Sometime into her third slice of pizza, when she was laughing with her Mom about her adventures in HyperLyfe with Aaron, Katie realized that she really missed him. Like, trying to hide the tears in her eyes from Barb as she attempted to fill the sad hole in her chest with cheese and pepperoni, missed him.

It had only been a few days ago when she saw him last. It felt like so much longer.

Of course, when Katie talked about Aaron, she glossed over the sexy bits. Barbara Martinez was no prude, but she definitely did not need the fine details of her daughter’s sex life. They talked about the tabloid photo briefly, but it was a short conversation that consisted of little more than dancing around particulars. Although her mother did mention she might want to come up for another visit soon, check out Lux for herself. Katie choked on a bite of pizza over that comment and Barb had to pat her back.

“Honey,” she signed, then grimaced and flicked a piece of half chewed pizza out of her daughter’s hair. “Don’t let bitterness and distrust ruin what could be the best thing of your life. Please. Promise me you’ll at least think about talking to Aaron.”

Bitterness and distrust. Steven had said the same. He was an ass, aiming to hurt her, but Katie had to admit, the same words come from her mother…it gave her pause.

Katie relented, told her Mom she’d consider it, and later, when Barb had settled in for the night and Katie was on her laptop in the bedroom, she took another tour through the apartment she’d built for Aaron.

She was kind of leaning towards sending it. But as she walked her avatar into the penthouse bedroom she cringed. It was way too much, totally presumptive. When she’d decorated the space, they’d just had sex and she’d spent the night spooning at his place. The result was she’d been in a warm fuzzy place when she’d worked on the bedroom and it looked like something a girlfriend would’ve decorated.

Floaty drapes over the bed, candles, a tapestry wall-hanging like the one she had in her own bedroom, and a romantic chandelier in the center of the room.

Ugh.

Quickly she set to work neutering the decor, removing all the feminine elements until the bedroom was wholly masculine, and frankly, a little bit cold.

There. That was better. Well not aesthetically, but symbolically, yes, it was ambiguous. Perfect. Now, she could send him this gift without sending any particular message.

She checked her friends list. Aaron was online right now.

Should she write a note to accompany it? No. Let the build speak for itself. It was just a nicely decorated apartment, and Aaron could take that however he wanted.

Opening up a gift alert in the HyperLyfe menu, she selected Aaron from her friends list, attached the 3D build of his apartment, and sent it to his avatar before she could lose her nerve.

The system kicked back confirmations whenever you sent a gift. If the avatar accepted, you were notified. If they didn’t, you got nothing.

There was no reply. Nothing.

He had to have received it? Right? Maybe it was a glitch, or maybe his avatar was logged in, but he was actually in the bathroom or sleeping or something and didn’t see the alert.

Then again, maybe he’d meant what he said this afternoon in the interview. That she and Celestia didn’t mean anything.

She hadn’t believed him. The words had stung, but she hadn’t really believed it.

Katie stared at the screen. Still no notification. Chewing her lip, she patted Rupert’s head absentmindedly.

Dammit. This was her fault. She’d fucked it all up. And for what? The righteous thrill of being angry? He probably did have a reasonable explanation for the whole ZumZum thing! He wasn’t Steven.

No duh, said a part of her brain. If he’s not Steven, then what the fuck is your problem?

Then she felt it. In the pit of her stomach, deep in her bones.

She was scared.

She hadn’t acknowledged this feeling before. It had been too easy to wallow in anger, too easy to dismiss this queasiness as the flu.

What if this was really it, she blew it, they were over, and she was never going to see him again?

No.

That couldn’t happen…because…

Katie struggled against it, the blank that her subconscious was trying to fill in.

That couldn’t happen…because...agghhh…

Because she was in love with Aaron.

“Fuck!” she blurted out loud and Rupert startled, then nipped her fingers lightly. Katie scratched him behind the ear.

Still no notification. There was no way he hadn’t seen it. Stupid alerts popped up right on the display screens. They made a really loud “ping!” noise when the popped up. He’d at least have heard the sound.

Rupert padded past her lap and sat on the keyboard, and a second later her computer screen went nuts.

“Rupe!” Katie lifted him off and tapped the keys. The window was frozen. Rupert had managed to somehow hit the magic combination of buttons that completely broke everything. She moved her finger over the mousepad, the cursor didn’t move. The screen flashed, the image fractured into pixels, and the computer went dark.

“Perfect,” she muttered. “Should I take that as a sign?”

* * *

Aaron spent all day in HyperLyfe, and didn’t enjoy a second of it. A day of interviews, with the same questions over and over. A day of streaming his solo explorations with the constant reminder from blog comments and other avatars in world that his solo hosting abilities were lackluster compared to Catalina’s. They liked the stream better when Katie was a part of it. He was no good on his own.

No shit.

Not to be dramatic, but he felt like half his soul was missing. Every new experience in HyperLyfe felt colorless without Katie by his side. He never thought he’d be sick of HyperLyfe–it was his baby, his life’s work. But without Katie, a world of twenty million felt completely empty. By the end of the day he was itching to go home.

He logged out, and headed across town to his apartment, stopping to grab some take-out on the way. There still wasn’t any food at home.

There’s nothing there, he thought bitterly.

Just a dirty S-suit, a VR visor, some old coffee mugs and an empty bed.

The self-pity played like a violin refrain in his head and by the time he walked into his apartment he was sick of his own company. So like the VR addicts that reporter had warned about, he logged back into HyperLyfe, setting his visor to semi-transparent and wandering around his barren living room eating a burrito and watching a bad movie in the Highlands, kicking his S-suit-clad feet through the long digital grass.

Alone.

Maybe he should get a cat?

Awwww. You know who had a cat? Katie.

The movie ended and Aaron was just surfing for some episodes of Futurama when an alert popped up on his screen.

He gasped audibly, and then spent a minute and a half coughing up the burrito he’d just inhaled, while the alert continued flashing on his screen.

Shit, he needed water. Running to the kitchen he grabbed Katie’s dirty mug from the sink and gulped water until he was able to focus again.

The alert was still flashing.

Catalina_Celestina has sent you a gift. Accept or Deny?

“Accept!” he said, coughing a bit more.

“Creator Catalina_Celestina has indicated that this gift corresponds with a real world location.” The system spoke in his ear. “Geo-locating indicates you are currently present in this real world location. Would you like to enable real world tracking?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Real world location? What was this about?

The scene unfolded before him and Aaron dropped what was left of his burrito on the living room floor. He looked down, saw his real world seven layer oozing hot sauce onto a virtual Aubusson rug and grinned.

She’d built his apartment, and she’d decorated it.

You know what this meant?

She didn’t totally hate him.

Maybe, he still had a shot.

Aaron started to head up the loft stairs to his bedroom, then stopped himself.

No. Wait.

He didn’t want to rush through this tour all haphazard like, he wanted to savor it, to absorb every detail that Katie had so painstakingly designed.

He’d start with the elevator, and leave the bedroom for last.

At the top floor of Calvert Tower, Aaron’s multi-million dollar penthouse had a multi-million dollar view. One whole side of the apartment was flanked by a massive glass and steel covered atrium. The private elevator opened into this space, and from there, had access to the door that led to the main interior of the apartment. It provided a view of the city skyline that was visible from nearly any spot in the penthouse, and had been a major factor in his decision to buy the place. But he’d been so busy, there hadn’t been any time to think of what to do with the space.

Now Aaron walked through the glass front door of his apartment and straight into the elevator, careful not to glance at the terrace. He wanted to do this the right way, to witness Katie’s vision as she’d intended. He stepped into the elevator with his eyes closed and the doors shut behind him.

When he reached for the “open doors” button he could see his S-suit covered hand through his visor, and realized he still had the opacity set to semi-transparent, so he turned opacity all the way up, and stepped back onto the terrace atrium when the doors opened.

Katie’s masterpiece solidified around him.

Wow.

Immersive didn’t begin to describe it.

In reality, it was a cold, cloudy, moonless night in New York City. In Katie’s city the dark night was punctuated by a full glowing moon. He looked up through the glittering glass of the atrium and caught glimpses of stars twinkling behind dark billowy clouds. He could hear the sounds of a storm. Thunder cracked in the distance. Lightning pierced through the clouds, and all around him, fat drops of rain splashed against the glass.

The S-suit sent licks of heat up his back and he turned to see a fire pit, accompanied by four cushion-covered teak chairs. Something wet hit his avatar’s skin and he noticed a fountain on the distressed brick wall to the right. It was spitting mist at him, like the waterfall Katie’d had built on her own land. At the far end of the patio was a hot tub, surrounded by tall plants and modern sculptures.

“Well that’s awesome,” he chuckled. He hadn’t thought of adding a hot tub to the terrace, but damn if it didn’t seem like the very best idea now.

Back by the elevator, tucked into a corner, was a trellis covered in a blooming flower vine. In front of the trellis was a bistro table and chairs, set with steaming lattes and a newspaper.

He crossed to the table, leaned over and plucked a flower from the vine. Instinct had him drawing it to his nose for a sniff. Silly, there was no scent, but his mind was playing tricks on him and he could’ve sworn for a second the flower had shared Katie’s fragrance.

Aaron placed the flower next to one of the coffee cups then turned to the glass door that led to the interior of the penthouse.

The short entryway had a bike hanging on the wall, artwork and a low metal cabinet for storage.

The floor plan for the whole penthouse was open, and Katie’s design instincts had made the most of it, creating defined living spaces with area rugs, careful furniture placement, and the clever employment of warm, complimentary color schemes.

God she was good.

Near the living room, a mid-century modern leather chair and ottoman were in a corner with a stereo system and a bookcase full of vinyl records.

Just beyond was a dark green sectional, and more plush rugs, including the Aubusson he’d noticed earlier. A post-modern woven rush chair hung from the ceiling.

“Functional and decorative.” He nodded. “I like it.” His gaze shifted to the wall behind the chair and he tilted his head, trying to make sense of the full wall of art.

“Oh, damn. Well that’s nice.” It was a Shunga piece. Very famous, in fact. A classic painting called “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife”. A Japanese erotic portrait of a woman being pleasured by the many tentacles and mouth of a massive octopus.

He tilted his head the other way, and couldn’t help but relate this image to how Katie had looked at Lux, with all those eager hands caressing her naked body.

Is that why she’d included this piece? Was she thinking of Lux when she’d selected it?

He hoped so.

There was heat at his back again. Turning he noticed she’d designed a stone fireplace that was a brilliant mixture of classic and modern design, the perfect compliment to the brick, wood, glass and metal finishes the decor was favoring.

Huh. The building was wired for gas, he remembered. A real fireplace was totally doable.

The three massive concrete columns that stood in the middle of the penthouse had been a structural element that in real life, he’d been dreading decorating around. Katie had handled them beautifully, using their presence as a natural divider between the living room and the space beyond. Each column was decorated with more art, and some modern candle holder thingys. Those were pretty cool.

On the other side of the columns Katie had laid the area out into two main spaces. On one side, facing the atrium glass, was a home office with an industrial style desk and chair, more bookshelves, and a very comfy looking wingback chair.

Beyond that was a small dining table, and beyond that, taking up the entire back wall of the space, was the kitchen.

Aaron padded over the wood floor and opened a cabinet. Wine glasses and coffee mugs. Fancy.

The kitchen set up was professional and spectacular and paid such attention to detail that he suspected Katie had spent a long time on it, and probably liked to cook in real life. He’d have to ask her about that, if she started talking to him again.

There was a pattern on the largest wall in the kitchen, dark grey over light. He stepped closer. Nope, couldn’t make it out, so he stepped back. Then a little more. Oh! It was words. The entire wall was covered in words. He looked up and to the left, searching for the start of it.

“We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained…” He read the words aloud, and his chest clenched.

It was John F. Kennedy’s speech at Rice University. Better known as the “We choose to go to the moon speech”. It was, hands down, one of the most influential and inspirational speeches he’d ever heard. One of his favorites.

He’d never mentioned that to Katie. She’d added this herself, knew him well enough to have guessed what it might mean to him.

But there hadn’t been a note with this strange gift. No guidance as to how to take this. Was it a commentary on his lack of furniture? An invitation to get in touch with her? A parting gift along the lines of “have a nice life?”

Okay, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to see the bedroom. Maybe there, he’d find an answer.

Running back to the entryway he sprinted up the stairs to the second floor loft that hosted his bedroom and master bath.

When Katie had seen the real bedroom, it had a mattress and not much more. Now the space was transformed.

He glanced around hurriedly, hoping for another surprise, another sign.

There was a flat screen across from the bed, which itself was covered with a thick comforter and some fluffy pillows.

One whole wall featured a custom wood closet with open shelves filled with neatly folded clothes and accessories.

He spun, taking it all in again a second time.

It was nice, but kind of…sterile?

Disappointment coiled in his gut, and he realized, with some reluctance, that he’d been ridiculously hoping that he’d see Katie lying on the bed when he walked in. That was absurd, of course. But at the very least it would have been nice to have seen some element of her in this room, some sign that this world she’d created for him would have her in it.

But it didn’t seem so. It was a bachelor’s room.

Aaron walked back down the stairs. There, by the door, there was a small little seating area he’d missed.

Another comfy chair, a side table with a book and a glass of Prosecco.

Katie liked Prosecco.

He looked closer.

The chair was covered in a tartan fabric, the same colors and style as the skirt she’d worn in the highlands. He heard purring, so bending low, he peeped under the chair. There was a fluffy black digital cat snoozing underneath. He stood back up, and eased himself softly down onto the chair. No telling how that virtual cat would react to be woken up.

Was this the sign? he wondered. A black cat and plaid upholstery?

He glanced up, and noticed a piece of framed art he hadn’t seen before.

“The only way to predict the future is to invent it.”

The first line of the speech he’d given the night they met.

Aaron hadn’t coined the phrase, but it didn’t matter, the sentiment spoke to him on the deepest level.

He hopped up and walked back to the kitchen wall. John F. Kennedy had ended his speech with “We choose to do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

Aaron had always agreed with that too. When it came to tech, to innovation and development, to pushing his company and his people to the limits of their abilities, he firmly believed in those words. If you aren’t scared, then you aren’t pushing yourself, he told them. If you aren’t pushing yourself, you aren’t growing. If it’s hard, then good, you know you’re on the right track, because nothing worth doing was ever easy.

Fuck.

That was it.

She may not have intended to, but Katie had left him a sign after all.