I'm better!

I quickly caught myself up. This was supposed to be an emotionally charged moment or something. For a normal person, that is.

"Ah. My bad. My bad. The absurdity of the last few days finally caught up to me." I apologized hastily, before Olivia could once again read too much into my reaction. "Of course, I agree. There is absolutely no reason for me not to. Even if I have absolutely no idea why you would even bring the gathering of a harem."

"Um, isn't this what you are trying to do?" It was her time to be bewildered.

"Not really? While I met a few women who were fine with me having other women, with some even encouraging it, they were pretty rare. I don't think there were two in a row, like ever." I shrugged. "Even if there were, it's quite possible for me to just lose interest in one when I meet another."

"But… I thought… Your conditions…" She groaned. "You know what? Fuck it! Do it or don't, I'm in either way."

I looked at the beautiful girl in front of me, her eyes full of resolve. Or in resignation, it was quite hard to judge which one exactly, not with her mixed body language.

"Happy to have you, then." I emphasized the notion with a gentle kiss, which was met with an eager response. A few moments later and I was lying on top of my new… mistress? Lover? Girlfriend-for-rent? Eh, who really cares about titles? Not me.

What I did care about right now were a number of things. The feeling of the kiss. The look in Olivia's eyes. The warmth of her skin. The smell of her perfume. The wet feeling my hand reported back after sneaking under her skirt, indicating she was just as excited as myself. And, most of all, a surprising discovery of how much a part of me was relieved that I won't need to part with all of this, at least not yet.

A shudder went through the body of the girl in my arms, as she arched her back and broke our kiss to moan loudly. My introspective thoughts could wait for a while. There were more important things to do right now.

***

Some time later. It was already evening. Sadly, Olivia chose not to stay for the night this time, and we were currently in the hallway.

"I have school tomorrow, Monday and everything. And I didn't bring my uniform with me today." I heard her voicing the reason. Hm, I pictured her wearing a school uniform. There was something really sinful and exciting in such an image. As if reading my mind, she continued. "How about I wear it next time?"

The sheer amount of promise that was contained in her smile made me think about going for a few more rounds.

"Or you can bring enough of your stuff over here, so you would be able to stay whenever you want," I replied. "I could get used to your company. First, I need to buy a second blanket, though."

"Would that be okay? I mean…" Here was her insecure side once again.

"I think you really misinterpreted my words back then. For as long as my interest in you holds, you are an incredibly special person in my eyes," I reached my hand and stroked her cheek. "I… can't guarantee it won't change, but currently there are less than a handful of people who can make me consider them over you."

"Uuu, here you go again with your thrice damned truth." She stuck her tongue at me. "You could just lie nicely there for extra brownie points."

"Yeah, I know," I nodded. "But it would've backfired at some point and I would lose even more points from that."

She giggled a bit at my answer, and nuzzled into my hand still cupping her cheek. And I did the only logical thing in this situation, leaned in for another kiss. Not too deep this time, since it would definitely devolve into another bout of passion otherwise.

"Hey, honey," Olivia said, after we finished our kiss. "Is there a way for me to make you believe that I didn't lie about liking you?"

Huh, so she noticed. Well, not really a surprise, so far, she proved to have a knack for observation. Then I thought about her question.

"You know, as they say, a lie repeated enough times becomes the new truth. Don't take it the wrong way, but it doesn't matter for me at large." I shrugged. "If it is important to you, just act with these intentions in mind. And, who knows, maybe I will have no other choice but to accept this as a matter of fact."

She looked at me for a long moment and then reluctantly nodded.

"Well, I am, in fact, looking forward to such a day," I continued. "I really am. It would be much more interesting than the alternative."

***

And I was all alone once more. Luckily, or maybe not so much, there was no time for me to fall back into my usual state of boredom.

As soon as I returned to the bedroom, contemplating if I should go for another walk, my phone rang, signaling the arrival of a new message. Considering my expansive contact list, most of the contacts were put by me into a silent mode, bar a few exceptions. This, and unknown numbers. Which meant one of the two possibilities. It was a message from someone important. Or a fucking spam.

Bella: [Mood.]

Attached to her usual one-word message was another new selfie. With her wavy shoulder-length chestnut hair flowed freely, on the windowsill sat Bella, leaning sideways on the glass and staring somewhere into the distance beyond. She was wearing her usual choice of nightwear, a transparent red silk nightgown with apparent lack of any underwear underneath.

Deciding that texting with her is only ever an option for a business talk, I tapped a video call button. After a few beeps, she picked up. The screen of my phone showed me her beautiful visage, well, above the neck only, with the way she angled her camera. A bit disappointing, but I was glad to see her anyway.

"Hello, my dear. How are you doing this fine evening?" I greeted her in a deliberately cheery manner.

"You really changed over the years," was her dull answer. "You actually called me first. And video call at that! Have you wanted to see me naked so much?"

"But of course. Your beauty was in the list of things I missed the most about you. Right after the sound of your voice and warmth of your embrace." I replied, fighting back a painful memory. "So, I decided to choose two out of three instead of just one."

"Or you could've had all three, but someone chose a stray over me. Hmph." She demonstratively looked the other way from the camera. Her profile was just as pretty as the front, so I won't complain.

"You know how my nature works, my dear. And even then, it was a hard choice. But I had to make it," I smiled wryly. "Misery likes the company, and the two of us being together at that moment could possibly lead to something drastic."

"So, how was she?" I could hear a bit of jealousy in her tone. She obviously didn't want to hear the answer.

"Absolutely incredible." But since she called me a bastard previously, how

could I disappoint her with no answer? "Would you like to hear the detailed report?"

"I would rather not," was her sharp answer.

"Too bad, it's not really a choice. I really need a second perspective here, and you are the only person whose opinion I trust enough for that," I said.

***

I finished retelling her about the last three days of the absurdity I call my life.

"So, let me put it straight. The woman you wanted to see again for many years is ignoring your message. The random cashier girl from the local convenience store is a bombshell you slept with, yet somehow managed not to fuck her while doing so. And the stray you picked up out of sheer spite for the concept of destiny is okay with you building a harem. Did I miss something?" Bella's voice sounded very exhausted. Oh, and she was currently rubbing her temples, as if my story caused her a migraine.

"Nah, that's more or less it," was all I could answer.

"Yeah, at least something didn't change at all. You still manage to find the most impossible situations to stick yourself into." She said in resignation, and palmed her face.

"No idea what you are talking about. I plead the fifth," I tried to joke my way out.

But it fell flat. No surprise here. The stunning woman on the other side of the screen was in a deep contemplation about something.

"Hey, Michael. Can you answer me straight?" Bella finally said, almost ten minutes later. "Without playing around. Just yes or no."

"Ask away." If I decided to stick to telling the truth, I can as well go all the way.

Bella's black eyes peered into mine, trying to, and most likely succeeding as usual, to read what's on my mind. Finally, after finding something, or maybe failing to do so instead, she started talking.

"It's about your words back then. About second loss and time," her words were a bit evasive, in case some third party could hear it. "Did you mean what you said?"

Huh. And here I was thinking she would ask something hard to answer!

"Yes. In five, in ten, in fifteen. In twenty. And in thirty. You are, and you will be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen." I said, putting as much conviction into my voice as I could. It was the truth I believed in, no matter which mask. And even without any. "And, once again, yes. If you gave me a chance, I will be glad to be there for you… As much as my nature would let me."

"This Friday, take your stray…" Bella started.

"Olivia. Her name is Olivia." But I interrupted

"... take Olivia to my club and introduce us. I want to meet her," she finished.

"OK," I agreed.

"Huh, just like that? No questions asked?" Bella voiced her surprise.

"My dear, I already chose to put my trust in you," I nodded. "You will tell me when you are ready."

Following the tradition of the last three days, next came a surprise. Bella stood up and stretched out her hand, she was holding the phone with. After a bit of angling, she took a pose, showing off her incredible figure. The see-through nightgown was spectacularly failing its job to hide anything and instead adding to the overall level of how gorgeous Bella looked at the moment. As a finishing touch, she licked the fingers of her free hand and then brought them down her whole body towards her nether regions. Damn tease.

"No matter how good she is," she smirked. "I'm better! Good night… Dear."

And the call disconnected, leaving me feeling both elated that our talk went so well, and incredibly frustrated at the feeling of being blue-balled at the same time.