Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (14 page)

               
“Why, thank you,” Damien retorts with a cocky attitude.  “I
have
to
say the feelings are mutual.” 

               
Kayla blushes.  “You make me nervous.  I usually don’t get
nervous.  I have a pretty strong personality.”

               
“I like that in a girl,” Damien declares.  The barista appears with their
drinks and sets them down.  Damien takes out a twenty and hands it to her.
“Keep the change.”  The barista smiles broadly.  Damien instantly
turns his attention back to Kayla.  “I think you and I will get along
splendidly.”

               
“You don’t even know me.” Kayla laughs.  “Give it time.  You’ll find
something annoying about me.  Jackson sure found it pretty fast.”

               
Damien shakes his head.  “I don’t think that’s true, and I doubt I’ll ever
find a fault.”

               
“I’m not perfect, so don’t presume that I am.”  Kayla reaches into her
wallet and takes out some money.  She hands it over to Damien. 
“Here, this is for my tea.”

               
With a look of disgust, Damien stutters, “I-I am not taking your money.”

               
“Yes, you are,” Kayla states sternly, shoving the cash at him again.

               
“No, I’m not.” Damien chuckles and crosses his arms.  “My hand will not
touch that money.”

               
Kayla glares at him. “I’ll throw it at you.”

               
“I would rather you tuck it into the waistline of my pants,” Damien replies
with a devilish smirk.

               
“Are you going to strip for me?  I have some singles,” Kayla says, trying
to cover her laughter as she pulls more dollar bills from her wallet.

               
In an instant, Damien stands up and takes off his shirt.  Kayla’s eyes
widen and she gulps.  Jackson may be muscular, but Damien is lean and fit.
Whistling echoes throughout the café.  “Now, about those singles, where
would you like to start?”

               
“Put your shirt back on,” Kayla hisses, covering her face.  “You’re making
a spectacle.”

               
“Either you let me buy your tea or you stick those singles down my pants,
either way I’ll be happy.”

               
Giggling profusely, Kayla spits out, “I am not putting anything in your pants.”

               
“That’s disappointing.”

               
 “Hey, put your shirt on!” The voice can be heard above the whistles, and
a guy comes out from behind the counter.  “No shirt, no service!”

               
“What about pants?” Damien asks.

               
“Keep your clothes on,” the employee warns.

               
The whole crowd starts to boo.  Damien shrugs. “Always a party
pooper.”  He slides his shirt back on.  “No tip for you, sir.”

               
Kayla reaches across the table and pulls Damien back in his seat. 
“Seriously, you’re so embarrassing...but so incredibly awesome at the same
time!”

               
“So I’m getting more cool points?”

               
“Yes, billions!”

               
Damien smiles, “Glad to hear it.  I’ll have to take my clothes off more
often.  Next question, boxers or briefs?”

               
“Oh, I don’t want to know!” Kayla exclaims, trying not to smile.

               
Leaning forward, Damien teases, “I bet you doooo.”

               
“Noooo, I don’t, now drink your coffee.”  Happily, Damien takes a sip, and
it’s his phone that starts ringing this time.  He looks at it and then
presses ignore.  “Ooh, who are you ignoring?”

               
“My father,” Damien replies quietly.

               
“Oh,” Kayla bashfully whispers.  She takes a sip of her tea and looks out
the window.

               
With a heavy sigh, Damien says, “I get along with my family, but they are very
demanding in what they expect from me.”

               
“You are going to Yale at seventeen.  What more could they want?  My
parents would have bought me a car by now.”

               
“It’s other expectations that I can’t get into.  Someday I’ll share all my
secrets.”

               
With a small smile, Kayla says, “I don’t tell anyone’s secrets.”

               
“Good to know.”

               
Kayla’s phone interrupts them again.  “Really?” she yells.  Picking
it up, she squeaks, “Oh!”  Kayla answers, “Hey, Mom.”

               
“Hello, dear,” her mom says cheerfully.  “We were just wondering if you
were going to be home for dinner.”

               
“Umm,” Kayla mumbles, “I think so.”  Damien raises his eyebrows in
question.  “Hold on, Mom.”  She looks at Damien.  “Do you want
to come over for dinner?”

               
He nods. “If it’s not imposing.”

               
“Hey, Mom, can I bring a friend over?”

               
“Of course,” her mom chirps.  “Tracy?”

               
Turning red, Kayla whispers, “No, Damien.”

               
Kayla is met with dead silence, and then her mom interjects, “What…how are you
with Damien?”

               
Kayla groans. “He picked me up on the street corner.”

               
“Excellent,” Damien says with a laugh.

               
With a stern tone, her mom says, “Kayla, don’t be silly.  Do…has he told
you who he is?”

               
“An old friend of the family, yeah.”

               
Her mom pauses.  “Yes, he is an old friend of ours.  Of course he is
more than welcome to come.  May I ask where Jackson is?”

               
“Being a jerk somewhere.  How did you know we were together?”

               
“I talked to his mother.  Anyway, when can we expect you here?”

               
Kayla shrugs. “We can come now.”

               
“We are not taking drinks into my car,” Damien states strongly.  “I’m
sorry, but no.”

               
“Okay, I lied.  We need to finish our drinks and then we’ll be
there.  So a half hour?” Kayla says.

               
“Sounds good, we’ll see you then.  Behave, dear.”

               
Rolling her eyes, Kayla groans. “Yes, Mom.  Bye.”  She hangs up the
phone and looks at Damien.  “Are your parents intrusive sometimes too?”

               
“Sometimes?” Damien laughs. “Or all the time?”  Kayla joins in his
laughter. “You have a beautiful smile,” Damien murmurs softly.

               
Blushing, Kayla whispers, “Thank you.”

               
“So after dinner, what are your plans?” Damien asks, taking a sip of his
coffee.

               
“Calculus homework.” Kayla sighs heavily.  “I rock at calculus, I really
do, but we just started to do these equations that aren’t making much sense to
me.  I think I may have to get a tutor, which is rare, but I won’t let my
pride stop me from getting an A.  I haven’t gotten a B since middle school.”

               
Damien smiles. “I can totally help you.  It’s no problem.  May as
well put my Doogie Howser skills to some good use.”

               
“Good point.  Yes, I would thoroughly appreciate help.  I was going
to ask Jackson, but he’s being stubborn.”

               
“Maybe I can help you come up with your story idea too,” Damien says, leaning
forward.

               
She looks into his beautiful eyes and smirks. “How long are you planning to
stay at my house?”

               
“Until you kick me out.” 

               
“My parents will probably kick you out first.  You know, it’s nice not to
fight all the time.  Jackson and I mesh and clash simultaneously so
much.  It’s tiring.”

               
Damien sighs again.  “I’ll say it one more time.  Jackson has his
reasons for doing things his way.  It may not make sense, but just let it
be.”

               
“And you won’t tell me what those are.”

               
Giving her a kind smile, Damien states, “No, it’s not my place.”

               
“Even if it will win you a bajillion cool points?”

               
“You just made that up; a bajillion doesn’t exist.”

               
Kayla stresses, “I know that, but the answer is, obviously, still no.”

               
“You’re right on that.”

               
“Mmm,” Kayla hums.  “I’ll trust your judgment.  I won't give him the
satisfaction anymore.  He can be an ass all by himself.”

               
Damien chuckles. “And I’ll be there to save the day.”

               
“Thank you.  So tell me something about yourself.  What are your
favorite movies?”

               
“That’s easy,” Damien answers.  With that, they sit and finish their
drinks, getting to know each other better.

               
Forty-five minutes later, they walk into Kayla’s house.  “Mom! 
Dad!  We’re home!”

               
“Hi, honey,” her dad responds, coming around the corner.  He sees Damien
and falters a little.  “Hello, Master…I mean, Mr. Blakely.”

               
“Call me Damien, please.”

               
“Yeah, Dad,” Kayla interjects with an annoyed tone.  “Since when do you
greet my friends so formally?  Anyway, you know him.”

               
Her dad wrings his hands.  “Well, I was just being polite.  Dinner is
ready if you want to come into the dining room.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla chirps, setting her backpack by the stairs.  “Come on,
Damien.  I’m starving.”

               
They enter the next room where Kayla’s mom is setting down a roast.  “Hi,
dear,” she says.  When her mom looks up, she stands up straight. 
“Damien, pleasure to see you again.”

               
Kayla stares at her parents like they’re nuts.  “Why are you guys acting
so weird?”

               
“We aren’t,” her mom replies.  “It’s just been a long day.”

               
With a snort, Kayla asks, “Were the plants giving you a hard time?”

               
Her mother gives her a hard look.  “Kayla, be nice.”

               
“Sorry,” Kayla says, trying to hold back her giggles.  She points to the
chair next to her.  “You can sit next to me, Damien, as long as you
promise not to steal food off my plate.”

               
“I would never,” he says with a laugh.

               
Kayla’s dad chuckles. “Actually, Kayla is notorious for that.  Watch your
dinner.”

               
“Dad!” Kayla hisses.

               
“It’s quite all right if she wants me to share,” Damien replies politely. 
Kayla is shocked when he pulls out her chair for her.

               
She sits down and whispers, “Thank you,” somewhat awkwardly.

               
Damien fluidly sits down in his chair and smiles at Kayla.  His hand finds
her leg, and he gently places it there for a second, before pulling away, which
sends Kayla’s heart skyrocketing.

               
“Dinner smells very good,” Damien declares.  “I really haven’t eaten much
today.  I was out running for most of the morning.”

               
“You run?” Kayla asks, grabbing a roll.

               
Her dad suddenly chokes on his soda.  Damien looks at him with an odd
expression and then replies, “I like to wander around the woods a lot.”

               
“Oh no,” Kayla groans.  “You’re like my parents!”

               
“You don’t like to hike?” Damien inquires, pouring himself some water.

               
“Not as much as my parents,” Kayla mutters under her breath.

               
An awkward silence falls over them, and then Kayla’s dad asks, “So…have you
seen much of Jackson since we all had dinner?”

               
“Yeah, like non-stop.” Kayla sighs.  “That’s who I was out to breakfast
with this morning.”

               
“Oh, most excellent,” her mom cheerfully replies.

               
Out of the corner of her eye, Kayla sees Damien look at her mom.  When
Kayla follows his gaze, she sees the expression on her mother’s face
change.  “Yeah,” Kayla replies slowly.  “He’s kind of…hard to get
along with.  I like him and all, but we kind of butt heads a lot.”

               
“Oh, that’s disappointing,” her mom says quietly, not looking up.

               
“But,” Kayla looks at Damien, “I think I’ve found a new friend in Damien. 
We’re slowly getting to know each other.  He even said I could drive his
car, but sadly, I don’t know how to drive stick.  You know you could
always get me a car with a manual transmission, and I could learn that way,”
Kayla hints.