Chapter 343

Eric stopped outside of the building and bounced on his toes, shrugging his shoulders as he hyped himself up a little. Things had been going well with Lucy right up until they weren’t, and then it had gotten kind of weird. But he was fairly certain that he’d smoothed things over.

The thing was, she was like ... really hot. He’d never had a thing for Asian girls before, but she was definitely smokin’ hot, and even if she was kind of crazy he could still try and set up something for the rest of the summer. He’d even talked with some of the Red Pill podcasters he’d met during the whole podcast tour about it, and they’d encouraged him to just show her who was boss. Not through physical violence or anything - the Red Pill was about being a man and protecting women, not assaulting them or something like some people said. Just making sure she knew that he wasn’t going to put up with some of her shit, and she could either get on board for something good or go back to dating brokies or soy boys.

He’d considered following John’s advice and getting flowers, but that was a simp move and set a bad precedent that Lucy would expect him to keep following through on. He really worried for John; the guy seemed completely infatuated with Gemma, but the blonde Australian had to be playing him a little and using him for expensive dates and shit. She would leave at the end of the summer, and John would be heartbroken because he was falling for her.

So, instead of bearing flowers, Eric knocked on the door to the apartment Lucy shared with Gemma and their other roommates dressed to the nines. He looked good. His shirt was on point, and his hair nicely styled. He’d gotten his sports coat tailored like one of the guys had suggested he should. He felt on top of the world. He’d even bought a gold pinky accent ring to wear and it made him feel kind of like a Mafia boss.

The door opened, but it wasn’t Lucy. Instead, one of Lucy and Gemma’s older roommates had answered. Eric couldn’t remember her name but she was a sort of androgynous woman with really short hair and she wore mannish clothes.

“Well, well, well,” she said with a smirk. “The gentleman caller returns.”

“Hey,” Eric said. “Is Lucy ready to go?”

“Not sure,” the woman said. “Did you bring the dowry?”

“What?” Eric asked.

“The dowry for her hand, obviously,” the woman said, clearly thinking she was making a joke. “If you’re bringing her out without an escort, I assume you’re taking her hand in marriage?”

“What? No,” Eric said. “This is just a date. Can you get Lucy?”

The woman sighed and shook her head. “The other gentleman caller is a lot more fun to banter with,” she said.

“Lucy is seeing someone else?”

“No, Jesus,” the woman said. “I was talking about John. You know him and Gemma, right?”