Harem House - Selene Pt. 16

Arthur was dressed more casually than Selene expected, wearing jeans and a t-shirt with work boots. He knew he'd be moving boxes today, so he didn't bother dressing in his usual clothes. He typically wore suits or professional outfits, and he wore them well. It was almost startling to see him on campus but dressed as though he were in his apartment.

Silence reigned once they were all seated at the table. It was a round table, out of the way toward the back corner. Arthur sat down, and Selene sat on his left. Kelly sat on his right. Kat sat between Selene and Mindy, who sat next to Rani, who sat beside Kelly with an open seat between them. The two girls waved slightly at the newcomer.

"Hi!" Mindy said cheerfully. "I'm Mindy; this is Rani. You must be Kelly?" She stood up and reached over to shake Kelly's hand, "accidentally" giving Arthur a view down her blazer.

Kelly smiled. "Yes. It's nice to meet you."

"So the harem's all here." Rani said with an awkward laugh. "The sisterhood of Arthur's dick."

"Excalibur." Kat corrected.

"What?" Kelly asked, confused.

"The sisterhood of Excalibur." Kat explained. "He's Arthur, so his sword is...."

Kelly laughed, followed by the others. It was a chorus of musical laughter that Arthur couldn't help but join in, even if it was a little bit at his expense. He couldn't help his name or his father's preference for naming conventions.

"We are a sisterhood, though." Selene said more confidently than Arthur expected. "We're a sisterhood first, right?" She looked around the group for confirmation. "That means we're a team. We work together and support each other. We don't try to cut each other down or sabotage each other. We're friends, sisters first, Arthur's lovers second. Agreed?"

"A group of women working together toward our mutual satisfaction. That was how you put it to me, right?" Mindy asked rhetorically.

Selene nodded. The others took a moment to consider what she was saying, but they all nodded in agreement. "Agreed." They said, some simultaneously, the rest after.

"So we're the harem." Mindy smirked.

"So, okay." Arthur said, speaking up a little louder than he meant and adjusting his tone quickly. "We've all talked at a few different points about this. I'm dating all of you in an above-board non-monogamous relationship. I just want to be clear, but you already know that."

The girls looked at him expectantly as he talked. He didn't feel as confident as he seemed but figured he could fake it until it was real.

"And we're all clear to tell other people that." Arthur looked at them expectantly. They nodded in response, except for Rani.

"So, are you and I dating now?" Rani asked.

"If you want to, yes, I'd like that." Arthur admitted. "But I understand; since we barely know each other, if you'd rather not, that's okay."

"Well, with an offer like that, how can a girl say no?" Rani chuckled. "Sweep me off my feet and take me, Master."

"I'm serious." Arthur assured her. "It might be a bit difficult to schedule, but if you're willing, I'd like to take you out on a date and get to know you better."

"Speaking of scheduling." Rani asked. "How would that work exactly?" She asked. Arthur noticed she didn't give him an answer, but he didn't press.

"Well, I have some evening obligations this semester already. Classes, clubs, that kind of thing. The theater club is on Monday nights but doesn't go on too late. I've scheduled something with Kat for Tuesday night. I have Wednesday and Thursday night classes and something with Kelly on Friday night. That leaves the rest of the weekend open, and next week." Arthur explained.

"That's a pretty busy schedule for someone with five girlfriends." Rani pointed out. "But I have a lot of night classes myself. What do your days look like?"

"Well, I usually alternate between class and work, but that might change soon...." He said hesitantly. As he suspected, Mindy looked surprised. "With my parents moving back to the city and renting out their house, I'm probably going to end up leaving my current job and working as the maintenance guy and landlord."

"Oh." Mindy said quietly. "But...."

"It's not immediate." Arthur assured her. "I probably won't leave the job until next semester."

"Okay." Mindy nodded, but she still looked incredibly disappointed. Arthur gave her a soft smile, which she returned, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"So, can we make a rule about no repeats?" Rani asked.

They all looked at her.

"In the schedule." Rani clarified. "Kat goes Tuesday, Kelly on Friday. They shouldn't get another date with you until we've all had a chance."

Arthur cautiously looked at the others to gauge their reactions. Kelly was frowning, but otherwise, the others looked at Arthur to see what he wanted to do. He had to think about it for a minute, so he ate some of his eggs.

"I think that might be a fair idea." Arthur admitted. "Though once I'm no longer working at school, if we all end up living at the house... one on one time might be pretty abundant and based on availability. So let's say one on one time is separate, and date nights rotate without repeats. Kat and I have a date night Tuesday, Kelly and I on Friday, and then it will be...."

"Homecoming." Selene piped up.

"Oh, that's right." Arthur nodded. "Homecoming is this weekend, the big game with all the alumni coming in. My parents will be here too."

"Which of us are you taking to that?" Kat asked.

"We should all go." Selene piped up. "As a group."

Arthur looked a little surprised, but he didn't hate the idea. "A big group date for homecoming?" Arthur asked.

Kelly nodded, followed by Selene. "I like the idea." Kelly said, which seemed to be enough to convince Mindy, which convinced Rani and Kat when she saw that everyone else seemed to like the idea. Kat glanced at Selene, and the two seemed to converse silently as Arthur continued.

"Should that be what we do for all the big events?" Arthur asked. "After homecoming, there's Fall Break, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve...."

"We'll probably have to go home for the holidays." Kat piped up.

"Me too, but I live close by." Mindy said.

"We live across the State, a few hours away." Selene gestured to herself and Kat. "Well, our mom does."

"Same." Kelly said.

"My family's not local either." Rani said with a shrug. "But not all the way down the interstate either."

"Okay, well, Thanksgiving then." Arthur said with a nod. "And anyone who wants to visit me over the holidays is welcome." He assured them. "Even if you have to spend the holiday with your folks."

"So group dates on holidays and special events." Kelly declared.

"Ooo, like the Ren Faire?" Selene asked.

"What?" Mindy asked.

"The renaissance faire. Would you like to go to the Ren Faire as a group date? That could be fun, and we could take turns splitting off with Arthur." Selene explained.

Mindy glanced at Rani, who shrugged. They'd all heard of the Ren Faire, but Selene seemed to be the only one in the group of girls who'd gone to one before. Arthur had gone to one before, too, though. The Theater Club went together last year since it was a great demonstration of improv and staged theater mixed with various musical and variety acts.

"Next weekend?" Selene suggested. "Between homecoming and Halloween?"

"I could do that." Kelly shrugged. "That gives me time to get a costume."

"Master?" Selene asked, looking up at Arthur. Kat elbowed her in the ribs, causing her to jump and squeak simultaneously. "Sorry." She glanced around at the cafeteria. No one seemed to have heard her call them that, though it was hardly the strangest thing they might have overheard if they were eavesdropping on this particular conversation.

Arthur smiled softly. "Yeah, we can do that. Though... I might have to get a bigger car."

"I can drive too." Kat announced.

"Okay. So Homecoming, Ren Faire, and Halloween." Arthur announced.

"And what are everyone's plans for fall break?" Selene asked.

Every year the school gave them a two-day break on a Monday and Tuesday in October. It was nothing like the entire week off they received for Spring break, and Arthur usually spent it in the office, but he could be convinced to take it off this year.

"Actually." Arthur was the first to speak. "I might need to move most of my stuff from the apartment to the house that weekend. It'll probably be my only chance before the end of the month, and I was hoping to move in by November."

"That's right, we need to give notice." Kat reminded Selene.

"We will." Selene nodded. "If I may... can I... address the group?" Selene asked. The question was open, but she looked directly at Arthur as though she were asking his permission rather than the group's.

Arthur nodded and took another forkful of eggs.

"I want to be clear that this group, this harem, is an exclusive club." Selene announced. "Like we agreed earlier, a sisterhood. Each of us is in a relationship with Arthur, but we'll need to be friends with each other too. Sisters. Especially if we're living together. So... if it's okay, I'd like to expand on that and suggest some ground rules."

"Go on." Arthur encouraged her. He wanted to see where she was going with this and was a little surprised she was taking the initiative. Kat seemed surprised too, but the others all looked at her expectantly. Mindy nodded at her with an encouraging smile, telling her to go on without saying a word.

"I think we girls should get together once a week. Without-" She glanced around for a moment. "Master."

"You mean without Arthur?" Kelly clarified.

"Yes." Selene smiled. "I think it would be good for us to hang out together, get to know one another, catch each other up, discuss, educate, learn, that kind of thing. We can do it on Thursday nights when Master- sorry." She apologized at a glare from Kat. "I know in public I'm supposed to call you Arthur, but... no one can overhear us. It's fine. Stop glaring at me, Kat."

Kat kept her glare up for at least a few moments more until Arthur reached behind Selene and nudged Kat's shoulder.

"It's okay." Arthur said. "You really should call me Arthur out here, but I won't spank you for it."

Selene winked at him. Mindy laughed.

"So once a week, we get together. Thursday nights?" Kelly asked. "I can do that. I might be a bit late some nights or unable to make it some weeks, but overall I think I can make that work."

"I have a class that night." Rani shook her head.

"Wednesdays?" Selene asked.

"Wednesdays work for me." Rani announced. Selene looked at Kelly, who nodded, followed by Kat and Mindy.

"I usually work for my dad on Wednesday nights, but it's not a big night for him. I can move it around, make it work." Mindy agreed.

"Perfect." Selene clapped her hands. "Another rule," she continued. "Mast- Arthur, agreed that he would warn us if he asks anyone else out. I will ask that we make it official that he's the only male member of this little group. We're all in this because we're in our relationships with him. If you're in a relationship with someone else, you can talk to us about it as your friends, but they're not part of this group." She gestured to the table at large. "Agreed?"

The others looked confused but shrugged and nodded as they looked back and forth between each other. "It makes sense, I guess." Kelly agreed. "Like you said, this whole thing is because we're each fucking Arthur."

"And naturally, any additional women would have to be approved by Arthur." Selene continued. The others shrugged but didn't protest, except for Kelly.

"What if Arthur wants to date someone the rest of us don't like? Like, someone we don't think is a good fit for our... situation?" Kelly asked.

Selene didn't seem to have an answer for that right away. She paused and had to think about it. She looked up at Arthur, who watched her for a moment.

"I told Kat that I would give her some advance warning before I... add another teammate to the team. I intend to abide by that." Arthur said. "If we extend that to the group, I'd be willing to give the group veto rights. I know some of you don't know each other very well, but do any of you have any issues with each other we should hash out?"

"I'm a little tired of Selene sometimes, but otherwise, I think I'm fine." Kat glanced at Rani as she said it.

Rani looked confused but shrugged. "I don't really know any of you, but... I'd fuck any of you."

Kelly scoffed a bit, which turned into a cough she covered with her hand. "Sorry." She coughed. "I just wasn't expecting that."

Rani winked at her, which Kelly returned with a polite smile.

"So the group knows. I'm bisexual." Kelly announced. "But that said, I've already told Arthur I'm not his unicorn."

"Neigh." Rani said flatly.

Mindy laughed while the others looked a little confused, then they got it.

"You're not the only bisexual here." Rani raised her hand. "But I'll put it out there now, happy to join any of you with this guy. In fact, I think I'd prefer it that way."

"Good to know." Selene had that smile on her face that told Arthur she was thinking about being up to something. He didn't mind. So far, that smile had always preceded something working out very well for him.

"But you still want a date night with just Arthur, right?" Kat asked for clarification.

"I mean..." Rani hesitated as she thought it over. "Yeah." She finally decided. "Though, I can't say I'd mind a date night with... really anyone here." She said with a laugh. "We're all hot as fuck."

Arthur laughed. "My thoughts exactly."

Kelly smiled, but she didn't seem to appreciate the equivalent comparison between herself, who had spent time and energy on her appearance this morning, with Rani, who currently had a stain on her hoodie from some dripped coffee.

"Okay." Arthur said, retaking the reins of the conversation. "And if you're a sisterhood first, I think it should be clear that any new members of this sisterhood must be welcomed unanimously." He suggested. "Meaning every single one of you has to agree to them joining your club, or they remain outside of it."

They all nodded.

"What if you want to fuck someone outside the harem, like someone you meet at a party or something in a one-night stand?" Rani asked. "Are you exclusive to us? Or no?"

"Well, if we're not exclusive to the harem or to him, is it fair to ask him to be exclusive?" Kelly asked, which surprised Arthur slightly, but she had a point.

"Mast- Arthur." Selene corrected herself. "Should be allowed to sleep with whoever he wants, even outside of our sisterhood, but they'll just be flings. Not relationships. That's the difference between open and closed poly, right?"

They nodded.

"So, if we're a team, who's the coach?" Kelly asked. "Should one of us volunteer to step up and manage things?"

The other girls looked at each other momentarily, and then Selene pointed at Arthur. "He's the coach." She said. "I know most of us, if not all of us, prefer to follow his lead, right?" The others nodded. "So we let him lead. He's the coach. We follow his playbook, and he 'manages' us as necessary."

"So, who's the team captain? Is it you?" Kelly asked Selene.

"I'll appoint one if necessary." Arthur said clearly. "At the moment, I think it's best if everyone in the sisterhood is equal. Especially when we're just starting out."

The girls nodded.

"Let that be one of the rules." Arthur added. "Sisters first, lovers second." He started the list. "What the coach says goes." He gestured to himself. "And everyone in this...." He searched for the right word and settled on "harem is equal." He continued. "No jealousy between each other. Talk to me if you have issues or are starting to feel jealous about anything." He looked pointedly at Kat, who nodded. "And no kink-shaming or putting each other down. Always lift each other up."

The girls seemed willing to accept these rules and nodded.

"The harem will meet once a week without me." Arthur continued, getting less into the rules and more into the logistics now. "Date nights will be on a rotation. One-on-one time will be as availability allows. Special events, and holidays, will be done as a group. No one will be forced to participate in any group or sexual activity if they do not wish to."

Mindy and Selene had smiles on their faces. The others looked around just to be sure that everyone else agreed with them.

"Anything else?" Arthur asked Selene.

Selene shook her head. "Nope! I think that was all I had."

"Good." Arthur nodded. "Everyone in?" He asked, looking around at each one of them, in turn, to make sure they personally agreed to the arrangement.

"I'm definitely in." Selene said with a smile and nudged Kat.

"I'm in." Kat said with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm in!" Mindy exclaimed cheerily.

"Count me in too." Rani shrugged.

Kelly seemed to hesitate but nodded. "I'm in." She agreed.

"And I'm in." Arthur nodded.

"Like that was ever in doubt." Rani laughed, which prompted laughter from others.

"Oh, we should add you, girls, to the Harem chat." Mindy piped up.

"Oh yeah!" Selene said as she whipped out her phone. "This is just for us girls. Arthur's not in this one."

"Bwa, ha, ha." Kelly smirked at Arthur as she pulled out her phone. Selene had already sent her a friend request, and soon after, they were all friends and following each other on social media, and all in the harem chat and the house chat (which was the harem chat group with Arthur included).

"So, do we all have to call you Master?" Kelly asked curiously after she'd put her phone away again.

"No." Arthur shook his head. "Selene calls me that. Mindy calls me Boss. Kat calls me-"

"Fucker most of the time." Kat laughed, which prompted the others to laugh, even Arthur.

"Call him whatever you want." Mindy nodded. "I like calling him Boss."

"It does have a certain ring to it. I think I called you, Sir, on Friday night a few times, but that was more in the moment. Are you okay if I just call you by your name?" Kelly asked.

"Of course." Arthur nodded. "That's why I have it, after all."

The group laughed politely and, with their meals finished, started toward the exit. Arthur had to go to work, as did Mindy, so the two were prepared to walk together. Rani had class, as did Kelly. Selene and Kat had no classes until the afternoon, but they needed the time to study, so they headed for the library. They left the cafeteria as a group and then slowly parted ways, each girl stopping to kiss Arthur and waving farewell to him and the others.

"Maybe we should try to make group dinners a regular thing once we have the house." Selene said cheerfully.

"That could be a lot of fun." Mindy agreed. "I can cook pretty well with an actual kitchen."

"Me too." Arthur and Kelly said at the same time.

Selene laughed. "I can cook pretty well if you count breakfast food, breakfast for dinner, and brunch, which is naturally breakfast around lunchtime."

Arthur laughed, feeling pretty good about everything by the time he and Mindy reached the administration building, arm-in-arm. The two of them went through the familiar hallway that Arthur had walked a thousand times, with its old carpet and windowed office doors, until they came to the marketing office door. Arthur opened the door for her to enter the sizeable rectangular room first.

It was filled with boxes that took up the long rectangular table in the center of the room and the floor on every side. They were stacked to Arthur's chin, which put them over Mindy's head, even in her heels. The half-wall cubicles along the near wall and most of the right wall were half-occupied by student workers. Arthur's desk was right by the door overlooking those workstations, and it had boxes on it that weren't there Friday.