Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (56 page)

               
Jackson opens one eye and peers down at her.  “Oh good, I swear I didn’t
see anything!”

               
“
It’s
fine,” Kayla mumbles, her cheeks on fire. 
“I’m going to get dressed.”

               
“That’s a good idea,” Jackson exhales, rubbing his forehead.  “I need to
clean up anyway.”

               
She nods and leaves the room.  When Kayla gets back into his bedroom, she
shuts the bathroom door.  “Crap!” she groans, covering her face. 
“That was so…embarrassing…I think.”  Shaking her head, she pulls her
pajamas back on.  She throws the sheet and comforter back on the bed to
get it ready for Jackson.  When she’s dressed and the bed is made, she
walks back towards the bathroom and opens the door.  Jackson is standing
at the sink, washing out his brushes. 

               
He turns and looks at her.  “Oh damn, you have your clothes on.”

               
“Shut up.” Kayla laughs.  “I’m going to bed.”

               
“Good night,” Jackson says, turning off the water.  “I’ll wake you up in
the morning.”

               
Kayla nods her head.  “Okay, thanks for being a gentleman.”

               
“Oh, if I want to see you naked, I’ll just walk in on you while you’re
showering.”

               
“That’s good to know…I think.  Okay, good night.”

               
“Night.”

               
Turning, she walks out and back to her room.  When she gets into bed, she
covers her face.  “I can’t believe I just did that.  What has gotten
into you?”  Kayla stares up at the ceiling searching for answers. “He got
to you,” she whispers.  Frustrated, she pulls the blanket over her head
and tries to go back to sleep.

               
“Rise and shine.” Jackson’s voice is too loud and too chipper for so early in
the morning.

               
Kayla pulls the blanket over her head.  “Go away.”

               
“You wanted me to wake you up,” Jackson replies.  “Don’t you want to get
going, so you can see your
maaaaan.
”

               
Throwing the blankets back, Kayla stares him down.  “Shut up.”

               
He wiggles his eyebrows. “Come on, get up.  We need to go over to your
house.”

               
“What time is it?” Kayla grumbles.

               
“Nine,” Jackson answers.  “Time to rise and shine, valentine.”

               
With a groan, Kayla puts her face into her pillow.  “It’s too early.”

               
“Nonsense, time to get up,” Jackson says, pulling her up by her hand.

               
“I’m so tired,” Kayla mumbles, rubbing her eyes.

               
“If you weren’t up all night taking your clothes off, you wouldn’t be so
tired.”

               
Kayla pushes him.  “Shut up.”

               
Jackson leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek.  “You can sleep for a
little while longer if you want, otherwise, you can sleep in the car. 
That’s fine too.”

               
“No, that would be rude.  Did you make coffee?”

               
“Yup, it’s in the kitchen.”

               
Getting out of bed, Kayla yawns.  “Good, coffee good, must use bathroom
first.”

               
“I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” Jackson says, ruffling her hair.

               
“Stop it,” she whines.  “Go do something useful.”  He laughs and
leaves the room.  Kayla groans and gets out of bed.  A little while
later, she makes her way into the kitchen.  Jackson is standing in the
middle of the room, bopping his head to the music coming from the stereo. 
“I. Need. Coffee,” Kayla articulates.

               
He spins on his heels and goes over to the coffee maker.  Jackson pours
her a cup and then hands it over.  “How quickly can you be ready?”

               
“I just woke up!” Kayla exclaims.  “Give me a minute for the caffeine to
course its way through my veins.”

               
“All right, all right,” Jackson says, putting his hands up.  “It’s only
going to take us ten-and-a-half hours to get to Vegas.  I think if we make
stops and pump you full of Kiej, you should be fine.  Plus, if we get
there early enough, we can see a little bit of Vegas.”

               
A grin spreads over Kayla’s face.  “I didn’t think about that.”

               
“I sure did.  We need to at least eat on the strip.”

               
“What if I shift?” Kayla asks.  “In front of thousands of people.”

               
“I didn’t say we would spend a lot of time on the strip.  I say we get to
the safe house, meditate,
eat
about a hundred brownies
and head down there.  I have GPS to get us everywhere.”

               
Kayla smiles. “I’ll go get ready.”

               
“Good, go, go,
go
!”

               
Snagging her cup of coffee, Kayla runs to her room.  She packs everything
she needs in her suitcase.  After she’s finished, she goes into Jackson’s
bathroom to finish getting ready.  Kayla strips her clothes off and hops
in the shower.  The hot water feels really good.  Her thoughts are
interrupted by a knock on the door.  “Yeah?” she yells.

               
“Can I come in?” Jackson laughs.

               
“No!  Of course not, are you crazy?”

               
“Hurry up!  I have stuff in there I need to pack.”

               
She rolls her eyes.  “Give me five minutes, geez!”

               
“Timer starts now!”

               
“Shut up!”

               
After she showers and makes herself presentable, she throws open the bathroom
door to see Jackson standing in front of her.  His eyebrows go up. 
“A skirt for a road trip?”

               
Kayla looks down at her pleated skirt. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

               
“Nothing, you look hot, but we are driving for ten hours.”

               
“What is more comfortable than a skirt?  It’s like wearing no pants.”
Kayla giggles. 

               
A smile spreads across Jackson’s face.  “I vote for no pants or
skirt.  What is more comfortable than sitting in your underwear?”

               
“You wish.  Come on, get your stuff.”

               
“There’s nothing for me to get,” Jackson quips with a smile.  “I just
wanted you to hurry up.”

               
Kayla punches him in the arm.  “That’s not nice.”

               
“Come on, let’s go.  Get your shoes on.”

               
She glares at him, but leaves to go to her room.  Half an hour later, they
arrive at her house.  When they walk in, Kayla yells, “Mom?  Dad?”

               
Her mom comes out of the dining room. “Honey!  I can’t believe you’re
doing this.”

               
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” Kayla reassures her.  “Nothing will happen to
me.  Jackson will be there, and he’ll keep me safe.”

               
“Yes, I will,” Jackson interjects before her mom can respond.  “Safe and
sound.”

               
With a stern look, her mom says, “You will call us every few hours and when you
get to Las Vegas.”

               
“Yes,” Kayla answers.  “I promise I’ll call you, like, five hundred
times.”

               
“Okay,” her mom exhales.  “Do you have everything you need?  Do you
need money?”

               
“No,” Jackson replies.  “I have five different credit cards, and I’ll send
Damien the bills.”

               
Shaking her head, her mom repeats, “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

               
“She’ll be fine,” her dad says, coming up behind her.

               
Her mother grabs the bridge of her nose.  “I’m going to be so worried.”

               
“I promise, Mom, we’ll be fine,” Kayla reassures her.

               
Taking a deep breath, her mom points to the kitchen. “Do you want me to pack
you some food?  Do you have Kiej?”

               
“I made six batches of my brownies.  I have five Kiej smoothies for her,
plus an entire cooler of water, soda and munchies, because a road trip wouldn’t
really be a road trip without those,” Jackson states.

               
“It looks like you have everything covered,” Kayla’s dad says.  “What else
do you need?”

               
Kayla gestures toward the stairs.  “I need to grab a few things.”

               
“Go ahead,” her mom urges.  “I don’t want you driving when it’s dark.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla says as she darts to her room. She throws open her closet door
and takes out her best skirts and dresses.

               
After a few minutes, Jackson walks into her room.  “What are you packing?”

               
“Damien says it’s going to be warm and that I should bring skirts…short
skirts.”

               
“I personally like the one you’re wearing,” Jackson says, sitting down on her
bed.  “It looks good on you.  I’m going to make a suggestion, bring
some dressy clothes.  His family will probably take you out to some nice
places.”

               
Kayla pulls a dress out of her closet.  “How about this one?”

               
“Beautiful,” Jackson says, with a smile.  “I think you’re pretty in
whatever you wear, so I’m biased.”

               
“Awww, now help me pick out dresses.”

               
Jackson groans and gets up.  “Let me just go through your closet.” 
He gently pushes her aside and starts to pull stuff out.  A grin passes
over his face.  “You need to bring this one,” he says as he pulls out a
red halter dress. 
It’s
low cut and short. 
“Damien will love it.”

               
“
That
…Tracy bought me.  I’ve never worn it.”

               
“Why not?” Jackson exclaims. “It’s hot as hell.  Here, put it on, so I can
see.”

               
She laughs and snags it from him.  “No, now put it back.”

               
“No, bring it, you”ll fit right in at the shifters club,” Jackson retorts,
going back to her closet.

               
“Shifters club?”

               
“Yeah, it’s a club solely for our people.  Everyone has to experience it
once.”

               
Kayla holds up the halter dress. “Don’t you have to be twenty-one?”

               
“You have Damien.  He’s a free pass to get you anywhere you want. 
They won’t let you drink.  Alcohol doesn’t affect us anyway.  We have
our own versions.  You can experience that later.”

               
“What makes the shifters club special?” Kayla asks, kneeling down to retrieve
shoes from under her bed.

               
Jackson gives a hearty laugh.  “Words cannot describe it.  It’s
something you just have to…experience.  That dress will make you fit in a
little bit better.”

               
“Have you been to one?”

               
Jackson exhales. “Yeah, one time with Damien.  We snuck out there when we
were fifteen to celebrate his graduation.  I’ve never experienced anything
like it before…or since.”

               
Looking up at him, Kayla says, “Was it fun?”

               
“It was…interesting.  Trust me, you have to see it for yourself.  I’m
not saying we have to go, but I bet money Damien will suggest it.  If you
do go, I want to go with you.”

               
“Then it must be fun,” Kayla declares, picking up shoes.

               
“That’s not why I want to go.  If
you
go, I want to be there.”

               
“Why?”

               
“Just trust me,” Jackson mumbles.  “All right, that’s enough stuff. 
We aren’t spending weeks there.”

               
“I’ll just hang this stuff in the back of the car.” Kayla sighs.  “Let’s
go say good-bye to my parents,” she says, leading them out of her room.

               
“Are you ready for this?” Jackson asks a little while later as they pull onto
the highway.

               
“You have no idea.  We get to take my new car on a road trip!” Kayla
squeals.  “I am so excited!  It’s going to be so much fun.”

               
“We have to get along for two solid days.” Jackson laughs.  “I don’t
know.  We may end up hurting each other.”

               
She glances over at him. “Since someone stopped being a jerk, we haven’t butted
heads as much.  If anything, we get along
too
well.”

               
“What do you mean by that?”

               
Quickly looking away, Kayla murmurs, “Nothing.”

               
“No, what do you mean?”

               
“You and I connect really well…and really strongly,” Kayla states
quietly.  “We are super attracted to each other.  It makes things
complicated when you took an oath to not care about the other person.”

               
Jackson sighs.  “I never said we couldn’t care about each other.  I
care about you, but we can’t romantically get involved.  Anyway, none of
that matters anymore, you have Damien now.”

               
“I guess you’re right,” Kayla exhales.  “Well then, here’s to two days of
having a blast and
not
mauling each other.”

               
“I didn’t say we couldn’t maul each other,” Jackson teases. “I’m all right with
that.”

               
“Shut up, no you’re not,” Kayla snaps playfully.  “Damien would beat you
up.”

               
Jackson’s jaw drops.  “You think Damien can take me?  Have you looked
at him and then looked at me?  I outweigh him by forty pounds of
muscle.  He can’t do anything to me.”

               
Kayla giggles.  “Except kick you in the face.”

               
“That’s because
you
distracted me.  Normally, he can’t touch me.”

               
“Mmhmm,” Kayla hums.  “I bet you tell all the girls that.”

               
He shakes his head. “Damien and I never competed for girls, so there wasn’t
anything to talk about.”

               
Kayla didn’t want to inquire about whether or not that was still true, so she
decided on a slight change of topic. “Is there really that big of a size
difference between you two?”