Jay felt a wave of heat wash over her, forcing her to adjust her core body temperature. She mulled this new anomaly as she waited for the traffic to clear so she could cross the street. She would run a full diagnostic when she got back to her apartment to discover the root cause of these minor malfunctions.
“Hey, Tyler! Can you spare a minute?”
The shout prompted her to glance over her shoulder, and she saw a man beckoning from the opened window of a classroom. Tyler jogged back toward the entrance doors.
She mentally shuffled through the staff photos and identified the man as the school’s music teacher, Mr. Whaley. If she waited around for a while, perhaps she would be able to strike up a conversation with Tyler when he’d finished with the teacher. It would be interesting to learn more about his musical abilities.
Bettina’s strident voice floated up from the field, haranguing Caro and Vanessa for being five minutes late to practice. Jay drifted over to observe the cheerleaders from the shadows afforded by the overhanging roof of the school hall.
A bunch of guys sauntered over to plant their butts on the bleachers and ogle the girls in their short skirts. One of them puckered up and blew a noisy kiss at Bettina. “Hey, B! Shake it for me, baby!”
She tossed him evil look over her shoulder. “Get lost,” she told him. “And quit gawking at the guy-candy!” she yelled at those of her squad who had dared to giggle. “Next girl who effs up because her mind’s not on the routine is getting benched next game!”
It was obvious to Jay that Bettina took her job as cheer captain very seriously.
She watched the squad run once through their routine and then turned away. She could do the tricks with her eyes closed. Not that she didn’t appreciate the difficulty and the skill involved for humans to perform such maneuvers, but it held no particular fascination for her.
All the buses had arrived and departed before Tyler appeared again. He surveyed the empty bus bay, glanced at his watch. His shoulders slumped.
She jogged toward him as he headed out of the school gates. His head shot up when he heard her approach, and in the instant before he blanked his face she saw pleasure.
“May I walk with you?” she asked.
“Sure. I’m headed this way.” He jerked his chin to the left.
“I’m sorry you missed your bus.”
He shrugged. “No drama.”
“That teacher inconvenienced you. He should have spoken to you during school hours so you didn’t miss your bus.”
He snorted. “Teachers don’t think about stuff like that.”
“You’re not in trouble with him, are you?”
“Me? Nah. Whaley’s cool. He was just giving me some feedback about my latest songwriting attempt.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes, with Tyler shooting her surreptitious glances beneath his lashes. “I hear Shawn’s still bugging you,” he finally said.
Jay didn’t have to remind herself that a grimace would be appropriate in this instance. It was her body’s automatic response to mention of Shawn. “I asked him very politely to leave me alone, but I suspect he thinks I’m playing hard to get. His lack of intelligence is extremely vexing.” Even to her own ears she sounded petulant.
He barked a laugh. “You’re something else, you know that?”
She clamped her mouth shut against the immediate agreement that hovered on her lips. She was indeed “something else”. But she was training herself to decipher the subtext of what was said before she responded, rather than taking people’s comments so literally.
“You really don’t like him much, do you?” He seemed to be having some difficulty with the concept that any girl could dislike Shawn.
Jay couldn’t decipher what it was about Shawn that made him so attractive to the opposite sex. So far as appearances went, he was merely one of a number of physically attractive young males she had encountered. His features were symmetrical enough to be pleasing, but his lack of morals and his inflated idea of his own importance and desirability repelled her. She found Tyler’s lean physique, shaggy hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and slightly crooked smile, far more aesthetically pleasing. He wasn’t perfect, and it was his imperfections that captivated her. In addition, he was far more interesting to talk to than the self-involved Shawn.
“No. I don’t like him at all,” she said. “Can we please not talk about Shawn?”
“What do you want to talk about, then?”
“I heard you playing your guitar and singing at lunchtime,” she said. “You’re very talented.”
“Thanks.” He beamed at her, and something tightened in Jay’s chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
“It wasn’t my guitar, though,” he said. “That one belongs to the music room. It’s a bit of a dog but it does the trick. My own guitar’s worth a bit—no way I’d bring it to school and risk it being damaged.”
She nodded her understanding.
“Hey, do you play an instrument or anything?”
Because she did not wish to appear boastful, she shrugged, and said, “Not really.”
Car tires squealed and the acrid odor of burning rubber scented the air. Laughter floated to her ears. She separated out the sounds, identified the vehicle’s engine as belonging to a Mazda MX-5 Miata, and ran voice analyses. A simple calculation led her to conclude she would be subjected to an unwelcome encounter in approximately thirty-five seconds.
Just as she and Tyler were approaching a small group of stores, a red MX-5 rounded the corner and pulled up to the curb ahead of them.
She hadn’t miscalculated. But then, she seldom did.
“Hey, Jaaay.” Shawn called out from the driver’s seat, completely ignoring Tyler.
She didn’t appreciate the way he drew out the syllables of her name. Her name was Jay. Not Jaaay. If she’d wanted to be called Jaaay, she would have spelled her name with extra As.
“Hello, Shawn.” She ignored her programming and did not acknowledge his companion. It was getting somewhat easier to be rude and unpleasant if the situation called for it.
“Going somewhere?” Shawn’s gaze flicked to his reflection in the rearview mirror. He smoothed his hair.
Jay kept on walking. “I would have thought that was quite obvious, but since you ask, yes.”
Tyler emitted a peculiar gurgling sound and cleared his throat.
“Hey, wait up, babe!” Shawn called as they passed his car. He put the vehicle in gear and crept along the curb, keeping pace with them. His smile displayed his artificially whitened capped teeth. “Hop in, I’ll give you a lift.”
“I don’t need a lift. And if I did, there are no spare seats in your car.”
The boy sitting up front with Shawn dropped her a wink. His lips curved into a sly smile and he patted his lap. “Babe, you can sit right here on this good wood.”
“Can it, Matt,” Shawn said. “If she’s sitting on anyone it’ll be me. Capiche?”
Matt smirked. “Whatever, dude.”
“Niiice,” Tyler said. “Caro’s gonna be thrilled to hear about you making moves on Jay. Again. I’d watch my back if I were you, Shawn. You know what my sister’s like when she gets riled. I can just picture her bitch-slapping you into orbit. Hey, I should sell tickets to the event. I’d make a killing.”
Shawn slammed his car into park. He hopped out to confront Tyler, hands fisted at his sides, lower lip outthrust. “What I do when your sister isn’t looking over my shoulder is none of your fucking business, freak-boy. So keep your effing mouth shut. Or I’ll shut it for you.”
Jay clamped her hand on Tyler’s arm to prevent him from lunging at Shawn. “Let me handle this,” she murmured. “Apparently I’m going to have to be extremely unpleasant so he will get the message.”
His brow pleated with concern as his gaze raked her face. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” She felt a peculiar warmth curling low in her belly. If she’d been human, that warmth might have indicated she enjoyed his concern for her. She dismissed it as a chemical reaction preparing her body for her coming confrontation with Shawn.
“Okay. But I’m here if you need me,” he said.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
She moved toward Shawn, who leaned back against his car and crossed his arms over his chest. He smiled lazily at her.
Did this young male truly believe himself so irresistible to females?
Apparently so. He’d obviously convinced himself his physical charms had the power to completely overwhelm her good sense. The boy was an idiot.
“So how ’bout you and me hook up later on?” he said. “Pick you up at nine and—”
“I don’t think so.”
He blinked at her. “Aw, don’t be like that, babe. This playing hard to get thing is getting old.”
His tone was light, bantering, but his gaze was challenging.
You don’t want to mess with me
, it seemed to say. Delusional boy. She was going to enjoy thwarting him.
He reached for her.
Ignoring Tyler’s shout of protest, Jay let Shawn grab her wrist and tug her toward him. As Shawn bent his head, she realized he was about to kiss her—force her to comply and fall in with his wishes. She grasped his chin in her hand and dulled her eyes so her gaze was flat and cold and menacing. “Are you trying to shut
my
effing mouth by kissing me, Shawn?”
He froze. The cocky grin slid off his face.
She thrust him away and stared him down. “I would rather not be bothered by two-timing sleaze-bags, Shawn. For some reason they make me nauseous.”
Behind her, Tyler snorted with laughter.
“Bitch.” Shawn’s expression darkened. He raised his hand as if he was about to hit out at her. Then he seemed to think better of it and dropped his arm. He was on edge, his heart rate elevated, a pulse throbbing at his temple. It would not take much to provoke him.
Jay reviewed what she knew about Shawn and his family, and debated her options. If he did lose his temper and hit her, there was a high probability it would work in her favor. When it got around that he’d hit a girl, Shawn’s godlike reputation amongst the students—both male and female—would take a severe hit.
She released the merest whiff of a very specific pheromone into the air and watched Shawn inhale. A fine sweat broke out on his forehead. His fists clenched and unclenched, clenched again.
“You’re such a daddy’s boy,” she said, curling her lip into a sneer. “Without his money to throw around, you’re nothing special, Shawn. You should hear what your team say about you behind your back.”
His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed to slits. “What do they say?”
Ah yes. She’d been correct to base her verbal attack on his male pride. This was going to be ludicrously easy. “Only that your daddy bought your place on the team with a hefty donation. It must be a real blow to your pride to know you wouldn’t have been good enough otherwise.”
“Jay.” Tyler’s voice throbbed with anxiety. “I don’t think—”
“I’m fine, Tyler.” She swept her glance over Shawn. “He’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Shawn’s tanned complexion turned a mottled red.
Jay laughed, and made certain it was a derisive, mocking sound. “Poor Shawn. Did I hurt your feelings? Never mind. I’m sure you’ll get over it. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Caro and I had an enlightening little chat this afternoon. I’m sure it won’t take much more effort on my part to convince her to dump your less-than-toned glutes.”
Shawn frowned as he processed that last part.
“Are you saying—?”
“Yes, Shawn. You have a—” she sought the most suitable slang phrase “—flabby ass.”
He lost it.
Of course Jay saw the blow coming, but she chose not to exert herself by blocking it. Whatever Shawn did, it was highly unlikely to permanently damage her. To Jay, the logic that had led to this moment was perfectly sound, so she stood perfectly still, relaxed her facial muscles, and allowed his hand to connect with her cheek.
“Jesus!” She heard Matt’s shocked voice.
Excellent. Her decision was already having the desired effect.
Unfortunately, Tyler wasn’t aware Jay didn’t feel pain. Or that she had weighed her options and concluded it was in her best interests to let Shawn assault her. Before she could caution him to stay out of it, Tyler grabbed her arm and yanked her away from further harm. Then he charged Shawn, smacking him against the side of the car.
Shawn bellowed and retaliated by shoving Tyler away, then lunging for him, grabbing him round the waist and steamrolling him backward.
Jay was still considering whether or not Tyler would be irritated if she intervened, when she caught a metallic flash at the edge of her vision. She glanced at Matt and found him recording the incident on a sleek black mobile phone. “Please put the phone away. Now.” She refocused her full attention on the two combatants.
“You okay?” Matt asked. “There’s a spare seat here if you need to sit down. Do you want me to call someone to come and get you?”