AIN SOPH, Part 5

Episode 3

Will had never met Lilly in person, but he was no less in love. He’d discovered her on the regular porn pics when he was in college, and he’d followed her website since. He’d seen hundreds, if not thousands of her pictures, and could tell by the look in her eye that she loved him too.

According to Lilly’s profile, she lived in the same town. Will fantasized he would meet her on the street, or maybe in the café. He’d say, “Excuse me, is your name StarScream?” From there, he could eventually segue into her career as Lilly Katt. He imagined she was recognized on the street all the time for her revealing career, talked about on chatrooms and forums across the Net. Will wanted to approach with something more personal. He’d been trying for weeks to slip in hints that he’d like to meet up. He didn’t want to tell her how close he was, but he repeatedly suggested she check his profile.

While they spent countless game hours together, she’d never remarked on his location. He expected eventually StarScream would comment, and then Will would suggest a possible trip to the café, but that moment never came.

Will hadn’t been to the café for at least a couple weeks. The last time was the day before he’d gotten the surround sound installed on the ceiling and corners of his room. The city Wi-Fi had been running slow that afternoon, and Will was pissed. He’d spilled his coffee and the barista copped an attitude he didn’t get up from his table when she mopped up the mess. Will hadn’t been able to show his face since. He figured that being a barista was not a career one held for long, but she’d still been there when he walked past a few days later. Ever since, he’d made sure to have coffee in the freezer and fresh bottled water in the refrigerator.

Episode 4