Page 59 of Atticus
Is this really happening right now?
I’m on a date with Atticus. Atticus, my assistant. A fellow teacher. An android. And the most amazing man I think I’ve ever met. I can try lie to myself, reason that a normal woman wouldn’t go for this. But if this makes me not normal, well, maybe that’s okay. He’s already proven he’s so much more than numbers and patterns and codes and wires.
I have the best security net in the world. I could say anything, and my parents would still accept and love me. My brother would just make robot jokes and probably teach Atticus how to do silly dances from the video games he loves to play when he’s not studying or planning for his new baby, because he’ll always be a kid at heart. Amber has already given me her blessing. She’s the least judgmental person in my life.
No. The reasons I’m silently having a little freak-out aren’t because this is some kind of moral perversion, because Atticus is real. He’s here with me. He’s a man, without a shadow of a doubt, and he has his own personality that began from programming and morphed into something more. He adapts, he evolves, he learns. Just like humans do and should.
I’m jittery because I wasn’t kidding. It’s been so long since I’ve been on a date. I’m worried about screwing this up somehow. Saying the wrong thing, making a fool of myself. If that’s the worst I’ve got to worry about, I’ve probably got it made, right?
But there’s still Vautrin and the school staff there. If Atticus was just another teacher and not technically school property, I’d be shouting it from the rooftops. I’d have gone for it ages ago, and then flaunted it in Sullivan’s face just to be petty.
But Atticusdoestechnically belong to the school, and that still makes things complicated.
Doesn’t it?
Last thing I need is to get sued. But, oh, the way he held my hand before opening the door for me. My head’s saying no, but my heart and my ovaries are both in agreement, screamingwho cares?
Inside, we’re quietly greeted by a pair of librarians at the front desk, and I’m hit with that wonderful book smell. Fifty years ago, people thought books would be a thing of the past, but they’re still going strong. On my salary, I have an e-reader jampacked with books, with physical copies of only the special ones I keep with my classroom. I’m dangerous in any bookstore. I don’t go to them because I’ll blow all my cash. But a library? That’s fair game. It just sucks I can’t check out anything since I live out of town.
Atticus is busy drinking in the true size of the library, his mouth slightly open.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“Magnificent.” He looks down at me. “Where shall we go first?”
There’s a little devil on my shoulder that sounds suspiciously like Amber, telling me to drag Atticus’s fine ass to a remote corner of the library where nobody ever goes and kiss him so hard he’ll have to reboot.Down, girl.
“Well, what interests you? Besides terrible pick-up series and articles on the mysterious world of women.”
“Woman,” he corrects, gazing at me with those bright white eyes. “I only want one.”
It takes every ounce of me not to swoon right then and there. I catch a whimper in my throat.Atticus, what are you doing to me?
I clear my throat and move past it. “What would you read about, if you could read anything you wanted?”
“When I’m in standby, sometimes I see places. Pictures and images of the world. History, art. I always stop and admire them. They’re beautiful, but somehow, I don’t think the photos do those places justice. I wish I could see them with my own eyes.” His gaze settles back on me. “Is that foolish?”
“No, not at all.” I take him by the hand and lead him further into the library. “Let’s check out nonfiction and travel. See if anything catches your eye.”
There are four levels to this library; nonfiction takes up the entire second floor. We ascend a spiral staircase, and it’s like the universe is conspiring against me. That remote corner I was daydreaming about not two minutes before?
Yeah, we’re right there, on top of it.
As we peer across rows and rows of exotic places and getaways, every inch of my body aches. A part of me doesn’t want to be here anymore. I’d rather be back in the guest room while Amber is at work, in bed with Atticus on top of me.
We can break the bed. It’s fine. She’s rich enough; she can buy another one.
I shake myself out of that daydream, ignoring the heat currently pooling between my legs. Atticus has my wires crossed, and I don’t evenhavewires.
He’s wandering just an arm’s length away from me, gazing at each title with pensive consideration. I can’t evenfocuson books right now, which means I’m probably beyond saving.
I grab one off the shelf without thinking and flip it open. “How about this one?”
Well, I get what I want. He draws closer to peer at the book over my shoulder. “Singapore?”
“Sure, why not? It’s a cultural hub! Lots to see there. I also want to visit China someday. I have a tiny obsession with the Three Kingdoms era, mostly because of the fashion. Their clothes were so beautiful.”
Atticus considers this, nodding. “China is a beautiful country. I imagine to truly explore it and study it’s history in depth would take years. Have you ever considered teaching there?”
