Chapter 6
"Good morning, Lena."
"Morning, Simi." It was late in the morning when Lena stumbled into the front room and collapsed sluggishly on the couch. Her head was fuzzy, and her body barely a step above a liquid state. "So tired," she moaned. Her last final had concluded the day before, and she'd stayed out celebrating with friends late into the evening for the first time in months.
"The consequences of a well-earned night of excess." Simi walked over and offered Lena a mug of coffee, which she took gratefully. "I know finals can be nerve wracking," Seeing Lena's glare, she added an apology: "Sorry." With Simi's abilities, finals weren't a challenge.
"Not helping." Now was not the time to give voice to her resentment, so Lena buried it by sipping the dark brown stimulant to clear her head.
Simi knelt behind the couch, and put her hands on Lena's shoulders, massaging them gently. Lena didn't object. The number of casual touches between them had increased in the past few days; Simi was demonstrating her approval of Lena as an intimate friend and confidant, and Lena reciprocated to demonstrate her acceptance.
She's so good for me,
Lena thought to herself. "Two weeks of freedom," she said aloud, relaxing beneath Simi's kneading fingers. "Any plans?"
"What, you didn't learn your lesson after last night's revels? Take a day off!"
"Hmph." Simi continued Lena's neck massage. Lena rolled her head around, trying to guide Simi's hands to the muscles with the most tension.
"Want to try a relaxation program?" Simi suggested.
"Sure," Lena answered, still groggy. "What do I have to do?"
"Sit up straight first," Simi grasped her shoulders, pulling Lena upwards. Lena complied, pushing herself up as best she could on the cushions. "Focus on your breathing. In, hold, and out." She demonstrated, taking a deep, slow breath in, holding it for five seconds, expelling it just as slowly. "Again." Breathe in, hold, release. "Keep going. Try to relax, maintain your posture, but let your muscles loosen."
Lena allowed her head, shoulders, and arms to droop, while keeping her back straight. Simi continued massaging her shoulders and neck; Lena could feel the tensions melting away, as Simi instructed: "Feet flat on the floor. Don't think about anything else, just focus on breathing and looseness."
The relaxation session continued for nearly ten minutes, until Lena slumped into a puddle on the couch. "Oh, that's woooonderful," she cooed. "Thank you, Simi."
"You're welcome." Simi's hands stopped, then she trailed a fingertip down Lena's neck. "Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me today," she said.
"Like what?" Lena tipped her head back to look at her languidly.
"I mean, pick a program. Your choice."
Lena blinked in surprise. "You want me to, what, give you a command?"
Simi nodded. "Um-hm. Anything you want."
Lena twisted around to gawk at her. "Simi, I... I wouldn't even know where to start."
What is she up to?
It would have to be something innocent, for Simi's sake; she didn't dare give voice to any of the
other
ideas she'd fantasized about. "Besides, isn't that
verboten?
You made me promise, after all."
"Oh, yeah. Well, I suppose I am okay with... a limited number of commands." She held up a finger. "Maybe one," she thought for a moment, then held up another finger, "or two. Just don't abuse the privilege."
"I'll try," Lena said. Inwardly, she smiled to herself.
I still have unlimited voice access to E27. No restrictions there.
Simi stood, then walked around the couch to stand in the middle of the room. "So? What do you want me to do? Keep in mind, if it's not in my database, we'll have to put the suit on and use the computer to program me. Not that I'd mind."
Lena collected her thoughts, still groggy from the lack of sleep and the massage. "Hmm...make breakfast?"
Simi put her fists on her hips and faced Lena down. "You'll have to be more specific. Any requests? Recipes were some of the first things I downloaded."
Lena tried to remember some of her childhood favorites, and found an obscure one that might provide a challenge. "Eggs a la Goldenrod?"
Simi gave her a confused look, then closed her eyes as she accessed her internal files. "Oh, I
do
know it; that's an oldie. Eggs, milk, butter, flour, and toast; we have those. I'll have to get out the egg cooker." She turned to the kitchen, then stopped, and turned back with a sly smile. "Now, is that how you give your robot slave an order? Make it sound like one," she said playfully. "Command me, Mistress!"
Lena coughed, hard, doubling over to hide her face and her shock.
Robot slave? Mistress?
She'd never thought to hear Simi say something like
that!
Her innocent-sounding tease was triggering all of Lena's corrupt desires. Clearing her throat, she tried to summon up an authoritative voice and adopt a serious expression before saying: "Unit E27, make us Eggs a la Goldenrod for breakfast."
A rapturous look crossed Simi's face, then drained away as E27 assumed control. "Command confirmed." With measured steps, she went to the kitchen. The egg cooker was in a lower cabinet, and she knelt to retrieve it.
Lena watched from the couch as E27 worked away systematically. Once the eggs were set to hard boil, she got out the double boiler and began preparing the white sauce. As the butter began melting, E27 looked over her shoulder at Lena, and called to her. "Housemate:Lena, please assist this unit by making four pieces of toast."
Who's giving the orders here?
Lena wondered as she pushed herself up from the cushions. She sidled up to the counter and reached for the bread, dropping two slices into the toaster. While she waited, she spared a look at E27's blank face, then began watching her friend openly. E27's gaze was focused on the pan, with a lock of her dark blonde hair obscuring one blue eye from Lena's regard. Her breasts lifted slowly and fell as she breathed, her hand stirring the sauce in a precise circle. Lena felt herself drifting as she watched the spoon spiral around in the thickening glaze...
The toast popped up, and shook her out of her trance. She nipped the toast from the device, and plated it, smearing it with a little butter, before adding two more slices to the toaster, then went back to gazing indolently as E27 stirred.
When the egg cooker beeped, E27 removed the lid, and put the eggs one by one into a bowl of cold water. They would be ready to de-shell in a minute. By then, Lena had a pile of toast ready, and began breaking each slice into bite-sized pieces. As she worked, she kept stealing glances at E27.
