WIP: Harem House Chapter 25 Part 2

While distracted by the parties around her as she walked, Selene was all too conscious of the rope harness around her chest under the hoodie, which Maria had felt earlier when they hugged. She didn’t know about the plug in Selene’s ass, of course, but she knew something was up. Combine that with Selene accidentally calling Arthur “Master” in front of Mark, Maria’s boyfriend, and she felt she knew what this conversation would be about.

She and Maria spotted each other simultaneously as Selene reached the end of the tailgating parking lot.

“Hey, Selene.” Maria said as if initiating a round of questions. “Can I… talk to you?”

“Of course.” Selene nodded but understood why Maria hesitated to talk among so many people. “Do you want to take a walk?”

Maria nodded. “Sure.”

The two girls walked through the narrow lane between tailgaters until they reached the main campus walk. The carnival was still in full swing, and there were crowds of people. However, most of the festivities were winding down in favor of the impending game.

“So…” Selene prompted. “You wanted to talk. I’m assuming about me, Arthur, and the others?”

“Yeah, I…” Maria started and then smiled at Selene. “I’m sorry. You guys have probably been bombarded with people prying into your business.”

“It’s okay.” Selene said to assure her. “You’re my friend. I don’t mind talking to you about stuff.”

Maria smiled. “First of all, I want you to know I’m happy for you. You’ve been crushing on Arthur for years, and I’m glad he finally noticed you.”

Selene blushed. She didn’t think she’d been as obvious as all that, but she appreciated the general sentiment. Maria had known her and Arthur for years. They’d done shows together, plays, musicals, skits, one-acts, and all kinds of things. None of them had the audacity to become theater majors, but they still got together and got to participate in their mutual interests, which was fun.

“I’m glad you and Mark got together.” Selene returned the compliment. “That was at the start of the semester, right?”

“Yeah.” Maria smiled. “He finally summoned the courage and asked me out just after classes started. It’s been kind of a whirlwind since.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Selene nodded. “It’s been about two weeks for Arthur and I, and so much has happened it’s insane.”

Maria nodded. “And you guys aren’t exclusive, right?” She asked.

“No. We’re polyamorous.” Selene confirmed. “But you knew that already.”

“Yeah…” Maria nodded. “I uh…”

Selene looked over at her friend curiously. “What’s up?” She asked. “You don’t have to be afraid. I won’t bite your head off for asking questions or anything. I know everybody’s been curious, and sure, it can get a little tiresome, but like I said, you’re my friend.”

Maria smiled softly. “You’re my friend too. I’m just… I’m worried about you. Are you okay? Is he… is he making you be polyamorous? Is he making you do things you don’t want to do?”

“What?” Selene asked, startled. “No. Arthur would never.”

Maria looked at her appraisingly, as if trying to determine the truth of Selene’s statement. She looked over her shoulder, but there were only strangers around them. Many could hear them, but no one was listening. Dozens of conversations were happening between the administration and athletics buildings.

“Mark told me what you called Arthur.” Maria explained. “I just… I want to make sure he’s not like… abusing you or anything.”

“No, he isn’t.” Selene assured her. “It's consensual. Arthur and I have an admittedly unconventional but entirely consensual relationship.”

“Are you sure?” Maria asked. “He’s not here. He won’t find out. And if you need-”

“I’m sure.” Selene put her hands on Maria’s and clasped them. “Thank you, but… well, I’m into the whole BDSM scene, and so is Arthur. He hasn’t done anything without my enthusiastic consent and approval.”

“Okay. I just wanted to be sure.” Maria smiled slightly at her. “Yvonne said… she said she saw him throw you in the trunk the other day?”

“Oh, yeah.” Selene said with a fond smile. That was fun.” She hadn’t realized anyone saw them, but she supposed it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. The campus was huge, with tons of people, and even if the parking lot was empty, there were plenty of windows where someone might have watched them.

“And what are you wearing under that hoodie?” Maria asked.

Selene smirked and pulled the neckline aside enough to show her the red rope in place of a bra strap.

“Okay, well, that’s kinda hot.” Maria admitted.

“You have no idea.” Selene giggled. She clenched her ass and felt the plug filling her, and closed her eyes.

Maria nodded. “So… Mark told you about Yvonne, right?” She asked. “She hasn’t stopped going on about how freaky you all are. Makes Arthur sound like a total sex-addicted perv and scumbag.”

“Yeah.” Selene nodded. “But I can assure you, Arthur is not a freak, perv, or scumbag. He’s a good boyfriend willing to give me exactly what I want in a safe, sane, and consensual manner.”

Maria smirked. “You sound like you’ve been practicing that.”

“I may have rehearsed what I would say a few times if people confronted me like this.” Selene admitted. “Jen’s been angling for an interview, and plenty of our classmates have been hounding us about it since we got outed.”

“Sorry if I’m adding on.” Maria smiled.

“No, you’re all right.” Selene assured her. “What about you and Mark? Does he make your dreams come true?”

Maria nodded. “He’s such a sweetheart.” She said.

“How’s his dick?” Selene asked.

Maria laughed, and Selene joined her, giggling as they walked.

“Maybe you really are sex-addicted.” Maria scoffed.

“I’ve just been spending too much time with Rani.” Selene shrugged.

“I don’t have much reference material or anything, but he’s good in bed.” Maria assured her. “I assume Arthur is hung? He’s always had big dick energy, and with five girlfriends, everyone is saying he must have a massive dick and a skilled tongue.”

Selene laughed. “Can confirm.”

“So… how did things really get started between you two?” Maria asked.

Selene told her the story but left out details. “I talked with Lori, and she gave me the green light that they weren’t getting back together and that she wanted Arthur to move on and be happy.” Selene explained. “And Arthur was moping and throwing himself into work at the office to avoid everyone.” She continued.

Maria nodded. She’d noticed that around the start of the semester.

“So I offered to be his friend with benefits.” Selene explained. “And we went from there.”

“Hot.” Maria smiled.

“Yeah.” Selene nodded. “He’s so fuckin’ hot.”

Maria laughed.

“Mark’s not bad either.” Selene offered.

“Keep your eyes on your own man.” Maria said with a tone of mock indignation.

Selene laughed. “I think Arthur’s the only man for me. It’s just us girls in the harem.”

“The harem?” Maria turned and looked at Selene.

Selene smiled. “That’s what we call ourselves. Arthur’s girlfriends. We’re a bit of a sisterhood.”

“Hot.” Maria chuckled. “God, when did we all become such sex-obsessed pervs?”

“We’re not.” Selene assured her. “We just enjoy what we enjoy.” She shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess not.” Maria admitted. “Come on, let’s head back.” She gestured toward the lacrosse field. “They should be letting people into the football stadium soon.”

Selene nodded and smiled. “Come on.” She said, continuing to walk beside Maria as they changed directions.

“Thanks for talking to me about it, and not getting all annoyed or defensive.” Maria smiled.

Selene scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Maria!” They both froze when they heard the familiar voice. Maria turned first, a smile still on her face. Selene waited until she heard the footsteps draw closer.

“Hey, Yvonne!” Maria said cheerfully.

“Hey- oh, Selene.” Yvonne came to a stop about a pace behind the two. Selene turned and gave her a big smile.

“Hey, Yvonne!” Selene smiled and waved.

Yvonne looked around.

“The others are tailgating and playing games.” Maria said. “We were just heading back to the parking lot to catch up with them before the game. Care to join us?”

“Oh. Uh…”

“Come on!” Selene said, turning back as she started walking.

“Selene, can I talk to you?” Yvonne’s question caught Selene by surprise, making her stop. Maria looked between the two girls and patted Selene on the arm.

“I’ll go catch up with everyone. You two probably need to talk.” Maria said and was gone before Selene or Yvonne could respond. Selene was actually impressed by how quickly Maria vanished into the crowd of people surrounding them.

“Sure.” Selene nodded toward the picnic area. “Want to grab a table and chat?”

“That works.” Yvonne nodded and followed Selene to the tables and benches. She sat across the table from Selene after they both got some Boba from the nearby stall. “So… uh… I wanted to talk to you about-”

“Arthur?” Selene asked, interrupting her. “I’ve heard you’ve been saying pretty nasty things about him recently.”

Yvonne didn’t look guilty. She looked defiant.

Selene took a sip of her Boba. “Let me be clear.” She said matter-of-factly. “I want no doubt or misunderstandings about this. If you’re aware of someone who’s under the wrong impression, I want you to be able to correct it. Okay?”

Yvonne was taken aback by Selene’s assertiveness, but she nodded.

“Whatever you think you’ve seen, heard, or understood about my relationship with Arthur or his relationship with his other girlfriends, my friends, I want you to know that it is one hundred percent consensual between everyone involved.” Selene declared. “It wasn’t even his idea. It was mine. I wanted it. He’s not pressuring anyone into anything. He’s not being morally gray or using some loophole to live out some male fantasy.”

Yvonne scoffed.

“Okay, I mean, yes, having multiple girlfriends is probably a very typical male fantasy and one that Arthur shares, but this whole thing started because of me and my fantasies. Not his.” Selene explained. “Kelly, Rani, Mindy, and Kat are all in their own relationship with him, and they are also consensual, not forced, not coerced, and most of them not even initiated by Arthur. Kelly was the only one he asked out on his own. The rest of us approached him. It was our idea.”

Yvonne sipped her Boba.

“Do you understand all of that?” Selene asked.

Yvonne seemed to give it some consideration but nodded. “Yes. I… think so. I guess I owe him an apology.” She said. “I… jumped to certain conclusions about Arthur, and you too, I think.”

“Why?” Selene asked.

“What?” Yvonne sounded surprised by her question.

“Why did you jump to conclusions about Arthur? Why do you even care who he’s dating?” Selene asked.

Yvonne looked at her like she was stupid. “Y’know, because of our… chemistry.”

Selene looked at Yvonne like she was stupid. “Chemistry?”

“Our will they won’t they vibe?” Yvonne gestured. “I was flirting with him all semester after he broke up with Lori. He was supposed to ask me out once he was over her. We always get cast opposite each other in the romantic leads, we’ve kissed a bunch, and he’s a great kisser, and we were supposed to have this…. This big romance!”

Selene laughed. She couldn’t help it, and she didn’t mean to do it, but she laughed. “What do you mean you’ve kissed a bunch? You mean on stage?”

“Well…” Yvonne looked embarrassed now. “Yeah. But our chemistry-”

“Oh god.” Selene scoffed, her laughter still bubbling up. “Is everyone in love with Arthur?” She looked next to her at a random girl she didn’t know at all. “Hi there. Do you have a crush on Arthur? Do you want to fuck him?”

“Which Arthur?” The girl asked.

Selene held up a picture of him on her phone. He was fully dressed. It was just a random selfie they’d taken together last year that she’d used as her phone’s wallpaper starting two weeks ago.

“He’s hot.” The girl admitted. “But I don’t know him. So… no?”

“Well, if you want to, you can!” Selene scoffed. She turned her attention back to Yvonne. “If you want to fuck my boyfriend, all you have to do is ask. I’m into sharing, obviously.” She assured Yvonne.

Yvonne looked repulsed. “I don’t want to share anyone!” She said. Her emphasis on 'share' made her disdain for the concept clear. “I was just saying why I was so upset when I found out he was dating you without even giving me a chance.” She explained. “I know I can’t compete with some slut who’s willing to whore her man out to every and any girl on campus.” She turned to the stranger. “No offense.”

“None taken.” The stranger girl shrugged and sipped her soda, fascinated by Yvonne and Selene’s dramatic conversation and full-on watching them now without any subtlety.

Selene narrowed her eyes, her laughter gone. “You don’t get to call me that.” She said angrily. “You’re just mad because you didn’t have the guts to make a move.”

“He’s supposed to be the one to make the first move!” Yvonne protested. She scoffed. “You’re not even the girl he wants. You’re the one he settled for since you came along, threw yourself at him, and spread your legs.”

Selene’s eyes went wide. “How dare you–”

“You just said he didn’t even ask you out! Did you just go up to him one day and beg him to fuck you? What’d you do, promise to let him fuck whoever else he wanted just so long as you could fuck him too?” Yvonne spat. She was on a roll and kept talking to keep up her momentum. “You’re not even my real competition. You said Kelly was the one he asked out, right? She’s my competition. The rest of you threw yourselves at him as a package deal, and no man will say no to that, right?”

Selene’s face was nearly purple with rage.

“I was going to try to do this politely.” Yvonne said. “But you’re out of the club.” She spat.

“You’re kicking us out of the Theater club?” Selene asked. “You can’t do that, you need a vote-”

“Not Arthur.” Yvonne corrected Selene. “Just you. We’ll find someone else to do your tech stuff, and as president of the club, I have every right to–”

“The fuck you do!” Selene shouted. “The others would never agree to throw me out! And Arthur wouldn’t stick around without me!”

“Are you sure about that?” Yvonne asked calmly. To anyone watching, Selene was the one getting hysterical, while Yvonne seemed to get calmer with every back-and-forth. “He’s got plenty of reasons to stick around. Once he gets sick of you and the whole poly thing falls apart, I’ll be there, waiting.”

Selene shook her head. “Wow.” Selene scoffed. “I used to think you were nice, but you’re really just a bitch, aren’t you? A thirsty, thirsty bitch who’s pissed off that my boyfriend didn’t even consider asking her out when he didn’t have to follow a script to pretend to like you.”

Selene must have struck a nerve.

Yvonne slammed her hands down on the table. “Fuck you!” Yvonne spat at Selene. “You’re just sluts clinging to a goddamn man whore! You’ll see! It’ll all fall apart! It’s not natural!” Her volume was high, even for a singer, and she stormed away before Selene could offer a rebuttal.

Selene sipped her Boba, threw it in the garbage, and returned to the tailgating parking lot. Nearby, the crowd watching the heated exchange split up. The girl at the next table, briefly involved in the ordeal, also left, moving toward the athletic center.

“What was that all about?” A young woman scoffed, heading in the same direction.

“They were arguing about some guy.” The bystander answered. “I guess blondie showed some initiative and asked the guy out before he could ask the dark-haired one out. So the dark-haired one tried to kick the blonde one out of whatever Theater Club is, so blondie called her thirsty, brunette called her a slut, and then she left.”

“Lotta drama over a guy.” The other young woman laughed.

“Yeah. Cute guy, but no dick’s worth that drama.” The bystander shrugged it off.

“I’m Lynn, by the way.” Lynn said, introducing herself.

“Skylar.” The bystander introduced herself.

Together, they headed into the athletic center, talking and laughing.

After Selene left the tailgate party, Arthur’s parents slowly started to host more of his friends. Caleb and the drummer of his band had joined Brad, Jen, and Mark, who found Arthur via text. When Maria caught up with them, Kelly, Arthur, Kat, Rani, and Mindy immediately asked where Selene was. Maria said she’d stopped to talk to Yvonne, and Arthur immediately attempted to excuse himself from his father’s lecture on the importance of sports knowledge as a means of office socialization. It took a few attempts. Mindy noticed what he was doing and dove on the grenade by asking his father to explain football statistics and fantasy football to her. George was thrilled to have an interested pupil.

Arthur, Kelly, and Kat met Selene as she was on her way to them, crossing paths between two other parties with loud music blaring. Selene recounted what happened with Yvonne, and they returned to his parent’s party.

“What happened?” Arthur asked Selene.

“We can talk about it later.” Selene said, noticing how multiple people watched them as they passed Beth’s party. “But I think Yvonne wants to kick us out of the Theater Club.”

“She can’t do that.” Arthur said.

“I know.” Selene said. “But we’ll deal with it on Monday.” She sighed. “Or maybe you should just fuck her so she can get over it? I wouldn’t mind that. I can set it up if you want.”

Arthur laughed. “I don’t think Kat would take very kindly to that.” He said. “We’ve been talking about closing the open part of the relationship.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Selene asked. There was genuine surprise in her voice. “I know she wanted to close the harem, but we agreed we’re still open. You can fuck anyone you want to. That’s… that’s part of it.” She looked around Arthur at Kat for confirmation.

Arthur hugged Selene with one arm as they walked. “I know that’s important to you. But, really, I’m good with–”

“No.” Selene shrugged out of the hug and took his hand.

“Selene.” Arthur said in a severe tone, worried she planned to make a scene.

“Master,” Selene said just as seriously. “We’re your harem. Kat’s just being a brat. She needs to be reminded that this isn’t a monogamous thing between you and her, and the rest of us are for fun. Our needs are just as important as hers.”

“Hey!” Kat protested.

Arthur looked to Kelly for help and was surprised to see her nodding in support of Selene.

“She has a point.” Kelly gestured. “Selene’s kinks are what started all of this, right? It’s unfair to deny Selene what she wants because you want to give Kat what she wants, right?”

“I guess not.” Arthur admitted. “But when one of you wants something, and the other wants the opposite… how do I balance that? How do I keep you both happy?” He asked Kat and Selene, who shrugged.

“You’re the Master of the house.” Kelly reminded him. “You have to decide what you want and make your decision, fair or not.” She turned to Kat. “Is this something that you’d break up with Arthur over?”

“No.” Selene said much quicker than Kat.

“No.” Kat agreed. “It’s not worth breaking up over. It’s just…” She had tears in the corner of her eyes again. “It’s just been so crazy and so difficult. I feel like I don’t know what’s going on. Like none of us know what we’re doing, and we’re just making it up as we go along without any rules.”

Kelly hugged Kat. “Honey, you’re right. None of us know what we’re doing. We’re figuring it out. And we're all relying on Arthur to make the rules. Will you respect Arthur’s decision, even when he disagrees with you? Will you take him seriously as your Master, even outside the bedroom?”

Kat swallowed. “Yes.” Then she added: “Mistress.”

Arthur and Selene joined the hug, though Arthur had to gesture for Selene to join it before she did.

“Everything okay?” Maria asked. She approached them as the party they were walking toward broke up and started packing the grill and cooler away.

“Yeah.” Arthur said.

Mindy joined the hug, though she didn’t know why it started. Rani hung back, though her conversation with Mark over his previous D&D adventures paused.

“We can talk about this more later.” Kat assured everyone. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Arthur took a deep breath. He turned toward Maria. “Why’s everyone leaving?”

“The game’s about to start.” Maria explained. She searched for Selene and found her. “Did everything go okay with Yvonne?”

Selene left the hug and sighed. She shook her head and explained the story to Maria as they helped Arthur’s parents pack the party away.

“I’m so sorry.” Maria said. “I never would have left you alone if I thought she would, y’know, attack you.”

“It’s not your fault.” Selene assured her. “She’s a crazy fuckin’ bitch.”

There was a moment of silence until Mark finally broke it. “I can double-check the bylaws to make sure, but… I’m sure we have enough votes to kick her out of the Theater Club instead of Selene.”

Selene laughed.

“Hey, we’re gonna head in. See you in there?” Brad asked the group.

They all nodded, and Mark, Brad, Maria, and Jen headed into the stands with the rest of the crowd. Caleb and his date gave Arthur a brief hello and goodbye as they did the same.

“Arthur, can you give me a hand with this?” His mother called out from the other side of the pickup truck. “It’s full of water.”

“We can help you!” Kelly offered, and she tugged Arthur over. Together they team-lifted the cooler into the back of the truck, leaving Deb to watch.

Deb smiled. “Thank you, Kelly. Why don’t the rest of you head in and find your seats? I need to talk with Arthur for a moment.”

Kelly glanced at Arthur but nodded. “Of course. It was nice meeting you!”

“It was absolutely lovely meeting you. I can’t wait until our brunch tomorrow.” Deb clasped Kelly’s hands. Then Kelly gathered the girls and led the way toward the stadium. The girls hesitated initially but left Arthur back with his mother. George, Gabe, and Mari went with the girls toward the stands, though they were sitting elsewhere.

“Everything okay?” Arthur asked.

“I wanted to ask you that.” Deb chuckled. “One of your girls looked pretty upset. Is there trouble in paradise already?”

“It’s okay.” Arthur said. “Just a little hiccup between the girls and some of our friends or people who used to be our friends.” Arthur said. “The campus knows we’re Poly. Some people have been reacting to it better than others.”

Deb nodded. “Oh, to be young and have everything in life be so dramatic.”

Arthur smiled. “How do you and Dad do it?” He asked.

“Do what?” Deb asked. Now that the truck was closed, she leaned against the back of it, and Arthur joined her. They watched the crowd ahead of them funnel into the stadium.

“How do you two arrange things so you never have problems?” Arthur asked.

His mother laughed. It wasn’t the polite laugh of an indulgent mother, either. It wasn’t the ‘we have company, but this is really funny’ laugh he recognized. It was the gut-wracking guffaw of someone encountering the absurd.

“Oh, honey.” Deb wiped the laughter from her eyes. “Your father and I have had our share of drama, believe me. We just went out of our way not to drag you into it.”

“Like what?” Arthur asked.

Deb hesitated. “You’re an adult now. So we don’t have to keep you safe from it all, but… well, for example, there was a period about ten years ago or so where we had quite a disagreement. I got offered a job with a different company, better pay, and would have had to travel quite a bit.” She explained. “I wanted that job, but you were young, and your father was working toward his own promotion, as always, so we briefly thought about hiring a nanny.”

Arthur nodded, waiting for her to get to the drama part of the story.

“I didn’t want you raised by a stranger.” Deb explained. “Your father knew he wouldn’t be able to give you the time and attention you deserved and legally required if it came to that. I wanted the job. It seems silly now, but back then? We almost divorced over it.”

Arthur was silent.

“We love each other.” She explained. “And we both love you.”

“How did you two work it out?” Arthur asked.

“Hmm…” Deb considered the question. “That’s the hard part.” She nodded. “Everyone always wants some trick. Something they can do to make things work out alright in the end without making things complicated. But the reality is there are no shortcuts. You have to do the work, especially in relationships. You have to sit down and talk like adults. You have to compromise. And most importantly? You have to figure out what’s best for your family as a unit, not just what either of you want. Or any of you, in your case.”

“So you and Dad sat and talked?” Arthur asked.

Deb laughed and nodded. “We took a weekend trip to the cabin and worked it out.” She said. “We…” She hesitated. “Well, yes. We talked. A lot. About a lot of things. In the end, your father agreed to work less and prioritize the family more. I decided to look for a different work opportunity that worked better with our situation. I found one a few months later in our company and it worked out.”

Arthur nodded.

“So what’s your big drama?” She asked.

“Well…” Arthur blushed and looked away from his mom.

“Arty…” Deb ran her fingers through his hair. “You can talk to me. I’m your mother. By all means, leave out the sexy details, like I did, but you can talk to me about your relationships. I’m on your side.”

Arthur nodded. “About that…”

“I’m sorry about Lynn.” Deb said quickly. “I know I’ve said it before, but to be clear, we didn’t know if Gabe and Mari were coming or were bringing her. We told them we might see them here since they’re alumni too, but that was the last we heard from them about it, and that was last week after you stormed off.”

Arthur sighed, his shoulders relaxed. “Okay.” He said. “The drama between the girls is that Kat wants to close the relationship.” He explained. “Selene wants to keep it open.”

Deb blinked. “I thought free love was something your grandparents had to deal with, not you.” She chuckled.

“Yeah… well…” Arthur shrugged.

“What do you want to do?” Deb asked. “Are you the kind of guy who goes around sleeping with many different women?”

“No?” Arthur asked.

“You’re not sure?” Deb asked.

“I mean, I don’t know.” Arthur answered honestly. “I was in a relationship for most of my college life. Then I wasn’t. Now I’m in five simultaneous relationships, and one of my girlfriends wants five to be enough, and the other wants me to be some kind of…”

“Don Juan.” His mother supplied.

“Sure.” Arthur only knew the name through Phantom of the Opera, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t what his mother was referencing, but it sounded right.

“You want my advice?” Deb asked.

“Yes.” Arthur sighed, his shoulders slumped. “Please.”

Deb patted him on the back. “Find out why each girl wants what they want. Find out if they're willing to compromise. Then figure out if either is the best thing for your little family or if there’s a better solution to those wants.”

Arthur nodded along. He had an idea as to why the girls wanted their respective solutions. Kat wanted his attention, and she was insecure about their relationship. What was it she said earlier when dragging him to the library? She wanted reassurances. She wanted security.

Selene, on the opposite side of the coin, wanted adventure. She wanted her partner to be such a stud that he could sleep with anyone, and she got off on Arthur getting off. She was a genuine cuckquean. Not that he could tell his mother that part of it.

They were both willing to compromise. At least, that was what he’d come to believe with their declarations that they wouldn’t break up with him over it. They’d both put the decision in his hands, so what should he choose? And how would the other girls react to it? Did they want a say? Or did they want Arthur to make this choice for them as the Master of the Harem?

Arthur found more questions than answers the longer he remained silent, so he spoke. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Anytime.” Deb patted his arm. “Now come on, I want to watch this game too, you know?”

Arthur laughed and walked his mother into the stadium toward the tail end of the crowds.