Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (52 page)

               
Kayla punches the mattress.  “I want to write,
‘
Back off, skank,
”
but obviously that wouldn’t be right.”

               
“Wait, Damien actually wrote something again.  Scroll up,” Tracy
commands.  When Kayla gets to the top, Tracy reads, “Just so everyone
knows, the relationship status is not a joke.  I am in a serious
relationship with a wonderful girl, so unless we’re friends outside of Facebook,
don’t expect a call back.”  Tracy looks at Kayla.  “Is he listening
through the door?”

               
“I don’t know,” Kayla whispers.  She walks over to the door and opens
it.  No one’s there, but she can hear music blaring from somewhere. 
She closes the door and turns around.  “He isn’t there, but Damien must
know I’m stalking his page.”

               
“How serious are you about this guy?”

               
Thinking for a minute, Kayla replies, “Pretty serious, I think.  I mean, I
really do like him.  Having other girls write on his page makes me want to
punch them all in the face.”

               
“I would pay to see that.” Tracy giggles.  “Have you checked out Jackson’s
page?”

               
“No, but I want to do that next,” Kayla says, sitting back down.  She goes
back to her page and then hits Jackson’s name.  When his page comes up,
Kayla tilts her head.  “He’s so gorgeous.”

               
Looking at his picture, Tracy agrees, “Yeah, he is.  Let’s look at his
albums.”

               
There are a lot of pictures of him with his friends all over the world. 
“There are only a few with girls.  That’s better than Damien’s page.”

               
“But Damien is the one you should be concerned about, right?  I mean,
since you made a pact not to be attracted to Jackson.”

               
With a halfhearted laugh, Kayla answers, “Well, it’s not that Jackson and I
aren’t attracted to each other.  We are…like crazy attracted.  It’s
like we push and push ourselves to stay apart and then find ourselves
kissing.  Damien is going to have more than his patience can tolerate one
of these days, so I can’t do it anymore.”

               
“Like I said at breakfast the other day, it would be crazy to let such a
combustible chemistry go to waste,” Tracy softly replies.

               
“But I have a huge attraction to Damien too.”

               
Tracy nudges her with her shoulder. “Tell me what it’s like kissing them.”

               
Kayla smiles.  “Why don’t we put suits on and go in the sauna?”

               
“Hell yeah!” Tracy cheers.

               
They quickly change into their bathing suits.  “Come on,” Kayla says,
opening the door.  “It’s on the other side of the house.”  Tracy
follows her out and down the hallway.

               
“Wow, that is some loud music,” Tracy chirps as they walk.

               
“It sounds like it’s coming from the pool,” Kayla counters.  When they get
down the final hallway, they slow down.  “No,” Kayla says. “It’s coming
from the gym.”

               
She and Tracy walk to the gym door and look in. They pause and then Tracy
whispers, “Lord, have mercy on my soul.”

               
Jackson and Damien are sparring at full speed.  “Wow,” Kayla exhales.

               
“They are so…I don’t even have a word for it, because sexy isn’t good enough,”
Tracy whispers.  “You weren’t kidding.  They are gorgeous without
their shirts on.”

               
“Told you,” Kayla murmurs back.  They remain transfixed in the doorway,
watching the guys spar. “I had no idea they could fight like this.”  As
the words escape from her mouth, Jackson’s fist swings out and connects with
Damien’s face.  Damien falls backwards. “Damien!” Kayla yells.

               
Hearing her, Jackson turns toward Kayla.  As soon as he looks away, Damien
does a kip-up and kicks Jackson in the face, making him fall back hard.

               
“Jackson!” Kayla yells, rushing in.  Without hesitation, Jackson spins
around and knocks Damien’s feet out from underneath him.  “Stop!  You
guys, knock it off.”

               
Neither one of them make another move. They sit in silence, breathing
hard.  Kayla looks from one to the other.  A dark red cut mars
Damien’s cheek, and Jackson’s lip is bleeding again. “Hey, babe,” Damien
groans, rubbing his jaw.

               
“What’s wrong with you?” Kayla yells.  “Full contact sparring?  Why
would you even do that?”

               
Jackson exhales from the mat below her.  “We decided we had a lot of
pent-up anger at each other over recent events and thought this would be a good
way to release our frustration.”

               
“I thought it was hot,” Tracy quips from beside Kayla.

               
Kayla turns to her.  “Don’t encourage them.”

               
“Why?” Tracy asks.  “That was awesome!  Could you imagine what they
could do to Jude?  Tear a guy to shreds to defend your honor.  I may
have to throw my morals to the wind if that happens.”

               
“Stop it,” Kayla hisses and laughs at the same time.  “This is
ridiculous.”

               
Tracy crosses her arms.  “Swear on our friendship that this didn’t make
your pulse run a little bit; turn you on ever so slightly.”

               
“You need to shut up.”  Tracy gives her a devilish smirk and Kayla glares
at her.

               
“If you two got all hot and bothered about this, then you can return the favor
by parading around in those bikinis,” Damien interjects as he gets up.  He
leans and kisses Kayla.  Pulling away, he smiles. “You can tell me, did
that turn you on?”

               
Jackson scrambles to his feet.  “Don’t answer that, Kayla.  It won’t
lead anywhere good.”

               
“I think the exact opposite,” Tracy quips.  “It could only lead to good
places.  Good places all over the house.”

               
“I like you more and more,” Damien says with a grin.

               
“Don’t mind her, she has the dirty mind of a teenage boy,” Kayla sighs.

               
Damien nods. “That’s why we’ll get along splendidly.”

               
“Just don’t fight anymore.  I want you both in one piece.”

               
“Come on, really?” Tracy whines.  “I say we make popcorn and keep
score.  We can be the judges.  Two chicks in bikinis, it seems
appropriate.  Then in the end, you can give the winner their spoils.”

               
“
Tracy
,” Kayla shouts.

               
“What?
”
she asks
innocently.
“
Like you
wouldn’t enjoy that?”

               
Kayla’s jaw drops.  “I can’t take you anywhere.”

               
“You just figured that out?  Who have you been friends with all these
years?”

               
“You get around boys and you lose your mind.” Kayla can’t help but laugh.

               
A wicked smile passes over Tracy’s face.  “Only when there are hot boys,
hot boys with their shirts off. Hot, sweaty boys demonstrating how strong and
athletic they are.  Yes, I think losing my mind is the best solution.”

               
Palming her forehead, Kayla whispers, “Really.”

               
“I love you!” Damien laughs.  “This is awesome.  You are like my
female counterpart!”

               
“I wouldn’t say that,” Jackson replies.  “I actually adore Tracy.”

               
Tracy wiggles her eyebrows, “Does that mean I can kiss you?”

               
Jackson laughs. “Sure, why not?”  He walks over, bends down, and kisses
her.  It’s like a punch in Kayla’s stomach.  She feels like she can’t
breathe.  When he pulls away, Jackson murmurs, “There, now you’ve kissed
one of us.  Does that make your day?”

               
“Hell yeah!” Tracy cheers.  “I want more.”

               
“Tracy,” Kayla snaps.  “Stop it!”

               
“Why?” Damien asks.  “If they want to make out, we can go into another
room.”

               
Her world starts to spin.  “I have to go,” Kayla mumbles,
  turning
and fleeing from the room.

               
“Kayla,” Tracy screams. “Stop!”

               
Kayla runs to the end of the hallway, turns the corner, and falls to the
ground.  Damien is right behind her.  “Get up and move,” he
urges.  She tries to stand and buckles.  Damien snatches her up and
darts into the next room.  He slams the door. “Shift, just shift.”

               
He doesn’t have to say anything else. Kayla instantly shifts.  She sits
there for a moment staring at the floor, breathing hard.  All she can
think is that she can’t feel this way.  The jealously and pain swirling in
her, it just isn’t right.

               
“Kayla, you just changed into a very big tiger.”  She turns and looks at
him.  “You should shift back now.”

               
She quickly shifts back to herself but remains kneeling on the floor. 
“I’m sorry,” she confesses.

               
“About what, having to shift?  It’s fine.  It happens.  We need
you to drink a shake and eat some brownies.  You’ll be fine.  Way to
get yourself out of there.  We wouldn’t be able to explain a tiger. 
Let me go get you something to eat, okay?” Damien says.  She nods. 
“Stay here.” Damien opens the door and almost runs into Jackson, his body
framed by the open doorway. “Keep an eye on her, okay?” Damien asks him.

               
Jackson replies, “Yeah, go.”  Damien leaves and Jackson shuts the
door.  “I told Tracy that you really have been sick and it comes on
suddenly, so you’re okay for a few minutes.”

               
“I’m sorry,” Kayla whispers, not looking at him.

               
Jackson pauses and then replies softly, “Sometimes when strong emotions come over
us, it makes us shift.”  Kayla looks up at him but doesn’t say
anything.  Jackson exhales. “I’m sorry for kissing Tracy.  I didn’t
think it would upset you that much.”

               
“It didn’t,” Kayla mumbles, looking away.  “No big deal.”

               
“Damien may be completely unaware, but I’m not.  I’ll just say
this, that
is exactly how I feel every time you kiss
Damien.”

               
Kayla looks up at him. “Then what are we doing?”

               
“What we decided on,” Jackson states, sticking his hand out.  She takes it
and he lifts her up.  “We’ll be friends, and sooner or later this will
pass.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla replies quietly.

               
He puts his finger under her chin and lifts her face up to his.  Looking
into her eyes, he says, “Though it appears all this sexual tension between us
is starting to bring out the animalistic side of you.”

               
She can’t help but start to laugh.  Kayla punches him in the arm. 
“Shut up!”

               
Jackson wraps his arms around her and squeezes.  “What am I going to do
with you?”

               
“The better question is what am I going to do with you?  You’re just
making it worse on yourself for the day I cash in on our bet and make you my
slave.”

               
 “Ooh, such a threat.  What are you going to do?”

               
Looking up at him, Kayla replies, “I don’t know, but it will be good.”

               
“It better be,” Jackson whispers with a grin.

               
They stand there staring at each other for a minute.  The door suddenly
opens, and they immediately back away from each other.  Damien comes in
carrying a glass of green liquid and a plate of brownies.  “Snack time.”

               
Kayla takes the glass and quickly drinks the whole thing.  “Wow, okay, thirsty?”
Jackson quips.

               
“No, I just want to get out of this room,” Kayla retorts.  She takes a
brownie and scarfs it down.  “Okay, one more brownie and I should be
good.”

               
“Yeah, I’m also going to make spaghetti for dinner,” Damien declares. 
“Yours will just have more Kiej than oregano.”

               
“That makes me nervous.  I don’t want Tracy anywhere near that stuff.”

               
Damien gives her a look.  “I’m not stupid, Kayla.  Her safety is
important to me too.  Yours will be the only one with anything green on
top of it.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla sighs.  “I’m going to go back to Tracy and try to explain
this away.”

               
“Do you want us to come with?” Damien asks with a cute smile.

               
“Why don’t you give us half an hour and then we can swim,” Kayla replies. 
She goes on her tiptoes and gives him a kiss then realizes Jackson is looking
right at them.  Kayla quickly steps back.