Arthur: And you can’t ask Cal about my sessions because they’re confidential
Elliot: Bingo
Arthur: But you can have great sex with me and interrogate me about my confidential sessions?
Elliot: You’re cooking with fire now, Coach
Arthur: Don’t turn me on when we’re at work.
Elliot: Don’t be so easy to turn on.
Elliot: Stop stalling and tell me how your session went
Arthur: Fine
Elliot: Fine you’ll tell me? Or the session went fine?
Arthur: Fine, I will tell you that the sessionwas fine.
Elliot: Just fine?
Arthur: Yes
Elliot: …
Arthur: It was fine. She’s getting me to do the same things you did. She’s a lot meaner than you are but her hands are warmer. But she’s not afraid of me, so I can work with her.
Elliot: Are you afraid of her?
Arthur: Of course. But if you tell her that, I will deny it.
Elliot: Who scares you more? Her or me?
Arthur: You, Boss.
Elliot: Liar.
Arthur: I’m serious. You terrify me. And I like it. Never stop.
“Doyou have one of those AI boyfriends or something?”
I’d been so invested in my texting with Arthur that I forgot I wasn’t alone until Cal’s question burst my bubble. “I…no…I mean…what?”
She doesn’t look away from the cabinet she’s restocking. “I heard on the radio that a man married his AI girlfriend. Had a ceremony and everything. I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept, but the way you’re looking at your phone like you want it to get you pregnant, I thought I’d ask.”
My throat goes dry and when I attempt a laugh, only a cough comes out. “I am not dating anyone, sentient or artificial.” It’s not an outright lie. I don’t know what to call what Arthur and I are doing. Dating feels like courting, which has an ultimate end game of marriage. We’re just two people who enjoy spending time together. And some of that time, we’re naked. It’s not everyone’s idea of a fairy tale, but it’s the happiest I’ve felt in years. Maybe ever?
It’s hard not telling people, but both Arthur and I have agreed it’s for the best. From a professional standpoint, it’s better for both of us if people don’t know we’re involved. Neither of us want to be the subject of water cooler gossip. He has a team to lead. I am a woman in a male-dominated workforce which can be a challenge on its own without people questioning if you really deserve to be here or if you’re just sleeping with a higher up.
And then there’s Sam. I don’t like keeping things from him, but I also don’t want to confuse him, or worse, get his hopes up. He’s already been through enough since his father left. I know that he said he’d be fine with me dating. And I know he likes Arthur. He hasn’t said it in so many words, but I can tell just by the way he is around him. There’s respect, but also an ease that he doesn’t have with many people. The last thing I want is for him to get attached to Arthur only to lose him if we stop being…whatever we are.
“I’m relieved to hear it,” Cal continues, closing the cabinet door and dusting off her hands. “I try not to judge people’s life choices, but a bot wife is a bit much.”
“Excuse me?”
Cal’s wife, Nadine, fills the treatment room doorway. She’s tall and fair, all long lines and quiet confidence, pale hair pulled back from a sharp, elegant face. One hand holds a reusable lunch bag, the other rests on her wide hips as shetakes in the scene. “Did I just hear you say your hot wife is a bit much?”
Cal laughs. I’ve only heard that sound a handful of times in the months I’ve known her, and every single one of them has been Nadine related. Dark-haired and compact, beside her wife Cal looks even shorter as Nadine crosses the room to her.
