Immersion Playground
Book #3: Flight to Paradise
Chapter 16
Charlie pauses as she walks back into Mac's house. She and Todd had spent thirty glorious minutes at the lake's edge watching the sunset, Todd holding her tight as they kissed and touched. It had been so romantic, like they were the only two people in the universe, but upon returning to Mac's house she realizes something has changed. Kate is flushed and looks as if maybe she's been crying and there is a tension in the air that wasn't there when they left.
"Uhhh, are we interrupting?" she asks.
Kate sniffs, then laughs, waving her in. "No, sorry. Mac and I were just talking."
"Are you sure? You look... uhhh... upset," Charlie says, treading carefully.
"No, not at all," Kate says with laugh. If anything, she's feeling giddy. "Mac and I were just discussing how happy you and Todd looked down there at the lake."
"Well, it was romantic," Charlie says with a smile. "You have such a beautiful place here Mac. Just beautiful."
"And best of all, Charlie didn't try to drown me," Todd says with a grin.
Mac snorts a laugh. "Thank God for that. The police tape and paperwork would put a real dampener on the weekend."
"Yes it would," Todd agrees. "For some of us more than others."
Charlie knows something has happened, she can sense it in the way Kate and Mac are acting, but she can't tell what. At least they don't seem upset, and the tension she felt between them when she walked in is dwindling. She decides to let it drop for now and to ask Kate about it later.
The four settle into the soft cushions of the chairs and sofa, Charlie and Todd snuggling up close, the memory of their freezing dunk in the pool still fresh in their minds. As they talk and laugh, Charlie puts her head on Todd's shoulder, getting quieter and quieter until she drifts off to sleep.
"Is Charlie okay?" Kate asks quietly.
"Yes," Todd says. "It's been a tough few months getting the new immersion out. Charlie was under a lot of pressure for a while to find the right people. Now they've just disappeared, and we haven't heard a word from them. It worries her. This weekend away has been good for her. Me too. Thanks for the invite, Mac. You don't know how much it means to us."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you could come," Mac says. "The new immersion is doing well?"
"Exceptional. We didn't spread it around, but we were betting the company on this immersion. If it failed, I don't know that we could have recovered. I think it was stressing everyone out."
"But no worries now?" Mac asks, interested.
"Well, there is always the next one. But
Arena
has exceeded our wildest expectations. At the rate it's going it's going to out sell
The Proposal,
and soon. In fact, it's pulling in some sales for
The Proposal
as well. The sales had been on the decline, as you would expect, but they're rising again."
"Do you know what you are going to do next?" Kate asks.
"Rick and I have been kicking around a few ideas. But I can't say," Todd says with a tilt of his head to Charlie.
"Keeping secrets, are we?" Kate teases.
"Not so much from her," Todd says, "but from Giselle. Charlie can't keep a secret to save her life."
"I haven't been back to the Immersion Playground site since I first contacted you," Mac says. "What's
Arena
about?"
"I'd like to know too," Kate says. "Charlie wouldn't tell me, so there goes your idea that she can't keep a secret."
Todd grins. "You just didn't wheedle her hard enough. It's about the oldest war in history, settled in a Roman Coliseum."
"Oldest war in history?" Mac asks, thinking out loud. "Well, considering the types of immersion you make, it has to be something between men and women. Amazons vs. Gladiators?"
"No, not really," Todd says. "Think more personal."
"Love?" Kate asks. "Wait! Sex? A sex war? War between the sexes!"
"That's it in a nutshell. Man vs. woman, or as we called them, Mars vs. Venus."
"How the hell does that work?" Mac asks.
"To be honest, we got way more than we bargained for. When we started this project, we were thinking just man vs. woman, last man, or woman, standing. We'd done some research and found it isn't that much of a stretch to think that the Romans may have staged these types of sexual competitions. So, we went out and found two good looking people that seemed to be up for some rough sex. What we didn't expect is for them to fall in love, which is what happened, and it comes through in the immersion in a big, big way," Todd explains.
"Charlie said they, Mars and Venus, reminded her of us, of Mac and me," Kate says.
Todd thinks about it for a second. "I can see that," he says. "You want to try it? I can comp you a copy."
"Maybe, but don't do that," Mac says. "You'll never get rich giving your product away. Maybe Kate and I will try it sometime."
Todd grins evilly. "Don't do it if you have to go to work the next morning. Bad idea."
Kate looks at Todd, then at Mac. "We're definitely going to have to try it now," she says before fading out then coming back. "I've just us bought a copy."
Mac chuckles quietly. "I assume it's hot stuff?"
"Have you experienced
The Proposal?"
"Yes," Mac says.