A new perspective, and a new friend

“Wait, who? Me?”

“Yes, you. Keep up, c’mon!”

Sam just ran past the awkward blushing asian girl. Not, not Yukiko, she had been left in the dust about two laps ago. No, this new girl had yet to introduce herself. The new girl began running alongside Sam and her other two companions, even if she was absolutely not dressed for it, with her jeans, comfy blouse and a cardigan.

The group was running laps around the local park, watching people playing ball, having dates, or just walking and appreciating nature. Sam had taken the whole group on her usual workout run and Yukiko had been the first one to cave, being the least athletic of the group.

Pete and Iara were keeping up with Sam fine, all three of them with regular workout gear, so the sight of this random, well put together asian young woman following them stood out. Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she had asian features, because the moment she opened her mouth, it became very clear where she was from, since she spoke with a cute french accent.

“You heard me. Answer the question.” Sam said to the new arrival. The way she did it while running, and looking effortless, showed how practiced she was at this kind of activity.

“O-Oh, I’m not sure. I just don’t know the answer.” The unnamed french woman traced her fingers across the pink lace ribbon tied around her neck. “I don’t know why I would be a perfect pick for your harem.”

“Oh, c’mon, you can do better than that!” Sam nagged her. “You are obviously very cute, and you clearly take great care on how you present yourself, even if you choose to be subtle about it. Which reminds me, you haven’t introduced yourself yet.”

“I… well…” The newcomer was very quickly running out of breath, so Sam made the conscious decision of stopping her run. They were close to the spot where Yukiko had given up on the run earlier, so this was a good place to stop anyway. “Thank you, first of all. For stopping. You didn’t need to do that for me.” The french woman addressed her, panting, hands on her knees, and red in the face. A shade that Sam suspected was only half because of her effort, but also because the girl was embarrassed by the complements. “And my name is Sylvana.”

“Nice to meet you, Sylvana.” Sam was the only one still running, mostly running in place so she wouldn’t lose her momentum. Iara stood beside her, tired yet attentive, Pete sat at a nearby bench to catch his breath, Yukiko laid on the park’s fresh cut grass, and Sylvana was in front of her, hands on her knees and catching her breath. “And your answer is…?”

“I actually don’t think I should be part of your harem,” the woman answered after catching her breath.

That surprised Sam. People normally jumped at the chance of serving her, of being by her side. Of being part of her harem.

“How do you feel about me?” Sam asked Sylvana point blank. There wasn’t any insecurity in the question. It would be more accurate to say there was amusement, like she had just found something unique.

“I love you!” She answered instantly. Then, as the reality of what she just said kicked in, the woman blushed once more. She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, and decided to elaborate on her words. “From the moment you ran past me, I’ve been enraptured by your beauty. If you were to keep running, I would have followed you as long as my legs could carry me. But I can’t actually do that, because I have people who depend on me, so I gotta be there for them. That’s why I can’t go with you, but that does not diminish how bright my love for you burns.”

“Wow, that was beautiful.” Sam surprised even herself by admitting it. She wasn’t running anymore, she was completely focused on the conversation at hand. She extended her hand to the woman’s neck, she traced the ribbon with her thumb, pulling on its knot. It began to pull apart, but Sam changed her mind at the last minute, pivoting her hand to be holding Sylvana’s head from behind instead. She ran her thumb over and over the woman’s chin, stopping right at the dimples created by her half smile. “So, you have people depending on you?”

“Yeah, I have people to protect, a family I can’t neglect. Even then, I could only hope for a chance at making you happy, too. Maybe I can’t be a part of your harem, but just seeing you smile, knowing happiness has entered your life because of me would bring me more joy than you would care to imagine. Just knowing you will be dancing through life, even if just for a little while, and that it was because of me, gives me unimaginable happiness.” Sylvana curled her lips’ half smile into a bittersweet one as she finished her declaration.

Sam also allowed herself a tiny, happy smile, if only for a moment. Then, just as point blank as before, she asked, “But you do love me, right?”

“Yes, with all the strength my soul can muster.” Sylvana said, her smile never wavering

“And it looks like it's the soul of a poet, doesn’t it?”

“A writer, actually.” She perked up.

Sam gave a rueful laugh to herself.

“I’m going to let you go now. But before I do, would you like a lover’s kiss?”

“I would,” Sylvana whispered shyly, her cheeks reddening once again.

So, following her yes, Sam pulled her into a loving kiss. Sam was filled with passion in her love, a flame burning inside her, while Sylvana offered tenderness in her love, a gentle breeze pushing the two together. After a few seconds, they managed to find a happy middleground where they could just enjoy each other.

Sam avoided hugging her, no matter how much she wanted to, due to her sweat from the running. But Sylvana didn’t care about that, she launched herself into a caring embrace on the woman in front of her, the woman she felt she loved with all her heart, but she also felt needed her love at this moment.

After a few more long, longing seconds, the two separated. Sam pulled her hand away from Sylvana’s cheek, and, in the same swift motion, she pulled the knot on the ribbon around her neck undone.

Before either woman could say a word, though, a loud ringing came from the french women’s pocket, startling the pair. Sylvana quickly fished for her phone and, with an apologetic look, picked up.

“Hi mom! No... yeah, yes. Oh, just, you know, doing some exercise at the park.” She threw Sam a knowing look. “Help moving the kitchen table? Yeah, no worries. Please don’t try it alone, you know how your back gets. Yeah. No, no, wait until I get there, wait until I get there. Mom, mom…” She threw Sam one last apologetic look, mouthing the words ‘gotta go’, and moving quickly away.

Sam held the ribbon on her hand. She squeezed it tightly, almost not wanting to let it go. Then she ripped it in half before she could stop herself.

“I don’t know about the others,” Iara surprised Sam by coming from behind and whispering in her ear, “but I found this make out session pretty hot, mistress.”

“Ah, yeah, whatever, I hope you liked it, because you’re obviously not getting any more of it,” Sam said, in a rare moment of being caught flustered. “She couldn’t keep up with my running anyway. I wouldn’t want someone who can be left behind that easily in my harem.”

“WHAT?!” Yukiko bellowed from her spot on the grass, laid out on the ground like a dead starfish.

“Oh, no, you’re fine, I like your cuddles too much to— I mean, your tits! I like your soft tits too much to let you go!”

“You mean the tits that are as soft as the cuddles I give you?” The wiped out girl tried her luck against her mistress.

“You shut up now, unless you want to sign yourself up for spanking later tonight.” Sam threatened, but clearly with a playful smirk on her voice.

The asian girl raised her arm just long enough to do a thumbs up sign. Then she plopped it back down again and returned to her exhausted rest.

“Alright,” Sam said, turning to the other two, “this actually left me with a taste of a new **** in my mouth, so I think we should do something about it.” Sam began pacing around and speaking, thinking out loud as much as she was talking with the others. "Speaking of which, I think it's been a while since I actually enlisted someone to be a part of this harem with that intention in mind from the start."

Sam turned and pointed to Pete. "You were actually my second lover, and first member of this harem, so it doesn't really count."

Pete nodded, agreeing with her, but he was still too tired to form any long form sentences. Sam turned to Yukiko.

"You I enlisted to help me figure out how this whole lover thing worked. Which, you've been incredibly helpful with, but we also found some limitations to your perceptions of the whole situation."

Yukiko let out a wheezing sound, which could very charitably be interpreted as a murmur of agreement. Sam turned to her most recently acquired lover.

"And you, Iara, sorry but I actually didn't plan to meet you, it kinda just happened by accident."

"Happiest accident of my life, mistress" Iara retorted with a delighted smile.

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Sam continued, "I'm gonna ask for someone who can satisfy all three of you, besides, of course, being a great lover to yours truly."

Pete and Yukiko shared a look.

"I know you two still don't believe me, but you can't deny it just works every time" Sam said smugly.

"It's just coincidences of the universe or something" Pete answered.

"Then let's use these coincidences to find us a new harem member, shall we?"

Pete shrugged and Yukiko nodded. There was no harm in indulging their girlfriend.

"Great! Let's see..." Sam pondered her next words very carefully, "I want to be loved by someone who has enough stamina to keep up with Iara..."

"That is very much appreciated, mistress," the latina thanked her.

"...who knows enough techniques to satisfy Pete's... let's say creative drives in bed," Sam continued.

"I almost thought you hadn't noticed me changing things up pretty much every time." Pete said, surprised, and having now fully caught his breath. Sam winked mischievously at him and finished her sentence.

"...and who can also be as kind and gentle as Yukiko needs them to be."

Said asian girl was still out of it, but managed to send an appreciative smile towards her girlfriend. Finally, Sam finished talking. Yet no one approached the group immediately.

"Sorry, mistress. They really were just coincidences." Pete tried consoling her.

"Wait for it..." Sam simply said.

They waited for a few more seconds. A pair of women who were also jogging passed near the group on their route. The shorter of the two women took a seat on the same bench Pete was in, but on the opposite end.

"I'm beat! I think I'm gonna run back to the apartment, that's as much energy as I have left in me."

"That's alright, I think I'll just take another lap and meet you there, deal?" The taller woman responded.

"Deal. See ya later tonight." The shorter woman then got up and left the park.

The taller of the two women waved goodbye and returned to her running, passing Sam and the others in the process.

"Wait for it..." Sam whispered.

The woman had barely taken a few steps forward when she stopped. She looked at the grass, seemingly interested in something. She bent down and grabbed a necklace with a pair of dog tags attached to it. She looked around for a potential owner, and approached Sam.

"Excuse me, I found these on the ground, are they yours by any chance?"

"No. They are yours, actually." Sam said to the woman, and a glimmer of recognition appeared in her eyes. A recognition that was absolutely not there before.

"You're so right. How did I not notice them falling off?" The woman said as she put the necklace on.

"Dog tags, huh?" Sam murmured to herself. "It's not always that they come with their name literally written on them." She approached the woman and brought one of the tags closer to her face so she could see what was written. "That is such a beautiful name you have. Bianca La Rue..."

Author's Note: Hi everyone, I'd like to thank my friend Artemis Fr , also known as Little Miss, for lending me her character Sylvana for this chapter. Thank you for the help, friend, and thank you everyone who read this far!