This chapter felt a lot like one of my earlier ones! Nice to return to my roots every now and then.

Chapter 40: You Can Lead a Horse to Water

"Beat, I need your help."

"Hold the phone, Rhyme…lemme make sure I got this straight…you need MY help?"

"Strangely enough, yes. Look, you were able to get Eri and Neku finally hooked up with Shiki…so I'm the only one without a significant other."

"Yeah, you've made this point several times before…usually through an absurdly creepy gesture."

"Well, I don't know how to go about it! Beat…I want someone so much…you and Neku are so strong and I'm so weak…why did two independent guys like you find love when I am barely able to support myself?"

"Just gotta be proactive with your advances, ya know? Grab some guy by the nuts and he's all yours!"

"That's gross…"

"I'm just sayin'!"

"But it's not that easy! You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it!"

"Are you an idiot? Of course you can!"

"Huh? Wait, what are you doing with that cup of…GAH! Cough! Beat!"

"See? Not a single problem with that!"

"You just grabbed me and forced my mouth open!"

"Force works!"

"And you seriously wonder why my approach to dating is creepy?"