Chapter 11
“Kim got me a problem, delivered straight to my lab…” I said, the afternoon creeping in as we sat at a cute little pizza place that happened to be exactly equidistant between Pallas and Athena.
Yes, Vi had decided to stay at AthenaTech, for now at least. There was no guarantee that even with the best people and the best preparation that we’d find wild success, and the reality of LA rent prices meant that we’d be in a bad place if the two of us were suddenly unemployed.
I know what you’re thinking, we should just move in with Wendy and Brenda, but Vi and me needed our own space, and the idea of the four of us living together was enticing, but would probably result in us abandoning our very real life responsibilities in exchange for amazing sex.
So, with all that considered, Vi did the reasonable thing and stayed. For now.
“Is she that bad? Emma, you have to at least try to work with her.” Vi folded her slice of pizza and lifted it to her mouth.
Despite my girlfriend’s choice of pastels and bright colors, she seemed to never get a molecule of food on her clothes, even when she ate in a breezy outdoor café like this.
I, meanwhile, already could see a darkened spot of grease on the front of my tank top, the black fabric saving me the embarrassment of the ugly stain for the rest of the day.
“No, she’s not bad. She’s the opposite…she’s distractingly good.” I said.
Vi stared at me for a bit, sizing me up. “You’re reacting in a way too calm way to the idea that someone could be better at your job than you…unless you’re not exactly talking about job skills here.” Vi dabbed the corner of her mouth. “How hot is she?”
“Listen, I don’t want to assume…”
“But you are…”
“Yeah…” I grinned, “like…you don’t work for a cool sex toy company unless you’re at least a little bit of a freak, right?”
“Freak used…respectfully, right?”
“What?” I popped a garlic knot into my mouth. A speck of parsley stuck to my shirt. “Yes, respectfully! I wouldn’t be in this if I wasn’t a freak, Vi.”
“She’s been there for, what, three days, and she’s done something to you, Em. Not unwelcome, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a huge fucking crush on your subordinate.”
“Coworker…mostly…she’s only a junior engineer because of titles…”
“Do you want to fuck the junior engineer who you’ve worked with for three days total, who you haven’t even mentioned her name to your wonderful girlfriend, who might also want to fuck her?”
“It’s Nina, and…me wanting to fuck someone isn’t exactly a rare occasion.”
“Very well aware of that.” Vi said, probably remembering the brief flicker of fantasy we exchanged when we noticed the hip tattoos of the waitress here when she reached across the table to grab our menus.
“So…your birthday is coming up.”
“Yes…”
“Don’t ‘yes’ this, Em, it’s your special day!” Vi said, grinning.
“Shouldn’t I be able to be dismissive of it if it’s all about me?”
Vi rolled her eyes, “you’re no fun.”
“I’m actually, like, really fun, and you’ve said that multiple times. I have the texts to prove it.”
Vi tore a piece of crust off and chewed, beginning to talk just as she finished doing so. For as delicate and sunny my girlfriend was, she was also shockingly casual and didn’t have the best table manners, but that honestly just made her more endearing to me.
“And, so, how are we celebrating?”
“Brenda and Wendy are having a thing for me…you’re acting like you don’t know about it.”
“Yeah, because it’s supposed to be a surprise and all mysterious…”
“But I already noticed you had blocked out the calendar and so had Yara, and…” I frowned a bit, “I’m hard to keep secrets from, aren’t I?”
“My girlfriend, the detective.” Vi reached over and tapped the end of my nose, “I love it.”
—
“So? What does she look like? I’m not letting you get out from under this, my love. Give me the full rundown.”
After spending time with Hinako, I was becoming worried that Vi was starting to have a thing for pressing me on questions.
Yes, our relationship was more or less built around a domme/sub dynamic, but those subs often figured out that ultimately the real power in this whole thing lies with them.
And so, when they know they can press and prompt and demand, they can get a lot of mileage out of that, leaving me to sort of just go with things, including my girlfriend making demands that I give up information.
“Who?”
Vi stared up at me with maybe actual disdain. “Her. Nina.”
“Alright…she’s…really pretty.”
“Oh my god, you have a real crush…this is something I haven’t seen before.
You usually just take what you want.” Vi took a bite of pizza with reckless abandon, a tendril of cheese falling away like a cascading vine, a drop of sauce hitting the plate instead of her lavender blouse.
I wondered if women like her had some kind of force field around them that they could not end up looking like a mess after a meal.
“It feels different, I don’t know…” I said. “She’s…flirty.”
“Like flirtier than me? Than…you?” Vi said in amazement.
“Very possibly, and, she just…is clearly into me, so, it feels like playing on easy mode.” I reached over and draped my hand over Vi’s forearm. “She did seem a little disappointed when I told her I had a girlfriend, though.”
“Oh, so you didn’t tell her all the other stuff.”
“Not yet…” I clicked my tongue, feeling a rush of fun in withholding things from Nina.
“Well, you do understand that this does mean I need to meet this girl you’re crushing on so hard, right, my dear?”
I rolled my eyes. I knew I’d have to give her exactly what she wished for, or she’d keep bugging me about it.
“Soon, ok? Let me just…get a feel for her.” I said.
“And what do you imagine it’s like, feeling her?” Vi smirked.
“It’s already rolling around in my head, don’t worry.”
“I know it is.” Vi leaned over and kissed me on my forehead, leaving a glossy lip print, no doubt. “That big, beautiful, complex head.”
“It’s not that big, it’s within a standard deviation of average.” I grumbled.
“You make this stuff way too easy for me, babe, you can’t keep tossing me softballs.” Vi scrunched up her face at me. The menace.