"I could meet you in the parking lot before you go?" Selene asked.
Arthur nodded. "Or in the back stairwell after." He suggested. "If only I could find a way to sneak you into the men's locker room." He laughed.
Selene looked like she was thinking of ways it might happen. Kat shook her head and went into the bedroom to get her bra and clothes for after her shower.
"Selene..." Arthur warned.
Selene frowned. "Yes, Master." She said resignedly. "And if all else fails, dinner tomorrow?" She asked, just to make sure.
"Dinner tomorrow. We can meet in the cafeteria before going to the Theater Club meeting." Arthur agreed.
"Oh! Right, I forgot about that!" Selene said as she stood up.
"Every Monday." Arthur laughed. "Is that why you're always late?"
Selene laughed, shaking her head as she stood up. "No. I'm late because I spend too much time braiding my hair and changing my clothes, so I look nice when I see you."
Arthur gave her a surprised look, and Selene blushed a little and shrugged. She offered no further apology or comment.
"Come on, sis. Get dressed, and let's go study. We can leave our Master to his work." Kat nodded toward the bedroom door. "Did you at least pick her out some decent clothes? She has to go to class tomorrow and can't go bottomless or topless."
Arthur scoffed. "Judge for yourself." He gestured to the outfits he'd laid out.
Kat looked them over and gave them a suitable nod. "Good, Master." She said with a smile as she reached up, climbed onto the bed to reach the top of his head, and gave it a pat.
"Ha ha." Arthur said as he started putting his own clothes on. "You two have fun studying."
Selene frowned. "Or..." She started. She hadn't even pretended to reach for the clothes Arthur had set out for her.
"No Ors." Kat glared at her.
"Hear me out!" Selene protested.
"Nope!" Kat shook her head. "Study or flunk. I'm not gonna help you write any of your papers."
"I'm not asking you to." Selene snapped. "I'm not going to flunk the class. I'm not dumb."
"You are if you want to spend your Study-time sucking cock instead of studying." Kat countered.
"It's not my fault one is much more fun than the other." Selene said.
Arthur watched the sisters go back and forth as he finished pulling on his pants. He was about to interject and tell Selene to go and study when she made a valid point.
"I think we should go with him, help him fix the door if we can, but see the house. Especially if we want to take one of the rooms." Selene suggested. "We could meet our future landlords and see if it's as nice as Arthur says it is."
"That..." Kat hesitated.
"Isn't a bad idea." Arthur admitted.
Selene beamed a smile at them both, put her hands behind her back, and twisted her shoulders back and forth in a happy little wiggle. Arthur's attention was immediately arrested. Selene knew it and looked at him with a sly lust that broke when her sister tossed the small pair of black panties at her.
"You're gonna have to put on some clothes if we're meeting our Master's parents." Kat informed her.
Selene pulled the panties from her face and stuck her tongue out at Kat, but she put them on. She wiggled into them for Arthur's sake, letting the pull of them up over her red and sore ass cheeks move slowly. Then she breathed. The soap and shower had felt nice, especially under warm water and Arthur's massaging hands. The soft cotton feel was also nice, but in a different way that reminded her of the sting with the constant contact. She blushed at the feeling and breathed a little more heavily.
"Yeah." Kat agreed, rubbing her butt from outside her jeans. "I regret the tight jeans, and I only took a few." She laughed. "You're gonna hate that forty-minute drive."
Selene looked up at Arthur and shook her head. "I'm sure I'll find something to distract me."
Arthur rolled his eyes and moved the second outfit he'd picked out for her from the bed to the dresser in a folded pile. "Come on." He said. "Get dressed. I want to make the bed and get things cleaned up."
"You make your bed?" Kat asked.
"Only when the maid is on vacation." Arthur quipped.
"You did buy me that French Maid outfit, would you like me to make the bed, Master?" Selene asked.
"No." He said. "I want you to get dressed so we can go. I want to make the bed and...." He noticed a few things on the bed that hadn't been there before and shook his head. "I'll have to do laundry tonight. Or tomorrow. At some point. I should change these."
He pulled the blanket and the sheets off the bed instead of making it, and the girls stepped aside as he bundled it and shoved it into the hamper in the corner. He went into the closet and pulled out another set of sheets. Kat helped him with the fitted sheet, then he changed the pillowcases and made the bed with the new sheet and a blanket from the closet that wasn't as thick as his usual comforter but was still warm and soft.
By the time he finished, Selene was dressed and spun for him to show off the outfit.
"Very pretty." He smiled, noticing how her hair spread out behind her as she spun.
She reached behind her when she noticed him looking at it and started to braid it.
"Leave it down." Arthur stopped her with his voice. "I like it this way." He reached over and ran his fingers through it at her shoulder, pulling it after him as it flowed through his fingers like silk. Selene looked up at him and smiled. "You look beautiful."
She stood on her tiptoes and leaned forward. When Arthur didn't take his cue, she cleared her throat and said: "Kiss me, please."
Kat laughed.
Arthur satisfied her request with a kiss and offered her his hand as he left the bedroom. She took it. Kat followed after them, gathering a few things as they went.
There was still a bit of general cleanup to do. Arthur moved about the apartment in quick steps as he worked. Selene followed and helped where she could or preemptively took something and did it for him. Kat waited on the sofa until she saw they were getting close to finishing. They cleaned off the restraints, bundled and tied the ropes, and the paddle got washed off. Kat hung it by the door next to her collar, just for fun.
Arthur texted his parents, too, just to make sure they were okay if some prospective renters came out with him to see the place.
"Ready to go?" Kat asked.
"Almost." Arthur said as he came out of the bedroom, putting everything away in the trunk and taking something else out. He held out the small Bluetooth vibrator to Selene, who snatched it immediately and knelt at his feet, lifting her skirt out of the way.
Kat rolled her eyes. "Is that-"
Arthur nodded. "I control it with a phone app. I thought it might be fun for the car ride over."
Kat smirked. "It might be fun to crank it up mid-conversation with your parents and see if she can hold it together." The wicked laugh that followed the idea was positively witchy, but it made Arthur laugh too. Selene didn't laugh but didn't protest the idea at all.
"Put that in your underwear until you're ready to put it in you, Slut." Arthur addressed Selene.
"Yes, Master." She said immediately as she hiked up the skirt to her waist, giving Arthur a show as she pulled open the waistband of her panties and nestled the vibrator inside against the lips of her pussy."
"Now we can go." Arthur said with a smile, offering Selene his hand to help her stand. She took it, and her skirt fell back into place as she stood and took a careful step, smiling at Arthur as he held the door open for the two of them and locked it behind them as the trio left the apartment behind and headed to his car.
"I call shotgun." Kat smirked.
"No fair!" Selene protested.
"I called it." Kat shrugged.
"But you're not going to do anything with it!" Selene whined. "You left your collar upstairs."
"So?" Kat asked. "I can still want to sit up front."
"Yeah, but..." Selene glanced at Arthur, who wasn't intervening as they descended the stairs. "I wanted to..." She started and then glanced at a door as it opened, and Arthur's downstairs neighbor stepped out onto the landing.
He gave the three of them a look but let them go first before following them out into the parking lot before they split and went their own way.
Arthur stopped at his car's passenger-side door. "Sorry." He said to Selene with a soft smile. "Kat called it fair and square."
Kat giggled as she took the front passenger seat.
Arthur closed the door once she was set and opened the back door for Selene since she stood there with her arms crossed defiantly and a pout on her face.
"Get in." Arthur instructed.
"I want to sit up front!" Selene whined like a child and stamped her foot.
Arthur looked over to Kat with a 'are you seeing this too?' expression. She was, and she was laughing, waving at Selene with one hand's fingers curling and straightening from the other side of the passenger side window.
"Get in." Arthur repeated and looked around to ensure no one else was in earshot.
"I want to sit up front! Make her sit in the back!" Selene protested.
Arthur stepped toward Selene and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Get in the back seat right now, or you're riding in the trunk."
Selene's eyes gleamed for a moment, and Arthur sighed. As soon as he said it, he knew she would intentionally choose whichever option bore the steepest punishment. Riding in the backseat offered no penalty. Riding in the trunk provided the potential for playing she hadn't thought of before.
"Tied up and in the trunk?" She asked quietly.
Arthur glanced at his trunk. He had some rope in there, but it was a rough hemp rope and not the kind he would use on a person. There also wasn't much room for a person in there, but Selene was small. Curled up, she would probably fit just fine. Then again, he couldn't open the trunk at his parent's house and help Selene out.
"Stuffed into the trunk with the vibrator turned all the way up, without permission to cum. And then, every time you cum without permission, that's one day of forced chastity." Arthur thought of something Selene might actually consider a punishment.
He was right. Her eyes went wide. "You wouldn't." She whispered.
"I would." Arthur assured her. "Forty-minute drive... you could rack up a good four or five days of zero orgasms. No fingers, no fucking. I'd give all of your orgasms to Kat instead."
Selene looked shocked. She glanced at the car before looking at Arthur again as her look of shock turned to one of careful calculation. "Fine." She said at last. "I'll sit in the back seat." She huffed. "But you better turn that vibrator on high and give me permission to cum, or I'm reaching over the seat and jacking you off myself."
Arthur wasn't sure how that was supposed to be a threat, but he didn't mind so long as he got her into the car and they got on the road. And they did. He set the vibrator on a low setting as he pulled out of the parking lot. He occasionally turned it up every few blocks until it reached high, and Selene was curled in half, her hair splayed out everywhere as she whimpered, crunched, stretched, cried out, and spasmed in seemingly random intervals.
"Do I have permission to cum?" Selene asked from the back.
"You want to listen to some music?" Arthur asked Kat nonchalantly as he drove.
Kat shrugged and reached for the radio buttons. She turned on a country music station.
"Is this okay?" Kat asked.
Arthur shrugged. "Sure."
He adjusted the settings on the app as he drove until it synced with the music coming from the radio, making Selene writhe a little in the backseat when he turned the music up.
"You get along with your parents, right?" Kat asked.
Arthur seemed surprised by the question. "Yeah." He said. "My dad can be a little detached, and my mom can be a little...." He hesitated in trying to figure out how to explain it. "Well-intentioned, but overstepping."
Kat muttered something.
"Master?" Selene chimed in from the backseat. "Do I have permission to cum?"
"Yes, slut, you have permission," Arthur said as he glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Selene squirming with her legs parted and her head back. "What were you saying, Kat?"
"Oh, nothing." Kat shrugged. "I was just wondering. I figured you probably got along well with them if you were thinking about working for them."
"Well, yeah." Arthur agreed. "They're fair, and while they're not the warmest, they've always looked out for me in their way, I guess."
"Cool." Kat nodded. "Must be nice to have some parents you get along with."
Selene groaned. "Kat, it's like you don't want me to orgasm or something. Can you stop talking about parents? Some of us are trying to cum here!"
Arthur laughed. "Close your ears if you want to, slut."
Selene clamped her hands over her ears, and Arthur was kind enough to turn the vibrator up a notch.
"I take it you and your mom don't get along?" Arthur asked.
"We get along for a few minutes at a time." Kat shrugged. "She and Selene fight more than she and I do."
Arthur nodded. "Selene was always more of the rebellious one?"
Kat chuckled slightly. "She rebelled when she came to college and was a safe distance from our mother."
Arthur nodded.
"I rebelled more at home." Kat said. "I was always the stronger personality. The brat."
Arthur laughed. "That tracks."
"I like that we've reappropriated the word." Kat smiled. "I bristled a little when Selene called me that, but... I've grown to like it when you say it in that tone of yours."
"Tone?" Arthur asked.
"The tone you get when you're all... in Master mode. It's deeper, with a little bit of an edge to it... It's hot." Kat admitted. "I like it when you get firm and commanding like that."
Arthur nodded. "That tracks." He paused for a moment. "I'm sorry if I haven't been dominant enough with you. I'll work on it. The next time we play, you can expect that tone a lot."
Kat smiled and looked down. "Good."
The rest of the drive went quickly, with Kat and Arthur chatting over the radio, ignoring the occasional moans, chirps, and cries coming from the backseat. When they arrived at the gate to Arthur's parents' house, Kat let out a low whistle.
"There's a gate?" She asked.
"Yeah." Arthur nodded. "My mom likes to present as though it's a wealthy place. And my parents both liked the privacy the place had to offer. There's a six-foot-high stone wall around the property, which is something like seven acres. Mostly trees, a bit of a lawn closer to the house."
Kat whistled again. Arthur turned down the vibrator but didn't turn it off.
"Master?" Selene panted. "Are you... are you going to turn it off?"
"Hm..." Arthur thought about it. "Should I? It might be fun to leave it on low as you tour the house."
"With your mom and dad around?" Selene asked.
Arthur shrugged. "Makes it kind of hot..." Arthur thought about it. "Knowing that you'd have to hide it and how bad you are at being quiet when you cum." He flicked the vibrator up to high to prove his point, and Selene yelped and clenched her legs together. He dropped it back down, and she gasped for breath. "Thoughts, slut?" Arthur asked.
"I don't want to embarrass you in front of your parents, Master." Selene answered. "Or myself." She added as an afterthought. "I want to make a good impression." She shuddered as he flicked the control back and forth to alternate the intensity.
"Arthur..." Kat said in a tone of warning. "You don't want her to cum in front of your parents, do you? I know I was joking about it earlier, but...."
"I guess not." Arthur chuckled. "But keep it in. I might decide to play with you if I get bored." Arthur glanced at Selene's face in the rearview. She blushed a deep red but made no protest.
"Yes, Master." Selene nodded. "Thank you, Master."
"Good girl." Arthur smirked and then turned it off.
Selene sat up from the backseat, out of breath, and fixed her hair, trying to smooth down her shirt and fix her top so that her bra cups weren't showing.
Arthur drove slowly down the drive, giving her time until the car came to the front of the house, and Kat gave out yet another whistle. "This place is humongous."
Arthur nodded. "It's certainly bigger than the place I grew up in. That house was nice too; my parents do pretty well."
Kat nodded. "We grew up in a two-bedroom rancher." She explained. "I didn't realize you were rich."
Arthur laughed. "I'm not."
Kat rolled her eyes and looked at him.
"My parents do okay, but they're upper-middle-class at best. It's not like there's a bowling alley or anything in there. Just a nice house with a bunch of rooms decorated with things that probably cost a little too much because my mom likes to show off."
"I bet there's a home theater, though." Kat smirked.
"Well, yeah. We're not peasants." Arthur teased her for once, and she giggled a little bit. "Ready to meet the parents?" He asked Kat. Selene had already met them.
"Did you tell them about us?" Kat asked.
"I was planning to yesterday but didn't really get the chance." Arthur answered. The three of them had worked out what to tell people about their relationship and its unusual dynamic yesterday, so he had something to say when his parents asked. He parked the car and turned it off.
"I meant that we were coming today, but I should have asked about that too." Kat said with a smirk.
"Yeah. I texted them while we were cleaning up. I think they took it as a sign that I'm going to say yes, and the house is always clean, so they weren't worried. I told them we already ate breakfast, too, though I expect my mom will still offer some food. The initial invite was to review the contract over brunch. My parents always offer food to get me to come over." Arthur explained. He opened his car door and stepped out.
"They literally bait you." Selene giggled softly as she stepped out of the car.
"Ha." Arthur shook his head. "Never thought of it like that." He shrugged.
The girls closed the car doors and followed Arthur as he headed up the stone steps toward the front door and knocked. Selene gave her clothes one final adjustment, and Kat stood with one hand on her hip on the other side of Arthur when the front door opened to reveal Arthur's mother in a plain blue dress and a bright smile on her face.
"Arty!" His mother said as if she hadn't known he was coming. "You're late. Your father is in the kitchen." She gestured for the pair of them to go in.
"Mom." Arthur nodded. "This is Selene." He gestured to Selene, who dipped in something between a nod and a curtsey. "And her sister Kat." He gestured to Kat, who nodded hello like a normal person. Selene brushed at the front of her skirt again out of nervous habit. "They're interested in renting from you guys."
"It's nice to meet you both. Please, come in, and call me Debrah." She said with a smile.
"Debrah." Kat repeated as she crossed the threshold, following Arthur into the entrance foyer with its tiled floor, large staircase, and open hallway that went straight back toward the back of the house.
"Only Arthur calls me Mom, after all." Debrah laughed. "Selene...." She said, looking at Selene appraisingly. "I've met you before, no? A year or two ago, on parent's day? You're Lori's friend."
Selene glanced at Arthur at the mention of Lori's name. They hadn't talked about Arthur's ex since they'd gotten started in what they were doing, and she was partially to thank for it. She'd been the one to encourage Selene to speak up about her desires to Arthur, after all.
"Yes Ma'am." Selene answered.
"Oh no." Debrah shook her head. "Nope. I'm not getting ma'amed this early in the morning. You can call me Debrah."
"Okay." Selene nodded but still felt weird calling Arthur's mom by her first name.
"Arthur said you guys are looking to rent out the house?" Kat asked, getting straight to business.
Arthur gestured toward the hallway. "I have to get to work fixing up the back door. Are you okay with showing them around, Mom? Or do you want me to?"
"You go and fix the door." His mom shooed him toward the kitchen. "I can walk the girls around."
Arthur nodded and gave Selene a reassuring smile. The vibrator was off, so he didn't know why she seemed so... frightened? Intimidated? But it looked like she was trying to shrink behind Kat. Still, she didn't beg him to stay or reach for him, so he headed into the kitchen and got to work.
His father had been thoughtful enough to pull out the tools and supplies he thought he might need. He was mostly right, though a few resources went unused. He wasn't sure how long it'd taken precisely, but he knew the girls should have been done touring the house a while ago, and he hadn't seen or heard from them or his parents after dropping them off in the foyer for their tour.
"So, what has Arthur told you about the place?" Debrah asked, looking between the two girls.
"Six bedrooms, an in-law suite in the basement, a pool, a master suite... and it has a home theater." Kat answered while Selene nodded in agreement.
"All accurate." Debrah laughed. "Well, kind of. The home theater is just a family room with a big tv and good seating. This is the foyer, a place for shoes by the door and up the stairs. Let's start up there." Debrah said as she started climbing the stairs, leaving the two girls to follow.
Selene and Kat followed as she showed them the house. Each of the bedrooms upstairs was spacious compared to their apartment, and there were two full baths upstairs beyond the master suite bath, which was a notch above. The downstairs had a home office, living room, dining room, kitchen, foyer, hallway, half-bath, and a family room repurposed into a home theater since it had no windows and walls on three of its four sides. The living room was more of a formal sitting room, complete with an upright piano. The dining room's cherrywood table was stunning, and Selene couldn't help but run her hand along it.
"We hardly use this room, so I apologize for any dust." Debrah laughed a little nervously. "We usually eat in the kitchen."
"Us too." Selene nodded. "Well, our kitchen." She corrected herself. "Not your kitchen." She shook her head. "I mean-"
Debrah interrupted her. "Well, if you two take one of the rooms, it'll practically be your kitchen." She laughed. "Or you could eat in here! Or have some really amazing board game nights."
"Board games?" Kat asked.
"We have a whole closet full of them." She gestured to a door in the hallway, prompting Kat to open it.
It was a full walk-in closet under the stairs that barely had room for Selene's slender frame to step into. Three walls of shelves, stocked with board game after board game.
"Arty loves his board games." Debrah smirked.
"He does?" Selene asked, the surprise evident in her voice by the sheer force of it breaking through her nervousness.
"He hasn't made you play any?" Debrah sounded confused.
"He has not." Kat answered back with a slight smile on her face. "Didn't know he was into them, to be honest. I figured he was into video games and sports and stuff."
"He had a few of those." Debrah answered. "But he never played any sports in high school. He was always into the theater, for some reason." Debrah shrugged. "And the arts. My little actor."
"Selene's in theater club with him." Kat nodded. "You appreciate his scene work, right, sis?"
Selene looked nervously at Kat for a moment and then smiled at Debrah. "Yeah. He's an excellent actor."
"And not afraid to get his hands dirty backstage." Kat added. "Is that how he learned all the handyman stuff? I didn't know he could fix a door."
"Oh, probably." Debrah said with a laugh. "I know he didn't learn it from me!"
They laughed as Debrah shut the closet and ushered them out from the hallway through the front door to the property around the house. They looped as she talked about how nice it was to have the trees for privacy and a bit of paradise in the rural area just before suburbia started toward the city. Kat asked about the rent, and Debrah answered. Kat and Selene were happy to hear it was less than they were currently paying, though it depended on the number of roommates.
Finally, they came around to the backyard and the pool there. Arthur was wiping his hands off and gathering the spread-out tools from the floor when he spotted them outside, walking alongside the pool and following his mother as she walked toward the house.
"All fixed?" His mom asked as she slid open the sliding glass door and stepped through it, Selene and Kat following behind. His mom slid it back and forth several times after they'd all passed through just to check it.
The kitchen was large, with marble countertops on three of its four walls and an island counter. The entrance to the dining room was on the left wall, and the open archway to the main hallway was in the front. A rectangular kitchen table to the left of the main entrance was cleared of everything but the salt and pepper shakers. A pathway from the main entrance to the sliding back door to the patio split the kitchen.
The back wall was then occupied by the cabinets above and below the counter, sink, and dishwasher. The hardwood floors were quality and almost matched the mahogany cabinets. The fridge on the far wall was opposite a curtained window, where the oval pinewood kitchen table sat with four chairs. His mom moved to stand against the chair between the table and the island, watching him as Kat and Selene passed by him and took seats at the table.
"All fixed." Arthur nodded as he brushed his hands together and started putting away his tools. His toolbox was open on the kitchen floor, with various tools and materials scattered around it. "I splintered some of it when I shut it too hard last night. Sorry again. It's all fixed now." He assured her.
"Good." His mom nodded. "I really don't know what got into him last night." She explained. "He's usually not clumsy, but at least he's handy!"
Selene smiled politely, but Arthur ruined his mother's attempt to cover for him.
"It's okay, Mom. I told them what happened last night and why." Arthur assured her. "They're okay."
"You told them?" His mom asked, startled. Arthur nodded. Then, turning to Selene and Kat, she assured them. "He's not the temper-losing type. Honestly. I've never heard him so much as raise his voice before last night!"
"Mom..." Arthur started. "I don't want to start."
"You can't even talk to me about it?" His mom asked. "But you talked to them? You used to talk to me about everything."
"I know, Mom." Arthur sighed. "I said I was sorry. I promise I will not break anything else. Just don't ambush me with my old high school bully."
"Lynn?" His mom asked, seeming genuinely confused despite everything Arthur had told her last night. "You loved Lynn! You and she were so adorable!" She turned her attention back to Selene and Kat. "They were inseparable. Attached at the hip. Always getting into trouble, going on adventures, we used to joke that they were partners in crime, but it wasn't so funny when those ice cream sandwiches went missing!"
"We were five, Mom. Things changed. You know that." Arthur focused on putting his tools away and cleaning up.
"You never said." His mom protested.
"Yes, I did." Arthur sighed.
Kat and Selene glanced at each other, torn between wanting to leave to avoid making things awkward and wanting to stay and support Arthur however he needed.
"You probably didn't realize I was talking about the same person." Arthur continued. "She changed."
"So did you." His mom assured him as she came over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"No." Arthur shook his head. "I mean, she changed. Somewhere between childhood and high school."
"High school is childhood." His mom laughed.
Arthur sighed but nodded. As a wise senior in college, he could now look back on high school and realize that those weren't the be-all-end-all days he thought they were. He'd probably feel the same about college five years from now, but college life was pretty good. Five years from now might find itself hard-pressed to beat it.
"Junior high then." Arthur corrected himself. "She was a friend. Then puberty hit. She was... pretty cruel, mom. I don't like talking about it."
Kat and Selene both knew that he'd already talked about it once today. He'd shared the whole story with them earlier, and they were in his corner.
"I know you were a bit of a late bloomer." His mom said with a bit of a laugh. "But you've always been handsome."
"Thanks, Mom." Arthur said with a dry laugh. "But we both know that's not true."
"Isn't he handsome?" Debrah asked, looking to Selene and Kat for support.
They glanced at each other and then at Arthur but nodded. "He's very handsome. Hot, some might say." Kat said first. "Selene thinks so too, don't you?"
Selene nodded. Kat elbowed her. Selene mumbled something.
"See? I'm not just saying it because I'm your mother." Debrah defended herself. "Objectively, he's handsome, right?" She asked Selene and Kat for support.
"Ow-" Selene winced as Kat's elbow bounced off her rib. "He's handsome." Selene agreed.
Kat shrugged but winked when Arthur looked at her. "I think we'd need to see what he looked like before this glow-up I keep hearing about."
"No, you don't." Arthur countered immediately and glared at his mother.
Kat giggled, and his mom smiled knowingly. "Don't worry." Debrah raised her hands in surrender. "I won't push." She smiled.
"Is there a bathroom nearby?" Selene interrupted.
"Oh sure." Debrah answered and pointed toward the exit. "In the hallway there. There's a half bath. Take a right, and then pass through the family room to the door on the left wall there."
"Thanks." Selene said. She stood up and pushed her chair back in.
"I'll come with you." Kat offered and immediately went with Selene, practically sweeping out of the kitchen.
"So... I know I ask you this every time, but... is there anyone at school?" His mom asked after the two left the room. "Have you been dating since Lori? Any nice girls catching your eye?" She nodded toward where Kat and Selene had gone. "The one in pink is pretty cute. The quiet one's not bad either."
Arthur thought about it. What had he, Kat, and Selene workshopped to say in this situation? He tried to remember it but knew he got it slightly wrong.
"I'm dating around." Arthur nodded. "I'm not exclusive with anyone, but I have a few girls I'm seeing, who are aware of each other, and they're all cool with our situation."
His Mom paused for a moment as she put her hand on her hip. "You're sleeping around?"
"Not behind anyone's back." Arthur defended. "But..." He paused. "How much do you wanna know?"
His mom laughed. "I feel like I already know too much." She shook her head. "Whatever makes you happy. Just be safe, and don't get anyone pregnant. But keep an eye on the future. Eventually, you'll have to settle down and pick somebody to share the rest of your life with."
Arthur thought about it. Selene was absolutely devoted to him. She literally worshiped him and would do anything for him. Kat was still something of an enigma. She definitely enjoyed the sex more than she was willing to verbally admit. She probably wasn't interested in a romantic relationship, though.
Kelly was probably his most traditional relationship, even if she was a little kinky, and they'd agreed to keep dating while seeing other people. Win-win. Mindy was something of an unknown. Probably more traditional, but after being given the details of her talk with Kat and Selene, it sounded like she was open-minded. He'd have to see how the date went later today.
"Any forerunners? Anyone you're bringing for Thanksgiving?" His mom asked.
Arthur laughed. "Maybe I'll bring all of them. If there's enough room at the table."
"Ooh, I love me some Holiday drama." His mom joked. "But maybe don't try and take all your dates to the same place."
"I told you they know about each other." Arthur assured her. "They're cool with it."
"A regular Hugh Hephner you are." His mom chuckled.
"Who?" Arthur tried to play innocent.
"Nice try." His mom shook her head. "Just be careful. Okay?" His mom stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to see my boy get his heart broken because he couldn't decide between two..." She looked at him for confirmation. "Three...?" She counted, still looking for a signal. "Four...?" She started to sound incredulous. "Five...?" Arthur smirked, unable to hold back the smile from teasing her, and she smacked his shoulder.
"Don't worry." He told her as he gave her a hug. "I will be careful, and if I get my heart broken, I will let you know."
She hugged him back. "Seriously, though. Do I ever get to meet any of these girls? Can I give you my opinion?"
Arthur laughed. "You've met two of them already. You think one of them is pretty cute, and the other one's not bad."
"Those two?" His mother asked. "You're dating sisters? And they know about it?"
Arthur nodded.
"I will never understand young people." His mom muttered.
"Didn't they have Free-love and all that stuff in the sixties?" Arthur asked as a joke.
"I'm not that old!" His mom smacked him gently and rolled her eyes. "And you want to live in the same house with two sisters you're dating? You don't think that's a recipe for a nuclear blowup?"
"I dunno." Arthur shrugged. "You're being something like an old prude at the moment."
She smacked his shoulder again. "Alright, alright." She shook her head and started to make her exit. "Just make sure you clean everything up, or I'll have to listen to your father complain."
"Yes, Ma'am." Arthur nodded. "Where is dad, anyway?"
"In his office. He's finalizing that paperwork for the lease agreements, your job, all of that." His mom explained.
Arthur nodded. His dad had talked to him about this briefly last night. His mom and dad wanted to move back to the city. This house was in the middle of nowhere, more or less, and while the grounds around the middle-class six-bedroom McMansion gave it some excellent privacy, it was also twenty minutes from town and even farther from the city. Twenty minutes from campus wasn't too bad, so his father's idea was that he live there and make a small salary as the landlord/handyman. This sounded okay for the most part. The only part of the initial conversation he was hesitant about was leaving his current job.
He worked in the University's marketing department, mostly doing data entry and overseeing the other student workers. It was tedious work, sure, but it was a decent payday, and he liked his coworkers. Even if things might be a little awkward with Beth, his boss, on Monday since she'd licked some tequila off his abs last night and seemed pretty upset about it at the time.
"For what it's worth." His mother chimed in as he closed up his toolbox. "I think it's a great idea. I'd really like to keep the house in the family. I love it here. And you wouldn't have to do much. Unless you break something-" She gestured to the door. "There's not much to fix maintenance-wise. And you're handy enough to cover the usual upkeep. The cleaning service will handle all the deep cleaning stuff. The landscapers will handle the gardens and lawn. All your old and new friends can live under one roof!"
"Old-" Arthur started to ask but was interrupted by his father's arrival. He came in and set a stack of papers on the table.
"There you are." His dad said, as though he'd been looking all over for Arthur.
"Here I are." Arthur agreed, using intentionally lousy grammar, which his father failed to notice or comment on. Arthur picked up his toolbox but set it down when his dad offered him the stack of papers from the table.
"Look these over. It's the contract and proposed lease agreements. It lays out the rules for the common areas, utility splitting, and everything else. Since we expect to rent the bedrooms to students, we figure we'll do the leases by semester. This means the house will be empty for a few months this year, over the holidays."
"You're moving that soon?" Arthur asked, looking to his mom for answers.
"Already started packing." His dad answered. "The real estate market moves fast. We closed on a nice apartment in the city already."
"Oh." Arthur said, realizing he already should have known that. "Well, I know my lease is month to month. I think a few others might too. If they can move in, maybe we can offer people a prorated lease in the next couple of weeks?" He asked. "Give them the rest of October for free, so they don't have to pay double and can move in without an issue?"
"Free?" His dad barked.
"It's an incentive." His mother suggested, putting her hand on his dad's shoulder, who thought about it for a second and then nodded.
"Fair enough." His dad nodded. "When can you move in? I want you in here before we let any other tenants in."
"Well..." Arthur scratched his neck a little. "My lease is up at the end of the month since I'm on a month-to-month. I'd have to give them notice by the end of the week, but I could probably move in as soon as you move out. Maybe before, depending on what room I'm taking."
"You have your pick." His mom shrugged. "The Master Suite is nice. The finished basement is a full in-law suite. It has a small kitchen, dining area, bedroom, and living room."
Selene and Kat returned to the kitchen, standing by the end of the table.
"Ah, there you are." Debrah greeted them. "George, these two are girlfriends of Arthur's, potential renters. Selene and Kat."
"Oh?" His dad looked over to see them and nodded hello from where he stood. If he caught the term 'girlfriends' being applied to them both, he assumed it was just an odd way of specifying they were female friends without stating their pronouns. "Nice to meet you. Now, if you can convince my son to sign these papers, you can move in by the end of the month. Is your lease on a month-to-month basis too?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." Kat nodded. If George cared about not being considered old as much as Debrah did, he didn't show it by correcting anyone. He was used to being called sir at work, so it didn't bother him when someone called him by the honorific.
"Good!" He barked. "We'll be locking the rents for the school year." He explained. "So you won't get price-gouged by market fluctuations." He looked satisfied with himself, as though they'd already praised him for having such a good idea. "At least not until summer." He laughed at his own joke. "Can you move in next month?"
"We can probably swing that, depending on when Arthur moves in." Selene looked at him for an answer, but he didn't have one yet. "We'll follow his lead."
Arthur coughed. "I could start moving things over as soon as you guys are out of the house." He said to his parents. "And be moved in by the end of the month." Arthur shrugged.
"When can Lynn move in?" His dad asked, looking at Arthur's mother, who was looking guiltily back at Arthur.
"What?" Arthur asked. His mouth instantly clamped shut.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to him about that yet, Sweetheart." Arthur's mom answered and shook her head. "Arty, look-"
"Nope." Arthur shook his head.
"We promised her parents." Arthur's mom tried to explain. "We were hoping you two would hit off last night, now obviously-"
"Nope." Arthur repeated.
"Arty." His mom sounded frustrated. "You're both adults now. I don't know all the details about what happened between you, and I don't need to. It was years ago! It was high school! She's grown up, you've grown up, and you can get along like adults and be housemates."
"Let Lynn be the landlord then." Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "I'm not living here if she does."
"You're acting like a child in front of your friends." Debrah said sharply.
"Give her the in-law suite downstairs." His dad piped up, causing them both to look at him. "Then you'll never even have to see the poor girl."
"I know you know what no means. As I recall, you used the word a lot when I was growing up." Arthur mused.
"We never said no to you." Arthur's mom countered.
Arthur scoffed and looked at his dad, who had to admit he'd said no to most things Arthur requested growing up since he believed firm limits could produce a better, hard-working young man. The last thing he wanted was for Arthur to turn out like a spoiled child or a man who acted like everything came to him without working.
"Well, if Lynn can't live here, then maybe it shouldn't be a coed house." His father tried to strike where it might hurt, but Arthur was unphased.
"I was hoping to convince Arthur to make it an all-girls house." Selene piped up, and everyone looked at her in surprise to see her face was one of surprise. "It would be safer." She said. "Arthur's safe, and it'd be good to have one guy here for... safeness. And fixing things." She finished a little awkwardly. "But otherwise, it should probably be all girls."
Arthur turned the attention away from Selene by addressing his father. "If you don't want the house to be coed, that's fine, but that's another reason for me not to take the job. I thought you said you wanted me to live here with my friends? Well, most of my friends are girls." College had just worked out that way. First because he was taken with Lori, and therefore the "safe" guy friend. And second because he was still the "safe" guy friend even after Lori left.
"Well, who knows what a coed house might try to get up to!" His father retorted, seeming to get worked up until Arthur's mother put her hand on his chest and stood next to him.
"You're all adults. We trust you." His mom assured them. "And if Arthur's the only guy, maybe he should take the in-law suite and leave the girls in the house?" She suggested.
Arthur looked doubtful. Selene put her hand on his arm subconsciously to reassure him, seeing how upset he looked at the prospect of Lynn living here. Of having to see her. Kat hesitated but eventually did the same.
"Why don't you meet with Lynn beforehand. Talk to her. She wants to apologize." Arthur's mom suggested.
"No." Arthur shook his head. "Look. I appreciate the offer, and living rent-free would be great, but I would pay double my current rent if it meant I never had to see Lynn again."
"Don't forget you'd be getting paid. You'd be getting a cut of the rents and not have to pay the rent yourself in exchange for your work around the property." His dad reminded him. "That's a hell of a deal."
"Does that deal let me pick the tenants like you said? Or does that deal come with Lynn attached?" Arthur asked.
"You can help pick the other tenants." His mom assured him.
"So it comes with Lynn attached?" Arthur asked.
"We promised her parents." His dad said resignedly. "We work with them. We can't go back on it now. She's transferring to that school of yours next semester, and her parents want her out of the house. She needs to gain some independence."
Arthur scoffed, but his lips grew into a thin hard line when he thought about Lynn on his campus after the holidays. It meant that no matter what he chose, he would eventually cross paths with Lynn again. He'd thought he was free of her. Yet, here she was, darkening his mood again. He shouldn't have been able to care about anything after all the sex he'd been having.
"Please?" His mom asked. "For me?"
Arthur looked at her. Then sighed and looked at the contract. On the one hand, he hated Lynn and did not want to have to see her ever again. On the other hand, the basement had its own entrance on the side of the house. If she lived in the in-law suite, there really was a good chance he'd never have to see her. He'd never have to see her if he lived in the in-law suite. Until he saw her on campus anyway.
Could he transfer schools? Could he make her transfer schools? Hell, if she lived in his parent's house, he could even give her some grief. Maybe he'd take up tap dancing and practice whenever she was trying to sleep. Keeping Selene from killing her in her sleep might be a genuine concern, though.
Arthur looked at Selene, who looked back at him and didn't know what to say or do. She wanted to tell him it would be okay. She and Kat would fix that bitch and make her move out pronto. She wanted to tell him she supported him no matter his choice, even if she'd fallen in love with the house after a tour.
"Well?" His dad asked.
"I'll need more money than that." Arthur said after a moment. "Twenty percent more."
"Ten." His dad countered.
"Twenty." Arthur held firm and looked up at his parents. "Otherwise, I'm losing money, and I'll have to dip into my savings to live. I still have to buy groceries and pay my cut of utilities, and this cuts down my monthly budget, not including rent. And it doesn't come with health insurance or PTO, etcetera. I can show you the numbers if you want."
"Let's see them." His dad crossed his arms as if calling a bluff.
It wasn't a bluff or a business tactic to Arthur's credit. He pulled out his phone, opened his google drive, and pulled up the spreadsheet that was his monthly budget. All the numbers were there and subtotaled at the bottom. He was absolutely right. Between streaming services, utilities, groceries, other labeled expenditures, school fees, gasoline, and upkeep on his car, the money wasn't there in what they were proposing.
"Hm." Arthur's dad grunted. "Fifteen percent more would make it even."
"Let's call the other five percent a Lynn tax." Arthur scoffed. "Even then." He clenched his fist unconsciously, which flexed the muscles in his arm. "I'm not sure I'll be able to put up with her."
His mom sighed. "Will you at least let the girl apologize? Meet with her?"
Arthur sighed and glanced at Selene, who squeezed his arm, which she was still holding. When he passed his dad his phone, Kat had let go of his other arm.
"Twenty percent more then." His dad finally gave in. "We're agreed?"
"I want it in Lynn's lease that she has access to the in-law suite downstairs, not the rest of the house." Arthur added grimly.
"I thought-" His mother started.
"Done." His father said quickly, cutting his mother off in her appeal before she started.
Arthur hesitated as if trying to think of another reason to say no, or another stipulation to lay on Lynn. His mom coughed quietly.
"Then we're agreed." Arthur nodded and offered his dad his hand for a shake. His father shook it and nodded.
"Good man." His dad said with a nod as he clapped Arthur on the free arm.
"Thank you." His mom said with a sigh of relief. "I'll let Lynn's parents know."
"She probably won't want to be up here much anyway. Especially if they're all your friends." Arthur's dad laughed, imagining Lynn probably wouldn't be comfortable sharing the common areas of a rented house with people she didn't know. "You gonna get your theater friends to rent the rest of the rooms?"
Arthur seemed to think about it for a moment. "Maybe." He smiled slightly. "I can think of a few people who'd want to share a house with me. I don't know if it's enough to fill the three remaining bedrooms, though."
"Three?" His father asked.
Arthur gestured to Selene and Kat. "Do you two want one of the rooms?" He asked, looking at Kat and Selene in turn.
"Does it come furnished?" Kat asked.
"Of course!" Arthur's father bellowed. "I'm not moving all this shit."
Selene laughed.
"So you want the room?" His father asked.
"Yes, Sir." Kat said with a surprisingly straight face and tone.
"Can't wait." Selene chimed in.
"Well, they're big enough for two each, but they don't need to run at capacity. However, the more people, the more the utilities get split, and the bigger your payday since you get a percentage of the rent. So, you should get at least five people besides yourself. If you want the numbers to match your budget. More if you want more money." His dad instructed.
"I'll ask around." Arthur said with a smile.
"Good." Arthur's father passed him a pen. "Now sign it, and let's be done."
Arthur sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to read over this in detail first. I'll email it back to you when I'm done."
His father sighed but agreed. "Fine." He shook his head. "Come on, Debrah, or we're gonna be late to the club."
Debrah smiled. "Lock up on your way out?" She asked Arthur.
"We were on our way out ourselves, actually. I have to get back, and these two have a study session to get to." Arthur said with a smile.
"Ooo, a study session." His mom teased. "Have fun, you crazy kids."
"There's actual studying." Selene assured her. "It's not like we're inviting Arthur over to study or anything." She said so quickly she barely understood herself.
Debrah laughed and patted Selene on the shoulder. "Oh, you're adorable. I never thought you meant anything else. Honest." She winked at Arthur, and then she and George headed out. "But the three of us should talk soon, brunch?"
"Oh, uh...." Selene looked like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"We'd love to." Kat assured his mom. "We want to learn as much as we can about Arty here." She nodded toward Arthur, who frowned for some reason she hoped he would explain later.
Debrah nodded and followed her husband out of the kitchen and into the garage. Arthur, Kat, and a blushing Selene followed them out and headed to their car parked in the drive.
This time, Kat let Selene take the front seat, and she took the back bench for herself. The drive back was quiet until Selene started the conversation.
"I'm sorry, Master." Selene said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't embarrass me."
"I feel like I did. I was just... nervous. For some reason." Selene admitted.
"Because you were meeting your boyfriend's parents." Kat suggested. "It's normal."
"Except Arthur's not my boyfriend." Selene corrected her.
Kat sighed. "Fine. Because you were meeting your Master's parents. I'm sure it's perfectly normal to be even more nervous in that case."
Arthur chuckled softly. "They liked you." He assured her. "And I like you." He reminded Selene. "You were a very good girl."
"But-" Selene started.
"Ah-" Kat interrupted. "Say thank you, Master, and accept his praise like a good slave."
Selene was quiet for a moment. "Thank you, Master."
Arthur looked at Kat with a look of gratitude. She nodded to him silently, and silence reigned once more.
"Why did you frown at me when I accepted brunch with your mom?" Kat asked Arthur from the backseat.
"Oh-" Arthur started. "Sorry. It wasn't about the brunch thing. I just really don't like being called Arty. I let my mom get away with it because she refuses to call me anything else, but I would really appreciate it if you never called me that again."
"Oh. Okay." Kat shrugged. "I'm sorry, I mean: yes, Sir."
Arthur laughed. "You know, you don't have to call me Sir when we're not playing."
Kat laughed and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just so used to automatically correcting myself already, and I've only worn the collar like twice."
Arthur laughed with her, and the ride went silent again for a while.
"But we're gonna fuck up that Lynn bitch, right?" Selene punctured the silence so suddenly that it nearly startled Arthur, who'd been paying attention to the road.
"What?" Arthur asked.
"Oh yeah." Kat nodded. "We're gonna fuck with her until she moves out. Easy peasy."
Arthur felt that the responsible adult thing to do was to tell them not to do that. This was, naturally, the case. Yet, he found that unilateral unwavering support was the only thought he could have toward that idea.
"And if she says one mean thing to or about you, I will slap her in fucking face." Selene huffed. "I am tiny but fierce!"
"And you can kick like a horse." Kat said with all the wisdom of experience from someone kicked more than once in childish violence.
"Yeah." Selene agreed. "And if we get Kelly to rent with us, she'd fuckin' destroy any bitch."
"Kelly?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. She's built like an MMA fighter. Hourglass figure, sure, and great body, but she's got muscles. Like a lot of them." Selene explained.
"I know." Arthur laughed. "I'm the one who's seen her naked."
"I have too!" Selene laughed. "If you count locker room showers."
Arthur nodded his assent to the validity of her argument.
"So there's me, Kat, Kelly, Mindy, and a few other potential prospects." Selene explained.
"I don't know if we can count Kelly in or not." Arthur shrugged.
"You wouldn't want to rent one of those rooms to Kelly?" Kat asked.
"I mean, I would, but I don't know if she'd want to or if she can break her lease or any of those details." Arthur admitted. "I haven't thought about who else to suggest for housemates."
Kat laughed. "Just leave it to Selene. She's got a list. She wants to turn that house into a stable full of women for you to fuck."
Arthur looked at Kat by way of the rearview mirror, and she was smiling back at him. "Well, there's an idea."
Original author's patr&on: https://www.patreon.com /u92400299