Gynoid

Gynoid Part 3

"You're not just a gynoid." he told her. "You're more than that. Anyway, let's get going. We need to pick up Alex and Garth soon." They looped their arms around one another and made their way downstairs. At the foot of the stairs, Ronald came on.

"Dresden, a reminder that you must give Jetta an answer regarding her invitation to join her in Morocco—"

"Tomorrow morning, I know." said Toby dismissively.

They were soon heading for Garth's house, the traffic light for a Saturday evening. When they arrived, Garth and Alex were waiting on the front porch, the former wearing a red shirt and frilly black vest, the latter wearing a slim red dress, cybernetic components all along his arms and neck, and a mohawk-like cut with ponytails on either side of his head. They stepped into the Hover and introduced themselves to Ariel. Toby put the car into autopilot and turned his chair to face them, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Dude, you snagged yourself a good one." Garth whispered as Ariel admired Alex's tech accessories. "How'd you land yourself such a babe?"

Toby shrugged. "I went online and shopped for pretty girls." Garth laughed while Toby inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.

About twenty minutes later, the Commodore Club came into view, a giant square brick building with red neon looping all around it. Near the entrance Toby spotted Tim and Yu in matching green-and-silver clothes and Lapis and another man in a red dress and black suit, respectively. Toby recognized the guy Lapis was with as the guy who'd picked her up on that disaster of a date they'd had the other night, tall and stocky with short hair and a scruffy mustache.

They stepped out of the Hover and Toby handed the key to the valet. He introduced Ariel to Tim, Yu, Lapis, and the man Lapis was with, who introduced himself back as Raphael Ortiz. When Toby shook his hand, they stared at each other for a second before letting go of each other's hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Toby noticed similar staring going on when Ariel shook Yu and Lapis's hands.

"So how'd you land this girl, Crimson?" asked Yu, sounding like her normally bratty self. "You kidnap her little sister or something?" There were a few chuckles, but they were quickly cut off as Ariel slipped her arms around Toby's shoulders.

"Hey, he's cute." said Ariel, one of thirty comebacks he'd programmed into her in case someone made a jab about their relationship. She kissed his cheek and added, "I landed him." Toby smiled as the girls looked at him with wonder, while the guys and Alex looked at him with respect. Now they thought Ariel had been the one pursuing him. Let anyone call him green with that thought planted in their heads.

They talked a bit more before stepping inside the club, where about two hundred people in elegant attire were already dancing, eating and drinking, and shouting to be heard over the pumping music. Robotic waiters flew throughout the room, offering drinks and hors d'oeuvres to the guests. One drone offered them champagne despite none of them being old enough to drink it. Everyone but Toby and Ariel took some, their excuses being that Ariel was allergic and Toby was driving.

From there the night went pretty smoothly. There was plenty of dancing, during which Toby's eyes never left Ariel for a second. There was lots of talk and laughter, and Toby learned that despite his initial reservations, he actually liked Lapis's date Raphael. He was humble, unpretentious, and very funny, and didn't seem to think badly of Toby because of his botched date with Lapis.

And no one, not one of them, suspected anything of him or Ariel.

At some point Toby left to use the bathroom. When he stepped out, he found Lapis waiting there for him, a sour look on her face. "Um...hey Lapis." he said, surprised. "C-Can I help you with something?" Lapis's frown deepened and Toby wondered if he'd said something to offend her.