Harem House - Selene Pt. 25

"Arthur." The bystander said. "The blonde asked me if I wanted to fuck him too. I guess he's a player? Or they have some kind of arrangement."

"I'm Lynn, by the way." Lynn said, introducing herself.

"Skylar." The bystander introduced herself.

Together, they headed into the athletic center, talking and laughing.

~~~

After Selene left the tailgating party, Arthur's parents started hosting more of his friends. Caleb and the drummer of his band joined after texting Arthur. Brad, Jen, and Mark also found Arthur via text. Arthur was talking with Caleb, Mindy, and George when he spotted Maria approaching.

"Where's Selene?" Arthur asked Maria as soon as she was in earshot.

"She stopped to talk to Yvonne." Maria said. "She wanted to explain some things to her. Hey, Caleb." She waved to Caleb, who nodded in return.

"Excuse me..." Arthur started to say to his father.

"Woah, slow down. We don't often get a chance to chat, and I--" George started.

"I know, but I need to check on Selene." Arthur said.

"I'm sure she's fine." His father said, dismissing the thought. "She's with a friend, right?" He asked Maria.

Maria shrugged but nodded. Arthur frowned. Technically, Yvonne and Selene were friends, but Yvonne was a diva. Dramatic. Selene needed his help.

"Now, as I was saying." George continued. "It's important to keep up with sports because it's a cross-cultural topic you can broach with your coworkers." He spoke to Arthur and Mindy equally, but Arthur was clearly distracted.

Arthur repeatedly glanced behind himself toward the walk where Selene had gone. He could hope for the best, but he feared the worst. Yvonne was acting weird. Anything might happen if she and Selene argued.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could ask a favor." Mindy said after a glance toward Arthur. "Could you explain the whole fantasy football thing? I don't understand how you play or why people enjoy it so much."

"Oh, you'll love it, I'm sure." George said. "It's a great little competition you can engage in with your coworkers, perfect for friendly little wagers. Builds morale! Now the statistics involved should be a breeze for you..." His voice faded from Arthur's ears as Arthur backed away. He mouthed Mindy a final 'thank you,' and she shooed him away with a wink. He started walking. Kat noticed and joined him, walking by his side. Kelly joined after a few more paces.

A few parties away, they spotted Selene walking toward them. They waved to her, barely able to talk over the loud music from the nearest party until they met, and Arthur pulled Selene aside.

"What happened?" Arthur asked Selene.

"We can talk about it later." Selene said, noticing how multiple people watched them as they passed Beth's party. "We had a disagreement over you, and Yvonne wants to kick me out of the Theater Club."

"She can't do that." Arthur said.

"I know." Selene said. "But we'll deal with it on Monday." She sighed. "Or maybe you should fuck her so she can get over herself? I wouldn't mind that. I can set it up if you want."

Arthur laughed. "Kat might not take kindly to that." He nodded toward Kat on his other side. "We've been discussing closing the open part of the relationship."

"I'm sorry. What?" Selene asked. There was genuine surprise in her voice. "She wanted to close the harem, so we're not accepting new members, but we agreed we're still open relationship-wise. You can fuck anyone you want. That's... that's part of it." She looked around Arthur at Kat for confirmation.

Arthur hugged Selene with one arm as they walked. "I know that's important to you. But, really, I'm good with--"

"No." Selene shrugged out of his arm and took his hand.

"Selene." Arthur said in a severe tone, worried she planned to make a scene.

"Master." Selene said just as seriously. "We're your harem. Kat's being a brat. She needs you to remind her this relationship isn't a monogamous thing between you and her, and the rest of us are for fun. Our needs are just as important as hers."

"Hey!" Kat protested. "I don't think that!"

Arthur turned to Kelly for aid and was astonished to find her nodding in support of Selene. Kelly stepped closer to Arthur and put her left hand on the small of his back. The simple connection soothed his worry, and he took a breath.

"Selene has a point." Kelly gestured toward Selene. "Her kinks are what started this sisterhood. It's unfair to deny Selene because you want to give Kat her desires while ignoring Selene's, right?"

"So she gets what she wants, and I get nothing?" Kat snapped. She had the decency to lower her eyes when Arthur and Kelly gawked at her in disbelief.

"So we compromise." Kelly said, looking between the two other girls. "Stop fighting like sisters, and remember that you're harem sisters. We support each other. We don't shame each other."

"Yes, Mistress." Selene looked at her feet.

Kat sighed.

"So we'll leave the decision up to you, Master." Kelly kissed Arthur's cheek.

"I guess so." Arthur admitted. "But when one of you wants something, and the other wants the exact opposite... how do I balance that? How do I keep you both happy?" He asked Kat and Selene, who shrugged.

"You're the Master of the house." Kelly said. "You have to decide what you want and make your decision, fair or not." She turned to Selene and looked between her and Kat as she spoke. "Remember what Selene said on Wednesday? This is about what all of us need. We need to respect each other's boundaries. Is this a boundary that would make you leave the harem or break up with Arthur?"

"No." Selene said much quicker than Kat.

Kat sniffed. "No. It's not worth breaking up over. It's just..." She had tears in the corner of her eyes again. "It's been so crazy and difficult. I feel so out of control. I don't know what's happening. None of us know what we're doing; we're just making it up without any rules. There's always a new woman popping up who might try to take--" Kat glanced at Arthur and abandoned her sentence, sniffing instead.

Kelly released Arthur's hand and stepped to Kat, wrapping her in a hug. The hug lasted a while before Kelly spoke again. Kat returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Kelly's waist.

"Honey, you're right. We don't know what we're doing." Kelly said. "We're figuring it out and relying on Arthur to make the rules. Will you respect Arthur's decision, even if he disagrees with you? Will you take him seriously as your Master, even outside the bedroom?"

Kat swallowed. She was silent, then broke the silence with a nod. "Yes." Then she added: "Mistress."

Arthur and Selene joined the hug, though Arthur had to gesture for Selene to participate before she did. Arthur leaned close to speak softly in Kat's ear. "No one's going to take me away from you or my harem."

"Everything okay?" Maria asked. She approached them as the party they were walking toward broke up and started packing the grill and cooler away.

"Yeah." Arthur said. He looked up from the heads beneath his.

Mindy joined them, though she was ignorant as to why the hug started. She threw her arms around Selene and Arthur. Rani hung back, though her conversation with Mark over his previous D&D adventures paused.

"We can talk about this more later." Kat assured everyone. "Okay?"

"Okay." Arthur took a deep breath. He had some pondering ahead of him. He turned toward Maria. "Why's everyone leaving?"

"They're letting people into the stadium." Maria explained. She searched for Selene and found her. "Did everything go okay with Yvonne?"

Selene left the hug and sighed. She shook her head and explained the story to Maria as they helped Arthur's parents pack the party away. They had everything squared away within a few short minutes. Their rapid packing was no mystery, with Brad, Jen, Mark, Maria, Caleb, and the drummer (whose name turned out to be Logan) joining Kelly, Arthur, Mindy, Kat, Selene, and Rani in helping Gabe, Mari, George, and Deb. The surrounding parties were slower in their work.

"I'm so sorry." Maria said. "I never would have left you alone if I thought she would, y'know, attack you." She said. She, Mark, Jen, and Brad gathered toward the edge of the field. The others were slowly gathering there as the work dried up.

"It's not your fault." Selene assured her. "She's a crazy fuckin' bitch."

There was a moment of silence until Mark finally broke it. "I can double-check the bylaws to make sure, but... I'm sure we have enough votes to kick her out instead of Selene."

Selene laughed.

"Hey, we're gonna head in. We'll see you in there?" Brad asked the group.

"We can wait for the others." Jen said.

"No, it's okay." Selene said. "We're heading in ourselves, I think."

They all nodded, and Mark, Brad, Maria, and Jen headed into the stands with the crowds. Mark and Maria held hands while Brad and Jen walked close together behind them. Caleb and his date gave Selene a brief hello and goodbye as they did the same.

"Arthur, could you lend me a hand?" His mother called out from the far side of the pickup. "It's the last of it, but it's full of water."

"We can help you!" Kelly offered, and she tugged Arthur over. Together, they team-lifted the cooler into the back of the truck, leaving Deb to watch.

Deb smiled. "Thank you, Kelly. Why don't you and the girls head in and find your seats? I need a moment with Arthur."

Kelly glanced at Arthur. He nodded. Kelly turned toward Deb. "Of course. It was nice meeting you!"

"It was absolutely lovely meeting you. I can't wait until our brunch tomorrow." Deb clasped Kelly's hands. They shook hands.

Kelly kissed Arthur before departing, quick and chaste in front of his parents.

"Was that okay earlier with Kat and Selene?" She asked in a whisper. "Did I overstep? I was just trying to help, and I--"

Arthur kissed her - An unchaste kiss that lasted several long moments, forcing his mother to lift her brows and turn away. "You were, and continue to be, amazing. I don't deserve you."

Kelly blushed, gave him a final quick peck, and then gathered the girls and led them toward the stadium. The girls hesitated but followed Kelly after Arthur gave them his approving nod. George, Gabe, and Mari went with the girls toward the stands, though they were sitting elsewhere. They parted company at the gate.

"Everything okay?" Arthur asked.

Deb smiled. "I wanted to ask you that. One of your girls looked upset. Katerine? Is there trouble in paradise already?"

"Kat, yeah, and it's okay." Arthur said. "Just a hiccup between Selene and our friends, or people who used to be our friends, prompting Kat and Selene to argue." Arthur said. "The campus knows we're Poly. Some have reacted better than others."

Deb put a hand to heart. "Oh, to be young and have life be so dramatic."

Arthur smiled. "How do you and Dad do it?" He asked.

"Do what?" Deb asked. Now that the truck was packed, she hopped up and sat on the tailgate, and Arthur joined her, sitting beside her. They watched the crowd around them funnel into the stadium in a steady shuffle. The music faded as people packed up. The bangs of trunks and car doors closing punctuated the conversation.

"How do you arrange things with Dad so you never have problems?" Arthur asked.

His mother laughed. It wasn't the polite laugh of an indulgent mother, either. It wasn't the 'we have company, but this situation is funny' laugh he recognized best. It was the gut-wracking guffaw of someone encountering the absurd. She curled forward and steadied herself with her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, honey." Deb straightened, released his shoulder, and wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "Your father and I have had our share of drama, believe me. We went out of our way to keep you out of it."

"Like what?" Arthur asked.

Deb hesitated. "You're an adult now, so we don't have to keep you safe from our problems. But, for example, there was a period twelve, maybe fifteen, years ago when we had quite a disagreement."

She swallowed before continuing. "I got offered a job with a different company. The pay was better, and I would have the opportunity to travel abroad. I wanted that job, but you were young, and your father was working toward a promotion, as always, so we briefly considered hiring a nanny."

Arthur nodded, waiting for her to get to the drama part of the story.

"I didn't want you raised by a stranger." Deb explained. "Your father couldn't give you the time and attention you deserved and legally required if it came to that. I wanted the job. I always wanted to travel. The argument sounds frivolous now, but back then? We almost divorced over it."

Arthur was silent. He didn't think his mom's love for travel was silly. She shouldn't have had to give that up for him or his dad. Arthur also had trouble figuring out when this happened. Try as he might, he had no memory of his parents ever discussing this. His expression turned to contemplation, and his mother laid her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"We love each other." She said. "And we both love you."

"How did you work it out?" Arthur asked.

"Hmm..." Deb considered the question. "That's the hard part." She nodded. "Everyone always wants a trick. Something to make problems work out without complications. But there are no shortcuts. You have to do the work, especially in relationships. You have to sit and talk as adults. You have to ask questions and compromise. And most importantly? You have to prioritize the well-being of your family as a unit, not your individual desires. Or any of their individual desires, in your case."

"So you sat and talked?" Arthur asked.

Deb laughed and nodded, folding her hands in her lap. "We took a weekend trip to the cabin and worked it out." She said. "We..." She hesitated. "Well, yes. We talked. A lot. Ultimately, your father agreed to work less and prioritize the family more. I looked for a different work opportunity that worked better with our situation. I found one a few months later in our company, and it worked out. I still travel, but not so much that I was away from you for too long or too often."

Arthur nodded. His parents traveled for work sometimes, but he'd never considered their trips unusual. Traveling was part of life. He realized now that their never going on a business trip together until he was older was intentional.

"So what's your big drama?" Deb asked.

"Well..." Arthur blushed and looked away from his mom.

"Arthur..." Deb ran her fingers through his hair, fixing his forelock and brushing it away from his eyes. "You can talk to me. I'm your mother. Feel free to leave out the sexy details, like I did, but tell me your troubles. I'm on your side."

Arthur nodded. "About that."

"I'm sorry about Lynn." Deb said quickly. "They weren't here when I texted you. We didn't know if Gabe and Mari were coming or were bringing her. We mentioned the possibility of seeing them here as they're also alumni, but we hadn't heard from them since last week after you stormed off."

"Why can't you guys understand I don't want to see her? Why does she have to come with the house?" Arthur asked.

Deb looked sad. She stroked Arthur's back before answering. "Lynn's parents and your father and I are friends. Close friends. At first, we just knew them from work. Office encounters and occasional chats were the extent of our relationship. But they lived nearby, and you and Lynn were the same age, so Mari and I arranged a playdate. As children, you got along so well and became such inseparable friends that Gabe, George, Mari, and I became close friends too. Mari and I always assumed that you two would end up married one day."

Arthur scoffed.

"We hoped." Deb corrected. "You two would fight sometimes and get on each other's nerves, but it was always cute little lover's spats. You'd get over it and be inseparable again an hour later. That's how things were for years."

Arthur remembered those times. He remembered the beach house with Mari, Gabe, and Lynn joining him and his parents for a week at the beach. Their sandcastle was taller than him at the time.

He remembered ski trips, staying at the lodge together, and drinking hot cocoa by the fire. Most of his childhood memories had Lynn. Flashes of memories danced across his mind, from playground games to exploring city parks. He remembered using sticks as swords and sword fighting, making Lynn grin her toothy grin, which morphed into her braces in junior high until it became her cruel smile in high school.

He shook his head, shaking his memories away. Not every glimpse of his childhood was happy, either. They sometimes fought over the things kids fight about. From his mother's perspective, he understood that their childhood conflicts were trivial when the fights didn't bring lasting consequences.

"High school was different, though." Arthur said.

"I know that now." Deb said. "At the time, Mari and I chalked it up to you being too interested in one another."

Arthur glared at her, but Deb waved his disbelief away with a shrug.

"Like how little boys pull little girls' pigtails because they like them and can't express it. Lynn liked you too much, but she couldn't admit it without losing face in front of her friends, so she teased you. We didn't think it was a big deal." Deb said.

"It was a big deal, Mom." Arthur's entire body tensed under her touch.

His mother frowned. "I know." Deb said. "At least, I know now." She corrected. "We didn't have a good idea of the details. Neither of you wanted to talk to your parents. You were too cool for that in high school, remember?"

The slight tease in her voice went unanswered.

"But we can talk now." Deb assured him. "Can't we?"

Arthur nodded. "So, if you know how much I hate her, why are you making me deal with her?"

Deb sighed. "Mari is my best friend. I would do anything to help her, up to and including hiding a body. She's my ride or die, as you kids say." She intentionally aged her voice for comedic effect, but Arthur didn't laugh, so Deb continued.

"I love Mari, and Lynn is her daughter. She got expelled from her last school. She needs a place to stay close to her new school, and she needs our help. So your father and I offered to help, and now we're committed. We can't back out without hurting our closest friends. And yes, you two might not get along right now, but we can minimize contact. Even if Mari and I still hope you two learn to move past high school and be friends again."

"That's never happening." Arthur declared. "Lynn and I will never be friends."

Arthur's mom nodded, her lips pressed together. She looked like she wanted to say something, but Arthur realized she'd chosen acceptance. Or, if not acceptance, resignation.

"Okay." She said. "But for now, we agreed to let her stay at the house."

Silence crept between them.

"If it's any consolation, in return for housing Lynn, you can fill the house with as many girlfriends as you could possibly want." Deb tried to lighten the mood. "How does that sound?"

Arthur sighed, his shoulders relaxed. "Okay." He said.

"Okay?" His mom asked.

"I don't like it." Arthur assured her. "But I understand."

Deb rubbed his back again. The gesture was familiar, and Arthur always soothed to feel her hand lightly rubbing his back.

"So, what's your drama with your girlfriends?" She asked. "What can I do to help?"

Arthur considered opening up. This was his mom. Did he really want to confide the hardships of his romances in her? Still, she was older and wiser. He could use someone to talk to who wasn't in the harem. A few weeks ago, he would have asked Selene for advice as his friend, but now she was on the other side. He needed advice. "The drama between the girls is that Kat wants to close the relationship. Selene wants to keep it open."

Deb blinked. "I thought free love was something your grandparents had to deal with, not you."