Ai Era: Matchmaer

A university student who's experiment failed comes across a police officer who's hurting from a bad relationship. They make each other smile. He inspires her to scramble to graduate, and she's exactly who he wants for life. He's just got one problem: he's too broken to wait. At least where he lives in a small Mojave Desert town, he's got friends who are going to help..in a way.

Glitches

"... paranoimia paranoimia paranoimia..." sang the radio.

"How am I getting to sleep?" I sang along with it.

Red and blue lights broke up the dark in my world: my twin pin-pricks of headlights on the asphalt were no longer alone. Turning off the radio, I looked up at the rear view mirror. "Rollers," I muttered, "Just my friggin luck."

I pulled off to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, 'Zzyzx' was the last town I saw. The cop car echoed my motions. Guess it was a state highway cop. Sighing, I rolled down the window as I watched him put his flood light on me and get out.

I barely paid attention to the masculine figure that approached. I just focused on keeping my hands on the wheel where he could see them.

As I looked up into a frowning face with a strong jaw, I blinked. He was wearing corrective glasses, and the half moon style was distinctly nerdy. I looked down at his hands; gloved, large hands grasped my window frame, perfectly proportioned for his height.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" he asked in a smooth tenor voice.

I looked back up at his face and swallowed my first response of 'No, but I am sure you do.' That was a minor miracle. "My car showed 45 mph, officer," I answered.

"Did you see the 'Construction Zone' signs?" he continued quizzing me.

I frowned. "Yes, that's why I was going 45."

"It's 35," he flatly stated.

I looked in surprise at my car. Its AI was supposed to display the input data from the construction announcement.

I sighed. Didn't matter. Just another fucking failure. "I'm sorry, officer. I must have made a mistake."

He looked at me closely. "You okay?"

I was not okay. Everything that I had worked for over 6 years had just imploded. I was not okay at all. I shook my head.

He stared at me a moment while I waited for him to start the litany of asking for my ID. Then he stood up and let go of my window frame. "Looks like we're both having a shitty time. See that light ahead?"

I looked. There was a single light attached to a building about a mile down the road. I nodded.

"It's a diner, El Gastronomico; go and get a coffee."

I blinked at him. He patted the roof of my car a couple of times in dismissal, turned, and started walking back to his vehicle. Fortunately, I had a photographic memory. 'Officer Centalmo,' his badge had read.

"I'll be damned," I muttered. As he walked away, I couldn't stop myself from ogling his form.

When I pulled away, he followed me until I entered the diner's parking lot. Then he presumably continued on his shift. "Be careful out there, officer," I muttered. I should have followed my own advice. I took two steps, and almost twisted my ankle in a hole.

I stepped in to the cozily lit diner to meet a smiling face. "Buenas tardes, senora," the middle aged man greeted, waving me to the bar. I smelled Mexican spices, chilies, and corn as I entered making me immediately relax.

"Buenas tardes, guapo. Me gustaría un café por favor," I told him, sighing. An old song played, '...me lleva al cerrito, me vuelve maceta...' as I sat exhausted.

He grinned and winked, while replying, "Un momento, bella." As he handed me the coffee, he placed a brown sugar cookie next to it. "Two credits," he prompted.

That was well below the usual asking price. I put down five. "I just got off a traffic ticket, so here's a little extra for luck."

He nudged my hand with a menu. "After your coffee, stay and order something on the menu. My wife makes an excellent tortilla soup."

I smiled and said, "Okay. Gracias." I pulled out my work notebook and flipped back to the instructions I'd written down. They were all there. How did the sequence get turned around in the instruction file?

An hour later, I was still staring blankly at my notebook, desperately wondering if there was some way to save the situation of collecting the wrong data for my experiment. The empty seat next to me filled, and a vaguely familiar voice said, "Vorrei un caffè, Giuseppe."

I looked up and blinked. It was him. Officer Centalmo. My mind completely stopped for a moment as the sweet restaurateur put a napkin down in front of him. The officer looked at me, and I could tell very little escaped his gaze.

"Well, looks like your vehicle still works, and you've just made yourself at home. Wasn't sure what to expect when I saw you still parked here."

Now that we were in the homey smells of good food and comfortable seating, I was struck with the unique scent that was the officer's own. He smelled good, too. "Sitting here helps me think about misreading directions," I thoughtlessly replied.

He grinned. And it was like the room lit up.

I smiled back.

He blinked. At that moment, Giuseppe bumped his hand with the coffee cup, and he looked briefly startled. "Grazie, amico," he said.

"De nada," Giuseppe chuckled.

"So cheers, Miss?" he held up his coffee.

I lifted mine to lightly tap his, "Hanna Urabi."

"CHP Officer Dan Centalmo at your service, Miss Hanna."

"Unstable scientist at yours, Officer Dan," I replied. "You probably should cuff me before I accidentally destroy the world or something," I muttered ruefully.

"10 mph over the speed limit? You're not changing the history books with that one." He chuckled, "Marrying a cop will land you in cuffs, though."

Heat cascaded through me, making me shiver. Officer Dan was decidedly delicious. The off-color joke was so unexpected, I giggled.

"That's better," he murmured.

I was thoroughly diverted. "Why's your evening been lousy?" I asked, referring to what he'd said earlier.

He looked down at my left hand, shrugged, then lifted it. More heat ran through me from his touch and my cheeks turned pink. I liked his grip on me. He idly massaged my ring finger. "My ex just got married today," he sighed.

"Sorry," I murmured. I looked down at my hand where he held it. I actually didn't feel that sorry at all. Meant I could be attracted to him guilt-free. He started massaging my other fingers, and I was enjoying the simple unadulterated pleasure in the act.

He paused. Holding my hand fast with one of his hands, he sipped his coffee with the other, then resumed messaging with both his hands. "What's got you occupied there?"

I sighed. He studied my face as I scrunched it up in misery. It was hard to talk about.

"Boyfriend?"

I chuckled, diverted again. "No, nothing like that."

His massage moved to the palm of my hand. "Do you have one?"

I shook my head as the heat in my body found a focus, my core. With a simple touch, Officer Dan was lighting me on fire. I couldn't believe it.

"So what is it?" he asked. He lowered my hand, placing it on my knee. Reaching over, he took my other hand. His knee pressed against mine in the process. I didn't move enjoying the contact.

I relaxed under his spell. As he began rubbing the fingers on my other hand, I told him. "Somehow I entered the wrong numbers in my experiment. They're all correct here in my book, but I screwed up the entry. The data collected is all garbage, well, barely usable, unless I want to create a whole new field in physics to get something new out of it. It means I won't graduate on time...if ever."

He blew out his breath. "A lot of people come out here to the Mojave for creative inspiration. Maybe you should stay a while."

I looked up from his hands on mine to his face, startled. Most people treat me like a leper at this point, like I'll judge them from atop the pedestal of my education. He was looking at me hopefully.

"Is there a good place to stay around here?" I was tired. Bone tired. Heart-weary. Even if there was nothing out here except space, there was a big sky and an expansive view. I'd driven through here many times, and enjoyed scanning the plains of California below the high walls of the San Andreas fault.

Giuseppe interrupted at this point, "Amigo, look at the TV." He pointed.

We turned and looked. A reporter in clothes that were being advertised in the corner of the screen talked about how an AI-AI interface started talking in code, causing several automated vehicles to fail and block the highway out of Barstow. The report was brought to us by a delivery company.

"Looks like I'm not getting home," I muttered to myself.

Still holding my hand, Dan stood up. "It's weird I didn't get a call for that. Guess my break is over." He lifted the back of my hand to his lips and kissed, lightly. I squeaked, girly and high pitched, because I liked it so much, much to my surprise. "There's a nice bed and breakfast in Baker. Just for women. You don't want any of the other places, because they have some roughnecks who still should be in jail." He looked at Giuseppe. As he released me, I didn't let go of his hand.

"I'll give her the information," Giuseppe offered.

"Grazie molto amabile," he replied, giving my hand a last quick squeeze and pulling away.

"Will I see you again?" I asked as he turned towards the door.

He grinned, again lighting up the room and me. "You can count on it." He turned and left.

Giuseppe chuckled while giving me directions and contact information for Lady McClain's B&B. "Danello likes you. He'll make a woman very happy someday."

"What happened with the ex?" I asked.

He shrugged. "She had a lot of money. I think he was just a check-box in her list."

My jaw dropped. Then I closed it. I'd seen the type.

Promising to return soon, I left.

Next Day

Surrounded by the scent of a bakery, I settled in for breakfast at the bed & breakfast Officer Dan Centalmo suggested. Instrumental jazz unobtrusively played here at low volume. Sipping coffee and looking out the window at a desert plain, I thought over how the detectors in my experiment actually worked. I'd seen a pattern in the noise, but the question was whether it was the detector or something being detected. A male voice just outside instantly distracted me; it was followed by a rough tread.

"Go ahead, Officer," I heard the matron operating the B&B say. Mrs. McClain's voice was cool.

Officer Dan suddenly filled the doorway and my excited gaze. He approached my table taking his hat off. I smiled seeing Dan again, smart-looking and fresh in the morning. He smiled back at me, eagerly, as he reached me. My heart rate ticked up, and I instantly warmed in my vulva again. I waved at the seat at my table urging him to join me, "It's good to see you again, Officer Dan."

He didn't take my offer. "I need to get started on my desk shift, but I was wondering," he began. "Um, it's good to see you, too, Miss Hanna." He nervously rotated his hat in his hands.

I was a little disappointed he couldn't stay, but then realized he was there for this...whatever he was about to ask. I reminded myself to breathe as I waited a half-beat for him to continue.

"When I get off-shift, would you, um would you like to go to dinner with me?" he asked nervously.

The heat in my vulva intensified, I was stunned at how fast I turned on from the idea. I beamed at him, "I would love to."

His eyes glinted and he inhaled as if he'd been holding his breath. "I'll be here at 6:30 PM. Thank you, um..." He fidgeted some more, then snagged my hand and dropped another kiss as I inhaled sharply. Then he turned and rapidly left, his face pink with embarrassment.

Mrs. McClain silently held open the door as he rushed out. I rubbed the back of my hand thinking of his lips and how I'd like to kiss him. That was when Mrs. McClain approached. Snagging an unused cup off of a nearby table, she poured some coffee from my carafe into it and sighed while taking a sip. "He's an odd duck, dear," she said after a moment. Then she looked at my notebook and rolled her eyes, "As are you. Try to be a little nicer to him than the last one was, okay?"

My eyes wide in surprise, I nodded. Small towns. Everyone is an audience to everyone else's soap opera. This was a small town. After encouraging me to settle in for as long as I liked, she drifted away.

When I looked back down at my notebook, I realized my dinner, well date really, with Dan may as well be on a stage for every one else's theater and muttered, "Oh, brother."

As I worked, an equation tickled my memory. Writing it down, I remembered it was significant for energy release but insignificant for the work I'd been doing. But the pattern I was looking at could be described with that sort of calculation...

"You need to get ready."

The statement broke through my thoughts. I looked up in surprise at the speaker, the B&B's matron, Mrs. McClain. Everything rushed back and I gasped, looking at the clock. It was 6 o'clock. "Yeek!" I jumped up, grabbed my notes and ran for the stairs. "Thank you!" I called.

Difficult to hear over the creaking of the wood on the stairs, I thought I heard, "...watching a train wreck."

Throwing on dark slacks and a maroon dress shirt, I brushed my teeth and checked my breath. One thing I'd learned the hard way was to wear clothes that wouldn't show food stains if I wanted to make a good impression. I glanced in the mirror and realized my hair was in complete disarray. I tended to grab handfuls of it as I thought. With a quick finger comb, I managed to get it somewhat presentable and galloped downstairs. The entry way was empty. I checked the time: 6:20. I inhaled in relief. I had 10 minutes to bring my heart rate down.

As I waited, I started to agitate about how I thought dinner with Dan would go. I couldn't wait to touch his hands again. Would he kiss me? I hoped so. But of course, dinner could be a disaster and that would be a really bad idea. As I worried, I heard a truck park outside. I looked out the window, and spotted an old Chevy Silverado. I giggled as Dan climbed out; it was older than both of us. "Odd duck," I whispered. I couldn't see his facial expression, but I could see from his body language, his step was determined. Smiling, I threw open the door before he got to it and said, "Hi!"

He was momentarily stunned. I got a quick once-over as he smiled in return, making my head buzz merrily. Snagging my hand, he leaned down and after a brief moment of hesitation, kissed my cheek. I made a little happy vocalization, completely involuntarily. His hand squeezed mine reflexively in response. "You must be ethereal, appearing just as I wanted to see you."

I chuckled. I wanted to tell him that he must be electric, because I felt charged every time I saw him, but I filtered it out. Too nerdy. Too trite. "What's for dinner?" I asked instead. And resisted adding 'You?' I was briefly horrified that I was really close to verbalizing a thought that was more likely to make him run away than take me up on it.

His eyebrows quirked as he led me to his truck and opened the passenger side with a creak of old steel joints. "Steak. Sound good?" I climbed in a little awkwardly. He gently nudged my leg further in with a hand on my calf and another on my thigh.

"It sounds wonderful," I replied breathily. I also muted the response of 'I like beef steak' thinking of an old term for a sexy man with muscles, like him. Or was it 'beef cake'?

He smiled in return and shut the door. It smelled a little differently from the cars I was used to. More metal, less plastic. I blinked as he came around the back of the truck. He tried to hide it, but I noticed a male arm shift that my friend pointed out as being a guy having to adjust his gonads around due to getting aroused. When he climbed in the truck and looked at me, I could see it in his eyes, he wanted me. And I was positively mooning over him.

The drive was too short. We could have walked it. After five minutes, he entered the small square around the community college building and courthouse and parked next to an old ranch home turned restaurant.

Since Dan was being chivalric, I waited for him to open the door for me. Probably best because I would be worried about putting enough force into the old truck's door but not too much. As he helped me down, I quickly dropped a kiss on his cheek in turn. It was smooth. He had taken the time to shave before meeting me. I didn't care for the aftershave though. It masked his natural musk, which was a stimulant for my libido. Of course, that helped me keep my head and hold in my naughty thoughts, so there's that.

His hand tightened on me when I did. "Careful," he rumbled softly.

I looked down at the ground to see if I was about to step in a hole.

Leaning over to murmur in my ear, he explained, "Your touching me makes me a little crazy. I'm getting hungry."

I looked up at him, realizing what he was saying. Hungry libido-wise. I looked down at our holding hands. "Shall we start with an appetizer?" I glanced up at him to see how he took my saucy comment.

His eyes widened slightly and glinted. He let go of my hand held out an arm urging me to hold it as we walked towards the restaurant. "Come on. While you still can run without a love-struck feral bounding after you."

I chuckled at the cartoon reference while covering his arm with my hand and squeezing. Which encouraged him to put a hand on top of mine. I inhaled excitedly, sensitive to everything masculine about him. I could sense his greater strength, aggression thrumming through his frame, his male scent, and all of it focused on me. The happy buzz in my head was back. Along with the heat in my core, which was growing slick with desire for him.

As we entered the restaurant, the noise dropped perceptively, but nobody looked directly at us. I could tell they were looking with furtive glances though. A song playing in the dining room suddenly seemed louder, '...I needed your love, I'm burning away I need never get old...' A cook waived us to go grab a seat, and Dan picked a candle-lit open area near the side exit door. I breathed in happily enjoying the smell of steak and grilled veggies. A young man came over as Dan pulled out a seat for me and sat himself.

"The usual, Officer Centalmo?" he asked.

"Yes, Vader. Thanks."

"And your girlfriend?"

Dan's eyes glinted at the assumption. "Do you trust me?"

"From the moment I saw you," I smiled.

"Bleh," Vader muttered.

"Steak..." Dan looked at me for a moment, "...well done. Baked veggies. Cheese with jalapeno dipping sauce."

"Well done," I smiled at his guessing correctly how I'd like my steak.

He shivered a wink at me as Vader left, shaking his head. Snagging my hand immediately, Dan observed, "You didn't deny it."

I'd already lost track of the flow of the conversation while scanning the wall displays. "What was that?"

"Being my girlfriend."

That snapped my eyes straight to his face. He was anxious and teasing. I censored my first flippant thought, 'Beats getting a ticket' and replied, "Seems a safe role to have with your type..." He blinked like I'd just pinched his ear lobe hard. "...considering it didn't take you long to mention handcuffs."

His gaze briefly heated. "I'm not hearing a 'No'," he replied playfully.

"It's not official until you kiss me," I declared, pointing dramatically at my mouth and frowning.

His face, half in shadow, half in light from the candle on the table, tensed and his eyes glinted, "Careful."

I looked down to see if I was about to put my arm into the candle.

Vader returned with glasses of water at that point and then left.

"Do your parents live here?" I asked.

He shook his head and looked at me fondly, "They went back to Italy. I stayed, partially because until I turn 40, a visit would turn into a military tour."