Arthur walked Katelyn to her next class after their lunch. They chatted in the gazebo by the park for an hour. By the end of their time together, they hadn't discussed anything serious, but they'd gotten to know one another better.
He grew up in Crofton because his parents worked in finance for a large corporate entity. Her parents worked in the music industry and lived in Los Angeles for most of her childhood. They moved to Nashville right before her freshman year of high school. She'd been a fish out of water ever since.
Then they discussed Avatar the Last Airbender, Korra, and Danny Phantom, of all things.
Arthur still laughed to think of it as he threw his winter clothes into small boxes, loaded them into his car, and drove to his parents' house. Packing and moving happened four or five boxes at a time. Arthur planned to bring a load of boxes every time he drove to the house.
He remembered to bring a tool belt, which he had in his costume closet. He grabbed his apron in case Rani didn't want the flowery one his mom left at the house. The pictures would be nude, but he wasn't sure if Rani wanted the female model to wear an apron if he wore a tool belt. He planned to let her lead the photoshoot and maybe put her on a lead afterward. Selene would join them when they returned to the apartment. He didn't want to spend the night at the house until he changed the locks.
The drive from his apartment to his parent's house was long enough to listen to half the soundtrack of the Original Broadway Cast of Wicked, the deluxe version. Arthur sang along, laughing at himself as he sang both parts of any duet. He glanced at the passenger seat.
He would've invited Selene to join him if she hadn't had class. She would have loved this, singing along with him. Though, if she were here, she wouldn't miss the opportunity for road head. Not that he was complaining! The road head made a magnificent addition to their romance. But he hadn't seen Selene in a while outside her role as his slave, and Arthur missed his friend.
He hadn't expected her to keep the Master/slave power exchange a 24/7 dynamic. He loved her as more than a friend now, but their relationship had been so focused on physical intimacy that a sense of loss became inevitable. Their relationship was off balance. Not that he'd change anything. He sighed. He supposed he could always order her to watch Lord of the Rings with him and not make it sexual. The very idea made him laugh.
Arthur was being silly. Selene was horny, finally allowed to pursue her sexuality with him, and did her best to be helpful. They were trying to juggle a lot of relationships right now. He didn't need to stress out about balancing every relationship with everything. No one else had complained, and if Selene couldn't wait to drop to her knees and suck his cock every time she saw him, why should he complain? No one in their right mind would ask her to stop.
Still, he thought putting time aside for a proper date might be nice. Lunch dates might become a more common thing. Something non-sexual but connective. He liked the idea. Each day, he'd eat with a different girl, depending on availability, and group lunches when they could make it work. He'd try to remember to mention it on Wednesday, but he did his best not to think about the harem meeting.
Arthur pulled into the long driveway of his parent's house and relaxed when he didn't see Lynn's car. He parked, approached the door, unlocked it, entered, and turned off the alarm. The chair blocking Lynn's basement entrance wasn't where he left it. He sighed. She must have a key to the house or figured another way in. He had to change the locks. Better to know now, he supposed.
Arthur still eyed the house warily. His pulse quickened as reality set in. He was alone, and Lynn might be there, too. He needed to replace the locks sooner rather than later. "Hello?"
No response.
He checked that Lynn's basement door remained locked and checked the garage. Her car wasn't there either. She wasn't here.
Rani wanted to start outside. Hopefully, they'd finish by the time Lynn returned if she spent the night here. She'd gotten in late last night if she was living here. He wondered what she'd been doing out so late. Hopefully, she was still living with her parents most of the time.
Then again, it was best if he didn't wonder about Lynn. She didn't deserve the attention. He told Rani he'd figure something out but froze whenever he confronted Lynn. The only time he hadn't was when she threatened Beth and Kat instead of him that morning.
He took another deep breath. The empty house gave him an eerie sense of trespassing, like a classroom after hours or the office on a Saturday. This place wasn't his home yet. He needed to make it feel more like home. So he unloaded his car.
Arthur put the boxes into the Master Bedroom and went downstairs. There wasn't much food here. They'd need to order dinner. If they ordered from Garden Wok, it might be a good way to summon Mindy if she drove delivery for her parents that night. However, they might be better off ordering from somewhere closer. Katelyn and Kelly lived between the house and campus, so they might know where to order food.
He pulled up his phone but didn't have time to check his messages before he heard tires on the driveway. Arthur looked up, relieved to see a car he didn't recognize pulling in with the Lyft logo behind its windshield. He stood at the bottom of the steps to greet them by the time the car parked at the top of the loop.
"If we'd coordinated better, I'd have given you a ride." Arthur pointed out as Rani exited the car. "I completely forgot you don't have a car."
Rani shrugged. "I'll get one, eventually." She said. "In the meantime, can you help with the equipment?"
Arthur nodded but kissed her hello first. Then he moved to the trunk as the driver popped it from his seat. Arthur unloaded camera bags, poles, tripods, and more lighting equipment than he'd seen in his brief foray into Rani's dorm room. She must have borrowed some from the art building.
Someone else emerged from the backseat while he worked. Thalia stood eye to eye with Arthur in her heeled boots. The dark-haired beauty smiled at him, and Arthur smiled back, waving. "Hey, I'm Arthur."
"Yes, I know." Thalia said, laughing. "I am Thalia, your scene partner tonight."
Arthur nodded, knowing the term from theater, not photography, but with enough context to know she was the other model.
"A pleasure to meet you." Arthur said.
"Thank you!" Rani said to the Lyft driver as Arthur closed the trunk.
Their car pulled away, leaving them and their bags in front of the house.
"This is a nice place." Thalia said, looking around. "Like a villa, but American."
Rani nodded. "It has that American McMansion charm." She examined the house, then Arthur. He smiled at her.
"Okay." She said, surveying the front grounds of the property with her hand blocking the sunlight from her eyes. "Thalia, let's get you changed and ready for the shoot. I think most of the outside shots will feature you. Arthur - did your mom leave that flowery apron in the kitchen by any chance? And any gardening tools?"
Arthur nodded. "The flowery apron is in there. Gardening tools are in the garage." He answered. "I'll get them for you."
"Thanks." Rani said. Arthur sped into the house while Rani moved to the yard beside the garden.
~~~
Mindy and her mother drove separately from campus to the Garden Wok. Mindy was thankful, but the short drive offered no time to think. Kelly had class, Selene had class, Kat was at work, and Rani and Arthur were doing her photoshoot. They'd drop everything and come running if Mindy asked them to, but she didn't know what help they could be. Her parents wouldn't respond to them well, and she didn't want Arthur's first time meeting her parents to be trying to persuade them to let her move in.
This called for drastic measures. An honest Hail Mary pass. Mindy dialed before she pulled out of the parking lot space from campus, and to her surprise, Deb answered on the third ring.
"Mindy! What a delightful surprise!" Deb's cheerful voice was a lifesaver.
"Hi, Missus Clarke!" Mindy said just as cheerily.
"I've told you before to call me Deb." Deb responded, laughing slightly. "What can I do for you? Is this about the paperwork?"
Mindy had taken her copy of the lease home to read. It was still in her backpack. She'd meant to review it with her parents but hadn't had time since receiving it on Sunday.
"Kinda!" Mindy answered. "I need to ask a huge favor." Mindy said, cutting to the chase. "Like, super huge."
"You need a discount?" Deb asked, laughing.
"I need an adult." Mindy said, laughing at herself.
"I'm confused." Deb said after a pause. "You are an adult."
"I need an adultier adult!" Mindy said.
"Is something wrong? Are you safe?" The concern in Deb's voice touched Mindy's heart.
"My parents are freaking out about the idea of me moving in with the girls and Arthur. My umma found out I'm bi, Rani and Arthur and I are dating, and she doesn't want me to live with people I'm dating." Mindy said. "I was hoping since you and my appa go way back... Could you talk to them and help convince them?"
"Oh." Deb said. The hesitation in her voice wasn't promising. "This sounds like something you and your parents should work out between you as a family. I... I'm not sure if my getting involved would help."
"Please?" Mindy asked. "I need help. I'm not good at explaining things, and you're someone they'd respect. They don't respect my opinion. To them, I'm just a kid, but you're a respectable, successful, and eloquent woman their age. They'll listen to you."
Deb didn't answer immediately, but that wasn't a no, either.
"I thought maybe if you and Mister Clarke came and had dinner with us, you might be able to convince them I'm not throwing my future away by having a relationship and living with Arthur." Mindy said.
"Well, of course, you're not." Deb said. She turned away from the mic, but Mindy could still hear her. "George, what would you say to going out to dinner?"
"Sure!" George's voice came back. "Frenchy's?"
"No, that Asian Fusion restaurant in Reedville. Chang-Hoon's place? Mindy is inviting us to dinner. I thought it would be a good chance to catch up." Deb asked.
"Tonight?" George asked.
"I believe so." Deb said.
"Sure!" George agreed. "I haven't seen that asshole in years. It'd be great to reconnect." The term surprised Mindy, but George's tone was convivial.
"Okay." Deb said, returning to the phone. "George and I will be there in about an hour?"
Mindy glanced at the clock. She hoped that gave her enough time to have the "I'm Bi" conversation with Appa. She should warn her parents that she was bringing Deb and George to say hello. Hopefully, they'd convince them to let her move into the house.
