Chapter 16

128

As it turned out, Carla did know someone who ticked most of the boxes. His name was Simon, and though his eyes were green instead of blue and his features were more chiselled than cute, he did have thick and mussable blond hair, and Carla said his hands were top-notch. Soft, deft, and skilled.

But this booty call would be less impromptu than the first. They couldn’t just call and drop right in, like Kaitlin had with Ophelia and Carla in the first place. While Carla talked with him and made arrangements, Kaitlin hung back. She looked over the picture Carla gave her, and she got herself dressed appropriately.

In the EC body, ‘getting dressed’ included deciding what shape to be. Simon wasn’t a friend like Carla; he wouldn’t see this approximation of the real Kaitlin. Instead, she shifted into that standard, ‘bombshell’ morph. It took so many of Kaitlin’s own natural traits and pumped them up to eleven: over six feet tall, mostly in the legs; dangerous, lush curves; busty as all hell. She adapted to all those easily; the tricky part was how thick her lips were. She felt like she’d been stung by a bee.

With her measurements even more exaggerated than her rental body, Kaitlin didn’t have a lot of options for what to wear. Fortunately, Simon’s tastes were simple. She picked a red bikini — something that fit the rental perfectly, and strained in lovely ways across her new figure.

Part of her marvelled at the thought. When she’d come to Dusk, she’d never had an honest-to-god booty call. Now, she had enough experience to compare them.

While she mused on that, a message came in from Tony. (Are you free? Can we talk?) and a link to their usual V-meet server.

Well, that sounded ominous. After she let Carla know she was going, she rolled into a more long-term comfortable pose, and dived right in.

As she entered the mountainside house, she found Tony and Ai already waiting — and Tony on his feet, hands fidgeting before him. He must have been pacing the whole time, ever since he’d sent the request. Even more ominous.

Though even with omens all around, when he caught sight of Kaitlin, his smile was warm and loving. It felt like a welcome home.

He greeted her with a hug. It was so much less intense than the last one they’d had, in the flesh, but it still reminded her enough of it to send quivers down her spine. “It’s good to see you. Come, come sit down?” As soon as he said the words, a couch and coffee table appeared.

She flopped down, and Tony sat between her and Ai. Kaitlin felt like the only person sitting comfortably: Tony was too fidgety, and Ai too rigid. Though that rigid stance could just be part of her graceful aesthetic, something stood out in how her hands held too still on her lap. Omens, omens everywhere.

“Tea?” Ai suggested, just before a pot and cups appeared on the table.

Huh. They were in VR, but it should be pretty easy to link a VR object with a mem file, so that they — no. Kaitlin shook her head. “Come on.” She nudged Tony with her elbow. “You didn’t invite me here to show me a new tea blend. What’s on your mind?”

His fidgeting grew worse. If those cups were programmed to spill, his would have. “Ah. Well, you see...” He turned to Ai.

Ai didn’t actively help, but she did support him. She laid a hand on top of his arm, warm and encouraging, and gazed back into his eyes without a word spoken.

That was it. Seeing the way she touched him, the way they looked at each other. If Kaitlin was honest with herself, she’d suspected for some time. Ever since Ai had first hinted, the back of Kaitlin’s mind had been working, trying to guess just what lucky man had her attention. At first she’d found it unimaginable ... but then she kept on imagining it. And who else could it be?

“It’s you, isn’t it?” Kaitlin’s voice was soft. She could barely believe what she was saying, but putting voice to it made it feel more real. “You’re sleeping together.”

They both froze, like they’d been caught in headlights with their red hands in the cookie jar. Ai was first to recover, and she mutely nodded in answer. She kept her head low afterwards, nervous, but peeked up to see Kaitlin’s reaction.

Reaction? That’s right. She had to react. She’d been so stunned, she forgot that part. It was one thing to suspect, and something entirely different to confirm. Tony was sleeping with Ai. Having sex with Kaitlin’s own body, treating it like some interchangeable object or toy. He’d seen her naked, tasted her lips, felt her curves with his own hands, heard her moans — though that last one would be much more Ai than Kaitlin. How did she feel about that?

Her breath grew short, her heart hammered in her chest. VR filled in those feelings that she expected to have, even though her avatar didn’t need any more breath than an EC. Damn it, ‘horny’ was not the answer she’d expected to find. Carla was having such influence on her. She really did need to get some things out of her system to work out the deeper answer.

But she knew what she didn’t feel. No disgust. No anger or shame. She was surprised by how okay she was. Only one emotion stood out as being at all negative.

She shoved Tony’s shoulder. “You lucky jerk!”

He reeled from the shove, his eyes wide with panic ... but then he parsed what she’d actually said. “W-Wait. Lucky?”

She kept shoving and thumping him, too softly to actually hurt, but just letting out some agitation. “You’re getting it from Ai? That girl’s stunning. Anyone with any sense would give their right arm for a night with her. Lucky jerk.”

Ai’s face lit up red. “Kaitlin!”

Tony held up his arms, to gently ward away Kaitlin’s equally-gentle assault. “Oh, you don’t know the half of it. The look in her eyes, the way she moans ... it has to be seen to be believed.”

“Tony!” Ai’s voice turned into a squeak, her eyes wide.

Kaitlin just had to laugh. When she started, Tony soon joined in, while Ai just gave them both a bewildered stare. She could tell it felt good for Tony to laugh, to let that tension finally all fall away. In the middle of batting at him, she slipped and fell forward, leaning on his chest. That just made them laugh louder. He wrapped his arm around her, inviting her to flop against his side and catch her breath, figuratively speaking. Even if her avatar didn’t need it, she felt like she needed some air.

Then the situation hit her. She had her hands on his chest. His arm was around her waist. While they both gasped, their eyes were intense on each other’s faces. She could have sworn he glanced at her lips for more than a few seconds.

Ai broke the silence. “So ... you’re not mad?”

That brought Kaitlin back to reality. A reality of not kissing her brother. She sat up straight. It surprised her as much as it surprised them, but... “No.” She fiddled with her hair. Thinking about it more brought a warm blush to her cheeks, but also made her more certain of her answer. “I said you could have sex, and I meant it. Sure, I didn’t think you’d pick Tony, but I’m not taking it back.” But that wasn’t the real, main reason she was so surprisingly okay with it. “Besides...” She smiled, looking past Tony and into Ai’s face. “You treat him right, don’t you?” If anyone would, his Muse would.

“Yes.” Tony answered for Ai without hesitation. Since it was all out in the open now, he hooked his arm around her and pulled her closer to his side.

Kaitlin drew back to get a good look. The affection between them, it was so ... cute. The look on Ai’s face was pure Ai, cool and focused, but with adoration warm in her eyes. It didn’t feel like watching herself adore Tony. What they did wasn’t really incest, it just happened to involve her body. Purely as an object.

Dammit, that should not sound so appealing.

“Good. Good.” Kaitlin drew her legs up onto the couch with her, folding them close to her lap. “Still. Thank you for telling me.”

Tony gave her a look.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, thank you for intending to tell me. I wouldn’t have figured it out if you weren’t all ‘we need to talk’.”

Tony coughed. “I didn’t ... that wasn’t...” But he couldn’t dispute it. He just hugged Ai tighter to comfort himself.

Kaitlin grinned as she checked the message’s specific wording. “Hey now. ‘Can we talk?’ is still close enough.”

Ai lifted her head. “I can assure you we did not run over your dog.”

“What.” It came so completely out of nowhere that Kaitlin just had to laugh. “I don’t even have a dog.” She shook her head. As curious as she was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know how Ai’s line of thinking ended up there. “So, what’s up for you lovebirds now?”

“We’re planning to go to the beach.” Ai answered, because Tony was busy blushing and flailing.

The beach. That reminded Kaitlin of when Ai had first visited with the drone, when they’d spent time on the beach together. And what she’d suggested for if Ai ever went out on the sand for real. Their eyes met, and just the way Ai looked at her — a tiny little smile, the steadiness of her eyes — told Kaitlin that she remembered, and was thinking the same thing.

Oh, that thought would keep her so warm.

A message pinged. Carla. That made her laugh — they were physically in the same room, but she was so deep in VR, Carla had to resort to messaging her. “I need to go soon. You guys have your date, and I have mine. But first...” She reached past to touch Ai’s shoulder. “Can I have a minute with my brother?”

Ai clearly read nothing into it. She simply nodded and signed out, her avatar shimmering out of existence.

Tony, on the other hand, was rooted to the spot. He had an even worse ‘we need to talk’ complex than Kaitlin did.

So she got right to the point. “I know Ai’s going to be good to you. But it goes both ways.” She gave him a long, stern look. “You treat that girl right, Tony. If you don’t, I’ll make you regret it.”

He shook his head. “If I fuck this up with her, I’d regret it plenty on my own. She’s ... incredible.”

“Good.” Kaitlin relaxed, a smile settling onto her face. “I like her.”

He smiled back. “I’m glad. It’s good that you two get along.”

“No.” She shook her head; he’d missed the point. “I like her, Tony.” Her face heated over. She’d never had such a thing for one of Tony’s girlfriends before.

“Oh.” The pin dropped; his eyes went wide. “Oh.”

Thankfully, Kaitlin had a good reason not to sit around and talk about it any more. “I’ve got to go. Love you.” She stole a quick hug, even though it was only virtual. “Say hi to Ai for me.” And with that, she signed out, and cast her way back to Dusk.

She had a lot to think about, but not yet. First, she had another booty call to make.

129

It turned out to be a remarkably fun day. Simon was confident but friendly, a far cry from the arrogance she’d encountered in some other men. He was perfectly happy, even proud, to go straight on camera with her and Carla. Maybe she’d finally put together a video she could share with Ai.

Or at least, she had something to counter Nita with. Damn, she wanted to see the night that led to needing that shower. Was that hypocritical, with how she kept a similar night hidden from Ai?

Still; ‘fun’ was the best way to describe what she did with Simon and Carla. They were sexy and it felt good, and it was fun as all hell to push that Erotic Companion body to its limits. She got acquainted with every vibrator in that body ... and she got her lovers acquainted with them, too.

Round after round after round. All Kaitlin needed was to rehydrate and take a few minutes to clear her head ... but eventually, her more biological partners grew weary, and dropped off to rest and recuperate.

But in the end, it was just ‘fun’. She enjoyed the hell out of it and would do it again, probably over and over as long as she was on vacation. But it didn’t scratch her deeper itches. As she lay there between her unconscious lovers, her mind drifted back. She pictured Ai and Tony, cuddling so closely, their arms around each other...

With a sigh, she shook her head. Maybe sleep would do her good.

God, the synth body was better at everything. She decided to sleep — and then it was like flicking a switch, and she was out like a light. She even dreamed, her mind working through the scrambled process of defragmenting her memories and feelings.

130

In the morning, Kaitlin was first to wake up. She only remembered the edges of her dream — a sense of wanting, and something about mismatched stockings. She sat up, letting the sheet fall away from her skin. It still felt so strange to wake up with no need to yawn or stretch. She hit consciousness running.

And she found something waiting for her. A message from Ai, asking if she could come visit. Kaitlin finished agreeing to it before the smile finished spreading over her face. She so wanted to hear how that trip went.

The drone lifted off to hover near the window, and Ai’s avatar formed around it. She gave Kaitlin a brief, odd look. “Hello, Kaitlin.” Her voice sounded softer than usual, flatter. Her eyes slid from Kaitlin, glancing around the condo, staying low. “You mentioned you had a date? How did that—” She noticed the two naked, unconscious people in bed with her. “Oh. I see it went well.”

Oh no. Kaitlin wasn’t going to babble on about threesomes and ignore those signs. She leapt from the bed and crossed the room; sure, she couldn’t touch her, but she could get closer. “Ai, honey, tell me what’s wrong.”

Ai froze; she hadn’t expected to be called out. Her gaze rested on the floor. “It’s nothing. It’s silly.” Yet, she still sniffled.

“Ai.” Kaitlin injected some firmness into her tone, like she would with Tony. “Talk to me. Did something happen at the beach?”

“No. Well, not exactly.” Ai turned, facing a wall, and drew her arms around herself. “It was okay. Brighter and hotter than I’d thought. Swimming was fun...” But her mood was far enough from ‘fun’ that she couldn’t tell the story.

Kaitlin sat down next to her on the windowsill, close enough to feel her avatar’s lack of substance.

Ai filled the silence. “But then ... I woke up this morning, and...” She finally looked at Kaitlin, with big, sad eyes. With a ripple, her avatar updated. “I’m tanned now.” She said it like it was the end of the world.

“Oh, sweetie...” Kaitlin didn’t let herself laugh. It mattered to Ai. She could understand why; that beautiful bronze didn’t create the same ethereal impression with her dark makeup and clothes.

Now that Ai had let it out, the words kept coming, at a pace like a swift, babbling river. “I thought we’d used enough sunscreen, and Tony had been so thorough in putting it on me, but the SPF wasn’t high enough for your skin—”

“Ai.”

“—and it’s all my fault because I should have researched, and now I have and it’ll take weeks for this tan to fade—”

“Ai!” Kaitlin interrupted by bombarding her with every hug she had saved in that folder.

That arrested her downward momentum. Ai stopped mid-word and stared at her.

Good. She was listening. Kaitlin smiled at her. “Firstly: you’re still gorgeous. Anyone with eyes would drool over you. Hell, I want to see how far that tan goes.”

Ai laughed, the sound soft and small and all mixed in with her sniffles. Kaitlin’s heart could have melted — and then it did melt when she smiled again. Like the softest ray of sunshine.

Kaitlin drew closer. If Ai had a body, they’d have been pressing into each other. “But I know it’s not the kind of gorgeous you want to be. So here’s what we’ll do.” She sent a link; she’d already heard about a ‘solution’ from Jackie.

Ai looked to the side. From Kaitlin’s perspective, it looked like she was just staring into space. “Lunar Beauty skin cream...” As she read, her eyes grew wider. “I couldn’t.”

Kaitlin grinned. “Well, if you’d have trouble spreading the cream, I’m sure someone could help...”

“That’s not what I meant!” Ai sat up straighter. “Kaitlin ... yes, that skin cream would make me pale again. Paler than ever. But the effects last for months. When you come back, your body—”

Kaitlin held up a finger. “I’m giving you permission, right here and now, to use this stuff. And I don’t want to hear about ‘my’ body. I want you to think of it as ‘our’ body, okay?”

“But that’s...” It was entirely her right. Ai stared at her, stunned. “ ... thank you.” She looked at Kaitlin like, if it were physically possible, she would have kissed her.

Damn physical possibility.

Kaitlin jerked away from that, hopping back to her feet. “Anyway. Yes. My date was...” She looked at Carla and Simon, still sleeping it off. “It went well.”