A bit of a blunder.

So… it’s weird, and I know for sure none of it was on purpose, but I’d been on something of a dry spell for a few days, which I don’t think is normally considered a dry spell by anyone other than me.

Friday night turned out to be extremely busy, so when we went back home, Diana was exhausted and so was I. Everyone else was asleep, too, so we just went to bed. On Saturday morning, we had a lot of cleaning up to do before Fern, Isabelle and mom came over for lunch. My family stayed until Diana and I had to go back to work, which AGAIN turned out to be an annoyingly busy night.

Lots of customers in the bar, and the waiters suggesting the cocktail menu more in the restaurant had the unfortunate side-effect of increasing our workload during the two busiest nights of the week. Again, Diana was exhausted, maybe even more than the day before, and the other girls had spent the rest of the day finishing up on the weekly cleaning and had also gone to bed early. I had expected Noelle to still be up, since she streamed until about 3:00 am, but she was also asleep.

I was starting to get a little restless, honestly. Sleep was good, and necessary, but… sex was an even better source of energy to me. But really, Wednesday night had been the last time I’d done it, and it’s not like I haven’t gone longer without it. I think what was irritating me a bit was that… well… How do I put this? How had I not found a good opportunity to have sex when I live with six women?

Then again, nearly all of the fault lies with me since I kept telling myself that we could just do it later and that things like cleaning and letting them all get proper sleep was more important. I still believe that. And Saturday night, before we went back home from work, I’d been thinking about how much I’d love some quick fun with all the girls before my classmates arrived in the afternoon, but then I got a text from Steven.

-Steven: Hey, sorry to bother you this late, but we’re going to your house early tomorrow, right? To use all the time we have. Ruby was asking if it’s okay if we’re there at around 10:00 am.

I had to swallow a curse. We hadn’t decided on a time, but I’d been assuming they’d be there in the afternoon. I suppose I could tell them no, but they did have a point. We had to use as much of the time we had left as we could to practice.

“...”

-Oliver: I’m working a night shift, so could you be there at like 12:00 pm?

-Steven: Oh, right. Yeah, sure. 12:00. Sorry.

“...”

I was starting to get a very mild headache, and I wasn’t sure if I was that tired or if Frey was getting annoyed at me. Still, as inconvenient as it was, I’d once gone almost two weeks without sex, and thought it was pretty uncomfortable, it wasn’t THAT bad, so I kept telling myself I was just getting irritated that I had a bunch of gorgeous, sexy women all around me and somehow we’d been unlucky enough to not find a good moment to relax.

I had a hard time waking up that Sunday morning and had to force myself out of bed for the first time in a while, and I suppose that should’ve been telling in itself. We’d been getting used to our weekend, and we’d found that a 11:0 am breakfast worked well for everyone. It gave everyone enough time to rest or sleep in. I got up at 9:30 am and went to the gym on the third floor both as part of the new routine and in an attempt to relieve frustration.

…

I don’t think it was a good idea. It was a good workout, as always, but I felt more tired than usual. It really was strange, but it wasn’t until I absentmindedly used magic to clean a sweaty towel that it hit me.

I’d been using magic a lot more these days. From simple cleaning to drink mixing, I’d been on the mindset that the more I used it, the more proficient I’d become. And so far that had been working pretty well… until I suddenly had to go four days without sex while using my reserves of sexual energy. And there was the stress of work, university and the upcoming show on top of that.

I groaned, frustrated and feeling like an idiot for not realizing that sooner. On the bright side, it meant that magic was finally starting to become second nature, but now I was feeling more exhausted than I had in a long time.

It was 10:40 am already. I took a quick shower and went down to the kitchen to get started on breakfast. Like sleep, meals were still helpful and necessary to maintain a good condition, so I went for a hearty breakfast with pancakes, eggs, toast, jams and orange juice on top of the usual tea and coffee and set the table before anyone came down.

Sarah was, naturally, the first to arrive, already dressed in a white tank top and blue jeans, her hair still damp from her shower. She saw the table and smiled… but then her eyes fell on me and her jaw dropped.

“Oliver, what the hell!? You’re pale!” She ran up to me and touched my cheek, then my forehead.

“Am I?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t noticed.

“And you’re… Wait. When was the last time you had sex?” she asked me, blinking as if the realization had just come to her. No doubt she was feeling my condition through more than just her touch.

“Um… Wednesday night, I think,” I offered sheepishly, mostly ready for the scolding I knew was coming.

“Three days shouldn’t be this bad, though, right?” She put two fingers on my neck and checked my pulse for good measure. “Wait, and you were working out in this condition!? What the hell is wrong with you!?” Her face showed anything but anger. No, somehow I’d made her worried sick to the point I feared SHE might go pale.

Thing is, Sarah understood something very important that I didn’t. ‘Pushing through’ when you’re feeling exhausted, physically or mentally, isn’t smart and it doesn’t make you tough. It’s stupid and you should allow yourself time to take care of yourself.

Ideally we wouldn’t need to hit the breaking point to learn that, but… yeah.

Patreon.