Katie managed to negotiate a short break anyway. She and Aaron had been hanging out in HL for hours and when her avatar had started doing the pee-pee dance along with her, Aaron had taken pity on her. And then she laughed at him when he realized he had to go too.

Rupert eyed her warily as she rushed out of the spare room, pulled the S-suit halfway off and slammed the bathroom door. Minutes later, she returned, zipping the suit back up and humming to herself as she set out Rupert’s supper on a small dish. She scratched the back of his neck affectionately, and he swatted at her hand as if expressing his disapproval at her choice of pastime.

“Luddite,” she said, and kissed him on the head.

When she logged back in, there was a message waiting for her.

“Aaron has sent you a scenario request. Accept or Deny?”

“Accept.” Her avatar materialized in a bustling pizza joint on the corner of a busy urban block. “Ha!” she said when she spotted Aaron. He wasn’t wearing his robot avatar anymore. Instead he looked like himself. Tall, brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and a Yankees sweatshirt.

“Alright,” she said, and since she was still in her angel wings, she glided over to him. “I’m ready to be dazzled.”

“Good,” he grinned. “Because that’s why we’re here.” He urged her forward. “Go on up and order whatever you want. In thirty minutes or less that exact order will arrive at your house in the real world.”

Katie gaped at him. “Say what now?”

“It’s a new program,” said Aaron. “Still in beta. So cross your fingers that everything works out, or we might actually starve to death.”

“But where does the pizza come from?” Katie asked.

“Well right now it comes from Gino’s, but in the future, users will fill out a shopping profile on their HyperLyfe accounts and they’ll be able to choose, check off their favorite local restaurants and stuff. Go on.” Aaron prodded her again. “My treat.”

Hovering in front of an NPC cashier Katie looked at the menu and placed her order. A large pepperoni with extra cheese, a side salad, a brownie for desert, and one liter of Coke to wash it all down. After she ordered, Aaron placed his own, and then he led her to a table in the back to sit down.

“So now, I’m going to show you what VR outside the Insta-rig is like.”

“Without the harness and the omni-directional treadmill thing-a-majingy?”

“Yeah, HL2 also works with just the suit and the visor. It’s pretty cool, but I’ll have to guide you through a few simple steps so you can go from virtual reality to augmented reality.”

“Augmented,” she echoed. “Like virtual reality layered over the real world. Animated billboards and signs over people’s heads. Like Roger Rabbit.”

Aaron chuckled. “Kind of, yeah. Augmented reality will allow us to spend time together in virtual space, while also being aware of our real space. You can leave the rig and the treadmill, and go sit on your comfy couch at home, instead of hanging out in the harness all night. The Insta-rig is great for what we did today, hiking and flying but–”

“It gets tiring after a while,” Katie admitted.

“Exactly. So, first…” Aaron’s avatar tapped the side of his face. “On the left side of the visor, there’s a button. Push it once.”

She did and the scene in front of her, the pizza joint and Aaron’s avatar went transparent. She could see beyond the transparency, to the black box she was in, and when she looked down, could see the harness that held her.

“Okay so now you can unbuckle your harness and climb out. When you do, the treadmill will deactivate. So don’t worry about falling down.”

Katie unbuckled from the harness and felt her feet touch the floor. In virtual reality her avatar was still sitting, but in reality, she was standing now. It was disconcerting, and she wobbled, reaching out for something to steady her.

Aaron jumped up and grabbed her. “Here, let me help you.”

She took his hand, and let him guide her avatar to standing. They walked together through the restaurant, Aaron leading Katie’s avatar out of the door of the pizza place at the same time that, in the real world, she stepped carefully through the insta-rig’s open door and into the spare bedroom.

“Oh man that was so trippy,” she said, looking down at their entwined fingers. “I could really feel you holding me up. It’s like you’re here.” She grinned and looked up at him. “You feel warm.”

“Yeah,” he nodded and smiled. “The S-suit transfers a ton of sensory information. Pressure, mass, friction, temperature. You feel warm to me too.”

“Ouch!” Katie’s avatar rubbed her head at the same time the real Katie did. “I bumped into the wall.”

“Oh shoot.” Aaron pointed to his head again. “Push the button and the view will get more transparent. One hundred percent if you need it to, that way you can see around your apartment as you’re walking.”

“What do you keep it set to?” Katie asked.

“Only about twenty-five percent transparency,” said Aaron. “But I just moved into this place, I literally don’t have any furniture yet.” He laughed. “Nothing to bump into.”

The pizzas arrived at their respective apartments, and Katie laughed when the delivery guy looked at her like she had three heads. She made herself a plate, and then at Aaron’s suggestion, propped up on her bed with a stack of fluffy pillows at her back.

“Okay,” he said, talking around a mouthful of pizza. “I’ve got like every movie you could possibly want. So we just gotta pick one and then decide where we want to watch it.”

“Where?” said Katie. She took a bite of pepperoni and saw her avatar’s hand lift a slice of pizza to its mouth at the same time.

“Yeah you want to watch in a movie theater? Or on the moon, or in a space ship, or we could go to Celestia, or–”

“Not Celestia,” she said. “We spent all day there. Oh! The Scottish Highlands. I loved that.”

“Coming right up,” said Aaron, and before she could swallow her pizza the scene in front of her changed and she was sitting on a pallet of warm, woolen blankets under a canopy of stars, at night, on lush deep green hills.

“If you’re sitting still, go ahead and set your visor to say at least seventy percent opaque, otherwise it will be hard to see the movie.”

She did and noticed with some pleasure that Aaron was back in his kilt. He stood over her, one hand on his hips, another holding a slice of pizza. Katie stole a glance down at herself and she was back in the same outfit she’d worn the last time they were here, the corset and layered skirt. She shivered in the night air and smiled up at Aaron.

“This is really, beautif–Hey!”

“What?” Aaron asked, joining her on the blankets. “Something wrong?”

“My cat, Rupert, just stole a piece of pepperoni off my pizza!” Katie said, laughter in her voice. “I’m usually on the lookout for his thieving paws, but I guess with the visor, he’s tough to spot.”

“Mmm. I have a solution for that.” Aaron’s avatar raised one hand and conjured a ball of pink light in the palm. He held the ball out to Katie. “Take this. It’s a little program that will calibrate your visor to recognize Rupert, and highlight him whenever he comes into your field of vision.”

Katie took the ball of pink light from Aaron’s hands, and as soon as she did, her visor flashed and a bull’s eye appeared right where she could see Rupert. A half a second later he was much more visible…as an adorable, bright pink baby dragon.

“Oh man,” she giggled. “Look at you Mr. Crankypants. You’re so cute.” Katie cooed and tickled Rupert under the chin, picking him up and cuddling him in her lap. “Can you see him too?” she asked Aaron.

“Yeah, with this program I can, actually. Cute little guy.”

Rupert growled menacingly, loud enough that Katie’s mic picked it up and Aaron heard the sound.

“Think he’ll forgive me for turning him into a pink baby dragon?” Aaron said, laughing.

“Probably not.”

“So what’ll it be?” he asked, taking another bite of pizza. “Rocky Horror Picture Show? Harry Potter? Star Wars? Mystery Science Theater 3000?”

“I’m such a MST3K fan,” said Katie. “Anything with Joel, play it. Whatever you want.”

“I’ll surprise you. Just gotta do one thing before I can hit play.”

Katie watched as Aaron’s avatar pulled a bright silver rope from his sporran, made a loop and threw it at the moon that hung far overhead. The rope stretched high into the night sky, lassoing the orb easily. Aaron grinned at her, spit on one palm, then the other, and pulled hard on the rope. Katie gazed wide-eyed as the glowing sphere of digital rock coasted easily through the stars and came to a gentle stop, just over the crest of the hill they were sitting on.

“There,” said Aaron, his tone quite pleased. “Movie screen.” Aaron’s avatar put the rope back in his sporran and removed a remote control.

“What else you got in there?” Katie asked. “Marching band and a hockey team?”

Aaron chuckled and pushed a button. A rectangle of light appeared on the moon, images danced on its surface, and the opening theme song for Mystery Science Theater 3ooo surrounded them as if the hills themselves were speakers.

“I can hardly believe this is happening,” said Katie. “I’ve always loved HyperLyfe, but before now, it was always just me watching my avatar do things. Like in a dream, where you’re sort of up above yourself, observing everything. This, this is just incredible. I know, logically that I’m sitting on my bed at home with a cat in my lap. But damned if it doesn’t feel like I’m sitting in the beautiful Scottish Highlands with a baby dragon and a…” she stopped herself. She’d almost said, “a hottie in a kilt”.

“And great company,” Aaron said, and she swore she could see a twinkle of flirtation in his avatar’s eye.

Katie shivered.

“Cold?” asked Aaron. “C’mere. I’ll warm you up.”

* * *

Somehow, by the time the credits rolled, after the laughing and the talking and the silliness, they’d ended up together under a stack of blankets, gazing up at the stars.

Rupert was snoring in Katie’s lap, and Katie was curled up against Aaron’s large, muscly frame.

“Hey,” he whispered. “You asleep?”

“No,” she said, smiling even though her eyes were closed. “Not sleepy really, just relaxed.”

“That’s nice,” said Aaron. “Same here.”

“The suit is pretty crazy.” Katie opened her eyes, and tilted her head up at Aaron. “I feel toasty warm,” she said. “And I can feel the weight of the blankets on me too. Just incredible.”

“I’m glad you like it,” said Aaron, he snaked an arm around her waist and shifted a little.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Is your leg falling asleep? I’ve been practically sitting on you for two hours.”

“I’m fine,” said Aaron. “I just needed to change my position a bit.”

“No really, I’ll move over–” Katie shifted and winced, her face contorting with pain as she reached for her neck.

“Uh-oh,” said Aaron.

“Yeah,” she said. “Old injury. Nothing I’m not used to, it’s just–” Katie winced again.

“Here, let me help.” Aaron scooted behind her, rubbed his hands together then laid two warm palms on either side of her neck. She inhaled sharply, and he chuckled. “Feel good?”

“Amazing,” she said. “That’s crazy. I know it’s not real, you’re not really here, it’s not really your hands. I mean, it’s all the suit, but still. Damn.”

“Is it though?” Aaron said, as he kneaded her muscles gently. “I mean what is real, exactly? Isn’t reality just what we perceive it to be? I mean, right now, my senses tell me I’m giving you a massage, your senses tell you that I am, too. Shouldn’t that be enough to qualify as real?”

“You make an excellent point,” said Katie, sighing softly. “I’ve often felt that this world is, in many ways, more authentic than what we call the real one.”

“I agree.” Aaron nodded as his hands continued to work. “Some critics think that we should force people to represent, in virtual reality, exactly as they do in the real world. That whatever sex or race you are, whatever you look like in reality, that should be accurately reflected in how your avatar looks.”

“Those people are missing the point,” said Katie. “None of us get to choose our lot in the real world. Race, gender, our physical shell, it’s just all up to fate. In here, all of that stuff is up to you. Because of that, who we are in here can be more authentic, more honest. How we choose to represent ourselves in HyperLyfe, I think, is very revealing.”

“So what does your rainbow angel avatar say about you?” Aaron asked.

“That’s a good question.” Katie arched as his hands traveled up the sides of her neck and back down again, setting to work on the knots in her shoulders. “I think it says that I like color, and optimism. That I want people to find me approachable and welcoming. But then the wings…” she laughed and leaned back into his chest. “I think those probably reveal my independence, that I need to feel like I can escape whenever I want.”

Aaron caught her chin with a finger and turned her face to his. “Do you feel that way now?” he asked. “Like you want to escape?”

“No, not at all.” Katie smiled up at him. “Although I’m wondering if you don’t like my rainbow angel avatar, since you put me in this corset get-up for the movie,” she teased.

Aaron sat down next to her and took her hand in his. Katie felt the warm brush of his fingertips over her skin, the soft pressure of his hand.

“I admit,” he said, his smile sly. “Rainbow angel is impressive, but, I prefer this look on you. And it’s not the corset, it’s just that this Katie avatar looks like the Katie I met in person. It’s not as good as the real thing, but almost.”

Aaron raised a hand and stroked the bare skin of her shoulder. Her breath caught sharply as her nerves tingled under his caress. She inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breath, but faltered when she felt the corset straining in resistance.

“The real thing?” she said quietly, prodding him to elaborate.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying,” he said. “I miss the scar.”

“Seriously?” Katie raised an eyebrow, incredulous. “The hideous scar that I told Tessa we should’ve covered–”

“No. No.” Aaron shook his head and gave her shoulder a little squeeze. “Why cover it up? It’s real. It’s part of you.” He gestured around them, his hands framing the view above them. “Everything in here, it’s amazing. But it’s all completely perfect.”

“Well couldn’t you build in flaws?” Katie asked. “Randomizing algorithms and artificial intelligence, all that other stuff I don’t totally understand?”

“Yes, in fact my company is working on that.” Aaron nodded. “But to me, even if we achieve that, and build in imperfections, it’s still…Well I just find there’s a certain poetic spontaneity in the chaos of real life that I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to replicate.” He turned back to her, traced his finger over the perfect skin of her avatar’s shoulder again. “There’s history in your scar, a truth. It’s part of your story. It’s….Wabi-sabi.”

He caught her gaze, and she figured he was fishing for an explanation. There was a story behind the scar, that was true, but it was kind of a mood killer, so there was no way she wanted to get into that now. Not when he was looking at her like that. Not when the sensation of his hands on her body felt so damn good.

“What does that mean,” she said, hoping to keep him talking. “Wabi-sabi? Aiko used that word but didn’t explain it.”

“She introduced me to the concept,” said Aaron. “It’s become a favorite of mine. Wabi-sabi is the Japanese philosophy that something, or someone, is beautiful not despite it’s imperfections, but because of them.”

“Oh,” said Katie as Aaron trailed his fingers up over her collarbone, and rested his palm at the base of her neck, his thumb tracing soft warm circles on her skin.

“I find you very beautiful,” he said. His free hand slid round her waist and Katie leaned back, twining her bare legs with his under the blanket, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers. Rough against soft, hard against yielding. The length of his body covered hers, his free hand caressed her neck, just under her jaw. Feeling bold, she pulled him to her, urging him on, wondering where this moment might lead.

Aaron moaned and dropped his head to her breasts. He pressed soft kisses to the swells above her corset, his lips burning a trail up her neck to her jaw. When he lifted his head, his face hovering above hers, blue eyes shining in the moonlight, she felt breathless.

Staring into his eyes, reveling in the hard cut lines of his muscles as they bunched under his linen shirt, Katie dragged her hands up his back, and plunged her fingers into Aaron’s tousled curls. Pulling his face to hers, she took a chance, and kissed him. And it was…amaz–

Nope.

Nothing.

Zilch.

Nada.

The entire length of Katie’s body was on fire, every nerve ending on the highest edge of arousal. But her lips had not been invited to the party.

The stupid S-suit didn’t cover the face. She’d forgotten that. No sensory information had transferred from her lips to Aaron’s. Not a damn thing.

“Oh my god,” she groaned, and buried her face in Aaron’s chest.

“I swear,” Aaron’s voice rumbled in her ear. “For a split second I felt it. I really did. Good old subconscious filling in the blanks.”

“Me too,” Katie said, lifting her head. “Like when you raid the fridge for some orange juice in the middle of the night and you grab the milk by accident, and you take a big gulp and for just a second–”

“You taste orange juice!” Aaron finished the thought for her. “I’ve totally done that.”

“Me too.” Katie smiled and snaked a hand up his chest, tickling her fingers up the side of his neck. “Can you feel that?” she asked.

“I can.” Aaron smiled tightly and she saw his avatar’s cheeks were very flushed. “I’m feeling all kinds of things. I promise.”

Katie grinned, and poked him in the ribs. “Does the S-suit do ticklish?”

“Stop!” Aaron yelped and squirmed, trying to get away from her.

That’s when she felt it. Thick and long, and pressed hard against her upper thigh.

Her gaze cut to him and her mouth flew open.

“Well I’m mortified,” Aaron said, moving to sit up.

Without thinking, Katie grabbed his crotch, and Aaron froze.

Curling her fingers tightly around his erection she smirked, wet her lips with her tongue and raised one eyebrow suggestively. “So kissing’s out,” she said. “Doesn’t mean we can’t still have–”

“An immersive sensory experience?” Aaron said, his voice low and gravely.

Katie bit her lip and nodded.