“Damn,” Aiko whispered to Katie as they stood next to each other in E.I.’s demo bay. “You’re my hero. You were getting it.” Aiko grinned. “Or trying to anyway, before I ruined everything.”

They’d followed Aaron back down to the demo bay to watch as he suited up again for his afternoon shift of live streaming. He’d disappeared into one of the dressing rooms located in the corner of the bay, and when he emerged a few minutes later in another S-suit, Katie almost gasped out loud. The S-suit fit his body like a second skin, the dark shimmery fabric skimming tightly over every chiseled muscle, hugging his manly area…Katie gulped. His manly area was rather…prominent, enticing.

Aaron walked to a rig, spoke to his support techs for a moment, then glanced over at Katie, gave a little wave and strapped in.

Katie smirked, waved back, and leaned into Aiko.

“Yeah, about that,” she whispered. “Why the hell do you keep interrupting us? Are you doing it on purpose?”

“No, it’s just my super power this week. Sorry. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I seriously doubt it.” Katie scrunched up her nose. “Just knock next time…” she trailed off when a striking white-haired black man strode into the room. “Holy shit!” Katie hissed, grabbing Aiko’s arm in a death-grip. “Aik! That’s Isaac Neil! The guy from the science show!”

“Yes I know.” Aiko grinned and peeled Katie’s fingers off her arm. “He’s Aaron’s guest. They’re doing a tour of the solar system in HyperLyfe for this afternoon’s session. They’re expecting a huge number of people to tune in, a bunch of schools will be showing it–”

“You gotta get me in.” Katie stared at her, wide-eyed. “I want to meet him. I want to go on that tour.”

“Suit up.” Aiko gestured to an empty rig-bay nearby. “You can help host. They’ll be stopping by Celestia at the end of the show. I’m sure Aaron would prefer to have you guide them around.”

“Holy shit. Dr. Isaac Neil is going to visit my world.”

“Told you I’d make it up to you.”

* * *

Dr. Neil was not only a knowledgeable host, he was, to Aaron’s great relief, also very chatty. That meant there was very little Aaron had to do for the afternoon presentation. He simply led the navigation for the tour, teleporting Dr. Neil and Katie with him to various picturesque science-related builds around the HyperLyfe grid. At each location Dr. Neil oohed and ahhed, shared interesting factoids, and took questions from the web, interacting with viewers around the world in real time. For the most part, Aaron just hung back and stayed quiet, which was frustrating, because Katie’s enthusiasm, her obvious excitement at meeting Dr. Neil, was infectious, and Aaron wanted to geek out with her. But since everything they said was being broadcast live he had to keep it all professional. There was no opportunity for private conversation, inside jokes or flirting.

At one point though, he forgot himself, and zoned out, daydreaming about Katie’s curves while staring at her avatar’s ass. Since anything that popped up on his visor screen was broadcast to the audience, there was about ten solid seconds of Aaron’s feed that featured nothing but Katie’s pert little ass, bobbing sexily as she walked ahead of him, along Saturn’s rings with Dr. Neil.

Luckily, Aiko had been paying attention, and physically assaulted him in the real world, smacking him on the back of the head while he was suspended in the demo-bay rig. His head jerked in response, jogging his view from Katie’s ass and back to the planet’s surface.

Basically, as far as Aaron was concerned, any time spent with Katie where he couldn’t touch her qualified as cruel and unusual. It was unrelenting torture, so when finally they reached the last stop on the tour, he was grateful.

The futuristic city that was Celestia’s capital floated several miles over the planet’s surface. Gleaming glass and steel skyscrapers soared high above their misty foundations. Transport vehicles and air-cycles zipped through the traffic as Celestia’s devoted residents went about their virtual lives.

At the city’s central hub, Katie gave them each an air-cycle. Throwing one shapely leg over the leather seat, she straddled the machine and roared ahead of them, leading Aaron and Dr. Neil on a scenic route through the chrome jungle. As the sun began to set over the horizon, Celestia City came to life, neon lights and hologram billboards blinking brightly as they flew past, down broadway, toward the Crystal Dome.

“C’mon keep up slowpokes!” Katie shouted over her shoulder as they raced towards the venue. “Don’t want to be late for the party! You’ve never really danced until you’ve danced in zero-g.”

As they parked their air-cycles at one of the domes landing docks they were greeted by Celestia’s social director, Barbarella69. Dressed like her namesake in a silver lamé minidress, she met them in a roped off VIP area at the top of the dome and led them to a balcony that overlooked the whole of the arena.

The Crystal Dome was packed to the gills with every type of avatar one could possibly imagine. Disco lights strobed across the interior as avatars danced, floating around each other with eerie elegance.

“Come with me Dr. Neil,” said Barb. “I’ll teach you how to dance in zero-g.”

“Shall we?” said Aaron, offering his arm to Katie.

“Why thank you sir.”

They danced for a while, and Aaron did his best to not indulge in anymore perving. It was difficult, but not impossible since Katie was wearing her Rainbow Angel avatar again. True, she was sexy in any incarnation, but it was the real Katie that got his pulse racing.

After a few upbeat songs, they stopped dancing so Dr. Neil could judge a science themed avatar costume contest, and to talk with the crowd, answering questions and signing virtual autographs. But as the afternoon wore into evening, Dr. Neil said his goodbyes, and Aaron hopped out of his rig for a few minutes to join the man in the real world, to shake his hand and thank him for coming.

“Really incredible what you’ve done here Aaron,” said Dr. Neil. “Truly impressive.”

“Thank you so much for being a part of it today.”

“My pleasure.”

Aaron walked Dr. Neil to the elevators and then went back into the demo-bay. It had been a trying day, all he wanted to do was relax and spend some quality time with Katie, but he still had another hour to spend inworld before he could call it a night. So maybe he could get some of that quality time inworld? Aaron had his techs turn off the live feeds, and the cameras, and told them to go home. His avatar would still show up on the website as being active in world, but now no one would be watching, and he and Katie could have some small semblance of privacy.

Aaron strapped himself back into the rig, put on his visor, and re-joined Katie and Barb at the Crystal Dome.

Unbelievably, it was even more crowded than it had been when he’d stepped out. Hundreds of avatars poured in, while hundreds more hovered in the airspace outside the dome.

“Word about the party went a little viral,” said Katie. “We’re going to need more space.”

“Maybe move this shindig to the Sapphire Desert?” Barb said. “Okay with you?”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Katie, and as she worked out the details with Barb, Aaron took the opportunity to write her a private text message.

Let’s get out of here, he wrote. I need to be alone with you.

He hit send.

“Go ahead and–” She stopped short, and Aaron knew his message had popped up on her screen when he saw her avatar’s cheeks turn pink. “Go ahead and party without us Barb,” said Katie. “I’ve got somewhere, uh, somewhere else to–”

“I’d like to steal her Barb,” said Aaron. “If that’s alright?”

Barb’s avatar put her hands on her hips and Aaron could have sworn she was giving him a once-over. Finally, she grinned. “Alright, you two go. I’ll take care of the hordes of party heathens. ”

* * *

When the sexy guy you’re hanging out with says he needs to be alone with you, you don’t hesitate right? You just take him to your place. As soon as they cleared the Crystal Dome’s docking bay, Katie pulled a hearth stone out of her inventory, grabbed Aaron’s hand, and teleported both of them directly to her private home on Celestia. Well, on wasn’t exactly accurate, more like…in. In the center of the planet to be exact.

“Wow,” said Aaron, letting go of Katie’s hand to take it all in. “Talk about journey to the center of the earth.”

Katie laughed. “Yeah well, I like to be in the middle of things.”

She’d spent months perfecting her private space in Celestia. The center of the planet was a hollow sphere, a terrarium of sorts, with blue skies, lush gardens, and a waterfall that fed into a beach-lined lagoon. At the edge of the beach sat Katie’s house, a whimsical thatched stone cottage with bright blue shutters and quaint flowerbeds.

Aaron’s avatar spun in place as he looked around. Lifting his arms, he threw his head back, laughed, then breathed in deeply.

“I can almost smell the fresh air. This is charming.” He walked towards the cottage. “My God, this waterfall, all the work you’ve done….it’s just…” He turned back to her, closed the distance between them and took Katie’s hand in his own. “Remarkable.”

“Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Any chance you’d change back into your Katie face for me?” he said with a smirk. “You’re Rainbow Angel get-up is super cute but you know how fond I am of–”

Before he could finish, Katie morphed into her Scottish Highlands avatar and smoothed her hands over her hips.

“Better?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, much.” Aaron pulled her in close and brushed a kiss over her nose. “I really like the freckles.”

“I don’t have freckles!” Katie gasped and slapped a hand to her cheeks. “You take that back! I do not have freckles!”

“Yes you do. Pixel you, and in-the-flesh you, too. And they’re adorable. Now stop blushing and give me a tour of this place would ya? We’ve got another thirty minutes to kill before I can get out of here and take you on a real date.”

She gave him the full geek tour. With other visitors to her Celestia home, Katie just focused on the aesthetics. “Here’s the waterfall, there’s the garden”, etc. But with Aaron she could really dive into the details. She talked about polygon geometry, topology, vertices and texture mapping. It was exhilarating, this feeling of sharing your deepest passion with someone who not only understood what you were talking about, but really got it, down to the marrow. When Aaron walked away from her to marvel at the foam that sprayed from the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall, she watched him, her smile growing wider as he studied her work, complimenting her on the realism and the artistry. He turned back to face her and a stray splash from the falls soaked his avatar unexpectedly.

Aaron’s mouth gaped.

“You coded that into it didn’t you?” He looked at her in shock and then began laughing.

“Well not me, I don’t code, I hired somebody to do that part but yeah it was–”

“It was your idea,” he said. “Your vision.” Stalking towards her, he picked her up in a bear hug and Katie felt all the wet and cold transfer to her avatar’s clothing, soaking her front. “It’s fucking marvelous Katie. Just brilliant.”

He set her down and Katie looked up at him, his eyes twinkling, that candid smile drawing her in, making her melt, making her fall….her throat felt raw and her gut clenched up. Katie laid her hand on his cheek and let her eyes flutter closed for a moment. She just needed to collect herself, just needed to catch her breath.

“Hey let’s dance,” said Aaron suddenly, and her eyes flew open.

“We did dance, at the Crystal Dome–”

“Nah, that was space disco. We were ten feet apart in a crowd of people.” Aaron set her feet down on the grass and took her by the hand. “Let’s slow dance, all alone, under your waterfall.”

Her led her across the stones to the whirling pool at the base of the waterfall.

“It’s cold,” she said, shivering as she stepped down into the water. “Can we get hypothermia from this?” She was laughing, but Aaron looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Excellent point. I mean no, we can’t actually get injured, but it’ll be damn uncomfortable.” He tipped his chin up and spoke into the air. “Command: Regulate S-suit temperature for Catalina Celestina and Aaron Eldridge. One hundred degrees Fahrenheit.” He glanced at Katie. “There, that’s a bit above body temperature, should feel warmer to us in just a second.”

Katie held her hand under the waterfall and laughed as the now-warm water flowed between her fingers. “Oh wow. Yeah, I can feel it.”

“Now,” Aaron said, pulling her close against him. “I want to feel you. Dance with me.” Strong arms circled her waist and Katie rested her head against Aaron’s chest. He sighed, and Katie could feel the rumble from his chest against her cheek. “Still something missing,” he said as his broad hands slipped to the small of her back. “Command: Play something romantic. How about Rachmaninoff?”

Music filled the air and Aaron began to sway. Dancing in lazy circles around the whirlpool, stepping carefully to avoid large rocks, he spun them slowly, his hands roaming over her back, tightening around her waist, dragging her hips into his own. He bent his head, and warm lips pressed to her collarbone, his tongue snaking out to collect the mist that had drifted from the falls and settled on her skin.

“Katie,” he breathed her name, and the sound sent a rush of shivers up her spine. “Still cold?” he asked, glancing up at her with a smirk on his lips.

“No,” she whispered. “Not a bit.”

She shivered again.

Aaron’s hands glided up her corseted waist and cupped her breasts. “I think you are,” he said, his gaze dark and serious. “I think I need to warm you up some more.”

“Yes, actually,” she said, matching his gaze with her own. “On second thought I think you’re ri–”

Aaron’s hands went to work, one at her breast, kneading, searching out the hard nipple underneath. His other hand skated down her hip, over the curve of her ass to paw at her skirt. The fabric was heavier now, sopping wet from the whirlpool. He bunched the draped tartan in his hand and pulled it up. Pushing his knee between her legs, he trapped the fabric at her waist. His fingers sought her heat, caressing over soft bare skin of her avatar’s inner thigh, stroking closer to her core as his lips pressed hot kisses across her cleavage.

“Fuck Katie,” he moaned. “You’re so sweet, so soft and….god yes.”

“Yes,” she echoed, threading her fingers in his hair she clutched him to her, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers.

“God Katie,” he breathed the words again, his lips trailing over her neck up her jaw, as he–

He was gone.

Suddenly, the space between her legs was cold and empty, his head was gone from her breasts, his lips no longer kissing her. She clenched and unclenched empty hands in the air, and looked around.

“Aaron?” she whispered.

Nothing.

“Aaron?” she said again, a little louder this time.

“Right here beauty.” It was Aaron’s voice, at her ear. Her real ear. “Technically I still had six more minutes on my VR clock for today,” he said.

The HL visor lifted from her head and Aaron’s face came into focus in the dimly lit reality of the E.I. demo-bay. “But what’s the point of owning the company if you can’t knock off early?” he said.

His gaze met hers. It was heated. Dark. Needy. His smile was twitchy and impatient.

“I couldn’t take it anymore,” he said, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”