WIP: Harem House Chapter 24 Part 4 V2

((So, long story short. I wasn't happy with the version of Part 4 that I posted before. While Selena and Kat's mom showing up was a fun twist with plenty of drama to go around, it felt a little heavy, and not being able to deal with it, having them run away from her, didn't seem to vibe with the rest of the chapter. So, I've changed some things around, and removed their mom's appearance, opting for more slice-of-life material for this section of the chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and which version you prefer.))

Together, the group made their way to the food truck lines. Rani, Selene, and Arthur stood in line for funnel cake and other deep-fried foods while Brad and Mark decided to wait in the makeshift picnic area for Jen and Maria to return.

“I can’t believe I called you Master in front of Mark.” Selene sighed. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“It wasn’t that embarrassing, was it?” Arthur asked.

“It was pretty embarrassing.” Rani said. “Hilarious for us, but embarrassing for Selene.” Rani smirked. “She’s gotten way too comfortable calling you that.”

“You all call me that.” Arthur pointed out.

“Mmm…” Rani hesitated. “Kind of. She constantly uses it. Even when you’re not around. It’s like she’s dead named Arthur in her head and replaced it with Master. I think she gets off on calling you that and only referring to you as that or something.” She looked at Selene for confirmation.

“Yeah.” Selene shrugged. “I haven’t called you Arthur in a while. Even when you’re not around.”

“Huh.” Arthur felt a pang of love for Selene.

“Oh, there’s Terry the Ape Man.” Rani gestured toward a crowd of guys. “I’m gonna go play matchmaker.”

“Terry the Ape Man?” Arthur asked Selene, who was still holding his hand.

“Someone she’s trying to set up with Katelyn.” Selene explained. “We met him last night. He’s a pretty nice guy.”

“I see.” Arthur said, looking over to see the guy Rani was talking to. The description was apt in its way. He was tall and swole and had a certain gorilla quality to his build. His face wasn’t ugly, though. At least, Arthur didn’t think so. Then again, he supposed that was up to Katelyn. He wondered what her taste in men was.

“Jealous?” Selene asked, observing Arthur’s eyes.

“Of Rani talking to another guy?” Arthur sounded confused. “Nah. I might not be great at carnival games, but I’m confident in my skills as a lover.”

The pair of them shuffled forward as the line moved.

Selene took his hand and leaned into him. “Good. Then give me some attention before I start acting up to earn it.”

Arthur laughed and kissed Selene’s forehead as she cuddled his arm. He sighed a content little sigh, as did she. The line moved, and they separated briefly to step forward.

“Yeah, what do you want?” The conversational skills of the food truck worker were astonishing.

“I’ll have an order of fried pickles.” Arthur said. “And you wanted the funnel cake?”

Selene nodded.

“And a funnel cake.” Arthur added.

The man nodded, took Arthur’s money, and told him to wait in the pickup line.

Arthur shoved some cash in the stuffed tip jar. He and Selene walked over to wait in the pickup line when Rani came over, whispered something to Selene, and then joined the line for food.

“I can pay for her order, too.” Arthur told the man working the truck.

“Nah.” The guy working shook his head.

“What?” Arthur asked, surprised.

“I said, Nah.” The food truck worker shook his head again. “If you want to pay it forward or some shit, tip.”

“I did tip.” Arthur said.

“The whole pay it forward thing is just a hassle. If you want to give money away. Give it to the people making the food and tip.” The guy nodded toward the tip jar.

“I… I’m not trying to give money away. I’m trying to buy my girlfriend’s food.” He gestured to Rani, who noticed and waved gently.

The man eyed Arthur and Selene, still holding hands. “Whatever.” The man shrugged and took Arthur’s card.

Rani ordered the deep-fried Oreos and joined Arthur and Selene, holding Arthur’s other hand again. The food truck worker either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Their food came up one at a time. Selene’s funnel cake was first. A shiny white paper plate held the twisted stringy dough fried into place and covered in a thick layer of powdered sugar that soaked up some grease and oil on its bottom layer. Its aroma took Selene back to all the fairs she’d been to as a kid.

Arthur’s pickles came up second. Seven crisp, dark wedges of pickle spears in a paper basket with a plaid print on the outside. They were the healthiest option on the menu, but the thick breading surrounding them promised all the crisp crunch he could ask for, with none of the nutritional values of the salty, sweet pickles beneath.

Rani’s Oreos followed shortly after, with seven large puffs of beer-battered dough surrounding each cookie. The powdered sugar was optional, but Rani added it. She didn’t care about the nutritional value of her food today. Not many did.

“Those smell amazing.” Selene commented on Rani’s order.

“You want one?” Rani offered as she, Arthur, and Selene walked to the tables to join Brad and Mark. “I’ll trade you for a piece of your funnel cake.”

“Absolutely.” Selene nodded. She tore off a piece of funnel cake approximately the size of an Oreo puff with her thumb and forefinger, wrenching it loose. She offered it to Rani as they stopped by the entrance to the picnic area.

Rani dipped her head down, and rather than take the piece from Selene with her hand, she opened her mouth and took it in.

Selene fed it to her as Rani rose, gently pushing the wad into her mouth before Rani started chewing. She pressed her fingertips to Rani’s lips, pushing the last bite into Rani’s mouth. Rani chewed and swallowed quickly, then licked the powdered sugar off Rani’s fingertips.

Arthur coughed.

Selene looked at him and past him, where Mark, Brad, and pretty much everyone was watching Rani sucking on Selene’s fingers. She blushed but didn’t stop.

Rani only smiled, pulling her head away from Selene’s fingers when she finished chewing and offered Selene an Oreo puff in the same fashion.

Selene ate the Oreo puff the same way, surprising everyone by taking the entire puff into her mouth before chewing. Only Arthur and Rani weren’t surprised, knowing how well she fit Arthur’s cock into her mouth.

When their miniature show was over, Rani and Selene walked hand-in-hand to the table where Mark and Brad were still staring at them. Arthur followed and sat between them.

The picnic tables could fit six people easily, maybe eight if you didn’t enjoy personal space. Mark and Brad were on one side, with Arthur, Selene, and Rani on the other.

“Fuck.” Mark said first. “That was…”

“I fucking hate you.” Brad said directly to Arthur. He sat down, leaving Mark standing as he looked for Jen and Maria on their return from the cars.

Rani giggled and ate another Oreo puff.

“Me?” Arthur asked innocently. “I had nothing to do with that. Hate Rani. She’s the one who likes putting on a show.”

“You want to put on a show?” Rani asked Arthur, an eyebrow raised in challenge. “I’m sure Selene would suck your dick right now if you told her to.”

Arthur scoffed. “Behave.” His tone was full of warning.

Mark glanced in Selene’s direction and noticed she didn’t protest. Brad had the decency not to look at either of the girls but kept his eyes on Arthur for fear of being unable to stand up without embarrassment.

“You can spank me for it later.” Rani nudged Arthur with her elbow, and Arthur laughed before he took a bite of his first pickle spear. It was hotter than he expected in the middle, but it was good. Saltier than expected, but that was the bread seasoning with the already salty brined pickle flavor.

“Speaking of spanking.” Mark changed the subject, directing his question to Arthur. “You up for more carnival games after our lunch?”

“I can win prizes for your girls if you’re not up to it.” Brad offered. “Wouldn’t want them to go home unsatisfied.”

Selene did her best to eat her funnel cake with her left hand while she put her right on Arthur’s thigh, reassuring him.

“None of my women leave unsatisfied.” Arthur said. There was a bravado in his voice clearly intended for comedic effect, made slightly dirty by Rani’s contribution.

“You got that right.” Rani said. She popped another Oreo into her mouth.

Arthur chuckled, but Brad and Mark looked suddenly uncomfortable.

“Sorry. We’ll tone it down.” Selene said immediately, noticing their embarrassment.

“Like hell, we will.” Rani argued. “We’re young, hot, we fuck, and we don’t need to be embarrassed about it.” She declared. “You’re gonna fuck Maria later, right?” She asked Mark. “Are you embarrassed about it? Or are you proud of it?”

“Uh…” Mark considered the question. “Proud of it, I guess?”

“And you want to fuck that cute little reporter, right? Maybe have her play Lois to your Clark for a night? Or for the foreseeable future?” Rani asked Brad. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed about what you want. We’re not.”

Arthur squeezed Rani’s thigh and gave her a gentle, affectionate smile. Arthur squeezed Selene's thigh simultaneously. “Let’s talk about something other than sex or carnival games.” He offered. “What else do you guys have going on? What are your Halloween plans?”

Mark and Brad seemed grateful for the subject change, but they never got the chance to answer as Mark spotted a small crowd of women coming their way. Arthur turned to see Kelly leading as Jen, Maria, Katerine, and Mindy returned. They must have met up on the way back and walked back together.

“We should push the tables together.” Brad suggested, looking at the empty table beside them. Plenty of people were in the picnic area, but they’d done their best to spread out between the tables, leaving a few empty ones scattered around.

As they approached, Maria gestured to the food trucks, signaling they would get food first. Mark and Brad left to join the others, leaving Arthur and Rani to move the tables together, which they did.

Kelly was the first to join them, sitting on the other side from Selene at the far end of the table. She carried a mega-gulp-sized cup filled with french fries in one hand and a coffee in the other.

Maria and Mark rejoined the group next, sitting next to Kelly after Maria asked if it was okay. They had Tacos from the Taco truck, and they smelled delicious as the sauces mingled with the meat and crispy corn flour shells. Maria added a running amount of Tabasco to hers, while Mark preferred his smothered by cheese.

Jen arrived next, sitting beside Rani with a hot dog covered in sauerkraut and spicy mustard and a giant soft pretzel glistening with flecks of stone-white salt.

“Hey.” Jen said. “You’re Rani, right?” She asked as she sat.

“That’s me.” Rani said. “The one and only. If you don’t count the millions of other people with the name.”

Jen laughed and nodded to Brad, who sat across from her beside Mark. He had two slices of pizza, which overflowed the two combined paper plates he had beneath them. Both were sliced from an intentionally oversized pizza with large, thick circles of pepperoni scattered over the thick, molten mozzarella. He reached for some napkins in the middle of the table and blotted the pizza before he tried to eat a slice.

“You’re the one who kneed that guy in the cafeteria, right?” Jen asked.

Rani nodded as Mindy came over and pouted at being unable to sit beside Arthur. Selene, nearly finished with her food, offered Mindy her seat on Arthur’s side as she moved across from Kat, who sat beside Mark, putting Selene on the other side of Jen.

Mindy gave her a thankful look and kissed Arthur’s cheek before she sat down and cuddled up next to him. She had a plate of grilled salmon that made Arthur do a double-take. Its smell made Arthur’s mouth water, and the pink meat was nearly smothered in a sauce Arthur didn’t recognize.

Mindy noticed Arthur’s interest and considered his food. “I’ll trade you… two bites. For a pickle?”

“Deal.” Arthur offered her a pickle spear. She took it, then took a fork and stabbed off a bite of the salmon. She offered it to him, feeding it to Arthur, whose eyes rolled back.

“Where did you get that?” Arthur asked.

Mindy pointed to a truck on the far side of the lot. “This is pretty much all they make, but I like seafood, so.”

“I might get some too.” Arthur nodded. The pickles were excellent, but they weren’t a full meal. The salmon, however, looked much more filling.

Mindy offered him the second bite, and he ate it off her fork, chewed, and swallowed. She leaned toward him, and he kissed her, the two of them making out for a second before he pulled away.

The conversations around the table started popping off like popcorn, with Arthur catching snippets as he listened while he ate. Rani was recounting Monday night’s argument and the brief fight with Sanjay from her perspective. Brad and Jen listened, asking questions and glancing occasionally at Arthur and Mindy.

Maria and Kelly were talking about Kelly’s taste in dresses and where she did her shopping. Like Arthur, Mark seemed to be listening to the conversations around him. Selene and Kat, he noticed, were relatively quiet, talking with one another occasionally but otherwise entirely distracted by their phones.

He checked his phone, but none of the group chats were popping off. Everyone was here, after all. He messaged the two of them.

Master: Everything okay?

Slut: Yeah. We’re just getting a lot of texts from our Mom.

Brat: Nothing to worry about.

He watched Selene share a look with Kat.

Brat: Kind of sucks we’re not all sitting together.

Arthur recognized the subject change but didn’t say anything about it.

Master: I’ll make it up to you.

He sent a winky face to both of them, and Selene returned with a kissy face, followed by Kat’s kissy face.

Mindy looked over to see Arthur’s phone and saw him texting with Selene and Kat. She cleared her throat. “Everyone else got to spend time with you last night, Boss.” Mindy said pointedly. She took his hand from his phone and brought it down to her thigh, sliding it slightly under the folds of her skirt. The way they were sitting, the others could tell he had his hand on her leg, but they couldn’t see she’d slid it under her skirt.

Arthur squeezed her thigh and put his phone away, eating with his free right hand.

“Have you ever played D&D?” Mark asked Arthur. Arthur wasn’t sure where the question came from, but apparently, Rani had finished her story, and she and Mark had started talking about hobbies.

“Nah.” Arthur shook his head. “I’m aware of it, but I’ve never played.”

“You’d enjoy it, I think.” Mark offered. “You’d probably get really into the acting things out and the roleplay.”

“I could run a game for you and the others if you’d be interested.” Rani offered Arthur. “I could be your dungeon master for a change.”

Mark looked confused momentarily, then made the BDSM connection but decided to push through it. “It would be great to be a player for once. I’m always stuck DMing.”

Rani considered Mark’s comment and nodded. “I don’t usually DM, but it would be nice to play with a group of people who aren’t quite so… stereotypical D&D nerds. Playing with engineering majors and being ‘the girl’ is uncomfortable sometimes.”

“I’ll play!” Mindy volunteered. “I’ve seen clips and stuff online and like roleplay.”

“What are we talking about?” Kelly asked, looking away from Maria at Mindy’s eager volunteerism. The word roleplay might have also caught her attention.

“Dungeons and Dragons.” Rani said dramatically. “Satan’s game.”

Mark laughed.

Kelly looked confused.

“It’s a roleplaying game.” Arthur explained.

“Like a medieval video game.” Mark added on. “But you play with your friends, and someone narrates with the dice determining success or failure instead of a computer.”

“Sounds… interesting.” Kelly said hesitantly.

“You don’t have to play if you don’t want to.” Maria insisted.

“Honestly, I’m not sure I have the time.” Kelly said honestly. “My boyfriend has been taking up so much time recently, and there’s the move coming up, and all my classwork…”

“That boyfriend of yours.” Mindy tsked and shook her head. “So demanding.”

Arthur chuckled. “It’s okay.” He assured Kelly. “You don’t have to play.”

“I’d play, though.” Maria offered. “I enjoy playing in Mark’s games, but it might be fun to play together rather than having him DM.”

“What about the rest of you?” Rani asked those on her right. Brad and Jen looked at each other and shrugged. Selene raised her hand, but Kat shook her head.

“I’d be down.” Selene offered.

“I think I’m out…” Brad said hesitantly. “I’ve played in one of Mark’s games before, but it wasn’t my cup of tea.”

“I wouldn’t mind watching to get a taste for it.” Jen offered. “But I’m not really into the whole medieval fantasy genre. I prefer science fiction.” She explained.

“D&D isn’t my thing.” Kat shrugged. “But I’d hang out and get some homework done while you guys play.”

“Okay, so that’s…” Rani counted them off as she looked around the table. “Mindy, Arthur, Maria, Mark, and Selene as players, with whoever wants to hang out watching. Five players. I can do that.” She nodded confidently.

“Is there a number of players that would be too much?” Arthur asked.

“Well, if we had six, or if everyone wanted to play, it’d probably be easier to break it into two separate games.” Rani explained. “But five players isn’t too bad. I’ll just add some monsters.”

“Do you do a session zero to see what kind of game we want to play?” Mark asked.

“Not a bad idea.” Rani nodded. “Also, we need to figure out availability.” She looked at the group.

Mindy sighed and glanced at Arthur. “He’s probably the busiest…”

“Yeah uh…” Arthur looked around the table. “Maybe figure out a date, and if I can make it work, great, and if I can’t, you guys can play without me.”

Mindy pouted but didn’t protest. Selene did the same.

“I promise I’ll try and make it work.” He assured them.

“Yay!” Mindy exclaimed and hugged Arthur tight. Arthur laughed and hugged her back with one arm.

“So, how did you meet Arthur?” Jen asked Selene as the conversation at the other end of the table died down.

“Auditions.” Selene shrugged. “I met him and his ex, and we became friends.”

“So, when did you start dating him?” Jen asked.

“After Kelly, before Mindy.” Selene gestured.

“And you?” Jen asked Kat.

Kat frowned. “I thought we said we didn’t want an interview.”

Jen looked apologetic. “Sorry.” She said. “It’s off the record, I swear. I just… I’m curious. I’m trying to get to know you guys.”

“Yeah.” Brad said, sticking up for Jen. “If you were all dating different dudes, she’d ask the same get-to-know-you questions.”

“Exactly.” Jen gestured to Brad. “Thank you.”

Brad nodded his ‘you’re welcome.’

Kat shrugged. “I met him my Sophomore year, briefly.”

Arthur looked over, confused. “No, it was last year, remember?” Their junior year. At least, that was when Arthur remembered meeting Kat for the first time.

Kat shook her head. “You shooed off that guy bothering my friends and me after volleyball tryouts.” She informed him. “My hair was different, and you didn’t stick around long because you had to go to work.”

Arthur looked confused as if trying to remember.

Rani shrugged. “He doesn’t remember meeting me last spring, either.” She informed Kat. “I basically did everything I could to seduce him back to my room other than strip, and he was oblivious the entire time.”

Mindy giggled. “He is so oblivious sometimes.”

“I am right here.” Arthur said defiantly.

Mindy smirked up at him. “Fine. You’re so oblivious sometimes, Boss.” She said, addressing him. “I did everything I could to get you interested in me for weeks. Eventually, I ended up asking you out because you didn’t clock it.”

“Well, that’s different.” Arthur shook his head. “In the office, it’s…” He glanced at Kat. “It’s not really something I think about. I don’t check out the girls at the office. That’s just basic workplace ethics.”

Jen nodded. “It makes sense.” She said. “But what about Rani?”

“I was a mess for a few weeks after Lori dumped me.” Arthur explained, and Kelly, Selene, Maria, Mark, and Brad looked on with somber recognition. “You could have shown up naked and dragged me into your room, and I would have just been a zombie.”

Rani shrugged. “I thought about it. You were smoking hot.” She took the last bite of her last Oreo. “But the sex was worth the wait.”

Mindy smiled.

Arthur reached over and squeezed Rani’s hand. She looked confused for a second and then squeezed it back.

“You’re all very cute together.” Jen assured them. “Well, you two are hot together.” She gestured to Kelly and Arthur. “But you know what I mean.”

“Hey, I’m hot too!” Mindy protested. “Not just cute.”

“You’re stunning.” Arthur assured Mindy, who blushed but smiled as she returned to her food.

“You guys mind if we split off?” Mark asked the group at large as he took Maria’s hand. Their food was finished, and Mark seemed eager to return to the fun of the homecoming festival. “I want to walk some of this food off.” He patted his stomach, and Maria laughed.

The group consensus was that no one minded, though most were finished with their food and had the same idea. With their prizes won, there wasn’t any pressure to go and play the games, but walking around and seeing the sights sounded fun.

Mark and Maria left first, walking ahead a little, arm-in-arm. Selene and Kat stood next, and the others followed their pattern of taking their trash to the trash can and returning to the table to wait.

Arthur waited for Mindy to finish her salmon and helped her with the last few bites with her encouragement. She seemed to enjoy feeding him and told him as much in a whisper only Kelly overheard.

Eventually, the group was up and walking through the main campus walk to tour the booths lining the paved walkway, narrowing it slightly. Mark and Maria were off in the distance but sauntering to eventually rejoin the group. Brad and Jen split off a little to look at some student art for sale at a booth. Selene split off to get her face painted, and Mindy joined her, leaving Arthur, Rani, Kelly, and Kat.

Arthur and Kat walked side by side while Rani and Kelly walked behind them, all four checking out the booths and lingering at the ones that held their interest.

Arthur looked over his shoulder suddenly to talk to Rani. “Oh, how did it go with your ape-man guy?” Arthur asked Rani. The young man she’d talked to before they broke for food fit the description well enough.

“It went fine. I gave him Katelyn’s number. Told him she was embarrassed, so to play it carefully, maybe give her a day, but to call her if he was still interested.” Rani explained.

“And was he?” Kat asked.

Rani nodded. “He said he’d call her, so… good for her, I guess.”

“Good. Maybe they’ll get together.” Kat crossed her fingers. “Sorry you didn’t get laid last night.” She shrugged.

“I did okay.” Rani winked at Kat, who was confused by the gesture. Rani stepped closer to Arthur. “Speaking of which, we’ve got something to show you later, my King.” She whispered the last part in Arthur’s ear, and he shivered a bit despite the warm October day around them.

Rani then split off to check out an internship booth that caught her interest. They were looking for engineering majors. Kelly got distracted by the caricaturist, who was offering considerably affordable paintings.

“Hey, this is a little awkward…” Kat looked up at Arthur. “But… could I interest you in ditching for a little while?”

Arthur looked around. “Ditching our friends?” He asked to clarify.

Kat smiled shyly. “I um… I know you’re trying to save up for tonight… but… I’ve been turned on all day and most of last night with those vibrators… and… I… never mind. It’s stupid.”

Arthur shook his head. “It’s not stupid. Say what’s on your mind.”

“No.” Kat shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“That’s an order, Brat.” Arthur informed her. “Or I will pull your dress up and spank your naked ass right here.”

Kat looked mortified, but Arthur noticed her nipples suddenly poking through her cotton dress. She quickly tried to cross her arms and shook her head at him. “This is a little awkward.” She protested, walking again as they pulled off to the side, away from anyone who might overhear. “Since my boyfriend wouldn’t let me wear any underwear this morning.”

“Sounds like he had his reasons.” Arthur assured her. “What did you want to say?”

“I want…” Kat hesitated as she looked up at him. “I want to feel close to you. I want reassurance. I want a connection. I want to fuck.”

Arthur coughed and looked around. Kat spoke softly enough that no one overheard her, but he wanted to ensure no one heard his response.

“We’d have to ditch the girls too.” Arthur felt it his obligation to point out the obvious.

“Think they’d forgive me?” Kat asked.

Arthur glanced back over his shoulder again. “I could make it up to them. The girls would forgive you. Selene? Maybe.”

“Fair.” Kat nodded. She took Arthur’s arm in hers, and they started walking again.

“Besides, this is kind of nice.” He patted her hand, which was in the crook of his elbow. “We haven’t had time to walk and talk like this for a while.”

“Yeah… You still owe me my next lesson plan, by the way.” Kat reminded him.

“I'll try to get it to you tomorrow. I'll spend most of the day getting my homework done, and then Rani and I are supposed to hang out.”

“And who is on the schedule for Monday, Selene again?” Kat asked.

“Actually, no.” Arthur admitted. “I've got a theater club meeting with Selene, but I'm supposed to have dinner with my boss. She wants to talk to me.”

“Should I be jealous?” Kat was teasing, but it was enough to make Arthur hesitate.

“No, you shouldn't be jealous of anyone.” Arthur reminded her. “You're my girlfriend. My relationship with you isn't judged by my relationship with others.”

Kat was silent for a moment. “Are you… Is your boss one of your relationships? Are you fucking your boss?”

“I haven't.” Arthur said. “Though…”

“You want to.” Kat guessed.

Arthur tried his best to explain. “It's more than that. She walked in on Mindy and me this past Wednesday and… I couldn't think of a way out, so I rolled the dice and involved her.”

Kat's grip on his arm tightened. “How exactly?”

“I spanked and fingered her.” Arthur admitted.

“Are you telling me this now because we’re in public, and you think I won't cause a scene?” Kat asked. Her voice was on the edge of anger.

“No.” Arthur said. “I'm telling you because I wanted to. It's the right thing to do. Mindy and I agreed not to tell anyone because it's… well, technically, it's against the rules. Even if the Harem was open, Beth couldn't join it. I can't date my boss. Beth, Mindy, and I could get into a lot of trouble for doing what we did. So we've been keeping it quiet. But I told you I would tell you before I fucked anyone else, and I wanted to keep that promise.”

“But you spanked and fingered her already.” Kat whispered.

“Well, yes. But there wasn't time to tell you about it before it happened. Beth walked in, and I had to think fast.”

“So you thought, gee, I'll just make my boss orgasm and get out of trouble that way?” Kat hissed.

“Not exactly… but you've got the broad strokes.” Arthur was trying to be funny. One day, for both their sakes, he would hopefully learn that Kat didn't share his sense of humor.

“Well, at least you told me before you fucked her.” Kat said after a silent pause. “It's not exactly what I was hoping for when you made that promise, but… well fuck. I don't know how you could have done it differently except maybe have told me sooner, but looking back, I can see where it would have been an in-person conversation, and this was your first chance when there wasn't another crisis to deal with, even if it’s still not ideal timing.”

“Thank you.” Arthur said.

“Oh, I'm still not happy about it, and I am furious at you, but I understand.” Kat explained.

“What can I do to make it up to you?” Arthur asked.

“Two, maybe three things.” Kat leaned in. “First, we go to the library. Second, we find a moderately soundproofed spot and have angry sex.”

Arthur nodded. “And third?”

“Don't fuck Beth. Don't even finger Beth or anyone outside the Harem without the Harem's permission.” Kat glared up at Arthur, expecting a protest.

“Deal.” Arthur said immediately. “I know I technically could put my foot down and fight you on it, but honestly, the open part of this arrangement makes things way too complicated for me. I'd rather close the polycule than lose it.”

“Me too.” Kat nodded. “I think the only one who might need convincing is Rani, but let us girls deal with that.”

Arthur nodded. “So uh… How do we ditch without upsetting the others?”

Kat looked around and smiled when she thought of a solution. “Give me a moment.” She pulled out her phone and sent something to the girl’s only group chat.

Arthur watched as the others periodically checked their phones and messaged something back. Mindy messaging a little more than the others.

Kat looked up from her phone and smiled at Arthur. She tugged him toward the library. By the time Mark, Maria, Brad, or Jen noticed any of them were gone, they were all gone and had been for several minutes.