Harem House Extra 10-1

Nature had always been kind to Lynn Barrera. She was a goddess among women, and she knew it. She'd been a pretty cute kid, but when puberty melted away those childish looks and formed her into a woman, she had a choice: embrace it or hide it. She chose to embrace it.

High school had been her paradise. She was the girl at the top of every social clique. She wasn't just pretty or hot; she was a Latina Aphrodite with a toned body she sculpted in the gym and curves she knew how to weaponize. She ruled her high school with love and iron nails. She and her close circle of friends tore through anyone who tried to get in her way, and with the backing of her well-to-do parents, even the teachers recognized her as an apex predator. 

College was a different story. She made friends her Freshman year well enough, but by the end of the year, she’d maneuvered herself into betraying and backstabbing too many of them to have any left. Between that, abysmal grades, an affair with a professor becoming common knowledge, and some other difficulties her family’s lawyer had to deal with, she was expelled.

So now, in what should have been her senior year of college, she was living at home with her parents, trying to make being pretty on Instagram her new career. Unfortunately, her parents wanted her to get a real job, a career like theirs, and they wanted her to finish her degree.

Lynn had no interest in that, and eventually, it came to a head when her parents confronted her about it. The argument was one of the worst tantrums they'd ever endured, with a property damage bill in the hundreds. By the end, she was given a choice: go back to a university that would have her (her parent’s alma mater) and finish her degree, or find someplace else to live and be cut off from the family funds. 

Lynn begrudgingly chose to keep her family's money.

Her mother took care of all the arrangements. The university was not far from the city, and she'd live at her parents' friends' house while going there for an easy commute. They would also rent rooms to other students, so she'd have another chance to make new friends. At least, that was how her mother framed it. Lynn saw it as an opportunity of a different sort: A new roost to rule. 

Reuniting with Arty might be rough, but if she showed a decent amount of skin and hinted that she might have changed and wanted to rekindle their friendship, he would melt in her hand like ice in an oven. He was always a good sport.

She realized that that was the plan tonight as her parents drove the car to the house she'd be living in next semester. Arriving at the gate, Lynn did her best to take it all in from the backseat window. It seemed nice enough from the outside and was larger than the apartment she'd grown up in. The city was nice and all, convenient, but this house had space. It'd be perfect if they had a heated pool and a hot tub. She could already imagine lying out to get her sun-kissed look and darken her already tan skin a shade or two.

Lynn stepped out of the car and was surprised to see Deb, Arthur’s mother, already there to greet them outside the door. There was a wince-inducing amount of squealing and excited chatter between the two moms as they embraced, and Lynn waited patiently as Deb looked her over and complimented her appearance. 

Lynn hadn't gone overboard, but she looked casually sexy in a pair of curve-hugging low-rise jeans and a cropped v-neck t-shirt that showed off her stomach and cleavage. Arty would no doubt be masturbating about her tonight, and the thought gave her no small amount of sadistic glee. Ice in an oven. 

"It's been so long!" Deb proclaimed as she held Lynn at arm's length after their hug. "You're all grown up!"

"Yeah…" Lynn chuckled. "That's what happens." 

"Well, come in, come in." Deb said quickly. "Let me show you the house." 

Lynn followed her parents, who followed Deb through the expansive foyer and into a sitting room with windows facing the front garden and lawn. Lynn sat on one of the sofas and waited while her parents and Arty's caught up. It became clear to Lynn almost immediately that despite how close they were, her parents hadn't divulged the circumstances of Lynn's expulsion with them. A small mercy meant to preserve their own reputations rather than protect hers, she was sure. 

"Oh, silly me, I forgot about Arty." Deb lightly swatted herself on the forehead. "Lynn, would you be a dear and fetch him? He should be out by the hot tub." 

Lynn glanced at her mother, who shared a mischievous look with Deb. Lynn sighed. Their mothers had been matchmaking them since they were little. Once, way back when she thought she would marry Arthur one day. She had their lives all mapped out from age eight to forty, though if she’d followed that plan, they’d be married by now and have at least one dog. Kids would wait until after college, obviously. Lynn almost laughed at her childhood naivety. Things were different now and had been for a long time. After high school, Lynn would rather die than entertain the idea of being seen in public with Farty Arty and recognized as his girlfriend, let alone wife. Still, she knew there was no getting out of fetching him. She decided she might as well give their moms whatever show they were hoping to see.

She got up and nodded. "Sure, be right back." 

She sashayed through the house until she came to the back door. So they did have a heated pool, a hot tub, and even a pool house. The rear patio had a grill and a little sitting area with a fire pit. It wasn’t overly large, but it was cute. Okay, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. And the house looked pretty decent. 

She took a deep breath and steeled herself to see Arty in the hot tub. His flabby body and long, greasy hair couldn’t improve his look by being wet. She braced herself, but he wasn't there. Some other guy was lounging with his head back, and if Lynn was a goddess, he was a god.

Lynn remembered her mom said Arty might have some friends with him,  so whoever this Eros was, he must have somehow been a friend of Arthur's. Lynn wondered how easy it would be to seduce him. Maybe she could get lucky tonight or at least have a quickie before she had to leave. 

She stood there and took him in for longer than was decent. Then she stepped forward and prepared to clear her throat, but the step must have been enough to alert him to her presence. 

Whoever he was, he rocked forward and opened his eyes like he was coming out of a dream. He stood up, the hot water dripping down the hard-cut lines of his muscles that made Lynn forget what she was about to say. He was gorgeous, and his tight trunks suggested he was blessed. There was nothing to tease or mock about him except that he hadn't yet introduced himself. Maybe he was as dumbstruck by her as she was by him. He probably was. Guys were always dumb around her. She had that effect on people. 

Her eyes took their time roving over his chiseled features. His squared and chiseled chest, his round and perfect shoulders, the abs that his taut and flawless skin stretched over into a sharp V, the bottom of which was hidden by the low waist of his short and somewhat tight swim trunks. She wet her lips to speak, but he started to move, and she had to interrupt him. 

“Sorry, uh…” Lynn tried to think fast of what to say. Who was she, and why was she here? Those were undoubtedly the questions going through this guy’s mind. “I’m looking for Arty? Is he in the pool house?”

She tried to look up, but her great effort resulted in a slow process at best. “Are you one of his friends from college? His mom mentioned he might be bringing some friends to dinner.” 

All he had to do was tell her his name, and then she could introduce herself. She finally looked at his eyes and found them boring into her with an unexpected heat. It was the hottest thing she’d ever seen, and she felt herself respond to his passion almost immediately. If he could growl or had a deep voice, she was going to fuck him. She was probably already going to do that anyway, but if he played his cards right, she might fuck him right here and now, so long as Arty was occupied in the poolhouse bathroom or wherever. 

He just had to say something, but so far, he’d said nothing and still said nothing. The silence stretching between them made her nervous, a feeling she wasn’t accustomed to. She tried to retake control of the situation by giving his passionate glare something to appreciate. She shifted to look shyly at her feet as if uncertain and hadn’t used this seductive dance a hundred times before. 

“I’m Lynn. A friend of his from high school. Well, since childhood, really.” She said, shifting her weight to turn her stance from shy to flirty, sticking out her hip slightly to draw his eye. “But we went to high school together.” She corrected herself and stuck out her hand for a shake.  

The guy still said nothing and made no move to shake her hand. He just kept looking at her as though his eyes might be able to burn her, and they were having a not-altogether-unrelated effect. There was heat in those eyes, and she liked it. He moved forward, and for a moment, she thought he was coming to her, but he moved past her and then looked at her intensely. He could lean in and kiss her if he wanted to, but instead, he finally spoke.

“Go fuck yourself.” 

Lynn’s eyes shot up to him and went wide. The voice shook her, partially because it was as deep and growl-like as she’d hoped it might be, but also because it was familiar. The face was sharp, the jawline hard, and the features incredibly handsome. But the voice was one she recognized despite not having heard it in years. 

It was Arthur. 

Lynn looked at him in utter shock and confusion. This couldn’t be Arthur. Arthur was a chubby little theater geek. This guy looked like he could be in movies or something. She was dumbfounded, trying to think of something to say to turn this to her advantage, trying to think of what she could say to continue with her original plan, but the man standing before her wasn’t ice. He was fire. 

Arthur turned around and walked away. He made it a few paces before Lynn found her words again, and all she could think to say was his name. 

“Arty?!?” 

That stopped him. Or at least, he stopped. Lynn felt like she wasn’t breathing, waiting to see what he would do or say. He was still looking away from her, his back heaving with deep breaths that showed off an incredibly muscular back. Every bit of him was lean and cut, with deep muscular lines showing off strength she never thought Arty could possess. 

“It’s Arthur to you!” Arthur shouted back over his shoulder. “Not Arty! Not Art! Not the king of White Castle!” 

She’d forgotten that one. Obviously, he hadn’t. She tried to laugh it off. It was one of many names she and her friends teased him with in high school, much like Farty Arty. Was it deserved? Probably not; kids could be cruel, and Lynn was one of the best at being mean. People liked that about her. Or at least, they used to. With Arthur, it never seemed to matter; no matter how cruel they were to him, he always showed up for more abuse like some kind of masochist. She just assumed he liked it. 

“TO YOU, MY NAME IS ARTHUR!” 

She watched as he stormed into the kitchen, and she jolted out of her frozen stature as she heard the door slam behind him with what sounded like a thunder-crack. When she reached the sliding door, he disappeared from the kitchen and into the hallway. She tugged and tried to lever her legs against the patio but couldn’t work it free. He must have locked it or jammed it somehow. Frowning, she did her best to think up how to get inside and stepped back from the door. There was nothing for it. She would have to walk around the side of the building to the front. She sighed. Maybe there was a side door to a mud room of some kind? 

Arthur’s mother entered the kitchen, and Lynn got her attention from the other side of the door. Lynn watched as his mother tried to open it but couldn’t. Not locked then. Jammed or broken somehow. She tried to help, pulling it from her side while Deb tried from hers, but it was useless. Miming that she was going to go around, she started around the side of the building and stopped when she saw Arthur leaning against his car. 

“Arthur!” Lynn called out as she spotted him. “Wait!” She knew she could turn this around if she could just get him to stop and listen to her. Right now, his attitude was likely to ruin her chances of living here and, consequently, her chances of being able to attend the university and finish her degree to get her parents off her back. She had no doubt all would be forgiven if she offered to sleep with him, and looking at him now, that wouldn’t be much of a chore. 

“FUCK YOU!” Arthur yelled back just as his mother came through the front door. 

“Arty!” His mother hissed at him as she came closer to the car. 

Arthur still looked pissed and not at all abashed despite his mother’s rebuke. This wasn’t the Arty Lynn knew. The Arty she knew would have cowered at the very idea of upsetting his mother or Lynn. He seemed more assertive, forceful, and confident than she’d ever known him to be. She supposed he had good reason to now that he was hot; that must have been where his confidence came from. It was sexy, even if he was adamant about his wrath toward her. 

She had to decide how to play it. With his mom witnessing this, it’d be easy to play the victim. She could spin herself as the misunderstood childhood sweetheart who never meant for things to get so out of hand. Or, she could play up the enemies-to-lovers angle if she wanted to try and get a good hate fuck out of Arthur later. He looked like he could deliver, and then he’d be back to putty in her hands. She spent her time deciding while Arthur and Deb argued. 

Deb stormed forward, grabbed his ear as though he were a child, and cinched it between her thumb and forefinger. Lynn was impressed that he didn’t bend, break, or cry like he would have years ago. 

“You apologize right now!” His mother hissed. “You’re being very rude to our guests, and I went through a lot of trouble to set up this little dinner for you two!” 

That was news to Lynn, though she wasn’t terribly surprised. Deb and Lynn’s mother had always thought she and Arty should get married. They’d tried to ‘arrange’ things several times, but it never seemed to work. It certainly wasn’t going to work tonight. Even Lynn’s imagined hate-fuck scenario would take more than one night to come about unless things went really, really well. 

“WHAT?” Arthur bellowed.

“You heard me.” Deb said in a tone Lynn recognized as her stern one. 

“I will not.” Arthur said in a surprisingly sexy growl. “And I will not be joining you for dinner. I’m leaving.” 

“This is not how I raised you to behave.” His mother reminded him. “If you don’t get into that house this instant and sincerely apologize, then….” He glared at his mother with a look of pure malice that she’d never seen in his eyes before, giving her a moment’s pause. “Arty… what’s wrong?” She asked suddenly. “This isn’t like you. I’ve never seen you so angry. Are you on…” She suddenly dropped to a whisper that even Arthur had trouble hearing. “Steroids?” She returned to average volume. “Or something?” 

Steroids would undoubtedly explain the muscles and the change, though she supposed it had also been four years. It wasn’t like he’d made the change in a year or less. Even if he used steroids, those muscles were the result of hard work. 

“No.” Arthur said firmly. He shook his head and glared at Lynn. “That bitch made my life a living hell for years. YEARS. I will not be in the same room with her if I can help it.” He explained. “And I can help it.” 

Lynn looked down at her feet and blushed. Arthur’s hatred had a confusing effect on her right now, and she had gotten distracted by his fully-on-display body again. He’d pulled her back into the conversation, and she’d reflexively gone for the victim route. She looked shy, almost ashamed, and the blush on her cheeks was enough to suggest she was embarrassed at being called such a rude word. 

“My apologies to you and Dad, but I cannot, and will not, be staying for dinner. Now let go of my ear. I’ll collect my things, and we’ll catch up some other time.” Arthur declared. 

It took a moment, but Deb seemed to relent. “Fine.” She said finally as she let go of his ear. “Go and get your things. I’ll make your apologies. And you and I will be speaking about this very soon. You have embarrassed yourself and us tonight.” She said in frustration as he stormed past her. “I hope you’re proud of yourself.” 

Arthur stormed past both of them without another word, and Deb looked at Lynn with a sorrowful and slightly embarrassed expression. 

“I’m so sorry about this.” Deb explained. “I really don’t know what’s gotten into him.” 

“It’s okay.” Lynn assured her. “I think it might be my fault. We weren’t really friends in high school and looking back on it, some of my friends might have teased him a bit. I guess I didn’t realize he was so sensitive or even remembered it from way back when.” 

Deb gave her a soft smile. “Well… let’s not let Arthur ruin the evening. Would you like something to drink? You’re twenty-one, right? We just opened some wine.” 

“Yes, I’m twenty-two.” Lynn assured her. “And that sounds lovely.” 

Deb led the way into the house, and Lynn followed. She accepted her glass of wine from Arthur’s father with a polite thank you, and a smile, and she was quiet as the adults caught up until after she heard Arthur’s engine start and his car pull out of the driveway. She looked over her shoulder and watched his tail lights for a moment, then turned her attention back to the table with a sigh. Maybe one day, she could convince Arthur to forgive her for high school. Then, she could set her larger plan into motion. Wrapping him around her finger should be easy once he got the anger out of his system. One way or the other.