Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (9 page)

               
His grin turns into a big smile, and Jackson says, “No, by all means, talk
away.”

               
“He’s at your house?” Tracy asks, sounding totally confused.

               
“No, we’re at Lenny’s by school.  He’s buying me breakfast, and before you
say anything, it’s not a date, not even close.”

               
Putting his hand to his chest, Jackson says, “Ouch.”

               
“You’re the one who made that pointedly clear.”

               
“True.”

               
Tracy stutters, “Girl, I am so confused.”

               
“I’ll explain it later.  I’ll see you when you get to school.”

               
Jackson leans forward.  “She can come join us.”

               
“Oh…okay. Tracy, would you like to join us for breakfast?”

               
“Umm, yeah, he’s so hot,” Tracy says.

               
A deep chuckle comes from Jackson.  Kayla groans. “He can hear you,
Tracy.  You’re being loud.”

               
“Why in the world do I care?  I’ll tell him to his face that he’s hot,
because he is.”

               
“Then come gush over him and boost his ego.  He likes that,” Kayla
replies, winking at Jackson.  He just laughs more.

               
“Okay, be there in fifteen.”

               
“Do you want me to order you something?”

               
“Spanish omelet with wheat toast.”

               
“All right, see you in a bit.”

               
Giggling, Tracy says, “This is going to be awesome.  Bye!”

               
Putting her face in her hands, Kayla mumbles, “This will be interesting.”

               
“Oh no, I think I’m going to like her.” Jackson sighs, looking at his
menu.               

               
They make small talk as they order their breakfast and wait for Tracy. 
Tracy finally walks through the door, and Kayla waves her down.  With a
huge smile, Tracy approaches them.  She looks at Jackson and says, “Hi, I
don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.  I’m Tracy.”  She sticks
out her hand to him.

               
He shakes it and replies, “Jackson, nice to meet you.”

               
Tracy slides in next to Kayla.  She smiles at her and says, “So, anything
you want to tell me?”

               
“No,” Kayla states.  “We’re just out for breakfast.  Don’t make any
assumptions.”

               
“Okay, you’ll have to tell me everything later,” Tracy whispers.

               
Totally embarrassed, Kayla hisses, “There’s nothing to tell you.”

               
“Oh, come on,” Jackson starts.  “You aren’t going to tell her about what
happened in your kitchen?”

               
Glaring at him, Kayla spits out, “We weren’t going to tell anyone.”

               
“What?  You weren’t going to tell me something?  How rude! 
We’re best friends!” Tracy yells.  She turns to Jackson. “You tell me,
what happened in her kitchen?”

               
“We totally pounced on each other and got all heated.  It was quite
stimulating,” Jackson answers with a grin.

               
Tracy smirks and looks at her friend. “And why were you not going to tell me
that?”

               
“Because it didn’t mean anything.  We are totally not dating, not
interested, not anything.  We’ve made that clear.”

               
“Well then,” Tracy exhales.  “Sounds like wasted chemistry to me.”

               
Kayla looks up at Jackson.  He is looking back at her with a very
thoughtful expression.  “You know what?  It is wasted
chemistry.  How sad.  Too bad we clash so much.”

               
“We don’t clash,” Kayla retorts.  “You strive to be an ass.”

               
“I do, don’t I?  The thing is, I think you like that.  I think you
find me totally appealing and sexy.”

               
With quite the attitude, Kayla responds with, “I think the problem is that you
are
attracted to me.  I think you like me a lot, and for some reason you’re
trying to force yourself not to, and I really wish I knew why.”

               
“You’ll know why soon enough,” Jackson says.

               
“I think you both need to get past yourselves and just do it already,” Tracy
chirps looking at both of them.

               
Kayla turns her glare to her friend.  “I am
not
having sex with
him.”

               
“I didn’t mean it that way, but wouldn’t it be great if you had that much
chemistry?  I think it would be an experience all its own.”

               
“I’m a virgin, and I plan to keep it that way, until I find someone worthy of
being with.”

               
Jackson leans forward. “I’m not worthy?  Really?  I’m extremely
intelligent, which you are horrendously attracted to.  I make you laugh,
which was one of the traits you wanted.  I have a drive to protect you,
which girls always swoon at.  I don’t see a problem.”

               
“I want someone who is nice.  You know, sweet and romantic.  You’re
an ass to me most of the time, and you made me feel totally rejected after we
kissed.  That isn’t something I want in a guy.”

               
“I did not make you feel rejected,” Jackson groans.

               
Leaning forward, Kayla emphasizes, “Yeah, you did.”

               
Bending even closer to her, Jackson says, “Next time I kiss you, I promise I
won’t bolt.”

               
“Next time?” Tracy says. “Ooh la la.”

               
Kayla turns to her friend.  “There won’t be a next time.”

               
“Yeah…sure,” Tracy whispers, looking away.  “Oh,” she exclaims. 
“Breakfast!”

               
When she turns her gaze back to Jackson, Kayla catches him staring at
her.  She raises an eyebrow.  Jackson just shakes his head and starts
to eat his food.  Tracy does all the talking while they eat.  Out of
the corner of her eye, Kayla catches Jackson looking at her a lot.  She
chooses to ignore him.

               
They finally finish eating, and the waitress brings the check.  Jackson
grabs it and says, “This is on me.”

               
“Oh, if he’s buying breakfast, I’ll get up early every morning,” Tracy
quips.  “Good food, coffee, and hot entertainment; I’m game.”

               
With an exasperated moan, Kayla palms her forehead.  Jackson gently kicks
her under the table.  She looks up and he winks at her.  Kayla rolls
her eyes and laughs.  Jackson happily says, “Whenever you girls want to do
breakfast, I’ll be more than willing to buy.”

               
“Awesome!” Tracy exclaims.  “I think I’m going to like you.  You can
be my new best friend, since
you
tell me everything.”

               
“He needs a best friend, so that will be good.” Kayla sighs as she grabs her
stuff.  “And you rock as a friend, Tracy, so he would be lucky.”

               
Tracy leans against Kayla, “Awww, that’s sweet.  No one can replace
you.  I love you too much.”

               
“Love as in I’m going to paint your toes, or love as in I’m going to massage
your naked body,” Jackson asks with an evil smirk.  “Because if it’s the
last one, I’m going to join your little group.”

               
Kayla snorts.  “You wish. We keep our sexcapades to ourselves.  Right,
darling?” She turns to Tracy.

               
Leaning over to her, Tracy goes, “Rar, you know it.”  She looks at
Jackson. “If you prove yourself useful, we’ll let you film it.”

               
Jackson’s jaw drops.  “You’re joking, right?”

               
“YES!” Tracy squeals.  “I love her but not in that way.  I would
totally go lesbian for Angelina Jolie, though.”

               
“Mmmm, not me,” Kayla replies.  “I would have to go with Reese
Witherspoon.  She was so cute in
Legally Blonde
.”

               
“You would go for the bubbly sorority girl?” Jackson asks.  “I figured you
would go for someone more badass.”

 
             
As they walk out to their cars, Tracy asks Jackson, “So who would you go gay
for?”

               
“No one, dear Lord, no one,” Jackson replies.  “I have no problem with
homosexuals, but it ain’t my cup of tea. But watching you girls live your
dreams would be fun for me.”

               
“I promise if my lesbian wish comes true, you can join in,” Kayla says with a
laugh.

               
Jackson responds with a mischievous grin.  “I’m game for that.”

               
“I say you take out the third person and just tear each other apart
yourselves,” Tracy quips.

               
“One of these days, maybe,” Jackson says thoughtfully.

               
Kayla’s jaw drops. “Excuse me?”

               
“Like you haven’t thought about it.  I know I have.”

               
Kayla stops walking. “Jackson, stop it.  You can’t say stuff like that,
and then make it pointedly clear that I’m not allowed to like you.”

               
“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to upset you.”

               
She grabs him and pulls him to the side of the sidewalk.  “Listen,” she
whispers.  “I’ll be honest.  As much as we clash, I do like you as a
person, even though you make me want to scream half the time.  But…please,
don’t say stuff like that.  It kind of stings. I know you don’t like me,
but I have fantasies that you rip my clothes off.”  She blushes hard as
those words come out.  “But you keep pushing me away, for whatever reason,
and that's fine.  Keep me at a distance.  Make it easy on me.”

               
“So you don’t even want to be friends?” Jackson asks in shock.

               
“Is that what we are…friends?”

               
Jackson nods. “In this weird sort of way, yes.  We clash and pick on each
other, but I would call you my friend.”

               
“Well then, I suppose friend is acceptable.  And the label helps keep the
looming attraction under control.”

               
“So you admit that you are attracted to me.”

               
With a heavy sigh, Kayla says, “Yes.”

               
“Well, if we
’
re going to
be honest, I’m attracted to you too. And you were right with what you said
earlier.  I’m just not interested in a relationship…wait; I need to phrase
that better.  I can’t let anything happen between us.  I’m sorry, but
I can’t.”

               
“Okay, well at least we’re on the same page now,” Kayla states strongly. 
“As long as we keep the fantasies in our heads, we’ll be fine.”

               
Leaning in next to her, Jackson whispers, “Oh no, feel free to tell me about
those.”

               
“Shut up,” Kayla says, shoving him away.

               
“How else are you going to boost my ego?” Jackson murmurs to her.

               
Kayla gives him a cocky smile.  “I already had a dream involving
you.  It was a good fantasy too,
but
...it shall remain my little
secret.”

               
Jackson growls and then kisses her.  When he pulls away, he says, “I’m not
going to keep my hands off of you until you tell me what the dream was about.”

               
Kayla looks around for Tracy and sees that she is in her car.  Turning
back, she says “You, me, pressed up against a tree in the woods, your hands and
lips exploring my body.  You know, a good time.”

               
“Okay, I need to walk away now.” Jackson coughs as he goes to his car. 
Kayla follows him and gets in.  He looks at her and then shakes his
head.  They both laugh and Kayla rolls her eyes.

               
When they get to school, Tracy says, “I have to go to my locker and then head
to class early so I can talk to my teacher about missing a test.”

               
“All right, see you at lunch,” Kayla says, waving at her friend.

               
Jackson follows Kayla to her locker.  He leans against the wall and looks
at her.  “So what kind of favor can I ask for when I win the bet?”

               
Heat suddenly rises to Kayla’s face.  “When
I
win the bet, you will
have to answer that same question.”

               
“Mmm,” Jackson hums.  “I think it needs to be something risqué, like you
need to wash my car in your bathing suit.”

               
“Jackson,” Kayla hisses.  “I thought we covered this.  Stop it. 
Friends
, remember?  And no more random kissing.”

               
He looks at her thoughtfully and replies, “You’re right.  I’ll make it
something disgusting then.”