Rose froze, eyes wide as the muffled shouts from beyond the door invaded her ears.
Strangers? Her heart raced. Who the hell are these men? Panic washed over her. Could they be Liam's friends? Were they part of that Futurion Defense Force too? And if so... how long had they been there? Had they heard everything?
Her gaze darted down to her body. Naked. Completely and utterly exposed. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she let out a sharp yelp and scrambled to find something—anything—to cover herself. That oversized shirt from last night... where was it?
Liam, still dazed, cursed under his breath. "Dammit!" He threw his head back, glaring at the ceiling. "Of course, they show up now! Right when things were about to get good..."
Outside, Matt's groggy voice echoed, louder than necessary. "Liam! Seriously, man, get up! It's not only Rach's cooking. I'm gonna burst—I need the toilet!"
Then Alex chimed in, just as desperate. "Me too! I swear, Futurion Defense Force didn't train us for hangovers like this. I'm about to explode!"
Matt groaned. "Loser has to wait, rock-paper-scissors for the toilet, no cheating this time."
The chaotic chatter outside only heightened the frenzy in the room. Liam's fingers twitched—he had mere moments to act. His drunk-ass friends had no clue what was going on inside, let alone that he was tangled up in bed with a love bot just now. He couldn't let them see Rose naked like this. Never. Not by another man other than himself.
"Where is it?!" Rose muttered under her breath, eyes darting frantically around the room until they locked onto the oversized shirt near the recharge pod. There it is.
Just as she reached for it, Liam caught her wrist. "Hold up... that one's dirty, sweetie."
Rose blinked, flustered. Dirty? Who cares in this situation?! But Liam was already moving, grabbing a clean shirt from the drawer. Without a word, he slipped it over her head, his hands surprisingly gentle as he guided her into the sleeves.
What is this? Rose thought, her face flushing deeper. Is he treating me like a child?
Liam, seemingly oblivious to her embarrassment, chuckled softly. "Calm down, sweetie. You're more nervous than I am, and you're the love bot." He grinned as he gestured to himself. "I'm also stark naked here, see?"
Rose's cheeks burned hotter as her gaze darted away. Liam smirked. "Relax, they're just my friends. I'll introduce you—just, uh, don't believe everything they say about me, alright?"
His fingers ran through her hair, trying to neaten her up. Liam felt like he was introducing a new girlfriend to his friends—complete with a messy bed and all.
Just as he was about to assist with the shorts next, Rose snapped. "No! I can do it myself!" Her voice was firm, though barely more than a whisper.
Liam raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback. "Uh, okay," he said, half-amused, half-bewildered. "I've already seen all of you anyway haha...but sure. Go for it."
Rose, red-faced and determined, fumbled with the shorts, her hands shaking slightly. The last thing she wanted was to be discovered in this state.
Meanwhile, Liam grabbed a towel, slinging it around his waist with a magnetic chuckle. The situation was utterly ridiculous, but there was something strangely amusing about it all.
As he glanced at Rose, now fully covered but still red-faced and tense, he couldn't help but laugh under his breath. What a mess. But, well... it was their mess.
- - - - - -
"She's a love bot Liam's brother sent?"
Rachel's voice cut through the air, sharp and incredulous, just before her hand slipped, sending the frying pan—and the charred omelette inside—crashing to the floor with a sizzle.
"Oh my God! It's hot—it's hot!" she shrieked, hopping back as the scorched egg splattered across the tile.
Matt, who had been lounging on the sofa, jumped like he'd been hit by a live wire, his toes smacking straight into the omelette's fiery remains. "Ow! Ow! What the hell, Rach?!"
Meanwhile, Alex, leaned forward, eyes twinkling with that special brand of mischief. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze locking onto Rose like a predator eyeing prey.
"Think Liam would lose it if I just... y'know, squeezed her cheeks?"
His grin stretched wide—too wide—like he was daring the world to stop him.
Rose sat there frozen, her wide eyes darting toward Liam. Help me! But he was out on the balcony, deep in conversation with his father on a call, face taut and serious like she'd never seen before. He wasn't her lifeline right now. Not when he was looking like a damn soldier receiving orders from the big boss upstairs.
Matt, balancing an ice pack on his toes like his life depended on it, piped up, "Liam probably wouldn't even care, man. He's always acted like love bots don't matter. Hell, he was drunk enough last night, maybe he didn't even realize what he was sleeping next to."
Alex shrugged, his eyes still fixed on Rose with an interested look. "Maybe he noticed. Maybe he liked it. I mean.... even I like it... She looks so cute as hell. "
Matt grimaced, pressing the ice pack harder to his foot. "Dude, she's still Liam's. Get a grip."
Meanwhile, Rachel wasn't listening—staring at the mess she'd made on the kitchen floor, this lady had gone full panic mode.
"Dusty! Please get over here, before Liam sees this and loses his mind!"
Right on cue, the cleaning bot zoomed into action, waving its mop attachments like it was leading a parade.
"Right away, Miss Rachel!"
"I also gotta admit. She looks… so real," Matt muttered from the couch with his toes finally feeling better from the burn. Taking a glance at Rose's wrist band which said code X-5002, Matt decided to browsed it on a hologram display that popped up from his wristwatch.
"Oh guys....I bet you might wanna check this out though. This love bot right in front of us is the latest version—way more advanced than the old ones." He swiped through the specs.
"Listen to this: 'Adaptive emotional algorithms, hyper-realistic skin, neural response simulation…'. Dude, this thing can learn from interactions. That's creepy and cool all at once."
With the floor finally clean, Rachael was now able to focus on her friends' discussion. She didn't hesitate to show off her negative opinion.
As she listened to Matt's reading, Rachael's face twisted in disgust, her lips curled like she'd just bitten into a sour lemon.
"Perfect. So, it's like a human knockoff with feelings now? What's next, is she gonna start crying if you insult her?"
Alex, still hovering too close to Rose, seemed a bit disappointed. "Does that mean if I poke her, she might learn not to like it or me?"
Rose's still sitting there, face flushed, her cheeks burning as Alex leaned even closer, his fingers twitching in anticipation. "But she is real... kind of," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "I mean, look at her! She's practically perfect. Can't blame Liam's brother for showing off a bit."
"She's not perfect," Rachel spat, arms folded, staring daggers at Rose. "She's unnatural and Creepy."
Matt, still scrolling, grinned as he hit another section of the specs. "Oh, check this out! It says she's got, uh... 'enhanced physical performance, customizable responses and...."
He shot a look at Alex. "You might wanna see if she can make breakfast after this, Rach's cooking's officially lethal."
Rachel glared. "Yeah, well, I bet she'll be great at cooking, huh? Perfect little housewife bot! Probably better than any real girl because she never complains and never burns an omelette."
Matt finally close his hologram and shrugged, glancing at Rose with a smirk.
"Can't lie now that i look at her again after the pain. She's kinda cute for a machine. Liam lucked out, didn't he?"
Rachel snorted, folding her arms tighter. "I don't care if she looks like a damn supermodel. She's still a bot. I'm not gonna act like she's real just because she's got a pretty face and some fancy programming. You know what they're trying to do, right? Bots like her—they're made to replace us. "
Matt, grinning, couldn't resist pushing Rachel's buttons. "Well, as guys, we don't have much to complain about."
Before Matt and Alex could react, Rachel had already grabbed both of their ears, yanking them with a determined glint in her eye.
"Oh yeah? How's this feel? Maybe you guys should pay more attention to something other than the love bot!"