Harem House Chapter 40 Part 3

Selene stood frozen for a moment, then scrambled to catch up to Arthur. High heels weren’t the best running shoes, but her trot let her catch his long-gated stride by the kitchen archway. She grabbed his wrist, but he swung his arm away and pointed toward the office door. He kept walking, and Selene followed. He entered first and held the door for her as she followed. She kept her hands folded in front of her, unsure if she should be excited or nervous. 

“What’s wrong?” Selene asked. “Master, you’re acting weird.” 

“I said red light.” Arthur said. “I’m not Master right now. I’m Arthur. You need to call me Arthur.” 

Selene’s confusion grew, but she stared up at him as he closed the door and turned to face her. “I don’t understand. You seem upset.” 

“I am upset.” Arthur said, pinching the bridge of his nose and pressing his forehead against his hand. “I’m trying not to be.” 

“What?” Selene asked. “Why? Did I miss something? I thought you’d be excited like Brad and Mark! We did this for our boyfriends. I wanted to give you a sexy surprise! Surprise!” Selene posed again, as if he hadn’t seen it the first time.  

Arthur took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and released it in a long, slow exhale. Selene didn’t miss his effort to calm himself. 

“Are you mad at me?” 

“I don’t know.” Arthur said, though his tone came out more frustrated than the words suggested. “Today’s just been more than I expected. It’s been a weird day, and I was supposed to have tonight off from being your dom. I’ve been staying up late almost every night, burning through my reserves, and last night drained me.” 

“I thought Kelly helped?” Selene asked. “You spent the night at her place last night, instead of coming home to me.” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but more a statement of fact. 

Kelly had gone out of her way to help soothe and care for him after his ordeal, but it wasn’t as if his recovery was instantaneous. He’d taken some comfort with Mindy earlier, too, but that hadn’t been this. She hadn’t pushed him to play Master or Boss after he asked her not to. Hadn’t he been clear about tonight being his night off?

“I just needed a night to recharge and reconnect with my friends.” Arthur said. “A break from playing Master. There weren’t supposed to be any demands on me tonight; it was just me and the guys. Now, it’s a whole Master/slave scene that you sprang on me unexpectedly. I’ve done no prep, I have no equipment with me, and to top it all off, it’s with people I don’t want seeing me that way! Mark, Maria, and Brad are our friends! We work with them outside of this! They’re in relationships! I don’t even know Jen, much less trust her with that side of myself, and she’s been hounding us for interviews! What if she writes about this?” His voice grew louder with each exclamation. 

“She won’t.” Selene assured him, holding her hands out to calm him. “Tonight is off the record, though I did sort of promise to give her an interview later. Still, she’s Brad’s girlfriend. You trust Brad, right? And you didn’t know Rani when you and Mindy brought her along.” Selene countered. “And that worked out. She and Maria are on board with this. Everyone’s consented. You saw Brad and Mark, right?” 

“I didn’t.” Arthur said, speaking at an even volume again, but with enough weight behind his words that it was apparent he was holding his anger in check. “You sprang this on me. Rani was a totally different situation because Rani, Mindy, and I discussed all of it before going in. We asked her if she wanted to join us, and she said yes. If she’d said no, I’d have dropped her off at campus, and that would’ve been that! And if she joined us and things didn’t work out with Rani, it wasn’t a problem! We might see each other around campus, but it wasn’t like if things got awkward, I lost all of my friends!” 

“Master–” 

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Arthur’s voice boomed in the empty office, startling him and Selene into silence. 

Tears formed in the corners of Selene’s wide eyes. Her hand went to her collar in shock, and her fingertips lingered against it, as if to assure herself he hadn’t shouted it from her neck. Arthur’s anger wasn’t sexy this time. She’d genuinely upset him, and he wasn’t playfully dragging her by the ankle into this office and shutting the door so he could fuck her brains out like she wanted. He wasn’t even spanking her or threatening her with punishments she’d enjoy. 

“I’m sorry.” Arthur said, realizing he shouldn’t have yelled. He’d lost control, and that wasn’t something he was allowed to do, both as a guy and as a Master. He wasn’t a Master right now, though. He was just a boyfriend who was frustrated with his girlfriend because she wasn’t listening to him, again. Not that it was entirely her fault that they weren’t communicating. So how could he phrase what he wanted to say in a way she’d understand? How did he speak her language? 

“I just…” Arthur struggled with how to phrase it, but eventually he landed on a question that wriggled in the back of his mind, feeding on his anxieties. “Do you even see me as a person anymore? When you look at me, do you see Arthur, your friend? Or do you only see me as a Dom here to play out your fantasies with you?” 

Selene sniffled, wiping her tears with her forearm. “Why can’t it be both?” 

“It can be.” Arthur said. “But so far, it hasn’t been. It’s been all-dom all the time, and it’s exhausting. I miss hanging out with you as friends, and not as Master and Slave. Watching Lord of the Rings while we did our homework, or watching whatever anime you wanted to introduce me to, was fun and relaxing. We used to recharge each other, remember? I miss you, Selene.” 

“But we’re more than friends now.” Selene said. “I love you. We love each other. We’re more than friends! We’re boyfriend and girlfriend, Master and slave. It’s more, and better! Love is so much better than friendship! And being your slave is better than being your friend! Can’t you see that? Don’t you agree?” 

Arthur sighed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“Do you not love me?” Selene asked. 

Arthur hugged her, holding her to him. “I love you.” His tone was confident and reassuring. Whatever else might be in question right now, his love for Selene wasn’t up for debate.  

Selene’s tears dripped from her eyes. The hug put her ear against his heart, and she could hear his steady, rapid heartbeat as he wrestled it into a calmer pace through the embrace. The silence grew thick, but the hug held the weight of it at bay until Arthur spoke. 

“I love the woman who checked on me after Lori broke my heart.” Arthur said, holding her tightly in his arms. “That fun-loving hipster ballerina who shares my love of theater and puts herself out there on stage for the world to see. I love the friend I could watch movies with and talk to about anything. The way you get excited and enthusiastic when discussing your favorite cartoons, anime, The Lord of the Rings, and even bands and songs I’ve never heard before is truly amazing. Watching you and Mindy geek out over things is honestly so adorable, it makes me want to smoosh your face. I love how you expand my horizons with all those things and introduce me to your favorites, sharing them with me because you want to share the experience with me. And yes, I love my sex slave and slut, my submissive cuckquean who wants me to dominate her to my heart’s content. Our sex life with and without the harem is fantastic. Being your Master, and having you as my slave is a fantasy made real.” 

The confession surprised Selene, but warmed her heart so much that she had no choice but to kiss him or cry. She chose both until her tears slid over her lips and separated her from the taste of his. His lips tasted like bacon, which any of his other girlfriends probably would have loved, but Selene didn’t mind since it was him she was kissing. 

“So what’s the problem, then?” Selene asked. “Why are you so mad at me? That’s all I want, is for you to be my Master and for me to be your slave.” 

Arthur sighed. “Because from what you’re doing, that really is all you want, and I want more than that. Our love should be rooted in our friendship, growing from it, not replacing it. We’ve traded our shared interests for sex, bondage, and power dynamics, rather than adding those things to the list. That’s the only part you care about these last few weeks. Remember all the aspects of you I listed? Everything that we share outside of BDSM? Why are you so focused on only being my slave and not my friend or girlfriend?” 

Selene hesitated. He could see her reviewing the list and realizing how long it’d been. 

“When’s the last time we spent time together when you didn’t try to play Master and slave?” Arthur asked. 

Selene frowned. “But… there’s the harem. It’s not like I’m with you all the time. I have to share you with the others, remember? You can’t blame me for wanting you to be my Master when we’re together.” 

“Selene, it’s constant.” Arthur said. “Every time I see you, even not on date nights or one-on-one time, every day you’re slipping more and more into the slave role like you don’t even want to be Selene anymore. You just want to be my slave all the time.”

“So?” Selene asked, on the brink of crying again. “Why is that a bad thing?” 

“Because as fun as the fantasy of being a slave is for you, you’re still a person, Selene. BDSM is a fun escape from reality, not a replacement for it. It’s like video games, or Lord of the Rings, or any other fantasy. It’s something to visit, not something to lose yourself in.” Arthur said. “I love you. You Selene. As a person. Not just as a slave. Can you say the same about me? Do you love me as a person? Or do you only love me as your master?” 

“Of course, I love you as a person. I love you because of who you are.” Selene said, reaching up to touch his face. “How could you think anything else?” 

“Because I’m worried that you don’t see me as a person anymore.” Arthur said. “Or yourself, for that matter. I’m worried that you only see yourself as a slave, and I don’t want you to lose yourself in our playtime any more than I want you to lose yourself to a character in a play or any other shared interest.” 

Selene sniffled, pulling away so she could wipe her face with her arm. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I just… I don’t want to deal with life right now, or anything outside of you, our friends, and the harem. Our bubble. It’s hard enough with all the Lynn, Yvonne, and other drama, but to add real life to it too? All the classes, the expectations, homework, exams, and careers? Not to mention my mother, and the life waiting for us after we graduate? I don’t want it. I want you, and the girls, but mostly you. I love you, Arthur, and I want you to be my Master and to let me be your slave, to spend my days serving you, however you need me to. I’d major in that if I could. I don’t want to be a teacher; I want to be a slave. Your slave. I don’t want to have to worry about anything but pleasure, mine and yours.” 

“Selene, that’s called an addiction.” Arthur said. “I think you have an extreme case of something called Sub-Frenzy. I get that it’s exciting and new. It’s easy to become obsessed with it, especially when there’s orgasms involved, but it’s not a healthy mindset to have, or a realistic goal.” 

“Why not?” Selene asked. “It’s not like teachers make a lot of money. I’d make more if I posted those videos and pictures I made for you on the internet.” 

“That might be true.” Arthur said, realizing he’d make more as a business major than most of his girlfriends ever would in their chosen careers. Rani and Mindy likely had the best shots of being primary earners. Engineering and Business could pay well. Education? Not so much. English? No. Kelly, Katelyn, Selene, and even Kat might make enough to live on in a group or partnered situation, but never on their own. 

“So, if I’m your slave, I don’t need an income.” Selene insisted. “It’s not like I’m going to leave you.” 

The reality of that statement sank into Arthur’s chest. He’d been hesitant to think about the future with the harem, or any of its members, including Selene. He still had another year after this one to get his MBA, but the future was swiftly approaching. He’d be out of college and into his career soon enough, but he lived close enough to the city to commute if he stayed in the house with his girlfriends. He didn’t plan on breaking up with Selene, so why had he assumed she might break up with him and not want to build a future with him? 

Trauma? He’d planned a future once. He had everything all planned out for him and Lori until she left him. That wasn’t Selene’s fault. That was his baggage, but they still had to deal with Selene’s. Even if she wanted to be his slave full-time and not work for a living, she needed a backup plan. Even if she wanted to be a stay-at-home partner, she’d still have to be a person. That was what was in her best interest, even if he landed a job that could afford to finance her life as his full-time slave. Reality pressed its considerations into his anxieties. What if he died? Or what if he didn’t get a job right away? She had to have something for the worst-case scenario. 

“Selene, you still need to finish your degree.” Arthur said. “It doesn’t have to be teaching if you don’t want to be a teacher. It sounds like you’re jumping into slavery because you don’t want to be a teacher and can’t think of anything else to do. But you need a fallback in case of the worst-case scenario. What if I get sick and can’t work, or something terrible happens and I die? You need to be able to take care of yourself, even though I’m perfectly willing to provide for you.” 

Selene’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean you want me to be your slave?” 

“Of course I do.” Arthur said. “But did you hear what I said before that? Are you listening to what I’m saying, or just focusing on the last thing I say? We still have to address your addiction.” 

“I’m listening, I promise.” Selene giggled, euphoric at his confession. 

“Then what’s so funny?” Arthur asked, genuinely confused. 

Selene grinned. “I’m addicted to your dick. A-dick-ted.” 

Arthur didn’t laugh. He swallowed, and he vented his frustration through his nostrils. The two of them stood in silence with his arms loose around her waist. He didn’t know how to get through to her, so he let the silence linger as he racked his brain. Without him realizing it, the silence turned heavy, and Selene anxiously squeezed him around the middle. 

“Please don’t break up with me.” Selene said suddenly. “I was just trying to lighten the mood, like you do. You always have a terrible joke ready when things get tough.” 

Arthur couldn’t argue that point; she was right. He’d learned that from his dad. 

“I’m not breaking up with you.” Arthur said, both surprised at the suggestion and adamant. Selene’s anxiety had her chest heaving against him.  

“Then where do we go from here?” Selene asked. “Let me be your slave? I can drop out of classes and–” 

“You’re not dropping out of classes.” Arthur corrected her. “You need a fallback, just in case. Remember?” 

“But–” 

“Selene.” Arthur said, cutting her off. Oh, how he wished the harem were here to help him talk sense into her. He felt like a one-man intervention. Kat couldn’t have known she’d been thinking about this, or she would have talked Selene out of it, right? Then again, maybe she had, and Selene refused to listen. “I think you need more help than I can give you on this.” 

Selene looked confused. 

The harem might help, but none of them were professionals or trained in helping people with addictions. Even Arthur wasn’t an expert in everything, and her sub-frenzy had officially crossed the line between a temporary obsession with a fun new activity and an addiction she couldn’t break on her own. She needed help beyond what Arthur could give her. 

“I want us to go to couples’ counseling.” Arthur said as he realized the desire. “They offer it at the campus health center. It wouldn’t be with my normal therapist; it’d be with someone new to both of us. I’m sure we could schedule a session after the fall break.” 

Selene frowned, but didn’t protest. She considered it. “Do we have to? Is that an order?” 

“No.” Arthur said. “I’m not ordering you to do it as your Master. I’m asking you to do it with me as your boyfriend.” It probably wasn’t a bad idea to do at least one session with each of his girlfriends, but Selene was the one who needed it sooner rather than later. 

Selene considered his offer as she gazed into his eyes, seeing the concern behind the request. “Okay.” She said softly. “But what do we do in the meantime? Can I be your slave just for fall break? For the weekend? I promise I’ll do my best to show you how good it can be.”

“You understand how draining it can be, right? To be a Master 24/7?” Arthur asked. “It’s a lot to ask of me, especially when we’ve got the faire, and I’ve got the rest of the harem to attend to. And it was supposed to be my night off?” 

“I’m not going to be a burden on you.” Selene protested. “You’ve got the harem to help share the load, and I understand that it doesn’t mean 24 hours of sex a day.” She clung to his arm again. “Let me serve you. I’ll clean your apartment. I’ll do your dishes. I’ll do whatever you command me to do, even if it’s just to sit quietly and wait for you to come home. And I’m sorry for surprising you with the others, ambushing you with the girls. I thought I was doing something fun and sexy. I didn’t consider how it would take away your night off or embarrass you in front of our friends. Come to think of it, I think the others tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen. I was thoughtless. I’m so sorry, Ma–Arthur. I’m sorry, Arthur. I’d tell you that you could spank me for it, but that’d be more BDSM instead of less.”  

“Hmm.” Arthur hummed as he considered her words. What would Kat say to Selene volunteering to do chores? For that matter, what would a suitable punishment be? Should he punish her for this? So far, the only thing he’d discovered that she viewed as an actual punishment was chastity. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the chastity belt here. It was at his apartment. There were other punishments, of course, but no. This whole argument was a miscommunication between them as boyfriend and girlfriend. He wasn’t going to hold it against her. 

If the situation were different, Arthur might suggest that she be herself and not his slave tonight. That was what he wanted. He’d even invited her to join the guys’ night as one of the guys, but she’d turned him down. Now he saw why she’d fibbed. She had wanted to crash his guys’ night, just with something she thought was much better than movies and board games. 

If they were to take a vote on it, he knew he’d lose. Mark and Brad weren’t upset about the girls crashing. Arthur would have stopped it if he’d known, but it was too late for that. Like it or not, they weren’t the only couple involved in whatever was happening. Selene, Jen, and Maria had worked out a night of waiting on their boyfriends, dressing up in sexy outfits, and offering their services for the night. Mark and Brad had seemed thrilled at the idea. It was a unique night for them. Arthur almost felt embarrassed by how run-of-the-mill it was to him. 

Mark, Maria, Brad, and Jen were waiting for them in the other room. For them, it was a rare opportunity to explore a sexy side of their girlfriends that they might never get a second chance to discover. He couldn’t rob them of that, even if it meant sacrificing his night off to keep from ruining theirs. Besides, even if he didn’t have a chastity belt with him, it might be a good opportunity to show Selene that the reality of being a 24/7 slave was different than the fantasy. She might not enjoy the domestic servitude as much as she thought she would. That was more Kelly’s thing. 

“You want to be my slave all the time?” Arthur asked. “Twenty-four-seven, no break from slavery? Even when it’s not sexual?” 

“YES.” Selene said, grabbing his shirt and pulling her toward him. “PLEASE. That's all I want.” 

Arthur tilted Selene’s face toward his, catching her gaze and holding it, searching her eyes to make sure she understood. Hope bubbled behind her eyes, and her lips formed the start of a kiss. He kissed her. 

“Okay.” Arthur said, though the hesitation in his voice gave Selene pause. “Here’s what I’m proposing. From this moment forward, you become my 24/7 slave, until–” He raised his finger to stop Selene’s bouncing up and down in excitement. “Until the end of fall break.” 

Selene swallowed and paused her celebration, waiting for him to explain.

“At which point, you will spend one full week just being my girlfriend, Selene. No slavery. No collars. No kink. Just my girlfriend. For one week.” 

Selene’s hand went to her throat. “Can I still wear my collar?” 

That symbol of her submission hadn’t left her neck since he gave it to her. She refused to take it off, and her attachment to it only seemed to propel her desire to be his slave. That would interrupt her ability to go without kink for a week. 

“No.” Arthur said. “It comes off for one week.” 

“No deal.” Selene said quickly. “Absolutely not. I do not consent to that.” 

Arthur hesitated, realizing she wasn’t objecting to any other aspect of the bargain, just removing the choker. “And if you can keep the choker on?” 

“Then, yes.” Selene said. “I’ll do it.” 

Arthur sighed, holding Selene’s gaze to see if she was telling the truth. “And you’ll go to counseling with me?” 

“Yes.” Selene said. 

“Okay.” He released the hug and put his hand between them for a handshake. “We have a deal?” 

“We have a deal.” Selene shook his hand. 

“Good.” Arthur released her hand and took a deep breath. They had to get back out there, and despite his desire for a break, he had to get into character. He rolled his shoulders, cracked his knuckles and neck, and took a deep breath. He kissed Selene’s forehead and stepped back, pointing toward the floor. “On your knees, slave.” 

“Yes, Master.” Selene said and knelt before his feet. 

~~~

Outside, the girls started a fire after ordering their food from the Garden Wok. It surprised Lynn that they were in delivery range, but Mindy might have had something to do with that since she was the one who placed the order. Lynn had only gotten on the phone to give her card info. 

Kat, Rani, and Katelyn, the other girls joining them tonight, had been giving her the silent treatment. Their glares and hatred boiled Lynn’s blood every time she looked at them. So she did her best to stare into the fire instead. The heat and flickering flames soothed everyone around the stone ring surrounding the fire. Their skimpy swimsuits and borderline nudity required the fire’s protection from the cooler autumn evening. The warm glow radiated soothing heat and relaxation. Yet everyone was still on edge, their hackles raised as they glared at their enemy, and she glared back. 

Katelyn and Kelly proved the most capable with firestarting. They had a veritable bonfire going soon enough. Kat sat on one of the patio chairs, wrapped in a fleece blanket from her car, wearing a red one-piece bathing suit beneath the blanket. It showed less skin than the others, but the bottom curved up over her hips and narrowed between her legs enough to reveal the bumps from her razor. Lynn didn’t wonder why she’d been quick to cover her lap with the blanket.

Mindy sat opposite Kat, gently tapping her foot in the air as she sat sideways in Rani’s lap beside the fire. Rani wore her gold bikini, decorated with jewelry as usual. Lynn couldn’t remember ever seeing the Indian woman without at least a few pieces of gold on her dark brown skin. It was pretty, though Lynn was confident it was all cheap costume jewelry. 

Kelly’s tight athletic shorts and bikini top seemed demure and lewd simultaneously. They covered her like a second layer of skin, contouring enough to show her assets and make Lynn want to tear them off her. She’d thought about following Kelly into the poolhouse when she went to the bathroom, but she stayed with the others, and Kelly returned quickly enough and thanked Katelyn for bringing her a tampon. 

Katelyn’s white bikini didn’t have any strings, like Mindy’s. Instead, her suit looked like a modest bra and panty set with plenty of coverage. It was a crop top and bottoms that looked almost like granny-panty-briefs. Not that she had anything to cover as far as Lynn was concerned. This skinny bitch was the girl Sean preferred over her? Gross. She had no tits and no ass, how was she getting Sean and Arthur's interest over a real woman? Maybe Sean was secretly gay. 

Lynn’s expression looked miserable as she stared into the flames from her patio chair. She sat with her hands gripping the end of the armrests, her legs crossed, and her foot dangling toward the flames as warmth crept up her leg. Unlike last time, she had her purse with her. Her phone stuck out of its unzipped top as it rested on the ground against the leg of her chair. 

She wondered what Sanjay was doing right now, and whether the bar had towed her car yet. Maybe it was still there? She hoped it was. She had to go and get it soon, though. First thing tomorrow morning, for sure. 

The others glared at her, and Mindy joined them whenever she remembered she was supposed to. Lynn’s hotness distracted most people from her multitude of sins, and Mindy seemed the most under her spell. The others? They acted like she’d pissed in their drinks and called it champagne. She supposed going after the youngest of the group, the college freshman among juniors and seniors, had struck a chord. That, and whatever bullshit Arthur fed them.

Hatred filled the air between the women as the flames danced; the girls surrounding Lynn stared at her as she refused to lift her eyes from the heart of the fire. 

“Why are you even here?” Lynn asked, her voice filled with boredom. “I know you all hate me. What’s the point of this?” 

“You invited us.” Kelly reminded her. “To apologize to Mindy, remember? To make it up to us?” 

“You know that’s bullshit. Deb’s the only reason I ever offered an apology dinner.” Lynn said. “I hate all of you, and you hate me. The masks are off. Why bother pretending anymore? Especially without Deb here.” 

“Yeah… Why isn’t Deb here again?” Kelly asked, though the question was rhetorical. She fucking knew why Deb wasn’t here. She’d made it clear she and Deb were close. Lynn considered herself a saint for not backhanding Kelly across the face. 

“Because you won.” Lynn narrowed her eyes at Kelly. “You and Arthur turned Deb against me.” 

“No.” Kat said, her voice iron as it fell across Lynn’s ears. “Your actions turned Deb against you.” 

Lynn rolled her eyes, deflecting the blow. “Arthur lied to her.” 

“Arthur didn’t lie.” Rani said. “He’s told everyone the truth, unlike you.” 

“So I lied?” Lynn asked. “What the fuck did I lie about?” 

“Pretty much everything since we’ve met you, right?” Mindy asked, gesturing to the others. “You keep lying, but you’re awful at it, and we keep catching you in your lies.” 

“Like that you didn’t know Mindy wasn’t out to her parents.” Rani said, her voice angry. “You fuckin’ knew, and you tried to get her parents to disown her over it.” 

“So what?” Lynn asked, shrugging. “I tried, and I failed. It doesn’t change anything.” She smirked as Rani struggled to push Mindy off her lap, but Mindy hugged Rani to keep her in place.  

“And you know what you’re doing, showing up at Selene’s job.” Kat said, still glaring at Lynn. 

“She humiliated me.” Lynn snapped back at Kat. “Her little prank had me running through that hotel buck naked. Selene deserves some karma.” 

“Oh, that’s so rich coming from you.” Rani spat. 

“Did she steal your clothes this morning, too?” Kelly asked, tilting her head. “Or are you just a streaker now? Is that what happened? You got a taste for the thrill at the hotel and tried to relive it?” 

Lynn frowned and didn’t answer. She returned her gaze to the fire and watched the blaze as it ate the sticks and kindling, chewing on the logs Kelly set. Kelly’s intuition, or guesses, were uncomfortably close at times. She wasn’t sure how close Kelly came to guessing the truth, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t their business why she was skinny dipping. Why being naked, especially if it was embarrassing, held allure for Lynn. 

“So are you going to apologize to Mindy, or not?” Kelly asked. “What do you even want out of all this? Why even bother attacking us? It won’t make us leave Arthur, and it won’t make him want you. Is it your nuclear option? Trying to destroy our lives because you can’t be happy with yours?” 

Lynn turned her glare toward Kelly. 

“You’re just going to fail at that, too.” Rani said. “So you might as well spare yourself the trouble.” 

“And why are you so obsessed with our boyfriend?” Kelly asked, sitting on the edge of her seat. “It can’t just be to get him to do your homework again, right? You know they have tutoring centers at the school. You could learn how to do your own work, or if you’re that desperate, cheat your way through with your money.” 

“I don’t think you’ll find any tutors at the tutoring center willing to help you.” Kat said. 

Lynn didn’t answer. She glared at Kelly as if willing her to read her mind and choke on what she found there.

“So?” Kelly asked. “What do you want?” 

Lynn looked away, turning her gaze toward the fire once more. She didn’t have to answer that. Nor, in many ways, could she give Kelly an answer. How could she tell Kelly what she wanted when she didn’t know herself? Freedom? Money? Wealth? Power? Sex? All the typical allure of vice and vanity crumbled to ash in her mouth every time she tasted them. The only time she felt pleasure, truly felt it, was when she imagined herself under Kelly’s boot, humiliated and embarrassed as she came to Kelly's cruelty. Or Arthur’s. 

Not that she’d ever admit that to them, or that they’d ever indulge in such perversions. Oh, sure, they were perverts and sexual deviants, but they hated her guts. They’d never give her anything she wanted if they could help it. Still, the meaner Kelly was to her, the more aroused Lynn became, and the more she wanted the woman to do something about it.

“I’ll tell you what Arthur wants.” Kelly said, crossing her legs as if getting comfortable before revealing a secret. “He wants you out of the house. So do we. Failing that, he wants a truce. He wants us to leave you alone, and you to leave us alone.” 

Lynn chuckled. “I’ll bet he does.” 

“You don’t get it.” Kelly said, sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose. “This cycle we’re in. How do you see it ending?” 

Lynn turned her face away, not answering. She’d thought about this before. There was no winning. Not anymore. It was as if she were playing one of Arthur’s stupid board games, where she could tell that she’d already lost, but he insisted on seeing the game through to the end, anyway. He frustrated her every time, dismantling her piece by piece until the game was finally, mercifully, over. 

Lynn’s future held no victory, only destruction.   

“You think what, if you break us up, you’ll get Arthur to yourself and things will go back to the way they were in high school?” Kelly asked. “Or before?” 

Lynn closed her eyes, basking in the heat of the fire against her lashes, pretending to ignore Kelly. 

“You’re delusional, if that’s the case.” Rani said, giving Mindy a gentle squeeze. 

“Bat shit crazy, more like it.” Kat said. 

“Have you even apologized to Arthur for what you did?” Kelly asked. “Because that’s something I’d like to see.” 

“I APOLOGIZED!” Lynn screamed, going from zero to a hundred in an instant. That asshole ignored her apology. It wasn’t her fault. “I wrote him an email and everything!” 

“An email?” Mindy asked, shocked. “You wrote him an email after what you did?” 

“What the fuck do you know about it?” Lynn snapped at Mindy. 

“She did write an email.” Kat said, interjecting through her clenched mouth. “I read it. That was before I knew what she’d done, though, and even then it was a pitiful excuse for an apology.” 

Lynn glared at Kat. “That was private.” 

“Arthur showed it to me.” Kat said. “And it was bullshit. You never took the blame for anything that happened, and you left some gaping holes in the things you mentioned.” 

Lynn didn’t let it go. “You had no right to read that.” 

“I had every right to read something my boyfriend showed me when his abuser reached out to him.” Kat said, glaring at Lynn. “The only thing you and I agree on is that this whole apology dinner is bullshit. We shouldn’t be here. We should be upstairs with Arthur right now. And you should be burning in hell, but I guess even Satan doesn’t want to associate with you.” 

“So why are you here?” Lynn asked. If Kat didn’t want to be here, she knew where the doors to the house were, and unlike Lynn, she probably had a key to get inside. 

“I’m here to support Kelly.” Kat said. “And to make sure you apologize to Mindy properly.” 

Lynn turned her eyes toward Mindy. The Asian college girl in her obscenely tiny red bikini looked lewd and overflowed the two small triangles, failing to hold in her nipples. She hugged Rani, who stood beside her in front of their chair. The pair of them looked adorable and sexy, but Lynn knew Mindy was no innocent freshman. Her bikini was proof of that. She was a bitch, just like the others. 

Mindy looked at Lynn, patiently waiting for any apology to come her way, but not expecting a good one. 

“Go fuck yourselves.” Lynn said, lifting her chin in defiance. “I’m not sorry, and I’m not apologizing for shit.” 

Kelly sighed. “I guess you don’t want to use the pool then? Or the hot tub? We could just take the food since you already paid for it, and you can go back to being alone while we have our party? Is your apartment soundproofed? Do you think it’ll bother you if we’re too loud?” 

Lynn glared at Kelly, chewing on her tongue. There were things she wanted to say that she couldn’t. Her mouth refused to form the words. Besides, the flare of pain from her tongue distracted her from the blossoming warmth between her legs. The constant glares, the derisive condescension from Kelly, and even the vile hatred from Kat were turning her on. 

“Do you want me to call Deb?” Kelly asked. “I’m sure she’d join us if I called and asked her to come. She went when Mindy invited her to dinner with her parents, after all. The hardest part would be getting her to come if you were still here, so go ahead and bail, and we’ll invite her over and have a great time growing even closer.” 

Rage overtook Lynn’s senses. “Fuck you.” Lynn said, glaring at Kelly. 

“No.” Kelly said, standing up and walking in front of Lynn. “Fuck you, Cunt.” 

The girls flinched, but Lynn stared up at her while Kelly continued with her manicured finger pointed directly in Lynn’s face. 

“This whole drama of yours, this game you insist on playing, it’s over.” Kelly said. “You’ve lost. You have nothing—no one to back you up. Your whiney threats of lawsuits and the rest are pure garbage. Stalk us and our families all you want, but everything you’ve done and everything you try to do will fail. You know why? Because you are a failure. You flunked out of school the minute there wasn’t a man there to change your grades or do your work for you. You’re nothing but a disgusting, pathetic Cunt, and the moment you step out of line, we’ll throw you out of the house if Arthur doesn’t already have a way to do it. Heck, we might even get Pendleton to expel you, just like your last college. And your parents, your lawyers, your friends–oh, that’s right, you don’t have those–can’t touch us.” 

Kelly’s tirade ended with her face less than an inch away from Lynn’s, leaning over her chair with her hands on the arms of it. Lynn’s chest heaved in short, heavy breaths, panting in barely contained fury as her swimsuit barely contained her breasts. She wanted to grab Kelly’s face and headbutt her nose, or shove her lips against hers. She couldn't decide which. Lynn closed her eyes, not knowing what to do as her body twisted in on itself. 

“Oh my god!” Lynn said, standing up. Her movement forced Kelly to push away and straighten while Lynn rose to meet Kelly’s gaze. She stood shorter than Kelly since both women were barefoot, so the effect ended with Lynn glaring, and Kelly looking down her nose at the shorter woman, which didn’t help Lynn’s conflicting emotions. 

“I don’t even want to go to your stupid college!” Lynn confessed. “I just want to live my life! But my parents are making me go to your stupid school! And live in this stupid house!” She pointed at the house behind them. 

“Are they making you go after Arthur, too?” Kelly asked, not backing down, but towering over Lynn with her arms folded over her chest. 

“No!” Lynn shouted. 

“So why are you going after him?” Rani asked. 

“I don’t know!” Lynn said. 

“Do you love him?” Kelly asked. “Is that it?” 

“What?” Lynn asked, startled. “Of course not! I hate him! He’s disgusting and pathetic!” 

The girls glared at her. She’d denied it out of reflex, and she suddenly remembered saying something similar to Angie when asked the same question. A denial that she tried to fix their senior year, only Arthur fucked everything up. Now, though, she’d said the same thing for different reasons. She was mad at him, sure. He’d taken Deb away, turned the girls against her, and made her life miserable. Yet, her mind kept wandering back to him, like she was obsessed, or something. That couldn’t be it, though. Even if he wasn’t disgusting and pathetic anymore, he was still just a man—a guy who looked at her in disgust and not the adoration she deserved. 

“So why target him?” Kelly asked. “Why come after us for protecting him?” 

Lynn’s frown hardened into an expression of pure hatred as she glared at Kelly. 

“You’re like a fucking toddler.” Rani shook her head. 

“What?” Lynn barked, turning toward Rani and Mindy. 

“You used to be Arthur’s idol, right? The woman he put on a pedestal and worshipped above all else? He crossed lines for you that I can’t imagine him crossing. That man?” Rani gestured to the house. “He’s probably the most ethical person I’ve met, and I have no idea how he even exists that way in the real world. He chooses it. Every fucking day he wakes up and chooses to do the right thing and act kindly toward his fellow human beings, even pieces of shit who don’t deserve it.” 

Lynn scoffed. They were the ones putting Arthur on a pedestal now. No one was really like that. Maybe Arthur wanted to be, she could believe that, but to have a stainless past? Forget it. He didn’t deserve the pedestal they put him on.  

“You’re so used to being his focus and the person he’d cross the line for, that it’s driving you insane that he didn’t fall back into line when you snapped your fingers, right? It’s like you don’t even remember what you did to him.” Rani said. 

Lynn glanced nervously around at the girls, each of whom suddenly hardened their expression to look like they were about to physically grab her and hold her down against the burning logs. The fire pit was only missing a stake, and they could have a witch burning.  

“You’re like a toddler who threw away a toy and is mad that someone else is playing with it.” Kelly said. “Well, guess what? Arthur’s not your toy. He’s a fucking human being, and he’s ours now. We’re his, and you’re nothing. He wants nothing to do with you. He hates you, he loathes you.” 

Arthur didn’t want Lynn in their lives. She knew that. Still, Lynn’s mouth fell open as if Kelly had struck her across the face. Tears pressed against the corners of her eyes in… sadness? No. Frustration. She didn’t get sad. Sadness was for other people. She was Lynn Barrera.

“He loves me.” Lynn said. “He always has! But he doesn’t deserve me! He’s pathetic! He’s a loser! He’s turned everyone against me and taken everything from me out of spite because he couldn’t have me!” 

“No, you did that yourself.” Kelly corrected her. “And Arthur? He’s not pathetic or a loser. You’re the pathetic loser, Cunt.” 

Lynn shivered, and goosebumps coated her arms, which she passed off as a sudden breeze as she rubbed her arms to warm them. “Shut up!” She barked at Kelly. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” 

“Pathetic.” Kelly said again. “Nothing but a sad little cunt no one wants to play with. You’re all alone, and you’re going to be alone. No one loves you, and no one wants you. Your parents don’t even want you living with them. The only person who ever showed you any kindness was Deb, and even she’s given up on you, or she’d be here tonight, right?” 

Fury overtook Lynn’s limbs. She screamed a wordless, furious noise–a battlecry in the night–and surged forward, raising both hands as if to shove Kelly into the fire pit. 

Everyone gasped, but Lynn’s hands never made contact with Kelly’s chest like she’d intended. Kelly was a fighter, and it would take more than a clumsy shove to catch her by surprise. She sidestepped, grabbed Lynn’s wrist, and twisted her arm behind her. Kelly’s fist drove into Lynn’s side, knocking the wind from her lungs.

Lynn gasped in surprise as Kelly moved behind her, hooked her left arm over Lynn’s throat, catching her in a headlock, and squeezing. Her right hand still held Lynn’s right wrist twisted behind her back. Kelly’s body pressed against Lynn’s back, trapping her arm in place, and Lynn realized she looked like a human shield between Kelly and the flames, which drew closer as Lynn tried to step away and Kelly kept pace.

“Kelly!” Katelyn called. 

“I’m fine.” Kelly said. “Lynn just needs to cool down. Attacking me like that, in front of all these witnesses? Well, I think that’s enough to kick you out of the house for good. You stupid, stupid cunt.” 

Lynn’s field of vision was red with the flames and fury. She tried to say something, and realized that there was no air left in her lungs. She tried to breathe in, but Kelly’s arm was pressing tightly against her throat and squeezing. Pain flooded Lynn’s head.

“Should I get Arthur?” Mindy asked, panicking as she moved out of Lynn’s view. 

“Not yet.” Kelly said, grinding out her words through her teeth. “I want to teach this Cunt she can’t just take a swing at me.”  

Lynn struggled against Kelly’s hold, but she might as well have been struggling beneath Arthur’s grip. Kelly might be more slender than Lynn, but she had muscle. Panic swept through her, driving most of her self-defense instruction from her head. She tried to elbow Kelly in the ribs with her left arm, which was free, but Kelly twisted her grip on Lynn’s right forearm, blinding her with pain and turning her attempt into useless flailing.

Lynn tried to stomp on Kelly’s foot with her heel, but Kelly kicked the back of her knee, driving her to the ground as she clawed at Kelly’s arm for air she wasn’t getting. Lynn’s knee crashed into the dirt, leaving her on one foot and one knee, Kelly still behind her, still holding her in a chokehold with one arm, and by the wrist with her other hand. 

Kat sat up, and everyone leaned forward as they watched Lynn’s face turn red enough to match the flames. She tapped Kelly’s arm, smacking it repeatedly to try to get Kelly to let her go. She reached behind her, pulling Kelly’s hair, but Kelly paid her no mind. The force from her pull was nowhere near full strength.

Instead, Kelly tightened her arm further, making Lynn choke on her lack of oxygen. They watched as Lynn’s eyelashes fluttered, and she realized how pitiful her life had become from the queen of high school, to this: a pitiful cunt without anyone to take her side or come to her defense. 

Lynn went limp, giving up, and Kelly released her, throwing her hard against the ground beside the fire pit as she did so. Lynn fell sideways into the dirt, unable to bring her hands up to catch herself in time. She gasped in the dirty air as she clawed at her throat, gasping for breath. She supposed she should be thankful Kelly didn’t throw her forward into the flames.

Lynn dragged herself to her hands and knees, looking up at the girls around her. Kat, Mindy, Kelly, and Katelyn stared back. Rani must have left to fetch Arthur sometime during the fight. Would he come? Would he stop his crazy bitch of a girlfriend? Probably not, no. Arthur didn’t care about her anymore. No one did. 

Tears fell from Lynn’s eyes. She closed her fists over the loose dirt on the ground as she sobbed on her hands and knees. 

“God, that felt good.” Kelly rolled her shoulders and took up an actual boxing stance. “Next time you take a swing at someone, make sure they’re not an actual fighter.” Kelly said, kissing her right fist, then her left. “Come on.” Kelly said. “You want to fight me? Get up and let’s go. Don’t just cry. Get up, Cunt.” 

Lynn groaned, her ribs shaking as she sobbed. She had no control over her emotions anymore. They flooded out of her, and the only thing she could do was wait for them to pass. 

“You took a swing at me first.” Kelly reminded her. “So let’s do it, Cunt. This is for everything you did to Arthur.” 

Lynn rolled onto her side and pushed herself up to her hands and knees. The dirt in her hands begged her to throw it into Kelly’s face, but the attack was too obvious. She released the dirt and crawled toward her chair. Her tears subsided, and she smiled triumphantly as she groped for something against the chair leg, only to come up empty. 

“Looking for this?” Kat asked, holding up Lynn’s phone. “I saw you put it there. Trying to record all of this? You need new tricks.” 

Mindy looked confused, turning her head between the others. Katelyn looked worried, but more concerned for Kelly than the situation itself. None of them had seen her be so ruthless or cruel before. Lynn deserved it, but some of them were legitimately frightened of, not for, Kelly. Kat looked cocky, holding Lynn’s phone as the other woman looked up at her from her hands and knees. 

“I already deleted the recording.” Kat said. “But I have one.” She held up her own phone. “And I’m not going to edit it to make you look good.” 

What? Lynn gawked at Kat. The audacity. They stole her plan? 

Kat looked pleased with herself, happy to have some small part in this tiny bit of vengeance. Were they avenging Arthur with this? Lynn wasn’t sure what was happening, but she didn’t like it one bit. 

“You can’t steal my phone!” Lynn cried, rising and rushing forward as she tried to tackle Kat. 

Panic overtook Kat’s face as Lynn rushed her. Kelly moved to stop Lynn, shoving into her side, but her timing was off, smacking into Lynn’s hip instead of her shoulder. Lynn’s trajectory toward Kat skewed off-balance. She swiped at Kat, knocking her hand with Lynn’s phone in it toward the fire. Kat’s fingers opened, and Lynn’s phone sailed through the air, crashing into the ground in the heart of the fire pit.

Everyone gasped and took a step away from the flames. Lynn dashed forward, nearly reaching into the fire for her phone, but Kelly knocked her aside on instinct, shoving her out of harm's way. The expensive plastic warped and melted as a sharp hissing sound sizzled through the air. Wisps of white smoke rose from the melting plastic, and Kelly covered her mouth and nose with her elbow as she turned away. 

The others took their cue from her and ran toward the house, but Mindy seemed to know something they didn’t. She ran into the pool house, pulled the fire extinguisher from the pool house kitchen, and ran back toward the fire pit. She pulled the pin, aimed the nozzle low at the flames, squeezed the handle, and swept the nozzle back and forth as foam shot out, smothering the flames and dousing the fire in an instant. If Lynn didn’t know better, she’d think it was either rehearsed or that Mindy had done this before. She supposed the latter made sense, given that her family owned a restaurant and kitchen fires probably happened. 

Whatever else their plan had been, throwing Lynn’s phone into the fire didn’t seem to be part of it. Everyone else seemed surprised. They stared at Mindy, who panted from the effort and didn’t seem to notice that her top was falling apart. 

“Are you crazy?” Mindy asked Kat. “That could have exploded! Keep away! There could be fumes!” She yelled as Katelyn approached to see if anything was still burning. Given she already had one arm in a sling, Lynn had to question her intelligence, or at the very least her self-preservation instincts. 

Katelyn straightened and backed away. 

Kat looked regretful, but not toward Lynn. She apologized to Mindy. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to; it was an accident. She knocked it out of my hand!” 

“I’m going to sue the shit out of you for destruction of property!” Lynn yelled, stalking toward Kat, who raised her phone at her, as if it might shield her. 

“Good luck.” Kat chuckled. “I’m broke as heck.” 

“And if you go after Kat, we’ll go after you for assault. That’s two of us you tried to take down tonight, but when you charged Kat, you fucked up. I’m sure we can call the cops right now, if you want.” Kelly said, holding Lynn back by her shoulder. 

Lynn turned on Kelly, and for a moment it looked as if she might try to punch the redhead, but she stopped herself. The red marks on her neck were too fresh. She was fuming. Steam rose from the fire pit, and Lynn wouldn’t have been surprised if some of it came from her ears. 

“What the fuck am I supposed to do without my phone?” Lynn asked. 

“Have Mommy and Daddy buy you a new one?” Kelly asked, unconcerned. “Or go without for a while. It’s not like you have a job, places to be, or friends.”

Lynn glared at her still. Then moped at the now dark fire pit. If the flames hadn’t torched her phone, the extinguisher would have drowned it. No amount of rice could save that. 

“What do you want?” Lynn asked, nearly crying from the frustration. “HUH? What do you want from me?” 

“An apology, for starters.” Kelly said. “And for you to leave us and Arthur alone. How many times do we have to say it to get through that thick skull of yours, Cunt?” Kelly asked rhetorically. “MOVE OUT.” 

Something deep within her snapped, breaking apart. She had nothing, and they had everything. They’d even recorded her attacking Kelly and Kat. There was no way out of this one. If Deb got hold of that footage, it would be enough to boot Lynn from the house for good. Her parents might not be able to save her from the courts if Kelly pressed charges. 

Anger and fury fled through her broken spirit, draining out of her in a flood, leaving her empty, with nothing to feel but lonely defeat. 

“Fine.” Lynn said. “I’m sorry I ever met you, and I’ll leave Arthur alone from now on. He’s all yours. I hope you’re very happy together, you fucking bitch.” 

Kelly shook her head. “No, you owe Mindy an apology. I mean, you probably owe most of us an apology, but you owe Mindy one, specifically. What you tried to pull is something some people would consider a hate crime.” 

“Torching my phone is an actual crime!” Lynn screamed, pointing at the smoking fire pit. 

“It slipped.” Kat said, deadpan as she walked past them toward the patio. 

“And attacking us is a crime we have proof of.” Kelly said. Her words struck Lynn like a final blow to her gut. 

Lynn balled her hands into fists at her sides, looking down and trying to figure out a way out. Something to do, somewhere to run, or something to say that would flip the tables on Kelly and the others would do nicely, but nothing came to mind. There was no recourse for her. She lost. She had no one on her side, and nothing she could say would hurt them. Defeat smacked against her face, and she had to swallow all of it while the others watched. 

Kelly and the others waited, staring at Lynn in silent fury. Mindy adjusted her swimsuit, finally realizing that she was indecent. 

“Fine.” Lynn’s shoulders slumped in defeat. She turned toward Mindy, just as she fixed her top. “I’m sorry.” 

“Apologize like you mean it.” Kelly said, her tone full of command. 

Lynn sighed. Was the added humiliation necessary? She looked around, but none of the girls objected to Lynn eating some humility. 

“Get on your knees, and tell her you’re sorry.” Kelly said. 

That was pushing it, but Lynn’s breathing shifted as she pictured it. Why the fuck did she want to obey?  

“Explain what you’re sorry for, and do everything you can to prove to her that you’re not a homophobic cunt and that you’ll never do anything like that again.” Kelly said, cracking her knuckles for emphasis. 

Lynn took a deep breath. She should have argued, protested, or fought Kelly again, but instead, Lynn dropped to her knees one leg at a time. 

~~~