Shifted

“We tried.” Nicolla released Kelly’s hands and headed back to the café. All of a sudden, she wanted to cry. Being with Andrew had been a great experience, but somehow, she missed Tyler and Gunnar.

Kelly trotted beside her. “You’re not going to give up, are you? We’ll find a way.”

“Sure.” But Nicolla wasn’t so sure. Even Kelly noticed she was fibbing.

Kelly sighed. “We’re in deep shit, aren’t we?”

The house AI woke Kelly up for an urgent call. She hadn’t slept last night and when she’ finally been about to doze off, the inhuman voice had slipped into her semi-consciousness insisting on her taking the call. “Goddamn it.” Kelly forced her eyes open and groped the nightstand to find the vid comm console. She didn’t find the console there—instead, she knocked the lamp down. A loud clattering noise filled the room.

“Would you tell whoever that is to call back again in a couple of hours?” Andrew’s voice came from under the blanket. “It’s Saturday, for God’s sake. Don’t they have a life or something?”

Kelly froze in an instant. Andi! She looked down and almost screamed. She was in her own body. Oh, my God! She was herself again! She was about to pull down the blanket to hug Andi when the holo projection of the AI materialised in front of her and announced who was making the call. Nicolla Evers was on the other end of the line.

Kelly scooted down the bed and ran to the bathroom. She didn’t want to disturb Andi while he was sleeping. She locked the door and slammed the vid comm console on the bathroom’s wall.

“There you go, Ms Prissy. Notice anything different this morning?” Nicolla greeted her, grinning from ear to ear.

“We switched back! Oh, my God, we’re back!”

“I know. I guess the wish worked after all. Who would know?”

Kelly laughed, feeling giddy. “Outrageous. I still can’t believe it.”

“You better believe it. Since we’ve switched back, I want to let you know a few tricks about Andi.”

“Tricks?”

“Tricks. Tips. I gave Andi a nickname. He said you always thought pet names were juvenile.”

“Well, aren’t they?”

“No. Having a pet name for your loved one is a great way to connect with him emotionally. You have to pay more attention to little things like that.”

“What pet name did you give him?”

“Daddy Bear.” Kelly started to open her mouth and Nicolla quickly cut her off. “If you say ‘outrageous’ one more time, I swear to God, I’m going to fucking murder you.”

Kelly burst out laughing. “Actually, I was going to ask why Daddy Bear?”

“Oh, that.” Nicolla laughed along. “Do you remember that cowboy show with Mark Nash on Station Seven? I thought Andrew was as cute as him. And his girlfriend on that show was always calling Mark ‘Daddy Bear’.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. Andi does look a lot like Mark Nash.”

“Your hubby is a cutie. Secondly, he likes it when you take him deep during a BJ. You just have to watch your breathing and you’ll be fine.”

“Deep? BJ?”

Nicolla’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you learn anything when you were me? Didn’t you give Ty or Gunnar a BJ?”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t think it involved deep breathing.”

“You need a sex lesson. I should teach you all my tricks. Are you busy today?”

“Well, I was planning to do your paperwork, I mean, as you, I didn’t know that we’d switched back. I have a meeting—I mean, you have a meeting—with Hank Durbo this afternoon. You must present before the judge for your asset separation.”

“Durbo?” Nicolla grimaced. “I hate that douche. Can we fire him and have you as my lawyer?”

“You can’t fire him just before the judgement. Technically, you could, but I advise against it. Besides, he can always come up with a fantastic speech that makes the judge want to adopt you as his daughter. You’ll get a big settlement from this suit, and you’ll have nothing to worry about, money-wise, ever again. You can use that money to start a new life with Tyler and Gunnar.”