Freaks in the City

by Maree Anderson

  “Great.” But Tyler was more interested in this Allen dude than he was in Nessa’s potential new accommodation or Nessa’s improved dress-sense. Jay didn’t make friends with strangers. Or if she did, this was the first he’d heard of it.

  “We’re going to look at it this morning.”

  “Huh?”

  She snapped her fingers at him. “Wake up. Nessa and me. Allen’s taking us to look at the apartment this morning.”

  “Okay. Great.” He looked her over, frowning as he tried to figure out what it was about her that was setting off the alarm in his head. She was… different somehow. He’d call it more confident except Jay had never shown any evidence of lacking in confidence when dealing with the outside world. If anything, her confidence put most adults on notice because they didn’t expect a girl of her apparent age, who looked like her, to be so self-possessed.

  No. It was something else. Some quality he couldn’t put a name to. She seemed to… glow. And he’d give his left arm and his left nut to find out what had caused this change in her. Uh, okay maybe not his left nut.

  A green worm of jealousy took a nibble. He gave himself a mental kick in the butt. See, dumbass? This is what happens when you’re so caught up in classes and work you neglect your girlfriend and barely have time to speak to her. Some dude chats her up and charms her and starts getting all helpful… the douche.

  He grabbed the mug of coffee and took a couple of healthy swigs. “So. This Allen guy. Tell me all about him.”

  Jay opened her mouth to say something, frowned, and shut her mouth with an audible snap. Hands on hips and head cocked slightly to one side she regarded him. “Tyler Michael Davidson are you jealous?”

  “Me?” Tyler dredged up a hopefully credible laugh. “Nah. Unless… there’s something for me to be jealous of?”

  Her expression blanked. “I believe this could be one of those times when you should be grateful I’m not human.”

  “Huh? Come again?”

  “If I was human, I’d be really pissed at you right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Think about it,” she said, and pivoted on her heel and exited the bedroom, leaving him to his breakfast.

  Tyler inhaled some more coffee. And when the caffeine kick-started his brain he finally got it. “Ah crap.” Cue mental slap upside the head. He’d all but accused her outright of playing around behind his back.

  He trusted Jay—of course he did! But didn’t mean he trusted other guys around her. Because let’s face it, she was hot. And guys were, well, guys. Pete and Chandler had jumped all over her like enthusiastic puppies the first time she’d visited his apartment. It’d been entertaining as hell watching their efforts to attract her attention. Not to mention her matter-of-fact observations about their ridiculous behavior. Way to cut a guy down to size.

  But some unknown guy? Some smooth-as dude he’d never met, hitting on his girl? Wheedling his oh-so-helpful way into her affections? Not so much. Not. Amusing. At. All.

  He brooded as he bolted the bacon and eggs Jay had cooked for him, had the quickest shower in history, and shoved himself into some clothes. When he stomped downstairs he sought Jay out, and found her in the study, curled in the armchair, reading.

  “I’ve got a free period straight after lunch,” he said. “Wanna meet up and go eat somewhere nice?”

  The regret on her face told him it was a no-go before she even spoke. “I’m sorry, I can’t. After Nessa checks out the apartment she’s heading off to work, and I promised Allen I’d look at his computer. It’s the least I can do after all the trouble he’s gone to.”

  “Oh. Okay. So where is this place?”

  “38 Tree Lane.”

  “And when are you viewing it?”

  “Thirteen hundred hours.”

  Tyler mentally translated. “One o’clock.”

  “That’s right. Why?”

  “Thought I might check it out with you and Nessa—you know, make sure everything’s kosher.”

  Jay smiled. “It’s sweet of you to offer but I think Nessa and I can handle this.”

  Tyler’s answering laugh was half wry, half regretful. Checking out an apartment to rent would be easy as compared with the logistics of buying a house, and Jay had already done just that on more than one occasion. She sure didn’t need him peering over her shoulder. “Okay, so I know you can handle anything anyone throws at you. But I kinda worry about Nessa. What if this guy renting the apartment is a sleaze?”

  Jay fixed him with an expression he couldn’t fathom. Sheesh. She was throwing a few of those at him lately.

  “You don’t think I can handle one sleazy guy?”

  “Oh, I know you can handle one sleazy guy,” Tyler said, visualizing her encounter with Shawn. Ah, such magic memories. Good times. “But Nessa? Not so much. Knowing her, she’ll do something daft and we’ll have to bail her out of trouble again. That girl needs a keeper.”

  “Or a decent boyfriend who’ll look after her,” Jay said.

  “Yeah. That’d work.”

  “I’m sure she’s a lot more capable that you give her credit for.”

  “Maybe.”

  Jay stared at him, her face still unreadable.

  “So, am I forgiven for being such a dick earlier?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  Had that answer been a little too fast to be entirely genuine? Crap. Time to shut up and hit the road before he put his foot in it again.“Catch you tonight then.”

  She blew him a kiss and went back to her book. And Tyler left to catch his bus, feeling strangely unsettled, with a slow burn in his gut that made him want to chew antacids. Or hit something. Maybe even someone. Whose name began with A.

  He hadn’t been jealous when Nessa had dumped him for Matt. Humiliated, sure. Majorly pissed off, absolutely. But not jealous. And if this was what jealousy felt like it blew chunks.

  Damn, he wanted to meet this Allen guy and eyeball him—see if he could figure out why Jay had taken to him so quickly. He’d have to find some way to get Jay to introduce him to her new “friend”.

  ~~~

  Tyler caught a break when another student, desperate for extra shifts, begged to work Tyler’s scheduled weekend. He could have refused—God knows he needed all the money he could get—but he wanted to spend the weekend with Jay. She’d been distant and he’d been unavailable. Sooo not good. And he was pretty damn sure she was keeping something from him.

  He gave the other guy his shifts without a murmur. And after finishing up his Friday night shift, and racing home to have some face-time with Jay, he crawled into bed sometime around one and slept like the dead.

  When he woke it was pushing midday and he was starving. First port of call was the kitchen to rustle up some food. Or wheedle Jay or Nessa into rustling up some food while he made coffee.

  The kitchen was empty. And now he came to think about it, the whole house was unnaturally quiet. He padded over to check the whiteboard, expecting to see a note about the girls heading to the corner store for milk or something. Instead, he found a note telling him Jay was helping Nessa move in, and not to expect her back until four.

  He jogged back upstairs to grab his cell phone and text her. finally up. miss u! meet u 4 coffee at 4?

  Her answer came back almost immediately. The girl could text like nobody’s business. Ok. Meet me at Beanz.

  Beanz???

  Café. 15 Honeysuckle Street. I’ll be out back with Allen but text me if you get there early & I’ll come straight round.

  Tyler ground his jaw. He considered all the things he could say and discounted them. Better not to let on how pissed he was. thought u were helping Nessa move in?

  I am. I’m meeting Allen at 2.

  ok. c u then. He tossed the phone on the bedside cabinet and stomped downstairs to grab a bowl of cereal and a really strong cup of coffee.

  Because he was still pissed, he left the dishes in the sink. Petty, he knew but he didn’t give a crap.

 
He took his petty, jealous, bad tempered self up to his studio and spent the next hour composing angry music that did nothing for his state of mind.

  What a bunch of shit. These lyrics sucked. He crumpled the sheet and tossed it at the trash bin Jay had thoughtfully provided. He thought about doing something for his art portfolio, but he wasn’t in the right mood for that, either. He headed for the shower.

  By the time he’d thrown on some clothes he had a plan of action. It might not be the best plan in the world, but it beat the hell out of hanging out at home watching the clock and imagining scenarios he’d rather not imagine.

  He used the app on his cell phone to find the quickest way to Honeysuckle Street. Then he set the house alarm, locked up, and stalked off down the street.

  The walk did him good. Cleared his head. Instead of going off half-cocked and confronting this Allen dude with unsubstantiated facts, he’d station himself across the road and watch out for Jay. Then he’d follow her, see for himself what was going on.

  He bought a takeaway coffee and a snack at Beanz, and by one thirty he was in position, sitting with his back against the trunk of a large tree on the opposite side of the street, a few houses down from the café. He could see the front of the café quite clearly, and with any luck Jay wouldn’t notice him—especially if she wasn’t on the lookout for him.

  At ten to two, he spotted her jogging down the street. At a guess, she’d been held up at Nessa’s and had been forced to hoof it. He let out the breath he’d been holding. Good. Less chance she’d accidentally glance his way.

  She headed down a path to the left of the café building and the instant she vanished from view, Tyler sprinted across the road. Just before he reached the café he slowed to a walk, and when he reached the path Jay had taken, he casually sauntered after her as though he had every right to be there.

  He heard voices behind him and raced past the doors, around the corner, and out of sight. His heart pounded in his chest. He risked a glance and spotted three men approaching the doors before he ducked back out of sight. One of the men rapped on the door. Someone inside the house—a male from his voice—opened the door and greeted them.

  Tyler waited a minute, and was glad he did because another two men wandered up and entered the house. And then one man on his own. Followed by another two.

  What the hell was going on?

  He gave it five minutes and when no one else arrived, he snuck back around and headed for the windows… which of course had blinds. Shit. But as he got close, he realized they were angled so there was a convenient gap he could spy through. He peeked inside and jerked back.

  Some sort of a studio, by the looks of it.

  He peered in again and got the shock of his life when Jay emerged from behind a screen. He slammed himself backward so hard he smacked his spine on the weatherboards and scraped off a layer of skin.

  Oh. My. Fricking. God. She was stark naked. What the—?

  He snatched another look, and this time registered the easels, and it all made sense. She was life-modeling for an art class.

  He sagged against the side of the house, shaky with relief. Why the hell hadn’t she let on?

  When he’d got his shit together, he sneaked another look. Hey, he was only human. And there was a hot naked chick in there—his hot naked chick.

  The tutor—a scruffy looking guy with a hairdo that would’ve made Einstein proud and a beard to match—was yakking to the class and making sweeping gestures with his hands. And Jay? She was perched on a stool.

  As Tyler watched, spellbound, she reached up to pull the elastic band from her ponytail and shake out her hair. Then she twisted it into a loose knot at the back of her head.

  A hot sensation needled his skin. The graceful lines of her neck and spine made him want to reach out and stroke them. She looked serene, beautiful. Damned if he didn’t want to sketch her himself—after he’d kissed her senseless and done… other things he’d only dreamed of doing with her.

  The tutor strode up to adjust the position of Jay’s arms and hands, and then backed off and picked up a sketchbook.

  She was naked, in front of all those men….

  It was doing his head in. He pulled back and leaned against the weatherboards, squeezing his eyes shut and counting each breath until he got himself back under control. Then he walked around front of the building and headed into the coffee-shop to wait for her.

  ~~~

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jay hopped from her perch and vanished behind the screen to don her clothes. When she was dressed, she wandered around the studio, peering over each artist’s shoulder at their drawings and paintings. During the first session she had wandered around naked, prompting some grins, and not a few blushes, and Allen to remark that she was the least shy model he’d ever encountered. She’d taken the hint and gotten dressed.

  Most students used charcoals. One preferred pastels. And one of the more experienced students was finishing up a delicate watercolor that stole her breath. She could hardly credit that the glorious creature in the painting was her.

  “That’s simply exquisite, McPhee,” she told the artist, a man in his early seventies with a head of thick, pure white hair, and a neat goatee to match.

  “Yes, m’dear. You certainly are.” His eyes—so dark they were almost black—held a distinct twinkle.

  “I meant the painting.”

  He winked at her. “I know.”

  Allen clucked like an old mother hen. “Quit your flirting, McPhee. The girl’s already got a serious boyfriend. And besides, you’re far too old for her.”

  McPhee only laughed. “At risk of sounding like a cliché, a man’s never too old to flirt with a beautiful woman.”

  “Thank you.” Jay was learning to accept his compliments without demur. Protesting only made him grumpy and provoked semi-growly outbursts in the vein of, “You calling me a liar, m’dear?”

  “I would love to buy this from you if you’re willing to part with it.”

  McPhee put down his brush to focus his full attention on her. “Well now, that depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Whether you’re buying it for yourself or someone else.”

  “It’s for me,” Jay said.

  “How badly d’you want it?”

  What a strange question. “Badly.”

  “Why?”

  “Because when I look at the girl in the painting it’s like I’m looking into her soul—into my soul. It makes me feel—” She frowned, searching for the right words to convey the joy that welled in her heart when she looked at his painting. She could hardly tell him the truth, that she was drawn to it, loved every brushstroke, every wash of color, because he’d made her look human instead of a perfect-looking, perfectly soulless machine.

  “It makes me feel real.”

  McPhee reached out to stroke a gnarled finger down her cheek. “Child, it’s yours.”

  She beamed at him, thrilled at the prospect of owning the artwork. “How much are you asking for it?”

  “Not a penny. It’s my gift to you, m’dear.”

  “I couldn’t possibly allow you to do that, McPhee. It wouldn’t be right after all the work you’ve put into it.”

  “Lovey, it’s not like the old bugger needs the money,” Allen piped up. “Go on, make his day. Let him give it to you. He’ll dine out on the story for years.”

  Something hot stung her eyes. Tears. She hugged McPhee, hard and quick. And then drew back to blot the tears away with the hem of her t-shirt. “Thank you.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, m’dear. I’ll let you know when I’m done with it.”

  She finished her rounds, and at two minutes to four, said her goodbyes and left the studio to meet Tyler.

  She spotted him sitting at a table by the front window, sipping a cola and flicking through a magazine. The plate on his table was scattered with crumbs. The coffee cup sat empty and slightly skewed on its saucer. He’d been there a while.

 
; He glanced up when she approached. He held her gaze for one long moment, long enough for her to note the heat in his eyes. And the questions. And then he glanced down at his cola and sucked in a deep breath.

  She paused beside his chair and bent to kiss his cheek. Before she straightened she murmured, “See anything you liked while you were waiting?”

  The rush of heat to his face made her smile as she took a seat opposite and popped the tab on the other unopened soda he’d bought.

  “You know,” he said.

  “Of course.” She tapped her temple with her forefinger. “Super-cyborg senses, remember?”

  “So much for me being covert.”

  “Yes. Why, Tyler?”

  He rearranged the sugar sachets in the ceramic condiments container. “Which one of those guys was Allen?”

  “He’s the tutor.”

  “The guy with the OTT hair and beard.”

  “Correct.” She extracted all her memories of the days since meeting Allen, and any mention she’d made of him, and reviewed them while analyzing Tyler’s reactions.

  Ah. Hindsight, as humans were fond of saying, was a wonderful thing. Tyler had obviously concluded Allen was a potential rival, and she could understand how he had come to that erroneous conclusion. Her decision to withhold the fact she had not only applied for a job but that her application had been successful, could only have exacerbated the matter.

  “I’m sorry for keeping information from you,” she said, at the same time he raised his gaze to hers and said, “I’m sorry for being a jealous asshole.”

  “There is nothing to apologize for,” she told him. “If I’d told you about my job, and that Allen was my employer, you would not have felt the need to take such steps.”