Free On the Line (Alternate Places Book 3) by P.S. Power Page A

guy herself more than
once. Really good looking guys attracted attention from other men that felt
insecure about their own sexuality, which often led to hostility. He hugged her
at the door, but didn't suggest he come in. Seeing what lay in the center of
her room, she called him back almost instantly though, before the door had even
finished closing, he pushed it back open, looking ready to fight.
    “Presents! I mentioned to my friends how much you loved the
juice the other day and they sent some for you and Britney. Don too, it looks
like. Also some food, not just drinks, since Merri knows how hungry we all probably
are, having to make do on school food.”
    Blaine smiled and pulled out his cell phone, telling Kate
that this was so nice of them, tears actually coming into his eyes at the
kindness. Plus, he didn't think he could easily carry it all the way across
campus without dropping anything. He'd call so the others could come carry
things too.
    “Britney said she'll be over in a bit, but I can't reach Don.
Probably nothing, since he doesn't turn his phone on hardly at all. His parents
are a little strapped for cash, so he tries to keep his expenses down, which
means the phone doesn't come out until his plan's free hours. He explained it
to me, but I really don't understand it all, except that he's trying to save
money, which I can get behind, myself.” He looked worried then as if he'd told
some dark secret of his friend, but she just shrugged. College kids were supposed to be cash poor. Kind of a rule. That she wasn't stood out more than anything
else about her so far, even her looks got less attention, at least as long as
she dressed down a lot and used make-up to slightly mess up her skin tone.
    Hugging her again and asking her to thank Merri for all the
stuff, he took his package, carefully marked with his name in both English and
Alfric, though he didn't comment on that last part, and headed out, leaving her
to work on her paper again. She almost had it done by the time Britney came by
a few hours later.
    “Ohhh! Things! Some of that expensive juice and food. You're
so cool! Are we actually trading Don for this stuff?” She joked, using
it as an excuse to bring the boy up, being alone now.
    “Nope, didn't even mention that as a possibility. Merri's
Alfric, so you know, don't thank her for this stuff, even if you meet
her in person. Just tell her how you appreciated the thought, or enjoyed using
the things. It can be hard to do, but you'd insult her less if you told her to
eat shit and fuck herself with a broom handle, and no, I don't know why.
The Alfric won't talk about it. We need to make sure that Blaine knows that
too, I don't know if it got covered in your school? It didn't at mine...”
    As the girl often did, she went wide eyed at this
information.
    “You know real Alfric, like, personally? No wonder you know
so much about Hartley, knowing Vampires and Alfric and stuff. I've never met
anyone except Humans and the Alede at school. Not that I know of at least, I
mean, I probably wouldn't know a Were unless I saw them change or they told me
and Mages basically look Human, right? So I could have seen some and just not
known it. But you've actually seen some of these kinds of things and even know
some? Awesome.”
    Kaitlyn shrugged and tried not to wince at the others girl's
use of the word things to describe her friends. “Well, you know, they're
just people once you get past the surface stuff, like everyone else. Except for
the Trolleinkein, but not for the reasons you'd think. They smell fine, and are
all fastidiously clean, by the way. They have to be, because
their sense of smell is incredible. But, well, they think we, the Alede, kind
of stink. We smell like sex to them, all the time. Probably the pheromones that
come off of us all, but anyway, in their culture someone that smells like sex
gets left pretty much alone by everyone else for a few days, because messing
with them could start a fight. I