Friday Romance: Dating In The Teleportation Age (Romance/Sci-Fi) (Part 2 of 5)
When James appeared at work his manager was looking down on him, with arms folded in a mess of cloth, and a stern grimace
The next morning James teleported home and got ready for work. Making sure to give his dog lots of attention as he went about his routine.
“Apologies, Faber,” said James. “It was a last minute thing. I know I told you we’d watch a movie.” He filled his dog’s bowl up using a heaping scoop of dry food. “Tonight. I promise.”
When James appeared at work his manager was looking down on him, with arms folded in a mess of cloth, and a stern grimace that forced his brows down towards in nose in a manner so ridiculous it was almost enough to distract from the gleam of light shining off his baldhead.
“I’m going to have to deduct an hour from today’s pay,” said the glowing orb.
“Apologies, Sir. It won’t happen again.”
“I’d hope not. Just because your family has a history with this company doesn’t mean you get to slack off.”
James turned around in his chair and glanced at the time on his computer. He was two minutes late.
As time droned on James answered calls, checked his phone, visited Faber, got coffee, and disappeared before giving Dave the chance to visit him at the end of the workday. At home, he tossed his phone onto the ottoman and collapsed on the couch. He looked up when he felt his fingers being licked.
“Movie night,” said James. “I know.”
He sat with his dog at his side as the screen flickered before him, one hand scratching the canine’s belly and the other scrolling through his phone. Dating had become a fleeting experience, at least according to his grandparent’s, but the process of matching with someone on an app and meeting them moments later was all James had ever known. Nights he dedicated to dating, he’d usually meet three or four matches within the hour, and more often than not appear in his apartment alone at the end of the endeavor. He found a few matches throughout the movie, but refused to meet up with any of them in the moment.
The next night James met with each match, first at a bar where he ordered a seltzer, then to a coffee shop, a park, pier at the beach, then back home again, alone. With each match, whether sitting and sipping a drink, or strolling and looking at the scenery, he noticed the woman across from him, or too his side, looking behind him, almost through him. He was but a fleeting encounter and he knew it. The second he was gone someone would take his place.
How are you liking the story so far? Do you think you’d like being able to teleport? Where would you go?
Next Episode: How’d you find out about my secret spot?
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