Since neither my mother or my sister were willing to talk to me, I was freed from my intervention and allowed to leave the house again. Gabriella allowed me to take off while she tried to talk to my mom. I was a bit shocked that she could be so reasonable. I had never known her to be such a woman.

“Daniel, I can see you’re growing up and becoming a man. Your mother may live in denial, but she’ll eventually come around.” She had said.

Did her attitude have anything to do with what I had done the last time we had been alone together? She had tried to treat me like a kid, and I had ended up pinning her to the bed a bit aggressively. It was hard to tell if she was blushing or not at the moment, but she had certainly been blushing back then. She seemed to notice that I was watching her, and responded by shooing me out the door in a rush.

Since I was finally free of that situation, I went out for a bit and went shopping. There were a few things that I had been wanting for a while, and since I had the money and the time, I did it. The first item I purchased was a Bluetooth headphone. I bought one that could fit in one ear. Cecelia was able to connect to it instantly, and that way I’d be able to communicate with her without anyone else hearing me. I felt a bit like a CIA agent or something, but that would only help give me my privacy.

The next location I went to was the DMV. I applied for a restricted license. I’d buy a car and learn to drive by practicing in the parking lot if I had to. However, before I could buy a car, I needed a place to send the car. I thought about it for a bit. I considered just having Caleb find me a place or picking something in the newspaper, but I had no experience and I didn’t even know what I was looking for. Compared to the small apartment where I lived with my family, anything would be better.

If I was going to be moving into business, then I probably needed a place that looked that part. It’s also nice if it was located closer to my warehouse. I could call Mizuki, but she would probably do something like try to give me a place for free. Plus, she might bug the place and spy on me. I supposed she had given me no reason to believe she’d do that, but I still wasn’t comfortable just trusting in her completely. Thus, when it came to high-class society, another name immediately came to mind so I made a call.

“Daniel?” A mature woman’s voice came on the other line.

“Lily, I’m looking for a place to stay.”

“Oh, my, aren’t you being a bit bold?”

“For myself.” I corrected myself, unable to keep my cheeks from growing pink even though there was no one watching me where I was standing in front of the DMV. “I want something I can afford, but also something nice. Can you help?”

There was a moment of silence, and then Lily spoke again. “I suppose I might be able to help with that. Very well, where are you currently?”

“I’m outside the DMV.”

“Why would you be there?”

“Ah, I never got my license, I’m trying to resolve that before I get a car.” When there was another silence, I added quickly. “It’s fine, I can take the bus or my bike.”

 “You’re too cute sometimes.”

“What?”

“I’ll be sending a ride. Just wait for a moment.”

I heard a click and had no choice but to trust she came through. While I was waiting, I played around with my Perco. That was when I brought up my status. It had been a long time since I had last looked at it.

Name: Daniel Miller

Strength – 4

Stamina – 2

Speed – 5

Smarts – 3

Sense – 3

Sorcery – 2

I had improved in many ways. Although injections could cause you to increase stats, there was another way. That was simply to work hard. Constantly living with my life on the line had seemed to increase my Sense and Stamina, while Sorcery likely increased because of the number of times I was using the portal spell. I still wanted to get my hands on more injections. The strength and speed increases I felt from Allgility and Almighty were far greater than anything I could do in any reasonable amount o fit.

I didn’t have too much time to ponder my skills. It was only five minutes later when a car pulled up. It was a ride from a ridesharing app, not anything so grand as a limousine or something like that. Although, the car was a Mercedes which told me she probably used one of a luxury version. I left the DMV, and we drove for a bit before coming to a fancy-looking building. It was a high-rise building with at least twenty stories. At first, I thought it was a hotel, but I realized it was a ritzy apartment complex.

When I got out of the car, a man was waiting for me and holding the door open. “Daniel?”

“Oh, yes. I’m Daniel.”

“Miss Lily has let me know you’re coming. I will escort you to her.”

The man gave a short bow and I couldn’t help but walk into the main lobby. He closed the door behind him, which closed with a buzz, and then he escorted me to an elevator. I followed behind, and soon we were moving up. The man stood to the side at attention. Whenever I looked his way, he’d give a friendly smile, but otherwise remain silent. We ended up letting out on the twentieth floor. I came out into a small hallway, and only a single door at the end of the hallway. I looked back at the man who had brought me there.

“Right through there, sir.” He took a step back, and then the door closed, leaving me alone in the hallway.

I moved a bit cautiously, heading toward the door. When I reached it, I found that the doorknob turned. I didn’t know why I was being so cautious. I felt like I was back in the apocalyptic world, completely out of my normal element. However, instead of monsters and mutants, there was lavish wealth and the unknown.

I opened the door and stepped into a large suite. It was rather dark, with the window blinds all lowered and the lights brought to the lowest setting. Some of the bulbs seemed to have a flickering effect, giving the entire place the feeling that it was lit by candlelight. I could also hear low music playing in the background. It wasn’t the kind of environment I had been expecting to walk into.

“M-miss Lily?”

“Please, just call me Lily.” A voice came from behind me.

The kitchen was to the side of the entrance, and standing there was Lily. She was wearing what appeared to be silk lingerie. Her hair was down, and her cleavage was out. Less material only made her chest look larger. She had a bottle in her hands and was giving me a smirk.

“Lily?”

“See anything you like?” She asked, reaching to the cork and unsuccessfully trying to pull it, her breasts on display for a moment before she gave up and held it to me with a corkscrew in her hand. “Can you pop it? It’s too tight for me to do it myself.”

I wanted to say that after being with Katarina that one time, reflecting the advances of Red, and then the various things that happened between Kiera and me, not to mention my sister and my mother who were knockout beauties, that I was able to handle or ignore the charms of a woman. That belief was only stemmed from my ignorance. I realized my eyes had been lingering for more than appropriate on Lily, and I swiftly reached out and grabbed the bottle.

I wasn’t paying attention and ended up pulling the cork out without the need for a corkscrew. My strength was 4. An average person was 3, so I was a bit stronger than my size suggested. Lily’s eyes widened for a moment, and then leaned forward and touched my hand.

“I didn’t realize how… capable you are.” She pulled the bottle from my hands and then started to pour two glasses of wine. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m wearing something comfortable. This isn’t official business. This is just between you and me.”

“You and me?” I realized my throat was extremely dry, and I broke into a cough.

She handed me one of the glasses that she had just poured, and without thinking about it, I downed the entire glass in a single gulp. It was more sweet than dry, so I didn’t choke on it. Lily seemed more amused than anything.

“Would you like to join me in the bedroom?” She asked.

I gulped. Was this really happening?