Ben shuts the door and sighs. “What invitation is that?”

               
Claire pulls the envelope out of her coat pocket.  “This, she signed me up
for
this
.  It’s like leading the lamb to slaughter.”

               
“Claire, honey,” Ben starts.  “There is no leading you to slaughter. 
You would just kill everything.”

               
“I don’t go for killing,” Claire retorts sharply.  Ben looks up and raises
his eyebrows.  “I go for maiming…
then
killing.”

               
“Let me read it,” Ben sighs, looking down at the piece of paper.  After a
minute he exhales, “Holy crap.”

               
Giving him a look, Claire says, “Yup, lamb to the slaughter.”

               
“Just go there and scare the crap out of people by kicking some random person’s
ass.” Ben laughs.  “I would pay to see that.”

               
“And disgrace Grandpa? I don’t think so.  He would do whatever I did to
that person tenfold.”

               
Shrugging his shoulders, Ben says, “I think you could take Grandpa now.”

               
“Ugh, yeah, not testing that theory.” She snorts.  “Anyway, I can’t go
around starting fights.  It’ll just draw unwanted attention, but seriously
Ben, I can’t go to this!  If anyone finds out, I’ll be ruined!”

               
“One day someone will find out.  You’ll meet a boy someday and fall in
love.”

               
“No Neturu is going to touch me,” Claire snaps.  “That’s why I stick with
humans.  There’s no fear of them finding out what I am.”

               
“Your choice in guys sucks Claire.  You should try a Neturu.  They
can see past your quandary.”

               
 Claire rolls her eyes.  “Whatever Ben, I’m going to be alone for the
rest of my life or married to a human and shunned from our people.”

               
Tilting his head, Ben replies, “You wouldn’t be shunned.”

               
“I couldn’t come to any sort of family function,” Claire quips. “Oh, I’m sorry,
that’s not a pet.  That’s my uncle Tom, since we know Uncle Tom has a hard
time controlling his shifts.”

               
Ben bursts out laughing.  “I guess you have a point.”

               
“
Alone
,” Claire emphasizes.  Ben sighs and rubs his forehead. 
Snagging the paper from him, Claire holds it up.  “This stupid rendezvous
is going to be my downfall!”

               
“Just…I don’t know,” Ben exhales.  “Stay away from everyone.  Get a
book and hide in the corner.  Go for like a fifteen-mile run every day.”

               
She gives him a look.  “Ben, people may think it’s weird that I am
actually running in human form.”

               
“Oh come on,” Ben scoffs.  “It’s not that weird!  We exercise all the
time!  It’s part of our training.”

               
“It’s not a rendezvous for fighters Ben,” Claire snaps.  “It’s for
teenagers.”

               
Ben takes the piece of paper back.  “
It’s
ages
sixteen to nineteen.  That’s older teens.”

               
“You know, if it were a rendezvous for the guard.  I would totally go.”

               
“Catch yourself a boyfriend then.”

               
“Boyfriend, boy toy,” Claire says. “Whatever.”

               
Holding up the paper, Ben says, “You very well could meet a boy here.  You
never know.”

               
“I want a guy who can go toe-to-toe with me,” Claire declares.  “I will
not find that at this
stupid
rendezvous.”

               
“Don’t count anything out, Claire.” Ben sighs.  “Go to this.  See
what happens.”

               
Letting out a scream, Claire points her finger at him.  “I will not go to
this.  Over my dead body!”  With that she turns and stomps out of his
apartment.

Find out more about the Neturu in

“Shiftless”

Coming Soon.