how she liked her job

"whether this job is super-stressful."

Mary looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. A day before, he would have seen nothing but her weirded-out reaction. With his bio-DNA-enhanced senses, though, he saw just a hint of... could it be?... a positive reaction.

"It's a job."

He made himself chuckle. "And having a job is a good thing, right? Can't argue with that considering my circumstances."

It seemed to him she actually looked at him for the first time. From her expression, her reaction wasn't overwhelmingly positive. "What happened to you? Go out and get drunk to celebrate getting laid off."

He shook his head. "Nothing like that. Turns out I had a lot of my life caught up in the company. Like my apartment. Hadn't realized that we'd returned to the days of company towns."

"They evicted you in the middle of the month?"

"Harsh, right?"

"Definitely. Listen, I'm sorry you're going through this but if you want to get back on your feet, you've got to put that behind you."

"Yeah, I know," Rick lied. "And I appreciate your help."

"Well, it's the least I can do."

It wasn't a blowjob, but Rick felt he'd made some progress. By carefully monitoring her reactions, watching her blood flow under her skin, keeping track of the way her pupils dilated and contracted, he was doing all right.

He stood and reached out for a handshake. Physical touch is a bonding act among humans and he wasn't above using every trick he could manage.

When she grasped his hand, Rick turned it into a two-handed shake... a bit of extra contact. "I guess I'll see you around," he said.

"That would be nice."