Chapter Two – Spilled Secrets

  “That’s enough!” I never raised my voice, so it was a big deal.

  Billie, of course, went to say something, but I shot her a warning look. Then I turned on Professor Kroft. “Billie and I didn’t have sex. We fooled around but it wasn’t the full thing. You have no right to be upset. Neither of you do. We have to keep our heads here.”

  Billie’s cheeks were flushed, and I knew she wanted to scream herself hoarse, but she was staying in control for now.

  I addressed her next. “Since that one time Holly watched Khanna and me, nothing else has happened. Fuck, girls, this is not the time to get jealous.”

  Then Billie did lose control. She didn’t scream but she ran, sobbing, out the front door.

  Holly sighed. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that. You have to go after her, Sid.”

  I ignored her for now. I then addressed Khanna in her native language. “And you, Khanna, you can’t stir the pot.”

  The huntress squinted at me. “What pot? Khanna only cook a little. But we have no pot.”

  I was not in the mood for witty wordplay. “You can’t upset the other women. You did that on purpose.”

  Khanna shrugged. “These bitches will betray us. Khanna doesn’t care about them. Khanna only cares for Sid Marshall.”

  “But I care about them,” I said firmly. “If you love me, you’ll treat them with respect. Now, instead of cutting firewood or working on the canoe, I have to go talk with Billie. This was not on my to-do list today.”

  Khanna understood how important our work was. She dropped her head. “Khanna sorry. Khanna not want to add to Sid Marshall’s work.”

  “Well, you did. Remember that next time.” Then I was running through the door. Instead of climbing down the beach, Billie had gone through the bus and out the back door. She turned to the right and headed south down the familiar trail which led to Privacy Rock and our lumberyard.

  “Billie! Wait up!”

  Like that was going to happen.

  The cheerleader kept right on going.

  I took a running jump and easily flew over her. I had gotten used to my landings and didn’t trip a bit. Spinning I was close enough to grab her. I did so very, very gently. She was looking for a fight.

  “What, Sid? Just tell me you want Holly and not me, okay? Then we can just go on with our fucked-up lives in this fucked-up place.” Her face was a mess of tears.

  Somehow, she looked even more cute when she was upset. “Billie, Holly just watched us. You and I did a lot more. Remember, I’ve been into you since the day we met.”

  It was easy to be honest with my feelings. I was on another world, with an optimized body, and I had Khanna to keep my bed warm at night. In the end, I was fine with whatever Holly and Billie decided.

  Billie sighed. “I guess I feel guilty. And I want to be with you again. But we can’t, right? Khanna would probably kill me. She could. She’s a badass. And Holly is like some fucking genius, a cross between Martha Stewart and Little House on the Prairie. You have them. You don’t need…”

  She cast her eyes down and shook her head. More tears fell.

  “You think we don’t need you?” I asked.

  She shrugged and didn’t say anything.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  I slowly lifted her chin. “Let me remind you…when the Sleezenak attacked, you were the one who led the fight. Holly herself said that she’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for you. We do need you. We’re stronger together.”

  She hugged me tight.

  I expected more sobbing, but she was strangely quiet.

  Then, not so strange, she pushed me away. “You smell so good. You’re so hot. I was so stupid. But I missed my chance. I’m going to be alone forever now, and I’ll probably die here. Or Holly and I will lez out at some point because we’re both so fucking horny all that time. Oh, I forgot, she doesn’t sleep with students. We’ll just watch each other jill off. God, even that sounds hot. I’m fucking dying, Sid. I need…well. You know what I need.”

  I thought about grabbing her and fucking her right then and there, but I stopped myself. “I’ll talk with Khanna. If she’s okay with it, we can work something out.”

  Billie blinked. “What?”

  Uh oh. Why did she seem more upset than relieved?

  “I said I’ll talk with Khanna. We don’t know what she thinks. She was fine with Holly watching. I think she actually liked it, though she says she’ll never trust either of you.”

  Billie looked disgusted. “I know what you said, Sid. You think you can have a harem here. Well, fuck that. I am not going to be a member of your perverted harem.”

  Now I was getting angry. “I don’t get you. You know Khanna and I are having sex, but you still want to hook up with me from time to time. I’m not starting a harem. I’m offering to help you out with sex.”

  She laughed, but it sure as fuck didn’t sound happy. “So me, Holly, and Khanna have tons of sex with you, all the time, and probably with each other, and you don’t think that sounds like a harem? What grade were you getting in anthropology? A G minus?”

  “Funny.” Then I started to laugh.

  I couldn’t help it. G minus was funny, and our anthropology class seemed like it was a million years ago.

  To my surprise, Billie started to laugh as well.

  And it didn’t stop. The harder she laughed, the harder I laughed, until we both couldn’t breathe. Soon we were both crying we were laughing so hard.

  Finally, I got a breath in. “I had like a high B. Which was surprising because I didn’t work all that hard.”

  “I know. I had an A.” Billie brushed the tears from her cheeks. “Sid. I take back what I said about the harem thing. I know you’re just trying to do the best you can. Wouldn’t it be weird, though? I mean, you and me, and you and Khanna, and then maybe Holly as well? Wouldn’t you get tired?

  HOSTNAME: Sid Marshall has been optimized to 54% and can easily address the sexual needs of three females. This unit does not see an issue either erections or orgasmic ability.

  Opal rarely offered any kind of information without prompting, and I thought it was funny.

  “Why are you smiling?” Billie asked, a little miffed again.

  “Opal said my body is optimized to handle the sexual needs of three females. I don’t think I would ever get tired. In fact, it would be a dream come true. While I wouldn’t call it a harem, it would kind of be like…you know…”

  “A harem,” Billie finished with a smile. “Let me think about all of this. I don’t want to cheat, but it’s not like I’m married. Or on Earth. Both Scott and Mike wouldn’t think twice about fucking Khanna if they were here. Or Professor Kroft for that matter.”

  “That says a lot,” I said. “You’ve thought more than twice about staying faithful.”

  “It’s kind of all I think about.” She sighed. “Talk to Khanna. I’m still not sure what I want to do.”

  “Do you want to go back to Lonetree for some breakfast?” I asked.

  “Ugh! Sid! Yes! But I miss coffee! Why couldn’t the Twankies be as obsessed with coffee as us humans!”

  I grinned. “Not sweet enough. The Twankies love the sweet stuff. But I’m thinking if we can get out to those San Francisco skyscrapers, we’ll find a whole bunch of things.”

  Walking back to your house, I guess I wasn’t too surprised when Billie took my hand. She needed the same reassurance that Holly had needed on the beach. We were surviving, but we still had a lot of things to consider.

  At some point in college, I’d learned about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Food, shelter, clothing, were the bottom. But then you had security and then love and belonging.

  We were progressing nicely. At the top was self-actualization. For me, that meant something a bit extra, since I was literally being optimized. To what end, I didn’t know, but I had to trust Opal and hope for the best.

  Back in the house, Holly and Khanna weren’t talking, and there was tension in the air, even though the fire snapped and crackled happily. Our little one-room house was warm compared to the cold fog outside.

  Billie went over and hugged Holly. “I’m sorry, Professor. I don’t want to be jealous. And I hope you’re not jealous. This is all so complicated.”

  The professor chuckled. “I was jealous, but we need to stay strong. You’re right, this is complicated, and sex would only make things even more murky.”

  Billie shot me a helpless look but then nodded. “You’re right, Professor. We should stay strong.”

  It was kind of a lie. I knew Billie was rethinking a lot of things, and I needed to talk with Khanna about her expectations.

  Holly and Billie talked more, making amends and repairing their relationship.

  The huntress watched with interest. Then she turned to me. “Khanna thinks those bitches are insane. They fight and then they love each other. See? They will betray Khanna. But Khanna does not care. Khanna loves Sid Marshall.”

  “And Sid Marshall loves Khanna.”

  I hope the huntress would feel the same after I talked with her about Billie.

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