Future Shock

32

Chris snorts, but it makes sense because he’s by far the largest. The rest of us cram into the backseat, and somehow we end up with Zoe squished between me and Trent, and me on Adam’s lap.

“Sorry,” I say to him. I try to scoot over, but Zoe’s in the way. I get that she doesn’t want to snuggle against Trent, but I’m on top of Adam here.

“It’s okay. Maybe I can move over.” Adam tries to adjust in the seat, but that just pushes us closer together. His hand brushes against my thigh. “Sorry, sorry.”

A wave of heat washes over me. I’m not sure if it’s from the stuffy air in the car or from the way my body is pressed up against Adam’s with only our wet clothes between us. We stare into each other’s eyes, our faces only inches apart, and something passes between us—that same connection I felt with him earlier.

Future-Adam gets in the driver’s seat and looks back at us with a grin, like he enjoys seeing us all squished inside. “Everyone in? Good.”

“Where are we going?” Adam asks. That’s the first time he’s spoken directly to his future self.

“Aether Corporation headquarters.” Future-Adam starts the car, and it pulls away from the curb. Unlike the other cars we’ve seen, this one has a dashboard and steering wheel and everything you’d expect in a normal car—although he doesn’t seem to be using them.

“I got this car converted to driverless so I could use it on the road,” Future-Adam says over his shoulder. “The government banned regular cars about five years ago. Now you can only actually drive cars on special tracks or in certain rural areas. But I had someone put in an override system because I miss driving. Check this out.”

He presses a button on the center console and takes control of the steering wheel. The car speeds up and suddenly whips around a corner. I grip Adam’s shoulder to keep from flying across the seat, and he puts an arm around my waist to steady me.

“Sorry.” I avoid looking at him, but I don’t let go. And he doesn’t either.

“Man, they sure don’t make cars like they used to,” Future-Adam says with a laugh.

The car takes another sharp turn, tires squealing on the wet pavement. Adam holds me in place, his arm tightening around my waist. Is Future-Adam driving like a maniac just so his younger self can cop a feel on me? Then again, I’m not exactly pulling away from Adam either, so maybe I’m just as guilty.

“Sorry,” I say again. I’m stuck on repeat, my brain fuzzy. Maybe because I’m burning up in this hot car. Or maybe because of the way Adam’s looking at me, like he wants to kiss me. This time I don’t want to punch him.

“All right, I’d better put it back in automatic before the police come after me.” Future-Adam presses the button again. The car slows down and Adam releases his grip on me.

Zoe and Trent are staring at us, and I want to jump out of this car and forget this moment ever happened. I pull away from Adam and try to move off his lap to escape his eyes and his lips and the heat between us. Zoe attempts to scoot over, but she only gets an inch closer to Trent, who’s already slammed up against the car door. There’s nowhere for me to go.

“Comfortable back there?” Future-Adam asks. I glare at him. Oh yeah, he’s definitely doing this on purpose. “Relax, we’re already here.”

The Aether Corporation building is impossibly tall, with black granite walls and sleek, silver windows reflecting the dark, cloudy sky. The car takes us down into an underground parking structure and parks itself in a spot labeled RESERVED: ADAM O’NEILL. The doors unlock and Future-Adam jumps out to open the door for us.

“Sorry about that,” he says and offers a hand to help me out.

I ignore it and hop out of the car, giving him a look that says, “I know what you were doing there.” But he just smiles and steps back so the others can get out.

Future-Adam leads us past rows of parked driverless cars to an elevator with the Aether logo. As we walk, he pulls something out of his pocket that looks like a thick metal pen, except there’s a red light glowing at the end and buttons along the side. He presses one of the buttons, and the light switches from red to green.

“What’s that?” Adam asks.

“It’s a jammer. It blocks audio and visual recording devices within a twenty-foot radius.” He hands the device to his younger self, who begins to study it.

“Why do we need that?” I ask. Isn’t he working for Aether? Will they be expecting us?

“I don’t want Aether’s cameras recording us.”

Adam examines the jammer and then hands it back. “It looks like a sonic screwdriver from Doctor Who.”

“That’s not an accident.” Future-Adam grins at him. “A friend made it for me. Same person who designed the flexis.”

“You were wrong,” Trent mutters to Chris. “Adam is still the biggest nerd here.”

“And now there are two of them,” Chris says.

I shake my head as we step into the elevator. The two Adams stand side by side, the younger one sneaking peeks at his older self. It’s freaky seeing them together and noticing how similar they look, except for the thirty years added to the future version.

“Why do you still wear glasses?” Adam asks his older self. “Flexis can auto-correct your vision, right?”