Chapter 35
With every week that goes by, it's been bliss. It actually feels really nice seeing Gabrielle at work. It really is nice.
Even with her schedule, she still finds a way to make breakfast for me. Lunch too, if she thinks I might want it. I sit with her during breaks. I used to sit with Sarah, and Sarah has been noticeably irritated by the entire situation.
To the point where she tries to eat with us. I can see her trying to get into Gabby's good graces.
Gabby will talk to her on occasion. But that old arm's length comes out, and then I notice how sometimes Gabby will pull away and choose to eat with Fabian. I don't like the conversation she and I had about dating other people.
I can't fathom dating someone else. Even for the couple of years I didn't see her at all, it still didn't really appeal to me.
Of course, it fleetingly crossed my mind.
What if?
Could I do it?
Would I be a good partner?
Would I mess up again?
And then there were always the thoughts that coupled those lines of thinking, wondering if anyone would ever measure up to Gabrielle. Because so far, nobody has. And I don't think that anybody ever will. That's the horrible part about all of it.
I usually work from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and with the date creeping closer for these packages to finally go out, the pre-orders piled, the deadlines closing in, work has been brutal.
But I’ve been feeling lighter. I sleep in the bed with Gabrielle at night. It’s been a few weeks now. Well over a month. Almost two. Ever since she gave me that incredible blowjob.
She’s teased me mercilessly since then; wandering around the house in skimpy clothes, Singing in the shower and then getting out butt naked.
She probably figures, why hide? I've done the same with her. Walking around naked. And both of us smiling at each other.
I've tried several times to make a move on her. Trying to kiss her. Trying to feel her up in bed.
And it's been torture for me. I've masturbated quite a bit. Since we’re not on that “deal” anymore, it’s all I can do to keep myself sane. Even sleeping right next to her, I still end up nutting through my boxers onto her ass because I spoon her most nights.
It kills me when I think about how… back when we were married, I pulled away from her. Sleeping with my back to her. Probably out of guilt. Or too preoccupied looking for greener grass.
Even now, in this very moment, all I want to do is hold her. Thoughts of making love to her.
Of sitting down and massaging her like she often asks me to. She does the same; returns the favor. We give each other scalp massages.
But I'll just think about doing the most innocent things with her. We've gone out several times. To go see the seagulls.
This time, Morris, who has gotten much, much bigger, ventures off leash. She's got the cat so trained that he doesn't even need the harness on him anymore.
Of course she keeps it on. But half the time she doesn't need the leash. He follows her around.
Like a little puppy. You'd swear he was a dog in another life. That is officially her cat now.
At work, my cat strolls around the department like he owns every square inch of it. As if this place is his second home.
Honestly, he’s probably just thrilled to have more territory to explore. Anywhere Gabby is, Morris is happy to be.
The CEO claps his hands once with a commanding air, pulling everyone together for a meeting.
"Alright, team," the CEO says, clapping his hands again to get our attention.
"First off, you're all doing a great job.
Seriously, the energy in here has been electric, and it's paying off.
We're getting ready to do shipments in just a few weeks, so everybody be ready for that.
We've got the pre-orders stacking up, and by May 5th, these babies are hitting the field.
Let's keep crushing it. No slacking now. "
A wave of cheers rises across the department. People immediately start murmuring, imagining what it’ll be like when those first units land in real homes, when actual users start relying on Auralis.
We go down the list of things we’ll have to monitor:
Tasks a robot might misread.
Unusual household layouts.
Owners who will undoubtedly push the unit past intended parameters.
Even outside the customer’s oversight, we’ll be paired with the robots remotely. If a task stalls, if something jams, if a unit freezes, we’re the ones who step in.
So far, Auralis has been gliding through testing. A few minor bugs, but nothing catastrophic. By the deadline, everything should be ironed out.
It’s April 2nd now. And by May 5th, they ship.
Hopefully it will be a success and everyone's pretty nervous. Now with things ramping down a bit, the CEO is not on everyone's ass as much. There’s a little breathing room for once.
A short gap opens up in the schedule. Since I’d asked to start two hours earlier; at 7 a.m. so I could come in with Sarah, I can usually leave a little sooner unless something urgent comes up. Most days that means I’m home by 5 p.m., and the other techs cover whatever remains.
Of course when needed I can also monitor things from home if absolutely necessary. Sarah isn't exactly happy with this. But the thing is I have found that I don't really care that much about making Sarah happy anymore.
Except if it pertains to work. She's still a great work partner. And what we're doing here is amazing.
The boss has already started outlining the next round of upgrades for Auralis. Even though there's a bit of thrill at the idea, right now, all I want is to get home and settle in with Gabby to watch one of our favorite shows.
She already went home for the afternoon. She usually hugs me goodbye but I didn't see her.
My fingers begin typing out a text.
Me: Hey you left and you never hugged me goodbye. I'll see you when I get home.
No response. Is she okay?
The surveillance camera for the outside never pings, which tells me she never got home. I'm worried.
Then my phone vibrates, a single thumbs-up emoji, nothing more.
That's literally all she gives me.
Me: Are you okay?
Gabby: Yeah I'm fine. Get home safe. Talk to you later
Maybe she stopped to pick up something.
Anyway.
I finish up around 5 p.m. I can't get out the door fast enough.
Sarah catches me just before I exit.
“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go get dinner later.”
Damn it. Honestly, that's the last thing I want right now.
“No, I’m kind of busy,” I brush off.
“Lincoln,” she says, her soft voice sounding sad. “We don’t hang out anymore at all. And I thought you said that Gabby and you weren’t together. Or at least that’s what she said.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not. But I already made plans with Gabby.”
Sarah stares at me. “What? You’re just gonna ditch me now and not be friends with me anymore?”
“I don’t want to lead you on, Sarah. We’re not going to hook up again.”
Sarah smiles, but it’s thin. “I thought we knew each other better than that. You know, more than just a hook up.”
I return a small smile. “You think that if you and I get together right now, that we’re not going to end up hooking up or doing something that involves sex in some way, shape, or form?”
“Are you fucking Gabrielle?” she asks bluntly.
“No, I wish I was, but we’re just genuinely friends.”
“That’s how it starts. We were friends too.”
“I have a lot more history with her. It’s a lot easier with her. I mean, I liked hanging out with you too, but for you and me, it was just about sex.”
There's a weird look on Sarah's face. Almost like I wounded her.
“Right?” I ask.
She blinks twice, then forces a tight smile. “Of course. Yeah, I like hanging out with you anyway. You were my friend. So it’s not just about sex. I genuinely liked hanging out with you.”
“Yeah, but all we did is have sex.”
“No, we also went and had dinner. We hung out. We went to the theme park. We watched TV together.”
“Yeah,” I say, smiling faintly, “which always led to sex or came right before it.”
She holds my gaze a moment longer, expression tight. “Anyway, have a good one. It’s okay. I got a date anyway.”
My heart pricks a little bit. There's a small part of me that's curious about what that could mean, but then it leaves as quickly as it came. That's a latent part of my manhood telling me I should protect and possess this woman.
But my heart is telling me that I really don't give a fuck. And right now I just want to go home. "All right, have fun," I say.
Sarah wipes the smile off her face that didn't look genuine in the first place.
And I head home.
Sometimes I drive, sometimes I take the shuttle… mostly because on the shuttle Gabby and I can trade turns on my little handheld game or work a puzzle together.
That's the nice part about going into work with her. Sarah and I never did intimate things like that.
We talked to each other, but it was always just performative, at least from my side.
I reach the house. Morris isn’t there.
Where the hell are Gabby and Morris?
“Gabby,” I call out.
Nothing.
I see leftovers in the fridge. I'm so hungry. I want to wait for her.
We usually have dinner together. The show is coming on at around 9 p.m. And I'm excited. She should have been back by now, though.
It's past 9 p.m. now and Gabby is nowhere to be found. I sent her four texts asking if everything's okay, if she's fine. She sent me back a thumbs up… nothing else.
Around 11 or 12 p.m., she's walking through the door with Morris on her back, his head sticking out of her bag.
I sit up on the couch, arm on the backrest, looking over at her through the door. I stand and help her with the bag, bringing it to the kitchen.
Something doesn't feel right.
"Where were you?" I ask.
She smiles, her face glowing with a relaxed, refreshed look, like she’s just come back from a spa day.
“Oh, sorry, I…” She trails off, falling silent.
What the hell?
“Gabby.”
"Yeah," she answers.
"Where were you?" I shrug my shoulder, losing my patience.
"I went out. I just had fun today, that's all," she says.
"You know, I don't always like to stay in the house."
I feel uneasy.
"You took Morris out with you the entire day? I was kind of worried. I mean, I know you say he's your cat, but he is still technically my cat."
"Next time I'll make sure that I bring him home."
"No, I'm still technically paying you to watch him."
"Yeah, which I did. He never left my sight. He's always with me. I'm enriching his life. What's the problem, Lincoln? What the hell's wrong with you?"
I chuckle sarcastically and wipe my face.
"You left work from—okay, I'm just trying to understand what's going on, because you get off of work at 3 p.m. And I don't know, I just thought we made plans and everything, and I just felt like you ditched me.
You didn't even say goodbye, and you were being very short with your text messages.
It just feels like… like I made you upset or something. "
She smiles; something that breaks my heart.
I want to hold her so bad.
"I'm sorry, Link," she says. "I was just having fun. I like to do other stuff outside of you too."
"Did you go to see the seagulls?" I ask.
"No," she says.
I chuckle, feeling nervous.
She smiles but says nothing, then looks over at the TV.
"Oh no, did I miss the show?" she asks.
"Gabby…"
I'm not going to let this go.
"What happened? Did you record it?"
I lick my lips, trying not to lose my patience.
"What is going on, Gabby?"
"With what, Lincoln?" she asks.
"Where were you? Why won't you answer me?"
"I told you. I was out," she counters.
"Where were you? Why won't you answer the fucking question?"
She turns fully toward me, eyes narrowing, brows pinching together.
"Last time I checked, we're not dating. We're not married. I don't gotta tell you the fuck where I am or what I'm doing."
I draw a slow breath through my nose.
"When you have Morris, yes you do."
She throws up her hands.
"Okay, then fire me, and I'll leave him home here with you. Since you're clearly going to be here earlier, then you should keep him with you then."
I'm so confused at this moment in time.
She's being such a fucking bitch. Like, I'm not asking her too much. I want to know where she's taking my cat.
It's as simple as that.
"If you're going to quit, then you're going to have to leave my house then."
She smiles. "Fine, that can be arranged."
Then she goes to her guest room and closes the door.
What the fuck is happening?
After heading for my own room, I answer her dismissal with a slam of my door.
Morris scratches at it from the hallway.
I open the door and let Morris in and then slam the door again.
Why is she fighting with me?
Where was she?
Why would she leave from work and not come straight home?
Yeah, I've done that too. But she's being very cagey with me.
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