Chapter Forty-Two
I’ve been sitting on the floor of the lab since I arrived here this morning. Just sitting and staring. This is not uncommon
for me; I go through these peaks and troughs. Sometimes days and weeks happen when I can’t stop being brilliant. I don’t say
that to show off; it’s just like brilliance happens and sort of comes tumbling out of me whether I want it to or not. And
then there are times, like now, where I feel like I lack the technical skill to switch on a computer monitor.
That’s not exactly true, though. I’m sitting here in stasis because I know if I reconnect the lab to FreeThought’s audio and
communication functions, Hal will be in the room with me, and I’m not ready for that. I’m not ready for anything. Which is
weird because I feel like up until this point, I have spent my whole life waiting for something to happen. And now that it
has, I want to stare at a wall for an indeterminate amount of time.
There’s a rap on the glass as my phone pings.
Rani—her message reads, wotcha doin?
Hauling myself up off of the floor, I open the door to find Rani leaning against the glass, with a bag of sugared almonds that she has obviously stolen from the wedding favours table that’s being set up in the grand hall.
“What are you doing?” I ask her as she comes inside, offering me an almond.
“Nothing much. It’s quite nice in here, isn’t it,” she says. “Cool. Quiet. Free of love interests.”
“Well, one of my love interests is muted,” I say, returning to sitting on the floor. “I’m not sure if that counts as free
of.”
“Can he hear us?” Rani whispers as she sprawls next to me.
“No, he’s completely cut off.”
“So, why are you looking all”—Rani gestures at me—“this?”
“Because the thing is, I really don’t need to do any more work, not for the big finale show. We are more than ready for that.
Of course there’s always something we can be working on, solving another global issue, but you know, since the kissing and
all that, I’m sort of a bit . . . confused.”
“This is why workplace relationships are frowned upon,” Rani says. “Hey, do that thing you told me about where you make the
ceiling go clear so we can see the sky.”
I change the setting, and we both lie on the cool glass floor, looking up at the perfect summer sky.
“Nice day for”—I take the gauze bag of almonds from her and read the handwritten label—“‘Jessica and Eamon’ to get married.”
“Jessica is stylist to the stars, you know,” Rani says. “Dresses all the best. I’d list their names except that you are a
pop culture vacuum and wouldn’t care. I’d love to talk to her, but I don’t suppose you should be pitching your vintage fashion
brand on a girl’s wedding day.”
“So, what’s up? I thought you and Alex had everything sorted and were all good.”
“We are,” Rani says with a smile. “It’s not Alex I’m worried about, it’s you.”
“Why are you worried about me?” I scoff unconvincingly. “I am perfectly fine. Everything is fine. It is all good.”
“Ha, you keep telling yourself that, Ava,” she says. “You who have gone from zero love interests to two in record time and
one of them is a . . . not human. This being the same person who couldn’t get out of bed for a week because they changed the
recipe in your favourite breakfast cereal.”
“You don’t understand. You can’t just change things without prior warning,” I tell her. “They should have given written notice
or something. Anyway, I don’t think Forrest counts as a love interest. I think he’s a lust interest.” And the image of his naked chest appears
in my mind’s eye. “It’s weird, Rani. There’s something about him that makes me want to lick him. Like an ice cream. All over,
even, you know, there. Especially there, actually. I mean, what the hell is that about?”
Rani shudders with laughter as she turns to look at me, her eyes bright.
“That’s lust,” she says. “A physical attraction to someone will do that to you. But just because something starts with off-the-chart
chemistry, it doesn’t mean it can’t become something deeper. At least that’s what all the books and movies tell us.”
“Yeah well,” I say. “I think books and movies have a lot to answer for. If it wasn’t because the closest thing I’ve ever had to a real-life romance is a character from a novel I first read at the age of fourteen, Hal wouldn’t have got it into his mainframe to design himself into a living, breathing, kissing version to make me happy. ”
“How was the kiss?” Rani asks. “Every time I try and find out, you change the subject.”
It’s not because I don’t want to talk about it, I’m just not sure how to talk about it.
“It was . . . nice,” I say, with a smile. “Really nice. It felt exactly like I imagined it would to kiss Kai Raider if Kai
Raider was also my friend, but also, maybe because of that, it didn’t feel exactly real.” Taking a breath, I realise it’s
time to fess up to the full extent of this self-created nonsense. “But I did also sort of almost kiss Forrest just before
and that was like being set on fire with flammable pleasure, so, there’s that.”
“Wow, you’ve entered your slut era,” Rani laughs. “Oh my God, you just casually went and rubbed yourself all over another
man on the way to your first kiss! I love it.”
“I’m a terrible person!” I cry, covering my face. “And I’m too old for this. This is teenage-years nonsense. This is round-the-back-of-school-after-the-Friday-dance
nonsense. Honestly, I need to get a grip.”
“Of Forrest’s massive . . .”
“Rani!” I squeal, clapping my hand over her mouth. She removes it.
“You do know that you don’t have to be in a relationship with Hal, even he’s made that clear. Hopefully he means it when he
says it’s up to you and he isn’t about to set about the destruction of the world out of hurt feelings, or something. I mean
it’s not like it’d be the first time a man has done that.”
“A human man, true. But Hal is so much more than just human, and he really means it,” I assure her.
“Anyway, there’s a big part of me that wants what Hal has to offer.
He feels like a kind of homecoming. And I’m pretty sure if we did have sex, it would be really nice.
And there would be orgasms. And he’d make me a cup of tea after. ”
“But . . . ?” Rani prompts me.
“I want to tear Forrest’s clothes off and lick his . . .” I bite my lip. “And the thing is, is that for some reason that I
don’t truly understand, he wants that too. It’s unprecedented in the history of Ava.”
“So, there’s a few days left here. Just get to it with Forrest at every available opportunity.” Rani shrugs.
“Can’t.” I shake my head.
“Why? You’re adults! You’re single! You have opportunity!”
“Because Forrest is a dad, and he’s just starting to find his feet again after losing his wife, and he lives on the other
side of the world, and that might sound ideal for a quick, sexy fling, Rani, but . . .”
“You think you’ll catch feelings, fall in love, and then he’ll be gone, and you will have to marry your Robot,” Rani says.
“It’s sort of like sci-fi Jane Eyre.”
“I have feelings already,” I admit. “He’s an amazing man. With a lickable penis.”
“Dear God, who are you and what have you done with Ava Green?” Rani squawks. She reaches for my hand. “Jessica’s big fancy
wedding is just about ready to kick off outside. Why don’t we go and hang around and rate outfits out of ten. More fun than
being in here not doing anything, right?”
“Not sure,” I say uncertainly.
“That’s it!” Rani gets up. Grabbing my wrist, she starts dragging me across the shiny floor towards the door.
“We are going to have an objective look at what the culmination of a love story looks like and decide if it’s worth all the effort dealing with blokes just to get to the nice dress part. Come on, madam.”
Reluctantly, I get up, and we step outside the lab.
To my horror, I see Hal approaching from inside the house, and Forrest is just coming in through the garden.
“Stop!” Rani holds up her palms at each of them. “Do not speak to her, do not look at her, do not approach her. We are having
a love interest–free day.”
Hal nods and turns around. Forrest looks like he might be about to say something but changes his mind and goes back into the
garden.
“Check me,” Rani says, blowing on her knuckles. “Now come on, queen, we’ve got dresses to see and weddings to crash.”
And that is what I call a diversion.