Evolved(35)

My afternoon classes dragged on incredibly slowly. My students were attentive, the subject matter, the character of prose in nineteenth century Britain, was interesting. But for the first time in my career, I wanted to be home.

I had papers to grade. I would typically do a few hours every afternoon over the working week, and normally I would hole up in my office until they were done. But not today. I bundled my tablet into my messenger bag and headed for my car. The Class-C android driver greeted me, like he always did. “Good afternoon, Mr Salter. Please state your destination.”

“Home, please.”

My car pulled out of its parking spot, and as soon as we started for home, I felt like I could breathe a little easier. Traffic wasn’t great, though my driver navigated well enough. Truth be told, I’d never paid much attention to my android driver. Fitted to the vehicle, the Class-C driving androids were synced and activated for their owners alone. They obeyed all traffic laws, never sped, and since their inception fifteen years ago when they were integrated into society, vehicle accidents and related crimes were lowered exponentially.

But all Class-Bs and Cs were impersonal. Merely machines, monotone voices, robotic faces, mechanical movements.

Nothing like a Class-A. Nothing like Shaun.

Excitement at seeing him, anticipation, and a little concern that something was amiss ratcheted up another notch as we got closer to home.

God, did we always drive this slow?

“Is traffic slow today?” I asked.

The android’s response was automated, expected. “It is against the law to speed.”

I grumbled and resisted rolling my eyes. Barely. I checked my watch for the twentieth time and sighed. And we crawled at a snail’s pace toward home.

An eternity later, my car pulled into my apartment’s underground security car park and came to an excruciatingly slow stop.

“You have arrived at your destination.”

With my messenger bag tucked under one arm, I pushed on the door handle and was out of the car in one fluid motion. “Thank you,” I shouted as I slammed the door and hurried for the lift.

Then, of course, the lift took forever and had to make three stops on the way to the top floor. I tried to smile at the people who got in at the lobby and out on their designated floors, but my fingers drummed out an impatient tune on my messenger bag, and I may have even sighed.

But finally, finally, the lift opened on my floor and I hurried for my door. I waved my key card at the door, the little light flicked green, and I burst into my apartment.

Shaun stood up from the sofa, dressed exactly as he had been this morning, his hair impeccably styled. He grinned and headed straight for me. By the time I’d let out the mother of all breaths, he’d crossed the floor and thrown his arms around me, closing the door behind me as he did.

And we just stood there, holding each other for the longest time. Still with one arm around me, he pulled my messenger bag away and let it fall gently to the floor, and he wrapped his arms around me again, able to hold me better now.

He nuzzled his face into my neck. “I have missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you too.” I pulled back and cupped one hand to his face before kissing him softly. “I worried about you and wondered what you were doing, almost every minute.”

He smiled. “You need not have worried, Lloyd.” Then he rested his forehead to mine, his eyes closed. “Your heart rate is elevated.”

“I was anxious to see you,” I admitted. “I ran down the hall.”

He smiled and his perfect pink lips curved up at one corner. “I am so glad you’re home.” Then he took my face in his hands and brought my lips to his.

If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be kissing an android, I’d have laughed. If they told me I’d crave the smoothness of thermoplastic elastomer, that I’d never want to kiss another human again, I’d have thought them crazy.

He was synthetic, he was silicone, my brain knew that. But my heart knew he was so much more than that. He was real, and he was everything I needed: intelligent, gorgeous, all man. He challenged me mentally, he needed me physically, he was as neat as a pin, he had no human flaws, designed just for me.

Made just for me.

He was more than just an android. He was perfect. He was literally my ideal partner. And something that was crystal clear to me now as he held me, kissed me, longed for me, was that he was sentient.

He felt. He had a conscious awareness of self, of his own needs, of his own desires and aspirations.

He also didn’t need to breathe and could kiss indefinitely, whereas I needed oxygen. I pulled away and breathed in deep, keeping my hands on his waist. “I can smell lemon,” I noted.

He grinned. “Yes. Shall I show you what I did today?” he asked brightly. His excitement was cute.

“Please.”

He took my hand and turned around. “Well, I cleaned the floors.” Which explained the faint lemon scent. But he didn’t stop there. He led me down the hall and into what was supposed to be his room. “I cleaned the bathrooms. I tidied my wardrobe,” he waved his hand toward the walk-in closet. Everything was immaculate. Every item of clothing was cleaned, pressed, and hanging evenly spaced.

“I’m very impressed,” I said. I wasn’t lying, and given I had OCD for neatness and order, that wasn’t a little thing. “Shaun, it’s impeccable.”