FREAKS IN THE CITY 

By Maree Anderson

CHAPTER THREE

Great, just great. The elevator was on the fritz. Nessa jogged up the gloomy stairwell. She made it to the fourth floor landing before she had to lean against the handrail to catch her breath. She sucked in a deep breath, and choked. God. Smelled like something had died. She quickly clothes-pegged her nose with her fingers.

As she peered about the dingy landing she noticed an untidy pile lurking in the corner. Garbage bags. Someone must've figured they'd leave 'em here until garbage day rather than have 'em stink up their apartment. Nice.

She resumed climbing, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. One flight. And another. Until there was only one more flight to go. Yay.

She found the right apartment easily enough and paused to knead her burning leg muscles as she planned what she was going to say. Then she thumped the door with her fist, only letting up when she heard faint footsteps from inside.

The door was yanked opened and she copped an eyeful of a skinny, shirtless boy who'd thankfully pulled on sweats—sort of—over his grungy boxers. He yawned and mumbled, "Yeah?"

"Tyler 'round?" she asked.

He blinked like a myopic owl. And then seemed to realize his visitor was female, for he hastily yanked up his half-mast sweats and forked his fingers through his mop of hair. "Heyyy," he drawled. "I'm Pete. And you would be?"

Nessa knew his type. She had to shut him down before he could get too hopeful and think he might have a chance. As if. "Looking for Tyler. Could you get him for me? It's urgent."

Pete failed to hide his disappointment. "Tyler's not here right now. He's at Jaime's."

"His girlfriend, right?" Hope she wasn't a total bitch or this could get tricky.

"Yeah." Pete gave her a second head-to-toer and stared at her chest until Nessa clicked her fingers in his face. "Got an address?"

His expression turned sheepish. "Sorry. Bit slow today. Late night." He turned away to holler for his roommate. "Hey Chandler. Get your butt out here, dude. Some chick needs Jaime's address."

A guy wearing an eyeball-searing purple-and-pink-checked shirt overtop bright blue skinny jeans emerged from the kitchen shoveling something that vaguely resembled a grilled cheese into his mouth. A burned grilled cheese, given the sharp smell staining the air.

Huh. These boys were living in the lap of luxury if they could afford cheese. Nessa had survived on cheap instant noodles when her tips for the week hadn't been as good as she'd hoped. Not that Time-Out customers tended to tip very well at the best of times.

"Just a sec." Chandler flicked through the contacts list on his cell phone. "Here it is. 64 Parkway." He fished a pen and a scrap of paper from his pocket and scrawled the address for her. "'Bout fifteen minutes drive from here. Nice part of town. Want directions?"

"Yes, please."

He gave her easy directions, finishing with a shy smile that still managed to telegraph his appreciation of what he was looking at without being sleazy. Chandler seemed like a real nice guy. Pity about the tragic fashion sense.

"Tyler not answering his cell, huh?"

"I didn't call ahead—it's a surprise visit. I just presumed he'd be here." Nessa shrugged as if to say "More fool me".

"We don't see much of Tyler these days," Chandler said.

Pete gave his sweats another hitch so only four inches of underwear showed instead of six. "If it was me scored a chick with stellar digs and fancy wheels, I'd be out of this shithole in a hot minute, too."

Chandler rolled his eyes ceiling-ward. "Don't mind him, he's special." He sniffed the air. "Crap! That's my grilled cheese. Gotta go. Nice to meet you—?"

"Nessa," she said. And threw him a dazzling smile as she left.

The smile vanished as she trudged down the stairs, cursing her luck. She stuck her hand in the pocket of her jeans and fingered the cash she had left after paying for the coach ticket to get here. She considered springing for a taxi... for all of five seconds. If this "surprise" visit didn't go to plan, she might need the money for a motel.

She pressed a fist to her mouth to stifle a whimper. If this surprise visit didn't go to plan, she was in a whole heap of trouble—more trouble than she'd ever been in her life. And given her track record, that was saying something.

 ~~~

After his parents' visit a few months ago, Jay had been vigilant about appearing as humanlike as possible. She knew it was illogical but a part of her felt that if she slipped up and did something extraordinary in front of Tyler it would only prove Marissa's point. However Tyler wasn't anywhere near the kitchen right now, so Jay didn't see any reason to bother with the oven glove. She grabbed the pizza stone from the oven with her bare hand and placed it on the granite countertop.

"Dinner's ready!" she called, modulating her voice so Tyler would hear it from his top-floor studio. She blinked and uttered a very humanlike snort—the sort of self-deprecating snort that usually indicated the snorter had remembered something of significance, and thought himself or herself stupid to have forgotten it in the first place. The area she'd converted so Tyler had a place to work on his portfolio and practice his music was sound-proofed. Even if she screamed at the top of her lungs he wouldn't hear her.

She sliced the pizza she'd made, grabbed paper napkins and plates, and headed for the studio. When Tyler was in the zone he often forgot to eat. It was one of the reasons she preferred him to stay over at her place. At least then she could tempt him with home cooked meals and ensure he ate properly two or three nights a week.

Jay had always been what humans labeled a "good" cook. Cooking was simply a matter of combining the available ingredients in ways that pleased the human palate. It wasn't difficult. She'd cooked all the meals when Father was alive but she'd never "enjoyed" cooking. Now she found herself holding her breath as she waited for Tyler to take that first all-important bite of a meal she'd prepared for him, so she could analyze his responses. And if his eyes half-closed as he savored the flavors, and he uttered a tiny moan of appreciation, she would release her breath on a sigh of pure satisfaction... and immediately begin planning the next meal she would cook for him.

She juggled her burdens so she could open the door to the studio, and paused on the threshold to observe him.

Tyler sat on a tall stool, hunched over his guitar, his eyes half-closed as he strummed. Jay's enhanced hearing could detect the faint hum in the back of his throat as he sub-vocalized the words in his mind, braiding them into lyrics that, when he deemed them fit for her ears, Jay knew would move her to tears.

Warmth bloomed in her chest, enveloping her like a blanket. Her heart beat a little faster, even though she was not physically exerting herself. And everything in the room appeared brighter, as though she'd flicked some internal switch that had instantly upgraded and enhanced her vision.

Jay did not know whether she was capable of loving Tyler as he deserved to be loved—as a human female would love the male she'd chosen to give her heart to. But if love was an overwhelming sensation of wellbeing, of completeness, of "rightness" and not wanting to be anywhere else in the entire world but here, in this moment, with this person, then she loved Tyler. She hoped it would be enough for him.

He glanced up and smiled at her.

Jay's knees wobbled and she leaned against the doorjamb to regain her balance. What had just happened? And more importantly, why?

Her disquiet must have shown on her face for Tyler set his guitar on the stand and hopped off the stool to relieve her of the pizza. "You okay?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Jay clutched the plates and napkins to her chest. It would be very inconvenient if this strange anomaly spread to her arms, too.

Tyler set the pizza on the sideboard and pinned her with a serious look that informed her she would not get away with changing the subject to distract him. "Tell me, or I'm only going to worry," he said. "And give me those plates."

 She handed them over. "Very well. My knee joints went... funny when you looked at me. There is no logical explanation for this physical anomaly."

Tyler's brows pleated. "Funny? Funny, how?"

"Funny as in weak. Like they were incapable of locking into place and holding me upright anymore."

"Ah." He turned away to put the plates on the sideboard but she caught a glimpse of his lips twitching upward.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You find this anomaly amusing."

He faced her again, and that twitch of his lips morphed into a full-blown grin Jay could only describe as cocky.

She tested her legs. Whatever had temporarily ailed them had passed, so she headed for the padded bench seat by the window. Tyler reached out and snagged her arm as she passed.

She could easily have pulled free but because it was Tyler, because she wanted—needed—to understand everything about him, she allowed him to tug her round to face him.

"Knowing I can look at you a certain way and be directly responsible for your knees going weak? Hell, yeah! I'm rapt. Smug as all get-out—any red-blooded guy would be."

She frowned to let him know that so far as she was concerned there was nothing the least amusing about her body failing to work as it was designed to. It wasn't as though she could seek out her creator for assistance. If anything went wrong with her and she couldn't diagnose it and fix it herself, she would be, as Tyler's twin Caro liked to say, royally screwed.

His grin faded. "It's nothing to worry about, Jay. No need to run a diagnostic. It's a normal human reaction. Sometimes humans have that effect on each other."

He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and linking his fingers at her lower back like he feared she might try to escape his embrace. "And just so's you know, I'm thrilled to itty bitty pieces that I can do that to you—affect you physically just by looking at you, I mean. I'd be gutted if it was all one-sided."

Jay arched her spine, leaning backward slightly so she could better observe his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, me being glued to the spot, incapable of moving, staring at you like an idiot the first time I saw you. I mean, you opening the front door seconds before I unlock it and my breath catching and my mouth going dry at the sight of you. I mean, feeling like the luckiest guy in the entire freaking world because you chose me."

"Oh."

"Just oh?"

"I mean, 'oh' as in, I hoped that's what you meant."

His chocolate-brown eyes darkened, the pupils dilating as she stared into his eyes, into his soul. But she wasn't human, didn't have a soul. She wondered what he saw when he stared into her eyes. And hoped that whatever he saw it was something real, something he could love.

She entwined her arms about his neck and tugged his head down to meet her lips. She gave him every opportunity to pull back, to resist. His lips met hers, and she truly thought her racing heart would burst from her chest as his hands skimmed her sides, settled on her hips and pulled her hard against him. Wobbly knees were nothing compared to this involuntary relaxing of her muscles and her limbs, almost as though she was absorbing the heat of his body and melting against him.

When he pulled away, she choked on a tiny cry of protest. Dazed, she stared at him, wondering at his sudden alertness.

"Someone's at the front door," he said.

A shiver coursed through her. If she'd been human, she might have labeled what she felt right now as a sense of foreboding. The sensation was so strong it almost cancelled out the disturbing fact that she'd been so caught up in Tyler's kiss she hadn't sensed someone approaching her front door. "Let's not answer it."

He tapped his forefinger on her nose. "Could be important."

Jay sought a more valid excuse than having a "bad feeling" about whoever was at the door. "They'll call again. Or ring. Our pizza's getting cold."

Tyler inhaled, momentarily diverted by the mention of food. "Mmm. Smells great."

"It is," she assured him.

"Okay, you win. We ignore the door."

The harsh squeal of the buzzer intruded again. And again.

Tyler sighed. "Persistent, aren't they?"

She should have shut the door behind her and enclosed them in the sound-proofed room. Obviously now there would be no peace until she'd answered the front door. "I'll get rid of whoever it is," she said. "Be right back."

"I'll be waiting. Don't take too long or I'll start without you."

Still distracted by her responses to Tyler, Jay strode downstairs, flicked the lock, and yanked open the door.

Oh. She should have used the speaker, for then she would have been forewarned. Because of all the people she would least like to see right now—or anytime, for that matter—this girl would top the list.

"Holy shit! You're Jaime Smythson?"

"Surprise," Jay said.

The girl took a step backward, doubtless responding to the coldness of Jay's expression and the displeasure in her voice. "I-I guess you didn't die in that explosion."

"Apparently not."

Pause current thought-thread.

It had suited her purposes for her sudden disappearance during her farewell party to spark rumors she'd been a casualty of the mysterious explosion. She had to respect Evan Caine's resourcefulness after she'd left him to clean up his own mess. It would have been no small task to doctor the evidence, and bribe and bully officials so that reports listed the explosion as the result of a fire in a meth lab set up in the vacant property. Most officials involved had seen the sense of turning a blind eye to the things that didn't add up—especially when the alternative was to have it leaked that there'd been a terrorist attack in sleepy little small-town Snapperton. The other officials had been discredited or mysteriously developed serious health issues, doubtless also due to Caine's behind the scenes machinations.

Resume.

"B-but I thought—"

"You thought what?" Jay interrupted, losing patience with Vanessa's hesitancy.

Vanessa squeaked. "I-I thought your surname was Smith?"

Enough. "What do you want, Vanessa?" Jay asked the question even though she knew exactly what Vanessa wanted—or rather, who. Chandler's writing was scrawled on the slip of paper Vanessa clutched. She had been to Tyler's apartment, looking for Tyler.

"Is... is... Tyler there?"

Every molecule of Jay's being screamed at her to shut the door in Vanessa's face. This girl was trouble. She'd always been trouble. But something in Vanessa's stance told Jay the girl would not be dismissed so easily.

Sarcasm was a useful defense mechanism. Jay had previously used it to devastating effect. "Gosh," she drawled, composing her features into a bored expression. "You're not here to see me? Gutted. You know, what with you and me being such good friends, and us parting on such good terms and all."

Vanessa flushed pink, and moistened her lips with her tongue. "Can I come in?"

Jay ran her gaze over Tyler's ex. Time hadn't been kind to Vanessa. Her ultra-polished veneer had worn away. The way she was dressed screamed "down on my luck". As did the scuffed and worn duffel slung over her shoulder. Jay supposed being kicked out of school, kicked out of home, and forced to work as a waitress in a truck-stop might have that effect on a girl.

"Please?" Vanessa said, her voice cracking. "I've nowhere else to go."

"Of course you haven't. That would be far too much to hope for." Jay stepped aside and beckoned Vanessa inside with a sweeping flourish of her hand.

Had she left the studio door open? She reviewed her actions. Yes. Good. "Tyler!" she yelled. "You have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Tyler called back, his voice muffled by what was doubtless a large mouthful of pizza.

"Your ex." Jay turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen, leaving Vanessa standing in the entranceway. Apparently there would be one more for dinner. How fortunate she'd made an extra batch of pizza dough.

~~~

Tyler choked on a piece of pepperoni. He only had one ex-girlfriend. What the hell was she doing here?

He swallowed his mouthful and barreled down the two flights of stairs to confront her... and get rid of her as quickly as possible. No wonder Jay had sounded so weirded out. Nessa was not exactly Jay's most favorite person in the whole world. And Nessa was the last person he wanted to see, either.

He pulled up short when he spotted Nessa waiting in the entranceway. God. It really was her.

Jay walked out of the kitchen, brushed past him without a word, and started up the stairs.

Fan-freaking-tastic. Tyler's gaze followed her progress. He thought longingly of the evening he'd planned with her—and of the uneaten pizza sitting upstairs in his studio.

Great timing, Nessa. Not.

Guaranteed she was here to try'n wheedle her way back into his good graces. And from the looks of her, maybe tap him for a loan. She'd be shit out of luck on both counts. He reckoned he could tell it like it was, and have her out the door in five minutes, tops. Then he'd spend the rest of the evening making up with his girlfriend.

His girlfriend promptly stomped downstairs and pushed past him again, juggling plates and the uneaten pizza. Oh yeah, she was POed all right. And she was totally leaving him to deal with Nessa on his own. Not that he could blame her.

He focused his attention on his unwelcome visitor.

He'd once believed Nessa to be the most stunning girl he'd ever seen. Despite being a top-jock who'd ruled the school, when she made it clear she wanted to be his girlfriend, Tyler had finally believed he'd "arrived". He'd thought he was hot stuff and then some, swaggering down the corridors with Nessa hanging off his arm. Of course it hadn't lasted. Nessa had gotten tired of budget dates and Tyler having to borrow his mom's car, and she'd dumped him for Matt.

Tyler could forgive her for that. He could even forgive her for covering her butt and lying through her teeth about the whole drugs debacle. It was much harder to forgive her treating him like something she'd wiped from the bottom of her shoe. Especially when she knew damned well he'd only kept quiet to protect her from the fallout if people learned she was dealing.

Did he feel sorry the truth had finally gotten out and she'd been expelled? Nope. And if that made him an asshole, then tough. He did feel sorry as heck her parents had booted her out, though. But that wasn't enough of a reason for him to play nice now.

His resolve took a bit of a swan-dive when he noted the bruises of sleeplessness beneath her eyes. And the way she shivered beneath her thin hoodie. Her jeans had seen better days—they were grubby and frayed. And her shoes were no longer designer rip-offs, but cheap canvas sneakers. She'd lost weight, too. Her clothes hung on her. All in all, she was a pretty darned sorry sight.

Before Jay, Tyler might have gotten sucked right back into Nessa's dramas and immediately offered to help her out. Now, he hardened his heart. Nessa was a taker. She'd take everything he had to offer, and as soon as she found a better option, she'd be off. Tyler and Matt were both evidence of that.

"What do you want, Vanessa?" Damned if he'd call her "Nessa". That might give her the idea they were friends, and she could wrap him 'round her little finger. As if. And damned if he'd invite her into the living room and offer her a seat—treat her like a guest.

She flinched at his harshness. Good. She was on notice.

"Nice to see you, too, Tyler," she said. "How're you doing?"

He didn't rise to her baiting tone. "I'd like to get back to our pizza if it's all the same to you. So I'll ask one more time: what do you want, Vanessa?"

She blinked back tears. "Do you have to be so mean?"

He stared at her, stony-eyed, until she dropped her gaze. "Would it help if I said I was sorry for what I did to you?" she said to the floor.

Sheesh. She had no freaking idea. "The time for 'sorry' would have been around about the time you came clean about all the lies, Vanessa. You know, the ones that got me labeled me a scumbag and kicked off the team? The ones about me trying to drug you so I could have my wicked way with you?" He clicked his fingers. "Oh, wait. You never did come clean about any of it, did you? Too little too late, Vanessa."

She peered at him through her hair. Last time he'd seen Nessa it'd been long and blond and straightened to within an inch of its life. Now it was shoulder-length and plain brown and kinda wavy. Guess she couldn't afford regular visits to a stylist anymore. And he'd known she wore contacts, but he'd never realized her eyes were light hazel—he'd just presumed she wore lenses to make her blue eyes bluer. And if some part of him preferred au naturel Nessa over primped and polished to perfection cheerleader Nessa, he wasn't keen on admitting it even to himself.

"You're right. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for so many things, Tyler."

"Yeah. Whatever." Being a hardass didn't come naturally to him—he had to work at it—but he gave it his best shot. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. And he made a production out of glancing at his wristwatch, hoping she'd get the hint.

"I need a place to stay," Nessa mumbled.

"I'm sorry? Don't think I heard you right."

Her chin came up, like she was channeling the old, sharp-tongued Nessa who wouldn't take any crap from anyone. But instead of fixing him with the usual you-don't-know-who-you're-dealing-with gaze that had the power to make a guy cringe and wish he was invisible, she stared at a point beyond Tyler's left ear. "I got laid off and I couldn't make the rent. My roommates kicked me out. They kept my stuff—not that I had much, anyway. I've got nowhere else to go, and only the clothes I'm wearing to my name."

Don't feel sorry for her. Don't you dare feel sorry for her.

When he'd finished with the internal pep-talk, Tyler resorted to snark. If he riled her up and she got pissy, with any luck she'd storm out and become someone else's problem. Yeah, he was a total chicken. Bwark.

"Shawn not interested in helping you out, huh? Or Matt, either, I'm guessing. Gee. Don't I feel special."

Her gaze flicked to his face and darted away again. She lowered it to stare at her sneakers. "Don't be like that, please. I wheedled your address off Matt. He only gave it to me to get rid of me. I had nowhere else to go."

Tyler's gaze caught movement. Jay was stalking Nessa, coming up quietly behind her. His gut clenched, wondering how much Jay had heard.

He gave himself a mental slap upside the head. Duh. Of course she would have heard everything. And, please God, he'd made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with Nessa or her problems.

"I have the perfect solution," Jay said, speaking across Nessa like she didn't exist.

Nessa yipped like a startled puppy. Unfortunately Tyler was too freaked by the whole situation to find it amusing.

"She can stay in your apartment with Chandler and Pete. You spend so much time here your room's practically vacant."

It was a good idea, Tyler thought. Except—

"I don't have a job," Nessa said. "I can't afford the rent."

"No problem about the rent," Jay said, still acting Nessa wasn't there. "I'll pay her share."

"Until she gets a job and can stand on her own two feet," Tyler felt compelled to say. No way was Nessa sponging off Jay. Bad enough that he did—not that he had a choice when Jay went behind his back and paid for stuff without telling him. But he wasn't going there right now. Instead, he allowed himself to hope that the problem of Nessa was solved. Woot for problem-solving.

Nessa sucked in a shaky breath. Her gaze darted from Tyler to Jay, and back to Tyler. He guessed she figured he was a safer option than Jay. Smart girl.

"That guy? The scruffy one who wears the boxers with the kisses all over them?"

A mental picture of Pete wandering round in his half-mast boxers seared Tyler's eyeballs. His euphoria drained away. Idiot. Why had he ever imagined this would be easy?

"Pete." Jay's voice sounded like a knell of doom and Tyler winced. He wouldn't want to be Pete next time Jay encountered him.

"I didn't like the way he looked at me," Nessa said, her lower lip quivering.

Wait for it. Here comes the nail in the coffin—

"It made my skin crawl. A-and when he invited me in, he couldn't keep his hands off me." Her words were tumbling from her mouth, and her tone was little-girl squeaky. She sucked in a breath and when she exhaled, it was all shaky. "He seriously creeped me out."

Tyler let his eyelids drift shut as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Pete went through girls like water. And a girl like Nessa, desperate and vulnerable and living right under his nose? No matter what Tyler said to him, Nessa would be too much of a temptation. He'd be all over her like a rash. And she wouldn't be able to walk away because she had nowhere else to go. The idea had disaster written all over it. Dammit.

Tyler glanced at Jay, wondering whether she had come to the same conclusion. From the set of her jaw and the way she was flexing her fingers, she'd happily strangle someone right about now. Pete, most likely. And he'd bet his guitar Nessa would be a close runner-up for second.

"You can have the spare room," Jay said. And before Nessa could voice her thanks, Jay added, "Temporarily. Until you get a job. And believe me, Vanessa, you will get a job. Is that clear?"

Nessa gulped and nodded and opened her mouth to respond but Jay silenced her with a sharp gesture. "Show her to her room, Tyler. And grab her some linen so she can make up her bed. I've thrown together another pizza. Dinner will be in ten." And with that, Jay turned on her heel and vanished into the kitchen again.

"She's not happy, is she?"

Tyler puffed a disgruntled breath through his nose. "Ya think?" He slanted Nessa a sideways gaze, half-expecting a triumphant expression because she'd gotten what she wanted.

She looked anything but triumphant. Maybe she had changed.

Yeah. Riiight.

"Maybe it'd be best if I went back to your apartment. Pete's a bit of a sleaze but I've handled sleazy guys before. We get a lot of them at Time-Out." Her attempt at a laugh was brittle and pathetic and not at all convincing.

"If Jay says you can stay here, then you can stay."

Nessa quirked an eyebrow. "And what Jay says goes?"

If she thought she'd get a rise out of him with that comment she'd be disappointed. "It's her place. And you'd better remember that."

He stomped up the stairs to the second floor with Nessa trailing behind him. A chivalrous guy would give her the larger of the two spare bedrooms—his room. Tyler wasn't feeling particularly chivalrous. He opened the door on the smallest of the three bedrooms. "Here's your room."

Nessa pushed past him and walked to the middle of the room. Tyler leaned his shoulder on the doorjamb and watched her turn a slow three-sixty. Her eyes widened as she took in the double bed, the freestanding wooden wardrobe with matching tallboy and bedside cabinets, the flat-screen on the wall. She dropped her duffel on the rug and sank onto the bed. She bounced experimentally. When she quit bouncing, she smoothed the maroon-colored comforter laid atop the mattress with her palm. "Wow."

"Yeah. It is nice. So don't steal anything. Don't fuck this up, Vanessa."

Hurt flared in her eyes and before he felt tempted to apologize, Tyler said, "I'll go get some sheets."

When he came back with an armful of bed linen and towels, Nessa hadn't moved. She accepted the linen, placing it carefully on the bed beside her. "So what's with the changing names?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jay Smith. Jaime Smythson."

"Oh. That." Tyler groped about for an explanation that wouldn't set off Nessa's BS meter. She was gazing at him, all expectant and curious, and he was freaking clueless. Crap.

"This really is her place, isn't it?" Nessa said. "Jay's, I mean."

"Yep."

"It's not a rental."

"Nope."

"I get it. She's like, really rich, isn't she? And she didn't want the kids at Greenfield High to know, so she went by an alias."

"Yep." Whew. Dodged that bullet.

"Is that why you've hooked up with her again?"

Tyler threw her a look that he hoped conveyed his disgust. "Not everyone chooses their significant others based on their bank account balances, Vanessa."

Did it still rankle to have been dumped in high school because he couldn't afford his own car? Yeah. Guess it did.

"True," Nessa said. "But being poor blows chunks. So if the person you hook up with is loaded, all the better, I reckon."

"I'm sure you do. Not that anyone would ever guess that about you after the way you ditched me for Matt. And Matt for Shawn."

Nessa at least had the grace to flush pink at his not-so-subtle jibe. "Yeah. Well, more fool me, I guess. Look, all I'm saying is no one would blame you for, you know."

"Hooking up with Jay because she's obviously loaded?" Tyler's sweeping gesture encompassed his surroundings. "Jesus, Vanessa. You're some piece of work. To set the record straight once and for all, Jay came looking for me. She found out I'd enrolled at Appleton, and tracked me down there before I transferred. I haven't moved in here permanently and I don't let her pay for everything. So back the fuck off with the shitty little digs and insinuations."

He pushed away from the doorway and strode over to her. He got right up in her face, grasping her chin and forcing her to look at him. "And if it crosses your mind it might be kinda fun to suggest to Jay I'm only interested in her money, I'll kick you out on your ass so fast you won't know what's hit you. You got that?"

She wrenched her chin from his hands, hunched her shoulders and hugged her middle. "Yeah. I got that."

Jay had entered the room on catlike feet and startled them both when she said, "Dinner's ready. Come grab it before it gets cold."

Tyler backed up and slung an arm about her waist. He nuzzled her cheek. 'Thanks for baking extra pizza."

"When it comes to pizza, you don't share well with others."

He laughed and squeezed the intriguing indent where the curve of her hip met her waist. If Jay had been ticklish that would have gotten a really good reaction. It sure had whenever he'd done the same to Nessa. But Jay wasn't ticklish—or not in any place he'd yet discovered.

"Right on," he said. "And I especially don't like sharing your pizza. It's far too good to share."

"Is there somewhere I can wash up?" Nessa asked, her too-bright tone shattering the moment.

"Bathroom's across the hall," Jay said. "And don't worry about walking in on Tyler. He'll use the en suite off the main bedroom."

Was he imagining that ever so slight edge to Jay's voice? Like she was... staking her claim. Uh oh. He hoped Nessa's visit would be very short.

"Thanks for everything, Jay." Nessa ducked her head, hiding behind her hair again. "I mean that sincerely."

"I hope so."

Nessa stood. Jay gave her a head-to-toer. "Tomorrow I'll give you some cash for clothes and other necessities. You can borrow some of mine in the meantime."

"I promise I'll pay you back."

"I'd rather you didn't."

Nessa blinked. "O-Okay."

Tyler didn't exactly drag Jay from the room, but it was a close thing. Sheesh. This was like living some dumbass sit-com where the poor schmuck of a leading man got stuck living with his current girlfriend and his ex, and both of them made his life hell. The situation might be good for a few laughs on the big screen, but Tyler wasn't laughing.

"I don't trust that girl as far as I could throw her," he heard Jay mutter as they negotiated the stairs, his arm still slung about her waist and his hip bumping hers.

He leaned in to whisper, "Which, being a super-strong cyborg is a reeeally long way—maybe even into orbit, right?"

Jay gave a credible snicker. "I could see me breaking world records with her."

"You think she's got an agenda?"

"I know she's got an agenda."

"So why let her stay?"

She nudged him with her hip as if to emphasize what she was about to say. "There's a saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"Ah." Tyler mulled how to broach the next subject without looking like an overprotective idiot. It wasn't like Jay couldn't look after herself. "Speaking of keeping people close, mind if I stay over while Vanessa's here?"

Jay gestured with a hand to indicate they would be eating in the living room rather than using the kitchen's breakfast bar. "I'll be most unhappy if you jump her when my back's turned."

Tyler's heart lurched and his stomach tied itself in a big knot. Surely she couldn't think that was the reason? Shit. A big stinking cartload of it. He grasped her wrist and whirled her to face him. "I would never cheat on you, Jay. I hope you know that."

She searched his face, her too-blue-to-be-human eyes boring into his. "I do know that. Just like I know that if you decide you can't be with me anymore because of what I am, you'll inform me."

"Not gonna happen."

"You say that now, but—"

"I want to stay with you. Not just in your house, but in your bedroom. Like we're a couple." He scrubbed his fingers through his hair. God. He was making a mess of this. "I mean, I know we're a couple, but we aren't living together living together. We're more like, ah, roommates. And I don't want Vanessa getting—"

"The wrong idea."

He nodded.

"You can sleep wherever you like, Tyler."

What he'd asked—what she'd agreed to—hit him like a big-ass punch to the solar plexus, leaving him momentarily breathless. This was big. This was monumentally frickin' huge.

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable sharing a bed with me, Tyler?"

How to put this? He wanted to be there to shield Jay if Nessa noticed there was something "off" about her. He wanted to keep an eye on things in case Nessa pushed Jay too far and Jay pushed back and stuff got... out of hand. And he wanted to take his relationship with Jay to the next level—the next "human" level, that is.

God—and perhaps only Jay's creator—knew how far Jay was capable of evolving. And Tyler wanted so badly to find out that sometimes it was all he could do to hold off and take a step back and let things proceed at their own pace. It wasn't just about sharing her bed, it was about sharing her life. It was about finding out whether they could function as equals when she was superhuman and he was ordinary. It was about discovering whether he could ever be part of her future. Or whether they were both dreaming and hoping for the impossible.

He was saved from having to respond when Nessa wandered into the living room, the words, "Something smells good," on her lips. He didn't know whether to be relieved as all heck he wouldn't have to reveal what was in his heart, and risk saying it wrong and screwing things up, or POed that it was still all bottled up inside him.

"Jay's cooking is to die for," he said quickly, and felt a little less overwhelmed when Jay rewarded him with a smile.

"I'll grab some sodas," she said. "What do you like to drink, Vanessa?"

"Diet Dr. Pepper," Tyler said without thinking. He ground his teeth and gave himself a mental kick. Way to go, dude. Way to rub your girlfriend's face in the fact you can still remember what your ex likes to drink. His gaze slid to Jay, searching her expression for a reaction.

"I don't have diet," she said, staring right at him and giving him nothing.

Damn, he hated when she went all impassive on him like that, like she'd slipped on an inhuman mask that hid her real self from the world. From him.

"Regular is fine," Nessa said.

"I'll get them." Tyler made a sit-down gesture to Jay, and retreated into the kitchen, relieved to have a few moments to get his shit together. The sooner this nightmare was over, and Nessa was back on her feet and gone from their lives, the better.

~~~

Copyright 2012 Maree Anderson

Thank you for reading this excerpt of FREAKS IN THE CITY. You can buy the published electronic edition of all the Freaks series now at Smashwords, Apple iBooks Stores worldwide, Amazon worldwide, B&N, Kobo, and Google Play.

The trade paperback editions of FREAKS OF GREENFIELD HIGH, FREAKS IN THE CITY and FREAKS UNDER FIRE are also now available:

Freaks of Greenfield High: ISBN 9780994116017

Freaks in the City: ISBN 9780994116024

Freaks Under Fire: ISBN 9780994116031

To find out about upcoming releases and more, please sign up for my newsletter at mareeanderson.com, follow me on Twitter, or like my MareeAndersonAuthor Facebook page. Thanks so much for your support--happy reading!

*****

You might also enjoy these other books by Maree Anderson, all available wherever electronic books are sold:

THE FREAKS SERIES

~Freaks of Greenfield High (Book 1) - FREE at most eBook stores; read the full story here on Wattpad!

~Freaks in the City (Book 2)

~Freaks Under Fire (Book 3)

~The Freaks Series eBook Bundle (Books 1-3)

THE LIMINALS SERIES

~Tangent (novella-length prequel to Liminal - FREE at most eBook stores; read the full story here on Wattpad!

~Liminal (Book 1)

~Phase (Book 2)

THE SEER TRILOGY:

~Seer's Hope (Book 1) - FREE at most eBook stores; read the full story here on Wattpad!

~Seer's Promise (Book 2)

~Seer's Choice (Book 3)

~The Seer Trilogy eBook Bundle (Books 1, 2 & 3)

THE CRYSTAL WARRIORS SERIES

~The Crystal Warrior (Book 1) - FREE at most eBook stores; read the full story here on Wattpad!

~Ruby's Dream (Book 2)

~Jade's Choice (Book 3)

~The Crystal Warriors Series eBook Bundle (Books 1-3)

~Opal's Wish (Book 4)

ELEMENTAL RIDERS SERIES

~Lightning Rider