WIP: Harem House Chapter 24 Part 3

The huddle of girls with Arthur in the middle made their way out of the dorm and down to the main causeway where the fair had been built up for the festivities. Club tables, visitor guides, and all kinds of booths were on the walk for the alumni and any prospective students they brought with them. The fair games were just opening, and most of the student body hadn’t made their way onto campus yet. Still, the alumni were there with vigor in the mid-morning festivities that would culminate in the homecoming game that afternoon.

Everyone could hear the excitement in the chattering voices as people walked through and saw their options. Some carried their programs and maps in front of them. Most followed the schedule and map on the school website.

Food trucks had already gathered in one of the parking lots, but the signage pointing their way was unnecessary, in Arthur's opinion. Anyone with a nose could follow it to food here, with delicious scents lingering in the wind.

Arthur held Selene’s hand on his right. Mindy clutched his arm on his left. Kelly and Kat walked just ahead of the group, and Rani walked beside Mindy and slightly behind her.

Despite their fears, not many strangers turned their way or gawked at them. Most barely clocked them as part of the larger crowds starting to form, and those that did assumed Arthur was gay or dating one of the girls, not all of them. They had no reason to think otherwise. Only a few of their peers seemed to clock that this was the poly group making its way through the campus rumor mill. Arthur hoped they were already old news.

The group collectively stopped when they reached the Lacrosse field, trampled by booths laid out in rows for the fair games and rides. Arthur stopped at the pitching booth first.

The game was simple: throw the ball, knock down the cans, win prizes. He’d need three consecutive wins to get the stuffed bear Kelly pointed out. So he pulled out his wallet and forked over the cash for his first attempt, which went poorly.

The first ball missed entirely, going just over the top of the can he aimed for. The second managed to slip between the two of them. The third knocked a can down, but by then, it was too late, and his point total was shit. The fourth and fifth throws went okay, but it wasn’t great.

His girls cheered him on, but no moral support could improve his aim. Mindy's hemline bouncing in the corner of his field of vision threw his aim off further.

Kelly stepped up to the board and bought a chance, and she showed him how it was done. She knocked down five in a row, to the glee of the other girls, and now it was a competition. She and Arthur squared off, and although his second attempt was better, he didn’t have Kelly’s aim. She was much better at this than he was and won the bear. Arthur won a smaller bear, which he gave Kelly with all the grace he could muster.

His face flushed more than he wanted it to in his embarrassment. The girls laughed and admired Kelly's bear.

It was silly to be upset that Kelly did better than he did. He knew that intellectually. Convincing his heart was always a more difficult task. Though Kelly’s good nature made it easier.

Kelly kissed him to show her gratitude and gave him a wink before they made their way to the basketball booth. This time, it was Rani’s time to shine.

Arthur tried. He was never an athlete, and if the contest had been one of musical theater auditions, he would have creamed the others. As it was, he was starting to feel slightly emasculated when he missed his third basket in a row, and Rani had yet to miss one. The trick was the ball's arc, which Arthur simply could not master, no matter how many times Rani ‘showed him how it was done.’ He suspected he was too tall for the trajectory required to win at this booth. The only basket he sank was one he shot while squatting lower to match Rani’s height.

Rani picked a sizable Red Panda for her prize and gave it to Arthur with a kiss on his cheek and a grope of his butt.

The group laughed in their good-natured way, and Arthur gave Rani the Red Panda to hold as he stepped up to the ring toss booth. As he was about to throw, he noticed a familiar face standing next to him.

“Hey, Mark!” Arthur laughed. “Gonna try the ring toss?”

Mark, Arthur’s friend from Theater Club and a few different classes over the years, smiled at him and nodded. “Hey man, good to see you.” He glanced slightly behind Arthur at the girls. “Hey, Selene!”

Selene waved. “Hey Mark!”

“Oh, let’s see… Kelly, Rani, Mindy, and Kat, this is Mark. Mark, this is Kelly, Rani, Mindy, and Kat, and you already know Selene, obviously.” Arthur made the introductions by pointing to each of them when he said their name. “What are you doing on your own?” Arthur asked Mark, looking around. “Where’s Maria?”

“She’s meeting me down here. I was hoping to have a stuffed animal for her by the time she got here.” He chuckled. “She’s supposed to be bringing a friend for Brad, too, so we can double.”

“Nice.” Arthur nodded. “You want to go first?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll watch you to see how easy it is.” Mark scoffed.

Arthur laughed. “Luck has not been with me this morning.” He said.

“It’s not Luck, it’s skill.” Kelly said, breaking into the conversation.

“Are you saying he’s got no skills?” Mark laughed.

“He hasn’t shown any talent for fair games yet.” Mindy teased him. “But he’s got skills.”

Mark laughed. “Oh ho.” He chuckled. “Wait, I’m not interrupting anything, am I? Are you all…” He gestured to the group. “Are you on a date all at the same time right now?”

“Kind of.” Arthur admitted. “But you’re not interrupting.” He assured Mark. “We’re hanging out.”

“We’re spanking Arthur at these carnival games.” Kelly explained. “Care to join us?”

Mark laughed. “Okay, sure. I dunno if I can beat him, though. He’s got that blessed by the gods thing going for him.”

Arthur scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Mark gestured broadly to the girls behind him and then to Arthur from head to foot. “Dude, you always get the parts you want, you’ve got great grades, you look like that, and you’ve got five girlfriends who all seem pretty happy about it. If that’s not some kind of divine blessing, I’d hate to know what deal you made with the devil.”

Arthur laughed. “Alright, alright. Let me try this.” He said and tested the weight of the rings.

He had not been very good at pitching or basketball, but with ring-tossing, Arthur proved talentless.

“Have you never thrown a frisbee?” Mark teased him. “Like ever?”

Arthur could only laugh. He was emasculated in front of his girls, but he took solace in the knowledge he could, at any time, drag Selene and/or Mindy behind the booths and restore his manly pride by fucking them senseless. Come to think of it, any of the women with him might enjoy the thought, but it was a little risky with this many people around.

Arthur shrugged it off. “Laugh if you want.” He said. “Let’s see how you do.”

Mark stepped up to take his turn and did significantly better than Arthur.

“Ha!” Mark said. He went two more times and won one of the medium-sized prizes. He picked a stuffed bear wearing a University T-shirt and smirked at Arthur. “Want me to win one for one of your girlfriends too?”

Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically.

Selene stepped up and hugged Arthur's arm. “It’s okay, Master. I don’t need a bear.”

Arthur, Mark, and everyone else there turned to look at Selene.

“What?” Selene asked, immediately looking down to ensure her hoodie hadn’t ridden up. She tugged the bottom down just in case, but it was already below mid-thigh on her.

“You called him Master instead of Arthur.” Kat whispered in her ear. “I told you this would happen!”

“Did you just-” Mark raised a hand but was cut off by Mindy, who ran interference.

“She meant it sarcastically because he’s so bad at ring toss!” Mindy tried, but even the booth worker didn’t believe that one, and he was getting paid to be nice. Though, he would've been nice to Mindy for free.

“Uh-huh.” Mark said, eyebrow still raised, though he’d lowered his hand.

Selene’s blush told everyone everything, and she physically hid behind Arthur, taking a step behind him, hiding from Mark, and holding his hand for dear life.

Mark raised his hands in a ‘it’s nothing’ gesture. “It’s okay. To each their own, right? It’s honestly weirder that you’re dating five women and are so bad at winning them prizes.” Mark chuckled.

The booth worker looked up at that and tried but failed to not immediately eye the five women with Arthur. He sighed and shook his head as the group walked away. Arthur and Mark led the way, with Selene holding Arthur’s hand and Mindy holding the other one but walking slightly behind.

“I’ll keep it quiet.” Mark scoffed and looked over at Selene. “But geez girl. Yvonne’s already convinced the group of you are sex addict freaks. You might want to watch what you call each other in public.”

Selene’s blush deepened.

“Hey, no shaming.” Mindy quipped at Mark.

“I’m not!” Mark raised his hands. “Whatever you’re into is cool by me, I swear.” He assured them. “Yvonne’s the one with hang-ups, and she’s been going off all week. It’s all she talks about now.”

Arthur sighed. “Thanks for the heads up.”

Mark nodded. “No problem man.” He offered Arthur a handshake, and Arthur took it. “I see my lady and her friend over there looking for me. I’m gonna go surprise her with my prize. You kids have fun.”

Before he could leave, however, Maria spotted the group. “Arthur, Selene!” Maria gave Selene a surprise hug, which Selene returned belatedly. When they pulled apart, Selene winked at Maria’s surprised expression.

Maria was a girl with a rack. She had thick thighs and huge breasts that made even Mindy’s look small in comparison. Hugging her, there was no avoiding her flesh pressing into Selene’s front and feeling the rope harness beneath her hoodie. Selene only hoped she was as relaxed about it as Mark had been.

Maria’s eyes flicked to Arthur and then back to Selene in understanding, then at the choker, the same one she’d worn to Theater Club Monday, and then to the chokers the other girls were wearing, and then back to Arthur.

“Uh… hi.” Maria said, giving a weak wave to the others.

“Oh, Maria, this is Kelly, Rani, Mindy, and Kat.” Arthur made the introductions again. “Kelly, Rani, Mindy, and Kat, this is Maria, a friend of mine and Selene’s from Theater Club and Mark’s girlfriend.”

“Oh, and this is my friend Jen.” Maria gestured to the girl beside her with dark curly hair, who they all recognized as the one who’d asked them for an interview for the school paper.

“We’ve met briefly, but I don’t think we were properly introduced.” Jen stepped forward and waved to the group.

The girls all looked to Arthur, who smiled and nodded at Jen. “We’re off the record, right?” He asked as a joke.

Jen laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to start grilling you all with questions, even though I really want to, and the entire campus would love to read it. And if you change your mind about it, I’m right here.”

Arthur smirked.

“Jen’s a journalism major.” Maria explained to Mark. “She writes for the paper.”

Jen continued the explanation. “And I asked them for an interview, but they turned me down.”

“Ah.” Mark said. “Oh hey, there’s Brad!” He waved, and Brad made his way over to the group.

“Hey!” Brad said as he came up, excited to see Arthur, Selene, Maria, and Mark. “Are the love god and Selene joining us?” He asked, teasing Arthur again.

“We can.” Kelly suggested. “It’s a group date, after all.”

Brad turned to look at Kelly, the gorgeous hourglass redhead in the slinky dress, and his eyebrows reached for the sky. He looked around between all the girls and finally at Maria, who smiled back at him gracefully.

“Brad, this is Jen, Jen, this is Brad. The guy I was telling you about.” Maria patted Brad on the back, and he stepped forward and offered Jen his hand for a handshake.

Jen shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Brad said.

“And in case we’ve missed anyone, this is Kelly, Rani, Mindy, Kat, and Selene.” Arthur said, rounding out the introductions. “Now that we’ve finished introductions…”

“Let’s play some games!” Mindy said. “Arthur has to start winning something now, right? Or he’ll look bad in front of his friends.”

“He’s horrible at carnival games.” Mark explained to the others.

“Oh, thank god.” Brad laughed. “My time to shine!”

A chuckle went through the group, and the small crowd moved through the larger crowd until they came to the dart-throwing game. Throw a dart, pop a balloon, and win prizes. Naturally, the game looked simple, but winning was much more challenging than it appeared. Brad, Mark, and Arthur threw simultaneously, filling the booth to capacity. With ten darts, Brad came in first, with nine popped balloons. Mark was second, with six balloons. Arthur came in third place with three popped balloons. They played again, trying for the larger prizes, and the girls cheered them on. Even Rani looked like she was having fun and getting into it.

“Come on, Arthur!” Rani yelled.

“Yeah, you can do it, boss!” A girl next to Rani yelled. To the harem's surprise, it wasn't Mindy. Though it was someone Mindy recognized.

“Tara?” Mindy asked.

“Oh, hey Mindy!” Tara said with a smile. “I almost didn't recognize you in your nonoffice clothes.” She said, glancing at Arthur’s bare arms.

Mindy laughed. “Yeah, this probably breaks the office dress code.”

“I wouldn't worry about it.” Tara waved away her concern. “Somehow, I don't think you'll get in trouble with your boyfriend over there.”

Mindy’s smile fell, but only for a moment. She closed the distance with Tara, and Rani took a step closer to Tara as well.

“Oh, don't worry.” Tara assured her. “I won't tell Beth you two are dating, but…” She gestured a few booths down, where another girl, Sara, was hanging out with a few girls Mindy didn’t recognize. “But Sara is gonna lose her shit when she finds out.”

“Why?” Mindy asked. “She shouldn't be mad that I got him first.”

Tara laughed. “Yeah, okay, you got him.”

Mindy looked confused.

“Honey.” Tara said as though explaining something to a child. “You're one of his what…” She counted the girls, most of whom were watching Arthur play darts but listening to Tara and Mindy's conversation. “Five women?” Tara scoffed. “He's just using you for sex. You don't have him. None of you do. He isn't yours, he's just-”

“Oh, he's ours.” Rani piped up. “Back off bitch and stick your nose in someone else's business.”

Tara looked shocked, but only momentarily. She shook it off, scoffed, and walked away.

Mindy watched Tara walk over to Sara but didn't comment when she arrived. Mindy returned her attention to the game, and watched her boyfriend throw darts with his friends.

Brad was the first to qualify for a larger prize, offering Jen her stuffed animal choice. She chose the prominent stuffed Batman and explained that she was really into comics, which captured Brad’s attention immediately.

“You’re good at this whole matchmaking thing.” Selene commented to Maria as they walked to the next game. She held the small stuffed dog Arthur won under her arm and held Arthur’s with the other.

“Thanks.” Maria smirked as the group watched Jen and Brad walk slightly ahead. “We should play some of these too.” Maria pointed out.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Kelly asked mischievously, walking on the other side of Maria. “I’d rather watch my man win me prizes.”

“He’s not very good at it, though.” Maria giggled.

“You have a point.” Kelly said. “But it’s fun to watch him be bad at something for once, and maybe he’ll improve. I enjoy not having to do everything myself.”

Maria scoffed. “Well, you have a point there, I guess. Not very feminist, but-”

Kelly scoffed but let the subject drop as they approached the next game.

“So, how did you meet Arthur, anyway?” Jen asked Kelly. “You’re not in the theater club, are you?”

“No.” Kelly shook her head. “Arthur and I met at the gym. His girlfriend Lori was one of my suitemates Freshman year.”

“Wait, which one is Lori?” Jen asked. She looked around at the others, trying to match the name to one of the girls she’d met.

Kelly shook her head. “Sorry. I misspoke. Lori is his ex-girlfriend. They started dating Freshman year and broke up last semester. She’s not here.”

“Oh.” Jen said. “So he isn’t a big ladies' man with a trail of broken hearts behind him?”

Kat laughed.

“What are you guys talking about?” Arthur asked, turning his attention to the Kelly/Maria/Jen huddle.

“You, Mister.” Kelly winked.

“And how you have no game.” Kat gestured broadly to the booths they were waiting in line at.

Mindy giggled. “You’ve got plenty of game, Boss. You’re just terrible at games.”

“Ha.” Arthur laughed with theatrical bravado. “I’ll show you!” He stepped up with Mark and Brad to play the milk jug toss and immediately proved himself wrong.

Brad sank every shot he took. Mark was less lucky but still came in second. Arthur managed to miss almost every shot. He hit the jug's mouth with every toss, but the balls bounced and sprang away instead of rebounding in as he had hoped.

Mindy tried to cheer him on, but Arthur's spirits sank with every miss, and not even her fingers playing dangerously with her neckline could make him smile. She leaned in and whispered in his ear before his last throw. “If you sink this one, I'll let you fuck me under the bleachers during the game.”

Mindy kissed him on the cheek.

Arthur took a deep breath as Mindy stepped away.

Selene stepped up. “If you sink this one, I'll suck you off when you're through with Mindy.” She kissed him on the opposite cheek from Mindy and stepped away.

Arthur scoffed and took another deep breath, willing himself to not get an erection in front of all these people. Kat stepped up to whisper something, and Arthur held his hand up to stop her.

“Whatever it is, don't tell me. It's enough pressure already.”

“Just toss the ball already!” Brad jeered.

“I just wanted to give you a good luck kiss.” Kat said with all the innocence she could muster.

Arthur leaned in and offered her his cheek. She kissed him and stepped away.

Rani stepped forward.

“Jesus Christ, we'll be here all day if they kiss him one by one.” Mark complained.

Rani kissed Arthur on the lips, a hot, passionate kiss, which distracted no one from her middle finger raised at Mark.

Kelly kissed him next, a quick peck. “You got this, Mister.”

Arthur shook his head, took a deep breath, lowered his hand for the underhand toss, and let it fly. The ball arced through the air between him and the jug, and for a moment, Arthur thought he missed it entirely as the ball sank out of view. But no, he'd made it directly into the middle of the opening.

“Ha!” Selene cried. “See! You can do it! You just need the right motivation!”

“Hell of a cheer squad.” Brad muttered. He'd meant to say it under his breath, but everyone heard it.

Arthur laughed. “Maybe that should be our group Halloween costume. I'll go as the worst jock ever, and you can be my cheerleaders.”

The group laughed. Mindy and Selene shared a look that only Arthur noticed. He had to be careful suggesting things like that. Selene had a way of making things happen.

The next game was skee ball, which was five at a time. There wasn't much of a line when Brad, Mark, and Arthur stepped up, and as they reached the booth, a stranger stepped up.

Arthur stepped back when he realized it was the bigger guy he still didn't know the name of from the fight with Sanjay yesterday.

“Hey, Arthur.” The guy said. “I, uh, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About yesterday. And…” He looked past Arthur to where the girls were huddled. Kelly had taken up a position between the girls across the small lane and the guys at the booth. Her expression stopped anyone from stepping closer to the girls.

Jen looked between the group rabidly, her phone in her hand. Maria looked entirely confused. Brad and Mark took up positions on Arthur’s flank. They didn't have the context but were ready to support their friend.

Arthur turned to catch his attention. “For my part, I appreciate the apology, man. We're cool so long as you don't harass the girls.” He offered the guy his hand, and the guy shook it.

“It was cool of you not to narc on us to security.” The bigger guy rumbled. “Sorry about hitting you.”

“It's okay. Nothing an ice pack couldn't cure.” Arthur assured him.

Rani and Mindy stepped closer while they talked, not raising their voices across the lane. Rani spoke first. “Is this the guy that hit you?”

Kelly stepped up to join Rani and Mindy.

“Yeah.” Arthur nodded. “Not a big deal. He apologized.”

“And where’s your little friend?” Rani asked.

“Sanjay?” The big guy asked. “He’s still sulking, I guess. We kinda had it out after the fight, and I don’t think we’re friends anymore.”

“You’re better off without him.” Rani said.

“But it was nice of you to apologize.” Mindy said. “So, thank you. I hope you'll treat people better in the future.”

The big guy nodded.

“So I don't get to beat him up?” Kelly asked Arthur.

“No.” Arthur said with a half-smile.

“You can beat me up if you want to. I'm single. Name’s Jace.” The bigger guy introduced himself.

Kelly laughed. “I have a boyfriend.” Kelly patted Arthur on the chest. “But it’s nice to meet you, Jace.”

“Of course you do.” Jace sighed. “How many women are you dating anyway?” He asked Arthur. “I thought it was just Rani and Mindy?”

Arthur gestured to the girls, who were all standing by Kelly. “These are my girlfriends. Maria and Mark are together. Brad and Jen are on a blind date.” Arthur explained.

“Fuck.” Jace nodded a hello to the others as they were introduced. “Five girlfriends? That’s uh…” They waited for him to say something inevitably awful, but he settled for “Cool.”

“We don’t have to hang out or anything.” Arthur said. “But do you want to play a game of skee ball?”

“We can play.” Brad spoke up. “But be forewarned. Arthur has stunk at every game so far. Wouldn’t want Rani or Kelly to take it out on you if you beat him too badly.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. He proved not to be the worst at skee ball. That honor went to Jace. Mark came in first, but they had to play a few rounds before he could win anything good from the booth. Arthur got one of the smaller stuffed animals.

“See you around.” Jace waved farewell after three skee ball rounds and headed toward the athletic center.

Arthur waved goodbye and turned toward the next booth with the rest of the group. The squirt gun race.

Arthur, Kelly, Brad, Jen, Mark, and Maria played the squirt gun race simultaneously. They sat on their stools, took aim, and fired off a steady stream of water. This time, Arthur came in first. Not just once, but five times in a row. He gave Kat a pink stuffed bear nearly her size, and then, seizing on the one game he seemed to have any talent at, he played another five games to win Mindy the giant stuffed blue Lemur she chose.

He would have kept playing if the girls and the rest of the group hadn’t threatened to leave him there while they went to the other games.

Walking behind the guys with their prizes, the girls giggled and teased one another before deciding to split off briefly. “We’re gonna go put these in my dorm room.” Mindy explained.

“I’ll come with you.” Kelly said. “Meet us by the food trucks?” She suggested to Arthur. “I’m starting to get a little hungry for lunch.”

“Me too.” Selene nodded, and the others all agreed.

Kelly, Mindy, and Kat strode to Mindy’s dorm room with the stuffed animals. Maria and Jen disappeared to take theirs to their cars. That left Arthur, Rani, Selene, Brad, and Mark to meander toward the food trucks through the carnival stalls. Arthur held Selene’s hand in his right, her leash looped around his wrist from her sleeve. He held Rani’s hand in his left, walking together with his girls.

“So uh…” Brad started. “You’re Arthur’s girlfriend?” He asked Rani.

“One of them.” Rani nodded.

“And you’re… okay with that?” Brad asked, still unsure.

Rani looked at him and smirked slightly. “Yeah. I’m having fun.”

Brad nodded, unsure of what else to say.

“Jen’s cute.” Selene ventured. “Are you going to ask her out on a proper date?”

Brad shrugged. “I think so.” He said. “She seems to be into me.”

“She is.” Rani assured him. “If you play your cards right, you might even score tonight.”

Brad looked shocked.

“What?” Rani asked. “She’s clearly into you, very flirty, very touchy, and you two talked about superheroes for like half an hour, and it didn’t seem like you’d even scratched the surface. You even listened more than you talked, and that's an A-plus move. Invite her back to your place for some comic book reading or something and start fooling around.”

“Do you think that would work?” Brad asked.

“What are you, a virgin?” Rani asked.

Brad stammered.

“You’ll have to forgive Rani.” Arthur interjected. “She’s direct.”

“If you want something, go for it. If she says no, accept it like a gentleman and move on.” Rani shrugged. “You’re cute, tall, in decent shape, and you seem a decent enough guy.” She looked at Arthur for confirmation.

Arthur nodded. “Brad’s alright.” He teased. “He’s one of the good ones.”

“That doesn’t mean as much coming from a guy, sorry Arthur, but Maria seems willing to vouch for you.” Rani shrugged. “So, yeah. Give it a shot.”

Brad seemed to consider her advice and looked at Mark, who shrugged.

“She does seem to like you.” Mark added. “Couldn’t hurt to try.”

“Or, if you don’t want to push things too far too quickly, just ask her out by the end of today.” Selene interjected. “Not everyone operates on Rani-speed.”

“You only say that because it took you, what, three years to ask Arthur to fuck?” Rani teased Selene back. “But you moved pretty quick once you started, didn’t you?”

Mark and Brad looked away as though the carnival booths around them were suddenly the most interesting environment they’d ever seen. Arthur squeezed Selene’s hand, and Selene smiled up at him.

“You’ve got me there.” She admitted to Rani, who smirked in triumph. "Queenie."

“Come on.” Rani said to Selene. “Let’s go get some Funnel cake.”

“Ooo, empty calories.” Arthur said, surprisingly not sarcastically. “I’m in.”