Pining for polygamy

And such it was that Leon finally found a base of operations.

After getting to know Lily better and furthering his appreciation of Ophelia’s multi-faceted charm, he let Arlette know that he’d be staying in Studio 6 and taking the job as her assistant. When he asked about Ophelia staying in the studio with him, she waved it off and said he could stuff the entire room with free loaders as long as it didn’t interfere with his learning or her business.

Lily was still sulking despite their heart to heart, so Leon pulled her aside and gave her some money and instructions.

“Go buy yourself a choker with this. Make sure it’s something you really want to show off, because you’ll be keeping it on—to remind you who owns you. Everybody else will see a cute accessory, and we’ll see a symbol of our special friendship.”

“I can’t decide if that’s really sweet or really naughty.”

“Both, don’t you think?” he asked, and pinched her nipple through her shirt, out of sight from prying eyes. Ophelia probably knew what they were up to thanks to Clarity, but that was unavoidable. Leon wondered if Arlette suspected, or even cared about, what they were up to.

Probably not.

Lily leaned in close and whispered, “Yes sir.”

God I wish I could drill that pussy right here and now. Prying eyes be damned.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he said instead of fucking her on the floor like an animal. “Well, two actually. First of all: Bring your mom to me sometime soon. We’ll need to teach her sex addled brain where to find me when she wants release.”

“Yes sir.”

“As much as I love it, you know you don’t have to call me ‘sir’ when we’re not fooling around, right?”

“I know. It makes me wet though,” she replied. Her tongue traced her lips in a single seductive circle.

“There’s still one more thing I need you to do.” He banished thoughts of her other lips before voicing his next command.

“Explain things to your dad for me. The best you can given our unusual circumstances.”

“And...” Leon fished around for what he could even hope to say. He knew accepting Arlette’s offer was akin to spitting in the face of the Harlan’s kindness. “And I guess... tell him thank you, and that I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t bail on him after all he’s done for me, but Arlette might be the only shot I’ve got at pursuing this dream.”

Lily dropped her seductive smile in favor of a reassuring pat on the shoulder and a kiss on his cheek. “He’s a grumpy old bastard, but I’ll make sure he comes around. You just worry about you, okay?”

Leon wanted to tell her about the danger they were in. She deserved to know. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Their Link wasn’t even at the halfway point. Just because he felt close with her didn’t mean the Link was safe. What if it broke? Mom’s Link already proved that it was not only possible, but excruciatingly painful to boot.

He bear to risk losing her too, so he said nothing other than farewell.

Each of the girls had gotten a Rank increase, which, to be honest, he expected might happen. Arlette may as well have said ‘Go strengthen your Soul Links for an hour’.

Lily Marshal, Rank 3
-Lily can now be commanded to pleasure women for your benefit
-Lily will soon ask you for a favor. This favor must be accepted and progressed for this Link to continue its growth.

A telegraphed requirement to advance to the next Rank? That's new.

Cammy, what's up with this 'favor' thing?

I... do not know. This is most unusual. I shall investigate the matter and return to you with an answer once I discover one.

Thank, Cammy.

No reply. Unsurprising considering how harsh he’d been with her before.

Ophelia Vidal, Rank 3
-The Clarity System is no longer able to access your mind. This benefit can be toggled on or off.
-Ophelia will accept a polygamous relationship

Lily and Ophelia’s new benefits made for one hell of a combo. More and more of his perverted fantasies kept being turned into actual possibilities, and he was there for it.

He thought about trying out the Clarity blocker right away, but he decided to put it off. The likelihood of freaking out Ophelia was too high to deal with, and they needed to get things set up.

If she knew he was hiding something from her, she didn’t broach the subject when they left the studio to shop for a futon.

It didn’t take long to pick one out since it was getting late and he was too poor to be picky. By the time they got back, Arlette was waiting in the lobby. She handed Leon a spare key and instructed him to lock-up, then left without saying much else.

How he was supposed to progress a Soul Link with such a private, no-nonsense woman eluded him; because sex was certainly off the table. Older ladies didn’t do it for him after a certain age, and she was well past it. Hopefully something would dawn on him before long. Maybe getting better at photography would be enough to sway her?

Setting Arlette aside, it felt nice to spruce the place up together with Ophelia—like furnishing a new apartment with a girlfriend. Her mannerisms were as odd as ever, but he felt like he understood her that extra bit better since their talk. She’d changed into an uncharacteristic camisole she borrowed from Lily and a pair of loose boxers she borrowed from him. The combination really helped her look the part of laidback girlfriend.

She helped him lay out the creaky futon and compact all the extraneous photography equipment to as small a space as they could manage—the latter task taking more than an hour. By the end, they had a little less than half the room as free space to use however they wanted. The corner adjacent to the photography equipment would be where he built his set; the rest they’d fill together. Perhaps he’d help Ophelia get a makeshift privacy space set up for herself tomorrow or the next day, too.

He stood next to Ophelia and with his arm comfortably around her waist.

“Here it is. Home sweet home. What do you think?”

“I think there’s only one bed.”

“Uhhh… I thought we’d sleep together from now on. Did I get ahead of myself?”

Ophelia spun to face him and stood on her tiptoes to rub her nose against his. He expected a kiss, but she pulled away as suddenly as she’d come.

“That’s okay. I’m delightfully surprised.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised. We already…”

“I didn’t think you’d invite me to your bed. I assumed that was your sister’s place.”

Guilt clutched his heart.

“Jessie’s not here. No point in saving a place for her,” he muttered. He wished Ophelia hadn’t brought her up. The night was going so well.

“You love her. You should always save a place for those you love. That way they can return to you someday.”

Leon imagined how different things would be if she were here. She would say something to embarrass herself and end up spazzing out until he calmed her down. They would follow her pace, stick to her rules, and awake the following morning in each other’s arms, as it should be.

Ophelia squeezed his hand and brought him back to reality.

“She’ll grow without you. Much like I said she needed to. But you’ll find each other again when the time is right. I’m sure of it.”

“I’m sorry,” Leon whispered. “It’s not fair to you to see my thoughts of her.”

“I don’t mind. You think of me more than anyone else bothers t-toooo?!” she yelped as he swept her off her feet and carried her bridal style to the futon.

“This is far too embarrassing. Please put me down,” she said in a deadpan voice. Her small fists beat against his chest in protest.

“Only if you sleep with me. There’s room enough for Jessie too… Assuming she ever comes back.”

“I will. And she will, too. Now put me down please!”

He laid her on the futon and took a second to admire the homeless girl he’d given a home—both of them aware of what was coming and excited to get started. Tonight wasn’t right to take her virginity, but he damn well planned to teach her a thing or two about handjobs.

Would abusing the System to obtain a polygamous relationship really be so heinous? So selfish?

Probably, he decided. But as he embarked on a quest to find Ophelia’s true voice again, he couldn’t help wanting exactly that.