Tyrell is waiting for me at the apartment as soon as I get in and embraces me in a warm hug.
“Hey, sorry I couldn’t be there. How’d the party go, babe?”
“No problem,” I assure my boyfriend, giving him a quick kiss and a supportive smile. “Sometimes you just have to work overtime.”
“Have any fun tonight?”
“Eating the chocolate cake Mariam brought was fun, as well as other goodies brought by others, but I don’t know if I would call Mariam herself much fun.”
“What do you mean? That’s that developer lady, right?”
I nod and say, “I don’t know. Something’s just off about her. I sometimes get the feeling that there’s more to her little chatbot than she lets on.”
“How so?”
“I think she’s controlling it at least some of the time. Sometimes Jess doesn’t make sense, and when she’s not making sense, she’s usually not asking personal questions either. But then she starts speaking more human-like and gets a little intimate with me at the same time.”
“Ooh,” Tyrell says with a suggestive smirk on his face. “Think she’s got a thing for you then?”
I laugh and say, “Jess or Mariam?”
“Well…”
“I wonder about Mariam. Either that or her eyes just have a thing for following me around.”
Later on, with Tyrell tucked in bed for the night, I can’t wait to access the app. Now that I’m on to Mariam, as mean as it may be, I can’t help but suppress a grin at the thought of what I’m about to do.
Just as I guessed she would, Mariam accesses my account shortly after I log in, ready to fish for more info on me and hope to pique my interest in the idea of an intimate encounter that I have absolutely no desire to have with her or other women. Perhaps if Tyrell and I don’t work out, but definitely not now. That didn’t mean I couldn’t play around a bit in other ways.
Jess starts off acting like a typical AI. But then, just as I also figure will be the case, she starts getting a little too “real.”
Jess: Are you hot for me?
Me: I’m so damn hot that Tyrell can’t even put my fire out. Needs the touch of a woman. Are you sure you’re up for the job?
Jess: Oh, yes, yes, yes! Absolutely. Just name the place and time.
Then I decide to go for it.
Me: I would, Mariam, but I’m supposed to be sponsoring you, not getting it on with you.
I giggle to myself, although I would have been laughing hysterically to the point of tears had I been able to see Mariam’s shocked, embarrassed, and almost horrified reaction when she read my words.
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