59: Monday August 3, 2043 1630 hours CST: Hey Watch This!
"I can fuck Ben now, yes?" texted Berte. "Do I have to wait? The coffee shop restroom would regrettably send him the wrong message, I think. He has a hotel room correct? Or we can take him home with us. It would be hard for me to wait until tonight. I feel itchy between my legs for him like I sometimes feel for you. I want to see the look on his face when he cums. Are you angry that I'm excited to do this? I didn't think I would be. Ben is nice. Good job, Zach. Good job!"
He flashed back on the original plan he'd described to her. He would find another lover for her. They would meet at a coffee shop. Afterwards, she would tell him based on the meeting whether she wanted to proceed. He was thinking this whole time he was getting her a better advisor than himself. She was thinking this whole time he was getting her an additional lover.
Well, regarding the fuck-up he'd made, Zach was hopeful that Ben would at least be flattered. He and Ben would discuss it like adults and figure out how to break the news to Berte. Or maybe not. "Honey, would you drive yourself back to base? I'll catch a cab. I'll see you later and we will talk more, okay?"
"I'm going to have to wait, aren't I?" Berte texted, looking frustrated.
"I'm afraid so," said Zach. "I have no experience doing this. I have to talk to Ben again. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. I will call you and let you know the instant the deal is closed, okay?"
"Okay," said Berte in a frustrated voice. She rolled up her window and drove off in the direction of the base. Zach watched her turn the corner.
He called Ben. "Have you left the shop?"
"No, I'm finishing my coffee," said Ben.
"Do you mind if we talk more one-on-one? I figured out what Berte meant," said Zach.
"Please," said Ben.
Zach returned to the shop and ordered a coffee this time. He sat down at the table. "So..." he began. "I fucked up. But maybe not in a bad way. It's just a misunderstanding, easily corrected. But there's an opportunity here I want to seriously discuss with you."
"What's going on?" asked Ben.
Zach described the misunderstanding to him. "So you see, Berte thinks you're the lover I picked for her. She looked very excited at the prospect, too, Ben. Do you mind if we at least discuss the possibility?"
"No, no," said Ben. "I feel flattered, deeply, I assure you. At the same time, I wasn't remotely considering... that. It's quite a course change for me emotionally, considering what I'm going through. The loss of Jenny rules my emotional world. I can advise, but... I don't know, Zach. My first thought upon meeting Berte was 'Won't Jenny love her.' Then I remembered for the millionth time Jenny is dead and will never meet Berte. I am clear I am not ready to face dating after Jenny. The prospect of a relationship after Jenny."
"But this is not really dating," said Zach. "It's a real relationship but it's also practice for Berte. It could be practice for you too, Ben."
"You've got a point," said Ben. "I haven't had a date in 25 years. I mean a date with somebody other than Jenny. I have misgivings, Zach. Berte is so beautiful, so fresh, so young, so... what's the word?" Unconsciously, Ben had put his hands out in front of him in a gesture suggesting breasts. He was thinking about Berte's glorious tits at some level of his consciousness.
"You deserve them," said Zach, "I mean her. You deserve her."
"Dewy," said Ben. "That's the word I was searching for. She's dewy. And that eye thing she does, the eye contact. You can tell how hard she's working to do that. It's magnificent."
"I have a funny story about that," Zach said. "Do you want to hear it?"
"I'd love to hear it," said Ben, relieved the conversation had taken a more lighthearted direction.
"When I first met Berte, I didn't know this. Berte and our mission commander Colleen had come to a realization that we would make a great couple," said Zach. "A lot of matchmaking goes on; it's colonization. So Berte had asked Colleen. Okay, how does she, with no social skills, reel me in and, you know, seal the deal."
"You have to admire the direct nature of autistics," said Ben. "Straight at the problem."
"So Colleen, who has known me for a while, gives her an algorithm, an algorithm! And it was a stupid algorithm, too. From the moment we met, she was doing the algorithm, and it was simply this. She should make eye contact. She should smile. She is actually a very good smiler, but she's dropped it these days. Anyway. Eye contact. Smile. If I suggest we get closer, she should say yes. If I suggest we get farther apart, she should say no. That's it!"
"So I offer to drive her to her quarters on base. She says yes. I drive her there. We go in there for her to get changed for dinner. As soon as we're in there, she closes the blinds so it's practically pitch dark in there. That was a masterful part she added. So, horn-dog that I am and irresistible babe that she is, I ask if I can hug her. Couldn't hurt. She says yes. I ask for a kiss. She says yes. I keep asking. She keeps saying yes. You get the picture. The rest is history. It was only later on that I learned about the algorithm. So you see, I was seduced by Colleen by proxy. I really felt known for the simple buffoon I am." They both had a laugh.
"She was doing it," said Ben. "She was doing it at the end."
"What? Oh you're right," said Zach. "She was doing the algorithm, but it wasn't working. We were on a whole different page than the one she thought we were on. Must have been confusing for her. Comedy of errors, that's me. So... so, I think you should go on a date. What could it hurt? She expects it. You need the practice. You don't even need to kiss at the end if it feels wrong. It's just a little date. What have you got to lose?"
"You want me to fix your mix up so badly you're willing to match an ogre, that's me, with your princess. Do you really want to avoid the problem that badly?" Ben asked.