A hidden trait (part 1).

We were quiet for one or two minutes. It wasn’t out of a sense of awkwardness, but more like we were all trying to sort our own thoughts.

“I think I threw that question too out of the blue,” Grace said. “Let me ask again, this time more clearly. Oliver, would YOU like to meet more women? To have new lovers, sex friends or even new girlfriends?”

Ugh. She was mercilessly putting me on the spot, but that was just the question, wasn’t it? If I didn’t want it, there was nothing else to talk about. Problem was…

“I’m beyond satisfied with what we have now. In fact… I was already more than satisfied back when it was just the four of us,” I said, looking at Mila, Grace and Sarah. “But then you pushed me to follow my desire and I asked out Noelle and Alice. Now I can’t imagine not being with them.” I sighed, turning my gaze towards the floor. “When I think of it like that, then… M-Maybe… Maybe there are other women out there who I can… bond with, that can join this group and become important people to us all.”

A small smile crossed Noelle’s lips. “I suppose we wouldn’t be here right now if you hadn’t dared to try. Or if we hadn’t dared to take the risk.”

Sarah sighed. “My mom has always warned me about stuff like this. She says that when we’re this young, infatuation can be blinding. But it’s not just me, right? I’m not the only one who thinks this is a healthy relationship despite the debauchery.”

“I’d even call said debauchery another plus,” Grace said. “No one here is being **** into anything. We’re all freely letting ourselves enjoy the things we’re into.”

“It just so happens that our interests are very compatible,” Mila said, giggling.

“Oddly so,” Noelle agreed, laughing with her.

Beside me, Alice blinked, then stroked her chin in thought. “Oddly compatible…?”

“Alice?” I asked her.

“Hmm. Let me bring attention to the elephant in the room which we seem to be choosing to ignore,” Alice said. “The fact that Oliver, our boyfriend, is possessed by a lustful spirit capable of magic we still don’t quite understand. And before anyone starts jumping to conclusions,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me specifically, “I’m not suggesting we’re being brainwashed or something. If we were, I doubt we would even be capable of considering the possibility.”

“I’ve been thinking the same,” Noelle said. “If anything, everyone else is more affected than us. It’s others who believe it’s normal for Oliver to be dating us all at the same time.”

“While we remain aware that we’re a special case, niche polyamorous communities notwithstanding,” Grace said.

Alice nodded. “Now that we know a lot of the aspects of this relationship and some of the things Oliver is capable of come from Frey, the Spirit of Lust, it begins to make more sense.”

“Let’s see…” Mila began to count with her fingers. “The overwhelming sex is the most obvious one, right? Then there are the health and aesthetic benefits.”

“God, I swear being able to eat hamburgers and fries without feeling guilty is a blessing,” Sarah said, rubbing her own face like she couldn’t contain the emotion. “Those things don’t put a gram of fat in me anymore. It’s insane.”

There were unanimous nods of agreement.

“There’s also the mental connection we share,” Mila continued, raising her third finger. “You would think it would be disturbing, but being able to sense what he’s feeling makes things a lot easier.”

“I’ll attribute that to Oliver being so… pure,” Grace said, smirking. “Imagine he was actually just keeping us around as sex pets and we found out by reading his feelings. He would’ve gotten his ass dumped a long time ago.”

“Oh, for sure,” Sarah agreed, laughing.

Mila looked at her three raised fingers. “I think that’s about it, right? I say that, but a single one of these is already a huge deal. You could get rid of the sex and the mental connection and I’d still be happy with just being able to eat sweets without worry.”

“You’re forgetting a fourth one,” Alice said. “The magic enchantments.”

Noelle swallowed. “That we can walk around without the public and our families batting an eye at our… poly relationship is the most obvious one, but… Frey already put up her defenses, right?”

I nodded. It was one of the few dreams in which Frey spoke to me and I could remember. She had said she used all her reserves of energy to place a ward on the girls to protect them from illusions and mind-altering effects from magic. This way, we shouldn’t have to worry about encounters like the one with Julian and the other spirit. It wasn’t… exciting, but it was practical and necessary. I know I’d be feeling paranoid if Frey hadn’t done this for us.

“Right,” Alice said. “But something just came to mind when you and Milla said we were all ‘oddly compatible’.” Alice turned to look at me. “Oliver, if you don’t mind. Why did you… choose us?”

I blinked at the question, then pondered it. “Did I? At Thomas’ birthday party, Mila, Grace and Sarah came up to ME and dragged me into the rollercoaster of emotions that were our first two months together. After that, they were the ones who suggested I approach you and Noelle, though… I was already starting to have feelings for you before they did.”

“But it’s not like you couldn’t have said no, right?” Mila said. “Or are you going to claim Grace, Sarah and I did things to you against your will?” she asked, pouting.

I chuckled. “No. Yeah, I guess I did choose you, at least every bit as much as you chose me. But as to why you…? I felt like… I could trust you, I think. Like… you wouldn’t hurt me, that I didn’t need to be afraid of you like I did others.”

“Yes,” Mila said. “I felt like that, too. It was like ‘if it’s Oliver, I’m sure it’ll be fine’.”

“What do you have in mind, Alice?” Noelle asked her.

“I think that, maybe subconsciously… Frey’s powers could be bringing us together. People who just… naturally click, maybe mainly during sex but perhaps even beyond it.”

That… sounded very, very possible to me. God, it was at times like these I wished I could talk to Frey directly.

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