by Cassie James
Of course, I keep egging it on. It’s amusing, really, having such an easy way to remind him of his place. Poor little sensitive Brennan can’t handle any reminders that I was the first to conquer 2.0—not him. And damn do I love reminding him. There’s nothing quite like describing to him in excruciating detail how it felt knowing I was sliding into her for the first time. Going where no man had gone before. The last time I taunted him with it, he’d seemed even more riled up than usual. Probably because 2.0’s stopped sending him those longing, sideways glances when she thinks no one is looking. Yeah, I gave him shit about that, too.
What I hadn’t counted on was fucking Tyler defending him this last time. “Lay off, Alton,” he’d said. It was interesting, because Tyler didn’t look all that happy with Brennan at the time, either. Hmm. Something sparks in my mind, a fledgling suspicion that now I’m dying to test out.
“Aspen.” I grab the sophomore’s wrist as she swoops by again. She’s been doing it for the past hour, walking by every chance she gets, waiting to see if it’ll get her noticed. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t look twice at a sophomore, but Aspen’s got a body like a high-class hooker, and the perfect dick-sucking-lips to match. She bats her eyelashes up at me and I try not to recoil.
Her biggest flaw is coming on way too goddamn strong. Which is exactly what I’m counting on right now.
“You ever been officially introduced to Hamilton?” I give her a solid shove in his direction, watching her brow furrow only for a split second before she smiles up at him instead of me, taking it completely in stride. “He’s feeling a little lonely tonight.”
“Hi, Tyler.” Her voice is sickly sweet and he’s not nearly as good at hiding his reaction to her as I am. He looks horrified when she reaches for him, but she barely falters as he flinches away from her.
It’s entirely possible that he’s still grieving Piper, the same way he’s been doing since April, but something tells me that’s not it. Before Halloween, I was actually starting to think he was getting close to throwing his hat back in the ring, before he clammed back up. Now, it’s sink or swim for him—and if he sinks, and it means what I think it means, there’s going to be hell to pay.
“We’ve met,” Tyler nods as he casts his eyes elsewhere, trying to give her an easy brush off. It’s almost impressive how he manages to avoid looking at her tits even as she puffs her chest out, dying for him to look at the way she’s spilling out of her cocktail dress.
“Oh, I didn’t think you remembered that.” She blushes. What the fuck? She glances back my way and must see my confusion, because she explains, “Tyler came in from out back when the party was almost over. He was really drunk, so I helped him to the bathroom.”
That’s it? That’s what she’s blushing over? Fucking sophomores. They’ll blush over anything. Jesus.
I shake my head, fully ready to abandon this plan now that I can see Aspen’s not the shark I need for this particular trap. Hell, maybe I’ll use Tori to my advantage instead. She’s still prowling around somewhere, desperate to fight her way back into my good graces. And she’s easy as hell to manipulate when needed.
Aspen, who’s definitely not taking the hint from Tyler, tilts her head at him. “Hey, why were you outside, anyway? Several of us were talking. When we didn’t see you around the party, we all thought you just didn’t come.”
Tyler’s eyes flicker over her head to me, making eye contact with me for half a second before he ducks his head and looks away. That’s interesting. He looks embarrassed, like he definitely doesn’t want me being privy to this conversation right now.
“I was around,” he mumbles.
I try to remember seeing Tyler at the party. I saw him when he first got there, rolling up like he didn’t give a damn about his shitty costume. After that, he pretty much disappeared. It wasn’t unusual that we didn’t stick together at parties, but usually only because one of us got… preoccupied.
Fuck. This was even worse than I thought.
“See you later, Aspen,” I cut in, my words harsh because she needs to get the fuck out of there right now. I don’t want her witnessing the shit that’s about to go down. The last thing we need is some slutty sophomore spilling gossip she has no business knowing.
She gives the three of us a tight smile. “Oh, yeah. Bye, guys.” Then she’s disappearing into the crowd, probably off to find some other lucky schmuck for the night.
I’m barely holding back my disgust as I make a suggestion. “This thing blows. I’m sure no one will miss us by now if we sneak off. I’ve got some beers stashed in the theater.” The alcohol’s been flowing for a while. My parents wanted me here to rub elbows with some industry people, but by now anyone with real clout is gone, and all the fringe people are stumbling over their words, anyway.
The guys both nod, clearly relieved to hear me make the suggestion. I’m sure they’re gonna change their minds real quick about that when they realize I have ulterior motives.
Shut away from the noise of the party, Brennan collapses onto one of the reclining chairs, shoving his phone in his face as if Tyler and I aren’t even here. Whatever. It’s not Brennan I’m interested in talking to right now. Besides, I’m sure what I’m about to say is going to get his attention. Especially when Tyler takes a seat on the loveseat up front, leaning against the armrest with that same damn mopey expression on his face that he’s been wearing for weeks.
“I don’t think you want to sit there,” I tell him, my lips curling up at the corners.
“Why not?” He frowns.
“Fucking the same girl is enough for me, I don’t want to risk sharing my cum stains with you, too.” I sneer. Tyler jumps up from the loveseat like he’s been burned, glancing back as if there really might be stains on the thing. I snort. As if I wouldn’t gladly make a girl get down on her hands and knees to clean up the mess if I’d really blown my load on the furniture. “Don’t worry,” I taunt him, “I’m just kidding. When I fucked Silicunt, I made sure I was deep, deep inside of her when I came.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Brennan bursts out, jumping up to his feet as his phone falls discarded to the floor with a thump. I knew he couldn’t ignore us for long.
“Don’t ask me,” I tell him. “Ask your buddy Tyler over there. Personally, I never would have guessed he was into sloppy thirds.”
Brennan’s head whips around in the other direction as he finally realizes what I’ve been insinuating. “You slept with Piper?” Tyler ducks his head, refusing to answer, but that’s not good enough for Brennan. His fists clench as he stalks closer to him. “Did you sleep with her!” his voice roars the questions a second time.
I’ve never seen calm, nerdy Brennan so worked up before. I bark out a laugh that neither of them reacts to, too busy staring each other down.
I’m not about to get pushed out of the action. “I think you’re both forgetting that she was mine first. I was the first to slide home in that silicone pussy. You two were only playing with my hand-me-down.”
As Tyler’s eyes narrow, Brennan turns his glare on me. “What the fuck ever, dude. I’m not sure how much I’d brag about being a girl’s first when I didn’t even make sure she got off. No one likes a selfish lover, Alton.” Brennan smirks like he knows something I don’t.
“She’s a robot.” I start to roll my eyes, but now this asshole’s got me second-guessing myself. “Wait, are you saying she did with you?” How is that even possible? What the fuck kind of sex robot did the Hawthornes actually buy?
I turn my eyes to Tyler, who’s wearing a smirk of his own. What the fuck? Tension radiates off of me in waves as I take in this new information. If I’d known 2.0 could orgasm… damn, I probably would have gone a few more rounds. I might be a selfish prick, but I sure as hell don’t leave my women unsatisfied. That would give one hell of a blow to my reputation.
“Wipe that fucking look off your face, Hamilton,” Brennan pops off.
“Or what?” Tyler snaps back.
The
two of them step nose to nose, both of them looking for all the world like they’re ready to throw down right here and now. As much as I’d love to see that any other time, right now I need them to get the fuck out so I can digest this new information. I’ve never, never left a woman unsatisfied before—and now Brennan and Tyler can claim something I can’t.
“You know what’s worse than fucking that thing? Having goddamn feelings, so the two of you better pull your shit together before someone accuses you both of going soft. Or fucking god forbid—actually having feelings for that thing.”
The two of them look from each other to me, then back to each other again. “You’re a sick fuck,” Brennan growls at Tyler, taking another step towards him like he might actually do something.
Tyler shoves him back. “You slept with her, too.”
“Yeah, I slept with her. Who were you sleeping with, her—or Piper? Because in case you haven’t noticed, she’s not your fucking girlfriend.” Brennan’s word make Tyler’s face go darker than I’ve ever seen it. Even I’m starting to realize this shit is going too far.
“Of course I know that. Back off, Brennan.”
“Make me.”
I step in before they get blood on the plush carpeting my mom just had replaced. “Need I remind you that you’re fighting over a girl—no, a robot—that doesn’t actually give a shit about either of you. Or have you both neglected to notice that she’s not following either of your asses around like a lovesick puppy? It’s time to stop dicking around and wake up.” Because I’ll be damned if either of these two develop real feelings when I was the one that had her first, goddammit. “It’s time to move the fuck on and remember this is Piper’s replacement we’re talking about. The replacement we all agreed shouldn’t be here in the first place.
Brennan turns and scoops his phone off the ground with jerky motions. When he turns back, there’s still anger raging in his eyes. He fixes Tyler with a long stare before he puts the final nail in the coffin. “I really never saw this one coming. Not from you. Thought you would have respected your dead girlfriend’s memory a little more than that.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tyler snarls, and he’s on him before I can stop it.
I reach in, thinking I’m going to have to drag Tyler off of him, but after one solid swing to the jaw, Tyler jumps up all by himself, storming over to the wall where he punches a solid fucking hole through the drywall before storming away.
“He really should’ve stuck around. That Aspen chick could have helped him pull the stick out of his ass,” I muse casually, waiting for Brennan to turn his face so I can see how much damage Tyler did. The kid is jacked, so I can’t imagine Brennan, as soft as he is, took the hit all that well.
He staggers to his feet and when he turns I see he’s got a hand over his jaw, but it doesn’t even begin to keep the blood-flow at bay. Tyler really got him good.
“Damn.” I whistle. “Want an icepack?”
Now that Tyler’s gone, I’m hoping Brennan will stick around to entertain me. There’s no way some fancy charity party can live up to the excitement now that I’ve witnessed my own personal brawl tonight. If Brennan sticks around, though, we can go back out there and fuck around. Maybe finally hit on some of those desperate housewives I’m so keen to get my hands on.
“Fuck off, Jude.”
As he turns his back to me, I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Touchy, touchy,” I joke. What are we, a bunch of fucking girls? A little in-group fighting is healthy. It reminds everyone who’s who and what’s what. They’ll get the fuck over it.
Brennan makes it to the doorway before he turns to leave his parting words. “She felt real pleasure when she fucked me. All she felt after you was dirty and used.”
Who cares? I think, but the indifference doesn’t quite reach the knot lodging itself in my chest. How the fuck did this go so far south? And how am I the one in the wrong here? They’re the ones that broke bro code by fucking my leftovers. And besides that, Tyler seriously crossed a line when he decided to fuck his dead girlfriend’s replacement. That’s way more fucked up that me not considering 2.0’s ability to orgasm. Right?
Whatever. They’ll get over it. We’ve been friends for a long damn time. Some girl isn’t going to get in the middle of that. Especially not one made of silicone and fucking lies. No matter how hot she looks when she’s on her knees. Or after she’s been thoroughly kissed. Or when she’s looking at you all hopeful like she thinks you’re better than you are.
Those aren’t the things that matter. We—they’ll—figure that out.
24
Brennan
I carefully rub the bruising along my jaw as I glare daggers at the back of Tyler’s head. The Thorns have been pretending all day like everything’s just fucking peachy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Every time I look at him, I picture him with Piper and I’m pissed off all over again. Unfortunately, even though the most I’ve ever seen them do in minimally interact, I’ve got years of memories of Tyler with the original Piper to fill in the blanks.
It only serves to piss me off even more the more I think about it. He’s already had his Piper, and now he thinks he’s entitled to this one, too.
It’s bad enough I haven’t been able to move past the memory of her admitting she’d thought about sex with Jude while having sex with me. Now I’m stuck trying to come to terms with the fact that something that felt so earth shattering in the moment for me was apparently barely a blip on the radar for her. I was just one stepping stone to fuck on her way to the next.
I had my own suspicions after Halloween. I’d seen the nervous way she looked at him, the same way she’d looked at me right after we hooked up. Selfishly—and somewhat stupidly—I’d convinced myself it was probably only a kiss or something.
A kiss wasn’t such a big deal. Tyler was still grieving. Maybe a kiss would help him move on once and for all. But then I’d caught the way he kept looking at her, too. Jude being the asshole that he is, of course he’d have to drag the whole sordid thing out in the open the way he did. In the most painful fucking way possible.
I’d needed more time. More time to make sense of the connection I’d felt developing between me and my dead friend’s android replacement. It was a lot to come to terms with, but I’d been working on it, all the while Tyler was fucking her.
My eyes seek her out again, finding her easily in her seat a row ahead of me and several seats down. We’ve been stuck in this stupid State of the Community assembly for nearly half an hour now, and it’s boring as hell. My laptop is open on my lap from where I’ve been fiddling around, trying to focus on anything other than the turmoil I feel boiling inside of me.
Macie leans over to her, whispering in her ear, and whatever she says makes Piper giggle. I can’t believe I was so fucking stupid. Thinking we had a real connection when she was busy connecting with my best friend. Sleeping with Jude I could forgive—it happened before me, and it wasn’t like she’d hung around pining after him.
Sleeping with Tyler, though? It’s insurmountable. Because at the end of the day, I can never have access to all of Piper’s memories, but what if there’s enough there for her to dredge up the feelings Piper had for him? It means he’d have an upper hand that I could never hope to compete with.
Something about that concept gives me pause. I glance toward her and Macie again, my eyes boring into the back of her head as a new thought consumes me. What if... My fingers fly over my keyboard, and I thank my lucky stars that no one actually gives a shit if we pay attention during these stupid ass assemblies. Because what if I can just hack her, see exactly what makes her tick, and then be done with her once and for all? My curiosity will be satisfied and that can be the end of it. And maybe if I’m lucky, I can find a goddamn off switch hidden in there somewhere.
Finding a place to start is a goddamn nightmare, but once I remember the name of her creator, I’m off. For a tech genius, his personal servers are woefully under-protected. Piper
, though... Stanley Hyde must have put everything he has into her. I’m not surprised by the strength of her firewalls, simply annoyed. I lose myself to the task as I double down on my coding.
I glance at the back of her head every few minutes, watching for a sign that she might have an idea what’s going on. But her demeanor never changes, and I’m emboldened as I work. How does the tech world’s premier AI not realize someone’s trying to hack it?
As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I notice new activity. Another program trying to counter hack me. I chew the inside of my cheek and glance back toward Piper. And this time... shit. Her head’s titled slightly to the side, and she’s not responding to whatever Macie’s frantically whispering at her.
I’m nowhere close to getting the information I want, but I shut it down with what I have. The last fucking thing I need is for Piper to actually be able to trace the hack back to me. I can’t even imagine how fucking quickly my scholarship to CalTech would get stripped if I got caught hacking a very expensive, very private piece of technology.
I cut my WiFi connection and close my laptop. I’ve shoved it in my bag and settled back into my seat when I notice Piper shake her head quickly, like she’s trying to get rid of water in her ear or something. Guilt tries to seep in but I fight it off, picturing her with Tyler again until all that white hot anger I’ve been feeling is renewed. Guilty feelings be damned.
I try not to let the information sitting on my hard drive distract me, but it’s the only thing I can think about all day long. I don’t know what it is yet—just a log of some sort—but my stomach flips as I imagine how cathartic digging into it is going to be. Finally, I’m going to get some goddamn insight into Piper’s inner workings.
I barely speak to Izzy once I pick her up from school, too distracted by the thought of getting home and locking myself in my room. She pesters me anyway, asking when Piper will be back over, and I silence her with a harsh look. Weeks later, and I still can’t believe how taken with 2.0 the pipsqueak is. She detested the real Piper—even using the word “bitch” for the first time to describe her.