Page 96 of Tapeworld Induction

Turns out, for a kiss. Any shame he might have felt didn’t make it into his mind. Talia and Sacha didn’t exist at that moment. It was just Dylan and him. The taste of her lips was so different from their kiss inside the Tapeworld. No algorithm telling him what it should feel like, no overexposed sensation like the hyperreal colours of that world.

It was a real kiss.

He sensed Dylan starting to hold back. The shift led him to open his eyes. Sacha and Talia had been staring and giggling. They waved awkwardly from their short distance away in the kitchen, grins plastered on their faces.

The four of them agreed to talk the next day, but for now, Isaak needed rest. Talia and Sacha left, leaving Dylan behind. He sensed Talia and Sacha had something of their own going on.

Good for you, Sacha.

34

Stars

Isaak

Greying clouds. Black tarmac glistening with wet. Rain poured down on London, battering the studio’s windows.

“I love it here. You’ve got a nice place. So cosy with the rain outside.” Her voice was a melody he was grateful to hear.

“Cosy. That’s code for tiny, right?”

She smirked. “The price you pay to live in London properly. I’m too far in the outskirts, but you’re near the nerve centre here.”

Recovered enough to sit up on the couch, he looked out the window at the neon-lit streets. The rain caressed the streets and his soul alike. “I love it too.”

Dylan sat next to him. The warmth of her leg against his sent shockwaves through his body. He asserted control over himself, keeping composed, but open.

“I was worried all this time, you know. The fight we had… It shouldn’t have happened. Why did you stop talking to me, boy?”

That word again. It was turning into a nickname. It was nice.

He took a deep breath. “This is hard to say…”

She placed her hand on his leg. “Try.”

The hand wasn’t making it any easier. But he forged on. “I felt, still feel, guilty. I’m sorry for spying on you. I wanted to protect you. I went about it the wrong way.”

“You did.”

It hurt to hear, but she was right.

“That day…” Her voice wavered. “Fuck. It really didn’t go like I thought it would.”

He nodded. “I fucked up.”

“I put you on the spot. Asking about your mother, saying you can’t help yourself taping in.” Regret in her voice.

He closed his eyes, hanging his head in shame. “But you’re right. I am fucking addicted to it.”

“Please, don’t torture yourself. I love taping in too. I love the way it makes me feel… Would you call me a fucking addict?”

He lifted his head, rubbing his eyes. “No.”

“Of course not. Then why would you treat yourself that harshly?” She squeezed his leg. “You deserve grace.”

Unable to contain his emotions, he leaned over and hugged her, face digging into her shoulder. She held him, caressing the back of his head.

He let go of the barrier inside him, and wept.