Yes, if your conscience allows

After she left, I realized I had a problem- Obsession.

This dating app had given me unimaginable power over a group of women. I was finding it hard to think of anything else except how and when to use it next. Rather than find my libido temporarily sated by the events of the past 24 hours, I was actually finding it inflamed. I wanted more.

There were at least ten girls I could call over at will that I haven't even met yet! Just one more girl to start the day. It'll clear your head and then you can focus on work, I found myself thinking. But I knew it wasn't true. One more would lead to another then another then another. If I didn't exert some self-control now, I never would. I would be almost as much a **** to the app as the women in my little harem. Almost.

With an unusual amount of effort, I dragged myself to the shower, cleaned up and got dressed, and decided to head out and work somewhere other than home. What kind of trouble could I get in at a coffee shop?

Enough, apparently.

I spent almost two hours running some invoices and answering work emails when someone leaned into my personal space and whispered “Hey! Hey! Is this you?”

Annoyed, I looked up, meeting the eyes of an adorable, slender woman of South Asian descent. She was dressed very fashionably and was probably my height, though it was hard to tell while she was leaning across the table. Her face was just a bit familiar, but I couldn't place it right away.

She was holding up her phone and showing me my profile on the UDA. I didn't need to answer, I was wearing the same jacket as I had on in my profile pic. The woman smirked. “You picked me, huh?” she asked in a flirty manner. That's why she looked familiar.

She continued to hold the phone facing me as her finger lingered over the “accept” button. She was playfully watching for a reaction. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I leaned forward and tried to reach for her phone - “Don't!” I spat out. But in darting forward, I also knocked over what was left of my drink. Laughing at my clumsiness, she tapped the “accept” button and said, “Maybe I'll see you around, then,” before sashaying out of the coffee shop.

Flustered, I grabbed napkins to clean my mess, packed up my bag in shame and hurried out. Why had I tried to stop her? Was I feeling guilty? If it was guilt, I could just as well not contact her. Or any of them. But I knew I wasn't going to do that, either. Well, maybe not all of them. I had what, 13? 14? matches now. I checked the app. Fifteen. As of 3 minutes earlier, I had 15 matches. Surely one.... or two... would be enough? No more than three, I'm sure.

I was in my own mental world as I walked out to the sidewalk, I was still looking at the app when I nearly knocked over the very woman who had just matched with me. She was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, looking at her own phone, in a complete daze. She looked up and met my gaze, fear in her eyes. “What is this?” she asked, her hand trembling.

I heard the ping of a notification on my phone.

You now own Sandra! it celebrated. I stared at the screen, torn between two natures.

“Please don't hurt me,” Sandra mumbled at my side, staring at me.

I was at a crossroads. I could command Sandra back to my place and do absolutely whatever I wanted to do with her. Or I could do what I knew I should do – get her and all my “harem” together and figure out a way to release them from this horrifying prison.