WIP: Harem House Chapter 24 Part 4

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, I guess, 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.

“Selene!” A sharp, unrecognized voice called through the din, and Selene jumped away from Arthur like he was a livewire. The leash loop around Arthur’s wrist yanked his arm before it came off, and Selene pulled it behind her and drew it into her sleeve.

Arthur looked around, confused, and he watched Selene wilt. Gone was the straight-backed posture he was used to seeing, the high lifted chin, and the graceful dancer. She’d shriveled into someone who did her best to disappear behind nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur asked.

“Uh…” She started. She looked around, but it was too late. She’d been spotted. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide as a woman barreled toward them from the walkway. “Hi, Mom.”

Arthur looked from Selene to the initial source of Selene’s scare to see the older blonde woman. She was younger than Arthur expected, or maybe that was only her appearance because she was small, like her daughters. Kat was five-foot-one, and Selene was five-foot-three, but both were tall compared to their mother, who was four-foot-ten at best.

Like her daughters, she had blonde hair stuck in the middle between the two. Selene kept hers long, Kat kept hers short, and their mother’s hair was a medium length that fell over her shoulders to the bottom of her shoulder blades. She dressed conservatively, in a skirt and blazer combo that reminded Arthur of how Katerine usually dressed.

Selene met her mother with a hug that didn’t actually touch her. Her arms looped around, and they gave each other a polite pat. It was a hug of familial obligation the likes of which Arthur had never seen before. A ritual, and nothing more. They stood an arm’s length from each other as her mother examined Selene.

“You look like you just rolled out of bed.” Her mom laughed to cover the mortification. “Still lazy, then?” She saw Selene’s gaze flick to Arthur and saw him looking at them. “And who is this?” Her mom turned her eyes to Arthur and, after a second, made it to his eyes.

“Uh, Mom. This is Arthur.” Selene introduced them. “Arthur, this is my mother.”

“Melissa.” Kat’s mother introduced herself. “My name is Melissa. But you can call me Miss Weber.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” Arthur nodded toward her. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Really?” Melissa asked, surprised. “I’ve heard nothing about you from my daughter.” She turned to look at Selene, then returned her attention to Arthur. “What is the nature of your relationship with her?”

“We-” Selene started, but her mother immediately raised a hand that silenced her.

“I’m asking the young man.” Her mother told her.

“I uh…” Arthur felt he was being quizzed, and the wrong answer would result in trouble for himself, Kat, Selene, or all three of them. They were supposed to be open and out on campus as poly, but parents were a different matter, and he didn’t want to be the one to explain things to their mother. That was up to Kat and Selene, and they could decide if they wanted his help.

“Mom!” Kat’s voice chimed in from the distance. The group looked around for her and spotted her jogging out of the group of young women walking toward them.

“Ah, there you are.” Selene’s mother rounded on her and looked her up and down. Disappointment writ large across her face. “You’re looking healthy.” The tone in which it was said suggested that healthy was a code word for something unpleasant.

“Good to see you too.” Kat’s response was filled with intentional politeness. “You look… the same as always.”

Arthur felt like he was watching a fight of some kind, but he had yet to learn the rules, the moves, how anyone scored points, or who was supposed to play the referee. He did not volunteer.

Kelly, coming along behind Kat with Mindy, slid into the conversation. “Hi! I’m Kelly. This is Rani and Mindy, and I see you’ve met Arthur already?” She gestured to Arthur. “The six of us were just out and about for homecoming. The girls didn’t mention you were coming!”

Arthur watched as Kelly took on some kind of hostess role. The customer service smile on her face was surprisingly warm, which made it seem genuine unless you knew her well. As if forced into it, Kat and Selene’s mother slid into the etiquette expected of a guest. If Arthur didn’t know the rules of engagement, Kelly did, and her first move was to establish dominance.

“I thought I’d surprise them.” Their mother explained. “I don’t usually come to these kinds of things, but I thought, why not? I need to speak with their landlord anyway and see this new place they’ve been discussing to ensure it’s safe.”

If any of this was unpleasant news, you’d never know from looking at Kelly’s face. She looked bright and keenly interested in everything their mother had to say. She hung on to every word and committed it to memory. Selene, on the other hand, couldn’t hide her horror.

“Oh, how fun! I wish my mom would visit me more often. You two are so lucky!” Kelly playfully smiled at Selene, who didn’t return it, and she expertly swept their mother away as she walked her toward a table in the dining area next to the food trucks. “I’m actually moving in with your girls myself and have been conversing with the landlady. What kind of questions did you have? Maybe I can answer some for you.”

Arthur looked back and forth between the girls as Kelly and their mother moved out of earshot.

“Holy shit, she’s really good at that.” Rani commented, which made Mindy laugh.

Mindy’s laughter seemed to rouse Selene back to life.

“Okay, quick.” Selene said rapidly. “Arthur, you’re Kat’s potential boyfriend. You’re interested in dating her but haven’t made it official yet. Rani and Mindy, you’re friends of Kat’s from school. You don’t really know me or approve of me, but you let me hang out with you because I’m Kat’s sister, and you feel sorry for me that I don’t have any friends.”

“Uh…” Arthur looked back and forth between Selene and Kat. “What?”

Kat sighed.

“If you want my mom to like you, attach yourself to Kat.” Selene explained. “If you want her to despise you, attach yourself to me.”

“That’s fucked up.” Rani commented.

Selene shrugged. “It’s how things are. She hates all of my friends, she dislikes everything I do, there’s… look, I’m used to it, okay. I’m the black sheep. It’s fine. Kat is the golden child.”

Kat scoffed but stopped at a look from Selene.

“Our mom’s a bit… uh…” Kat tried to think of the right word and settled for “Strange. She has certain expectations and standards; no, you’ll never meet them. She doesn’t even meet them, but whatever you do, don’t point that out.”

“Standards like what?” Arthur asked. “That’s… not how a mom should act.”

“To each their own, I guess.” Rani shrugged.

“It’s not that strange.” Mindy piped up. “My Appa is pretty strict with me. He loves me, but he has standards and expectations for how I act, and he expects any Korean doctors I date to ask his permission first.”

“Your what?” Arthur asked, confused.

“My Appa.” Mindy said. “My dad.”

“Oh. Okay.” Arthur nodded. “Wait-”

“Don’t worry about that. My parents don’t know we’re dating, remember?” Mindy said.

“Yeah, but-” Arthur started.

“Should one of us warn Kelly somehow so she doesn’t spill the beans?” Kat asked.

“I wouldn’t worry.” Selene assured Kat. “Kelly’s gone into some kind of weird diplomat mode. I’m assuming she won’t give anything away.”

“Ugh. She’s so freakin’ perfect.” Rani sighed.

The other girls looked at her.

“What?” Rani asked. “I can’t be a little jealous that Kelly’s so freakin’ pulled together all the time? And so freakin’ gorgeous? Does she at least have horrible morning breath or something?” She looked at Arthur.

Arthur shook his head. “Sorry. Even her morning breath is delicious.”

“Damn it.” Rani stomped her foot, which made the rest of them laugh, forgetting their troubles for that brief moment.

“Well, go on then.” Mindy nodded toward Kelly and Melissa, sitting at a bench, with Kelly showing her pictures on her phone. “Go win over their mom.”

Arthur gulped and looked at the others for assurance. They all patted him on the arms except Kat, who was looking at her boots and hoping this was all some kind of nightmare. Arthur walked forward and stood by the table, and Kelly returned to the girls after she made her excuses, so Arthur stood and talked to Melissa.

“Well, that was interesting.” Kelly said with a slight smile. “Your mom is uh…”

“A piece of work?” Selene asked.

“Inquisitive.” Kelly responded.

“What did you tell her?” Selene asked, frightened.

“Nothing about our relationship with Arthur.” She explained. “I mentioned that we were all friends, that I knew Kat because she was friends with my roommate, and we were all looking at getting a house together because it would be cheaper. I might have failed to mention the landlady I was talking to was Arthur’s mom or that Arthur would be living with us, but it didn’t come up once I told her the cost of the rent and started showing her the pictures Deb sent me.”

Kat exhaled.

Selene nodded.

“What’s Arthur doing, anyway?” Kelly asked.

“Asking their mom’s permission to date Kat, I think.” Rani explained. She’d been watching the exchange and doing her best to read lips despite never having shown a talent for it before.

“Aw.” Kelly said automatically. “Wait. What? Just to date?”

“Just to date.” Mindy assured her. “If he’s good at it, maybe he can ask my dad’s permission to date me next.”

Kelly laughed, but when she realized she was the only one, her lilting melody faded into faked nonchalance like the other girls as they watched the conversation between Arthur and Melissa. They did their best to look like they weren’t watching it.

“So… what do you think?” Arthur asked, having made his case. “Do I have your blessing?”

Melissa looked the young man before her up and down. He was clean and well put together, even if he did look a little like a meathead. He was buff and muscular, undoubtedly attractive, but way out of her daughter’s league. Sure, Kat was a pretty girl, but she wasn’t a Los Angeles ten like this young man. Visually, he would have been a better match with Kelly. So what did he really want? How would he treat Kat? Did he prefer Kat because she would do things to breach the gap that Kelly wouldn’t?

“My daughter will not be another notch on your belt, young man.” Melissa declared.

“No, of course not.” Arthur assured her. “I’m not that kind of guy.”

“What kind of guy are you?” Melissa asked.

“I…” He hesitated. “I guess I can’t really answer that for myself.” He admitted. “You’d need to ask your daughters what kind of man I am and maybe their friends.”

“Let me do that then. And then I’ll give you my answer.” Melissa declared.

Arthur looked to the group of girls, then back to Melissa, and nodded. He walked back to the group, who all looked at him expectantly. “She uh…” Arthur wasn’t quite sure how to explain it. “She wants references.”

Rani burst out laughing.

“I can go talk to her.” Mindy piped up immediately. “I’ll sing your praises.”

“I can help too.” Kelly offered.

“Me three.” Rani raised her hand.

“No!” Kat said almost too loudly at Rani. “Sorry.” She apologized for her volume. “We need to keep this G-rated.”

Rani snorted.

Mindy and Kelly went over to sit with Melissa for a moment. They were there a few minutes while Arthur, Rani, Kat, and Selene stood awkwardly by the line. The fairgrounds were filled with people now, and most of them didn’t give the group a second glance.

“Oh, how did it go with your ape-man guy?” Arthur asked Rani.

“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. “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.

“She wants to talk to you.” Mindy said as she came up and gestured at Selene.

Selene rolled her eyes. “This is ridiculous. Kat, can you kiss him already and tell Mom to go to hell?”

Kat gave her sister an apologetic look, and Selene sighed, stuck her tongue out at Kat, and trudged over to sit across from Melissa. Her mom sat tall, conducting her interviews with all the condescension of someone who knew they had final decision-making power.

“Your friends all seem to have glowing reviews for your sister's young beaux. What do you think?” Melissa asked Selene.

“Of Arthur? He’s okay I guess. Not really my type. Too much of a goody two-shoes.” Selene shrugged.

“Really?” Melissa asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Oh yeah.” Selene nodded, calling on every ounce of her acting ability, which was easy enough when dealing with her mother. She was a talented actress. “You know how much of a brat Kat can be, and he seems to just worship the ground she walks on. He’s a bit of a prude, too. Too religious. Wants to wait until they get married, offered to get her a promise ring of all things, can you believe it?” Selene made a show of gagging at the very idea.

“That’s enough, Selene.”

Selene was always impressed by her mother’s ability to make her name sound like an insult. She waited for her mother to speak, wondering if she’d pressed it too far or accidentally contradicted something the others told her.

“The others seemed to like him.” Melissa pointed out.

“Kat’s friends? Of course they do.” Selene scoffed.

“And you don’t think he’s handsome? You don’t want to try and mess things up for your sister by going after him yourself?” Melissa asked. “You were standing awfully close to him when I spotted you.”

“I tried.” Selene lied. “I offered to be his fuck buddy, but he turned me down.”

“Selene!” Her mother hissed.

“What?” Selene asked. “Piety and purity are great and all, but have you ever tried sex, Mom?” The whole group was getting a lot of mileage out of that joke format recently.

Her mother’s mouth grew into a thin line. “Cut it out. I know you’re just trying to upset me. I came here as a nice gesture to spend the day with my girls-”

“You came here as a surprise inspection, mother.” Selene called her out. “Well, surprise. You found something. There’s a hot guy who’s really good and really into Kat, but she’s been afraid to mention him to you because she told you she wouldn’t start dating until after she graduated.”

“Well, there is that.” Her mother admitted. “But she is nearly graduated. And unlike someone I could mention, her grades aren’t so dubious as to make graduation uncertain.”

“Right.” Selene rolled her eyes. “Can I go now?”

“Alright, go on.” Her mother waved her away. “Tell Kat I want to talk to her.”

Selene sighed as though the imposition was more than any reasonable person could request and returned to the group. “She wants to talk to you.” She said to Kat. “And you, if anyone asks, you’re a Jesus freak who wants to wait until marriage to fuck my sister.”

“Uh…” Arthur hesitated. “Exactly how much lying am I supposed to be comfortable with here?”

“Just…” Kat looked up at Arthur. “Please, go with it for now?”

Arthur looked back at Kat and sighed. “I’m not a fan of all of this. It’s just going to end badly. Eventually, the truth will come out.”

“Not if we’re careful.” Selene said. “She’ll never need to know.”

“But what if-” Arthur said, his mind full of possible futures. “What about being out and proud? Being Poly and-”

“Our mom covers more than half our bills.” Kat explained. “If she disowns us, then we can’t afford life. And she’s our mom. Like her or not, we’re stuck with her. Lying to her a little bit until she’s ready for the truth, a piece at a time? It’s a small price to pay.”

Arthur didn’t look so sure. He didn’t like it, nor did he understand it. Lying made little sense to him when they’d already been open about it. Omitting the facts was one thing; sparing someone the discomfort of unfamiliar relationship types through silence was okay, but creating facts and making things up? How on Earth did they expect to get away with it long-term? One conversation between their mom and his and everything would crumble around them. Not to mention Maria, Mark, Jen, and Brad, who looked confused and waited for them in the picnic area.

“You’re grown-ass women.” Rani sighed.

Kat looked at Rani. “You gonna tell your parents you’re in a polycule and that you fuck around campus all the time?”

“That’s different.” Rani said. “It’s-”

“It’s really not.” Selene interrupted her. “Go on, Kat.” She nodded meaningfully toward their mother. “You know she’s not the most patient person.”

Mindy prodded Kat, who shuffled her way over to the table. None of them could hear what was said, but Kat didn’t speak anyway. She responded to her mother with a series of nods and headshakes meant to answer yes or no questions that Melissa leveled at her with continuous rapidity. Finally, Kat got up from the table and returned to the group. Her mother followed her, looking up at Arthur with an appraising look.

Melissa gave him a critical expression, but it was undermined by the fact her head only reached the top of his abs. Arthur felt as though he should be saying, “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, I smell the blood of my brat’s mum,” but he restrained the impulse through sheer will and determination. He smiled at her and tried to look hopeful while remaining ten percent apprehensive. Finally, Melissa smiled.

“Okay, Arthur. Assuming I can meet your parents soon, you have my blessing to date my daughter.” She nodded. “But I will be keeping a close eye on things. So watch your step, Mister, and treat my daughter right.”

Arthur glanced at Kat, who looked like she was about to burn her face off from sheer embarrassment. This wasn’t normal, and all of them knew it. Their mom was a new level of controlling that Arthur had never experienced before, and she used ‘etiquette’ and ‘religion’ to force the people she saw as beneath her rank to behave according to her whims.

Seeing Kat so obedient to her and Selene so rebellious further confused Arthur. Given how they were with him, he expected the opposite, but he realized they both gave him what they couldn’t give their mother. Selene trusted and gave him abject obedience and submission, a fantasy based on how she felt she should be but couldn’t be with her mother. Her mother clearly abused that kind of trust, whereas Arthur didn’t. Kat, on the other hand, could brat as much as she wanted with Arthur with no fear that he was going to toss her aside and disown her. He gave her that freedom.

Their duality made a certain sense, but it still confused Arthur. Maybe a psych major could make better sense of it than his business-major brain could.

“Thank you.” Arthur said with a slight nod. “I assure you, I will always strive to treat your daughter exactly how she wants.”

Melissa smiled at that and nodded. “Right then. Selene? Why don’t you hang back with me, and we can chaperone for Arthur and Kat?”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Selene and looked helplessly at the others. Rani had pulled her hood up, turned away, and tried to keep from laughing. Mindy looked embarrassed second-hand for everyone involved and unsure of what to do to help. Kelly took everything in stride with a warm smile.

“That sounds like fun, but maybe another time?” Kelly added herself to the mix. “We were all hanging out as a group with our other friends. I’m sure if the girls had known you were coming, we might have planned a little better. Arthur and Kat, why don’t the two of you walk ahead a little. The rest of us will hang back here and get to know Kat’s mom better.”

“Oh, I-” Melissa seemed to realize suddenly that Kelly, Mindy, and Rani intended to stay with her and Selene, and Kelly didn’t allow her to negate that momentum.

“Go on.” Kelly shooed Arthur and Kat on. “We’ll be right here, watching. So don’t get too fresh, Mister.” Her voice was reproving, but she winked at Arthur when she said it.

Rani laughed, and Mindy joined in, but they joined the huddle around Kat’s mom as Arthur swept Kat away, and the pair started walking ahead.

“So, what do you do for work?” They heard Kelly ask.

“I’m so sorry about this.” Kat told Arthur quietly. “I’m mortified.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Arthur offered her his arm. “It’s a… little odd, I’ll admit. Your mom seems to have some… Victorian sensibilities?”

“She’s a weirdo.” Kat sighed.

“You said you had a boyfriend your senior year in high school, though, right?” Arthur asked.

“Yeah, one my mom didn’t know about.” Kat said. “Everything was all sneaking around and hiding everything.”

“I’m sorry your mom ambushed you like that.” Arthur said, glancing behind them to see Kelly and Mindy peppering Kat’s mom with questions as they walked, Selene and Rani walking behind her, whispering to each other.

“It is a little awkward to run into her when I’m not wearing underwear because my boyfriend wouldn’t let me put any on this morning.” Kat admitted. “What do you think our chances of ditching her are?”

“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. “The girls? Definitely. Selene? Maybe.”

“This isn’t allowed to ruin our plans for tonight.” Kat declared. “Whatever happens in the next couple of hours, we are getting to that hotel room if I have to pay someone to kidnap us away from her.”

“I’m sure I can convince someone to run interference.” Arthur said. Brad and Mark, if nothing else, would probably be willing to put on ski masks and throw him into the back of a car without asking too many questions.

Kelly seemed to be the most willing to jump on the mom grenade, and she also appeared to be an expert at dealing with people like Kat’s mom.

“Remind me to thank Kelly a million times when this is over.” Kat told Arthur.

“I’ll buy her something really nice.” Arthur said with a smirk. “And maybe I’ll buy you a drink.”

Kat chuckled. “I could use it. I was not expecting to deal with all of this today.”

“Hey, we’re handling it.” Arthur assured her. “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 my mom is walking behind us out of earshot, 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 there is my mother walking behind us.”

“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 ditch my mom. 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 your mom without upsetting the others?”

Kat looked around and smiled when she spotted a solution. “I'm going to have to apologize to Professor Marino after this, but… if this doesn't work, I don't know what will.”

Kat left Arthur for a moment, and Arthur watched as she went up to Professor Marino, standing in line at the dunk tank, waiting for his chance to throw. The dunk tank line was huge, with the University’s president sitting on the bench, already wet from having been dunked a few times. The girls and Melissa caught up to Arthur as he stood there.

Professor Marino was in his mid-forties but was fit, clean-shaven, and about as tall as Arthur. He wore a plaid shirt tucked into dark denim jeans with a brown belt and shoes. Arthur hadn't ever taken a class with him, but Kelly recognized him as one of the Arts and Science professors who frequently taught literature classes.

When Kat returned, she brought the professor with her. “Professor Marino, this is my mom, Melissa. Mom, this is Professor Marino.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Professor Marino stepped up and offered her a handshake.

Melissa took it and sized him up as he started talking about the joy of teaching Katerine, who mentioned that her mother got her into reading. The pair got talking from there. They shared a love of literature; he was a handsome single man, and their mom seemed to be a thoroughly distracted hypocrite.

Kat tugged Arthur away after a moment, and he realized the other girls had already dispersed. He missed their whispered conversation. By the time Melissa noticed any of them were gone, they were all gone and had been for several minutes.