Artificial Mates - Chapter 6

The pillow on which my face rested was unusually solid. I groaned and rolled to my side. Hard cushion poked into my ribs, making it hard to breathe. I blinked a couple of times, but everything was blurry.

“Good morning, Liliane,” said a cheerful voice next to me. I sprung up and found myself on someone’s lap.

“What…?” I pushed away and nearly fell to the floor.

“Careful!” said Demos as he grabbed me by the waist. To make things worst Grant kept giggling.

“Silly. Why are you so clumsy?” he pointed at me. I gasped at him as Demos helped me to my feet. I stepped as far as possible from Mr. big bad wolf and glared at the stupid elf.

“I thought companions should respect their owners!” I snapped at him and his smile was gone in a second.

“You’re going to be late for work,” he added in a flat tone. My eyes widened and I check my bracelet for the time. It said 7:32 am.

“Shit! Shit!” I rushed to my room. I’ll deal with them when I get back. When I got back from the bathroom, I came face to face with the pile of clothes on my bed. I completely forgot to put it away last night.

“Damn it, I’ve to clean up when I get back,” I pulled a red polka dress from the top of the pile, covered it with a yellow pullover too large for me along with a pair of red flats. I didn’t bother combing my hair.

“Done!” I stared at my reflection in the mirror and groaned. Those were excessively flashy for me but I didn’t have time to change. The moment I stepped into the living room, both guys looked up at me. Demos was standing by the entrance, fully dressed in the new outfit we bought yesterday. Grant was in the kitchen still rocking his strip T-shirt and gray sweatpants. Had they already assigned roles?

“I’ve got your lunch ready,” he waved a plastic container as proof. I stopped in my tracks.

“When…?” I started but got cut short with Demos impatient tapping. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Where do YOU think I’m going?” he answered my question with another. I sighed I was too late to deal with drama. I needed my caffeine.

“Whatever,” I said, letting it drop. Grant placed the container in a small canvas bag, which he handed to me. I eyed the bag with suspicion. Has he gone through my stuff?

“Take it, I’ve used what I could salvage from your fridge. I really need to do some shopping. Can we talk about the utilities and your finance when you come back?” I pulled a long face but reluctantly took the bag.

“Sure,” he leaned and kissed my forehead. I gasped at him.

“What did I tell you about keeping your hands… and stuff to yourself?” Grant chuckled at my sudden outburst. His silver eyes glittered in delight.

“Have a nice day, Liliane,” I strode to the entrance where Demos held the door opened for me.

“How are you going to get back?” I asked as we got into the corridor. A deserted corridor waited for us. I was lucky to live in such a nice building where everyone mostly kept to himself or herself. Less drama. Fewer headaches.

“Jil made me a pass and I’ll walk back,” my head snapped in his direction.

“Walk back? Do you know how far it is?” he nodded in silence. “Damn it, you don’t have to accompany me,” he pressed his lips together. He clearly wasn’t going to listen and the clock was ticking.

“Ok, I’ll give you money for the ticket then, later on, I’ll apply for a long term subscription,” I sighed then rushed to the elevator with him on tow. He reached the call button before I did. Damn, he’s fast. In the elevator, I tried to fix my hair without success. Jil greeted us in the hall with a smile. She upgraded his privilege to a resident pass that I needed to confirm so both of them can freely roam in the building. Demos waited patiently by the counter. They exchange flirty gaze causing me to roll my eyes. I exited without waiting for him when the registration was done. When I peeked over my shoulder, he grinned at me. A playful grin. Damn him.

“The Transfer will arrive in two minutes,” I informed him. He snatched my lunch bag from my hand.

“First one there gets to ask the loser a favor!” he shouted at me before dashing around the corner. Curious onlookers hurrying to work turned to look at me.

“Damn it!” I spat between clenched teeth, then ran as fast as I could behind me. When I reached the platform, my lungs were burning from the effort. My hair was even worse than it was before. I rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

“You’re pretty out of shape,” said a deep voice with a hint of mockery. I looked up at him leaning against a column on platform seven.

“Out of shape my ass! You’re an artificial no human can compete with you,” I retorted with the same mocking.

“You’re right,” he smiled full of pride. “I win!” he rejoiced, rubbing his hands together.

“You cheated,” I spat between breaths. A bell rang announcing the Transfer arrival. He pushed away from the column and I straightened up. Eager to get on board a crowd gathered around us. Demos pulled me by the waist closer to him.

“Stay close,” he said over the noise of the station.

“You know, I take the Transfer every day for the last seven years. I don’t think anything major will happen just because you’re here,” he tilted his head to the side; his lips met the top of my head. I tried to move away, but there wasn’t any room. He pulled harder, pressing me against his side.

“Hey, what….” The rest was lost in the hissing sound the high-velocity vehicle made as it glided over the magnetic rails. It slowed to a halt in front of us before opening all its doors in sync.

“The 7:40 pm W345 Transfer to Sector thirteen B, fourteen A, and seventeen C has arrived at Platform seven. Please allow the passengers to get off in an orderly manner before getting on board. We thank you for your cooperation,” said a female voice over the speaker.

The crowd moved aside to make space for the people getting off, then formed a line to get in. I slid my bracelet twice to pay for our tickets by the door. When we got in the space was already half-filled. Demos guided me to the side next to an exit door. I pressed my back to the window with him facing me. As the Transfer took in more passengers, the space between us decreased. An alert rang, signaling the departure of the vehicle by then he was inches away from me. He had one of his arms held up, preventing the man from standing right next to me to touch me. I swallowed the lump in my throat; my heart was racing and my palm sweaty. He looked down at me.

“It’s ok, it won’t be long,” the guy next to us gave up a quick peek. It made me worst. I turned my face away from Demos. The engines emitted a high hiss and the wagon rocked I clung to the front of his T-shirt for support. The Transfer slowly moved forward, then it gradually picked up speed. When it reached top speed, the rocking stopped. As my heart slowed to its normal rate, I realized I was holding on to him. I instinctively looked up at his face. His handsome features seemed so peacefully, his eyes fixed on the speeding scenery.

“It’s my first time in this type of transportation,” he murmured, then tilted his head to face me. I couldn’t help smiling at him. It was mesmerizing to look into his eyes.

“It’s my first time experiencing all this. It’s a little scary though,” a timid smile played on his lips. My cheeks became hot and I have to look away. We stayed in the same position until we reach our stop at SolTech. I caught a glimpse of a few of my colleagues, which I really wanted to avoid. The factory had a corridor that directly linked it to the platform where we were standing. Huge containers were loading and unloading from SolTech huge storage doors off the tracks all day long. It saved them the trouble of transporting their precious goods.

“You want me to accompany you to your work?” said Demos, his eyebrow furrowed as he looked down at me. He clearly didn’t want to. Which was a little odd? I took my lunch bag.

“It’s ok. Also, I don’t know how to explain things if someone asks questions,” he gave me a tight smile. I went to one of the automatic ticketing machines slid my bracelet on to purchase a ticket to Level twenty-two.

“Here,” I handed him the ticket. Instead of taking it, he took my hand in his.

“Have a nice day, If you want me to pick you up just let Jil know,” he bore his eyes into mine. I wanted to protest, I wanted to brush his request with sarcasm. I just couldn’t. I slowly nodded and he let go of me as he retrieved the ticket.

“Bye, Liliane,” he waved as I made my way to the corridor. When the wall curved, I gazed over my shoulder certain he would be gone. Yet, here he stood with his hands in his pocket still looking at me. I hurried away to hide my red face. What was happening to me?

My morning went by smoothly. I had to scold myself for time to time as my mind drift back to them. I wondered what they were doing, I kept thinking. If Demos got home safely. At ten after the coffee break, the curiosity was killing me. I had to know. I went back to my workstation and sunk into my seat.

“Utilities. Access security camera feeds,” I said to my bracelet. Various tiny screens appeared before me. I recognized my entrance and the kitchen. Demos was sitting in the living room, staring off in the distance.

“What was he doing?” I murmured. “Zoom camera 4 to the couch,” the image enlarged on the handsome guy sitting. He blinked and faced the camera. I jumped back in my seat. My heart skipped a beat. Did he notice me? I searched the other screen for Grant and found him in my room. I frowned at the image. He was sitting on my bed folding the pile of clothes I left yesterday. He was grinning, then his head moved up one corner of the room.

“What are you looking at?” I leaned closer to see. The door opened, Demos came in. He instantly looked up at the camera.

“Shit! How does he know I’m spying on them?” I gasped at the image in surprise. Grant got to his feet and turned to the camera too. I slid my hand over the screen cutting the feed. I slashed my palms over my cheeks.

“Get back to work, Liliane,” I scolded myself.

The next hour was terrible; I had to pull all kinds of tricks to stay focus. By lunch, I was exhausted. Grant little lunchbox brighten my day. It’s been a while since I’ve set foot in the cafeteria. I usually buy something from the vending machines in the corridor, and then eat it at my workstation. My knees trembled as I made my way there. The shiny double door creaked opened and everything eyes in the room turned to rest on me. My red polka dress and yellow pullover made me stand out even more. The room was too quiet. I hurried to the row of mini ovens. Pulled the door open and stuff the container in. I kept my eyes on the floor scared to attract unnecessary attention.

“Liliane Kerry, right? From the quality control,” said a male voice to my right. I looked up with wide eyes at the speaker. He was in his mid-thirties, black hair that curled over his ears. His piercing blue eyes stared right into mine. “I’m Jay Dawson, I’m a bit of a celebrity around here,” he said with a broad smile. His eyes flickered for a second on the table behind him. There were a dozen guys staring at us with interest. He held out a hand for me to shake. I just stared at it. As the silence between us stretched, he shifted on his feet and took his hand away placing it in his pocket.

“I haven’t seen you much around here, have I?” he kept his corporate smile on. The oven beeped saving me from having to answer. I squeezed my way out of the conversation and retrieved my food not caring about the heat.

“We should hang out sometime,” he said behind me. I ignored him rushing out of the cafeteria of doom to the exit on the left of the building. I knew there was a patch of green with some trees by that exit. Settling on a bench, I took out a plastic fork and dived in the container. I was presently surprised. The food was edible… more than edible it was delicious. He made stir fried rice with vegetable. I grinned as I dig in. I should get them something I thought. Somehow, It’s nice to have them around. Did that mean I was ok letting them stay? What if they wanted more?