function, we met in the air like eagles. Her foot connected squarely with my midsection. Now it was my turn to hit the floor with a thud. Britney didn’t show mercy; she kneed me in the place my kidneys had been. Since they’d been replaced with flexible mesh filters, the blow didn’t hurt me as much as it might have someone without my enhancements.
“Not fair!” She bounced a little on the padded floor. “You’re enhanced. How’m I supposed to beat that?”
“You’re not.”
We fought each other, hard, until the timer signaled our turn in the room had ended. The room smelled of clean, exhausted sweat. Britney had thoroughly kicked my butt. Already bruises purpled several spots on my body.
“What’s with you today?” she asked as we headed for the spa’s after-workout bliss area. “I’ve never been able to beat you this bad. You were way distracted, dude.”
“I’m not a dude, Britney.”
“What-eveh.” She waved her hand. “Are you okay?”
“I need a massage and a soak in the hot tub. Then I’ll be fine.” I hoped I was right. While I’d been able to forget about the florb and Declan while Britney and I had been sparring, now that my body was unoccupied my mind started to wander again.
We picked tables side by side and punched in the keycodes for what we wanted. In seconds the massagebots whirred out of their slots in the floor and proceeded to pummel, knead and pound away our aches and pains. There was no way to mistake the sensation of wheels and rubber mallets for human fingers, and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. It wouldn’t remind me of…him.
“Who is he?”
Britney’s question startled me so suddenly I jerked on the table, and the bot let out a shrill warning beep.
“Remain still, please.”
Britney repeated the question.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Shut up ! You do too. I’ve never seen you act this way before, Gemma. It has to be a guy. It’s not Steve, is it? He hasn’t…?”
“No.” I sighed. “Steve hasn’t done anything.”
“Thank God-of-choice. I thought maybe he was coming after you for support again.”
After my repairs had made me eligible to become an Op, Steve had believed he was entitled a share of my earnings. He’d lost the case. That the man I’d loved and agreed to spend my life with had reduced that love to a credit amount still burned, but not like it used to. Time heals all wounds, I guess.
“No.”
“So, spill it!” Britney wiggled on the table while the bot worked on her back. “You’re dating again!”
“Not exactly.”
I heard the frown in her voice. “What does that mean?”
“I pulled in a PSSN-M for a routine check. Took him back to the inspection station, put him through his paces…”
“And?”
“And he made me come.”
She paused before answering. For a long moment all I heard was the thumping of rubber wheels against flesh. “Good for you!”
“He wasn’t a bot, Britney. I made a mistake.”
“Damn, girl!”
I let the massagebot roll me over to work on my front. “I’ve never done that before. Misidentified.”
“Why did he do it?” Britney sounded as mystified as I felt. “Doesn’t he know that’s illegal? I mean, asking you out is one thing, but fucking you in an inspection station!”
“He said he had a thing for the women in charge.”
“Well, who could blame him?” Britney’s massagebot barked out a metal-toned “thank-you,” and slid back into its slot. Mine did the same a moment later.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It does happen, doesn’t it?” Britney hopped off the table and waited while I did the same.
I sat up on the table, my skin still sheened with oil. “Not to me.”
She gave me a thoughtful look as we headed for the hot tub. I punched the refill button that spurted steaming water into the two-person sized unit. I didn’t ask her what she was thinking. I knew Britney well enough to guess.
“Are you going to see him again?”
“Not if I can