Planning Ahead

“Hey~, Becca.” You greet her back, before greeting the rest of the girls at the dining table with her as they all eat breakfast.

“I brought bagels and coffee. Come. Join us.” Becca replies.

“The coffee’s really good, Dad!” Stella shouts out excitedly.

You approach the four of them on the dining table and sit at the head of the table like usual. Cassie hands you a coffee cup and what looks like an everything bagel with the works.

“Thanks for bringing us breakfast, Becca. You already said what you’re here for, so I don’t need to ask what brings you by. What is it about the app that you want to talk to me about?” You ask her, as you take a sip of the coffee Becca brought. Before Becca could even answer, you let out a moan from how good the coffee is.

“You weren’t lying about the coffee.” You tell your daughter in agreement.

“The bagels are pretty good too, Mr. Craig.” Maddy adds on.

“Sorry, you were saying?” You ask Becca again, letting her answer before taking a bite of the bagel.

“Stella and Cassie have discussed with me some of my questions regarding what has occurred since you acquired the app. It’s been at the forefront of my mind since I left you and Vivian last night. You may possibly have one of the most powerful tools in the world, with no given reason why you have it, and no known limitations of scope it can affect — it can alter habits, people’s way of thinking, human biology and physiology… and that’s just from the traits you explained to us. Given all that, I’m of the mind that you may not be using it properly.” Becca tells you plainly.

“I appreciate you being straightforward about it, Becca. If you feel I’m being abusive of my use—” You start apologizing, and Becca interrupts you before you can finish your apology.

“Abusive? Jay, if I had complaints of your usage, I would have told you last night. I’m here to talk to you about how you’re not fully maximizing the app’s potential.” Becca clarifies.

“Maximize?” You ask her, checking if you heard correctly; and she confirms that’s what she said. “Becca, I’ve only had this app for less than a couple of weeks and it’s already brought me more than I can ever ask for.” You point out.

“If getting more than what you’ve asked for is your standard, then it’s not really a high bar to clear based on what Stella, Cassie, and Maddy have told me.” Becca retorts. “If their stories are to be believed, you didn’t ask for any of this.” Becca points out.

“Cassie already had feelings for you before you got the app. You were willing to give up on Tanya to be monogamous with Cassie. You were only able to date both of them at the same time because Cassie encouraged you to do so. You didn’t openly pursue Vivian, Brooke, and myself. From what Stella mentioned, she even had to encourage you to date Brooke. Maddy, similar to Cassie, already had feelings for you.” Becca starts listing off one-by-one.

“As luck goes, you’re already one of the luckiest to acquire that magical app; and it’s compounded even further by how lucky you are that all the women you’re dating practically fell into your lap.” Becca continues. “Case in point.” Becca says before pointing at Stella.

“She’s got you there, Dad.” Stella says smugly, while sipping her coffee.

“You bought the **** trait in order to date Celeste, the one person you actively pursued with the app, and you stopped pursuing her for valid reasons. Off the back of that, it allowed you to date your daughter instead.” Becca continues to make her point. A point you’re entirely missing, if you’re being honest.

“I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to say, Becca.” You tell her honestly.

“I’m saying you’re very passive in your usage of the app. Mostly using it reactively and not proactively; and generally saving your accumulated points for when you feel like you need them, instead of investing them on traits that could generate you more points — i.e. Magic Touch.” Becca answers you.

“That’s my point, Becca. I don’t need to do all those things. The app recommends traits based on my situation, and it’s usually been spot on anyway. I don’t need to be proactive. More importantly, I’m more than happy with what I already have, and it hasn’t even been two weeks since I got this thing. Maybe people that make me happier just keep ‘falling on my lap’ out of good karma.” You reply, shrugging to show them you don’t think it’s a big deal, before taking another sip of coffee.

“It’s an unsustainable strategy, Jay. If no other woman falls onto your lap, and barring any unforeseen causes to the contrary, you’ll be dating seven women. Based on your description on how you acquire points, and let’s say you’ll only acquire points from us, that’s a maximum of 700 points for each score. You’ve obviously already spent some of those points for the traits you already have. If you continue being a reactive buyer of traits, it doesn’t give you a lot of leeway for a possible scenario that you’ll need to purchase another expensive trait.” Becca explains her line of thinking to you.

“Tell me, how many points do you need to purchase Normalized Polyamory? You mentioned it was expensive, yes?” Becca asks you.

“350 Love Points.” You answer her, knowing full well it helps make her point.

“That’s already half of your total if you only make us fall in love with you.” Becca points out.

“You also promised to buy the Youth and Love trait, Jay. You said it’s purchased with Love Points too, right?” Cassie adds on.

“Is that the one you told me about the other day at the sports complex? The one that keeps you young as long as you continue to be in love?” Stella asks Cassie, who answers in the affirmative.

“Oh, wow! Like the Fountain of Youth?” Maddy reacts.

“Jay said it slows down the aging process. He promised to buy it for himself so that he can wait until I’m ready to… uh… yeah.” Cassie points out.

“I must say, that particular trait sounds intriguing to me, as well. I personally would wish for it down the line, I’m sure. Not to mention Tanya and Brooke.” Becca adds on, making Stella guffaw. You all look at her in confusion, not seeing why she’s laughing.

“Becca didn’t mention Viv needing it.” Stella explains, to no one’s understanding.

“So?” Cassie asks, helping Stella fully explain what she thinks is humorous.

“Is it because she’s Asian?” Stella says, stifling a laugh for her own joke. Cassie just covers her face with her hand, while Stella continues to snigger.

“To Stella’s point, all of us will eventually want that trait too, Jay. How do you suppose you’ll acquire the points for those traits if you don’t start using the app proactively?” Becca asks you, and you understand the underlying suggestion in her words.

“Believe me, I did that kind of math in my head before, but I am not going to fool women to fall in love with me just so I can rack up points! These are still people we’re talking about. Not just numbers.” You argue.

“You’re not considering every avenue available to you then.” Becca calmly replies. “You mentioned last night you can convert points. Think about it, Jay.” Becca points out.

“It’s the same principle! I don’t want—” You answer immediately, before Stella interrupts you.

“Is it though?” Stella cuts you off. “Dad, listen to Becca and actually think about it before reacting. We already gave you the green light to pursue other women outside of our relationship, even if the end result is them not joining us as your girlfriend. If they do, the more the merrier in my book. That’s even without the Polyamory trait you plan to buy.” Stella reasons out.

“Lust isn’t love, Dad; nor is it affection. It comes and goes. You can take advantage of that for points.” Stella continues. Stella’s point forces you to take a deep breath, able to see the argument they’re trying to make. Her bringing up the fact that they’re all okay with this even without magic, and that once the polyamory trait is bought, it would be even more of a non-issue.

“We don’t want it to sound like we want you to whore yourself out for points though.” Cassie chimes in, snapping you out of your own train of thought. “I’m incredibly happy that despite that green light Stella mentioned, you still look to us for input or haven’t forgotten about us and started hooking up with randoms just because you can.” Cassie continues.

“On the other hand, Becca may have a point about you not making the most of the app. If you limit yourself to just us, you might not be able to get traits when we need them, or buy traits just because you can.” Cassie additionally shares. You look at the three of them who are making their points, and the three of them are looking at you right back; waiting for your reaction.

Then there’s Maddy. Maddy’s not really engaged in the conversation at all anymore. She’s just sipping her coffee, having finished her first bagel already; before going for another one and shmearing it with strawberry cream cheese. You can’t help but find that funny.

“What do you think, Maddy?” You ask her, as she takes a bite of her bagel. She side eyes you, a bit embarrassed at her non-engagement in the conversation. She swallows her bite before answering.

“I think you should do what you want with your app, Mr. Craig. How you use it is up to you.” Maddy answers you.

“I think everyone on this table agrees with that, Maddy. I think everyone here knows it’s ultimately my decision. I still want to hear what you think though. What would you prefer I do?” You ask her.

“I’ve benefited a lot from how you’ve used your app so far, Mr. Craig. I can hear it in how my Dad talks to me over the phone now. He asked me if I’ve tried the commute to campus yet, and if it’s as doable as he thought it was; because if not, he’ll maybe consider allowing me to dorm.” Maddy shares, to the glee of Stella and Cassie.

“That’s great, Mads!” Stella reacts.

“Right!? I’m excited to talk about it with him too. See if he’ll allow me without having to prove how tough the commute is.” Maddy replies to Stella. “So yeah, Mr. Craig. I can’t say you’re underutilizing the app. You use it when you feel necessary, and that’s not a bad thing.” Maddy answers, and Stella immediately reacts.

“We’re not saying how he’s used it is a bad thing though.” Stella says, a bit defensively.

“I know. I just meant I understand why he keeps his usage of the app in check. Not intentionally putting himself in situations where he can farm points just because he can. There’s a reason why we all gravitate towards him. We know he’s a good person, and we know his intentions for us are genuine. Not once in your explanation of the app and how it works did I fear that Mr. Craig was just collecting me so he can get points to spend for his app.” Maddy shares.

“Those two things need not be exclusive, Maddy. Jay can remain a good person and still try to acquire as many points as he can.” Becca points out.

“By hooking up with random strangers and kicking them to the curb once I get points from them?” You ask pointedly.

“No one needs to be kicked to the curb if the agreement between parties is that it’s a temporary arrangement.” Becca replies calmly.

“I’m not hiring hookers, Becca.” You immediately respond.

“Nor is there any need to.” Becca answers, unfazed by your reaction. “Vivian and I first met from an exclusive club that’s frequented by our shared community. Everyone there knows what they’re getting into, and everyone knows what they’re there for.” Becca shares.

“You’re saying Mr. Craig should join you in going to one of those clubs and… um…” Maddy begins to ask, before pausing to think of the right word.

“Partake?” Becca finds the word Maddy’s looking for for her. “I believe it’s a way for him to gather points without feeling guilty, yes. He can even legitimately befriend some of the members there if he prefers. It’s where I met Vivian, Celeste, and Hal; so friendships aren’t rare there as well.” Becca answers Maddy’s question.

“That could be our set-up, Dad! If you feel guilty that you’re going to have fun with a girl outside of our relationship; just have one of us, that’s willing, to be with you when you do it with a rando. Becca doesn’t seem to mind. Viv for sure won’t. Cassie would probably just cuck the new girl so definitely don’t ask her.”, “Hey!”, Stella started listing off, getting an audible reaction from Cassie.

“What about you, Maddy? Might you be willing to ‘partake’?” Stella asks, to the immediate blushing of Maddy. She doesn’t need to say it for you to see why she might feel some embarrassment right now.

“Enough.” You tell your daughter, getting the heat off of Maddy while also pausing the conversation. “I see what you all mean, and I’m taking it under advisement. We should discuss it when everyone’s here. Not everyone might be on board with your plans for how I can better utilize the app.” You inform them.

“Understood. Thank you for hearing me out, Jay.” Becca tells you.

“We don’t need to discuss it again when everyone’s here. The only one who hasn’t agreed to this is Brooke. Maddy agreed to our set-up earlier when we were talking. Becca told us Viv agreed to our set-up already. Tanya, Stella, and I voted on this set-up originally.” Cassie points out. “Can you talk to Brooke about it while the three of us are at the sports complex?” Cassie asks you.

“Talk to her about what? Fooling around so I can acquire points for the app? I’m not sure I want to.” You answer Cassie.

“Don’t put it like that!” Stella reacts in annoyance, and you can’t help but laugh a little.

“I know. Relax. I’ll talk to Brooke.” You assure your daughter. “I’m not yet fully on board with your suggested method of how I acquire points, but I do agree that I need to find a way to start generating more points in some way.” You add.

“Well, that’s really all I dropped by for. It’s time I make my way to the office. I’ll see the three of you again later.” Becca addresses the other girls.

“Oh? You guys made plans?” You ask.

“Becca’s taking us shopping for fancy dresses.” Stella informs you.