Dear Readers,
Thank you for your patience, life has been crazy and my new editor had to catch up on this story before he could edit it. I also took into account some of the feedback I've been getting and I hope the rewrites I am doing show that I do, in fact, listen to valid criticisms. This story still has a long way to go, unless I am very mistaken, so while it will take a while to get there, I hope you continue to enjoy the ride.
Thanks again to my fabulous editors, Bry1977 and thegoofyproofyreader. They are doing great work helping me catch a lot of mistakes and improve a lot, so I can't thank them enough.
Without further ado, the next chapter awaits...
~NaughtyPaladin
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Chapter 29
After Berkley left, I lay there for a good half-hour. I had a lot to think about. My harem had grown quite a lot and while it was undoubtedly hot to be in such demand, it was also... weird. Definitely weird. I'd been a bit of a nerd all my life, so the girls hadn't exactly been lining up to date me, and now there were absolutely babes just volunteering to be my fucktoys. I ended up dressing and went to look for Sarah.
Amy helped direct me to Sarah's room, and I found her inside unpacking.
She took one look at me and set aside her work. "Need to talk?"
I just nodded and closed the door.
She sat on her bed and motioned to the recliner.
I chuckled. "Don't have your therapist's couch, so they gave you a recliner?"
"It's easier." She shrugged. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"
I took advantage of the reclining feature and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "Why do you guys even want to be with me?"
"There are a lot of reasons," Sarah assured me. "Do you remember why the first few of us joined and formed the harem?"
"You were horny, and I had a dick that wasn't getting stuck in every pussy on campus... But now I'm basically doing that, aren't I?" I demanded.
"And you believe that if we didn't find you to be appealing in more ways than just being a convenient penis, we'd have still gone ahead with it?" Sarah pointed out in that 'you know I'm right' sort of way.
"But WHY?" I demanded, throwing my hands up in frustration. "Until I was with Courtney, I had absolutely NOTHING going on... romantically. Now, I'm being treated like some sort of sex god. With everyone just throwing themselves at me."
Sarah thought about that for a minute. "I know I found you attractive when we first met with you... but this may be the phenomenon of the female attraction to a taken man. Studies suggest that in fish and birds, a male that has a mate is viewed as more appealing, and in some ways, the other females view the mating male as being pre-validated as a suitable mate. I can't say that it wasn't the case with me, because even then, I knew that you and Courtney were a pair."
She crossed her legs and put her elbows on her knees, her chin leaned forward on her hands. She clearly didn't care that I could see her panties up her skirt, which made sense considering the number of times I'd taken her panties off.
"Then... it is entirely possible that the validation of you having multiple women willing to share you further validated your desirability as a partner, opening the door for future harem members to see the appeal." She concluded. "But that's just a theory."
"So... classic case of 'if your friends jumped off a cliff, would you'?" I asked.
"A similar concept, but with a sexual partner, yes," Sarah admitted.
"So if Courtney chose poorly, and I was... some pervert who would coerce a woman into sex, the rest of you would have just gotten pulled into the shitstorm?" I declared, remembering how my relationship with Courtney had REALLY started.
"Absolutely not." Sarah laughed. "You think we would have stuck around this long if you were someone like that?"
"I don't think you know me at all," I confessed.
"If you are referring to the blackmail, you should know that Courtney told me all the details ages ago," Sarah informed me.
My head shot up.
"No, I haven't told the others," Sarah assured me. "Doctor-patient privilege, you know?"
"So, you know I'm a scumbag." I declared, covering my face, "So, why are you still here?"
"Well, while I certainly disapprove of that part of how you two came together, was that ACTUALLY why you are together now?" Sarah pressed. "As I understand it, you gave Courtney a full two weeks to pick out the man to whom she would lose her virginity, and she chose you at the first opportunity. Why do you think that is?"
"She was desperate, and I was the only non-revolting option," I admitted miserably.
Sarah sighed, "You really need to work on your self-esteem. No. Think about it."
I raised my head to look at her. She met my gaze with exasperation.
"Okay, work through it with me," Sarah instructed. "Courtney, who was more known for chasing men off than talking to them, gets blackmailed. As I understand it, you forced her to let you have anal intercourse with her on a Friday. She had two weeks to find a man she was willing to lose her virginity to. But Monday, after only having the weekend, she came straight to you."
"Yeah, she didn't want to run out of time," I grumbled.
"Think like a woman for a minute," Sarah suggested. "Never mind, that never works. Let's see. Oh! Okay, Courtney is a programmer, like you, correct?"
"Yeah." I acknowledged.
"So, what does your decision-making process look like?" She pressed.
"Well, find your options, list pros and cons, find the most acceptable option, and proceed," I replied.