By the time they escaped the chatty Nobles, it was well after dark, and the Military crew had plans for first thing in the morning. They had been assured that the facilities would be all but abandoned at that time of day, despite it being early enough to escape the heat. Most patrons wouldn’t be up for hours after they left, the Nobles assured Max.
The resort’s patrons were usually carefully curated, to appeal to the highest of standards and not embarrass the resort’s reputation. Just getting them to accept the random winners of a Tournament had been a struggle for the organizers, requiring intervention by the Chen family themselves.
They had gotten lucky, and the winning crew was fairly respectable, without any slovenly sorts or truly repugnant faces in the mix. With the data net being Kepler-wide, the competition for famous streamers was very intense, and the slightest flaw was often enough to end the career of an up-and-coming star. Even the lone adult entertainer in the group of victorious competitors was a well-known entertainment feature at a certain sort of Noble parties and blended in well with the crowd.
She was a bit upset that they prohibited her from filming adult scenes in recognizable areas of the hotel, but Max suspected that she might still find a few friendly faces in the recreation areas.
When they arrived back at the room the first thing they both did was strip down and go for a shower, removing the scent of pool water from their skin and replacing it with the gently scented body washes that the hotel provided..
Once they were both clean, Max looked at the bed in silent trepidation. The temperature control in the room was incredible, but he slept better if he had some outside ventilation. The problem was that opening a door would make it too hot in the room to comfortably sleep.
“Hey Nico, you can alter your shell temperature, right?” Max asked, getting a brilliant idea.
“Of course, it’s a standard feature of all military cyborg conversions,” Nico answered, not understanding where he was going with this.
“So, if you dropped your outer temperature down to a pleasant eighteen degrees Celcius, you would be perfectly soft and cool to sleep on, right?”
Max’s suggestion made Nico smirk. “I knew you secretly loved to cuddle. I will set my shell temperature and you tell me how it works out for you.”
Max woke up the next morning holding a cool and refreshing pillow in his arms. But it was really heavy. For a moment he thought it was some sort of weighted blanket gimmick sleep aid, but then his brain fully engaged and he realized that the weight was because it was Nico that he was wrapped around.
Her body held the perfect temperature all night, keeping it pleasantly cool under the comforter, even with the door open, letting the warm night air into the room.
“We should do this every night. I don’t think I’ve slept that well in, well ever to be honest.” Max sighed, shifting to release Nico from his grasp.
They had thirty minutes before they had planned to be at breakfast, so he reluctantly got out of bed and went looking through his clothes for something appropriate.
That led him to another missing point of information from his youth. Max had even less idea what you wore to go rock climbing and wilderness hiking than he did about what constituted beach wear. But that was what the Materials Printer was for.
[One Comor Resort custom Rock Adventure outing set printing] The machine chirped happily, creating him a pair of stretchy shorts, a light blue shirt that hugged his body, and a pair of strange shoes with stiff toes and low-cut socks.
If the resort said that was what you wore to go to the rock wall, that was what Max was going to wear. Surely they wouldn’t steer him wrong?
“What are you dressed as today? Pro Climber cosplay?” Nico chuckled when she saw him getting dressed.
“It’s what the Materials Printer said was correct.” Max pointed out in his defense.
“And it wasn’t wrong, but you forgot to choose casual as an option. You look like you’re headed to some professional competition, not a casual day trip with your friends.
“Fine then smartass, what would you pick?” Max asked.
“First, pick normal shoes for the walk. I will pack the climbing ones in a backpack with snacks and drinks. Next, those shorts are very nice, but in an ‘admire your package’ sort of way. Put on these light pants with the big pockets from the casual wear shoot. There are probably going to be bugs in the woods early in the morning.” Nico suggested, not following her own advice at all.
She wore sensible walking shoes, but with Capri cut exercise tights and a loose shirt over a sports bra. Max was just about to chastise her for it when he realized that it didn’t matter what she wore, she was immune to insects bites from anything that wasn’t large enough to be fatal to humans.
Plus, she looked really good in that, and it would be a shame to ask her to change.
Max was certain that hanging out with Nico all the time was going to ruin him for women later in life. Humans had imperfections, marks, plus various odors and wrinkles, but a Cyborg’s Body was absolutely flawless, like a retouched photo or a doll. She seemed to know it too, but it was hard to tell because Nico had never been body shy.
“We should hit the gym later too. A little walk isn’t much of a workout, and the procedures manual says I’m supposed to keep up my routine so that I more fully integrate with my cybernetics.” Nico suggested, taking Max’s hand to lead him out of the room.
“I’m sure they have something for us. A resort this fancy surely gets its share of fitness buffs.” Max agreed, looking forward to a workout himself. He could likely draw Catan and Breckenridge in as well. The whole unit was used to training daily, so a trip to the gym after a week off might be welcome.
The couple was already in line for the restaurant when Max and Nico arrived. They were indeed much earlier than the usual time for guests, and the overnight table settings were being changed for a more colorful morning setting, which led to a ten-minute delay before the early rising breakfast diners could be seated.
They kept to a fairly light breakfast, and a packed lunch. The hotel offered a porter to go with them to carry their bags or an arranged lunch at one of the stops, but the group was more interested in wandering about than keeping any sort of schedule.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel