Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (11 page)

               
“Thanks, Mrs. Blakely,” Kayla says, giving a what-the-hell look to
Jackson.  She follows Jackson’s mom into the house.

               
Mrs. Blakely turns around and nearly laughs. “We are so glad that you’re
here.  It really is a pleasant surprise.”

               
“It’s good to see you too,” Kayla chirps.  She follows Jackson’s mom down
a massive hallway.  Kayla is awestruck; gorgeous art is everywhere. 
“This place is beautiful.”

               
“Thank you,” his mom replies.  “We love art and collect it from everywhere
we go.”

               
Kayla smiles. “Awesome.”  She senses Jackson come up next to her, so she
turns and looks at him.  He has a worried look on his face.  When his
mom walks farther down the hallway, Kayla whispers, “What is wrong with you?”

               
“Nothing,” Jackson murmurs. “I just think you should leave.”

               
“Do you not want me here?” Kayla asks, feeling hurt.

               
Jackson shakes his head. “That’s not it.”

               
Suddenly, they hear, “Hello, cousin.”

               
They both turn toward the voice, and Kayla’s heart nearly jumps out of her
chest.  The guy standing beside them is gorgeous.  His black hair is
lustrous and formed into a slight faux hawk on his head, but his bangs fall
down in front.  It’s like he had someone professionally style it. 
His eyes are a vibrant hazel, like Jackson’s, but with a hint of jade
green.  He is dressed in all black, and the clothing forms to his defined
body perfectly.

               
“Hi,” Kayla’s squeaks.

               
“Are you going to introduce us?” the guy asks Jackson.

               
Nearly snarling, Jackson replies, “Damien, this is Kayla.  Kayla, this is
my cousin, Damien.”

               
Damien picks up Kayla’s hand and kisses the back of it.  It makes her
nerves sizzle.  Damien places his hand on top of hers and Kayla nearly
buckles, a wave of sheer pleasure running through her.

               
Jackson grabs her other hand and pulls her tight against him.  “Knock it
off, Damien.”

               
“I think you’re keeping a beautiful treasure all to yourself.  What a
greedy cousin,” Damien says, looking straight at Kayla.

               
Her whole world stops.  Between Damien’s stare and Jackson’s touch, she
doesn’t quite know what to do.

               
They all stand there for a second, Jackson holding on tightly to Kayla, and
Damien and Kayla staring at each other.  Damien smiles. “I’m so glad that
I could meet you.”

               
“Yeah,” Kayla whispers.

               
“Come on,” Jackson says to Kayla, grabbing her hand.  “Let’s go to my
room.”

               
Damien crosses his arms.  “Aren’t you being rude?”

               
Kayla tugs on Jackson’s hand.  “Yeah, come on.  We just met.  Be
nice.”

               
Jackson exhales loudly. “All right.  This is my cousin, Damien.  He
is a huge pain in my ass.”

               
“Jackson, stop it!” Kayla hisses.  “What is wrong with you?  Oh
wait…you’re a jackass to other people too.  It’s not just me!”  Jackson
glares at her.  Kayla starts to laugh and grabs ahold of his arm, leaning
against him.  She bats her eyelashes.  “I’m joking.  You can’t
be mad at this face.”

               
“I would never be mad at such a beautiful face,” Damien interjects smoothly. 

               
Kayla turns to him as her face reddens.  “I am not beautiful.”

               
Grabbing his chest with his hand, Damien replies, “Don’t be silly.  You
are gorgeous.  If Jackson hasn’t told you that every day, then he’s a
fool.”

               
“I do tell her that,” Jackson spits out.

               
“You have said that,” Kayla notes, “but not nearly enough.”  Jackson’s jaw
drops.  Kayla giggles.  “I’m just teasing, calm down.”  She
leans in near him.  “Remember, we’re just friends, so I'm not breaking any
rules if I accept compliments from another guy.”

               
Tension ripples through Jackson.  “If that’s what you want.”

               
“Come!” Damien exclaims.  “Let’s give this girl a tour of your
house.”  He turns to Kayla and sticks out his arm.  “You should be
shown by a gentleman and treated like a lady.”

               
“Well then.” Kayla laughs.  She nervously weaves her arm through
Damien’s.  “Show me Mister...what’s your last name?”

               
Damien smiles. “Oh, it’s also Blakely.  Our fathers are cousins.”

               
“Oh, so you’re like second cousins.”

               
“Sadly,” Jackson grumbles.

               
With a raised eyebrow, Damien says, “Don’t mind my brooding relative.  He
can be a bit testy sometimes.”

               
“Damien,” Jackson growls.

               
“Yes,” he replies with a grin.

               
Pulling on his arm, Kayla says, “Show me the house Damien.”

               
“Very well, Ms. Hendrickson.”

               
Kayla stops.  “How do you know my last name?”

               
“Oh.” Damien sighs.  “I guess I won’t lie.  I know who you are. 
I know your parents.”

               
“Does everyone know about me?” Kayla exclaims.  “I didn’t know about
either of you.”

               
A perturbed look passes over Damien’s face.  “Yes, well, I don’t agree
with that.  You should know exactly who we are.”

               
“Damien,” Jackson hisses.  “Respect her parents' wishes.”

               
“What do my parents have to do with this?” Kayla asks.

               
Damien pats her hand. “Ignore me, let’s show you the house.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla mutters.

               
He leads her down the hallway.  “To the right you have the dining room,
which is where we will eat later.  To the left is the kitchen.  They
have a private chef.  None of them cook.  I, on the other hand, can.”

               
“Jackson bakes,” Kayla says. 

               
Damien stops and turns to his cousin. “Oh, he does?”

               
“Well, he bakes brownies, they have…well,
they’re
good
brownies.  I’ll leave it at that.”

               
“Little Miss Susie, the homemaker,” Damien says.  “How cute.” 
Jackson glares at his cousin.  Damien condescendingly says, “What…are you
getting your apron strings in a twist?”

               
Kayla bursts out laughing. “Burn!” Jackson steps forward but then turns and
storms off.  “Jackson!” Kayla yells, still giggling. “Stop!”  Jackson
turns the corner and disappears.

               
Damien sighs.  “Leave him be. He’s a bit sensitive, always has been the
brooding type.  He’ll be fine.  He just doesn’t like competition.”

               
Turning to him, Kayla says, “Competition, what competition?”

               
“Really,” Damien replies.  “I figured that would be obvious.”

               
“Me?” Kayla squeaks.  “You don’t even know me!”

               
Damien smirks. “Oh, but I will.”

               
“Listen, Jackson is not interested in dating me, trust me.”

               
“Well, that makes it easier on me then.”

               
Suddenly embarrassed and uneasy, Kayla whispers, “I should go find Jackson.”

               
“Oh, please,” Damien says kindly.  “I didn’t mean to be so forward. 
Don’t think ill of me because of it.  I apologize.  I can be a little
abrupt sometimes.”

               
“It’s okay.  I should go find Jackson.  We have a project to work
on.”

               
Damien smiles. “Please, stay and join us for dinner.  I really would love
to learn more about you.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla says sheepishly.  “Where is Jackson’s room?”

               
“Mmmm, as much as I don’t want to tell you, it’s around the corner.  Go to
the end of the hallway, take a left, and it’s the first door on your right.”

               
Nervously, Kayla puts her hair behind her ear.  “Thanks.  I’ll see
you at dinner.”

               
“Excellent,” Damien replies.  “Have fun with Jackson.  If anyone can
cheer him up, it’s probably you.”

               
“I wouldn’t say that.  We annoy each other as much as like each other, but
thanks for saying that.”

               
Nodding, Damien says, “It’s the truth.  I’ll see you at dinner.”

               
“Yeah, see you then.”  She pulls her backpack farther up her shoulder and
goes in search of Jackson.  It’s easy to find his room because music
blares from it.  Kayla walks to the door and knocks.  There is no
reply.  She waits for a minute before knocking again, but there is still
no reply.  “Jackson?” she yells.  When there is no response, she
opens the heavy oak door.  Music overloads her as she walks into his room.

               
Her eyes scan the space, and when they fall on Jackson, she’s mortified. 
He turns around, without his shirt on.  “Do you often walk into a person’s
room uninvited?” he asks.

               
Unable to speak, Kayla gawks at him.  Finally, she sputters, “I knocked a
couple of times and even…called…out your name.”

               
Jackson walks to his closet.  He yanks a shirt off a hanger and pulls it
on.  “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you.”

               
“Obviously,” Kayla yells over the music.  She walks over to the stereo and
turns it down.  “Dear Lord, Jackson, how are you not deaf?”

               
“It distracts me,” Jackson mumbles.  “Why are you here anyway?”

               
Kayla sits on his bed.  “To spend time with
you
and to work on
our
project.”

               
“What?  You didn’t want to get to know Damien?” Jackson grumbles,
returning to his desk.

               
“Jackson, I have no idea who Damien is, and for some reason he’s talking like
he’s interested in me, which I do
not
understand.”

               
He turns and looks at her.  “Kayla, I feel protective of you and just want
you to be careful with Damien.  His motives…well…you may not understand
them.  Just be careful.”

               
“Should I be worried?  Is he a bad guy?”

               
Jackson shakes his head. “No, not at all. He rubs me the wrong way, but he
isn’t a bad guy.  I wish he were, but he isn’t.  Full of himself, yes,
but—”

               
“So are you,” Kayla interrupts.  Jackson smirks and nods. The song over
the
speakers
changes and a very sexually explicit song
comes on.  Kayla’s face turns beet red.  “What are you listening to?”

               
Jackson starts laughing. “It’s Internet radio.  I have no control.”

               
Kayla falls back on the bed giggling. “Liar!  This is the stuff you really
listen to!  Oh
my gosh
!  Do you fantasize to
this music?”

               
“No,” Jackson groans.  “I do not listen to music that I can have sex to.”

               
Still laughing, Kayla says, “Yeah right, you are so full of it.  Wow, the
things you learn about a person.”

               
“Speaking of fantasies, when I pictured you on my bed, it was not laughing at
my expense.”

               
“Ooh,” Kayla retorts, propping herself up.  “You fantasized about me on
your bed?  I had one dream about you.  Tsk tsk, you totally just
exposed yourself.”

               
Jackson snorts.  “You wish I would expose myself.”

               
“Ewww, I do
not
!  Bad visuals! Bad visuals!  Ugh, thanks,
Jackson.” Kayla groans, covering her face.  “That was so inappropriate.”

               
He walks over and sits down next to her.  “I always like to make you
blush.”

               
“Will you ever change?” Kayla exclaims through her fingers.

               
“Not likely,” Jackson replies with a chuckle.  He reaches over and pulls
Kayla’s hands away.  “You don’t need to be embarrassed around me.”

               
Kayla looks at him while lying on his bed.  “Everything about guys
embarrasses me.”

               
“That’s good to know,” they hear from the doorway.

               
All amusement drains from Jackson’s face.  “Go away.  I didn’t invite
you into my room.”

               
Damien leans against the doorway.  “I’m not
in
your
room…technically.  I figured you might need help on whatever project
you’re working on.”

               
“We’re fine,” Jackson growls.  “Go find something else to do.”

               
“I’m going to be around for a while.  You should get used to that fact.”

               
Sitting up, Kayla blushes since she was lying down next to Jackson on his
bed.  “Are you on vacation?”

               
“Sort of,” Damien replies with a smile.  “Taking a year off between
semesters, a needed break.”

               
“Oh…are you in college?” Kayla asks.

               
“Mmhmm,” Damien answers.

               
Not sure what to say, Kayla declares, “You don’t look that old, no offense.”

               
“I’m not.  I’m seventeen,” Damien replies, casually walking into Jackson’s
room.

               
“How are you in college at seventeen?” Kayla gasps.

               
Damien smirks and says, “I graduated two years ago.”

               
“Are you a genius or something?” Kayla chirps in awe.

               
“No,” Jackson interjects.  “He just thinks he is.”

               
Kayla looks at Jackson and then back at Damien.  “This is
incredible!  I’m jealous.  What college do you go to?”

               
“Yale,” Jackson groans.

               
“
No freaking way!
” Kayla exclaims, scooting closer to the edge of the
bed.  “Why are you taking time off?  What’s your major?  Hell,
what’s your minor?  What is Yale like?”

               
Laughing, Damien replies, “I have some family business to take care of and was
able to pull a few strings. When your family makes sizable donations, the
school officials are a bit more understanding.  I’m double majoring in
biochemistry and biology.  I plan to go to med school and become a
doctor.  Yale is as awesome as you’d expect it to be.”

               
“You are now…my idol,” Kayla states seriously.  “I feel stupid next to
you.  I thought I had to worry about Jackson.”

               
“Thanks,” Jackson mumbles.  “It’s not like I’m not going to try and get
into an Ivy League university.”

               
Kayla scoots over and wraps her arms around him.  “You are still my
competition, and when I win the bet, you will be my slave.”

               
“Whoa.” Jackson chuckles. “Who said I was going to be your slave?”