by Sarah Carter
“Please, my dear, do not encourage him. Jackson shouldn’t hit anyone either,” Jasmine says softly. “We need not attract attention to ourselves, as much as possible.”
“So I can’t become a movie star?” Kayla giggles.
“You may do whatever you want,” Gregory replies. “We just don’t attract bad attention to ourselves. If we were ever going to publicly identify ourselves, we wouldn’t want a criminal reputation. We keep a tight leash on the Neturu, for just that reason. We take our reputation very seriously and have a respectable police guard to enforce our laws.”
Looking up, Kayla says, “What would happen to William if you found him? I mean, he forced me to kiss him. It was nasty and wrong. He also wouldn’t allow me to leave Shima.”
“He would be put in jail, so to speak,” Gregory says. “We have cells in the ships. Really, our people don’t get in trouble very often, but sometimes we have to imprison them.”
“I want to see a ship,” Kayla quips, with a smile.
“We don’t usually let people parade around in them,” Gregory retorts, “But you are the girlfriend of the son of the Merjyet line.”
Damien says, “Oh, well, we aren’t…”
“It’s fine,” Kayla murmurs, putting her hand on his shoulder. “Maybe I can persuade him to take me,” she says with a wink.
Damien puts his hand on hers. “We’ll make a date of it. The closest one is in San Diego. That’s where my parents live.”
“Cool, road trip. Oh, by the way, thank you, Mr. Blakely, for buying me a car. I love it.”
“My pleasure,” he replies. “Damien insisted so that you didn’t have to rely on everyone else.”
Kayla looks down at Damien. “Thank you for looking out for me.”
“Okay, you two, we’ll talk again soon. If anything else should arise, please let us know right away. Have a good rest of your day.”
“Bye, it was nice meeting you,” Kayla says, waving.
“You too,” Gregory and Jasmine reply at the same time. With that, they close down their window.
Damien wraps his arms around Kayla’s waist and pulls her onto his lap. “So you’re my girlfriend now?”
“Noooo.” Kayla laughs. “I didn’t want to correct him.”
“Whatever, technicalities. So you met my father. What do you think?”
“Very nice. I think we should call your little sister.”
He chuckles. “She’s in school right now, but we will later tonight, if you aren’t too busy with Tracy.”
“Oh! She should be here soon. I want to go to Shima and go drink a shake and eat a ton of brownies, so I don’t have to worry about shifting while she’s here.”
“Okay, we can do that. First, kiss me.”
Bending down, Kayla places her lips on his. She tilts into him, and for once, they don’t let their kissing spiral out of control.
Finally, two hours later, Kayla buzzes at the idea of seeing Tracy. Damien watches her, unable to wipe the smile from his face.
The doorbell chimes for the second time that day, and Kayla runs down the hallway. When she gets to the door, she throws it open. “Oh no,” she yips backing up. “What do you want?”
The gentleman looks at her with a confused expression. “Um, I’m delivering a car to a Damien Blakely.”
“Oh! My car. Sweet,” she exclaims. “DAMIEN!”
“I’m right here, geez,” he says from behind her.
The delivery driver tilts his head toward the driveway. Kayla grins and runs out to her car. “It’s freaking amazing,” she yells. “Look at it! I can’t believe it’s mine. Are you sure about this?”
“What? You want me to make him take it all the way back to the dealership?” Damien laughs. “Yes, it’s yours. Once you turn eighteen, it will be in your name. Right now, it’s in my father’s name. You’re insured and everything.”
“This is so cool,” Kayla cheers as she checks out her car.
“You have a lot of pent up…enthusiasm.”
Just as he says that, two cars pull up next to the house. Kayla runs straight to Tracy’s car and pulls her door open. “Hey,” Tracy says with a smile, “Excited to see me?”
“You have no idea, but come on, I have to show you something.” Kayla grabs Tracy’s hand and pulls her out of the car. “This is my present from Damien.”
Tracy looks at the car, then at Damien, and then back to Kayla. “He bought you a car?”
“She doesn’t like jewelry.” Damien chuckles.
“It’s completely electric,” Kayla gushes.
Damien crosses his arms across his chest, looking proud of himself. “It goes zero to sixty in under five seconds.”
Tracy raises her eyebrows. “How much did this cost?”
“I have no idea,” Kayla says, turning to Damien.
He grins. “I’m not telling.”
“Come on, tell me,” Tracy retorts, batting her eyelashes. “I want to know how much you spoiled her, because this is ridiculous.”
“Nope, sorry.”
Kayla steps up to him and runs her finger down his chest. “If you tell me, it will mean only good things for you later.”
Damien laughs. “Oh, now you’re trying to seduce me?”
“Of course, if you want my lips anywhere near you later, you’ll tell us.”
“Ooh, blackmail.”
“Don’t tell her,” Jackson says, walking up next to them. “Keep it to yourself.”
Turning to him, Damien replies, “You just don’t want her to kiss me.” He looks down at Kayla. “Are you going to freak out if I tell you?”
“What? Why?” Kayla asks.
“It was 85,000 dollars.”
Kayla’s jaw drops. “Excuse me?”
“Holy cow,” Tracy squeaks. “That’s a lot of money.”
“It’s more than my car,” Jackson says. “That doesn’t surprise me, though.”
Kayla shakes her head, unable to conceive of having that much money, much less spending it on a car. “I can’t accept it, Damien. Don’t be ridiculous!”
“We bought it. It’s here and it’s yours. Enjoy it, Kayla. Look past the money. You know you really want it,” Damien counters with a grin.
“That’s a lot of money. I had no idea,” Kayla whines. “Do you know how many poor people we could help with that money? How many starving children we could feed?”
Putting his finger up, Damien states, “Okay, I’ll make you a deal, if you keep the car, we will make a large donation to any charity or charities that you want in the same amount as the car.”
“You would do that?”
“Yes, I would.”
“That is amazing!” she says, jumping into his arms. “Thank you.” Kayla gives him a big kiss on the cheek.
“I need a boyfriend that will buy me a car,” Tracy quips. “You better show him your gratitude later.”
Kayla’s head spins in Tracy’s direction. “Tracy!”
Tracy shrugs her shoulders and playfully draws out, “Wwhhaatt?”
“You can show him your gratitude by kissing him,” Jackson interjects. “There’s no need for anything else.”
“Really, Jackson, is that any of your business?” Damien sighs.
Jackson stares down Damien. “Don’t try to use this to your advantage.”
Damien narrows his eyes and steps toward Jackson. Kayla grabs him. “Come on, let’s look at the car.” She drags him to the passenger side.
They spend the next hour checking out the car. Kayla takes everyone for a ride and then lets Damien drive to show what the car can really do, before heading back toward Jackson’s house.
“All right,” Kayla exclaims, clapping her hands together. “You boys go find something to do; we are going to have girl time.”
“I want to watch this girl time,” Damien states, rubbing his hands together. “Will there be pillow fights?”
Tracy grins at him. “Only if you join in, and then there will be lingerie.”
Kayla smacks her frie
nd on the arm, “Stop it. Jackson, make sure Damien stays away.”
With a smirk, Jackson replies, “I’m not his keeper. I have stuff to do.”
“Do it for me, please,” Kayla begs as she walks over to him. Batting her eyelashes, she whispers, “As my friend, will you preoccupy him?”
Jackson exhales loudly. “Fine.”
“Come on, get your stuff.” Kayla giggles at Tracy.
Kayla drags Tracy to her room. “This place is gorgeous.”
“It is,” Kayla gushes. “They have a pool, whirlpool, and sauna.”
“You’ve landed yourself two wealthy men with God-given good looks. How are you so lucky?” Tracy murmurs as they walk past a few paintings.
“It’s not even like that. They are both so kind and gentle. Damien is all about passion and really connecting with a person. He’s incredible.”
Tracy looks at her friend. “And Jackson, what about him?”
“Jackson is more difficult to talk about.”
Tracy grabs Kayla’s arm and yanks her to a stop. She looks from side to side to make sure the guys aren’t around and then whispers, “How do you feel about him?”
“I like him; he’s a really good friend,” Kayla chirps with a smile.
“There’s more that you aren’t telling me. You feel something for him, don’t you?”
Kayla opens her mouth, closes it, and then says, “I can’t have any feelings for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s complicated. It’s something between our two families. We just made a pact to not have feelings for each other.”
Tracy crosses her arms. “I know you, and I can tell you have feelings for him. Why not act on it?”
“It’s not like that. I like Damien. He’s my—”
“Boyfriend?” Tracy squeaks. “Already?”
Kayla shakes her head. “No, but we’re dating. He’s sweet to me and very caring.”
“And he bought you a very expensive gift.”
“That’s not why I like him,” Kayla snaps. “I liked him before that. Come on.” She takes Tracy’s hand and drags her to the bedroom where Kayla shuts the door. “Did you bring your laptop?”
Tracy puts her bag on the bed. “I actually borrowed my brother’s tablet. Why did you need it? They don’t have computers here?”
“No, I want to stalk their Facebook pages,” Kayla quips, sitting down next to Tracy’s bag. “Get it out.”
Tracy grabs the tablet and sits next to Kayla. “Give me your password,” Tracy says.
“Umm, yeah right, give me the tablet.”
“Oh come on, I wouldn’t do anything too awful.” Tracy giggles. “You don’t trust me at all.”
“Not when it comes to a social forum. You have some horrible pictures of me.”
With a wink, Tracy says, “True, but since you’re dating such a hot boy, those will be kept secret.”
“You should see him; he is so gorgeous without his clothes on.”
A wicked grin passes over Tracy’s face. “You’ve seen him naked? Well then, props to you girl.”
“No! Tracy, really, I haven’t! We went swimming together. It was like seeing him undressed. Actually, we both had to strip down in the pool. You wouldn’t think that was a big deal, but it made me feel like I was getting naked.”
“I bet he wishes you were getting naked.”
Kayla clicks her tongue. “He’s already seen a lot of naked girls. That is not what’s going on with us.”
“So he isn’t a virgin, I take it.”
With a snort, Kayla retorts, “Umm, no, he’s been around the block a couple dozen times. It makes me uncomfortable, but he said he’s not like that anymore, so I’m trying to move beyond it.”
“At least he’ll know what he’s doing if the time comes.” Tracy giggles.
“Yes, because that’s what I’m worried about. Anyway, let’s look at Damien’s page first.” She types in her information and click’s on Damien’s name. “Okay, these are his family’s photos. His sisters are awesome, and he’s really close to them.”
“Yeah, yeah, cute family, let’s look at the other stuff,” Tracy says, pushing the icon for the other pictures. Dozens of pictures appear featuring Damien and a bunch of different girls. “Um, well then,” Tracy whispers.
Kayla stares down at them. “He told me he didn’t keep pictures of the girls he slept with, so who are all these girls?”
“He looks like a big partier,” Tracy says, scanning through the pictures.
“Yeah, I got that impression from him too, but this is more than I thought.”
“Let’s see what’’s been posted on his page,” Tracy states, pressing the back button. “Oh look, he just posted something: I wish I knew what my girl was saying about me right now. She’s on Facebook, which only leads to trouble.”
Laughing, Kayla shakes her head. “Should I respond?”
“No, he’ll know what you’re doing. Just check him out. Go down and see what people write. More so, see what girls write.”
They scroll down his page. Kayla points to a semi-familiar face. “That’s Courtney, his sister. She says Victoria wants him to come home…with me. That’s sweet.”
Tracy indicates another post. “That one is not from a family member. Betty says, ‘Why haven’t you called me, you promised. Where are you?’” Tracy stops reading and looks at Kayla. “He’s a playboy, huh?”
Kayla punches the mattress. “I want to write, ‘Back off, skank,” but obviously that wouldn’t be right.”
“Wait, Damien actually wrote something again. Scroll up,” Tracy commands. When Kayla gets to the top, Tracy reads, “Just so everyone knows, the relationship status is not a joke. I am in a serious relationship with a wonderful girl, so unless we’re friends outside of Facebook, don’t expect a call back.” Tracy looks at Kayla. “Is he listening through the door?”
“I don’t know,” Kayla whispers. She walks over to the door and opens it. No one’s there, but she can hear music blaring from somewhere. She closes the door and turns around. “He isn’t there, but Damien must know I’m stalking his page.”
“How serious are you about this guy?”
Thinking for a minute, Kayla replies, “Pretty serious, I think. I mean, I really do like him. Having other girls write on his page makes me want to punch them all in the face.”
“I would pay to see that.” Tracy giggles. “Have you checked out Jackson’s page?”
“No, but I want to do that next,” Kayla says, sitting back down. She goes back to her page and then hits Jackson’s name. When his page comes up, Kayla tilts her head. “He’s so gorgeous.”
Looking at his picture, Tracy agrees, “Yeah, he is. Let’s look at his albums.”
There are a lot of pictures of him with his friends all over the world. “There are only a few with girls. That’s better than Damien’s page.”
“But Damien is the one you should be concerned about, right? I mean, since you made a pact not to be attracted to Jackson.”
With a halfhearted laugh, Kayla answers, “Well, it’s not that Jackson and I aren’t attracted to each other. We are…like crazy attracted. It’s like we push and push ourselves to stay apart and then find ourselves kissing. Damien is going to have more than his patience can tolerate one of these days, so I can’t do it anymore.”
“Like I said at breakfast the other day, it would be crazy to let such a combustible chemistry go to waste,” Tracy softly replies.
“But I have a huge attraction to Damien too.”
Tracy nudges her with her shoulder. “Tell me what it’s like kissing them.”
Kayla smiles. “Why don’t we put suits on and go in the sauna?”
“Hell yeah!” Tracy cheers.
They quickly change into their bathing suits. “Come on,” Kayla says, opening the door. “It’s on the other side of the house.” Tracy follows her out and down the hallway.
“Wow, that is some loud music,” Tracy chirps as th
ey walk.
“It sounds like it’s coming from the pool,” Kayla counters. When they get down the final hallway, they slow down. “No,” Kayla says. “It’s coming from the gym.”
She and Tracy walk to the gym door and look in. They pause and then Tracy whispers, “Lord, have mercy on my soul.”
Jackson and Damien are sparring at full speed. “Wow,” Kayla exhales.
“They are so…I don’t even have a word for it, because sexy isn’t good enough,” Tracy whispers. “You weren’t kidding. They are gorgeous without their shirts on.”
“Told you,” Kayla murmurs back. They remain transfixed in the doorway, watching the guys spar. “I had no idea they could fight like this.” As the words escape from her mouth, Jackson’s fist swings out and connects with Damien’s face. Damien falls backwards. “Damien!” Kayla yells.
Hearing her, Jackson turns toward Kayla. As soon as he looks away, Damien does a kip-up and kicks Jackson in the face, making him fall back hard.
“Jackson!” Kayla yells, rushing in. Without hesitation, Jackson spins around and knocks Damien’s feet out from underneath him. “Stop! You guys, knock it off.”
Neither one of them make another move. They sit in silence, breathing hard. Kayla looks from one to the other. A dark red cut mars Damien’s cheek, and Jackson’s lip is bleeding again. “Hey, babe,” Damien groans, rubbing his jaw.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kayla yells. “Full contact sparring? Why would you even do that?”
Jackson exhales from the mat below her. “We decided we had a lot of pent-up anger at each other over recent events and thought this would be a good way to release our frustration.”
“I thought it was hot,” Tracy quips from beside Kayla.
Kayla turns to her. “Don’t encourage them.”
“Why?” Tracy asks. “That was awesome! Could you imagine what they could do to Jude? Tear a guy to shreds to defend your honor. I may have to throw my morals to the wind if that happens.”
“Stop it,” Kayla hisses and laughs at the same time. “This is ridiculous.”
Tracy crosses her arms. “Swear on our friendship that this didn’t make your pulse run a little bit; turn you on ever so slightly.”
“You need to shut up.” Tracy gives her a devilish smirk and Kayla glares at her.