Page 31 of Codi
“You look like a princess!” Lucas interjects happily.
Codi shuts his mouth, straightening a little. His gaze travels down my figure, and it’s all I can do to keep from preening. I was hoping for stammering, sputtering, compliments galore, but I’ll happily take speechless.
“I have a date tonight.” I shrug, trying to play it cool as I smile down at my son. In my peripheral vision, I see Codi’s shoulders tense.
“A date?” he repeats, bewildered.
“Mm-hmm. My friend Nancy set me up with this friend from hers. He’s from England.”
I look up at Codi. His brow creases into a concerned frown. Oh, this is more of a reaction than I could have hoped for. Not only is he speechless and confused, he disapproves. It’s as plain as the nose on his face. I could’ve said I was going to go to a Humanity First rally and he probably would’ve received the news better than this.
“I made dinner for you,” Codi says tersely. “Shall I put it away for your lunch tomorrow?”
There’s something in his tone that betrays something more. Codi’s definitely not happy with me.
“Yes, that’d be great,” I answer sweetly. “Thank you.”
He scowls and turns back to the stove with a soft grunt. I’ve gotten under that soft synthetic skin of his, and I’m feeling cocky. Time to needle him a little further.
“Mommy, I’m done eating now,” Lucas announces. “Can I go play?”
I help him down from his stool. “Go ahead.” He runs off.
It’s just Codi and me in the kitchen. I lean against the counter as he pulls a bento box from a nearby cabinet and stores the fresh dinner he’s made for me inside.
“It smells so good, I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t aware you were going out.” Codi’s voice is both sharp and monotone at once, like a dull knife. “If I had been informed, I would have cooked something different.”
Oh, he’sdefinitelynot happy with me, and I’m low-key loving it. But why is he the one copping an attitude? I practically threw myself at him, and he turned me down. “It slipped my mind. Nancy just reminded me of it today. It’s been planned for a month, maybe two.”
“I’m not sure going out this evening is a wise decision,” he remarks.
I fold my arms and lean on the counter. “Oh? Why’s that?”
“The downtown area is still considered highly unsafe at present.”
“I won’t be alone. Nicholas will be with me.” Codi’s back is still turned to me as he opens the fridge door, but I hear him softly scoff and mutter something about Nicholas under his breath. “What was that?”
“Nothing.” He turns slightly and unties his apron, glancing at me. There’s a fire in those white eyes, blazing for me.
A smug smile crosses my face as I lean forward just a little more, pushing my cleavage up in the process. I want him to look. I want him to do a lot of things. “Are you sure? You seem a little annoyed.”
“I’m not annoyed,” Codi replies. “I simply wasn’t aware. My inability to synchronize with your calendar and accounts renders me unable to anticipate your schedule accordingly.”
I’m not letting him get off that easy. “You’re jealous,” I declare. “Aren’t you? You don’t want me to go to dinner with Nicholas.”Just admit it, goddammit. Admit it, and I’ll call this whole thing off.
Codi shoots me a look. He didn’t like that, not one bit. I can see it in the way he sets his jaw, as though he’s holding back on a hundred retorts and just can’t seem to pick the right one. “I’m not programmed to feel anything, let alone jealousy.”
He can’t feel anything, huh?Nice try.“Bullshit.” I stand straight, staring right back at him with a fiery expression of my own. “You don’t like the thought of me doing anything with another man. It’s eating you up right now.”
“Don’t,” Codi warns me.
I was never one to listen when someone tells me not to do something. I’ve got a long line of parents, teachers and instructors that could tell him that, if they were here. “You. Are. Jealous.”
“How can I be jealous?” Codi demands. The heat behind his words catches me off guard. I wasn’t aware androids could sound defensive. Defiant. Almost angry. “Jealousy implies you belong to me. It alludes to ownership. I do not and cannot own you.”
With one sentence, he wipes the shit-eating grin off my face. My self-congratulating dies off quickly, and I know within an instant that I’ve overstepped a boundary and gone too far.
