Shift (The Neturu Chronicles)

by Sarah Kay Carter

  “I wasn’t being serious,” Jackson retorts, looking at her.

  With a whine, Kayla says, “Come on. It’ll be awesome. My page will blow up.”

  “Do it.” Damien chuckles. “So that we will finally know who is better looking, though I’m betting it’s me.”

  Narrowing his eyes, Jackson says, “You think so, huh?”

  “I know so,” Damien declares mischievously.

  “Well then, let’s do this,” Jackson replies. He takes his shirt off. “How do you want me to stand?”

  “It has to be the same pose,” Kayla answers. “Then it’s only fair.”

  He walks over to the bed and kicks Damien’s foot. “Move, I’m not lying on the bed with you.”

  Damien snorts and moves. Kayla steps aside as Jackson lies down. “This is going to be amazing.” Kayla giggles.

  “If you say so,” Jackson sighs. He puts his one arm over his head. “I feel ridiculous.”

  “Be quiet, this picture is going to be hot!” Kayla exclaims.

  “Hey,” Damien snaps.

  She looks at him. “What? I’m not going to lie. You’re both gorgeous. The girls at school will pass out.” Kayla steps over Jackson, centering him in the picture. “Say cheese.”

  “No.” Jackson laughs. “I think that is the stupidest saying in the world.”

  “Then just smile,” Kayla retorts, rolling her eyes. Jackson gives a winning smile and she takes the picture. When she looks at it, it makes her heart flutter. She stares at the picture longer than she should, lost in thought.

  “What’s wrong? You have an odd look on your face,” Damien asks.

  Shaking her head, Kayla smiles, “Nothing’s wrong. I need to use your computer. I want to put this up for everyone to vote.” Moving away from Jackson, she sits down on the bed.

  “I think you should put your vote in first,” Damien states, sitting down next to her. Kayla takes the computer but doesn’t say anything. “What, you aren’t going to vote for me?”

  “I can’t vote between you two, that’s mean. Jackson is my friend. I can’t hurt his feelings. I will leave it up to my Facebook friends, which includes almost every girl from school. I’ll even make it public, so even more people can vote.”

  Jackson laughs. “I don’t know if I want that picture out there for everyone to see.”

  “Nonsense, you guys are beyond hot. This is a good thing. Maybe a Neturu will see it and come knocking on your door.”

  Jackson snorts. “Yeah, that’s what I want.”

  She doesn’t say anything back but focuses on finishing the online poll. “Okay,” she finally says. “There we go. We will know the truth soon enough.”

  “I’ll rock this. Watch and weep, Jackson.”

  “We shall see,” Jackson replies.

  “I have to use the bathroom, so I’ll be right back,” Damien states, jumping off the bed. “Try not to make out with each other, please.”

  Kayla’s jaw drops.

  “He’s so annoying,” Jackson grumbles, sitting down next to her. “It’s not like we do it that often.”

  She turns to him. “Umm, yeah we kind of do, but we aren’t going to anymore, right?”

  Looking her in the eyes, Jackson replies, “No, we aren’t. So you friended him and not me?”

  “I haven’t gotten that far yet,” Kayla whispers, typing on the computer. “Are you friends with Damien?”

  “Sadly, yes,” Jackson replies. “I think he has me in the family section. I wanted to deny he was my relative, but I get along with his sisters really well, so I didn’t want to offend them.”

  “Victoria is really cute.”

  Jackson nods in agreement. “Yeah she is, sweet as can be too.”

  She searches Facebook for Jackson’s name. “There you are. Aww, what a handsome picture of you.”

  “Thanks, are you going to stalk my page all night?”

  Kayla sighs. “I don’t have a laptop or I would.”

  “You can use mine,” Jackson offers. “Whenever you want.”

  A ding comes from the computer and they both look down. “Oh no, it’s Tracy,” Kayla squeaks.

  The message says:

  You are not sick.

  “This isn’t good,” Jackson murmurs. “You have to tell her that you really are.”

  “I can’t lie to her anymore,” Kayla whines. “She’s my best friend.”

  Jackson looks at her. “You can’t tell her that you’re going through a transformation because you’re an alien.”

  “I can tell her I’m going through some family stuff that involves you, and I just need to be here right now.”

  “Go ahead, see if she believes it.”

  Kayla opens an IM window and writes:

  Okay, I’m not sick, but there is stuff going on right now. I need to be with my family.

  Tracy replies:

  Why couldn’t you tell me that?

  Sighing, Kayla writes:

  It’s secret family stuff that I can’t talk about. It involves Jackson’s family, and I’m at his house right now.

  There is a pause and then Tracy replies:

  So you’re too busy taking HOT pictures of boys to tell me the truth. And now you’re in a relationship with Damien. WHAT HAVE I MISSED?

  Kayla snorts and responds:

  It’s a long story, but Jackson is sitting right next to me, reading this, so I’ll tell you later.

  Turning to her, Jackson says, “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No,” Kayla replies, patting his knee. “Stay exactly where you are.”

  “Okay, if you need a moment to gush over Damien, I’ll gladly leave, so I don’t barf all over his computer.”

  Kayla giggles. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave gushing about you two for when I’m alone with her.”

  “Gushing over both of us? What are you going to gush about me?” Jackson asks with raised eyebrows.

  “What? Wait, that didn’t come out the way I wanted it to.”

  “Mmhmm,” Jackson hums. “You can tell her how awesome I am all you want.”

  Another ping alerts her to Tracy’s response.

  Tracy writes:

  When can I see you so you can give me all the dirt?

  Kayla looks at Jackson. “How can I answer that?”

  “Tell her she can come over tomorrow. We’ll pump you full of Kiej and if you feel the need to shift, you can run into your room.”

  “Are you sure? That could be messy.”

  Jackson gives her a soft smile. “We aren’t trying to shut you out of your life. We will slowly ease you back in. Damien can make you some of those shakes, and I’ll bake some brownies.”

  “Thank you,” Kayla exclaims, wrapping her arms around him. “I can’t wait to see her.”

  “Go ahead and tell her she can follow me over here after school.”

  Kayla writes:

  Tomorrow after school, you can tailgate Jackson here. I will kick him and Damien out. Oh, bring a swim suit! They have a pool and Jacuzzi.

  Tracy replies:

  Yay! So pumped. Wait, why are you at Jackson’s?

  Kayla replies:

  Family issues, can’t really talk about it, but I’m excited to see you! I have so much to tell you.

  Tracy messages:

  Is it about kissing those two hot boys?

  Jackson turns and looks at Kayla. “Yes, what are you going to talk to Tracy about?”

  “Kissing cute guys.” Kayla giggles. “Come on, I have to tell someone.”

  “As long as you tell her about your dream too, and how I rocked your world.”

  Kayla rolls her eyes and groans. “Whatever, Jackson.”

  He leans over and whispers, “I know you liked it from the way you reacted in your sleep, so…you can tell her all about that. The soft murmurs and almost ripping the sheets.”

  “Shut up!” Kayla yells, pushing him away. Her face turns beet red. “I am never going to live that down!”

  “Nope, but I st
ill have to tell you about my dream. Maybe I can just tell Tracy about it. I think she would get a kick out of hearing it.”

  She punches him lightly in the arm. “Don’t you dare! It’s not funny.” Lowering her voice, Kayla hisses, “Damien will be back any second and you need to shut up!”

  Almost on cue Damien walks into the room. “What have I missed?”

  “We’re going to pump Kayla full of as much Kiej as possible because Tracy is coming here tomorrow,” Jackson replies.

  “Were you going to check with me before doing that, since I’m the one in charge of her safety right now?”

  “Fine, Tracy is coming to visit me in my house and Kayla will just happen to be here.”

  Damien gives a hard look to Jackson. “Whatever, she should be fine. Kayla has gotten very good at sensing when she needs to shift, and she knows what to do. I think having a friend over sounds fun.”

  “Yea!” Kayla squeals, jumping up. “A reprieve of all this alien stuff and some normalcy back in my life. Girl time! Even better, talking about boys in the Jacuzzi time. No better yet, the sauna! That has a closed door.”

  “Oh boy,” Damien sighs sarcastically. “If I could only be a fly on that wall.”

  “Too bad,” Kayla snickers. She looks back at the computer and writes:

  We will talk all about the two hot boys standing next to me. I have plenty to dish.

  Tracy replies:

  So does this mean you aren’t sharing either of them?

  Damien looks at Jackson. “Tracy is all yours if you want her.”

  That comment makes Kayla’s chest tighten. “I didn’t think Jackson was interested,” she whispers, trying to sound cheery.

  “That’s because I’m not,” Jackson assures.

  Kayla nervously types:

  No, I’m not sharing. Leave them be. Find other boys to kiss.

  Tracy replies:

  But it has to be so much fun to kiss THOSE boys. Tell me I’m lying.

  Both guys laugh at Tracy’s comment. Kayla groans and writes:

  They are both standing right here. Say hi, Tracy.

  There is a pause and then:

  Hi guys! I give Jackson my vote, sorry Damien.

  “Ouch.” Jackson chuckles. “One down, so many to go.”

  “Whatever, Jackson, it’s one girl. I have Kayla’s vote and hers is the most important.”

  Kayla’s stomach twists with unease. “Yup, I’m the most important. Okay, I’m saying good night to her and then to you and then going to bed.” Kayla goes back to typing:

  I will see you tomorrow. I’m going to go to bed now.

  Tracy replies:

  Alone or with company? You are staying with two gorgeous boys.

  As her face lights on fire, Kayla writes:

  TRACY! SHUT UP!

  A smiley face appears and then:

  Pick one, Kayla, but choose wisely for you only get one chance.

  Kayla rolls her eyes.

  Good night, Tracy. I’m logging off now. Hey, bring your laptop tomorrow, okay? Talk to you later!

  Tracy writes:

  Night!

  “All right, I’m going to bed,” Kayla states. “I’ve had enough of today.”

  “I’ll walk you down,” Damien says.

  “Why?” Jackson asks. “It’s right next to my room. She’ll be using my bathroom. Say good night here and be done with it.”

  “I'll do whatever I want.”

  “Okay, pull the energy in a little bit,” Kayla demands softly. “Damien can walk me downstairs. I have to ask him something anyway, Jackson.”

  She exchanges a look with Jackson. He raises his finger. “Good point. I’ll see you downstairs.” He gets up and walks out of the room.

  “What do you have to ask me?” Damien inquires.

  “I’m afraid to sleep by myself right now,” Kayla whispers, trying not to look at him.

  Damien doesn’t answer right away. “And you aren’t going to ask to sleep with me, are you?”

  “Do you think we could really keep our hands off of each other?”

  “I could promise that I would not touch you in any sort of sexual manner, but I have a feeling that is not what you want.”

  With a pause, Kayla replies, “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing, go ahead, sleep with Jackson. I’m not your boyfriend and can’t make demands. I would think you’d want to sleep next to me. Maybe I should take this as a sign.”

  “That…is a really good point. Then…yes…I want you to sleep with me, but bad things will happen to your fun parts if you break the rules.”

  Damien bursts out laughing. “All right, deal. Let me get my pajamas on, and I’ll meet you down there. Are you sure about this? Are you positive you don’t want Jackson?”

  Kayla’s chest tightens when she says, “No, I want you,” because she thinks it’s what she’s supposed to want. “I’m going to get ready. I’ll meet you in my room.”

  “All right,” Damien says, leaning down to kiss her. Kayla kisses him back and then gets up and leaves. She goes to her room with her heart beating a hundred miles an hour. Kayla grabs her pajamas and goes to Jackson’s room. She lightly knocks on the door. “Jackson?”

  It opens and he’s standing there with a grin. “Finally ready to get your drool on again? Try to contain yourself and don’t rip my sheets, please.”

  Kayla looks at him and mumbles, “I’m not staying in here tonight.”

  All humor drains from Jackson’s face. “He seriously won’t let you? I’ll wring his scrawny little neck.”

  “No! He…is staying with…me…tonight.”

  Jackson just stands there, staring at her. “Excuse me? I think I misheard you.”

  “Damien is sleeping with me tonight.”

  “He is going to try to…ugh, Kayla, seriously?”

  “No, he won’t. But if he gets out of hand, I’ll come in here and you can beat him up,” Kayla says with a smirk.

  Jackson narrows his eyes. “Promise. If he tries anything, it’s free range to punch him?”

  “Yup, you can defend my honor. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Jackson agrees. “Now, go get ready. I want to go to bed.”

  Kayla complies and as she leaves the bathroom, she glances over to the bed where Jackson is propped against his pillow. “Good night, Jackson.”

  “Good night, Kayla. I had better not see you later.”

  “You won’t,” she whispers. With that she walks out of his room. When she walks through her door, she finds Damien sitting on the bed. “Hey.”

  He smiles. “Hi, beautiful, you all ready?”

  “Yeah,” she says, slipping her clothes into the dresser. Kayla turns to him, wringing her hands.

  Damien senses her hesitation. “I swear I won’t do anything inappropriate.”

  “I really do know that,” Kayla says. She walks over to the other side of the bed and climbs under the covers.

  He pulls the blanket back and lies down next to her. “I’ll stay up until I know you’re asleep.”

  “Okay,” she whispers as she rolls over to look at him. “Good night.”

  “Night, beautiful.”

  Kayla stares at him for a second and then says, “I want to kiss you.”

  “One kiss, sweet and short, and that’s it,” Damien replies. He gently places his lips on hers. When he pulls away, he says, “There, go to sleep.”

  “Kiss me more.”

  Giving her a look, Damien sternly retorts, “No, go to sleep.”

  She scoots over by him. “I want to sleep in your arms.”

  “That we can do.” Damien chuckles as he opens his arms. Kayla crawls into them and lays her head on his chest. “Now, go to sleep.” He kisses the top of her head, and Kayla closes her eyes.

  Chapter 17

  The next morning Kayla wakes up and stretches. When she looks for Damien, he’s gone. She sits up and then raises her eyebrows. “What in the world are you doing?”

  “What d
oes it look like I’m doing?” Damien replies. He is shirtless, balancing in a headstand.

  “Okay, wrong question, why are you doing that?”

  He smiles and drops to feet. Spinning around, he says, “Keeping that stance is a great workout. I usually exercise in the morning, but I needed to be in here, so I did what I could. You missed the one-handed push-ups.”

  “Now that is impressive.” Kayla giggles. “I want to see.”

  Shaking his head, Damien drops to the floor and repeats the exercise, switching hands after a few push-ups. “There,” he says, getting back up, “Anything else you want to see?”

  Kayla gets up on her knees, “No, that was as good of a wake-up call as I could get.” Damien crawls onto the bed in front of her. He leans forward and gently kisses her on the lips. She quickly pulls back and covers her mouth. “No, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  Damien laughs. “I don’t care. Kiss me.”

  “I care,” Kayla says from behind her hand. “Let me go brush my teeth.”

  With a roll of his eyes, Damien groans. “Go, brush your teeth and come back here so I can give you a proper good morning.”

  “That sounded so dirty.” Kayla giggles. “Okay, be back in a minute.” She scoots off the bed and runs out of the room. Jackson’s door is shut. “Shoot,” Kayla mumbles. Not wanting to barge in on him, she knocks, but there is no answer. “Jackson!” she yells. When he still doesn’t respond, Kayla grimaces and opens the door. He’s not there. “Jackson?” she calls out one more time.

  “Hold on!” His voice comes from the bathroom. The door is wide open.

  She covers her face. “Crap! I’m sorry.”

  Jackson laughs as he steps into the bedroom. “If I was doing anything, I would shut the door. I was in the other room…I mean, I was just doing something. What can I do for you?”

  “I need to use the bathroom. You know, I should really put my stuff in another bathroom. This is a little intrusive.”