Harem House - Selene Pt. 18

She didn't like the feeling. The glances, the eyes. She felt like people were talking about her for some reason, spreading the word about her. Yet no one asked her anything or said anything, and when she initiated small talk, they were all polite and normal to her. It was confusing.

Her classes were boring, and it was tough to care about the content as she listened to the lecture and took her notes. She and Selene sat together in her second class of the day, Non-Western Lit, but they didn't have much time to talk, and then they were off to their other courses again.

When her classes were done, she went to the library to study until her dinner with Arthur. Time seemed to pass by in a montage of pages and notes as the clock ticked on. Her phone dinged to let her know that five o'clock had arrived, and she packed up her things to go and meet Arthur by the doors as he'd suggested. With her pack over her back, she walked and smirked a little when she saw Arthur's car waiting for her. He was leaning against the hood, facing the building, with the car still running.

"You're late." Arthur said with a smirk as he opened the passenger side door for her.

Kat smirked back at him. "Funny." She said. The car's clock said it was 5:02, but she hadn't expected him to be prompt. "You can spank me for it later."

Arthur chuckled and closed the door after checking she was clear of it. He moved around the car and ducked inside, taking the driver's seat up again.

"So, where are we going to dinner?" Kat asked.

"There's a nice steak restaurant about halfway between campus and the apartments. Do you like steak?" Arthur asked.

"Steak sounds a little heavy, considering...." Kat hesitated. "Our plans for the evening."

"Well, what would you like for dinner then?" Arthur asked.

"Italian?" Kat suggested. "There's that place not too far from the apartments."

"Sure." Arthur nodded. "I like that place."

They drove in silence until they made it off campus, and Arthur started trying to strike up some conversation once he was in the normal flow of traffic.

"So... how was the rest of your day after lunch?" Arthur asked. "Did anybody give you any grief for having lunch with me?"

Kat looked at him, momentarily confused, and then it clicked. "No, nobody said anything, but I think that explains the funny looks I was getting."

"Funny looks?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, just funny looks." Kat answered. "Did the other girls get harassed or anything?" She checked her phone. The House Chat and Harem Chat had been pretty quiet, with everyone having work or classes. The other girls didn't seem like they'd had any problems, and no one had given them any grief. Or, if they had, no one had said anything about it in the chat.

"No, everybody's been okay, I think. I had a few of the guys come up and give me grief, but nothing too bad, just some teasing, I guess, calling me a man whore, that kind of thing. I think once I had lunch with Rani and Mindy, someone must have put together that I was the Arthur she mentioned last night, and then from there... well, pretty much everybody at the table is now fuel for the gossip mill."

Kat rolled her eyes. "It's nobody's business."

Arthur nodded. "I agree." He tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Something else will happen in a few days, and people will forget all about us. Homecoming should wipe it from everyone's minds."

"Wouldn't count on it." Kat scoffed. "If we're all going together as a group date? We'll be the talk of campus."

"Eh." Arthur shrugged. "Let them talk. They'll get over it."

"Easy for you to say." Kat scoffed again. "All anyone's saying about you is that you must be a god among men. I don't think the rumors will be complimentary for us girls."

"Oh, I don't think it'll be that bad." Arthur shook his head. "We're past that, socially. At least people our age. No one's going around slutshaming people anymore."

"Wanna bet?" Kat asked.

"What?" Arthur looked over at her and then back to the road.

"If people slutshame one of us girls within the next week, you have to do all of mine and Selene's packing for our move to the house." Kat announced. "And if no one does, we'll do your packing."

"Volunteering Selene, aren't you?" Arthur asked.

"Like she'd turn down an opportunity to serve you." Kat rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll do all your packing, and you can sit there and watch while Selene blows you."

Arthur thought about it for a moment. "Do I get to pick what you wear while you do the packing?"

Kat looked over at him and blushed a little. "Fine. But you won't win. It's practically guaranteed that at least one of us will be shamed by someone about this."

"Deal." Arthur nodded as they pulled into the restaurant parking lot. It was pretty busy, as it was the dinner hour, but on a Tuesday night, the parking lot was still far from full. On the weekends, Arthur wouldn't have even bothered coming here during the dinner rush without planning to wait at least an hour. As it was, they were seated immediately in a cozy two-person booth by the bar with a small overhead light illuminating their menus.

Kat already knew what she wanted and ordered when the waitress came up. Marinated chicken that wasn't too heavy but would fill her up for the evening. Arthur caught up and ordered a chicken breast in a white sauce but with no pasta or noodles. He also requested some water and declined the waitress' offer of wine.

"We can drink, you know. We're of age." Kat pointed out once the waitress had left.

"Yeah, but I want to do what we're going to do later sober, remember? That's part of our agreement." Arthur reminded her.

Kat nodded. "Good." She said. "And we're both in the right frame of mind? You're not super pissed off about anything?"

"I am not. Are you?" Arthur asked.

"Just my usual level of pissed off." Kat assured him. She meant it as a joke but had to laugh after she said it when a look of concern crossed Arthur's face. He turned his face into a smile and shook his head. "So... that was quite the lesson plan you sent. Did it take up most of your prep time before your date on Sunday?"

"Most of it." Arthur nodded. "Then I caught up on the rest of my emails, including one from Lynn, and then got ready and headed out."

"Lynn?" Kat asked. "That's the girl who's gonna stay in the basement, right? Your ex?"

"Not my ex." Arthur corrected. "My old bully from high school."

"Right." Kat nodded. "Sorry. Lori was your ex."

"Yeah." Arthur nodded.

"Lot of L names in your life." Kat pointed out.

Arthur chuckled. "I guess so."

"So what did she email you about? Trying to push you around about the living arrangements or something?" Kat asked.

"No, she was... well, I'm not even sure. It was almost like she was apologizing or getting in touch with me so that I could apologize to her for what went on in high school." Arthur explained. "It was weird and annoying."

"So what did you say back?" Kat asked.

"Oh, I never emailed her back." Arthur shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere near her if I don't have to."

"Can I read it?" Kat asked.

"What?" Arthur looked surprised.

"The email from Lynn. Can I read it?" Kat asked, holding out her hand.

"Uh... sure. Here." Arthur said. He pulled out his phone, unlocked it, pulled up the email, and placed it in Kat's hand. She scrolled through it, reading it with an indiscernible expression the entire time.

Subject: I'm Sorry

"Arthur,

Your mom sent me your email info, and I know that you don't want to talk to me, ever, but I have to talk to you. I know how I treated you in high school was not fair or kind. I know that it was wrong and that you never did or said, or probably even thought, half the things the girls and I used to accuse you of. I've thought of hundreds of excuses, rationalizations, and justifications for my words and actions over the years, but the truth is: I was a bitch. I was a straight-up bitch, and I'm sorry.

I know that probably doesn't mean much to you after all this time. We both went off to college, and you've hopefully moved on with your life. You're not the gross little hanger-on that you used to be, and I'm not that over-achieving popular girl anymore. My experiences in the colleges I've gone to since we graduated high school have been intense and life-changing. I've grown as a person, I hope. And I want you to know that I forgive you for all the clingy stalkerish things you used to do in high school. I know you weren't trying to be a creep. You were just trying to be a friend, the way we were when we were kids, even if we'd both grown up.

Hopefully, we've grown up a lot since childhood and high school. Again, I'm sorry for everything, and I forgive you for everything. I hope you can forgive me.

I'll actually be attending your school in the spring semester and hopefully spend my super-senior year there next year. It's a long story, but I've managed to squeeze four years of college into five. Lol. I know you're looking at Grad school there, according to your mom, so I expect we'll see a lot of each other. Especially if what your mom is offering comes to be, with me renting a room at their place. I hope it won't be awkward for either of us, especially since she said you might be living there too.

I know we can never go back to the way things were and be friends like we used to be. But I know people grow, and I hope you and I can grow to be friends again, even if just a little. I miss my knight in shining armor, and I look back on those memories of you and I playing around as kids as some of the best in what I realize now was an otherwise extremely lonely childhood.

You don't have to email back if you don't want to. I get it. You don't even have to accept any of my apologies. If you want to avoid each other even as we awkwardly cohabitate for the next year or so, I'll even do my best to oblige. But I hope you've grown up as much as I have these last few years, if not more than I have, and can find it in you to reconcile.

Sincerely,

Lynn"

"Well." Kat said after a moment. "She probably would have been fine if she'd stopped after the first paragraph, but... she gets really passive-aggressive after that. Like, she apologizes for being a bitch, and then acts like one. Then offers an olive branch in her final conclusion." She handed Arthur back his phone. "Selene sent you some nudes while I was reading, by the way." Kat teased him, though Selene had messaged him. "And what was that about you being her knight in shining armor?"

Arthur scoffed as he put his phone away. "A game we used to play as kids, that's all."

Kat nodded and took a sip of her water after the waitress placed it in front of her. "So, were you a creepy little hanger-on in high school?"

"No." Arthur said determinedly. "We went to the same school, had some of the same classes together, the same lunch period. Whenever her friends saw me, they would claim I was stalking her, but it wasn't like I couldn't go to school." Arthur shrugged. "Trust me, I did my best to avoid them."

Kat nodded. "I'm sorry. High school sucks."

"Yeah." Arthur nodded.

"College has been kind to you, though." Kat smirked. "And if half the things my sister threatens to do to that girl if she crosses you are physically possible, I don't think you have anything to worry about next semester."

Arthur scoffed. Selene was fiercely protective of him when it came to Lynn; that much was true. He hoped that wouldn't result in problems when they all shared the house, but he appreciated having a buffer willing to step in for him if she needed to. Selene was... pretty great. Kat noticed the smile on his face as he thought about her and smiled despite herself.

"You really love my sister, don't you." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." Arthur nodded. "She's... pretty great."

Kat smirked. "But you still want to fuck me tonight, right?"

Arthur laughed. "Oh, of course. Selene would never forgive me if I didn't fuck you."

Kat smirked. "But that's not the only reason, right? Like... Do you like me for me, or just because I'm part of a package deal?"

Arthur seemed to have to think about it, making Kat frown more than expected.

"I like you for you." Arthur answered. "I'm just still getting to know you. I was pretty sure you didn't like me when we first met, and these last few days have been a roller coaster for us, you gotta admit. Sometimes it seems like you hate me, sometimes you want me to show you the ropes, make love to you, sometimes you're miserable, and then other times like this, you're nice. It's... confusing."

Kat looked down at the table and frowned a little. "I don't hate you." She said defensively. "I'm sorry. I promise I'm not trying to come across as crazy."

"I know." Arthur assured her. "Like... the jealousy thing." He landed on the example. "Once we figured out what was happening, it all made sense. Once you explain things, they make sense. It's when you act before I can figure out what's going on that leads to the whiplash effect."

Kat nodded. "Yeah." She said. "Sorry. I promise I'll try to be less crazy about things. I just... overreact sometimes."

"All any of us can do is try." Arthur nodded. "And I'll try to keep up my end of things." Arthur assured her.

"See that you do." Kat said.

"Speaking of, did you do the reading for tonight's lesson?" Arthur asked.

Kat nodded. "Yeah, I flipped through the links you sent me yesterday."

"Anything stand out to you?" Arthur asked as the waiter deposited their food on the table and refilled their water.

Kat waited until the waiter was gone before answering. "Not really." She shook her head as she lifted her fork. "It was all very informative, though. I feel I have a better idea of what to expect and how to get myself in the right frame of mind for later."

"Good." Arthur lifted his fork as well.

"One might even say that's worth a 'Good Girl,' no?" Kat asked with a smirk.

Arthur smirked back. "Good girl." He told her.

Kat's face blushed a little as she dropped her eyes to her food, and Arthur started eating with an expression that told everyone around them he was still trying to puzzle out the woman across from him. Kat was cute, and she felt it sometimes, but she wasn't a total slut like her sister was. Even though she had to admit that she was into Arthur for his body, strength, endurance, and skill more than his conversation. Still, he'd surprised her more than once now with actually having a brain that Kat didn't expect to find in that head of his. Maybe she had more prejudices than she realized, judging the book of Arthur by its cover.

"So." Kat said after silently eating for a few minutes. "What are you planning to do about Lynn anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked.

"I mean, are you planning on driving her from the house? Adding her to the harem? Or... whatever a third option might be?" Kat asked as she reached for her water.

Arthur coughed. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Really?" Kat asked. "Because Selene is ready to drive her out the minute she moves in. She wants that house completely occupied by you, the harem, and no one else."

Arthur scoffed. "Well, as fun as that would be, I don't know how realistic it is." He frowned. "We've got Katelyn moving in to share the bedroom with Kelly, after all. And that still leaves one room unoccupied, so we'll need to get two more people to move in, hopefully by next semester."

It was Kat's turn to scoff. "If you think Selene's not going to try and recruit Katelyn into the harem, you're dreaming."

Arthur chuckled. "Heh. I don't think it's going to happen. As it stands, the harem is more than I ever expected to have going for me. Trying to add anyone else to it is pressing my luck and will make it all fall apart."

Kat nodded. One dominant man with five submissive girlfriends was more than anyone could hope for. Between Selene, the manic pixie dream slut; Mindy, the Korean secretary schoolgirl; Rani, the Indian beauty; Kelly, the wannabe housewife, and herself (the average looking bookish one), all Arthur's sexual needs should be more than met. Still, it might be good for Katelyn. Her ex-boyfriend Sean had cheated on her, and that could really fuck with anyone's head. It might be good for her to have a nice, reliable dick to ride to vent some of that frustration and feel safe again. Assuming Arthur could deliver on being reliable and making her feel safe.

"Well, she will suggest it to you at some point." Kat assured him. "If you decide to add Katelyn to the group, let me talk to her first. We're friends, and I think I know how to talk to her about it without making it awkward."

"The whole harem would have to talk about it first." Arthur reminded her.

"After the harem discusses it, then." Kat agreed.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "And how would you talk to her about it?"

Kat rolled her eyes. "She doesn't need to fall into another relationship right now with some douche, right? She's going to need to be with someone she can trust. I don't know if the whole harem thing will be her bag. She might want someone who's hers and only hers. So she might not agree to join at all and might hate the idea. On the other hand, being in an established, open, poly relationship like what we have going is something you can trust. Everything is out in the open, cards on the table, nobody sneaking around or hiding anything. And if you can help her feel safe to trust again, and deliver a good O every once in a while, then it might be something she's willing to try. Might be. I can't make any guarantees, obviously."

Arthur seemed to think about it for a minute while they ate. She had some good points he hadn't thought of or considered, but ultimately, he wasn't looking at increasing the harem anytime soon. He was more worried about keeping what he had than adding more. "I think you've thought this out way more than I have." Arthur chuckled.

"Personally, I blame my sister." Kat said between swallows. "Her constant verbal fantasizing is starting to affect me, I think."

Arthur chuckled. "Me too, though in my case, it's really worked out well for me."

Kat laughed. "Trust me, no one in the harem expects you to complain any time soon."

Arthur smirked. He didn't have the same access to the Harem chat that she did, the conversation between all the girls, but he must have had enough information from the House chat and his private chats with everyone to feel some measure of confidence.

"So... Can we get dessert to go?" Kat asked. "Sir?"

Arthur smiled and nodded as he sped up his eating a little bit. Kat had finished and was ready to box up the rest, but Arthur was clearly more hungry than she was and wanted to finish his plate. Still, when the waiter came by, they ordered the tiramisu to go, and Arthur paid the check despite Kat's protests that she could pay her half. He'd called her Brat in such a firm warning tone that she blushed a little and looked around to make sure no one else heard it, but they seemed clear.

With the check paid and the food boxed, Arthur carried the bag in one hand and offered his other arm to Kat as they walked out of the restaurant to his car. Once inside and on the way to Arthur's apartment, Kat spoke up again with another thought.

"You're going to need a minivan or something." Kat said as she looked around. "Six of us, seven counting Kate, eight counting Lynn, plus one to two more women in the last bedroom?" Kat looked at the backseat. "We'll never all fit in here."

Arthur laughed. "Lynn is never joining the harem. I don't think anyone else is, either. But... you're not wrong about getting some kind of van if we're all carpooling to campus all the time." He admitted.

"I don't think you'll be the one driving if you offer shuttle services." Kat smirked. "Selene will drag you into the back seat every chance she gets."