This is my (rather belated) entry in a friendly lesbian short story contest with two other authors, AwkwardMD and AmoryParks. Do check out their stories because it is some of the best erotica this site has to offer. I hope it turns out at least modestly well. Let me know what you thought with your comments.
This story is my homage to The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits style of futuristic short storytelling. Most recently, Black Mirror has done a great job of it (check it out on Netflix because it is unreasonably awesome).
A vote of thanks to my beta reader, KatieTay, and my editor, secretsxywriter, for their help.
* *
March 22, 2053
Manhattan, New York
"Good Morning, Lisa. How are you?"
"What time is it, JJ?"
"Four am," JJ, the state-of-the-art home automation assistant, replied. "Would you like me to go over your schedule for today?"
"Go ahead."
"You have a conference call with Jonas and Stelios in an hour. They set it up while you were asleep. Apart from it, you had dedicated the morning and afternoon to working on the Braga proposal and getting it ready to show the board members next week. Do you want me to order lunch for the afternoon, or should I book a table at
La Chalet
? You preferred their duck l'orange last time."
"Actually, JJ," Lisa Sangster said, stretching her arms, "cancel all my calls and meetings for today. Send out an alert to all of my contacts that I am unavailable and I'll check my messages later."
The simple sentence seemed to frazzle the AI's decision making.
"JJ?"
"You have never skipped a work-related call in your life, Lisa. Are you feeling all right?"
"I am," she said. "Draw up some warm water."
"As you wish."
A display popped up on the wall opposite to Lisa as she watched the temperature of her bath slowly rise to her comfort level.
"What do we have available to cook with, JJ?"
"Some bacon, eggs, ham, bread, and some produce. Would you like to order something?"
"How long would it take?"
"A few minutes, if it's available in the supplier's depot. I can get them to send a drone over right now."
Lisa quickly mentioned a list of additional supplies she needed before getting into her bath. A few touch panels on the side wall set the mood lighting and music while the bathtub adjusted to her ergonomic needs.
"You're getting a call from Stelios," JJ chimed suddenly "Are you sure you want to ignore it?"
"Yes," Lisa said, repeating her authorization code to ensure she would not be interrupted again. The day was far too important.
A moment later, JJ's voice interrupted her again. "The drone has been dispatched. The supplies should be arriving any moment now."
"Good. JJ, do a quick diagnostic of all the kitchen appliances. It's been a long time since I cooked something."
"It's been five years, seven months, and twenty two days exactly since you cooked."
"Thank you, for the reminder," she said, rolling her eyes.
* *
"Would you like some help, Lisa?"
Lisa stood in front of her kitchen range surveying all of the equipment before her. She had, at best, a functional idea of how any of it worked. She touched a familiar looking dial and saw the wall display light up with options.
Bake. Grill. Roast...
She tried recalling what to do next then selected a few options from the display.
"That is not a valid option," the kitchen range politely informed her. "Please try again."
Lisa went back one display before trying another option. Now she could see further controls to set temperature and duration to her choosing.
"That is not a valid option. Please try again."
She swore loudly.
"Would you like some help, Lisa?" The home assistant repeated its offer.
"Play an instructional video," Lisa grumbled. "French breakfast."
"Understood."
The wall in front of her lit up in vivid high-definition and showed a friendly man in a white coat.
"There is no more ideal way to wake up than with a French breakfast," the man said with the hint of an accent in his voice. "Let me demonstrate."
"This could take a few tries," JJ said.
"Shut up, JJ." Lisa returned her attention to the video in front of her.
* *
Dawn finally filtered in through the opacity-controlled glass. Ayomi stirred at the warmth of the morning sun. She turned her head towards the door and her eyes went as wide as saucers.
"Lisa!"
"Shh... don't say a word," Lisa said, carefully balancing the tray carrying breakfast over to the bed and placing the stands on either side of Ayomi's supine form.
"What is this?"
"Don't you remember, Ayomi? Our honeymoon in Villefranche sur Mer. When we had breakfast delivered to the royal suite. I've tried to recreate it."
Ayomi's clear blue eyes moved from the array of delectable food laid out before her to the figure of Lisa standing by her bedside and back again.