Milo and the Manosphere

Milo shook his head as he headed in the direction of the main dining room. Now he understood why there was so much emphasis on 'Game' in this place, and how it even applied to marriage. These Red Pill guys weren't talking about having honest dialogues with your wife. They saw marriage as a kind of chess game and the objective was to control the board. It was a cynical way of looking at it, but when Milo considered what Jessie had planned to do, he could certainly see their point.

The main dining room was mostly empty and the buffet table had been cleared, but there were volunteers serving coffee, tea and other refreshments behind a counter. Milo got himself a coffee and went to sit alone at one of the tables.

Looking out towards the glass doors with a view onto a terrace, Milo found himself wondering whether Harry had ever pulled that 'male dominance' shit on him. No, he would have engaged with the question. Besides, if Harry kept trying to out-alpha Milo, they wouldn't be friends. Milo wondered whether this was the key difference between a man who cared about you and a man who didn't--that the man who didn't care would always be competitive.

'Excuse me,' said a voice. 'But are you the guy whose wife showed up this morning?'

Milo turned and saw a tall, awkward-looking man in his late twenties. He had the kind of curly brown hair that seemed to have a life of its own and he carried a small backpack over one shoulder.

'Yes...' said Milo warily, trying to place the guy. He looked familiar.

'Do you mind if I join you?'

'Sure, go ahead.'

The guy put his cup of tea onto the table and settled the backpack onto the chair next to him. Milo saw the guy's profile and suddenly remembered.

'You were at Gary's pickup seminar yesterday,' said Milo. 'You asked that question about sleeping with multiple women and he completely took the piss.'

'Well, I'm glad someone thinks so,' said the guy. 'I've had so many guys come up to me and say, "Are you gay?" '

'Know the feeling,' said Milo. 'Still, how come you're back for Day Two?'

'Because there's a lot of stuff here that's really good!'

The guy warmed his hands on his tea and shook his head.

'I was totally in love with my last girlfriend,' he said. 'We were together for two years and I honestly thought she was the One. But then I found out she'd been cheating on me, like, three months after we got together!'

'Shit,' said Milo.

'I know! I had this total breakdown and ended up crashing at my sister's place for, like, months. And she kept telling me not to lose faith and that the right girl is still out there. But the problem was that I thought I'd already found the right girl! And since I'd got it so spectacularly wrong, I couldn't trust my own heart anymore. Does that make sense?'

'Totally,' said Milo.

'But then I started getting into this Red Pill shit--and it was like this total revelation. It explained so much! Not only about why my girlfriend did what she did, but also how my own behaviour contributed to the situation. I began to see what a simp I'd been and how my sister's advice--which came from a good place--was totally useless. And it totally helped me to get over my girlfriend and get back on my feet.'

'Wow,' said Milo. 'That's great!'

'Yeah...'

The guy sighed. He glanced around, like a spy checking to see he hadn't been followed, then leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice.

'But here's the thing,' he said. 'I don't actually want to shag multiple women. I want to get married and have a family with a woman I really love. But most guys here think that makes me a Blue Pill beta male, which disqualifies me from getting a woman in the first place. Which can't be true, can it? I mean, men and women have been having families for, like, ever, so it must be possible!'

'Yeah, well,' said Milo, 'I think the Red Pill argument is that the whole concept of "family" itself is under attack in today's culture.'

'Really?'

'Yes. But I take your point. My wife and I are... well, let's just say we're having marriage problems. And I don't think there is a single man in this place who is rooting for me to solve them. Almost everyone is like "Dump her and find another one".'

'That's terrible, man.'

'Yeah, it is,' said Milo. 'But what's tricky is that they might be right. I might have this big fantasy in my head of a perfect marriage that I'm trying to make come true. But even if they are right, what's the alternative? I love my wife. When she kisses me, I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet. My heart melts when she sits on my lap. I hear her laugh at something in the next room and I can't help smiling. Is that all Blue Pill conditioning? Am I somehow denying my own nature? Should I be thinking about shagging other women when I'm at work instead of her? I don't fucking know anymore!'

The other guy stared at Milo with frank, dark eyes. He sipped his tea and nodded.

'Yeah, that is tricky,' he said. 'I'll tell you this, though.'

'What?' said Milo.

'If any woman ever tried to gatecrash a Manosphere event for me, I'd marry her on the spot!'

***

Jessie arrived back at the hotel foyer at about quarter to six. There were already men leaving and four grey-shirted guys were at the row of tables, collecting wristbands and answering questions. Jessie didn't recognise any of them from before, so she went up to the nearest one. His eyebrows went up when he saw her.

'Well, helloooo...' he said.

'Hi,' said Jessie. 'Is it okay if I wait here for my husband?'

'You're married?'

Jessie lifted the hand with the ring. The guy gave a theatrical shrug.

'Okay, fine,' he said. 'But there should be a law against women who look like you being married.'

'Is that shit what they teach you here?'

'Um... maybe.'

'You should ask for your money back.'

'I'm a volunteer!'

'Well, it's good to hear that...' She looked at the name tag '...Sheldon.'

Sheldon decided it was a good time to straighten a pile of registration forms. Jessie sat on the table with her feet on the seat of a chair and looked in the direction of the double doors. They were now propped open and as it reached six o'clock, the smattering of men coming out turned into a stream. Jessie had expected only young guys, but there were men of all ages, even men in their sixties. Most men were animated and chatty, like supporters coming out of a football match after their team had won, and the space was filled with the noise of their talk. A lot of heads turned in Jessie's direction, but she kept her gaze ahead, scanning the river of men for Milo.

Then there he was, talking with a lanky guy with brown, curly hair. Jessie stayed seated and lifted her hand. Milo returned her gesture with a quick wave, but continued talking to the other guy. The two of them stepped out of the way of the river of men as they continued their discussion. Jessie sat on the table, wondering what the fuck Milo was playing at.

'Can you see your husband yet?' said Sheldon.

'Yeah,' said Jessie. 'He's just over there, ignoring me.'

'Hah!' said Sheldon. 'Classic Game!'

Jessie turned her head to look at him.

'What did you just say?'

'It's, um... classic Game technique.'

'And what's that exactly?'

'Well...!' said Sheldon, excited to have the attention of an attractive woman. 'It works on the principle of reverse psychology. Hot girls are used to guys giving them attention, so you do the opposite and ignore them.'

'And what happens then?'

'Well, if a man does it right, the woman goes to him rather than the other way around, to get the attention she wants.'

'So you're saying that my husband is playing mind games with me?'

'Um...'

'And Sheldon... are you supposed to be telling me this?'

Sheldon's face went bright pink. He noticed a pile of forms on another table and decided they needed straightening too. Jessie shook her head and scowled at Milo. He was shaking the other guy's hand. A moment later, they parted--the lanky guy joining the flow of men leaving and Milo heading in her direction.

Jessie was frustrated. She had been hoping to gauge Milo's very first reaction upon seeing her--either positive or negative--but the way things worked out, she couldn't tell. Even now, he seemed preoccupied, which gave no hint to his feelings. Still, Jessie stood up to greet him, giving him a big smile and leaning in for a kiss. Milo bypassed her mouth and kissed her cheek, then gave her a big brotherly hug. This was totally unlike him and Jessie began to get nervous.

'Okay,' said Milo. 'There's a piano bar past the main reception. We can talk there.'

'Can't we go up to your room?'

'I'm not staying here, Jessie. My hotel is about twenty minutes away.'

'Well, that's okay.'

'No,' said Milo, shaking his head. 'No, it's not okay.'

Milo looked over at the double doors. The main rush was over, but men were still coming out in dribs and drabs. Milo gave Jessie a quick pat on the arm.

'Come on,' he said.

He began walking across the foyer. Jessie jumped and followed him, her breathing getting faster, the feeling of panic rising through her body. The inside of her head was like a nest of screaming birds and chief among the screams was: Why the fuck had she told Milo about Carl? And why had she come all this way to tell him, instead of staying home and keeping her mouth shut? She must have been nuts!

'Jessie...' said the inner voice. 'You didn't truly know you wanted Milo until the moment he walked out through those double doors.'

'Yes, but now he doesn't want me!' she cried. 'He doesn't want ME!'

'Jessie?'

Milo had turned and was staring at her. They were standing on a carpeted area near some lifts and a bar. Had she spoken out loud? Milo looked at her, concerned, and suddenly Jessie sank to her knees and started crying.

'Please don't divorce me!' she sobbed. 'Please, please don't divorce me!'

She felt Milo kneel before her and take her into his arms.

'Jessie, I haven't decided anything yet.'

Those were hardly words of reassurance, but Jessie was ready to grasp at any straw. She clung onto Milo and bawled her eyes out, her legs skewed on the carpet, her body limp in his arms. Milo held her while trying to deflect the glances and frowns of people looking at them. A woman in the white blouse and waistcoat of the hotel came up to ask if there was anything she could do. Milo held his wife's head in the crook of his neck and said:

'Any chance you could order us a taxi?'

***

One piece of advice Jack gave Milo at the lunch table was to not put himself in a situation where Jessie could initiate sex. 'She's been using sex to avoid conversations she doesn't want to have,' he had said. 'So don't give her the opportunity.'

What Jack failed to take into account--thought Milo as he inserted the key-card to open the door and wave his sniffing wife into his hotel room--was how emotional Jessie could get. Her meltdowns were legendary and it wasn't like she was faking. In fact, the more Milo learned of her past, the more impressed he was at how relatively normal she was.

Still, that didn't wipe clean the knowledge that she wanted another man's child, nor the suspicion that Jack was right about her reason for coming here. She hadn't brought any change of clothes, not even underwear which she'd had to buy, which suggested to Milo that she had intended to take the train back that same day. He wondered whether, a few months ago, he would have behaved the way Jack suggested--begging and pleading, but not actually threatening divorce out of the fear of losing her. Milo's subconscious furnished him with the answer and it sickened him to his stomach.

'I need a glass of water,' said Milo. 'Do you want one too?'

Jessie was sitting on the bed, head hanging, hair covering half her face, and she nodded without looking up. Milo went into the ensuite bathroom and filled two chunky glasses with cold water, then returned and gave his wife one of them. He fetched a chair from the corner and set it near the bed facing her. Jessie pushed her hair back from her face and looked at Milo with pouched eyes, scowling like a teenage girl.

'You look like a client waiting for a lap dance,' she said.

'Is that what I am to you?' said Milo. 'Just another punter?'

'No! Of course not!'

'Then what?'

'You're my husband!'

'And what is that exactly? The man who pays the bills so you can afford to have another man's baby?'

'I don't want Carl's baby!'

'That's not what you said this morning!'

'No, I didn't! I just thought I wanted his baby!'

Milo stood up and walked in a circle on the carpet. Of all the fucking stupid arguments... then a thought struck him. He turned to face Jessie.

'Did you ever "think" you wanted my baby?' he said.

Jessie's face instantly answered the question. Milo felt a kind of miserable triumph and he nodded to himself, as though he had known this all along. Jessie put the glass onto the bedside table and turned to give him a direct look.

'Listen, Milo,' she said. 'I'm not on birth control, so if you really want to get me pregnant, I'll have sex with you tonight and tomorrow night, and every night until you get what you want. Really, I will.'

'But don't you want to have kids?'

'Of course I do! I'd love to be a mother!'

'Yes, but... don't you want my kids?'

'Why is that so important to you, Milo? Isn't it enough that I agree to it?'

'No,' said Milo. 'No, it's not.'

Jessie held his gaze for a long time. Then she nodded and moved backwards, clearly suggesting that he should sit on the bed with her. Milo sighed but couldn't see any way out of it without looking petty. He sat down on the bed and looked sternly at her. Jessie cleared her throat.

'Milo, if you got me pregnant,' she said. 'Would you divorce me?'

'No, of course not!'

'So you'd take care of me and our children and would do everything you could to make a happy home for us all?'

'Of course!'

'Well, that sounds like a really good deal! Why would I say no to that?'

'Because...' Milo swallowed. 'Because I don't feel like you love me.'

'But I do love you. I told you at the hotel and I'm telling you again... I love you.'

Milo was speechless. He struggled to articulate his thoughts, while Jessie watched him, her gaze unwavering. Finally, she said:

'You don't believe me, do you?'

'I... I do, but...'

Milo took a breath and pulled himself together.

'Look,' he said. 'Firstly, you never used to say "I love you". In fact, it was an issue in our relationship.'

'I know, but it's not anymore.'

'Why not?'

'Because you've changed!' said Jessie. 'You used to have this Please Love Me vibe and it so put me off that I couldn't bring myself to say it. But now it's completely gone and I'm free to feel what I feel! And it's wonderful!'

Milo was stunned. He hadn't noticed it himself and yet she was right. He did feel different. Jessie moved onto her knees and crawled over the bed to him. She knelt up, put her arms over his shoulders and her thigh pressed against his hip. Milo could almost hear the Manosphere guys shouting, 'No! She's doing it again! Push her away!' But before he could do anything, Jessie spoke.

'Do you want to know the real reason why I did what I did?' she said. 'Why I made an appointment with the doctor and why I went to see Carl yesterday and why I got on a train to see you this morning?'

'Okay, yeah,' said Milo. 'Why?'

'Because my angel told me to.'

Milo looked Jessie in the eyes. Jessie looked right back.

'Your angel?' said Milo.

'Yes.'

'Your angel told you to?'

'Yes. It's like a voice in my head.'

'Look, Jessie, I know you're into this New Age spiritual stuff--'

'Don't you dare!' cried Jessie. 'Ever since you started this Red Pill thing with Harry, have I said one word against it? Have I said anything to try and talk you out of it?'

'No,' admitted Milo.

'So don't do it with me! I know you think it's all crap and that Caroline Templeton is a fraud--and that's fine. But please respect the fact that I believe in it! Okay?'

Milo took a breath and nodded. It was, he thought, fair enough. He frowned as he tried to think of how to word his next question.

'So, if I understand correctly,' he said carefully, 'you have a voice which tells you what to do? And you just do it, on trust, without understanding why?'

'Yes, pretty much.'

'And how do you know the voice is your angel and not, say, your ego?'

'Because it always forces me to face the things I don't want to face.'

'Such as?'

'Such as the fact that all your love and kindness couldn't make me want your baby. That saving my life didn't necessarily save me. And it's the voice that told me I needed to be more honest about my feelings for Carl when all the other voices told me he deserved to lose the baby.'

'What?!'

'I was pregnant with his child, Milo. In fact, the reason I was holding my stomach on the night you met me was because I'd just had a miscarriage. That's why Carl left me in the street.'

Milo stared at Jessie, aghast.

'Why didn't you tell me?' he said.

'Because all the voices told me that I couldn't afford to upset you. I needed you to love me and I didn't think that love could survive the truth. But this morning, my angel told me it was time to stop with that bullshit--that I needed to get on a train and put all my cards on the table.'

Jessie looked at Milo, tears running down her face.

'This is who I am, Milo,' she said. 'This is what you'll be dealing with for the rest of your life if you get me pregnant tonight. So it has to be your decision. I couldn't live with myself if I thought you were doing it for me. You have to do it for you.'

*****

Chapter 4

MILO AWOKE TO the faint light of the morning peeking in at the edges of the curtains. The fact that they didn't block the sunlight reminded him of the cheapness of the hotel. Still, the bed had been sturdy enough.

He turned his head and saw Jessie's naked back in the shadows under the covers. She had the most beautiful back. He lay gazing at it for many moments, then moved to spoon with her. He was naked himself and her round bottom felt heavenly against his crotch as he nestled in behind her. His cock became hard and he parked it between her butt cheeks before putting an arm around her body. Jessie sighed and moved her legs so she could feel the man's legs against hers, while at the same time taking his hand and putting it over her breast.

Milo kissed her shoulder, then rested his head behind hers on the pillow. This was utter bliss. His cock was now rock hard, resting comfortably, and he felt Jessie push her bottom against him.

'Mmmmmmm,' she said.

'Don't do that'.

'Do what?'

'Make noises like that,' said Milo. 'I'm using enough willpower as it is.'

Jessie responded by twisting her whole body around and planting her mouth onto his. She had a small tongue with a pointed tip and Milo now felt that tongue around the inside of his mouth, exploring it, pushing against his own tongue. Her hand took his cock and her kisses became harder, more insistent. He felt her leg push its way under his and then she started to pull away, her fingers still around his cock, telling his body without words to roll onto her.

Jessie's shameless motive was an intense turn-on for Milo, who did exactly what she wanted. The kissing continued unbroken as Milo rolled on top, Jessie's hand pushing the covers back so she could open her legs and get the man in between them. Milo swiftly positioned himself and pushed. His cock entered her in one stroke--god, she was dripping--and Jessie groaned even as her mouth stayed clamped onto his.