After Berkley left, I lay there for a good half-hour. I had a lot to think about. My harem had grown quite a lot and while it was undoubtedly hot to be in such demand, it was also… weird. Definitely weird. I’d been a bit of a nerd all my life, so the girls hadn’t exactly been lining up to date me, and now there were absolutely babes just volunteering to be my fucktoys. I ended up dressing and went to look for Sarah.
Amy helped direct me to Sarah’s room, and I found her inside unpacking.
She took one look at me and set aside her work. “Need to talk?”
I just nodded and closed the door.
She sat on her bed and motioned to the recliner.
I chuckled. “Don’t have your therapist’s couch, so they gave you a recliner?”
“It’s easier.” She shrugged. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”
I took advantage of the reclining feature and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Why do you guys even want to be with me?”
“There are a lot of reasons,” Sarah assured me. “Do you remember why the first few of us joined and formed the harem?”
“You were horny, and I had a dick that wasn’t getting stuck in every pussy on campus… But now I’m basically doing that, aren’t I?” I demanded.
“And you believe that if we didn’t find you to be appealing in more ways than just being a convenient penis, we’d have still gone ahead with it?” Sarah pointed out in that ‘you know I’m right’ sort of way.
“But WHY?” I demanded, throwing my hands up in frustration. “Until I was with Courtney, I had absolutely NOTHING going on… romantically. Now, I’m being treated like some sort of sex god. With everyone just throwing themselves at me.”
Sarah thought about that for a minute. “I know I found you attractive when we first met with you… but this may be the phenomenon of the female attraction to a taken man. Studies suggest that in fish and birds, a male that has a mate is viewed as more appealing, and in some ways, the other females view the mating male as being pre-validated as a suitable mate. I can’t say that it wasn’t the case with me, because even then, I knew that you and Courtney were a pair.”
She crossed her legs and put her elbows on her knees, her chin leaned forward on her hands. She clearly didn’t care that I could see her panties up her skirt, which made sense considering the number of times I’d taken her panties off.
“Then… it is entirely possible that the validation of you having multiple women willing to share you further validated your desirability as a partner, opening the door for future harem members to see the appeal.” She concluded. “But that’s just a theory.”
“So… classic case of ‘if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you’?” I asked.
“A similar concept, but with a sexual partner, yes,” Sarah admitted.
“So if Courtney chose poorly, and I was… some pervert who would coerce a woman into sex, the rest of you would have just gotten pulled into the shitstorm?” I declared, remembering how my relationship with Courtney had REALLY started.
“Absolutely not.” Sarah laughed. “You think we would have stuck around this long if you were someone like that?”
“I don’t think you know me at all,” I confessed.
“If you are referring to the blackmail, you should know that Courtney told me all the details ages ago,” Sarah informed me.
My head shot up.
“No, I haven’t told the others,” Sarah assured me. “Doctor-patient privilege, you know?”
“So, you know I’m a scumbag.” I declared, covering my face, “So, why are you still here?”
“Well, while I certainly disapprove of that part of how you two came together, was that ACTUALLY why you are together now?” Sarah pressed. “As I understand it, you gave Courtney a full two weeks to pick out the man to whom she would lose her virginity, and she chose you at the first opportunity. Why do you think that is?”
“She was desperate, and I was the only non-revolting option,” I admitted miserably.
Sarah sighed, “You really need to work on your self-esteem. No. Think about it.”
I raised my head to look at her. She met my gaze with exasperation.
“Okay, work through it with me,” Sarah instructed. “Courtney, who was more known for chasing men off than talking to them, gets blackmailed. As I understand it, you forced her to let you have anal intercourse with her on a Friday. She had two weeks to find a man she was willing to lose her virginity to. But Monday, after only having the weekend, she came straight to you.”
“Yeah, she didn’t want to run out of time,” I grumbled.
“Think like a woman for a minute,” Sarah suggested. “Never mind, that never works. Let’s see. Oh! Okay, Courtney is a programmer, like you, correct?”
“Yeah.” I acknowledged.
“So, what does your decision-making process look like?” She pressed.
“Well, find your options, list pros and cons, find the most acceptable option, and proceed,” I replied.
“Okay, so let’s assume Courtney followed a similar process. Over Saturday and Sunday, Courtney compiled her options, listed pros and cons, found the most acceptable option, and decided on you.” Sarah pointed out.
“And? Once you make your decision, there is no point in delaying, so what?” I grumbled.
“Do you not think it odd that Courtney didn’t need to spend more time gathering her options?” Sarah guided me. “Or that you were already on her shortlist of candidates?”
“Wait, what are you saying?” I demanded.
“For fuck’s sake, Tom!” Sarah groaned. “She already liked you!”
I blinked. “But she never…”
“Of course, she never talked to you! It was terrifying! There was no doubt in her mind that she had a reputation. She’s never been good with men, and being raised the heiress to a fucking fortune doesn’t make for an easy childhood. Some make it out okay, but your odds, as a rich baby, are about as good as a kid actor in Hollywood. For every famous trust fund baby that actually makes something of her life, you get a freaking Paris Hilton. And Courtney was right on track to be the next Paris Hilton.” Sarah exploded.
I winced, most people I knew had an… unflattering view of Paris Hilton.
“Sorry about that… I try to remain professional, but damn it… Why do guys have to be so dense sometimes?” Sarah grumbled.
My brain was still catching up to things.
“So if… but…” I muttered.
“Yeah, she might have gotten the courage to talk to you eventually, but as soon as she knew she was going to be getting fucked, she knew EXACTLY who she wanted to do it,” Sarah informed me. “She’d already done her research, and weighed her options, she just lacked the courage to MOVE on it.”
“And then I blackmailed her,” I muttered, feeling once more like shit.
“Oh, she forgave you for that as soon as she learned it was you,” Sarah informed me. “I mean, she hated the fact that she was stooping to cheating, she hated that she didn’t have the guts to just ask you out, and she had seen you keep your distance because of her reputation. It sounds like nothing short of the blackmail could have gotten her moving in the right direction, and so while she hated sending all the pictures and doing everything with the ‘blackmailer’ she was wishing she had the courage to send the pictures to you and make the moves on you.”
“So… if I had just asked her out…” I realized.
“She probably would have had a panic attack and rejected you as a gut reaction.” Sarah assessed. “She didn’t exactly have the best coping mechanisms. She’s come a long way.”
“No thanks to me,” I grumbled.
“Oh… my… god…” Sarah groaned. “Fucking you was the healthiest coping mechanism she’d had in years. Then getting the harem together has helped her socialize normally… or more normally… You have done fucking wonders for her. And not just wonders while fucking her.”
“… Really?” I muttered with doubt.
“Really, really.” Sarah snipped. “So while, yeah, I was disappointed in you for a few minutes, by the time we finished the session where she confessed to me about it I’d forgiven you… Besides, it was entirely uncharacteristic of you… I am generally not one to believe in a higher power, but… there must have been something in the water that week or something.”
I had to admit, I hadn’t exactly been myself while I was blackmailing Courtney. “I kinda figured I got drunk on power or something.”
Sarah cocked her head in thought, “No if that were the case, I’d have expected further signs of that side of you showing through. But if anything, the more power you’ve gotten the farther you’ve strayed from the ‘blackmailing rapist’ persona.”
I shrugged.
“So, in summary, you are a good man who made a mistake for… what was it, a couple weeks? Then you became a diligent lover, boyfriend, tutor, support, and friend. So, aside from Courtney and me knowing about your brief lapse in judgment, all the members of the harem had only seen the diligent lover, boyfriend, tutor, support, and friend. What reason would there be to leave? And the more your harem grows, the more appealing it is to join…. For those that are already inclined to alternative lifestyles… and the more tempting it will be for someone to try to step in like Mary to try to snatch you up,” Sarah warned. “Mary seems to be accepting the harem life, but I’m watching for the girl who’s going to try to steal you away from us.”
I laughed. “I’d be an idiot to leave.”