Read Thumped for Free Online Page B

protested, but thought better of it.
    “Won’t the Jaydens be pissed when they find out we scammed them? Won’t the whole world?”
    “Do you care about Harmony or your career?”
    He winced. “I wasn’t thinking about my career,” he said. “I was actually thinking about you. ”
    That was when I kind of got why Harmony had fallen for Jondoe. It was the first time I saw him not as a product, but as a real person capable of caring about people other than himself.
    “Don’t worry about me. Zen and I are working on a plan, a mission , really,” I had said cryptically. “The world will get over it just fine. Including the Jaydens.”
    That was so much easier to believe when the Jaydens were anonymous cradlegrabbers. They met me, like, thirty seconds ago and they’re already proudly showing off pictures of the nursery. They’re so off-the-spring excited just to be in close proximity of my belly that it’s obvious to me now that they are not going to “get over it” so easily.
    “May I . . . ?” asks the Mrs. as she tentatively reaches out to me.
    Or rather, to the Billion Dollar Belly.
    According to Jondoe, it’s a top-secret prototype for a product called Artificial Living Tissue Engineered for Reproducing Reproduction. Eight and a half months ago I applied the transparent film to my midsection and for the past thirty-five weeks it has developed exactly as a real pregnancy would. It’s basically the next-generation synthetic skinfeel that’s used all the time in cosmetic surgery, only the ALTERR cells are encoded with microholographic imaging systems that simulate pregnancy. That’s a fancy way of saying it’s the most authentic FunBump ever. ALTERR isn’t approved for consumer use, so the B$B could swell to ten times its size, swallow me whole, and launch a parasitic attack on New Jersey.
    Which doesn’t sound too bad right about now.
    “I can feel them moving around!” the Mrs. says rhapsodically.
    Of course she can. I’ve gotten away with avoiding internal exams (to “protect my reproductive privacy”) because ALTERR can fool an ultrasound. To my medical team, my twins are every bit as real as Harmony’s. I’ve scammed the whole world.
    “Our daughters!”
    I’m fooling the Jaydens right now.
    I feel like I’m about to puke.
    “Are you okay?” the Mr. asks. “You look a little green.”
    “Have you had morning sickness this whole time?” the Mrs. asks. “Oh, that must be awful!”
    Her sympathy makes me feel even sicker.
    Zen steps between me and the Jaydens, unexpectedly grabs my hands, and starts pinching the webbing between my thumb and index fingers.
    “Let’s stimulate those pulse points!” he says in a strained voice. “That’ll make the nausea go away!” With his back to the Jaydens, he sends me a loud and clear message with his eyes: Don’t do it.
    Zen knows me better than anyone. And he knows how close I am to just giving it all up right now. But how can I just sit back and let these people make more plans for these babies that are never going to come ? Has Zen lost his humanity along with his mind? I don’t get another moment to contemplate this question because Lib is zooming across the room and going psycho on the Jaydens.
    “ What in the name of Darwin are you two doing here? ” he seethes through a gritted-teeth smile. “I explicitly told you not to come here under any circumstances.”
    “But . . .” says the Mrs.
    “ But nothing ,” he whisper-shouts. “This is dangerous. Do you understand? DANGEROUS.”
    It’s true that Surrogettes and Parental Units are discouraged from meeting each other, but the legislation that would make such interactions illegal hasn’t passed yet. So I don’t know what’s gotten into Lib. I mean, it’s beyond over the top, even for him.
    When the Mrs. withers under Lib’s glare, the Mr. steps up.
    “Hey, she’s been through a lot. Take it easy on her . . .”
    “ARE YOU SUGGESTING I DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE’S