She was nervous, although she wasn’t sure why

Rendezvous

An unfinished draft

NC-17, post-col, M/S

She was nervous, although she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as if she had never done this before. She was sure that she had, even if she couldn’t remember how many times. It was something everyone did. They all had to. It was a part of Their plan to repopulate the planet, and participation wasn’t optional. As with so many things in this new world, her input was never asked for, and certainly never considered.

Kate stood in the foyer, taking a moment to adjust to the dim lights. After spending the day in the harsh summer light, working in her small garden, the cool air that greeted her took her breath away, if just for a moment. The foyer was familiar, although she felt as if she had never been here before. They were all familiar, because they were designed with a singular purpose in mind.

As place to Rendezvous, as They called it. A place to fuck, as the humans derisively labeled it. Her nightmare, as she knew it.

She stepped forward into the small chamber, letting the computer measure her body temperature and her heart rate. She knew it was her most fertile time of the month. That is why her number was drawn, out of Their lottery of human subjects. She didn’t know how her entry might appear in Their catalogue. She imagined it included her vital statistics. Hair color: Red (natural). Height: 5’4 (but several inches taller in the heels she preferred). Profession: Medical doctor. Family: none. Name: Kate. Although she knew that wasn’t her true name, her name from Before. She couldn’t remember her name from before. She couldn’t remember anything from Before, other than the fact that there was a time when They didn’t govern the planet.

“Proceed,” a computerized voice advised her, and she jumped, startled out of her monotonous thoughts. This was nothing new, she reminded herself. It would be twelve hours of sex with a stranger, and then they would part ways, never to see each other again. In two weeks, she would report to her neighborhood medical clinic, greet the staff and doctors she knew by name, and be tested. If she were pregnant, then her name would be removed from the catalogue, and she would no longer be eligible for the lottery. If she weren’t, and that option was much more likely, she knew, then she would be back here next month. Different apartment, different partner, same routine.

The door buzzed open, and she walked into the small space, automatically taking stock of her surroundings. She was alone. Small bed, a floor-length mirror, an open window, where the summer breeze blew open the linen curtains. A bottle of champagne, with two glasses, near the bed. How thoughtful of Them, she thought sarcastically, and then stopped herself. There was no telling who might be listening. To her words, her thoughts, her actions. Best to concentrate on the next twelve hours and then walk away, back to her life.

She was glad she was here first, looking around at the empty room. She preferred to arrive before her assigned partner. It gave her a moment to gather her thoughts, to prepare herself. Usually, the men were gracious. They were here just as she was. Because they had to be. But she knew the men took a certain enjoyment in the activities. Fucking an anonymous stranger was, for some men, not the worst role they had to play in this new life. If they created a child, all the better. They would never know, and the state would take care of their offspring. Sex was not forbidden outside of the monthly Rendezvous, of course. But for men, their partners were highly regulated, and it was only the assigned lottery partner who could get pregnant.

Kate didn’t know how it happened. She didn’t know why They allowed the humans to persist in the biological ritual of impregnation, rather than somehow do it Themselves. She didn’t know how or why They chose her. She didn’t know what Their ultimate goal was. She only knew that she did what she was told, and she prayed that her partner for this Rendezvous was at least somewhat generous.

The buzzer rang out in the foyer, and she knew she was about to find out.

Although she always swore she wouldn’t, she walked over to the champagne bottle, fumbling with cork. Alcohol helped dull the bitter edge, helped make sex with an absolute stranger a little easier. Sometimes she wished the man who walked into the room was someone she knew, like her next door neighbor Paul, or Vince, the doctor from the clinic. But it was never was. They assigned partners by some genetic system she could never figure out, and she knew They would never risk a Rendezvous with candidates who could form an emotional attachment.

Everything was highly regulated, and human emotion was one of those things. It would be too complicated, too burdensome, too potentially difficult, for Them to allow it to foster unchecked. Which is why she suspected she had no memory of more than a handful of previous encounters. At some point, she believed, the memory of a Rendezvous was simply erased.

She refused to consider what other memories might be gone forever.

Finally, the cork came out, and she poured the bubbly liquid into both glasses. Licking some of the excess off her fingers, she swallowed quickly, feeling the warmth spread towards her stomach and then her toes. It helped. She wouldn’t deny the fact that she received a physical pleasure from her monthly Rendezvous. Usually, in twelve hours, she could will her body to at least one orgasm, and it seemed to satisfy her. Until the next month.

She heard the door click open, and realized her partner was finished with his health check. It was time. She swallowed the remaining champagne in her class, and turned around to face her fate.

Fate had been kind to her. Her partner stood at the door, hesitant. Although the room was marked by shadows, she could still decipher his features, his unruly dark hair, the way his hand still rested on the doorknob, as if he was trying to decide between staying or leaving. She wanted to laugh at him, to tell him that it wasn’t a choice for them to make, but she decided against it. It was something in his shadowed eyes that silenced her. She studied them carefully, the sprinkling of gray in his hair, the way he captured his bottom lip between his teeth uncertainly. He was tall, and the way his frame filled the doorway made her excruciatingly aware of her small size.

“Hello,” he finally said, breaking the silence between them. His voice was deep, smooth, husky in the darkness. She wasn’t sure how long she was staring at him. A flush spread up her face, and she forced her legs to move, walking unsteadily toward him until she stood only a few feet away. This part never got any easier. It was the preamble to the Rendezvous that was so much more complicated than the actual act. While They may have preferred to eliminate the obstacle of human emotion, she was never able to lose the sense of awkwardness that enveloped her.

“Hi,” she responded, a voice a near-whisper. He really was handsome, and she was thankful for that. She never knew who might be walking in the door. “I’m Kate,” she added, trying to sound like she was at least somewhat in control of the moment. Of course she wasn’t. Neither of them were. But it helped. She extended her hand, and she was surprised to see the amusement flash in his eyes. He reached out to clasp her hand for a brief moment, and she was struck by the warmth of his body, the strength of his fingers. “George,” he murmured, and it took her a moment to realize that was his name.