The Cafe

The following days passed in a blur. Sam and I made an agreement over breakfast, and then we each went our separate ways. But it was a very flimsy and thin agreement. We would see each other again, but it wouldn’t be for another couple of days.

Despite the world shaping power we both wielded, the ability to alter ours and others’ love lives to our whims, we still had a job on Mondays, we both still had classes to attend. We had agreed to not pick a random night after a tiring day to discuss our situation, it had to be when we would have plenty of time and a clear head, which meant probably the weekend, which also meant waiting a few days.

Bi had returned with us to our shared apartment. But it was abundantly clear she still had constant contact with the other harem, given how long she now spent on her phone and the dumb smiles I’d see on her face whenever she was too engrossed in it to pay attention to anything else. I don’t know how the other girls were taking this and I was afraid to ask.

Although, my feelings on her may have been a tad hypocritical, as I had also been sending messages to Sam and her harem as a whole. Through Bi. Whenever we would plan our next meeting, I'd communicate whatever message I wanted to send, and Bi would send that in their group chat. Could you call me a coward for not wanting to talk with Sam directly until the next time we properly met? Perhaps. I could have asked Bi for her number any time during this week. But I also realized Sam could have, too. If she wanted to talk to me directly, she would have. She was as terrified of this situation as I was.

I would use my girls to relieve my stress throughout the week, and, honestly, if I didn’t, I think they all would have been a little insulted. They did try to comfort me during this wait, but for whatever reason, it didn’t seem to stick. Barbie, for as much as she knew me, wasn’t the greatest with words, so her bland consolations would do little to assuage me. Of course, she would later fuck my brains out, so I could stop thinking about it for at least that night. Aly seemed to simply know her way into my heart. Our pillow talks would always leave me calmer and more centered. But the instant they were over, the effect would fade. And Bi, as much as I loved her, we only fucked once during the entire week. And no, I wasn’t trying to avoid her given what happened, quite the opposite, actually. But all she could talk about, when I broached the subject, was how amazing her experience with Sam had been, or how different the other harem had been in bed, that I couldn’t bring myself to finish.

The best time I had during this week was when we decided to properly finish our movie night. For just a few hours, I could be focused on a different world, while cuddling some of the people I loved the most in this one. I didn’t have to focus on their uncertain fates in the hands of a rival, or on my own uncertain plans for the encroaching weekend. It wasn’t the best movie, a scifi classic from a few decades ago that Barbie had swore over on the quality of, besides the dated special effects. She had the most fun out of us all, but it still made me smile seeing at least one of my friends this happy.

By the time Saturday rolled around, the apartment was in a buzz. The girls all woke up quite early, they were passionately discussing what clothes I should wear, all the while I ate the simple yet tasty breakfast Aly had cooked, trying not to think too much about what would happen later that day. Sam and I had decided, through Bi’s messaging, that we would want most of the day to discuss our current situation, so we had agreed to meet in the morning. In a cafe downtown. This wouldn’t be the first time I would have a life changing conversation about contracts and ownership taking place in a cafe. It would just be a different cafe.

In the end, they decided for a simple white polo shirt, accompanied by khaki pants and some leather shoes. The car ride over there was unusually silent, I stared out the window at the cloudless, clear sky for the entire trip. The place we had picked was in this cool boulevard downtown, with paths flanked by trees, many benches for passersby to stop and sit, and many shops and restaurants to visit. The morning breeze was crisp and fresh as I walked past the storefronts. Most of these shops were closed this early in the morning, but a couple of the local eateries were open, and that’s where I was heading today.

The cafe was a quaint little place, wooden walls and wooden furniture bathed in the golden morning light. Flowers in every windowsill made the environment smell like a meadow, and the freshly baked goods on the counter made it smell like a home. There were already a few customers dotting the tables, which calmed my heart. It wasn’t just going to be me and her here.

Speaking of, I stopped in my path the moment I spotted Sam. She was wearing a long sleeved blue summer dress with small flower patterns, as well as some comfortable sandals. She was playing with the colored tip of one of her bangs as she looked out the window to the trees and the cloudless sky.

“You can stop staring, you know,” she said, only then turning her gaze to me. “I could see your reflection on the window,” she answered my silent question.

“Right. Of course.” I moved to sit across from her on the table.

“You, ahm… you look good too,” she commented as a light blush showed up on her cheeks.

“Thanks. You look gorgeous.”

Neither of us could look the other in the eye. We were just sitting in silence and avoiding eye contact. We looked like fucking teenagers.

“I think we should—”

“So we could probably—”

We interrupted each other and were stunned straight back into silence.

“May I take your order?” A waitress stood beside our table, with notepad in hand and a pitiful look in her eyes.

Sam and I were thankful to have literally anyone else to talk to, and to have a few more seconds to avoid the awkward and inevitable conversation ahead. We both made our orders and the waitress made her way back to the counter, shooting a curious glance or two back at us.

With her gone, however, there was nothing stopping us from starting our conversation, besides ourselves.

“Well, we should get started on this,” Sam began. “Figure out how we will be sharing Bianca back and forth, if that is even what we are going to do, and also figure out what we… have…” she finished, gesturing for the empty space between us.

“Hang on a second. Before we do that…”

Sam stared back in surprise, with eyes wide and a curious smile.

“If we continue down that road, there is a non-zero chance our tempers flare up like last time, and it can be very… not pretty.”

She leaned back onto her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But,” I continued, “there have been a few questions I've been dying to ask another fellow contract holder. So I was thinking I could run those by you.”

She raised an eyebrow, though her posture hadn’t changed. “Go on…”

“Back in your house, you mentioned you ran some experiments on how this whole situation with the contract worked, right?” I asked, to which she simply nodded in response. “Well, what were they like?”

“Oh, where to start?” Her eyes sparkled at the chance of explaining her findings, and I couldn’t help but smile. “For starters, I tried to make someone close to me become my lover. I can spare you the effort, it didn’t end well.”

“Oh, really?” I leaned forward, placing my elbows on the table, intrigued by what her story might be. “I have this childhood friend, Barbie. I accidentally made her become my object and it’s been going great. We’ve rekindled our friendship and everything.”

“Friends with benefits, I’m assuming?” Sam asked, with a knowing smirk.

“Oh, Absolutely!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “But it didn’t go well for you? Who did you enchant?”

“It was my boss at this store I work at. He was an annoying stickler, and I thought I could make him get off my ass if I turned him into one of my slaves. In the end, he ended up just wanting to fuck on the clock everytime one of my shifts came up, so I had to break my contract with him to make him go back to normal.”

I remembered all of the girls mentioning something like this, actions I could take that would make them not want to be my “friends” anymore. I imagine Sam had a similar arrangement with her lovers.

“And it didn’t even work that well,” Sam continued. “He still acts like he has some lingering attraction to me sometimes, which I can use to get out of trouble, but it’s still annoying as all hell.” She rolled her eyes just thinking about it again.

“How did you break the contract so easily? Did he give you a limit and you crossed it? How is the lingering attraction presenting itself?” I leaned forward, unable to contain the stream of questions that wanted to pour out.

“Woah there, partner! Lots of questions you’re asking there.” Sam said in a playful tone and raised her hands in a mock gesture of panic.

“I did say I had quite a few of them,” I replied sheepishly.

“That’s great and all, but let’s go at it one at a time.” Sam got comfortable in her chair. Getting ready for the inevitable continued stream of questions that would follow. I, too, adjusted myself in my chair and, after considering for a moment, decided where I wanted to begin.

“Let’s start with the last one. Your boss, the guy who’s your former lover, I suppose. He’s not bothering you, is he?”

“Ah, no, it’s not a problem. He just occasionally sends longing looks my way, or gets bashful when I do things like this.” Sam then put on a flirty expression and gave me an exaggerated wink, as well as a theatrically cute pout.

I almost couldn’t hold my laughter, and I had to look away to do so. But even then, I could feel a heat taking over my cheeks. After I got a hold of myself, I turned to Sam. “What about the breaking of the contract, how did you—”

“Hold your horses, cowboy.” She held her hand up once more. “Question for a question, pound for pound, like last time, what do you say?”

“Fair enough.” I gestured for her to keep going. “Ask away.”

“You mentioned you got someone close to you to be your friend successfully, right?”

“Yes. Now that you have already asked your question, my next one is…” I said, with a cheeky grin.

Sam did not appreciate my attempt at humor one bit. “As. I. Was. Saying. Did that situation happen by chance, or did you try to do it on purpose?”

“Well, yes and no, actually. I did try to use the contract on someone I did know, normally, as a friend. This person was my classmate and neighbor. But something went wrong with the contract, she didn’t seem to be affected by it and, instead, a completely different person who I had also been friends with was the target of its magic instead.”

“Interesting…” she murmured, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the table. “Do you think that was a coincidence?”

“Not sure.” I scratched my head in thought “I tried describing this classmate in detail, since I wanted her specifically. Instead, the contract took all the characteristics of the person I described and found someone else who matched all of them, minus the name.”

“That is very interesting, for sure…” her mind was firing on all cylinders trying to figure this out. “I wonder if she was immune to all contracts for some reason, or just yours. Now I kinda wanna try to get her for myself to see if it’d work.”

“Hey, Sam, respectfully?”

“Yeah?”

“Absoluetly the fuck not.”

Her response was to let out an absolute cackle before she could cover her mouth. Other people in the cafe turned to look, which only made her want to hide behind her hands even more, turning to the window to avoid looking at anyone. I could only chuckle at her reaction. The mood of the conversation had definitely softened.

“I believe now it’s my turn?”

Sam nodded, still avoiding eye contact with everyone and looking at me from just the corner of her eye.

“Well, how did you manage to break the contract? Was it through some act the person disapproved so much that they rejected you?”

The insinuation was enough to get her to look me in the eyes again. “What? No, I just break their collars and they act like we’re done with whatever we had.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She was back in the groove again, shame apparently forgotten. “Some of them may have some lingering feelings here and there, but ever since my boss, I’ve only ever used the contract to call for people who I don’t know. So avoiding them afterwards is never a big issue.”

“And those people never mention some kind of limit they’d be willing to leave you for?” I asked, remembering once again the conversation I’ve had with every single member of my harem “You never crossed that line to get rid of one of them?”

“Careful there...” Sam wagged her finger at me. “That almost sounded like your next question.”

I merely shrugged.

“No, I never did that,” she simply answered. “I only ever destroyed their collars. Which, by the way, is something you could probably do too. Ripping up your contracts, I mean.”

“Oh…” Was all I could say in return. I could never imagine getting rid of any of my girls. This was an interesting theory to think about, but I would never want to sacrifice any of them in order to test it.

“Oh, don’t be a baby about it.” I heard Sam’s voice.

“What did you just say to me?!” I snapped at her.

“You got all indecisive and introspective for a second.” She waved her hand in the vague direction of my face, like it was no big deal. “I’m not asking you to give up anyone. I’m suggesting we do this from scratch.”

“What could you possibly mean by that?”

“It is very simple, actually,” Sam said, leaning back in her chair and smiling as if she knew better than me. I hated how familiar I was becoming with that smile. “I’m suggesting that you summon a friend, and I summon a lover. Right here, right now. For a test drive. What do you say?”