[The Shifters Committee 01.0] Time Shifters

by Rebecca Foxx

  “Okay, funny man,” she said. “I’ll take a shot with you, but just one!”

  The bartender poured them two shots of tequila and Kelly cringed, thinking of her last experience with that particular substance. She’d ended up puking on the side of the highway and almost got arrested. This was probably not a good thing. She shrugged her shoulders though when the shot arrived.

  “Here’s to you, Kelly,” Joe said. “May you become drunk and fast tonight.”

  “Very funny,” she said and clinked her shot glass against his.

  After the toast, they took their shots. Hers went down smoother than she thought it would. She was glad of that. She handed the shot glass to Joe and he put it back on the bar.

  “I guess we should find your friends, huh?” he asked. “Any of them single? One of my buddies is dying to know.”

  “Yeah,” Kelly said. “One of them in particular would be just great for him. Her name is Anita. She’s really short and tiny. She’s adorable.”

  “I’ll point her out to him if you point her out to me,” Joe said. “Let’s find ‘em.”

  Kelly walked to the back of the club where the reserved tables were. Several of the girls were already there and had obviously had a few drinks. They hugged her and beckoned her to sit down. Kelly introduced the guys to her friends, but Anita wasn’t there yet. She’d just have to point her out to Joe when she arrived.

  “So, Joe,” said Tanya. “Where are you from if you’re not from here?”

  “Oklahoma, actually,” Joe said.

  “Do you have a horse?” asked Tanya, clearly drunk. Kelly rolled her eyes.

  Joe chuckled.

  “Actually, no,” he said. “I live in the city. Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Well, you’re still cute! I see you’ve found our girl here. Be sweet to her. It’s her birthday,” Tanya said with a wink and it was obvious what she meant. Kelly wanted nothing more than that to happen tonight but she didn’t need one of her girls trying to make it happen for her.

  Joe shared a smile with Kelly and excused himself from the table. She watched him walk back up to the bar. She dreaded the thought of another shot. She hoped he wasn’t buying them one.

  A pair of figures made their way in the darkness towards the table. Kelly made out Anita’s small form and she stepped up into the little booth their table was in. Behind her was a familiar face.

  Shane.

  Kelly’s jaw dropped much as it had the day she’d seen Shane for the first time in years. Except this time, it was more than shock and awe. It had a lot to do with betrayal and anger.

  How could he be with Anita? He had told her he didn’t even like her. Why would he do this to her? Why did he even want to come to her damn birthday? Kelly was immediately reassessing her thoughts about how no one could ruin her day. It looked like someone, or two someones, could, and their names were Shane and Anita.

  She bit her tongue hard and tried not to come unglued as Anita asked everyone if they remembered Shane.

  “And of course you know who he is!” she said to Kelly. “I’m sure Shane told you we were dating.”

  Kelly cringed and she looked at Shane. He smiled at Kelly, the expression more of a peace offering than a genuine reaction to an emotion.

  Kelly drew a deep breath and looked to see Joe coming back to their booth. Sweet revenge, she thought.

  “Joe, this is Anita,” she introduced them. “And this is my stepbrother, Shane. Shane, this is Joe.”

  Shane looked a little surprised and bewildered. What had he thought? That she’d never move on. It was great, sure, but so were other guys and Joe was probably one of them.

  How dare he act like it bothers him, she thought.

  It infuriated Kelly and she made extra effort to touch Joe’s hand and give him a kiss on the cheek to thank him for the shot that he’d bought that she didn’t really want. She’d be damned if she let that on, though.

  Joe was pleased with himself when Kelly kissed him. She was already plotting to have revenge sex with him and she wanted to make sure that Shane knew it. She flipped her hair and laughed at all of Joe’s stories. She batted her eyes, and he was glued to her.

  He touched her leg and asked, “Do you want another drink?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “Hurry back.”

  Joe got up to get Kelly another drink and he gave her a wink when he did. She smiled up at him and followed him with her eyes until they landed on Shane where they abruptly stopped.

  She fought the urge to groan aloud and roll her eyes. She was still struggling to wrap her mind around the fact that he thought it was in any way acceptable for him to be there. Her eyes met his for a brief moment and she felt her stomach drop. That same old feeling was back. She let her eyes linger on his and then looked away, kicking herself for giving in to her emotions. She knew better.

  Shane was right. It had been a mistake, hadn’t it? Then why didn’t she feel any differently about him? She wanted him just as much as she had on their first night together, but when Joe came back she tried to sweep the thought under the rug.

  “Thanks,” she said as he handed her a drink.

  He smiled at her and took his seat again. She asked him a few questions about living in Oklahoma and about how he liked San Francisco.

  “It’s so different from where I’m from. The houses are so close together. It’s not like that in downtown Oklahoma City. Everything is more spread out. I’m not sure I could ever get used to it.”

  “I grew up here, so I’d probably feel something similar if I ever went to your city!” she said with a giggle.

  Joe was charming, she had to admit, and she wouldn’t be sad at all if things panned out and he went home with her tonight.

  Just then, Tanya knocked over her glass and it spilled on Kelly’s legs. She shrieked and stood up.

  “Oh, God,” said Tanya. “I’m so sorry. Let me get some napkins.”

  “I’ll go get them,” said Shane.

  Kelly looked at him. He held his gaze, which was fixed on her, for a moment longer than necessary. Damn him, she thought.

  In a minute he was back with copious amounts of napkins. He handed them across the low top table to Tanya and Kelly.

  “Thanks,” she said just barely loud enough for Shane to have heard it above the music.

  “No problem,” he said.

  “You’re so sweet, Shane,” said Anita. “Helping your sister out like that.”

  “Stepsister,” Shane and Kelly both said in unison. They glanced at each other, each of them having a guilty look on their faces like someone at the table would have known about their encounter a few weeks back.

  “Oh, well, whatever. It doesn’t make a difference, does it?” Anita asked with a giggle.

  It makes a big difference, Kelly thought. She wondered desperately what kinds of thoughts were going through Shane’s mind, but instead of searching his face for clues she wiped the spilt alcohol off of her shoes. Her feet were still a little wet, but she’d dried as much of it as she could.

  “Don’t worry about it, Tanya,” Kelly said.

  “I’m seriously so sorry!”

  “It’s no big deal!” Kelly insisted.

  “I’m getting your next drink,” Tanya replied with a wink.

  “Deal,” said Kelly with a smile, though she wasn’t sure how many more drinks she could stand at this point.

  “So, are you seeing anyone?” Joe leaned in and asked her. The meaning behind his question was entirely evident. Kelly knew he wanted to come home with her tonight. She smiled.

  “No, I’m single,” she said into his ear.

  “Me, too,” Joe said back.

  She smiled at Joe and he looked at her lips. Slowly, he moved in to kiss her. His lips were soft and smooth, and his skin only held the slightest hint of stubble. He didn’t try to open her mouth to his. He only kissed her on the lips tenderly, and left it at that.

  They pulled away from each other and smiled. Kelly tried to hide her di
sappointment that he hadn’t made more of a show of it. Sure, it was a good kiss, but it could have stood to go on long enough for everyone to see.

  Shane did see, though.

  He was looking directly at Joe. Up until that point in the evening, he hadn’t seemed to mind the guy, but suddenly it seemed like his presence upset him. Shane glared across the table.

  Kelly finished a drink and had another. She finished that one, too, and Joe bought her another shot. I’m gonna be completely worthless, she thought.

  The details of her surroundings had grown a little bit fuzzy and she wasn’t entirely sure that she was speaking without a slur. She didn’t care, though. The cute guy from Oklahoma was paying attention to her and it seemed like that caught her stepbrother’s attention. That was enough for her.

  The party went on much in the same way that it had for the first hour. Soon it was last call and Kelly was taking one last shot. The girls were leaving and so was she.

  The last thing she remembered was being helped into a car by two strong arms. Then she blacked out.

  Chapter 7

  Kelly woke up with a pounding headache. It took her a few minutes to even register that she was in her bedroom. How had she gotten there? Had Joe helped her home? Shit. She was naked. She’d slept with him. She rubbed her face with her hands and eye makeup came off on both of them.

  She groaned and looked at the alarm clock. It was 11 a.m. She put her face down in the pillow and drew the blanket in close around her.

  “Coffee?” said a familiar voice from the doorway.

  She looked up in disbelief and found Shane standing there.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she shouted. Her own voice rang in her ears and pained her already hurting head.

  “I brought you home last night. I didn’t want you going home with that guy.”

  “What about Anita?” Kelly asked, perturbed.

  “I broke up with her. I don’t think you noticed but she and I got into a huge fight at the end of the night. She left. I stayed. I brought you home,” Shane said, matter-of-factly.

  “Oh,” Kelly said, not in the mood to argue, but she still thought it was weird that Shane had brought her home.

  “I was afraid you’d never wanna speak to me again,” he said and handed Kelly the cup of coffee.

  “How’d I end up naked?” she asked, suddenly wondering if it meant that she and Shane had slept together.

  “You insisted on sleeping naked,” he said with a smile.

  She smiled back, embarrassed. Oh well, she thought. It wasn’t like Shane hadn’t seen her naked before, and liked it at the time.

  “It was the least I could do to bring you home,” he went on.

  “Really, I would’ve been fine,” Kelly insisted.

  Shane offered her four Advil and she popped them and swallowed quickly. She hoped the combination of caffeine and anti-inflammatories would ease her headache.

  “I’ll make you something to eat,” Shane offered.

  “You really do not have to do that,” Kelly said, more firmly this time.

  “I do, Kelly,” he said back.

  She wondered what he meant. Maybe he was trying to make it up to her about how he’d reacted after they slept together. That was probably all it was. Guilt about that and about ruining her birthday. The bastard should feel guilty, she told herself.

  Shane walked into the kitchen and Kelly collapsed back into the covers. She groaned again, into the pillow. She forced herself to get up, though, and she put on some baggy sweats and made her way into the living room. She flipped on the TV as Shane rummaged around in the pantry.

  She found an old movie on AMC and left it there. Kelly wondered if she should try to help him and then thought better of it. Let him make her an omelet if it made him feel better. She didn’t even like omelets. Whatever, she thought.

  Soon, Shane had produced a nice breakfast for the pair of them and he brought it to her on the couch. They ate in silence and watched the movie on TV. When they were finished, Kelly could feel herself dozing off. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyelids. A little nap wouldn’t hurt.

  When she woke, her head was on Shane’s shoulder and he hadn’t moved. He was still awake, she could tell by his breathing. She slowly lifted her head up and noted that her hangover wasn’t quite as bad. The Advil had helped. She cleared her throat and tried to scoot away from him without being noticeable.

  “Nice nap?” he asked her.

  “Yeah,” she said, forcing a smile.

  She placed her hand on the remote between them and started to change the channel. Shane reached down and stopped her, placing his hand on hers. She felt her body stiffen at his touch.

  “Kelly,” he said quietly.

  “Yeah,” she replied nervously.

  “I have to tell you something,” he went on.

  He turned to face her. They were only about a foot apart at this point. Shane reached a hand up and tucked her messy hair behind her ear, the way he had so many times before. He left his hand there on her face, though. His touch was warm and it sent fire racing through her skin.

  “It was never a mistake,” he said at last.

  He leaned towards her on the couch and placed a kiss on her lips. It was slow at first. He was testing the waters. Kelly couldn’t hold back anymore, though. She turned her body towards him completely. She reached up a hand to cup his muscular neck and kissed him back.

  Shane began to kiss along her jawline, teasing her flesh with the tip of his nose. A shiver ran down her spine and her body thrilled at his touch. He moved his kisses to her neck and sucked gently on her flesh. The pressure felt so good. She could feel heat begin to stir between her legs, and like he’d read her mind, he slid a hand between her thighs and began to rub.

  Kelly moaned a little at the combination of the sensations between her legs and on her neck. He worked his hand expertly against her, just as expertly as he had worked his tongue on their first night together. A thrill went through her at the thought of feeling him inside of her again. She leaned her head back.

  Shane stopped only long enough to tell her to take her pants off, and she followed his directions. She unbuckled his jeans and he slid them off as well as his shirt. Sitting there in nothing but his briefs, she remembered how nice his body was. Seeing it in the flesh again was rewarding in and of itself. She drank it in.

  He went back to massaging her and she reached out a hand to return the favor. He was stiff inside his underwear. He let his legs relax out to the sides when she took him in her hand. He began to grind into her palm, a little damp spot forming where the tip of his cock lied. Shane rubbed her through her panties and she knew he could feel the same heat and dampness from her.

  Shane slid her panties to the side with just the gesture of a couple of fingers. He explored her entrance with them and she relished his touch on her wet sex.

  “You feel so good,” he said under his breath, the rate of which was increasing with every circle she made with her palm.

  The words sent her body into a frenzy, they were so sexy. She smiled at him and slipped her hand inside his briefs. She could feel that wet bead of his seed begin to slick his cock as she rubbed over the head and down the shaft.

  He groaned and his length pulsated inside her grasp. He teased her more with his fingers, stroking up and down the length of her sex. Finally, when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he plunged two fingers inside of her. She gasped with delight.

  Even his fingers could fill her up. His hands were so large that anything he did with them was fantastic. He started to stroke the wall of her pussy, touching her G-spot with each movement. She could feel the pressure in her pelvis begin to build as she moved closer and closer to climax.

  “I think we should take this in the other room,” he said.

  They both got up and rushed into the bedroom. When they reached the bed, he grabbed her at the waist and bent her over. She laughed and relished the soft feel of the comfo
rter on her face and the sensation of cool air blowing onto her now exposed opening.

  She felt Shane’s hands on her ass and then she felt the tip of his cock begin to penetrate her. She whined as he took his time, obviously enjoying putting her through this.

  “Please,” she whimpered.

  “What do you want, baby?” he asked.

  “I want you inside me. Now,” she said.

  “Not yet,” he growled back with a chuckle. He pulled his cock out and he ran his hands along the backs of her thighs. She felt him get on his knees on the floor and she anxiously awaited what she knew would come next.