Boyfriend for Sale

This story took place in Utopian Future, during the year 3024...The Internet made a lot of things way much easier; even shopping could be done online and buying whatever you like was just one click away.This was the age of consumerism. People could buy anything, anywhere. Endless consumption makes the world go round.But who would have thought that a day would come when even ideal partners would be available for purchase?!!!This story took place in an alternate reality where buying AI robots was a thing.Failed marriage due to incompatible interests and countless tales of cheating partners, made mos of the younger generation developed a certain aversion towards the idea of entering a romantic relationship.After all, who would want to invest in love and give their everything to someone, only to get betrayed in the end?It was for that reason why Alpha Technology Inc created the 'Android Partner'; an AI robot that could potentially

 "Son of a dinosaur!"Butler John was taken aback when he caught sight of Shantal's state. He almost spilled the tea that he was carrying on the tray due to his shockThe other party almost looked no different from a panda, with the presence of heavy dark circles around her eyes. Perhaps due to her excitement, sleep eluded her last night. As a result, her eyes looked like they were sunken."I can't sleep."She mumbled as she took the cup of green tea from Butler John."I could guess as much as that."He seconded the girl right away and then added,"Careful, it's hot---"But his warning was a second late because Shantal already scalded the tip of her tongue."This is hot!"Shantal squeaked as she put the cup down in a hurry. Some of its content spilled on the glass tabletop, but she could not care less."Just as how a tea should be."Meanwhile, Butler John retorted as softly as he could.

 "Come on, cous. What is there to be shy for?"The other party insinuated as she took the book from Shantal's hand."Fine, you're right."Shantal relented but not before letting out an exasperated sigh.Jodi was relatively more liberated than her when it came down to things like that. That was why it was no surprise to them when Jodi turned up to be one of those who gave in to the recent fad of buying robotic boyfriend online.She named it Arvin, and since then Jodi had been very open with her romantic affair of shacking it up with tin cans."For crying out loud, Shantal. We're adults now! This is the perfect time for us to explore new things. You love buying stuff anyway so might as well put it into good use."Jodi insisted as she deliberately browsed the catalogue beside Shantal."And when you said putting it into good use, do you mean buying an Android Partner? Nah... Not my thing."Shantal was quick to d

 Shantal slowly unwrapped the box and when she noticed that Butler John was still hanging around with no intention of leaving, she deliberately told him to get out of the room."You can leave now. I want to be alone."She said without tearing her eyes away from the package.After spending the better part of two hours trying to get the box to open, the lid finally popped open with a loud gush of air.Shantal was caught off guard by this sudden movement and she fell back. She did not expect the lid to suddenly come alive on its own.The girl watched as a very tall man slowly stood up in a box. She stared at him with a dumbfounded expression and a mix of amusement.For a moment, Shantal thought that part of her brain frizzled and died because from her angle below, she was getting very intimately acquainted with her doll and that was not the purpose of it.Apparently, her face was placed directly across where the robot's groi

Alex was just about to step out of his box when he suddenly tripped and lost his footing and seeing this unfold before her eyes, Shantal act according to her reflex.She was worried that the robot would end up injuring itself way before she could even have enough time to interact with it so she flailed her hands in an attempt to get a hold of Alex and prevent him from losing his footing.After that small mishap, Shantal let the robot seat on the sofa for a while.Regardless of how 'defective' it might be, there was no doubt that the thing still cost a fortune and she did not want anything bad to happen to it, or at least not until she signed robot insurance for it, if there was any of that sort, to begin with.At the same time, Shantal also could not help but notice that her Android Partner was relatively lighter compared to what she initially expected from a mass of walking metal that he was.Alex was simply so human-like that everything