Mirror Mage 2: Chapters 46-54 (Patreon)

Note: Longer than normal post today since I want to make sure everyone gets to read the full ARC and then we have a week for people to finish before the Amazon release. I appreciate the continued typo corrections, but don't worry too much about those... Raya has the manuscript and is almost finished with her edit, so she'll likely catch those on her pass.

Enjoy!

Chapter 46

Now that we knew the reasons Dad and Miss Wilcox hadn’t told us about Molly’s father and had accepted them, there wasn’t much else to do but eat. I ordered the buttered lobster, and Molly ordered a salad. Supposedly, that balanced out the mozzarella sticks.

Dad ordered a steak, which told me Miss Wilcox was definitely paying for dinner tonight. She ordered a bottle of red wine and the shrimp scampi. When she asked for three glasses, I realized some of the wine was for me. I was in the mood for it.

As we all sat quietly while lost in our thoughts, I grappled with what I’d just learned. It changed my understanding of all the decisions my parents, Molly’s parents, and Miss Wilcox had made over the past few decades. That was when I realized something else.

I focused on Miss Wilcox. “If you finish your time at Hallowstone and decide you don’t want to go on expeditions, do you have to swear a geas that you won’t tell anyone about it?”

Since she as currently delicately chewing a bite of shrimp scampi, Miss Wilcox nodded.

Molly bumped my shoulder. “I wondered about that one.”

“Yeah. Me too. I should have know that magical NDAs would be a thing.”

Dad looked up from slicing his next bite of steak. “It’s not something the instructors tell the underclassmen, or even the journeymagi. They only offer that option after a potential says they don’t want to join the Hallowstone Magi Corps after graduation. By then, most students have already been brainwashed by the propaganda and their patriotic spirits.”

I frowned. “You really don’t like anything Hallowstone does, do you?”

Dad looked down at his steak. “I gave that place almost three decades of my life, and they gave me a life without your mother. I won’t say I regret my time in the service. I did good work, and I saved lives. But far too many young lives end up snuffed out because the college makes them think they’re ready for what’s through that gate. They aren’t. They never are.”

Miss Wilcox sipped her wine, then set the glass down and glanced at my father. “I wasn’t aware your opinion of our mission had changed so drastically.”

“You’re telling me yours hasn’t? You’ve seen what’s out there, Ana, and you know what that place has taken from us. You’re not that naïve.”

“I prefer to think of myself as practical. Without strong magi to defend the gate, our world could be invaded and overwhelmed. And unless we explore what waits beyond it, we may miss out on wonders that could change the world.”

“Wonders people like Sutton and his allies at the fort keep for themselves.”

“I can’t speak to that. You’re quite correct that such a job is not for everyone, and that it is dangerous. But those with adventure in their hearts will always find ways to push their limits. We can’t protect them forever. All we can do is prepare them as best we can.”

Molly and I exchanged a brief glance. I was pretty sure we were both wondering how much my dad was saying was sour grapes, and how much he was actually right about.

I remembered my conversation with Annie this morning. She had made it clear she didn’t expect to make it to retirement. She fully expected to die on an expedition one day, and she seemed to be okay with that because it was better than doing something else.

Were the odds of making it out alive after years of exploring parallel realms really that bad? That was something I would research over the next few years. I was going to go wherever Molly went, but no one was going to force us to join the Magi Corps. We had an out now.

Assuming the serpents didn’t find Molly and steal her before then.

I turned my attention back to Dad and Miss Wilcox. “Since we’re all together and that conversation took way less time than I expected, I want to discuss our other problem.”

Miss Wilcox sipped her wine. “Does that mean you’ve accepted our explanation as to why we didn’t share Henry’s past with you?”

That wasn’t my question to answer. I glanced at Molly. She pressed her lips together.

“It’s enough. I’ll never be happy about it, but I can’t be angry with you for what the fort made you all do. So now that you know we know, do you get in trouble?”

Dad shook his head. “All the geas forbids is for us to tell anyone about Henry’s history. It doesn’t forbid us from talking about it with those who already know, and we can’t be held responsible if other people find out some other way. So how did you find out?”

I considered telling Dad that I’d met the daughter of Beauregard James Hamilton himself, but given I now knew that Henry’s history was classified top secret, or at least had been, I didn’t want to accidentally throw Annie under the bus. Or the Humvee.

“It’s probably best I keep that to myself.”

“But you didn’t steal it? You didn’t do anything that could get you in trouble?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, Dad. I didn’t break into the administration offices and retrieve classified documents or anything like that. I came by this info honestly.”

He nodded. “I know you feel like you know everything you need to know about that place, but you don’t know the half of it. So if you ever find yourself wondering about something, like how they handle people who decide they don’t want to join the fort after graduation, ask me. At least if I can’t tell you for some reason, I can tell you that.”

“Sure.” I held his gaze for a moment. “And thanks.”

He looked down at his steak. I knew the idea of losing me on expedition terrified him. I hoped eventually he would come to accept what Miss Wilcox had just said so well.

Dad couldn’t keep me safe forever. All he could do was prepare me for whatever came next. Like dealing with the serpents. I focused on our current problems.

“So, back to my other issue. How we stop the serpents from coming after us?”

As Dad chewed on that, both literally and figuratively, Miss Wilcox sipped her wine and didn’t answer. At least they were both thinking about it. The fact that we couldn’t leave campus without one or both of them chaperoning us, plus the sentinels, remained a problem.

Finally, Miss Wilcox set down her empty wine class. “Until we discover why they want you two, I’m afraid I have no good answer. We have no official contact with the disciples of Quetzalcoatl. He is on the forbidden list, just like Tezcatlipoca. At least here in the compact.”

“So does that mean my idol isn’t illegal everywhere?”

Dad nodded. “The compact has its own list of forbidden idols. So do other jurisdictions. There are some commonalities, but even in the states it varies, let alone across the world. What Ana’s saying is we don’t have any trusted Quetzalcoatl disciples we can ask about this.”

“So what can we do? How long will it be before we can go out in public again?”

Dad and Miss Wilcox glanced at each other. From the look the exchanged, I knew I wasn’t going to like their answer. Dad looked at me and offered a sympathetic expression.

“We’re both looking into what they’re up to, and we’re not alone. But until we know more, the best you can do is stay inside Hallowstone’s wards and focus on your training. Work on growing your rapport with your idols. The stronger you get, the less danger you’ll face.”

That was almost exactly what Valerie had told me, though Dad didn’t explicitly suggest I should start my own harem. It was easy to read between the lines, though. Molly’s hand tightened briefly on my thigh before she patted it and released it.

After that, there wasn’t much left to discuss. At least nothing I wanted to discuss without talking it over with Molly first. Once we finished our meal, or were close, Molly looked up and said what I’d wondered if she was going to say ever since we sat down.

“Was Ian in the HSF?”

The way Dad’s eyes widened told me that if Ian had been, he hadn’t known about it. Miss Wilcox’s faint and obviously thoughtful frown suggested the same. Dad frowned at Molly with obvious concern.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Answer the question.”

“I can’t. If he was, I’m not aware of it. Ana?”

Miss Wilcox shook her head. “Nor I, love.”

Molly frowned. “How could you not be aware? You’re an instructor.”

“An instructor on Hallowstone campus. I don’t work at the fort, and most of those people prefer to have very little to do with me or the rest of our faculty. Their leadership and ours remain quite protective of our own little fiefdoms. Only the headmaster interacts with the fort’s leaders with any regularity.”

Molly looked down as she considered all that. That was my cue to jump in. I had been curious about that myself, but I wasn’t going to bring it up unless Molly did.

“We’re asking because we’re still seeing Ian’s ghost. It never left.”

Dad frowned. “I thought you said the school exorcist took care of that.”

“No, I asked her, but she didn’t see him around, and then she was busy. And then I sort of stopping worrying about it because...” I shrugged. “I guess it just didn’t seem like a big deal?”

Dad leaned forward. “How do you know this ghost is still around? Have you seen it?”

“Another student saw Ian’s ghost on campus and told us about it.”

Miss Wilcox leaned close. “Which student?”

“Lilah Bancroft.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Lector’s little girl always was precocious.”

“Who?”

She waved the question away. “So, Lilah told you she saw Ian’s spirit?”

“His ghost, yeah. But you both know all about ghosts, right? They’re like an echo of a person after they die. That person’s spirit goes beyond, but all the negative emotions they felt or were carrying when they died get left behind. As a ghost. Which wanders about.”

Dad frowned. “Why didn’t you tell us Ian’s ghost was still following you?”

“Really? You are asking me that now?”

“I’m serious, Kyle. The reason we told you to get it exorcised is because hauntings can grow more severe and dangerous over time. The longer a spirit follows you, the more it manifests. It could end up obsessed with you and even causing you harm. You or Molly.”

A chill rushed down my spine. “Whoa, hold on! Lilah assured us that ghosts couldn’t hurt us. They just float about being creepy.”

Miss Wilcox narrowed her eyes. “Lilah told you that ghosts cannot harm you?”

Oh, shit. As I remembered Lilah’s unique way of thinking, I racked my brain for every conversation I’d had with her. If I’d asked. If she’d answered.

Any normal person would just come out and tell you if the ghost following you around could hurt you, but not Lilah. Not unless you specifically asked her, and maybe clarified you meant the specific ghost that was haunting you right now. I glanced at Molly at as bravely tried not to panic.

“Did she ever actually confirm that Ian’s ghost wasn’t dangerous?”

Molly now looked a bit pale as well. “I don’t think we ever asked her.”

Dad frowned at us. “Well, let me answer. Most of the time ghosts can’t harm you. That is true. Most of the time they don’t even notice you, or if they do, they don’t see you as important. But once a ghost fixates on you, it can start to leech off your magical power to become stronger and more dangerous. It can even physically manifest and cause harm to you or others if it drains enough. Magi and sorcerers are particularly susceptible.”

I took Molly’s hand under the table. “Wow. Okay. Important safety tip.”

Miss Wilcox eyed me worriedly. “You must speak to Madam Catherine again.”

That was the school’s exorcist. I felt like I’d been slacking off.

“I know. I will. She’s just been really busy lately, and so have I, so I hadn’t had the time.”

Miss Wilcox looked at Molly expectantly. “Have you seen any indications of Ian’s spirit?”

“How should I know? It’s not like I can see the bloody thing flitting about.”

I looked at her in concern. “But Lilah said he was with you on Sunday. The day you took off after you saw my acceptance letter. I only found you in your room because Lilah did some sort of spiritual séance thing. Ian’s ghost was watching you in your room.”

Molly visibly shivered. “Och, did you have to remind me?”

Dad leaned forward. “You two need to handle this. Madam Catherine needs to come and cleanse your room, Molly. Yours too, Kyle. We can’t have this ghost obsessing over you.”

I sighed as I realized I had yet another task to put on my calendar. Form a study group. Finish listening to my reading material for magical history. Prepare for a live action mission where the shitter and his boy band hunted me down.

Make an appointment for the college exorcist to come by and “clean” my room.

I’d never expected Hallowstone to be easy, but I wished it would stop piling on problems. At this rate, I was going to be exhausted by the time we started summer break.

But at least I could look forward to more blowjobs from Molly in the meantime.

Chapter 47

After dinner, I asked Miss Wilcox if she could get in touch with Jaxon’s parents and tell him to knock it the fuck off. She said she would talk to them. I didn’t get the feeling there was much she could do, but at least I’d brought up the issue. She was in the loop now.

We hopped back in the Miss Wilcox’s sedan so Mister Thomas could drive us home. Since she had a class to teach on campus tomorrow, Miss Wilcox came with us. Dad got in his truck and drove off, but not before giving me a strong, firm hug.

And another quiet admonition to not trust a word Headmaster Marshall said.

I hoped Miss Wilcox would give us some privacy on the drive home, like she had the day she took us to her house after I showed up at Hallowstone. Now that we’d confirmed that Ian’s ghost might actually be draining Molly, spiritually and mentally, I wanted to see how she was doing. I wanted to talk privately with her about what we’d do about the ghost.

Instead, Molly and Miss Wilcox ended up chatting about her shields the whole ride back to campus. Molly was still having trouble keeping up with the rest of her class, and I learned she was only where she was now because she’d had personal tutoring from Hallowstone’s senior Shields instructor. I still had no idea how to form them at all.

By the time we pulled up to the gatehouse that was the physical barrier before the magical one, I knew enough about strengthening my shields that I felt liked I’d actually attended the first day of class. I doubted I could do it, but at least I understood the idea.

The problem was, how could I test my knowledge? Any words of power any student or instructor tossed at me would just bounce back at them. I understood Dad’s suspicion that Headmaster Marshall wanted to fast track me toward expeditions, but for me, it made sense to bump me up to Conclave Battle Tactics since shields were something I didn’t need.

At least, I hoped I didn’t need them. If I actually got to experiment with Valerie on Friday, I might learn that shields were important when you were dealing with a true sorceress. When Mister Thomas slowed in front of the administration building, I frowned at Miss Wilcox.

“Hey, don’t tell me you plan to sleep in your office.”

Miss Wilcox smiled calmly. “I have a small cot in the back, and it’s far from the first time. I’ll be quite comfortable, love. You needn’t worry about me.”

“They really don’t have any housing for instructors on campus? It seems like they could at least offer up one of the dorms.”

“I imagine they could, but we wouldn’t want any whiffs of impropriety drifting about. I’m a tenured professor here at this university, and there is very little I could do that could cause to lose that privilege. But there is one rule that could end my tenure.”

Molly grinned. “Hanky panky with a student?”

“I’d never engage in such a thing, of course. But you can see how having any instructor, male or female, sleeping in the same building with students could look.”

I frowned. “Couldn’t you just sleep in one of the girl’s dorms?”

Miss Wilcox raised an eyebrow. Molly looked at me in surprise. And then, together, they both started laughing. I frowned impatiently as I looked between them.

“What?”

Miss Wilcox nodded to Mister Thomas, then opened the door.

“Good night, loves. Remember that I’m always here if either of you need me.”

Molly waved eagerly. “Thanks, Miss Ana.”

As she slipped out, I recovered enough to remember my manners. “Right, thanks!”

After she closed the door, Mister Thomas drove off again. And then, belatedly, I realized why the two of them had been laughing. And I will admit, as much as I didn’t plan it, that the idea of Miss Wilcox and some hot female co-ed engaging in hanky panky did occur to me.

Right. Of course. This one was on me, though so far as I knew, Miss Wilcox was totally straight. Or. Wait. Was she? Because if not...

I loudly and mentally told Tez to knock it off, though honestly, I was probably just blaming him for my own horny thoughts. Ever since that night I’d cuddled Molly and Harper at the same time while we all enjoyed milkshakes, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about how amazing it would be to fool around with two girls at the same time. More than two would be impractical, and they might even get bored unless they were also doing...

Right. Anyway. Moving on!

Molly smiled at me as we pulled up the dorms. “K? You’re blushing.”

I focused on her. “That’s because I’m thinking about what I’m going to do you to next time we can sneak away to the grove.”

She shivered expectantly. “And what are you going to do to me? Ogling man?”

I leaned close and whispered in her ear. As I did so, her hand tightened on my arm. As I eased away, she gave me an expression somewhere between longing and annoyance.

“Why would you tell me that right before I have to leave?”

“So you’ll be thinking about me while I’m gone.”

“I always think about you. But, fine.” She pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “When I finger myself tonight, I’m going to imagine you going down on me.”

Now I shivered. Molly winked impishly, then slid toward the door before either of us could think better of it. She opened it and stepped out, then leaned down once more to give me her brightest, warmest smile. God, I loved this woman.

“Night, K.”

I smiled back. “Night.”

***

My Wednesday unfolded relatively uneventfully, which was a blessing after the bombshells that dropped on the first two days of the week. I went to Magical History and learned a bit more about magical history throughout Asia, then went to History of Expeditions. There, I learned more about how the relationship between the Tri-Colony Compact and the US government had evolved and changed over the last hundred or so years.

Until I’d learned that a magical geas could prevent people from talking about the portal, I’d wondered how they had kept it hidden all these years. Now it made a bit more sense, though I couldn’t imagine all the secrecy was voluntary. Some people were magically voluntold.

The soldiers who guarded Area 51 would find you the moment you approached the fence, and all they had to detect you were mundane tools. A college and fort full of powerful magi would have a lot more ways to spot you, and arrest you, before you could sneak away with news about a portal from another realm. You wouldn’t be leaving without swearing the geas.

After I finished my History of Expeditions class, I headed to the administration building. I tried to get in to see Madam Catherine, the school’s exorcist. Unfortunately, she’d been called away on business outside the academy. Apparently, ghosts were everywhere.

That meant both Molly and I would have to live with our ghost problem for another day or two. Hopefully, it wasn’t draining her every day it hung out in her room. I didn’t like thinking about Ian, or what had once been Ian, harming her without meaning to.

I had a quick lunch in the cafeteria before taking the bus to Hallowstone town. There, I bought myself a gym bag and new pair of shoes. I’d had a small amount of savings before I quit my job at the Paper Factory, and I was going here tuition free thanks to how valuable my idol was to the campus. I was, after all, polytimos.

Even so, my bank account was going down, not up. I could probably make it another six months on the money I had saved right now, but then I’d either have to borrow money from Dad, borrow money from Miss Wilcox, or find a part time job.

The problem with the last option was any job I took that wasn’t on campus meant the serpents could come and attack me at any time. That meant no jobs at all. Stupid serpents. I almost wished they’d find a way on campus just so we could capture one and learn his plans.

But not really.

Money was a problem for next semester’s Kyle. For now, I needed to focus on absorbing the material in my morning classes and working on my fitness and skill with melee weapons in Physicals. As we set out for another jog, I spotted Ilva leaning against a wall in the gymnasium.

As our eyes met, she raised an eyebrow. She didn’t smile, but it still felt like an invitation. She was wearing a loose white T-shirt and blue gym shorts, but those were short enough her muscular legs were on full display. All the way up to her tight little butt.

I had a brief moment to ponder just how hard she could squeeze a guy’s head between those muscular thighs before I reached her. Then I waved. Casually.

“Hey.”

She nodded.

“Feel like running together again today?”

“Depends. You have donut to lose?”

I laughed. “Maybe. I have a few new tricks.”

She pushed off the wall. “Oh? What kind?”

“New words.”

“Want to test?”

“You mean race?”

“Yes. You use your words, I use mine. We see who’s idol is faster.”

I really liked that idea, but I wasn’t sure we could get away with it.

“Let me pitch the idea to Coach Rodriguez before we do it. I know he doesn’t like us using words of power for fitness activities, but maybe I can convince him this has the benefit of letting us grow our rapport.”

Ilva nodded, then impatiently motioned with her fingers for me to get on with it. Her imperiousness was charming, though only because she was hot. I don’t make the rules.

After Coach Rodriguez rounded us up and confirmed we’d begin our class by jogging another mile, I waited until students started running or walking off. I knew I could easily catch up to them even without a word of power. Rodriguez eventually glanced at me.

“Better get moving, Bradley. Don’t want to fall too far behind the pack.”

“About that. On Tuesday night, my idol granted me two new words of power.”

Rodriguez immediately thumped me on the back. “That’s great! Well done.”

“Thanks, Coach. I’m wondering if you’d let me test one on today’s run.”

Rodriguez’s smile turned more thoughtful. “I’d rather you focus on developing your natural endurance first. We don’t start using words of power until later in this semester.”

“That’s fair, but it’s not just me. Ilva... Prentice Rubanov... has words of power that enhance her natural abilities, and now I do as well. So we were both hoping, just this once, we could use our words of power. We can compare how they perform against each other.”

Rodriguez nodded thoughtfully. “So you’re not just hoping to shortcut the exercise. You’re hoping to use this time to learn more about your idol’s abilities.”

“If that’s all right.” I considered briefly, then pushed forward. “You’ll remember that Ilva and I finished first on Monday. First and second. We already have enough endurance and running experience to complete our mile ahead of everyone else, naturally. I don’t plan to make a habit of this, but I would like to see how far we can push ourselves with words of power.”

Rodriguez crossed his arms and pursed his lips, then nodded.

“All right. Since this contest has an academic component, which is comparing the words of power granted by your idols against each other, I’ll allow it for today’s run. But no more words of power the rest of the day. Everything after that uses your natural abilities.”

I grinned. “Thanks, Coach!”

“Just be careful not to run down any other students.”

“Got it. We’ll be careful. See you soon!”

I hurried back over to Ilva, who was already stretching and toe-touching in ways that were really distracting. She was flexible. If those gym shorts rode up any higher they were going to turn into a bikini bottom... or a thong.

Still touching her toes and bending herself into an upside down U shape that was had both me and Tez mentally growling appreciatively, Ilva glanced up at me.

“So? Is he good?”

“Yeah. He said we can test our words against each other just this once, but only for the jog. We need to do everything natural for the rest of the day.”

“Nice. Will be fun, I think.”

She straightened, laced her fingers together, and then stretched her palms forward with an audible series of pops. I noticed then that her hands looked harder than the rest of her. She had cute hands, but they were rougher and more calloused than the rest of her.

Still stretching in a way that showed off every curve of her body, which was impossibly distracting, she glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

“So? Bet?”

“We need a bet?”

She eyed me like I’d asked something rude. “Is race. No race without bet.”

“All right. Well... any ideas?”

She dropped her arms and relaxed. “Winner buys loser a shake.”

“Like... a milkshake?”

“Yes. At the cauldron after Physicals. We go together, unless your Molly says no?”

I found that idea really appealing. “Sure. You’re on.”

“You sure? Not need to ask your girlfriend?”

“Molly trusts me. So, on three?”

“Sure. Three.”

Ilva tore off without another word, and I sprinted after her.

Chapter 48

As Ilva sprinted out the door of the gymnasium and I sprinted right after her, we both barely avoid running down another student. They were jogging out of the door at the same time we were. I remembered Coach Rodriguez’s admission not to trample anyone.

We had to be careful as we darted through the crowd. Worse, Ilva was already starting to outdistance me despite her shorter legs. She was fast and agile, and once we were out in the open, she put on some speed.

I had to push myself to the limit just to keep up with her. I could feel the burning in my legs and my lungs growing at a steady rate. I could keep up a good sprint for a short time, like on a run around the bases, but for anything longer, the best I could manage was a jog.

I was relieved when I saw Ilva start to slow, but then her lips moved. She shot forward like a rocket. She had just activated her word of power, and given how close I was to slowing down, I needed to as well.

So, almost breathlessly, I said, “-Ihiyotl.-”

Tez’s energy rushed through my body like a long, cold glass of water after a long run. All my aching and exhaustion vanished at once, and I sprinted forward with new vigor. I felt like I’d only just started my run, and this time, I didn’t feel like slowing down any time soon.

Ilva had gotten a good ways ahead in the short period of time between when she’d activated her word and when I’d activated mine. Now, we were evenly matched. No, I was gaining on her. We might be going the same speed, but my legs were longer.

My focus on the way that tight little ass of hers looked in those blue gym shorts almost caused me to collide with two students. They were walking in the middle of the forest path instead of on the side where they should be. I took one step right and twisted my torso as I flew past them at a speed that made them both audibly yelp.

Mad laughter rose as I sprinted onward after Ilva. I imagined the looks on the faces of two people who’d just figuratively had their doors blown off. As I focused on the woman ahead of me, my run became less about fun and more about catching my prey. Ilva was my prey.

I felt an almost overwhelming desire to catch her, pin her, and then do what came naturally to a big cat and his new mate. That suddenly overwhelming urge shocked me to the point where I slowed down. Ilva once more pulled ahead. I shook it off and accelerated.

There was a line. That was clear now. While under the influence of Tez’s power I was as close to him as I could be, which meant his instincts became my instincts.

When it came to attractive woman, Tez’s first instinct was to catch them and mount them. Mine couldn’t be like that, ever. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want to win our bet.

As I slowly closed the distance to Ilva, dodging past students who got in my way, I found my balance. Yes, I wanted to catch her. Yes, I wanted to pass her. But I wanted to do that because we were on the hunt together, like two jaguars during mating season.

It might still happen. But only after she lifted her tail and purred.

Trees and people flew past as she ran and I chased. No, as we ran together. At one point I almost howled before I remembered to save my breath for running. Jaguars didn’t howl. They were silent and solitary hunters, or at least I thought they were. I didn’t actually know.

I was finally feeling a tingle across my body when the gymnasium came into view, but it wasn’t the burn I’d expect from a long run. Belatedly, I recognized it as the tingle that suggested I was actually low on magic. I’d run down my magical batteries.

Ilva had as well. She was slowing, and I was gaining on her. What did she have left?

I put on one last burst of speed, ignoring the growing tingle as I caught up. I finally got past her shortly before the door. I sprinted inside two steps ahead of her.

I nearly ran down one of the assistant coaches, and then nearly lost my footing as I spun around them. Just in time, I gasped my words of power.

“-Ihiyotl... cēhui.-”

As I slowed to a jog and finally stopped next to the bleachers, cool, cleansing energy flooded my body. I sucked in deep breaths as I instinctively bent to rest my hands on my knees. My entire body trembling with the aftermath of my sprint.

I suspected I would have collapsed without Tez. His recovery word didn’t flood me with energy so much as put out the fire blazing inside my lungs. As I straightened and continued taking deep breaths, I heard Ilva breathing heavily nearby.

I glanced at Ilva to find her panting visibly. She was hunched over more than I was, and her white shirt was distractingly wet with sweat. Clingy. I now knew her bra was lacy and pink, which was an interesting detail I filed away for later.

When she looked up, she smiled weakly and waved a hand to show she was all right. I could see she was a bit disappointed that she’d lost, but I saw something else as well. Hunger.

It wasn’t for a milkshake.

Clapping echoed through the auditorium. It sounded enthusiastic instead of mocking. As I turned to look into the gymnasium, I saw Coach Rodriguez walked over with a big grin on his face. Steward Graham, who walked beside him, looked less than enthused.

Even so, Rodriguez was the guy teaching physicals. He looked pleased with our progress. As Ilva finally straightened and wiped at her brow, Rodriguez reached us.

“Three minutes and thirty-two seconds, Bradley.”

My eyes snapped wide. “Damn! That’s fast.”

“No kidding. The fastest natural runners in the world, those at the Olympic level, have rarely managed to complete a mile in under four minutes. Whatever word Tezcatlipoca gave you, it’s one that you’re going to find very valuable if you ever get in trouble.”

I laughed. “Yeah, fair. I can bravely run away faster than any man alive.”

Ilva came to stand beside me, closer than I expected. “Me?”

Rodriguez glanced at her and smiled proudly. “Three minutes and twenty-three seconds. Honestly, it was closer than that. I don’t think there was a full second between when Bradley nearly ran down my assistant coach and when you followed him.”

I winced. “Sorry.” I turned to the coach I’d nearly run down and waved. “Sorry, man!”

He just crossed his arms and scowled at me. Steward Graham looked at Ilva.

“You will want to head to the locker room and change, Prentice Rubanov.”

Ilva, whose small chest was still heaving provocatively, frowned back. “Why?”

“We don’t need other students being distracted.”

“Why distracted?”

I pondered how to tell her, but then she looked down at her now wet shirt, frowned at the faint hint of flesh and pink visible under its wet, clingy surface, and looked up.

“This is distraction?”

Steward Graham simply stared at her in disapproval.

“Is no more naughty than swimsuit. Is just bra! There are no beaches here?”

Steward Graham pointed toward the locker room. “Change your shirt, Rubanov. You have time. I doubt the rest of the class will complete their run for several minutes.”

Ilva sighed, then punched me in the upper arm hard enough I actually stumbled sideways. I gawked at her strength.

“Hey!”

She grinned a very wide, very eager grin. “Bet is bet. After class, yes? I take you out and buy you milkshake. I honor this.”

She was grinning. And attractive. And wearing what had essentially turned into a wet T-shirt over a lacy pink bra.

Yes, we were definitely going to get milkshakes after class. Molly trusted me not to stray, and there was nothing wrong with making new friends. Friends who just happened to be hot girls. I had to continue to make the other students envy me, didn’t I?

After Ilva strode off with a peppy bounce I had to force myself to look away from, I turned to find Rodriguez watching me expectantly. I briefly worried he disapproved of me checking out Ilva, but his next words reassured me that wasn’t the case.

“How do you feel now? After the run? Shaky? Weak? Or relaxed?”

I considered his question as I took deep breaths. I still felt the cool rush of pleasure caused by cēhui, but that was fading slowly as exhaustion took over.

I realized my legs were trembling only a moment before I stepped back. I stumbled over to the bleachers. Coach Rodriguez and Steward Graham both followed me.

I reached the bleachers just in time to thump onto them, which kept me from thumping down on the floor. I continued taking deep breaths as the cool continued to fade and the tingling in my body grew stronger. It wasn’t painful, but it was annoying.

“I feel tired, but not? Like when you’re trying to go to sleep, but your legs won’t stop trying to move. There’s also this weird tingle through my whole body.”

Steward Graham thumped down on the bench beside me. Before I could say anything, she had put on the headphones on the stethoscope hanging around her neck.

She rested the pad to my heart over my shirt, pressing down hard. She listened for a moment as I breathed, then nodded and pulled off the headphones.

“Your heart is easily beating double time, but that’s to be expected as your body cools down after a powered run. Your lungs sound healthy. I don’t think there’s any danger of a heart attack, or of either of your lungs collapsing.”

“Woah, hold on. Is that normally a possibility?”

She frowned. “Some words of power channel power into the body from your idol. Others push the body beyond its natural limits. You can guess which has worse effects.”

I winced. “Glad mine was the first one.”

Graham clapped me on the back in a friendly way. “Take five and focus on deep breathing. I’ll check you again before you rejoin the class to make sure you’re slowed down.”

“Thanks, coach.”

She frowned. “I’m a steward. He’s the coach.”

“Right, sorry. Thanks, Steward Graham.”

She rose and nodded to Rodriguez. “I’m going to head over to the door so I can get the new times on the other girls. You got him?”

“Yup, be right there.”

As Graham walked off, Rodriguez looked at me again. “What about the tingle?”

“Still there.”

“That’s almost certainly magic drain. You’re aware that words of power draw on the magical stores we have inside our bodies?”

“Well aware. The tingle is what you feel when you’re low on juice.”

“Exactly. Steward Graham doesn’t seem worried, which means I’m not, either. But you should probably take it easy on words of power for a day or two. Rest until you’re certain you’ve refilled your stores to the point where you won’t exhaust them easily.”

That might be a problem. I wanted to be refreshed and full of magic for our live item retrieval exercise Thursday morning in Conclave Battle Tactics. That meant I might have made a mistake by running myself so ragged today.

On the other hand, I now knew exactly how far I could push my body using ihiyotl and how to safely recover from doing so. That was not something I wanted to figure out on the fly while running from the shitter and his boy band.

Molly and I also had plans tonight. Plans that involved me coming over to her room to watch a movie while Harper was out with her friends. We were not going to watch the movie, obviously. But that was a fiction we kept up for Harper’s benefit.

My pride at completing a run as fast as Olympian was already helping ease the tingle. I would focus on feeling as much pride as possible over the next day or so, and spend as much time as I could absorbing Molly’s love. My pull affinity would be working overtime tonight.

It was a good thing Molly could already vibrate a divining rod off a table.

Chapter 49

By the time the last student finished their their mile, I felt fully recovered from my Olympic sprint with Ilva. Cēhui, and Tez, were powers I was learning to appreciate. The rest of the class went as smoothly.

We didn’t do the rope climb again, but instead spent time doing more cardio, like jumping jacks. Then we transitioned to push ups. I couldn’t do as many of those as I expected, mainly because my arms started trembling after first ten.

That was a sign that as much as Tez could enhance my body, there were aftereffects of using his words. I wasn’t at one-hundred percent after draining my batteries. I was learning new limits as much as I learned new powers. That was good, actually.

After that we got a fifteen minute break, followed by a trip to the second gymnasium for weapons training. I decided to try the spear this time, and I liked it. The riot shield continued to feel lighter than it should. I easily blocked the blows an assistant coach aimed at it.

And the spear? It was far easier to wield than I expected, even though I was obviously a novice with it. Still, by bracing the spear against the side of the shield, I found I could guide it and even stab the target dummy at center mass with ease. I made a lot of progress that day.

My body was aching by the time we wrapped up physicals, but that was the natural ache I always felt after a lot of physical activity. I didn’t feel like I was going to collapse. After a quick shower, I switched back into a comfortable T-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes I’d packed.

There was no reason to wear my uniform all the time. I wasn’t attending any more classes today, and I’d earned the right to enjoy some casual clothes. It was only after I’d pushed all my sweaty clothes into my gym bag and zipped it up that I realized I didn’t know where to meet Ilva for our milkshakes. I should have asked for her number in the gymnasium.

I shouldered my gym bag and headed out. Maybe she would be waiting at the doors to the athletics building. Instead, as I stepped out of the men’s locker room, I found Ilva waiting in the hall right outside the men’s locker room. That was a bold choice.

It also meant that every guy who had left before me had seen her waiting here. For me. That was going to earn me some envy points.

Ilva had changed as well, but she was dressed for summer, not winter. She wore a fuzzy pink crop top that was snug around her smallish breasts and left her taut midriff and muscular shoulders bare. She’d be shivering five minutes after we walked out into the cold.

She had swapped her gym shorts for jean cutoffs, but these were tight where the others were loose. They clung to her hips and must look absolutely spectacular from the back, though I hadn’t gotten to see her turn around yet. Her muscular legs were tan and bare save for low ankle socks leading into a pair of white tennis shoes with pink striping.

As I slowed, her eyes shamelessly roamed over my body. She grinned.

“You look good for Ohio man.”

I smiled back. “Not from Ohio. So, uh... are you going like that? Where’s your jacket?

“Why jacket?”

“Aren’t you gonna be cold?”

As she shrugged and ran a hand through her long blonde hair, her crop top did interesting things. Her boobs might be small, but they were perky. Like a pokey perky.

“Freyja keeps me warm.”

“You have a word of power that warms you?”

“Is blessing. Not be cold.”

I couldn’t help but geek out a little at the idea of Freyja actively warming Ilva. She did that passively, like how Tez passively reflected spells and Anahit passively slowed Miss Wilcox’s aging. That would be super useful to a Viking woman growing up in ancient Scandinavia.

“That’s so cool.”

“Warm, not cool.”

“I mean... you know what I mean.”

Her pink lips quirked. “Do I?”

“So are we getting milkshakes, or are you going to stand here while you mock Rhode Island man?”

She strode past me. “Come now. I have night class, but I keep my bets.”

“Great! I’ll be right behind you.”

As I fell in behind her, I confirmed that her tight little ass looked just as amazing as I had suspected in those jean cutoffs. As she glanced back over her shoulder, I snapped my gaze to her eyes. She noticed, though. She smirked proudly before she strode onward.

There was flirting, and then there was a girl holding up a neon sign that said “I want to make out with you!” Ilva was doing the second, and I was tempted. So tempted. Yet I pushed down those instincts as I focused on how much I loved Molly and what we had together.

Yes, I liked it when women looked at me. Yes, I liked knowing Ilva wanted me. But as hot and temporarily satisfying as it might be to give into those feelings, if I did ever did so, I would hurt Molly in a way I might never be able to fix.

I could never do that to Molly. She was my forever girl. So I strengthened my resolve and reminded myself we’d be in public both on the bus and at the Icy Cauldron.

People would see me with Ilva. People would think we were dating and envy me. And my rapport with Tez would grow as we got to know each other.

I had already made clear to Ilva that I was with Molly. I had straight up told her Molly was my girlfriend. Ilva knew I was taken, so a little harmless flirtation and a little ogling wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

If Ilva tried to take it further despite knowing I was with Molly, I would remind her I still had boundaries. But just because we were attracted to each other didn’t mean we couldn’t still be friends. Two hot, milkshake-sharing friends.

We ended up in a crowd waiting for the shuttle bus. Ilva stood closer than she should, but she didn’t actually grab my arm or touch me. The feeling of her so close caused a whole different type of tingle in my body. This had nothing to do with magical batteries.

Once we got on the bus, there weren’t enough seats for everyone. I did the polite thing and grabbed one of the handholds. Rather that sitting, Ilva did the same. We stood in the aisle and rode the bus as our bodies occasionally brushed together. Neither of us mentioned it.

This felt like the longest ride to the Icy Cauldron I’d had since I arrived, but that was because the bus was crowded and we couldn’t really talk. We weren’t the only ones going into Hallowstone town after physicals. When the bus finally arrived, we were among the first off.

Ilva offered a quick, hopeful glance to make sure I was following her, then hurried toward the Icy Cauldron. In her dark jean cutoffs and pink crop top, she felt incredibly out of place among students wearing jackets and sweaters. Her breath even misted.

She never shivered. I didn’t even see goosebumps on her flesh the few times I managed to look at her without being obvious. Freyja’s blessing kept her warm.

I hurried after her, and then she opened the door to the Cauldron and held it open for me. I smiled as I stepped inside and into warmth, and she came in behind me. After we got in line together, more than a few guys did a double-take at Ilva’s outfit.

They all glanced jealously at me, Kyle Bradley. That’s right, guys. This is the third hot girl I’ve had in here in the past few days. They all love hanging out with me because I’m so awesome. Have you heard of my amazing and exclusive idol, Tezcatlipoca?

This time, I tried the strawberry-banana milkshake. I’d wanted to have a sip of Harper’s when she got it on Monday night, but sharing a milkshake with her had felt like a step too far, even with Molly egging me on. Ilva got a mint-chocolate chip, which was my favorite.

Interesting.

When Ilva paid for both of us, I got another jealous look from the guy behind us. There weren’t any booths available thanks to the crowds, but we did manage to snag two stools by the window. It was chilly over there, but I was dressed warmly and Ilva didn’t care.

As we sipped our milkshakes side by side, we still didn’t speak. Ilva did eventually end up with her upper arm resting against mine. Her skin was so warm, even through my shirt, that she felt like one of those heating pads you used when you had a sore back.

I was tempted to scoot away, but I didn’t. Contact with her simply felt too good, and all we were doing were touching our upper arms. I couldn’t stop remembering how good it had felt to sprint through the forest with her today, and how much I’d enjoyed watching her run.

This was normal. It was normal to be attracted to a hot woman who obviously wanted to make out with you. But I wasn’t going to, and when I saw Molly again, all this sexual tension would end. I’d be relieved that I hadn’t given in and done something I could never take back.

Ilva finished her milkshake long before I did, which proved that Freyja let her drink cold thinks as easily as she ignored the winter cold. She pressed her arm more firmly against mine, then slipped off the stool and thumped me lightly on the back.

“Night class soon. Need to go. But we do this again though, yes?”

We’d run together. We’d had milkshakes. We were going to do this again, just like friends, and next time we might even go out with Molly.

I grinned and relaxed. “Definitely. I had fun today.”

“You also like winning.”

“I do like winning.”

“And looking.”

“Hey, no one ever hurt anyone by looking.”

“All true. Say hi to Molly, yes?”

“I will do that.”

As she strode off, I belatedly remembered something else we could do together.

“Hey, wait!”

Ilva turned around and eyed me with obvious curiosity. So did most of the other people in the Cauldron. I now had an audience, but while the urge to panic was strong, I decided to use this to my advantage. I didn’t bother lowering my voice.

“Want to join my study group? For Magical History? Since we still have room?”

She shrugged and walked back over. “Sure.”

“Great! Give me your number so we can set up a time to meet.”

I swear, every guy in the Cauldron held his breath as they watched us. And waited.

Ilva held out a hand. I gave her my phone. She raised it and rapidly tapped on it to enter her contact info, then handed it back to me.

I heard one guy somewhere in the back of the Cauldron actually go, “No way.”

After another obviously smug grin at the rest of the guys in the Cauldron, Ilva winked at me before striding out of the place. Her hips swayed and her long blonde hair gleamed in the light. I could feel the waves of jealously coming at me, and I didn’t even mind.

Because Tez was now purring approvingly in my head.

I let my pride affinity fill. Eventually I finished my milkshake, grabbed my gym bag, and watched from inside the warm building until I spotted the shuttle bus. I was getting dark, and as I glanced at my phone, I realized Molly must have just gotten out of her class.

Sure enough, my phone rang immediately. It was her. My Molly. I picked up and leaned on the counter, and then I knew what I needed to say.

“Hey. Love you.”

I heard her little gasp on the other end of the line. “What was that?”

“What?”

“That. Now. Did you do something wrong?”

“Do I need to do something wrong to tell you I love you?”

She giggled on the other end of the line. “Foreplay first.”

“Okay. Fair. So, Molly, how was your day? Also, the bus is here, so I’m on the move!”

Despite rushing to the bus, I didn’t hang up. I liked knowing I had this connection to Molly in my hand, even though we weren’t talking. Once I found a seat at the back, I put the phone to my ear as we drove.

“Seated. Where are you now?”

“Waiting for the shuttle, genius.”

“Ah, that tracks, since I am on the shuttle.”

“Might need to push us back a bit. Come over at seven?”

“That only gives us two hours to watch the movie.”

“Psh. Like we’ll actually be watching anything.”

I laughed into the phone. “Sure. See you at seven.”

“Grand. And K?”

I waited.

“I love you, too.”

Yeah. There it was. The clarity that vanished when I was alone with an attractive woman who bought me a milkshake. Ilva was fun and sweet, and interested in me, but Molly?

She was my whole world. I wouldn’t give her up for anything.

Chapter 50

I arrived outside Molly’s door a few minutes early, and I debated simply waiting outside until seven. She was likely going to be getting herself ready until the very last moment, putting on makeup, fixing her hair, and trying on different outfits. The point was to figure out which one would make me most likely to tear her clothes off.

I wasn’t picky. I’d tear off just about anything she was wearing. But she liked time to put thought into how to seduce me, and I liked giving her time to plan. So, after a few minutes of idling in the thankfully empty hall, I wrapped on the door lightly with my knuckles.

Molly called through the door, her voice muffled by the wood. “Who is it?”

“Hey! It’s me.”

“Who’s me?”

“Kyle, obviously.”

“How do I know it’s you and not a creepy doppelganger?”

“Uh... because you had a stuffie named Mister Binkie in third grade?”

I heard giggling from the other side of the door, and then I frowned. That wasn’t just one girl giggling. That was two!

Why were there two girls in Molly’s room right now? The possibilities made me tingle in ways that had nothing to do with my magical batteries. Who else was in there?

The door opened, and then I blinked when I realized it was Harper, not Molly, who had opened the door to their room. She was supposed to be out with her friends tonight. Instead, she was here, despite it being seven o’clock and her being... well, she was dressed.

But not dressed. Not dressed up, I mean. She wore a thick pink sweater that hung loosely on her slim frame, and also wore a pair of dark sleep shorts. The ended most of the way up her thighs and left her legs excitingly bare. She was also wearing fuzzy pink slippers.

Harper’s glossy brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail behind her head, and her pale skin had that healthy glow girls always got right after they scrubbed off their makeup or washed their face. That was a sexy glow.

I’m gonna be honest, she looked amazing. Girl next door to the max. But I wasn’t sure why she was still here.

Harper grinned shyly. “Hey! Come in.”

“Oh... kay.”

I stepped into their room after Harper stepped back. I was relieved to see Molly was, in fact, in the room. Harper hadn’t used some previously unknown word of power to creepily imitate her voice. Molly was lounging on her bed in her sexy white pajamas.

To be clear, they weren’t sexy pajamas. They were just normal pajamas, with a simple white pajama shirt and loose pajama bottoms. But they were sexy on her, because she was Molly, and she was sitting on the bed with her knees folded up against her chest as she painted her incredibly cute toes red. The smell of nail polish lingered in the room.

My eyes widened as I glanced the desk at the foot of Molly’s bed. It had a stack of red plastic cups, a big plastic bottle of orange juice, and another bottle that was almost certainly vodka. That was alcohol. There was booze here.

There was also an ice bucket with ice. Molly had planned this. We’d never needed to get drunk to get laid in the past, so why was there vodka here?

The door closed behind me with a thump that actually startled me. As Harper slid past me with a sideways shimmy, she came dangerously close to brushing her boobs against my arm. She walked over to her bed and flopped down, then glanced hesitantly at Molly.

“You sure you don’t want me to leave? I can go down to the office.”

“Psh, I already said it’s fine.” Molly continued focusing intently on her toenails, painting delicately with her brush. “But we get to pick the movie.”

“Oh, well, I just assumed you already knew what it was. Since you planned this.”

“We’re still narrowing it down.” Molly finished painting her little toenail bright red, looked up at me, and smiled. “K? Romantic comedy or sexy slasher?”

“Uh...” I hadn’t actually planned to watch the movie, so I didn’t have a strong preference, plus I was still trying to figure out where Molly and Harper had gotten a bottle of vodka. “Are those my only two choices?”

Molly went back to painting her toes. “Those are the only videos I liked in the library. Must have been a busy week.”

Hallowstone was modern in many ways, but not all the dorms had Internet access at the speed you needed to stream stuff at high quality. Apparently the newer, faster cables got weird when they were around a lot of magic. So the dorms had older lines.

That meant that rather than just streaming whatever they liked, lots of students would rent DVDs or Blu-Rays from the library, just like people used to back when I was a kid. Back then, you couldn’t stream any movie on demand. You actually had to get a physical disc, which wasn’t always easy to find if the movie was old or popular.

I looked at Harper again to find her gamely looking at her bedsheets, doing that sexy lip bite, and then at Molly, who continued painting her toes.

“Harper’s hanging out with us tonight?”

Harper looked up guiltily. “I can leave! I mean, if you—”

“Nope!” Molly frowned at her. “I’m not sending you out in the cold on a night where your other friends all ditched you. You’re staying here cozy with us. You don’t mind, right, K?”

I mean, I did. A little. Because I wanted to push Molly down on the bed and start stripping her naked while I shoved my tongue in her mouth.

I couldn’t exactly do that with her roommate watching. Could I? The idea was more appealing than it really should be.

Still, as I thought back to how miserable Harper had looked as she shivered in the rain outside The Grand Stregone, having been kicked to the curb by Jaxon Price for the crime of not wanting to immediately have sex with him, I mentally relented.

I did not want to send Harper out into the cold, literally or figuratively. And as Molly offered me a quick and pleading glance, I recognized something else.

Harper must still be lonely and hurting.

Molly cared about her friends. She would do anything for the people she cared about, and that included Harper, who she’d been besties with for over a semester. She was asking me if I was okay giving up a night of sexy times to make Harper’s life not suck, and you know what?

I was. It might be fun to just watch a movie while Molly and I cuddled and Harper hung out with us. That had worked fine when we had milkshakes, right?

Maybe... Harper could even cuddle up with us too? Just a friendly cuddle. Like friends.

“I don’t mind at all.”

As Harper pushed back a bit of brown hair, she grinned nervously. “Thanks!”

Molly capped her nail polish, then placed it on the desk beside the plastic cups. She then swiveled to place her bare and very sexy feet down to rest on the floor. She wiggled her toes as the polish dried, then looked up at me and smiled expectantly.

“So?”

I knew I should say romantic comedy. That would be the safe choice. But sexy slasher meant there would be jump scares, and jump scares might end up with both Molly and Harper clutching my arms and emitting tiny shrieks. I liked that idea too much to say no.

“Sexy slasher, I guess.”

“Grand! I got Clown 2.”

“That implies there was a Clown 1. Are we going to miss any important backstory?”

“It’s a slasher movie, K. What backstory?”

“Sometimes there’s backstory.”

“He’s a clown. He kills people. Plus at least half the girls get their tits out.” Molly grinned. “Now let’s drink!”

I raised one eyebrow.

“Oh, psh. It’s not like we’re driving anywhere, and do you see any cops?”

I raised my other eyebrow.

“K? We’re at magic school. No one’s going to stop us from having a wee drink.”

Harper hopped up. “Should I get to mixing?”

Molly beamed at her. “Yes, please!”

I watched dubiously as Harper expertly whipped there plastic cups off the pile, then lined them up and started pouring. She was so intensely focused on visibly measuring out the vodka and orange juice that I didn’t want to interrupt her. Molly beckoned from her bed.

I sat beside her. She gripped my hand and squeezed tight. Her grateful smile made me warm all over, and as she snuggled closer, the rest of her warmed me as well. Then, she raised a palm and gently pushed me away before raising her feet back to set them on the bed.

“Blow on them for me?”

Oh. She wanted me to blow on her toes. To dry her nail polish. In front of Harper. Which... okay? I wasn’t about to say no at this point.

As Molly teasing raised one leg and extended it to present her foot, which caused the loose pajama leg to slide up and reveal some tantalizing ankle, I supported her foot with one hand and blew on her toes with the other.

Molly shivered visibly and leaned her head back, then closed her eyes. “Oh, that’s heavenly.”

Harper, who was watching us wide-eyed, actually spitted a bit of vodka.

“Oh shit, shit, sorry!”

Molly kept her head leaned back and her eyes closed. “Did you spill?”

“Yes, sorry! I’ll get a towel.”

“Eh, it’s fine.” She opened her eyes and frowned at me. “Did I say stop?”

I helped Molly dry her nail polish. By blowing gently on her toes. While Harper finished mixing a trio of the most lovingly prepared screwdrivers I had ever imagined.

After that, Harper stood awkwardly as Molly slid her legs back off the table, wiggled her toes, then hopped up to put on the movie. They didn’t have a big screen TV in here, just a small TV/DVD combo. Molly set it up up on a table in front of the door when we wanted a TV.

As she walked over to insert the DVD for Clown 2, in which the backstory was not important but the tits apparently were, Harper padded over and handed me my drink. As I took it, I smiled up at her. She blushed fiercely and took a big sip of her drink.

Molly started up the movie, then reached over it to flip off the lights. That left the room lit only by the desk light on Harper’s desk. That provided enough illumination that we wouldn’t stumble over furniture in the dark, but it didn’t shine on the screen.

I assumed Molly and I would sit on the couch while Harper sat on her bed, or vice versa. Instead, Molly walked past me and snatched the second drink from Harper’s hand. She turned and beckoned seductively with sinuous fingers.

“K? Couch.”

That answered my next question. I hopped up, smiled at Harper as we sidled around each other in the small room, then sat down on the left side of the couch. I assumed Molly would sit to the right, where she preferred to be. Instead, she hopped right into my lap.

“Hey! How can I watch the movie? You have your own seat.”

Molly twisted to sit sidesaddle so her legs were dangling off the couch to the left. “No, dummy. That’s Harper’s seat.”

I blinked. Harper blinked. And Molly wriggled so she was more comfortable in my lap, then beckoned urgently at Harper, who was standing in the middle of the room wide-eyed.

“Sit! The movie’s starting!”

“I... you want me to sit on the couch?”

“Where else would you bloody sit? You’re a door, not a window!”

As Harper tentatively approached the couch, she looked as panicked as I felt. Yet it wasn’t a frightened panic. It was more of an “Oh my God, is this really happening?” sort of panic that came along with wondering if you were going to get laid for the first time.

Molly poked my middle. “Make room.”

I tried, but it wasn’t a big couch. Harper spun and thumped down on the couch with a determined little huff. As much as we both tried to keep our hips from touching, they obviously did. It was a small couch.

As the opening credits played and creepy and discordant music flooded the room from the TV/DVD combo’s tinny speakers, my hip and Harper’s rapidly got more comfortable resting against each other. Then the outside of our thighs touched. Then our upper arms, because why not? It was a small couch!

In my lap, Molly sighed contentedly. She was smiling like she was drunk despite having taken exactly one sip of her screwdriver. She was getting drunk off Harper’s happiness.

So apparently, sitting up against me on a couch made Harper really happy.

Chapter 51

I was sitting on a small couch with one hot girl pressed up against me and another in my lap. And as the opening credits finished, the movie immediately cut to a shower scene. It looked to be a college locker room like those we had here, with huge open stalls and multiple showerheads. And, since this was a slasher movie, there were no shower curtains.

Of course this movie opened with a shower scene. That was where hot, showering girls were most vulnerable to clown attacks. As the distinctive sound of water poured and the camera slowly panned up the very bare legs of the first actress, I expected it to stop climbing.

It did not.

Butt. There was a butt on screen, and an attractive one. Not as attractive as Molly’s butt, mind you, and definitely nothing remotely like Ilva’s, but still, I respected Clown 2 for not beating around the bush with its introduction. This movie knew exactly what it wanted to be.

Behind me, Harper shifted a bit closer to me on the couch. Molly giggled as she relaxed in my lap. She slipped one arm around my waist and held her drink with the other.

“Psh, what kind of idiot showers in the locker room in the middle of the night?”

Harper’s knee pressed against mine. “Maybe she had a late class?”

“Then go home, girl. Who stays on a spooky campus after everyone’s all gone home?”

As the showering continued, I appreciated the way the cameraman and the actress coordinated their movements. Working together, they managed to slowly pan around to show every part of the actress’s naked body as she showered, including her noticeably soapy tits, without ever resorting to full frontal nudity. That was a team effort.

After all, even slasher movies had standards. And ratings boards.

As the camera panned outward, something darted across the frame. Harper jumped, shrieked, and clutched my upper arm. She didn’t spill her drink, but she came close to doing so. She was absolutely pressing the side of her breast against my arm now.

And Molly, who was still in my lap, cooed the softest, smallest happy noise.

My throat was dry despite the drink, my dick was now rock hard against Molly’s lovely ass, and my whole body was tingling like I’d just been plugged into something. As Harper belatedly released my arm and blushed fiercely, she offered an apologetic glance.

“Sorry! Just scared me.”

“It’s okay.”

Molly reached all the way across me to gently pat Harper’s thigh, which made the other girl startle again.

“If you get scared, you just grab onto K. That’s what he’s here for. Right?” She walked her fingers down my chest. “So no evil clowns sneak in and get us.”

Harper clutched my arm tightly again. “Ugh, don’t say that! And... oh, run, girl!”

The actress did not. She managed a couple of bouncy stumbles while screaming at the top of her lungs, and then the clown did what killer clowns did. For whatever reason.

As the clown claimed his first victim I appreciated the lack of gore, though I suspected the choice was budgetary rather than artistic. They did a Psycho homage, with the camera panning away as the repeated sound of a knife thumping into a watermelon was accompanied by shrill screams. They even ended with the classic shot of blood and water swirling down the shower drain.

The next scene opened on what was supposed to be college, but I honestly wasn’t paying attention. There was a Molly in my lap, and there was a Harper clutching my arm. This was just like the night we’d all had milkshakes together, but now we were in private instead of public. And we were drinking screwdrivers.

Questions were raised on screen. More breasts were bared, often under dubious circumstances. One girl tried to run from the clown and got her shoe stuck on a bike rack, which somehow prevented her escape rather than, you know, just removing her shoe.

There was an alcoholic sheriff who I picked up was a recurring character from Clown 1, but he wasn’t much help. Oh, and there was the grinding. Molly was so gentle, so subtle, that you couldn’t really tell that she was edging my dick with her ass, but oh, was she.

Harper kept clutching my arm tightly as she pressed close. Her fuzzy sweater was really soft. After several light and accidental boob brushings when she shifted positions, I became completely certain she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath that fuzzy pink sweater.

Why would she need a bra? She wasn’t out anywhere. She was just hanging out at home. With her roommate. And her roommate’s boyfriend. While getting drunk.

As the trio of surviving hot girls all angrily debated whether or not the killer clown they kept seeing was a killer clown or, like, their imagination, despite two of them being dead, Molly chugged the last of her drink and looked at Harper.

“Refill?”

Harper blinked. “Oh. Sure!”

“Get yourself one, too. K? Need another drink?”

I had actually kind of forgotten about my drink. The ice had melted.

“I’m good, actually.”

“Really? You’re gonna let a pair of girls out drink you?”

“You really shouldn’t be drinking at all.”

Molly blew a raspberry. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

“I’m just saying, we’re corrupting Harper.”

“What? Oh no, I’m fine!” Harper hopped up and walked to the desk by Molly’s bed on shaky legs. “I mean, I drink!” She paused, blinked, and likely realized how that sounded. “But not all the time. I’m not, like, some drunk party girl.”

Molly snorted. “Methinks she protests too much.”

“Oh c’mon! You know me.” Harper focused on mixing up another set of screwdrivers as she tapped the tip of her tongue against her lower lips. “But it’s not my first drink, K.”

Molly straightened in my lap. “Kyle. He’s Kyle. Only I call him K.”

Harper winced. “Right, sorry!”

Molly relaxed against me. “It’s okay. But I want extra vodka this time.”

I wasn’t sure if Harper listened, but she came back with two more filled cups. This time, she eagerly sank onto the couch beside me. As Harper wrapped the hand that wasn’t holding a drink back around my arm, she hesitantly returned the side of her boob to my arm.

Intentionally. That was intentional boob brushing. She even smiled as she leaned close to me. A stupefyingly sexy strand of brown hair fell over one of her soft brown eyes.

“I can make you another drink, too. If yours is too warm.”

I found words somewhere. “Thanks. I’m good.”

“Well, let me know if you change your mind!” She sat right back down beside me and pressed close with all her available parts.

The drinking went faster after that, or the girls’ drinking did. That was because they made a pact to take a drink every time one the trio of surviving hot girls brushed their hair back and squinted at something, which happened a lot. And then, the inevitable happened.

The killer clown jumped out of a trash can, causing the one girl who had stupidly wandered off by herself to shriek and twist her ankle. Harper jumped so violently she spilled a bit of her drink, but not on me. Since Molly was in my lap, it spilled on her. In her lap.

Molly groaned. “Oh, for feck’s sake.”

“Sorry!” As an actress got violently bonked to death with a clown hammer on screen, Harper stared wide-eyed. “I didn’t expect him to hop out of the trash can.”

Molly offered me a pouting glance. “Now I’m wet and sticky.”

All words left me. Molly sighed and squeezed me, then slowly, languidly, wriggled her way off my lap. As she stood and brushed at her white pajama bottoms, which now had a very noticeable orange stain down the thighs, she shrugged.

“Mind if I take these off?”

At my and Harper’s wide-eyed stares, Molly rolled her eyes.

“Oh, psh. I’ve got sleep shorts under them. What do you think I am, a bloody exhibitionist?”

I was not in any sort of mental state to answer that question. But Harper, who valiantly rallied as she took the opportunity to scoot even closer against me, could still speak.

“Sure, I mean... it’s just us here.”

“Course.” As Molly held my gaze, she slowly slid her pajama bottoms down her legs and leaned forward with an increasingly sultry lip bite. “Just the three of us. All alone.”

Molly was wearing shorts beneath her pajama bottoms. I mean, technically they were silk boxers, purple silk boxers, and not loose like mine. These were tight. They left her legs as bare as Harper’s, except Molly’s seemed more bare since she was wearing underwear shorts.

Molly climbed back into my lap after that, but now there was silk butt grinding on my dick. That felt even better than normal grinding butt. And then, as the last two surviving hot girls debated about whether to check out the ancient amusement park where the killer clown was supposed to have originated, Molly kissed me.

It happened suddenly and without warning. One moment the hot girls were meeting the alcoholic sheriff to go find the killer clown, and the next, Molly’s warm lips were parting mine. Her tongue was in my mouth a moment later. She tasted like warm orange juice.

Harper abruptly started to get up, but then I felt more than saw Molly’s arm snatch her arm. As Molly continued kissing me, she broke away just long enough to stare intently at Harper and whisper, “Stay.”

Harper, wide-eyed and visibly confused, stayed. I wasn’t going anywhere. Molly offered me another gentle kiss, then eased back and stared at me with wide, warm green eyes.

Her chest was heaving in her pajama top, and I was actually far closer to something embarrassing than was safe in polite company. She looked at Harper and licked her lips.

“I want to test something.”

Harper stared worriedly. “Test what?”

“For science. Magic science.”

“There’s magic science?”

Molly nodded. “I want you to kiss K for me.”

Harper turned absolutely crimson, but she didn’t say no. As she stared at me with her cheeks flushed, I realized she desperately wanted to do that.

Kiss me. Molly wanted Harper to kiss me. And Harper wanted to do it.

Harper looked between us in confusion. “How... why?”

Molly grinned drunkenly. “It’s an affinity thing. I need to measure your happiness.”

“You can measure that?”

“Sure. See, whenever you cuddle up with K, you spurt a stupid amount of happiness all over me. But I think it varies based on the touching involved.”

Harper winced. “Oh. Sorry?”

“It’s fine! It feels good. But I want to see if we can make it feel gooder.”

I eyed her cautiously. “That is not a word.”

She frowned. “Are you going to kiss Harper or debate grammar with me?”

As a low growl rose in my throat, Harper went stiff beside me. Her brown eyes were now as wide as a terrified mouse, and she was already a pretty mousy girl. And I...

Well, in that moment, I was every bit the hunter Tez intended me to be. As my low growl faded in my throat, Molly shivered and moaned in the most naughty way possible. She gripped my arm tight and practically shoved me toward Harper.

“K? Science!”

It didn’t matter that neither me or Harper fully understood how this was happening. I knew I wanted this. I knew Harper wanted this, and we’d all had enough vodka to make it make sense. So I pulled Molly’s sweet and mousy roommate close and kissed her, right on the lips.

As Harper’s soft lips flattened against mine, she went stiff. A moment later she relaxed, and then melted, and then I was making out sloppy style with a girl who was not my girlfriend. In front of my girlfriend. While my girlfriend moaned so loudly I thought she’d just orgasmed.

Molly squeezed my arm. “Oh, that feels bloody fantastic.”

 So it did. I liked kissing Harper. I liked the way she kept breaking away to gasp for breath, only to immediately latch back onto me like I was some sort of living, breathing oxygen tank. It felt like she was going to suffocate unless her lips were constantly pressed to mine.

As Harper rotated to straddle one of my legs, I slowly shifted toward the center of the couch. I felt Molly’s weight on my other side, on my other leg. Her wet lips lightly brushed my cheek and chin. Finally, Molly gently eased Harper away and gazed hungrily at me.

“My turn.”

My next Molly kiss was long. One hand slid down my chest and then lower, but stopped just above where I desperately need it to be. After playing with my tongue long enough I needed to breathe, Molly broke our kiss, glanced at Harper, and stared.

“Now kiss him again.”

She did. We did. As the two surviving hot girls and the alcoholic sheriff all fought a killer clown somewhere far away, I made out with Harper. I made out with Molly. At some point one of my hands reflexively slid up Harper’s side and brushed against the underside of her breast.

We both froze the moment I made contact. Harper stared at me, biting her lip with a look that was somewhere between desperate and hopeful.

Hand. Boob. Touching. What?

Molly groaned again, then spoke right in my ear.

“More.”

Chapter 52

What happened next is still fuzzy, but I know that after I groped Harper’s boobs through her sweater we both decided it would be more fun if I groped them without it. So then her sweater came off, and I got my first look at a topless Harper Braddock. And she was a sight.

Harper had nice boobs that were smaller than Molly’s, but perfectly shaped. Her nipples were a warm pink. She looked almost embarrassed to be seen with her sweater off, and the moment I noticed that, I stared at her and smiled wide.

“You have great boobs.”

She immediately relaxed and even smiled. “Thanks. Do you, uh... more?”

“Yes. If that’s okay?

“Yes! You can. If it’s okay with her?” She glanced at Molly.

Molly, whose pupils I could swear were now visibly dilated, nodded eagerly.

“Touch her, K.”

Playing with another girl’s boobs, you’ll be unsurprised to learn, made Molly groan even louder than kissing her. So at that point we had to try a bit more, right? For science. Magic science. That required taking Molly’s pajama top off, because it wouldn’t be science otherwise.

Two girls. Two topless girls. And I could touch their boobs, which meant... double boobs! Or quadruple? No, boobs came in pairs, which meant... math?

After some more kissing and groping, Harper eased away and blushed brightly.

“Can we... can we take a break?”

My hands hopped away from where they were gently teasing her nipples as I stared in alarm. “Sure! This isn’t too much?”

She eyed me in disbelief, then giggled and shook her head. “Oh, Goddess no. I like it.”

“Oh. Good.” I smiled. “But you want to stop?”

“I just... we should set some ground rules first? Maybe? If that’s okay?”

A topless girl was asking me to decide how often I could touch her. Despite my enormous erection, that was totally her prerogative. I nodded calmly, then looked at Molly.

“Right?”

She grinned drunkenly. “For science!”

I looked at Harper and smiled again. “We aren’t going to do anything you don’t want to do.” I glanced at Molly. “And honestly, since we’re taking a break, I’m a little confused.”

“Why?”

“Because... you’re not jealous?”

“If I was, you’d be doubled over on the floor.” She held my gaze with all the horny seriousness I demanded. “You can kiss Harper, K. I’m giving you permission. You can grope her too, long as she doesn’t mind. It feels good when you touch her. When you make her happy. I wanted to know how it’d feel if you were with another girl, and now I do.”

I calmly absorbed that, then looked at Harper. “Ground rules. Set them.”

“Well, uh... to start, I kind of can’t have sex with you. At least not tonight.”

The moment that words came out of her mouth, I saw her instinctively flinch without meaning to. Like she expected this to all end abruptly in disappointment. I was surprised she seemed so worried about that, but given her history, I could understand why.

Maybe Jaxon hadn’t been the first guy to kick her to the curb for horrible reasons.

I nodded solemnly. “No sex. Not until you’re ready.”

Harper sagged in relief, then smiled. “Also, I’m a virgin?”

“Oh, that’s fine! So no touching below the waist?”

“Oh, no! You can... I’d like...” She blinked rapidly as her face turned tomato red. “I would... yes, that’s okay. Just... not inside and... oh, I’m messing this up!”

Molly clutched Harper’s bare arm. “Breathe, girl. I want this, you want this, K wants, this, and he’s amazing at making girls feel good even without sticking his dick in them. Trust me, I know. So stop stressing and just tell him what you want him to do to you.”

I saw what I need to say. “Molly and I haven’t had sex, either.”

Harper’s eyes went almost spherical. “What? How?”

Molly grinned proudly. “K agreed not to plunder me until May. So we can get a confluence.”

“A what?”

I reached out to touch Harper again, but this time, I gently rested my hand on her cheek. “It’s a long story with lots of details, and we can talk more, but listen. I like you, I like this, and we’ll do what you what when you want. That’s it.”

“But...” Harper bit her lip as she stared at me. “Won’t you be, like, frustrated?”

Molly made a small snort. “Not after I get done sucking him off.”

Harper blinked rapidly, then giggled. “Oh, okay?”

I grinned as well. “It’s fine.”

“So... um...” Harper took a breath and looked at Molly. “Should I do that for him, too?”

Molly’s grin turned predatory. “Do what?”

“You know!”

“I don’t know. Can you do it?”

Harper’s eyes hopefully met mine. I couldn’t believe she was asking, and I also didn’t know why I was hesitating. I nodded calmly.

“You can do anything you want to me, Harper.”

“Right. So. Okay!” She shuddered in a good way, then smiled. “I’ll, um... just touch you for now. If you like. And you can touch me more?”

I drew my fingertip down her cheek, then her neck. She moaned and shivered at the same time Molly did the same thing. It was like I was stroking them both at the same time!

Weird. Awesome. More.

After that, Molly and Harper took turns grinding on my lap while kissing me. It was torturously erotic in the best way. I felt like I was going to pass out from how amazing this felt. I even came close before Harper paused and stared at me with wide, warm eyes.

“I believe you about the sex. Thank you. But can I ask why you’re okay with waiting? Guys never are, and it just... I need to understand because it’s distracting.”

I considered that, then shrugged. “Because like I said. You’re worth the wait.”

Harper stared. Molly groaned. And then Harper leaned close.

“So why are you and Molly waiting ‘til May? I mean, if it’s not a secret.”

Molly jumped in so I wouldn’t have to explain. “It’s a confluence. End of my semester, end of K’s semester, end of my virginity. K’s willing to wait to have me because he loves me enough to help me make an offering to my idol. I’m way behind you and yours.”

Harper frowned thoughtfully as she idly ran her finger up and down my side. “So if I tell you something about my idol, you won’t change you mind about doing stuff with me?”

Molly shoved her gently. “Psh, you can tell him. You’ve see how he is with me.”

I looked between two topless hot girls in confusion, then at Harper. “Tell me what?”

Harper took a deep breath. “Ahosu wants me to remain pure until marriage.”

“Oh.” I considered that. “Marriage?”

“It’s not required, but it’d help.” She looked down as if ashamed.

Molly poked my side. “We talked about it after I heard what happened with Jaxon, and it helped me understand her a bit better. She’s way too gorgeous not to have a boyfriend, right? But once she finally told me about Ahosu, it explained everything.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Which was...”

Harper visibly forced herself to meet my eyes again. “None of them would... I mean, once I told them... so, if that’s not okay with you...”

I gave her waist a squeeze and smiled as warmly as I could. “It’s all sorts of okay.”

Harper tumbled into my arms, warm skin against mine and brown hair tickling my nose. “Oh, Goddess. You mean that.”

Molly grinned triumphantly at Harper. “Told you.”

I gave Harper’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “So, what do you want to do tonight? And to be clear, we don’t have to do anything.”

She eased back, clutched my hand, and pulled it up against her full, left breast. That caused her to suck in her breath and Molly to groan in delight. Harper’s brown eyes stared at me with a lusty intensity that made my whole body tingle.

“Touch me. Do the stuff you do with Molly. I just can’t... no penetration. Not until I’m sure you’re... well, the one.”

I gently stroked my thumb around one of her pert, erect nipples, which caused her eyelids to flutter. She moaned softly as I smiled at her.

“I’m great with that if you are.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Harper sagged into my, then looked at Molly and giggled in obvious relief. “He really is a good guy.”

“Told you.”

I brushed back a bit of Harper’s brown hair. “Thanks for telling us. Or, me. So, any other rules you want to get out there?”

“Oh, goddess no. If it’s all the same to you, I’d really like the rest of it.”

“The rest of what?”

“You... making me... you know.” Her blush was so freaking cute.

I pulled her into my lap and kissed her, then smiled. “Get up on the bed and get comfy. I have some ideas for how to make this feel even better.”

“Oh. Okay. Yes!”

While Harper was willing to go topless, she wasn’t ready to take off her shorts. But she was wearing silk sleep shorts and nothing underneath them. So I started by kissing her, then gently fingered her through her shorts. Soon they were damp beneath my hand.

Her little moans as I touched her were adorable, as was the way she kept involuntarily closing her legs before pushing them open again. When Molly pushed up against me from behind and stared stroking my dick while sucking on the my shoulder, it got a bit harder to focus, but I did my best. Harper needed my best!

Soon Harper started pushing up into my hand, biting her lip with her eyes tightly closed. Not long after, I saw her back arch as her whole body tensed.

“Oh, don’t stop. Don’t... oh, fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuuuck...!”

I’m not sure who orgasmed first, Harper or Molly, but I do know I was only fingering one girl when it happened... and it wasn’t Molly. I was pretty close, too, thanks to all Molly’s generous contributions. She slowed once Harper orgasmed and shuddered against my back.

After I made gave Harper what she asked for, and after Harper recovered enough from her orgasm to ooze down on the floor beside me, I wrapped an arm around her bare waist. Molly spoke hotly in my ear as she traced her fingers across my bare chest.

“Keep kissing her, and don’t stop. I want to feel it while I taste you.”

I nodded. And as I kissed Harper eagerly, Molly slowly wrapped her lips around my dick.

Between the kissing and the sucking, plus all the grinding beforehand, it happened pretty quickly. I mean, two girls! As I groaned against Harper’s lips and came in Molly’s mouth, she clutched my arms like she was trying to help. Harper held me through my orgasm.

She clutched me close as I pumped away in Molly’s warm mouth, giving her everything she asked for. And I felt... well, not love. But a type of love you feel after the first time you have sex with a new partner, and you get that insane dopamine hit after. Bliss love.

This felt almost as good as the real thing, and what felt even more amazing was it was coming from two sources. After I finished in Molly’s mouth, and after Harper and I stopped kissing for a moment, Molly brushed a hand along my cheek and pulled me close.

She kissed my forehead almost like she was having a religious experience, then collapsed against me. We cuddled. We all cuddled.

I settled with my legs sprawled out against the side of Molly’s bed, and both she and her roommate cuddled close against me. Topless. Sweaty. Post-orgasmic. Just like me.

Eventually I glanced at Harper, who was watching me hopefully as she pressed close. I smiled at her and stroked back a bit of her sweaty hair.

“You okay?”

“Uh huh.” She looked up with one bare breast against my chest. "And you’re okay?”

I smiled as I remembered Molly asking a similar question. “So much okay.”

She giggled. “I still can’t believe this happened.”

“Me neither. But I’m glad it did.”

“Oh, me too. I just... how is it okay?” She blinked. “Is this post-nut clarity? Is that why they call it that?”

Molly shushed her. “I pushed you both into this, so no feeling guilty. I’m actually stupid happy right now. You both liked it, didn’t you?”

Harper and I nodded at once. Molly grinned up at me.

“I liked it, too. I wondered if I’d be jealous after you touched her, and I sort of am? But I’m also not. So it turns out I can share you, K, if just a little. Tez is gonna be thrilled.”

Harper clutched me tighter and looked hopefully at Molly. “So we can do this again?”

“Aye, I don’t see why not.”

“So does that mean we’re dating now? Me and Kyle, and you? Or just... hooking up?”

Molly tapped her lips. “Not sure yet. Let’s talk it over tomorrow when we’re all sober. But for now, when we’re all horny, we can share my boyfriend. You, me, K. Deal?”

Molly had called me her boyfriend. Not Harper’s. She was still possessive, but in a different way. Harper sucked in her breath.

“Yes.”

Molly grinned. “See? All the good ones aren’t taken.”

“Only cause you’re willing to share yours.”

“Yeah, well.” Molly cuddled close. “I don’t mind sharing with my best friend.”

Harper experimentally ran her fingers up and down my leg. “We’re still besties?”

“Psh, why would you even ask that?”

“Because I thought we were? But you’ve been out all the time recently. We haven’t done anything but be in the same room since that night at the frat party. I was kind of worried...” She tensed. “I was worried you blamed me for what happened with his car.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “I never blamed you. I just wasn’t with you cause I was with K.” She smiled. “I won’t need to choose now, though. Now I get to have both of you.”

I stared solemnly at Molly. “So we’re doing this. We’re doing the pride thing.”

“Why not? It’s like that Marshall girl said. You need a pride, K. It’ll get you a stupid amount of envy and a stupid amount of power, and now that I know I get this out of having other girls around, I’m willing to experiment a little. On a trial basis. With girls we both like.”

“Really? More girls?”

“Obviously. You can’t have a harem with just two, right?”

“I... guess?”

Molly looked past me at Harper. “What do you think? About K having other girls?”

Harper turned crimson. “You’re asking me?”

“Course. If you’re gonna be part of this, you’re part of us. So, any girls you fancy?”

“Oh. No? I mean... I don’t really fancy girls.”

“Och, me neither. I mean girls we’re willing to share K with.”

“Oh. No. No one comes to mind.”

“Guess it’s up to me, then. K? I’ll be your recruiter.”

I stared at Molly in disbelief. “Okay, so... one thing. Not that I’m opposed to this in any way, I’m actually really cool with it, but are you sure you haven’t gone insane?”

She snorted. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since your acceptance letter arrived. You need power. We need power, and a pride will help you keep us both safe. I just didn’t know if I could let another girl touch you without wanting to gouge her eyes out.”

Harper clutched me a bit tighter. Molly simply smiled.

“I didn’t know for sure until we tried it, but getting soaked by your happiness, and her happiness, was like two orgasms at the same time. I can’t imagine what it’ll feel like with more, but if feels this good with two, well...” She shuddered. “Feck me. We can do it. I want to do it.”

Harper blushed. “Well, now I’m jealous.”

Molly tenderly reached across me to grip Harper’s hand. “It’s strange. I know. We’ll take it slow with the relationship bits. Let’s do just us for now.”

“Right. So just the two of us with Kyle for now. Dating and other stuff.”

“Yup. It’s like juggling.”

I groaned. “Juggling? Really?”

Molly teased back some hair from my forehead as she gazed adoringly at me. “Like with bowling pins, except with hot girls. You can’t just start juggling three bowling pins. You’re going to drop them all the time. You start with one, then two.”

“Two bowling pins?”

Harper looked hopefully at Molly. “Hey, can I kiss him again? Is that okay now?”

“Sure. Kiss him all you want now, even in public. We’ll talk about more later.”

Harper kissed me. I kissed her. And this time, it wasn’t just Molly who offered a small, orgasmic groan.

I could feel how happy Harper was that she had a guy she could kiss now, and I realized then how much I didn’t know about her. And how much I wanted to know.

I knew Harper liked strawberry-banana milkshakes. I knew her idol was Ahosu, an African goddess of the hunt. Ahosu took revenge on hunters who killed more animals than they needed to live. I knew Harper absolutely worshipped Miss Wilcox.

But I didn’t know when Harper’s birthday was, and I didn’t know what sort of snacks she liked. Now that we were going to be hooking up on the regular, those felt like the sort of things I should learn about her. I needed to learn all about my new... friend? With benefits.

Molly was right. This couldn’t be a one time thing. Not now that Harper, despite her prior heartbreak, had trusted me to kiss her lips, and touch her boobs, and then make her orgasm without ever taking her shorts off.

I got the feeling Harper hadn’t been with many guys, if any at all. Yet she’d been willing to be with me. She’d trusted me to kiss her and touch her without asking for anything that she couldn’t or wouldn’t give.

That made whatever we had now something special, and it made the three of us something special. Even if we weren’t quite sure what it was yet.

I had to be sure I could juggle two before I tried to juggle any more, because dropping either of them was absolutely out of the question now.

But at least Molly and I had both mutually agreed I was going to learn to juggle.

Honestly, it would be worse not to date both of them. It would be like someone you loved offering you a million dollars with no strings attached, and you saying, sorry, I just don’t like money that much. You’d get your ass kicked for saying that.

 I liked girls, and girls, it seemed, liked me. There was an “s” on the end of that now. Girlfriends, plural. That was going to require some mental adjustment.

Sleeping was a brief negotiation, but it ended with me and Molly in Molly’s bed and Harper in her bed. It wasn’t that we didn’t want Harper cuddling with us, but the beds in the dorms were really not designed for multiple people. There was sex, and there was sleep.

We’d had the sex. It was sleepy time now. Sleeping was easier in your own bed.

Even if we both would have preferred to have Harper in bed with us.

Chapter 53

When I opened my eyes in a South American jungle, I sighed happily. I liked this place. I liked how safe and warm I felt here. After the cold of Rhode Island in the the winter, the gentle heat of Tezcatlipoca’s dream was like slipping into a warm bath.

I turned to find the grand South American temple waiting for me. I climbed the steps without hesitation, stepping over two different broken flutes on the way up. I found Tez waiting at the top of the temple on the altar, watching me with kind, approving eyes.

I stopped and bowed. He spoke.

“Rise, disciple.”

I rose. He eyed me calmly and with wisdom that felt ageless.

“The envy you continue to generate among your peers is now palpable enough I can feel it even when not paying attention. Word of your prowess, and my power, spreads rapidly throughout the school of Hallowstone. And now, you have decided to form a pride?”

“Yes. Having sex with two girls at the same time is just as awesome as I thought it would be, and while I’m going to stick with just Molly and Harper for now, I want more.”

“And you will ensure those with whom you study are aware that you now have two lovers? Attractive women who eagerly share their bodies with you?”

“I mean, I’m not going to make a sign, but we’re going to go on dates together. We’ll hold hands and kiss in public. All three of us. People will figure it out pretty quick, and man, I’d be jealous as hell if I saw some other guy doing that. So we’re in good shape, envy wise.”

Tez nodded approvingly. “You have done well.”

“Thanks! And thanks for the new words of power. Ihiyotl is amazing. I’m faster than an Olympic sprinter now.”

“My words are powerful, but you must not overuse them. Pay attention to your body and do not deplete your stores of magic beyond what your body can reasonably survive. You are progressing well, and I wish you to continue to grow in power and reputation.”

“Coach Rodriguez says the same thing. To listen to my body, I mean. I won’t push myself beyond where I’m comfortable, but I’m going to continue to approve.” I looked down at one of my brown-skinned hands and made a fist, then opened it. “Between how proud I am to have multiple girls dating me, and Molly’s love, I think I’m almost fully charged again.”

“That is good. Now, the reason I have called you here.”

“Oh. It wasn’t to congratulate me on my new harem?”

“You face a trial tomorrow.”

That sobered me up. “The tactics exercise. Right. Can you tell me what to expect?”

“Only that I have sensed displeasure stalking you from beyond.”

“Displeasure? Like... something like you is pissed at me?”

“Indeed. Are you familiar with the idol known as Resheph?”

I groaned. “Yeah, definitely. That’s the shitter’s idol. Didn’t you see what happened?”

“No. I peer into your world only infrequently, and I have a great many demands on my time. My wives demand constant satisfaction, both sexually and emotionally.”

“Oh. That makes sense. So basically, his disciple picked a fight with me.”

“You engaged in combat with this... what did you call him?”

“The shitter. His name’s Jaxon Price, and the moment I walked into Conclave Battle Tactics, he tried to make me poop my pants with a word of power because he didn’t like me standing up to him. But the word bounced back, and then he straight up crapped himself.”

Tez growled in a way that actually gave me chills. “Did any others witness your humiliation of this man?”

“Yeah, pretty much the whole class watched him crap his pants, and then they learned it was because I bounced his word of power right back at him.” I grinned. “Serves him right.”

Tez relaxed. “I see. This explains the ire I feel emanating from the beyond.”

“Well, can you fill me in?”

“You did not simply embarrass Resheph’s disciple. You turned his own idol’s power against him, which was an affront to Resheph himself. This is why he is angry with you.”

“But that’s ridiculous! Jaxon cast the word at me. I didn’t even do anything.”

“Resheph is cross with me as well. This is good.”

I stared in disbelief for a moment. “How is this good?”

“The only feeling sweeter than knowing that mortals envy my disciple is knowing that their idols envy me. We embarrassed Resheph. He and Jaxon will seek revenge against both of us, though there is little Resheph can do to me here. That means he will focus on you.”

“Well, that’s just fucking perfect. I already have Quetzalcoatl worshippers hunting my ass, and now I have to deal with a pissed off Egyptian plague god as well?”

Tez rose languidly, cat stretched, and hopped off the altar with the loud thumping of padded feet. As he approached, I was reminded of just how big he was. He was a tank-sized cat, and while I knew he wouldn’t harm me here, he could shred me like a blender.

“I will not allow any otherworldly entity to harm my disciple. You need not worry about Resheph, Kyle Bradley. Should he attempt to harm you directly, I will make him regret his hubris. But you should be cautious of this Jaxon Price. He intends to harm you.”

“Like... physically?”

“If he can. He would also settle for embarrassing you greatly, destroying your reputation, or damaging your academic standing. You cannot allow this to happen. You would be seen as weak. Respect for you across the Hallowstone school could suffer.”

“Right. Nobody fucks with your disciples and gets away with it.”

“Well stated.”

“But will I even remember your warning? I never remember these dreams.”

“Answer me three questions, and answer them as the you who exists back in your world. Not the you who I summon to my dreams.”

“Oh. Okay. I can do that.”

“Do you regret having sex with Molly Brown and Harper Braddock tonight?”

I smiled proudly. “Not one bit. That was hot as hell.”

“And do you still fear you will hurt Molly if you form a pride of attractive women?”

I considered that as well, then shook my head and smiled in relief.

“Not so long as we agree on whether we’re going to add them, first. The way things went with Harper shows I can have more than one woman without breaking Molly’s heart. Given the happiness of other women can also give Molly orgasms, she even likes it now.”

“And can you publicly call more than one woman yours, in front of your peers and your community? Can you look past the societal expectations thrust upon you by society and acknowledge your pride? Do you deserve a pride, Kyle Bradley?”

I considered that question as well, and I considered it from the perspective of real me, the me sleeping in bed with Molly while Harper dozed in the next bed over. I deserved Molly. She deserved me. So what about the others?

I considered how deliriously happy Harper had looked when I agreed to be with her, but not demand she have sex with me. She would finally have a guy she could date, and even take all the time she needed to fall in love with, without him demanding something from her that would lower her rapport with her idol. I’d given her that. After she gave herself to me.

Then I considered how much better we could make Valerie’s life if I asked her to be with me instead of some random guy. If she wasn’t forced to marry some jerkoff she didn’t know because her father said so. If she didn’t have to curse herself to never be happy, because I wouldn’t require her to constantly charge her sadness affinity to keep up with my expectations.

I thought about how much Ilva might enjoy being with me, even if she had to share me with other girls. She already knew I was a disciple of Tezcatlipoca, and she already knew I was with Molly. Yet she had still made her interest clear with her constant flirting.

That made me think Ilva would be okay with sharing me if there benefits both ways. I also got the feeling she liked powerful men, and I was certainly on my way there. Powerful and influential men often had harems, and I was going to be one of those.

Even Lilah might enjoy getting hugs instead of people shunning her, though obviously, we’d be doing a lot more than hugging once she was ready for it. But more than that, Lilah wouldn’t have to be alone. No matter how creepy she got, I would be there to keep her warm.

And Miss Wilcox... well, that was still something I had to figure out over the next few years. In here, where I knew she had the hots for me, I suspected I knew exactly how she charged her batteries. Her push affinity was longing, as in pining, as in romantic pining.

She wanted me, but I was younger than her. And I was her student now, which meant if we did anything together, she would lose her tenure or even get banned from campus. And I sort of still saw her as my foster mom, even though we were in no related.

So now, she felt like she could never have me despite wanting me as badly as she’d ever wanted anyone. She must be charging a lot of magic. I hoped it didn’t hurt.

There were barriers to a lasting relationship between us that we would both have to break down. Miss Wilcox would have to pine for me a bit longer, at least until I started thinking of her as a dating prospect and I wasn’t a student here. Yet someday, I could imagine myself kissing those wet, warm lips of hers before I buried my face in her phenomenal tits.

Yes. I wanted that. I wanted her. I could make Anastasia happy, too.

I could make all of the lives of my women brighter, even Jane’s. I still had trouble imagining any world where Jane wanted to hop in my bed rather than down my throat, but who knew? If we ended up hate fucking during an intense situation, that might lead to more.

So, yeah. I could form my pride, because now I knew I could make more women than just Molly happy. More importantly, I wouldn’t hurt Molly by having other women. I could make every girl who wanted to be with me happy, and as a bonus, I’d be drowning in pussy.

Thanks to the first woman I’d ever loved, the brave, funny, wonderful woman who had taken the initiative to see if we could have more together, I saw a future I’d never imagined until tonight. I could have a pride of women, and I’d do all I could to make their lives as wonderful as they made mine. Me, Kyle Bradley. Tezcatlipoca’s disciple.

“I think it could actually make this work. Me, back there. A pride.”

Tez bared his obsidian teeth in a terrifying smile. “Then with this shift in your mental perspective, you will remember more and more of what we speak of in my dream.”

“Because the me back there is more like the me in here, now.”

“Yes. Heed my warning, Kyle Bradley. Jaxon Price will attempt to harm you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be ready.” I blinked. “And hey, you already told me why the serpents want to capture Molly! So they can force her to open a gate to the underworld!”

“Yes. You will remember this once you wake?”

“I sure hope so. Knowing what they want would make it a lot easier to figure how to stop them.” I focused intently on retaining that memory. “They can’t have Molly. She’s mine.”

“And the others?”

“They aren’t mine yet, but I’m going to fix that. Not just with Harper, but with the others as well. My pride’s going to have all sorts of hot women.”

“Then we have nothing else to discuss, other than that I wish you luck in battle tomorrow. Believe in me, believe in your conclave, and toss down any who dare think they can challenge you or me, the grand Tezcatlipoca. All must fear and envy you.”

“Envy’s already working. I’ll work on the fear part, at least with the assholes. And tomorrow, if Jaxon and his buddies try to harm me or my conclave?

Tez watched expectantly.

“I’m going to make the day he pooped his pants in front of everyone a pleasant footnote in comparison to the rest of what I do to him.”

My dream faded, and after that came sleep. And when I woke, some parts of the dream did fade almost immediately. But not all of it. Not the parts that mattered most.

I shook with excitement as I actually remembered a dream from Tez for the first time. My idol had spoken to me, no, better. He had advised me. And the clarity I’d gained in the dream remained with me, even if the rest didn’t.

I could have Molly. I could have a pride. These two goals were no longer in conflict, so long as we moved cautiously and did everything as a team.

And Molly and I made a great team.

Chapter 54

Molly needed to know what I’d remembered. She needed to know right now. So despite the fact that the sun wasn’t up yet, I gently shook her. She didn’t open her eyes.

I kept my voice low. “Molly, wake up.”

She groaned and managed a long, drawn out word. “Sleeeeep.”

“I know why the serpents want to abduct you.”

She snorted, then blearily opened her eyes. I saw her struggling to focus on me as what I’d just said rippled through her tired brain and ignited dormant neurons.

She blinked slowly. “What?”

“Tez told me why the serpents want to abduct you.”

“And... why?”

“They want you to open a gateway to the underworld.”

“What underworld?”

“I...” I frowned. “I’m not actually sure.”

“You don’t know? Or he didn’t tell you? Or you forgot?”

“I think... no, that’s all he told me. Not where or which underworld, but definitely a gateway to an underworld. That’s bad, right? It’s something!”

Molly smiled tiredly. “You remembered a dream from Tez.”

“Some of it, yes.”

“That’s great, K. That’s bloody fantastic. It’s just like it was with me and Janus.”

“And there’s more.”

“Sure. Just gimme a sec to get awake. Then we’ll...” She yawned. “Talk all about it.”

“Sure.”

A moment later, she was fast asleep again. I considered waking her back up, but decided there was nothing I’d learned that couldn’t wait until she got more shuteye. Molly needed her beauty sleep, and I needed to organize my thoughts about everything.

I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep, so what I could do is focus on internalizing every detail I remembered about my dream with Tez. Details I no longer forgot the moment I woke up. There was still a lot missing, but I remembered a lot more than I had.

The temple I went to wasn’t a real place. It might be based on a real place, but it only existed inside Tez’s dreams. The body I had there was that of an Aztec priest of Tezcatlipoca, and I’d embarrassed Jaxon Price enough that he was going to come after me. Today.

He was going to strike at me somehow during the item extraction exercise in Conclave Battle Tactics. He was likely going to talk his boy band into coming after me as well. That meant my whole conclave could be in trouble.

They couldn’t toss words of power at me without breaking the rules, and they already knew I’d just bounce them back. So they had something worse planned.

Yet I wouldn’t be facing them alone. I’d have Valerie, and Tyson, and Leon, and I would warn them all about this the moment we met and started to strategize. Maybe I could even tell Coach Rodriguez, though... no.

That didn’t feel right. Not when I was being challenged.

A disciple of Tezcatlipoca didn’t run to the instructors whenever someone threatened to give him a bloody nose. He accepted the challenge from his rival and then mercilessly beat their ass. Plus, I had no proof other than a vague memory of a dream I barely remembered.

Valerie and Tyson had told me Jaxon had a wealthy, influential, and well regarded magi family backing him. I doubted you could toss dream accusations at someone that well connected without serious pushback. I had to catch Jaxon in the act and prove his guilt.

At least I now knew he was coming for me. Tez had given me that and more. As I looked down at the woman dozing happily in my arms, the happiness that flooded me actually made me dizzy.

Molly loved me, and she was willing to share me. How was I this lucky?

No. Not luck. I deserved this. I would earn this blessing by making Molly and Harper happy every day. I would care for them, protect them, and sleep with them.

Maybe not in that order.

I glanced across the room. Harper was fast asleep in the other bed, resting on her side with her knees pulled up close to her chest. Her mouth was slightly open, and she was breathing easily and even snoring a tiny bit. Just faint, cute little snores.

I’d kissed her last night. I’d touched her boobs and fingered her until she had an orgasm. And Molly had cheered us on the whole time, soaking in Harper’s happiness and my happiness and getting off on both. She’d said it was okay for us to be together.

Our first night with Harper wasn’t just a drunken hook up. It was real. It was going to happen again, which meant I had to make sure I Harper wanted it as much as I did.

These were my women. My pride. And over the next few years, they would grow in power with me. Harper would be in my conclave right beside Molly.

I looked at Molly. Fast asleep. I gently disentangled myself so I could get up and stretch. While she made a small noise, she didn’t wake.

I slid out of bed, rose, and padded to the middle of the room. Molly wanted sleep. I didn’t. So I walked over to Harper’s bed, knelt beside it, and gently rested my hand on her upper arm. I rubbed gently. Her brown eyes slowly opened.

Her eyes shot wide as she saw me kneeling by her bed and rubbing her arm. A ripple went through her body before she finally relaxed. She blushed bright as she spoke softly enough she likely wouldn’t wake Molly.

“Oh. Morning.”

I squeezed her upper arm. “Morning.”

“Last night wasn’t a dream, was it?”

“Nope.”

“We...”

“Yes.”

“So...” She blinked as she focused. “Do you... are we doing more?”

“Actually, I’d just like to cuddle with you. We didn’t get to cuddle last night.”

She shivered and grinned in relief. “Oh, yes please.”

She pulled up her sheet to reveal she had put a T-shirt on during the night, and it was so tempting to pull that off her. But I’d just told her all I wanted to do was cuddle. I wasn’t going back on my word so soon.

I climbed into her narrow bed and wrapped her up in my arms without another word. Her tiny happy sound was somewhere between a squeak and a moan. She snuggled into my arms, against my chest, and breathed.

“I love your arms. You feel... this is nice.”

I grinned and kissed the top of her brown hair. “It is.”

“I never get this. I never had this.”

“Getting hugged? Really?”

“A morning after with a cute guy.”

I considered that as I slowly adjusted to lay on my back and positioned her in the crook of my arm. That way, she could rest her cheek on my chest and I could hold her close.

“Sorry.”

She frowned. “You don’t have to be sorry. You actually listened to me.”

“I mean I’m sorry you had to deal with that. Expectations and all that.”

She snuggled closer. “I guess it helps that we’ll have Molly to pick up the slack. At least once you two get your confluence.”

“Your turn. You’re really okay with being in a throuple?”

She stared wide-eyed, then giggled softly. “Did you really call us that?”

“Yes! It’s a term.”

“A term from, like, YA fantasy novels. For girls.”

“Still accurate.”

“Well, yes. Since I can’t let you... you know... I’m actually glad to have the help.”

“Cool. So, can I kiss you again?”

She stared at me like I was an idiot. “You can kiss me any time you want.”

I kissed her softly, then more firmly. We kissed for a good while, and it was just as nice as it was last night. As difficult as it was not to start groping her the way I groped Molly, especially given how hard kissing her made me, all I did was hold her.

When we finally eased apart, she breathed happily.

“And I can do more for you. Just... I can’t give you that yet.”

“You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“No, I’m definitely going to do my part.” She rested a palm on my chest, sliding her fingers up and down slowly in a way that made me tingle. “But we should clear it with Molly first. I’m still not sure where our boundaries are. You’re still her boyfriend.”

“Right. So theoretically, if she was okay with stuff, what would you be okay with?”

She wilted a little. “You’re really gonna make me say it out loud?”

“Yes. Communication is going to be important if we’re going to make this work. One relationship is hard enough. We’re each going to be trying to make two work.”

Harper stared another moment. “You’re taking this seriously.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re both important to me.”

She kissed me again, then eased away and smiled. “It’s just... it’s nice. To know that you’re that committed to getting this right with me, even if it just started. So... okay.”

I waited in anxious, hopeful silence as she thought.

“Handjobs, definitely. It’s not fair for you to to get me off without me doing the same.”

“Thanks. I’d like that.”

“And I’ll try the other thing.”

“What other thing?”

“The Molly thing.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

She slapped my chest and giggled. “I’ll try blowing you. If you want.”

“Uh, yes please.”

“Just be aware I don’t have a lot of practice.”

“That’s fine.”

“Like, none at all.”

“That’s okay. It’s like a pizza.”

“Like... what?”

“Even when it’s not the best pizza you’ve ever had, everyone still likes pizza.”

She snort-giggled. “I can’t believe we’re even talking about this.”

“Also, when’s your birthday?”

“April sixteenth.”

“Got it. I’ll remember. Favorite movie?”

She eyed me dubiously. “This is weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“It’s like we’re doing it in reverse order. First the sex, then getting to know each other.”

“Sometimes, mornings after are like that.” I smiled. “We should go on another date.”

Her whole face lit up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“With or without Molly?”

“That’s something we’ll all figure out together. She knows you a lot better than I do, but we’re going to change that moving forward. Honestly, I feel like we would have gotten to know each other better before now, but I really didn’t see this coming.”

“Oh, me too. Not at all. I mean, I’ve had thoughts about you since we met on the drive to that frat house, but I really thought Molly just wanted to watch a movie with us.”

“To be fair, we watched some of it. And really? You had thoughts?”

She blushed fiercely. “Yes.”

“Dirty thoughts?”

“Yes!”

“Before science.”

“Yes. Before we did magic science, I had dirty thoughts about you. Are you happy now?”

From the other bed, Molly groaned softly. “What are you too whispering about?”

I glanced at her in surprise. “Hey! You’re up.”

She smacked her lips and stared blearily at us. “I’m cold.”

“Come over here, then.”

“But then I have to walk. In the cold.”

Harper kissed me again, then gave me a gentle shove. “Go.”

I gave her another squeeze, then moved to slide out of bed. Then I saw Molly doing the same and paused. She hurried over and then clambered into bed with us. I yelped as she basically just flattened herself on top of me, then shivered.

“Covers, please.”

Somehow, we got the covers around all three of us. We also found out that if I laid on my back, and both girls snuggled really close, we could fit everyone.

We ended up with Harper basically pinned between my left side and the wall, and Molly would likely roll off the other side if I stopped holding her close, but I anchored them. Molly sighed happily and snuggled into my arms.

“Okay, warm now. So, K? What were you both talking about?”

“Communication.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“I was just telling Harper that we’re going to need to communicate a lot if we want to make this work. All three of us. We need to set clear boundaries for everything, make sure everyone’s on the same page, and speak up if we’re feeling uncomfortable.”

Molly groaned. “You’re making your harem sound like work.”

“I think it has to be, at least a little.”

“Why? Two girls, K. It’s a no-brainer.”

“Not if I want to do right by you both. Not if I want to make this as good for you as you’re making it for me.” I sobered. “I love you, Molly, and I already really like Harper. I don’t want to fuck this up with either of you. So I’m gonna work hard to do right by you both.”

Molly shivered. Harper sighed. And then Molly looked at Harper across my chest, her hand slid down my body beneath the covers and then gently wrapped around my erection.

I sucked in my breath and groaned. Molly stroked me slowly and torturously, up and down, as she watched Harper with a little smile.

“You got him hard already? You naughty girl.”

Harper turned crimson. “I didn’t mean too.”

“Well, you did.”

“Oh. So... you’ll fix it?”

“Nope, you did this. You fix it. It’s your turn.”

“Okay. Sure. I can do that.” Harper took a breath, and then, her hand tentatively joined Molly’s.

I groaned so loud they both giggled, but I couldn’t help myself. New girl hand! On my dick! As they both gently stroked me, Molly grinned proudly at Harper.

“He’s all yours. I’m on kissing duty. Let me know if you need help, and don’t you stop until he spurts.”

Harper tightened her grip as she gently pumped. “Got it.”

Molly kissed me. Harper pumped me. And while she almost jerked her hand away when I groaned against Molly’s lips and came all over her hand, she didn’t.

She raised her hand and eyed it curiously. Then, curiously, she even stuck out her tongue and tasted it in front of me. Watching her consider what she’d done was both cute and erotic. She looked at me and smiled.

“It’s not bad, honestly. A little salty, but it’s fine.”

Molly stopped kissing me long enough to eye her hopefully. “So?”

“It’s... what are you asking?”

“Can he finish in your mouth? He likes that.”

Harper blushed, smiled, and then looked at me. She nodded while biting her lip.

Molly reached across me to squeeze Harper’s shoulder. “Good girl.”

So, yeah. Having a pride was going to be complicated, but it was also awesome.