“I’ll go anywhere you want—but I only want to interact with you. You’re all the show I really care about seeing. I know I grew up on a trashy planet—”
“Elio. No planet is perfect. The Sirius Federation has plenty of seedy spots. I wouldn’t say Anubis West is squeaky clean. But it’s an adventure! Perfect for two busy, serious people to take a night off, and break a couple more rules.”
“I like the sound of that.” Elio slid the chip into the port and felt a shiver of energy run through him. His screen flashed, “Accept holographic simulation?”
Lycen showed him that her wrist cuff said the same. “On three?”
“On three.”
ELIO GASPED WHEN THEYlanded in the middle of a swanky club, the kind he’d only ever seen on screens. Things were dark and lush, crowded with Canids. He looked down at himself, expecting to see his best clean non-uniform trousers and a cleanwhite shirt, and instead saw a black suit in the latest style, polished boots, and a red flower of some kind in his hand. “Oh. For you.” He tried to shake off his awe and show some manners, offering the flower to Lycen with a courtly bow.
“Ooh, Sagerose. My favorite,” she took it with a smile.
Elio stared as she inhaled the flower’s fragrance, marveling at how real everything looked and felt.
And Lycen... Her blue dress had been stunning, but this... This thing was sinful. It was a scrap of shimmering black, painted onto her curves, showing off long, limber legs and full, firm breasts. “Is this... Is that really you? I m-mean, because the dress—” he stammered.
“It’s me,” she said shortly. “I’ve had this simulation for a dozen cycles. It knows my body. We’re real to each other. We can touch.” To demonstrate, she pulled him suddenly out of the way of a passing waiter carrying a tray of fancy drinks, and he found himself bouncing against her side.
Feeling bold, like maybe he could show her a good time, even if it was all fake, Elio wrapped his arm around her hip. “One day, I’ll take you here for real, baby. If that’s where you want to go,” he said, determined—and a little nervous. Was “baby” too much too soon?
“I know you could. Or would. I don’t know if I want to go to some place like this.” Lycen swayed her body against his, guiding him into a dimly lit corner, sagerose now tucked against her ear, making her look even more beautiful. “But I know if I did, I’d want to go there with you. Baby.”
“Oooh. Lycen,” he hissed when his back hit the wall—how did that feel so solid?—and she stroked her hands down his chest, then her curves. “Is this how they dance here?” He looked around and immediately blushed.
No. This was mild. The rest of the Canid couples around them were welded together tighter than an airlock’s seal.A slender jackal prowled past, mouth growling around his partner’s neck, his hands cupping her ass in a short red dress.
Lycen tugged him along the wall. “This place is too overheated. Let’s go to the terrace. See a show?”
“Good plan.” Itwasa good plan—his body was just acutely disappointed by the lack of contact with Lycen’s soft, abundant curves. Elio didn’t want to kill the romantic mood, but he didn’t want to seem overeager, either. He kept his arm around her waist, leaning in as she wrapped her arm over his shoulder. “This is nice.”This is perfect.
“Really? I’m so glad. I’ve noticed that almost all of the human couples in media have a taller male and a shorter female. I was afraid this would be too different.” Lycen gave him a nervous smile, allowing him another peek under her ever-in-control armor. “And the fur thing. Is that okay?”
“I love it. I mean, I don’t just love it, I love you—I mean, I’m not just in love with your body, I like the way you look, but also who you are, so of course I like how tall and goddess-like you are, and I love how soft and thick your fur is, and yeah. Yeah. It’s great. Can we get drinks in here? Probably not.”
Lycen just chuckled at his frantic explanation. “I’m glad you’re not shallow, Elio,” she murmured as they walked up a tall, curving staircase.
Elio felt the elevation change, even though he knew they were both just holding hands and walking in place in Lycen’s quarters. The disorientation didn’t distract him for long. He was mesmerized by the way she looked in the tight little dress, leading him up the stairs like she was taking him to heaven.
“I guess,” she ducked her head, and Elio realized it was the Canid equivalent of a blush, “that I’m wondering if it’s just something you tolerate out of affection, or would it ever be something you actually want?”
“Oh. I want. I want very much. But, uh, not too much. An appropriate amount of want?” Elio tried to drag his jaw up from the floor when she turned at the top of the staircase, a few steps and a few feet over him, shrouded in hazy pink light and the scents of unfamiliar flowers. “So much,” he whispered, noticing that after so many cycles of stress and trying to survive, to learn, to adjust—his libido was making a big comeback.
But big enough for her? That was a whole new fear.
“Am I enough for you?”
Lycen reached down and pulled him up the final steps, bringing him flush against her once again. “More than enough.”
“But there are probably differences?”
“We’re goal-oriented. We’d make it work.”
THE SHOW WAS A DOZENcomedians, with all different styles of humor. The holographic audience around them laughed when they did, and sometimes when they were supposed to have. They sipped drinks that didn’t exist, but the taste lingered on their tongues, just like sageroses perfumed the air.
It was tempting to forget that they were in a simulation—especially when they decided to try the club’s rooftop dancefloor next. “This is real. All too real,” Elio murmured into her neck, chin on her breast.
“Too real?”
