by Ava Hunt
“Oh, there were a lot. Kimber knows. She listened to me gripe about every one of them. But you know, they were all a dime a dozen. None of them turned out to be worth the effort. Kimber is the only girl in my life who has stood the test of time.”
Just then, their server arrived, asking if they wanted dessert. While Justin was preoccupied with ordering a few for them to sample, Vivienne was excitedly nudging her sister next to her in the booth. Kimber slapped Vivienne’s leg, hissing, “Stop it,” but she was also fighting back a goofy grin.
The sisters composed themselves just as the server was leaving. Justin handed Vivienne her portfolio, and as she was busy putting it away, he gave Kimber a sweet smile. Her stomach flipped, and based on the way his eyes seemed to twinkle, she had to wonder if he knew exactly what that smile had done to her.
CHAPTER 7
It was six o’clock, the office was practically deserted, and Kimber was packing up to go home for the day when the phone rang. She answered, “Justin Woods’s office, how can I help you?”
The research team was on the other end of the line, so she put them on hold, jumped up out of her chair, and poked her head into Justin’s office. “It’s Ken and Gretchen. They said you wanted daily updates?”
“Yeah, transfer them over, then you can come back and listen in if you want.”
Within moments, the scientists were on speaker phone, and Justin and Kimber were anxiously listening to their report. “We’ve been able to run some scans on a few different animals: a rat, a lizard, a bird, and a chimpanzee,” Gretchen began. “Just as we hypothesized, they all have increased brain activity, especially the mammals. What is particularly interesting is where the activity is most concentrated. There are synapses firing like crazy in part of the brain that corresponds with feelings of empathy.”
“Hold on, are you saying that animals feel empathy?”
“Some more than others, but yes. There are stories of elephants rescuing humans who are lost and whales saving seals from predators like orcas. It’s not uncommon,” Ken explained.
Gretchen took over. “It appears that when the empathetic part of the brain is hyperactive, the subjects can read not only feelings, but also thoughts.”
“If this was true of all your test subjects, why wouldn’t it affect humans?” Justin wondered. He actually wanted to understand why it might affect shapeshifting humans when it didn’t affect anyone else, but he couldn’t exactly say that out loud.
“We think that humans might have some kind of defense mechanism in the brain that blocks the electromagnetic effects of the solar activity,” Gretchen explained. “In the next few days, we hope to take a look at human brain activity to see if we can find out exactly what’s going on. We’ll also be making more observations of the animals’ reactions to the phenomenon. The solar storm is supposed to last for a few more days. There was actually a massive solar flare just a few hours ago, so depending on how fast the coronal mass ejections travel, we could be feeling effects any time now.”
“I look forward to hearing your next update. Thanks, Gretchen, Ken.”
“Well?” Kimber said as Justin ended the call.
“Well what?”
“‘Gosh, Kimber, I’m so glad you set up that meeting and guided me towards such a great philanthropic opportunity. You must be the best assistant the world has ever known.’ Or something to that effect.”
With a grin, Justin leaned forward. “I know you’re joking, at least partly, but you really are something else, Kimber. Do you know that?”
She looked down, feeling awkward. What is going on with him?
“Well, should we get out of here?”
We? She was surprised by his use of the word. “You’re not staying late tonight?”
“No way. The deal went through without a hitch, and I’m taking a vacation. It might only be fifteen hours long, but hey, it’s longer than what I normally get on a Monday night.” Kimber stood to leave, but Justin said, “Hold on, I’ll walk out with you.” He gathered his things quickly before following Kimber to the elevator. He pushed the button, and as they waited, Justin asked, “So, do you have any big plans tonight?”
Kimber laughed. “I’ll probably watch some Netflix. Maybe I’ll marathon a whole season of some TV show. There could very well be ice cream involved. Definitely sweatpants. If those aren’t big plans, I don’t know what is.”
Sighing, Justin said, “Do you have any idea how nice that sounds? To just sit and relax instead of going out to some party or concert or fancy restaurant? Maybe I’ll do the same.”
Ask him! Say, ‘Do you want to join me?’ Just do it! You’re letting the opportunity pass you by! ASK HIM!
But just then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened. As they stepped inside, Justin had to lift a hand to his mouth to cover the beaming smile that, in her eyes, was completely unwarranted.
Kimber was mentally beating herself up as she watched the numbers on the elevator going down with every floor they passed. Suddenly, the elevator jerked to a stop, the lights went out, and even the numbers on the digital display went blank.
“What on earth?” Justin said, jabbing at every button on the panel. Nothing happened. “I think the power went out.”
“Do you think it’s because of the solar storm?” Kimber asked. “I remember they said it can affect electronics.”
“Yeah, probably. I bet this is exactly what Gretchen was just talking about. What a coincidence that it happened right after she mentioned it.”
Justin tried pressing the emergency call button, but it too was out of order. Fortunately, his cell phone still had service, so he called 911 and reported the issue. “They said it will take some time,” he reported after he hung up. “The power outage is pretty widespread, so there are a lot of calls to respond to. It could be a few hours.”
With a groan, Kimber slid down the elevator wall to the floor. “But all my big plans!” she complained good-naturedly. “My couch will be missing me.”
Although she was joking around, Justin could feel that she was nervous. He knew it was probably because they were suspended in midair about twenty floors from the ground, but part of him hoped that being stranded alone with him was contributing as well. Still, he wanted to help her feel better, so he went and sat right next to her, their arms touching. Reaching into his briefcase, he pulled out his laptop. Is he seriously going to work right now? Kimber wondered. But then she laughed as he navigated to Netflix and asked, “What were you going to watch?”
“Oh, you can pick. It’s your laptop. Plus, it sounds like you never get to do this. Hey, look what I have!” She reached into her bag and grabbed a brown lunch sack. “It’s my lunch that I didn’t eat because we went out.” Crap. Did it sound like I was implying that we went on a date? she thought as she pulled out a turkey sandwich, a baggie full of berries, another one filled with sugar snap peas, and a cup of yogurt. “It’s not ice cream, but it’s better than nothing.”
“It’s perfect,” he said, taking the half sandwich that Kimber held out to him. “Of all the days I could have forgotten to bring my sweatpants to work,” he joked as he found a show he had been meaning to get into and pressed play.
Once they had finished eating and the distraction of the food was gone, Kimber’s mind kicked into high gear. He’s sitting awfully close to me, she thought. Is that just so we can both see the screen? That would make sense. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like it would be necessary for our arms to be touching. Oh, stop it, Kimber. It’s not like he’s going to hold your hand or anything.
Justin was much more interested in her thoughts than in the show. He was wishing that she would just give him one straightforward thought, one single thought that would tell him how she really felt about him. Then a question popped into his head. Why did he care so much? If he knew how she felt, what would he do with that information?
His thoughts were interrupted by another of Kimber’s as she settled in a little more comfortably. Almost as if she
was the one who could read minds, she thought, I wish he would hold my hand.
He had barely processed the thought before he reached over and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. Maybe it was a bad idea to act so quickly on what were supposed to be her own private thoughts, but it was too late now. Besides, he was pretty sure he had this floating around in the back of his mind when he sat down so close to her.
Kimber’s heart was pounding as she stared at their hands. She was shocked. It was as if he had read her mind. She had wanted this for more than ten years. She had imagined this moment so many times. Now that it was actually happening, it felt completely surreal. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with questions that were far too jumbled for him to make out. But he didn’t need telepathy to know that if he wanted to kiss her, this was the moment.
Without thinking about it too hard, Justin leaned towards her. Kimber watched as he came closer and closer, her heart beating like it wanted to escape from her chest. Finally, after ten years of waiting and wishing, his mouth pressed against hers. She closed her eyes, enjoying the taste and the softness of his lips. He lifted his hand and let his fingers weave themselves into her hair as he held her close. They could hear the dialogue from the show, the light from the image flashing on their faces, but it was completely forgotten. They were alone in the elevator, but it felt as if nobody else had ever existed.
CHAPTER 8
What is happening? Why is he kissing me? I’m kissing my boss! This can’t be a good idea. I should stop him. I really should. Okay, I’ll stop him… Now. No, now. Why can’t I make him stop? Probably because I really really don’t want him to.
Justin was doing his very best to maintain composure and pretend like he couldn’t hear her thoughts, but finally, it was too much. He burst into laughter, breaking up their kiss.
Oh no. Why is he laughing? Is this a prank? Is he messing with me? He’s my friend! He’s my boss! Why won’t he stop laughing?
Justin noticed the hurt look on Kimber’s face and forced himself to stop. “I’m so sorry, Kimber.” He scrambled for an excuse. “I was just picturing the look Elle would give me if she knew I was kissing you. She would be appalled.”
He had thought she looked hurt before, but now her expression was even worse. “Why were you thinking of Elle while you were kissing me? Is this some kind of a game to you?”
“No, no, it’s just…” He couldn’t see a way out of this one. In his mind, the disgusted look he imagined on Elle’s face was a rewarding form of retaliation. But he couldn’t explain to Kimber that one of Elle’s favorite pastimes was saying mean things about his assistant. It would break her heart. Though as he listened in to her thoughts, he wondered if he already had.
I shouldn’t have let him kiss me. He didn’t mean it the way I want him to. He was still thinking of Elle. I’m nothing more than his rebound fling. I don’t know why I thought he might care about me. I’m not the kind of girl someone like him would actually like. He’s just making out with the fat girl just so he can go tell his buddies about how I was so into it and how hilarious it was.
“Kimber,” Justin said in a disappointed tone. He was not doing well at ignoring the thoughts he wasn’t supposed to be hearing, but he hated to hear her thinking such horrible things about herself. In a gentler tone, he continued, “Listen. Remember at lunch when we were talking about all those dumb crushes I had in high school? Elle was just like one of those girls. She was attractive and I thought she was what I wanted, but I realized last night that she doesn’t care about me. I’m done chasing girls who don’t care about me. But you do. You always have. Right?”
Kimber wouldn’t look at him, but she nodded. She didn’t feel like there was any point in denying it now. If their friendship was going to be ruined, the kiss had already done that.
“You make me feel like I need to be a better man, Kimber. I’ll admit, I don’t always love feeling like that. But I decided last night that I need to change. All those people at my party? None of them even like me. You are literally the only one.”
“You don’t know that,” Kimber said softly, still unwilling to meet his gaze.
“I do, actually. And I want to become someone that people can like. I want to be more like you, thinking about other people and how they feel. It seems as if you never think about yourself. I love that about you.”
She still refused to look up, but he could feel that her mood was lifting. In fact, it felt like she was struggling to keep from smiling.
“Hey,” Justin said, hooking a finger under her chin and turning her head to look at him. “You have always been there for me. Can you give me a chance to do the same for you?” She hesitated, so he tried a little harder. “I promise I won’t laugh while we’re kissing anymore. I’ll pinch myself if I have to. Really hard. Hard enough to leave a mark.”
Kimber couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” she said, her smile spreading so wide she thought it might break her face.
Justin’s smile matched hers, but only for a moment, until he couldn’t stand not kissing her any longer.
Two hours later, Kimber and Justin had been rescued and had said goodbye for the night. Traffic was insane on his commute home, which was long even on a good day, because none of the stoplights or streetlamps were working. It was dark and slow, yet Justin didn’t mind. He felt better than he had in years. He couldn’t say how long this attraction to Kimber had been developing, just beneath the surface of his consciousness, but he had always admired and trusted her. When he had finally realized that she had feelings for him, that she believed in him, even when no one else did, he had become thoroughly aware of his feelings for her. He was so busy thinking about past experiences with Kimber and seeing them through a new perspective that he didn’t mind the drive at all.
When he finally pulled into his long driveway, he noticed there were lights in the windows of his living room. Normally, he would wonder if he had left them on when he left this morning, but today, the power grid was down. He parked his car just outside the garage that wouldn’t open, and cautiously headed inside, ready to shift if there was any threat inside.
Stealthily, he unlocked the front door and entered the house. He took off his shoes so he could creep towards the rustling sound. Poking his head around the corner, he peered into the living room.
“Elle!” he exclaimed, dropping his guard.
Elle jumped, her hand flying to her chest. “Justin! You scared me to death! Why are you so late?”
“I got stuck in the elevator when the power went out.” He definitely wasn’t going to give her any details beyond that. “What are you doing here?”
“I thought I would surprise you. I got a new dress.” She stood up to show it off, though the cut of the dress made it seem like she was more interested in showing off her skin.
Justin wasn’t swayed by the alluring dress. “Did you buy that with my money?”
“Of course. You said I could use your credit card for anything I wanted.”
“Elle. We broke up last night. Remember? You shouldn’t be using my credit card anymore. You shouldn’t be using my key anymore. I don’t understand why you’re here.”
“I thought we agreed that we would talk today,” Elle pouted.
“No. I told you not to come see me at work today, remember?”
“And I didn’t! I thought you just wanted to talk in a more comfortable setting.”
“Elle, stop it. I’m not going to let you manipulate me anymore. We are through. Do you understand?”
“No. I don’t understand. Why don’t you love me anymore?”
“We’ve been through this. You and I have never loved each other. We’ve been using each other. I want to be with someone who cares more about me than herself, so that I can care about her more than myself. This selfish, extravagant lifestyle is empty and lonely. I don’t want it anymore.”
Elle’s mood changed a
s fast as a light switch. “Fine. I didn’t want to do this to you, but you leave me no choice. I know what you are.”
Inside, Justin felt panic building, but he rolled his eyes and folded his arms, saying, “Alright. What am I?”
“You aren’t human.”
Justin uncrossed his arms, gesturing to his body. “I’m pretty sure I am, Elle.”
“Well, you’re not human all the time.”
“Do you have any idea how crazy you sound?”
Elle laughed. “You are quite the talented liar, aren’t you? I guess you would have to be. But you can’t fool me anymore, Justin.”
She held up her phone and tapped play on a video. It was undeniably Justin, strolling into the woods, stripping out of his party clothes, and transforming into a bear.
CHAPTER 9
Justin’s eyes grew wide. “How did you get this?”
“I followed you, you idiot. I came back last night after we said goodbye because I forgot my handbag, and that’s when I saw you sneaking into the forest. For the longest time, I wasn’t sure if there was anything to your habit of disappearing, but I was quite convinced that you were lying about where you were going all the time. Turns out, I was right.”
Justin’s mind was racing. How could he have let this happen? How had he not noticed that someone was following him? He really must have been preoccupied. If only he hadn’t decided to shift again after the party ended.
But now was not the time to panic. He looked at Elle and quickly read her thoughts. Look at him squirming, trying to find a way out of this. This will be the easiest ten million dollars anyone has ever made. So it was blackmail, just as he would have expected. Maybe with a bit of deception, he could buy himself some time before she gave him an ultimatum.
“Elle, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you found out,” he said intensely. “The pressure of being what I am, not being able to confide in anyone, it’s been killing me. That’s really why I wanted to break up. It was too hard to be so close to someone when I had such a big secret.”
