bedroom?
Turning around again, Nikon’s hands stay on me as I look to the kitchen again, confusion clouding my head. “Come on. I said I’d show you.” Nikon’s pulling me toward the bedroom. It’s darker than the kitchen is, and I can’t make out anything in the room except for a bed covered in white blankets and pillows.
As we move closer to the bed, lights spring to life, illuminating a large space around it. Just a few feet from the bed, a low fog seems to float over the landscape. “This is just the default. Watch this.”
Freezing in place, Nikon looks around as more lighting appears around us. Instead of the fog, walls form. It reminds me of the holodecks on some of the sci-fi shows I’ve seen in the past. “How did you do that?”
My hands spring to my cheeks in shock, and I spin in a slow circle, taking in how large the room looks to be. I see a few exits, which I presume go to other areas of this home, but I’m super confused about how we got here and what exactly this place is.
“This is my personal dimension. I told you I was a Sinth Guardian, right?”
Thinking back, I try to remember what he said. I feel discombobulated. By the time I’ve completed my spin and taken it all in, I notice Nikon has opened up a panel in the bedroom wall. Small devices that look somewhat like weapons are clamped into place.
Pulling out the smallest one, he holds it out between us. “This is a trakoline—or at least that’s what we call it. Never really caught on in our society, but everyone in my family has one from the test prototypes.” He laughs, but the sound is jaded. “Well, supposedly everyone. I want you to carry it.”
Taking a step away from me, he sinks down onto the bed. It’s strange how attracted to him I feel. Without even consciously making the decision, my feet follow him to the side of the bed. “In general, we try not to harm anyone. Only in self-defense, and we’re under strict orders to not do any more damage than possible to the Wen transitioned Humans we come across—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Holding up my hand, I sink down onto the bed next to him, angling my body toward him with my knee on the plush surface. “Explain more about this disease … and where we are? I feel like I’m getting whiplash with the way things have gone this morning.”
Turning on the bed to mirror my position, Nikon gestures to the room around us as he carefully places the trakoline by his hip on the bed. “All Sinth have access to their own dimension. Around puberty, we begin phasing into it—with little rhyme or reason. Sometimes it’s when we sleep, or it may just randomly happen until we get more control. But once we’ve figured out how to access our dimension at will, we can use this as a stepping-stone to other places. When we leave here, I’ll have you envision where you want to go, and we’ll go there instead of back to Brad’s apartment. Does that make sense?”
Whoa. Yes, it makes total sense. If what he’s explaining is true, then this would totally eliminate ever traveling in a car or plane … or anything, really.
“Wow!” I finally manage. The possibilities spin through my mind. My mouth’s probably still hanging open as I consider what he’s telling me. That’s how I manage to miss how close he comes until his lips cover mine.
I’m paralyzed by the jolt to my system from the rumbling groan vibrating between us as Nikon presses his lips to mine. Quickly, his entire body slides over me as his arms wrap around me and tug me tight to him while I remain frozen out of shock. It feels … so perfect.
If I could freeze this moment in time, it’d be comparable to waking late on a Saturday morning and lying in bed, knowing you have nowhere else you need to go or nothing you need to do. Or being on vacation, laying out by the ocean as the surf pounds the shore in the background, and the sun heats your skin. Absolute perfection.
When Nikon’s head tilts, and his tongue traces my lips, I let out my own moan as my body springs to life. Every cell seems to cry out as if thirsty for him. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and our tongues touch,