Page 44 of CHOICE Lover
“We kissed and had an argument, so you immediately get a manupartner?” Electra shouts as he guides Chryl into his unit. Given the frequency of Electra’s shouting, she must get some enjoyment out of it. Perhaps he should hire a private tutor for a Respectful and Considerate Conduct Course.
He sits calmly on the couch, patting the spot next to him. Chryl plops down next to him. “This is Chryl. Chryl, Electra.”
“Wow! She’s pretty. Is this going to be a three-way thing? How kinky!” Chryl exclaims, patting the spot next to her.
“No, it is absolutely not,” Electra snaps, planting her clenched fists on the back of the opposite L of the couch so she’s facing them. She turns her laser-sharp gaze to him, hissing, “You. Are. Unbelievable.”
“Please sit down so I can explain,” he says.
“I’ll stand, thanks.” She stubbornly crosses her arms.
“Feisty one, isn’t she?” Chryl says. “I bet the sex will be explosive!”
Res6 wipes his eyes. He really shouldn’t have chosen a manupartner so indiscriminately, because whoever selected Chryl’s traits clearly chose vivacious, SexcitableTM, and audacious—all traits he never would have chosen. “Chryl, please go wait in the spare room and remember what we talked about.”
“Sure thing, handsome. I may have a little surprise for you when you’re ready.” Chryl mimes zipping her lips closed before winking and sauntering toward the door.
“The one on the left, and please, no surprises.” He slumps back onto the cushions, defeated.
“Whatever you like, handsome,” she says, slipping inside.
Electra points an accusatory finger at the door Chryl is safely ensconced behind. “So she’s allowed to know what’s in your supersecret room, but not me? The actual real person who lives with you, who might feel a little better knowing there isn’t a gaggle of re-animated corpses behind that door.”
His mouth falls open. The carefully thought-out words he hoped would smooth things over get lodged somewhere between his brain and his throat.It seems you are throwing me off my carefully curated routine. I thought having a manupartner, which I often do, might help me resist your presence and regain a sense of security and personal space.
Granted, it’s been a few years since he turned his last unit in for recycling. Admitting the level of boredom he’s reached in recent years would probably make him a hypocrite. Though it would explain his interest in the next wave of more LifeLikeTMadvancements. He sighs as a wave of emotional exhaustion rolls through him.
“Hello?” Electra presses. They stare at each other in a stalemate for a long moment. Her lip quivers, and a tear rolls down her cheek—a horrifying sight. “Fine. You don’t owe me an explanation, I guess. I just really don’t like this.” More tears fall.
Though he has a strange urge to go to her, wipe the tears away, and wrap her in his arms, he roots himself to the couch. Getting involved was a mistake, and it will be best for both of them if she figures this out on her own.
Still, it would be considerate to explain his behavior, but now that he’s facing her, his planned speech seems insufficient. “I don’t mean to make you cry, but Chryl feels necessary.”
“You made me believe you might give a shit about me.” She looks down her nose at him. “As if you’re capable.”
“You said there’s nothing between us.”
“That isn’t what I said.” She resolutely plants her hands on her hips.
“Then what did you say?”
“It doesn’t matter. Come to think of it, you’re right. Chryl can be your advertising from now on.”
“Electra!” he calls after her as she storms back into the bedroom.
It’s obvious Res6 has misevaluated everything to do with Electra from the beginning. For instance, he now realizes how he might have misled her. He needs to convince her that their misunderstanding was purely accidental. Really, how could he develop an affection for a woman who respects his life purpose so little? Who rejected him after what he thought was a groundbreaking kiss. Not that he’s developing an affection just because he admitted to himself that he likes her. At least the kiss and their subsequent misunderstanding reminded her that she does not, in fact, like him. So even if he is tempted, there’s no concern.
Chryl pops her head out the door, glancing around, presumably for Electra. “Is the coast clear?”
He sighs, nodding.
“Good, because there’s a half-formed man quivering in the closet and it’s giving me the creeps.”
She’s referring to the fourth Jerme trial using synthesized DNA. It hasn’t failed yet, thankfully, since Res6 is already dealing with so much inner turmoil as it is. He points to the cushion beside him. “You can sit here. I’m going to do some reading, so keep quiet.” She perches on the spot, staring at him eagerly. Anticipation is evident in her bright blue eyes.
Since he’s had years of practice with countless eager manupartners, ignoring her is easy. He leans back on the couch, determinedto let his troublesome thoughts slip away. Now that Electra knows he’s reading her books, he doesn’t think she’ll mind if he continues.
He reaches a chapter where the red-skinned, horned hero has the anti-damsel pinned against a wall in a cave on the outskirts of his kingdom. Vorack is growling something possessive in his native tongue into the heroine’s ear, but he has yet to learn that Ella didn’t run from him. The enemy clan kidnapped her, and she only just escaped before the tribe forced her into a marriage with their leader. While Res6 is keen to finish the scene, because he is fairly certain what comes next, it might be wise to save it for later. The couple’s first encounter, which had only amounted to some heavy foreplay, was quite arousing, after all.
