Page 76 of Smart Ass

Max didn’t take the bait. Didn’t he care at all?

“They don’t look much alike.”

“Uh, no, dude. That’s because being a Dom is all about attitude. It’s a mindset.”

“Huh.”

“Keep thinking about it,” Ben suggested. “You don’t need to decide all at once. It might become clearer over time, and you can swap out body parts later if you want.”

“Alright.”

Max didn’t seem pleased with the suggestion. But this shit was legit hard.

“Do you want to put the bot back?” Ben asked. “When you’re ready, we can order one that matches your specifications, or even look for a used model if you’re getting a better idea.” It would take a substantial chunk of Ben’s savings or Max would need to take out a loan if he wanted to do it himself. But there were non-profits that helped with this stuff and Ben’s income would keep rolling in until Max had his own salary.

Max sighed. “I guess you’re right.” There was a long pause, and none of the bots in the room made any effort toward returning the bot to the box behind it. “I just wanted to see what it felt like.”

“Golden opportunity right there.” Ben jerked his thumb at the bot.

“I believe it would take me months to fully inhabit a body, and I don’t want to make the commitment to one and then switch later.”

“Yeah, but just for one day?”

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Max’s words were reluctant, but Ben could hear the excitement behind them.

“Yeah, go for it!”

There was a pause, and then the bot on the floor suddenly stood up.

Well, maybe “stood up” wasn’t quite the word for it. It moved sinuously. Seductively. One knee rose, and then an elbow slipped back so that it was posed on its side, broad chest arched and cock falling heavily over its thigh with its head tilted back for maximum viewing pleasure. Then it rose to a kneeling position with parted, ready lips bringing to mind fellatio and submission. It continued up to standing, one strong hand perched on its hip while it gazed downward with authority, ready to give a command to a willing playmate.

Finally, it met Ben’s eyes, every expression and muscle in its body screaming sexual attraction. “Hello, there,” it said, in a deep voice that dripped seduction and was just this side of cheesy.

“That wasn’t me!” Max sounded alarmed, his voice still coming from the walls. He was a dozen times sexier, without even trying.

Ben snorted with amusement. “Oh my god. That was epic!” He looked up toward one of the cameras, put his hand on his hip, and said Hello, there, just like the bot.

“Shut up, Ben.”

The bot’s eyes roved around the room. Or at least its head turned to gather visual data—there was a good chance that some of its visual inputs weren’t located in its eyes.

The bot said, “It’s okay to be nervous. We can take things as slowly or as quickly as you want to.”

“Wrong emotion, beefcake,” Ben told it.

“Please tell me how I may…” The bot’s mouth kept moving, but no sound came out.

Ben howled with laughter. “Please tell me you’re recording this, Max.”

Max replied from the bot. “I’m gathering data.” He sounded strained, and the mouth wasn’t working in conjunction with the sounds.

Ben took that to be a yes. He stopped laughing, though, because he could tell that Max was really struggling. “Is this supposed to be difficult?”

There were safety rules about giving a spark too many new parts at once, but when it was just one or two at a time, they usually integrated them immediately, and were ready to go. It was just preserving their memories—their sentience—across parts that could be imperiled.

“I think so,” Max managed. This time, the mouth didn’t move, but the sound still came from speakers somewhere on the bot.

“What’s it feel like?” Ben asked.