Lessa leans back against the seat, fanning themself with a menu.
Jett, whose cool skin is now a pale pink, leans forward. “It seems I was wrong about your ability to flirt. Do you feel that electrical charge, Lessa, or is it just me?”
“Mmmhmm,” Lessa mutters.
Jett picks up his cocktail and downs it in a few gulps. “I hate to run, but . . .” He gets to his feet. “Decci, shall we?”
Lessa excuses themself a few minutes later, then Kate and James are alone. They finish their drinks, and as James escorts her back to the elevator, he can’t help but sense disappointment hanging like a cloud around the beautiful woman. It follows them into her unit.
She pulls her device out of her fluffy bunny-shaped handbag. “I’ll order you something for dinner.” Different colors light up the screen as she places the order.
Dinner for him. And not her. She is shrinking away from him. A knot of dread twists his stomach. Before she can retreat, he comes to stand beside her, brushing the backs of his fingers down her arm. “Is everything okay?”
Kate flinches so subtly he barely catches it. Then she turns to him and plasters on the first fake smile she’s given him. “I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed.” She points to the smartwaiter. “It will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Goodnight.”
Without another word, Kate slips into her bedroom and closes the door, leaving him alone.
14 – Let the Yearning Begin
K8
I am the flesh robot going through my nightly routine. The thought strikes K8 as ironic as she removes her makeup with a Vanish Me water-saving pad. Rubbing serums and creams onto her face. Changing into her night slip. Crawling into bed. Clinging to the numbness, lest she feel.
She lays in bed, willing her tears to remain at bay. They would, after all, age her. And she can’t have that. As it stands, she’ll already need a trip to the MediSpa. With all this added stress and the crying earlier, a Refresh session is in order. Absently, she wonders when her medi-artist’s next opening is.
Not that she cares, but her beauty is the one thing the man, James, appreciates about her. Because she sees the way he looks at her. He wants her. Physically. But she disgusts him, too. He said as much. Though he told her he understands now, she can’t expect his opinionof her to change overnight. All because of one stupid decision, one drunken evening. But her stupid decision led to his second chance. Is he grateful? No. He isn’t. Not really.
She’s coming to understand his character. He isn’t a nice person.
Granted, he apologizes when he’s wrong—which is all too often. He’s selfish. Aggressive, disagreeable, idealistic, too independent, stubborn, arrogant, thoughtless, domineering, rude, aggressive . . . did she say that already? The point is, she doesn’t much like him. What an awful collection of traits. Ones she’d never have selected for him. She meant what she said when she asked if anyone during his time liked him. He doesn’t make himself available to be liked.
So why then does she feel this inexplicable draw toward him? That was the second time she thought he might kiss her, and he didn’t. It stung like rejection. It’s like Holy Mother Zephyr gave her this man only to taunt her with him. Because he is achingly handsome. And that stubble. He shaves only for it to appear a few hours later.It would be so nice against her—No. She needs to put those thoughts out of her mind.
But it’s the side of him that seems so utterly human, too. Watching him faced with the reality of his situation—she imagines she’s seen a version of him no one before her ever has. Not that he’s chosen to share it. She’s only seeing it by circumstance. She’s been watching and hasn’t missed his little reactions. The way his eyes widen when he sees something that shocks him and tries to hide it. Or how when he apologized earlier, he leaned toward her like he couldn’t help himself. It’s the way his flaws mix with his . . . hope or drive? She pauses, considering the word. Well, the right word isn’t important. The point is, she’s witnessing his humanity emerge, like a flower blossoming. She just isn’t certain if the flower is going to be poisonous. Based on what she’s seen, it probably is.
He’s made it perfectly clear where he stands. She doesn’t like him, anyway. And she’s promised not to get confused, despite the electrical charge between them. The only path forward is to look at this logically. From now on, James will deal with Scientist K8. Coolly logical K8. The K8 that kept her head down during her schooling and made it to the top of her class, then landed her job right out of training. Who became the top paid member of her division. That K8 can do anything she sets her mind to. Now she has her mind trained on getting through the inspection. She owes it to him to take this seriously. If it weren’t for her foolish decision and the moral obligation that came with it, he wouldn’t be in this situation.He would still be dead. He would be blissfully unaware.
She’ll fake it—the horror—and when they pass, she’ll put some distance between them. Then move on with her life. Maybe she’ll even go to the club she’s been avoiding where she met Viper to prove she’s well and truly over him. She’ll find a lover. Someone willing to engage in a nightly meetup for a week or two. Surely she can manage at least that.
K8 rolls over, adjusting the setting on her Ageless Body Pillow for side sleeping. A moment later, the pillow shifts, folding into the curves of her body to support her in a way that will prevent cricks and creases.
A lover is precisely what she needs. She refuses to take care of her needs herself. That would only give her thoughts unrestricted liberty to settle on the man a room away. Tomorrow, she’ll sneak her new sex toy into a kitchen cabinet so she isn’t tempted. She suspects she only feels this drawn toward him because of proximity. He is attractive and available. Couplings were common during his time, so that fed her misguided thoughts. But if she looks at it objectively, besides being good-looking, there isn’t much to like. K8 does not like James. There.
With that settled, K8 closes her eyes. Never mind that yearning feeling burrowing deep inside her.
15 – The Inspection
James
October 14, 2390, Day 74.
James holds a tablet in his hand with the World Clock app pulled up. He stares at the glowing red digital numbers. They flick from 14:59 to 15:00. He’s done this for an entire hour now, watching every minute tick by. He counts the seconds. This is ridiculous. He’s handled immensely stressful situations with such ease in the past.
If only he could face another economic downturn. At the first signs of the last financial crisis Tiger Capital handled, he made the risky decision to offload a portion of their portfolio at a loss. He convinced investors to hold tight. They sat on the capital for over a year. Then, when the market took a nosedive, he made some very strategic acquisitions, which amounted to the most substantial portfolio growthhis group had seen since he founded his company. Managing the investor emotions during that period, however, was tenuous at best. Who wanted to listen to a twenty-five-year-old—even if he had his family name to back him up? He only lost one client that year. He’d much rather live through all those late nights and anxious phone calls than meet the impending inspectors. This was another thing his death stole from him.
15:01.
A series of chimes intersect the silence that spans the distance between James and his roommate. Kate pops up from her seat, giving him the eleventh fake smile since that first one, making it an even dozen.
