Page 31 of Fembot
Lucky shrugged. “I thought I’d miss it more, but now I think I’d miss being wherever you are.”
Winston stopped in his tracks. “Lucky?—”
“It’s true, Winnie.” Lucky glanced down at Winston’s ice cream. “Eat up, the more that melts the less appetizing it looks.”
Winston rolled his eyes but started walking again. “You act like you’re the one eating it.”
“When we’re kissing later, I can only hope that chocolate goes well with pistachio.”
“Oh, when we’re kissing. Someone’s confident.”
Unless it was his imagination playing tricks on him, Winston moved a little closer to Lucky as they walked.
“Do I have a reason not to be?” Lucky hated how uncertain he sounded, but he’d been on tenterhooks ever since the night of the party. He hadn’t intended to end up in bed with Winston… and Calvin, but it turned out to be one of the best nights of his life. The problem was that he and Winston struggled to get on the same page about their relationship.
Winston gave Lucky the side eye. “You said we weren’t going to talk about this until we got home.”
That had been the original plan, but the longer the date went, the more Lucky needed to know how it was going to end. Sometimes it felt like he was going to die if he didn’t get to be with Winston. He hadn’t planned their hookup the night of theparty, but the moment he saw Winston, he had to have him. He’d had just enough to drink to make him brave.
The addition of Calvin to the equation could very well be the solution Lucky had been looking for. Now he only had to convince Winston.
“Maybe we should talk about it now.” Lucky scraped the last of his ice cream out of the paper bowl and licked it off the wooden spoon. “I mean, while we’re on neutral territory and everything.”
“Neutral territory? You make it sound like our house is some kind of battlefield.” Winston laughed and collected Lucky’s empty container from him, tossing both in a trashcan they passed. Then Winston linked his hand with Lucky’s. Holding Winston’s hand felt like one of the most natural things in the world for Lucky.
Maybe it was best to have this conversation away from Calvin. Though he was just a robot, his programming had him constantly striving to improve. If he thought there was some kind of fault in anything he did, he’d try to fix it. To make it better. But Lucky had liked him exactly as he was. There was an almost human-like curiosity about him. Calvin had endless information available to him, but he sought understanding.
Knowing that people wore clothing, for example, wasn’t enough. He’d wanted to know why Lucky had worn the things he’d worn. Calvin’s quest for knowledge was admirable.
“The other night, when we involved Calvin, what did you think of that?” Lucky asked.
He glanced at Winston and watched his cheeks flush. The tips of his ears too.
“I liked it.”
“So did I. So why have you been avoiding me? And Calvin. And everyone.”
Winston clutched Lucky’s hand tighter. “I liked it too much. When he—you?—”
Lucky waited for Winston to gather his thoughts and get the words out. He’d waited this long for an explanation, he could wait a few more minutes.
“It’s all I’ve thought about. The things he did to you, Lucky. The way he made you look. The expression. I can never give that to you. Those things. Those feelings. At least, I thought I couldn’t. But then Calvin came along, and suddenly it seemed like we might be bridging that gap. But… I want it too. Calvin, I mean. And I didn’t—I don’t know what to do with those feelings, Lucky.”
“If you want him too, why didn’t you just take him? You can tell him what you want him to do.”
Winston pulled Lucky to a stop. He stepped in front of Lucky and looked him in the eyes. “I thought about it. All the time. I can’t think of anything else, and then I feel guilty. I felt like I needed your blessing first, but I didn’t know how to ask for it.”
“Winnie,” Lucky slid his free hand into Winston’s hair. Cradling the back of his head, he held Winston in place while he stepped closer. “It’s basic math. One bottom plus one vers bottom equals sadness. But one bottom, plus one vers bottom, plus one hunky robot who will take whatever role we need him to equals happiness.” Lucky brushed a kiss against Winston’s lips.
“What does that mean?” Winston laughed. Leaning forward, he rested his head on Lucky’s shoulder. Lucky dropped Winston’s hand so he could wrap his arms around him.
“It means that I’ll do anything to have you. I’ll do anything to make you happy. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work. I swear on my life. And if us working means that our relationship includes a very sexy robot, whom you can bend to your every whim, then I’m down.”
Winston took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Are we deluding ourselves into thinking that this is the answer?”
“It’s the one thing that stops you from making a go of us, isn’t it?” Lucky’s insecurities came rushing back at full speed. Doubt slammed into his chest like a freight train, turning his insides into nothing but sharp edges. Lucky was struggling to make it through his courses. Were it not for his trust fund and his family name, Lucky wouldn’t even be allowed on the same campus as Winston. But money could buy a lot of things.
“I don’t want you to settle for someone who can’t give you everything you deserve.”
