I did REALLY want one of those burgers that I got yesterday from the food truck that Danna and Summer brought me to, but then I remembered that I was on a college student's salary after all. This ring made me powerful, not rich. So, after a bit of deliberating, Tae and I decided on going to Dining Hall C where our food plans were accepted.
Around this time, it was pretty crowded, as to be expected around lunch time. Tae kept close to me, blushing as she nervously reached for my hand. She clearly wasn't quite prepared to be seen going on a lunch date with a woman, but she was getting there. You know, despite the fact that we just fingered each other not too long ago. I decided to meet her a little more than halfway and held her hand as we walked, which made her blush even more.
I ended up just getting a nice ham and turkey sandwich with plenty of the toppings while Tae got herself grilled cheese and tomato soup. We found a clean table and took a seat, setting our stuff down and relaxing a little.
"So, um, this is a date, right?" she asked as she fidgeted nervously in her chair. Going from being this more standoff-ish person to more open was a huge and sudden transition for her. Gently, I placed my hand on hers.
"Yes, this is a date and it is going well so far," I said, trying to reassure her. I mean, I could have used the ring to just make her calmer, but that felt more like it was cutting the weeds rather than plucking them. "It's alright, Tae. You don't have to be so nervous around me." I gave her a warm smile, which made her even redder.
"Yeah, you're right," she said as she turned to eat her food. Her shoulders slumped down more as her nerves settled. I took a nice large bite of my sandwich and the two of us ate until she decided to break the silence. "So, um, a polycule, huh?"
This caught me a bit off guard, so I choked a little on my sandwich. I coughed a bit and drank it down with some water. "Uh, yeah, a polycule. Right now, it's about five girls, but now six including you."
She fidgeted a little with her food. "Um, how does it all work?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, are you all dating each other? Are they all dating you? Is anyone able to recruit people in? How would marriage work?" I could see that she was trying to understand the fundamentals of a polycule. Personally, I still was too.
Then, I glanced down at the Reality Ring. It doesn't just alter people, but it alters their reality, right? I mean, it's called the REALITY Ring after all. I didn't have to worry about the details. I could make them. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain that was probably going to occur.
In my polycule, we all are considered dating each other. None of us get unhealthily jealous of each other. We all treat each other kindly and respectfully. Anyone can bring in another girl to the polycule if they want. Joining the polycule is that girl's own choice. No effect of the ring can influence their decision. Marrying anyone does not make them exclusive to that person. Everyone in the polycule is fine showing affection, even in public, to each other. All girls currently in and when someone joins the polycule will become aware of how the polycule works.
Now, I expected the ring to flare up, as I was making a big change. What I wasn't expecting was just how large it was. My hand writhed in pain as I shoved it immediately in my water, but it didn't help. It felt as if my hand was in a burning forge. I gritted my teeth as hard as I could, but squeals of pain escaped from my teeth. I collapsed on the ground, holding my hand as the burning filled my arm.
Tae rushed over around the table to my side, panicking and trying to figure out what was going on. All I could do was squeeze her hand and try to fight through the searing sensation. Other people came over to see what was going on, and at that point I was too much in pain to care about attracting attention.
"Hey, is she okay?"
"I saw her collapse. What happened?"
"Is something wrong with her hand?"
"Someone call the campus doctors!"
"No, no, I'm fine," I said as I slowly stood up. I wiped away my tears and put on a smile to reassure everyone. "It's just, um, a medical condition. I had just, uh, forgotten to take my medication. I'm fine now." Thankfully, everyone seemed to be put at ease and slowly dispersed after I reassured them even more.
Tae, however, was still holding my hand and had a look of concern plastered over her face. "What's this medical condition? How can I help? Do we need to head back to your place and get it?"
"I'm fine, Tae," I said, sitting back down in my chair and guiding her to hers. "Please, it's okay now." She nodded, but she kept her eye on my hand with the ring, holding it the whole time as we finished up our food. Danna may have been able to accept the magic ring, but I wasn't quite sure about the rest of them. I mean, sure I'll tell them at some point in the future, but not now.
Gently, I leaned down and gave Tae's hand a soft kiss, smelling a bit of my juices as this was the hand she used to finger me. I chuckled a little and smiled at her, which made her blush again. Suddenly, my phone began to ring. I looked at the number to see that it was Summer. "Sorry, I gotta take this. I'll be right back." Tae nodded and I walked off a bit to a more private area. "Summer, what's going on?"
"Hey Ringmaster." Oh, it was Regina. At some point we should probably get her her own phone.
"Regina, um, what's going on?" I asked, trying to play things cool.
"Oh, nothing much. Summer went to get us lunch, Danna's taking a nap in your bed, and, oh yeah, uh, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING WITH THE RING JUST NOW?"
I figured that I wouldn't be able to get too far without Regina discovering what I did. She was magically bound to the ring after all. She likely had some psychic connection to any changes I did.
"I just, um, laid some ground rules for the polycule. I didn't expect that it would be that big of a change," I said, hoping that she wasn't mad at me.
"You basically set up a whole set of guidelines for multiple girls and potentially who knows how many more. Do you know how reckless that was?" Regina said, her tone more obvious now. She wasn't upset at me for having done such a large change. She was concerned that I did such a huge change and that I could have hurt myself.
"I'm sorry," I said, and I waited a few seconds for Regina to respond.
"Look, I'm just gonna come by and check out how you're doing, alright?"
"Okay," I said, admiring her care and compassion. She made have been incredibly sex-hungry, but she still very much cared about us. "I'm at Dining Hall C."
