Chapter - 20
On the cash counter, a father and daughter duo were paying for a laptop. The daughter was hanging on her father's arm, looking all excited. She could not contain the happiness on her face.
And looking at the smile on the girl's face, Emily felt jealousy in her heart.
Rick followed her gaze and he also saw that scene. He could understand the turmoil in Emily's heart. He knew about her family.
Her father was just another hobo who got lucky somehow. He married a beautiful woman, Emily's mother, Olivia. The woman was also Rick's first love. His childhood crush.
After his marriage to Olivia, that man soon lost whatever little reason he had. All he did was drink all day, and fight with Olivia. Olivia tried her best to bring him to his senses, but to no avail. Finally, Olivia took everything in her own hand.
Olivia took a huge gamble. She took a huge loan to start her own cafe. In a town like theirs, it was hard to sustain a cafe, but Olivia worked hard. And it finally paid off. It was not too much, but the cafe provided enough for Olivia to sustain a good life, for herself and her daughter as well.
There was more to the story, but Rick knew what was the problem right now.
At this moment, another prompt showed up in front of Rick.
[1. Buy Emily an expensive smartphone. (Temptation +10)
2. Ignore her and save money. (Temptation +0) ]
Rick looked at the choices and was in a dilemma. Money was not an issue. But if he were to choose the first option, Emily might become one of the potential harem members. And with Amanda, he wasn't sure how it would pan out.
Thinking about the consequences, Rick opened the system and Emily's details.
[
Name: Emily Clarke
Age: 23 years
Carnal Calibrator: 55/100
Romance Radar: 00/10
]
'Right now she is at fifty-five,' Rick thought, 'Even if I buy her the phone, it would only be sixty-five.'
'I have enough time to think about it,' Rick nodded to himself.
After the father and daughter left the store after paying the bill, Rick along with Emily walked towards the counter.
"Hello sir... What would you like me to show you?" The man behind the counter asked.
"I want to buy a phone. Show me the best you have," Rick said.
"Certainly sir," the man nodded and then looked at Rick from top to bottom. Rick wasn't wearing anything extravagant, and this planted some doubt in the man's mind, "Your budget sir?"
"Don't worry about it. I am not here to waste your time," Rick smiled, assuring the man. He could guess what he was thinking.
On the other hand, Emily tried to talk to Rick, but he just ignored her.
The man nodded. Since Rick said that, he chose to believe him. Even if he didn't believe him, what else could he do? Rick was after all, a customer.
Soon, the man placed four or five different smartphones in front of Rick and explained the features of each one of them, one by one.
"I will buy this one," Rick picked one and told the man, "Give me two of these."
"Two?" The man looked surprised.
"Yeah... One for me, and one for my friend over here," Rick smiled, pointing at Emily.
"Hey Rick... I don't want it. My phone is perfectly fine," Emily was taken aback.
"Don't sweat it," Rick waved his hand and brushed off her concern. He can't be her 'daddy' but he can at least provide her some comfort.
"How much is it with all the accessories?" Rick asked the man.
"With all the accessories, one phone would cost you $1612. Well, I will round it off to $1600," the man said.
"Cool. Give me two pieces,"Rick nodded and put his hand in his pocket. In actuality, he was getting the money from the system.
As he did that, Rick thought of trying something. He again pulled out Emily's information.
[
Name: Emily Clarke
Age: 23 years
Carnal Calibrator: 65/100
Romance Radar: 00/10
]
'What if I did something erroneous without getting the choice from the system?'
He then tried to test it out.
"Shit... I didn't bring my wallet with me," Rick exclaimed.
"No problem, sir," the man smiled, "You can transfer money online."
"I lost my phone, why else do you think I am here?" Rick helplessly smiled.
"..." Emily looked at Rick with her eyes wide open, 'Why did he have to brag if he didn't have the money? If it was $500 - $600, she could have at least put it on her credit card. But now?'
[
Name: Emily Clarke
Age: 23 years
Carnal Calibrator: 60/100
Romance Radar: 00/10
]
And sure enough, the temptation dropped by five points.
'So, I can loose points this way as well,' Rick was done experimenting so he hurriedly tried to manage the situation.
"I'm joking! I'm joking," Rick laughed it off and put $3200 on the counter.
Paying for the phones, he pulled Emily out of the store immediately.
"You... How can you joke like this?" Emily complained.
"I was just joking... Come, we don't have time to waste. I need to pick my bike," Rick didn't want to explain anymore, so he changed the subject.
* * * * *
"Hey, where are you going?" Leaning against the apartment gate, Emily asked. They had just arrived to their apartment complex. But instead of following to her inside, Rick was ready to leave somewhere.
"Oh, I have plans with a friend. You know, catching up and stuff," Rick said, smiling.
"Really? Which friend?" Emily asked, curiously.
"Just a buddy of mine. We're grabbing a drink and reminiscing about the good old days," Rick replied nonchalantly.
He was not lying though. Rick was going to the hospital for the checkup. And after that he was planning on meeting Amanda and reminiscence about the 'good times' they spent.
"Hmm, I didn't know you had friends like that," Emily raised her eyebrow.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Of course, I have friends! Just because you don't see them around doesn't mean they don't exist," Rick playfully said.
"Uh-huh, sure. So, what's your friend's name?" Emily tried to dig.
"Why do you sound like a jealous girlfriend," Rick smirked.
"Geez, Whose your girlfriend? I am just trying to make sure you don't get cat-fished or anything," Emily pretended to be offended.
"You dork. Go have fun with 'your' friend," Emily twisted her lips and cursed.
"I will, don't you worry. And hey, if you get bored..."
"Don't even think about calling me... Hahaha..." And with that, Rick rode away on his bike.
"Like hell I will..." Emily stomped her feet, as she yelled at Rick who was already far away.
As Rick rode away on his bike, Emily stood there, watching him leave. Finally the anger in her heart vanished, and something else took place. She couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness in her chest. It wasn't jealousy or suspicion; it was something deeper, a sense of longing.
"But you don't have friends..." Emily murmured to herself.
Emily: (placing a hand on her chest) "Why does it bother me so much? He's allowed to have other friends."
She sighed, trying to shake off the strange feeling that was gnawing at her. But it was hard to ignore the pang of loneliness she felt at the thought of Rick being with someone else.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rick walked through the familiar halls of the hospital, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. He had dropped Emily off at the apartment complex and now he was back for his checkup. His heart raced a little as he approached Rachel's office. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he hoped that things would go smoothly.
He knocked on the door, and after a moment, Rachel's voice called out, "Come in."
Rick entered the office to find Rachel seated behind her desk, her eyes focused on some reports. She glanced up briefly, her expression neutral.
"Hey, doc! Ready to give me a clean bill of health?" Don't know why, but whenever Rick saw Rachel, he felt like teasing with her.
"We'll see about that. Have a seat." Rachel kept up her professional face.
Rick took a seat in front of her desk, trying to gauge her mood. There was an underlying tension in the room, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Rachel was still harboring some resentment.
"So, how have you been feeling since you were discharged?" Rachel asked.
"I'm alive, so that's a good start, I guess." Rick joked.
"The lightning strike could've been much worse. You're lucky to have come out of it relatively unscathed." Rachel spoke seriously.
"Right. So, have you experienced any unusual symptoms since the incident?" Rachel asked further.
"Well, I did try talking to my toaster this morning, but it didn't respond. Does that count?" Rick said, pretending to think.
"Very funny. We'll need to run some tests to make sure everything is alright. I will have someone take you to the testing area,"
"Is that Amanda?" Rick asked.
"I don't know. Whosoever is available will take you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more patients to attend to."
"Alright then. Should I wait here?" Rick was disappointed.
"No. Wait outside," Rachel said.
"Ok... Thanks Doc,"
As Rick left Rachel's office, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment. He had secretly hoped that Amanda would be the one to conduct his tests. He wanted to see Amanda.
Rick: (murmuring to himself) "Guess I'll just have to wait for another opportunity."
Pretty soon while Rick waited outside, a nurse came and stopped in front of him. It was not Amanda, but Rick was still surprised to see her there.
"Rick?" The nurse asked, to which Rick nodded.
"Please follow me."
The nurse led him through the maze of corridors to the testing area, and Rick followed her silently. After a while, Rick decided to engage in some small talk.
"So, what's your name?" Rick smilingly asked.
"I'm Nurse Lisa." The nurse answered.
"Nice to meet you, Nurse Lisa. I hope you're gentle with the needles." Rick tried to joke.
"I'll do my best not to make you cry." Nurse Lisa said, smirking. She was beginning to loosen up.
"That's reassuring." Rick chuckled.
Soon, they reached the testing area, and Rick was subjected to a battery of tests – blood pressure, ECG, and various other checks. Nurse Lisa was efficient and professional.
"How is your day going?" Rick asked as he got up after the final test.
"Busy, but boring as always," nurse Lisa shrugged.
"Well, I hope dealing with a troublemaker like me adds some excitement to your day," Rick said, putting his arm over Nurse Lisa's shoulder. He made it look natural.
"You're not that much trouble, young man," Nurse Lisa smiled.
"Young man?" Hearing her, Rick smiled helplessly.
"Tell me something, Lisa... Can I call you Lisa?"
"Sure..." Nurse Lisa nodded.
"If I am a young man. Are you perhaps into married men? Or Men with Girlfriends," Rick asked, his lips curled into a disdainful smile.
"Excuse Me?
* * * * *
Q. Who is Nurse Lisa?
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