Shifted

Chapter 4

I woke up and immediately wondered where I was. After a moment I remembered the events of yesterday afternoon. I looked around the room and realized I was alone. I rolled out of Jackson's bed, and looked around the room. I once again found myself going over the events of the day before, trying to make sense of things. It seemed like Jackson was capable of things that should be impossible. I mentally listed off what he'd done. He somehow sensed that I was there and was able to see me from way too far away, he was fast enough to climb down the cliff and get below me to catch me as I fell before I hit the ground, and he was strong enough to catch me without it phasing him in the slightest. All these shouldn't be possible, and the more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.

Jackson walked in, and he smiled at me. I was caught off guard by how stunning his smile was. He never seemed to do it, so I stored the mental image of his adorable dimples in my head. 

"It's almost time for school.  I'll give you a ride," he said before walking over to his closet.  He pulled off his shirt, and reached into the closet to look for another.  I couldn't help but admire his toned physique.  His back rippled with muscles as he rummaged through the closet, and I had to shake my head to stop the naughty thoughts I was thinking.  Something about this guy seemed to get me all riled up.  I tried my best to look anywhere but at his toned backside, but when he turned around with a new shirt in hand, and I caught sight of his sculpted chest and abbs, I gave up and just flopped back on the bed with a groan. 

He gave me a quizzical look, and I rolled my eyes at him.  "Can you please put on a shirt."

He snorted, then began flexing his pecs one at a time, making them bounce.  "Why?  Is something distracting you?"

"Jackson." I moaned, irritated. 

He just laughed and put on his shirt.  He pointed to the corner of the room where my camera bag sat. 

"My friends went back for your camera bag.  Hope you got my good side," he said with a wink. 

"I don't think you've got a bad side," I mumbled under my breath. 

"What was that?" He said grinning, though I was pretty sure he had heard me. 

"Oh I just said that you don't have a good side," I said, then walked past him, grabbed my bag and left the room.

I heard him laugh behind me, and follow me out.  We went out front of the house, and I waited for him to get his car out of the garage.  I heard a loud rumbling, and he comes out of the garage on a sleek black motorcycle.  I raise an eyebrow at him, trying my best to express just how insane he was if he thought I was going to ride on that thing with him.  He tossed me his helmet, and in my sudden nerves I fumbled and dropped it. 

"If you think I'm getting on that death trap, you're insane."

He just rolled his eyes at me and said, "Just hop on."

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, then walked over to him.  He took the helmet from me, and placed it on my head.  His face was only inches from mine while he fastened the buckle, and I felt my cheeks flush.  With my helmet on, I straddled the seat behind him, and placed my feet on the pads.  I felt precariously perched on top of the rumbling machine, and I wasn't sure where to put my hands. 

He looked over his shoulder and said in his deep husky voice, "You're going to want to hold on."

I put my hands on his waste, and he revved the engine.  Then we were in motion.  As soon as we started moving, fear took over and I wrapped my arms around his waste and clung as tight as I could to him.  I felt Jackson's deep laughter as he drove through narrow, forested roads towards town.  It was terrifying, yet exhilarating to feel the wind whipping around me.  I couldn't hear anything over the roar of the engine and the howl of the wind.  I buried my face into Jackson's back, and enjoyed the close proximity.