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DAY 17

Wednesday morning wasn’t as interesting as either of the previous two had been for Ethan. It was a slight reality check that he wouldn’t be waking up next to two gorgeous women or be invited to sneak into the room of a third one every day going forward. The silver lining to this was that he could wake up at his own pace for once. It also wasn’t like there wasn’t abundant opportunity to get physical in this house. There was a stunning redhead who had insisted he take her virginity and he had a promise to Danielle to give her a personal massage which more than likely would escalate to more.

There was a message from Emma.

‘DARE: Ask to get your dick sucked with everyone present.’

He saw no way to do this.

He responded firmly regardless.

‘How is that not harassment?’

‘You could ask me if you want to take the easy route.’

Ethan weighed his words.

‘You’re not getting me to chicken out.’

He showered, got dressed in a comfortable outfit and headed down as he had done for most days in the past two weeks. The delivery table held the rest of the packages ordered two days ago as well as some IKEA boxes Ethan figured held the shelves Val had added to the list yesterday.

The women were enjoying breakfast. Aya caught his attention first, as she often had. This time it was because of the warm compress applied to her face. Ethan felt the sting of guilt again. Emma explained it to him as he took a seat.

‘Should help the bruise heal,’ the blonde said.

‘Sorry about that,’ Ethan apologised again.

Aya smiled.

‘I don’t mind being reminded of yesterday morning,’ she said. ‘It’s not like I need to be anywhere anyway. Plus, it makes me look like a badass.’

‘A badass who got beat up, maybe,’ Val chuckled.

Chloe spoke up.

‘I’ll put away the rest of the supplies as I didn’t do anything yesterday,’ she offered while nodding at the pile on the table. ‘I could also put some of the shelves together if someone is willing to join me.’

The invitation was met by Aya first.

‘I’ll help,’ she offered. ‘Who’s not got a task this week? They could be our third.’

Ethan wondered if Aya knew how transparent she was being.

‘That’ll be me,’ he spoke. ‘No problem, I’ll help.’

‘What about our massages?’ Danielle protested. She clearly was looking forward to Ethan’s touch.

‘There’s plenty of time,’ Isabelle soothed her.

Ethan turned to the busty curly-haired brunette.

‘When do you want it? It’s not like I have a busy schedule.’

Danielle smiled.

‘This afternoon. Does that work?’

‘It does.’

Breakfast was finished. Ethan once again noticed that Val wasn’t very talkative. Isabelle organised another yoga session, which Emma, Ethan, Danielle and Chloe joined. It turned out pretty uneventful aside from Emma being topless, but even that was something Ethan felt himself getting used to. After the session, he quickly checked if he could use Isabelle’s table and massage supplies, which she gladly agreed to.

It was time for Ethan to get to work on getting the ridiculous number of supplies ordered on Monday somewhat organised. He was suspicious of Aya’s motives as by now he knew he should always be. She had clearly engineered this situation for her, him and Chloe to be alone. She kept it tame, though. At least in the beginning. The three of them moved the deliveries into the basement and started work on the first ‘Hyllis’. Chloe sorted the contents of the box, Aya read the manual and Ethan did most of the actual assembly work. It wasn’t until the third shelf that Aya executed her plan.

‘Oh, before I forget again,’ she addressed Chloe, ‘I’m sorry for yesterday morning. We probably woke you up, didn’t we?’

She was incredible.

Chloe squinted at Ethan before answering.

‘It’s okay,’ she said quickly while moving her gaze back to the different sized screws. ‘I didn’t mind.’

Aya’s classic smirk appeared, only for Ethan to witness.

‘You didn’t mind, you say? Don’t tell me you enjoyed it,’ she teased.

‘Don’t play games with her, Aya,’ Ethan intervened.

He didn’t realise Aya was ready to parry this remark.

‘Chloe’s a big girl, Ethan. You don’t need to baby her like that. She can speak for herself.’

The redhead looked up.

‘You know what,’ she said hesitantly, ‘I did enjoy it. I’m not ashamed of it.’

Aya smiled broadly.

‘Yes!’ she yelled. ‘I knew it.’

She turned to the girl, ignoring Ethan.

‘Did you play with yourself?’ Aya pushed further.

‘You don’t need to answer that,’ Ethan defended her again.

‘I … I did,’ Chloe admitted.

‘Are you thinking about it now?’ Aya struck again.

Chloe closed her eyes.

‘I am,’ she said softly.

Ethan didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want Aya to manipulate Chloe, but at the same time, this was getting him quite worked up. He saw Chloe’s nipples harden through her top.

‘Are you thinking about getting fucked?’ Aya went beyond teasing.

‘Uhu,’ the redhead confirmed.

‘It’ll happen soon, won’t it? That dick inside of you?’

‘Uhu,’ she said again, breathing slowly, eyes still closed.

Aya turned to Ethan.

‘Get your cock out,’ she commanded.

‘What?’

‘Get it out.’

‘We should be careful, Aya.’

‘I’m not going to tell you a third time.’

Anyone could descend into the basement at any time. This wasn’t smart. He did it anyway. Even in her current state, Aya was incredibly sexy.

‘Look at it,’ she now commanded Chloe.

She spat in her hand and wrapped it around Ethan’s shaft before stroking it. Chloe was looking straight at the messy handjob. In turn, Aya was looking at Chloe.

‘Looks good, doesn’t it?’

Chloe didn’t respond. Ethan was throbbing. Aya spat on it again.

‘I’ll tell you it feels good too, feeling this in your pussy.’

Chloe’s mouth fell open. Her chest was heaving.

‘It’s okay,’ Aya soothed her. ‘You can touch yourself.’

It was as if the redhead had been waiting for this. Without any doubt, she slipped her right hand down her shorts and started playing. Aya used her free hand to follow her example.

Nothing else was said for a while. They didn’t need to. The stimulation of what was in front of them was more than enough. The rhythm of their breathing synchronized. Aya’s grip was firm and her strokes were long. Ethan fought against the feeling of bliss to keep his eyes open. He wanted to look at Chloe as she pleasured herself. Her petite body. Her green eyes. Her innocent stare straight at his cock being pumped. A feeling of overwhelming lust came over him. Their first time would be all about giving her a comfortable and pleasant experience. After she had gotten used to him, he could ram her to bits as often as he wanted, he realised.

‘Oh!’

Danielle’s voice echoed from the stairs. Neither of the trio had noticed her appear there and all of them jumped at the interruption. Before any of them could say anything, the older woman had already fled back up the stairs.

‘Fuck,’ Chloe said. ‘That wasn’t the plan.’

Ethan had no time to process the girl’s choice of words. Aya was quick to soothe her.

‘Relax, Chloe, nothing bad happened.’

The redhead’s eyes widened.

‘What do you mean? She saw us?’

‘It’s okay,’ Ethan joined in. ‘She won’t tell on us.’

Both women looked at him.

‘How do you know?’ Chloe asked.

‘I just do,’ he said.

Aya turned back to Chloe.

‘Don’t worry about it. At least it wasn’t Val,’ Aya laughed. ‘She’d have a fit.’

Chloe’s expression of fear made way for a tiny smile.

‘I guess,’ she said carefully. ‘What now?’

‘Do you want to continue?’ Aya asked.

‘No,’ Chloe said quickly. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t apologise,’ Ethan said.

‘We’ll just finish the shelves, then,’ Aya suggested. ‘Is that all right?’

The redhead nodded.

Ethan covered up. He would have to deal with Danielle later, he knew. The trio went on to finish their task as if they hadn’t even gotten distracted in the first place. After the shelves were installed, they filled them as well. Close to being done, Chloe opened a box of water guns and water balloons.

‘Ooh,’ she caught the others’ attention, ‘this could be fun on a hot day.’

Aya walked over and inspected the toys.

‘Definitely,’ she assessed while aiming one of them at Ethan. ‘There’s a lot of good stuff here, actually. There’s some clay in that box over there.’ She pointed at one of the remaining ones on the floor.

The trio finished their task just in time for lunch. Danielle didn’t mention what she had witnessed, but Chloe made a perhaps too obvious effort not to sit next to her. Despite her discomfort, she still managed to get to business.

‘I’m going to need everyone’s help tonight for the barbecue. It’s a lot of work. I’m not going to cut up all those veggies on my own.’

‘Of course,’ Isabelle said, ‘when do you expect us?’

Chloe thought for a moment.

‘Like, half past five?’ she suggested. ‘May need to start the barbecue before that, though.’

‘I’m on that,’ Val volunteered immediately.

Danielle was seated next to Ethan. Later in the meal, she addressed him.

‘So? My massage after lunch?’

Ethan was actually quite looking forward to it. At least he had been up until the encounter this morning.

‘Sure. I’ll need some time to set up the table. How about in half an hour?’

He looked at his phone and showed Danielle the time.

‘Great.’

She hesitated.

‘What should I wear?’

She was testing the waters.

‘Whatever you feel comfortable in,’ he replied.

She nodded.

As promised, Ethan went to get the massage table and supplies from Isabelle’s room and set it up in his. He also changed clothes into loose shorts and a simple shirt.

Danielle arrived exactly when they agreed to. She was wearing a fluffy white robe. Ethan welcomed her and signalled at the table for her to get comfortable. The older brunette dropped her robe, revealing she was completely nude underneath. She wasn’t hiding but Ethan could only see her from the back as she laid down.

‘Alright. Are you feeling comfortable?’

‘I am,’ Danielle’s muffled voice responded.

Ethan wasn’t. This morning was still unaddressed. He couldn’t bring up Aya stroking his cock while Chloe watched, though. Instead, he mimicked Isabelle’s motions as she had prepared his own massage.

‘Shoulders?’ he asked.

‘That would be great.’

Ethan put his hands on her skin and started massaging. He had no clue what he was actually doing or if it even felt good, but there came no complaints. He moved up to her neck and down along her back. Everything he did was met with soft moans of approvals. He applied more pressure, as this felt like something Danielle would enjoy. He knew that a good masseuse would try to find knots or sore spots, but he had no idea how to identify those. The massage wasn’t enjoyable for Danielle alone. Ethan was glad he had an excuse to touch someone. It felt great.

‘You know, this morning,’ the woman spoke up.

Oh no.

‘I must say I was a bit shocked at first,’ she continued.

Ethan did not want to engage, but he couldn’t stop her from speaking out. It still wasn’t clear what her thoughts would be.

‘This, combined with that drawing I saw yesterday …,’ she went on.

This triggered Ethan. He pulled his hands back.

‘Now that you mention it, is it a bit weird that you walked in on me twice in two days,’ he said.

Danielle turned over, exposing herself.

‘What do you mean?’ she frowned.

It clicked.

‘I don’t think it was a coincidence at all. I think you came looking for me, for us, both times.’

Danielle didn’t respond to the accusation.

‘Why did you need to come into the basement this morning? If it wasn’t to check on us?’

‘I … uh … I,’ Danielle stammered.

‘You don’t trust me with her?’ Ethan heard the frustration in his own voice.

‘No. It’s not that,’ she fought back.

‘Then what?’

She looked away.

‘The thought of you with her … it kind of turns me on.’

A quiet ‘oh’ escaped from Ethan’s lips.

‘I know it’s messy. It’s just … It’s sexy.’

Ethan knew exactly what was going on.

‘I understand,’ he said.

She looked at him, surprised.

‘You do?’

Ethan considered how he would say this.

‘Having decent sex for the first time in decades isn’t that different from having your very first experience with a man, is it?’

Danielle nodded slowly.

‘You want what she’ll have,’ Ethan stated with authority. ‘That’s understandable.’

Danielle was taken aback.

‘I guess you’re right.’

‘Lay back down,’ Ethan ordered.

Danielle did and Ethan continued the massage.

‘That’s no problem, you know. We can arrange that.’

Ethan moved his hands lower on her back and wasn’t stopped.

‘Arrange what?’

Ethan ignored the question and was now unashamedly caressing her large ass.

‘How long has it been since you’ve been eaten out?’

The woman laughed.

‘The past two dozen times don’t even count, I fear.’

Ethan slipped one hand between her thighs, brushing past her heat.

‘That’s an injustice that could be corrected, easily.’

‘Mmm, yes it could,’ she moaned.

Ethan moved past her cunt again, this time even more obvious as to what the idea was.

‘Not today, though. It’s not … I’d need to prepare.’

Ethan felt the disappointment in his entire body. He pulled his hand away from her and back to her back.

‘I didn’t say you could stop doing what you were doing,’ she fake-complained.

Ethan placed his hand back against her pussy.

‘You’re fishing for a happy ending?’

‘Don’t make me beg.’

Ethan moved his fingers through her slit. He could almost feel her heartbeat. Ethan moved two fingers inside of her, causing the woman to gasp. He made sure to move in and out of her slowly.

Danielle just moaned. He used his free hand to resume the massage of her back. With every new entry he went deeper, and her body responded more obviously. It was about time he repaid the favour for the titjob she had given him last week. She got wetter and warmer as time went on. Ethan knew what he had to do and pulled his fingers out, instead stimulating her clit from the back.

‘He never used to finger me,’ Danielle complained. ‘Can you believe that?’

With how glorious her pussy felt, Ethan indeed couldn’t believe it. He decided not to move the focus to her ex-husband.

‘Just relax,’ he coached. ‘Let go.’

He felt her body loosen up. The room was filled with her wet sounds. She writhed around on the table.

‘Your body is amazing,’ Ethan complimented while he was knuckle-deep inside.

‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’ she moaned in response.

One hand stimulating her clit, one hand diving inside. This is what he kept up for a few minutes as Danielle’s breathing grew louder.

Her orgasm was unlike any he had ever witnessed. It almost snuck by, as if wanting to go unnoticed. All he could notice was a slight change in her breathing and then her reaching back to make it clear he needed to retreat. She didn’t need long to recover either.

‘Been a while since I came like that,’ she said.

Ethan was confused as it didn’t appear to have been all too intense. He figured you couldn’t always tell and he’d take her word for it. He didn’t try to get her to pleasure him in return. That wouldn’t be right. This was about her and her pleasure, as it hadn’t been for far too long.

She turned back over and sat half-upright, her heavy tits swaying. Danielle thanked him and stood up.

‘I definitely need to take a shower now.’

The pair both looked at the soaked paper cover on the table.

‘Good thing you prepared,’ Danielle laughed. She put on her robe again, kissed Ethan on the cheek, and left the room.

Ethan wasn’t prepared for what he found in the common room. Aya, Chloe, Emma, Val and Isabelle were all sitting around the dining table and were painting with watercolours. Ethan walked closer and noted they were all trying to picture the bowl of fruit that had been placed in the centre. It looked like a scene from an elementary school.

‘I wanted to check if anyone wanted to use the massage table. It’s still set up on my room.’

Aya and Val made eye contact.

‘I’m more than up for it right now,’ the older of the two announced.

Ethan had come close enough to see Emma’s work-in-progress. It honestly looked like something a toddler had made. The fit blonde noticed he was staring at her work and looked him in the eyes while Aya and Val were putting their stuff away.

‘Well?’ she asked. ‘What do you think?’

He looked at the painting again. The apple looked like a pear while the pear looked like a set of testicles.

‘I uh, I think it looks … interesting.’

‘Oh my God,’ Emma burst out laughing, ‘you’re trying so hard not to be rude, it’s adorable.’

The other women laughed along.

‘I know it’s awful, don’t worry.’

Ethan was still blushing.

‘Why don’t you try to do better?’ she said as she patted the empty chair next to her.

Ethan sat down.

‘We’ll see.’

Aya and Val were ready to leave.

‘So, the table is just in your room?’ Aya asked.

‘It is. Just put a new cover on,’ Ethan instructed, ‘and clean up after yourselves.’

Isabelle perked up.

‘We’ll make use of it after you guys, just let us know.’

With this, the two women retreated to Ethan’s room. While attempting to produce a half-decent still life painting, Ethan couldn’t help but wonder what was going on upstairs. While Aya hasn’t shown any interest towards women at all, the visual of Val’s hands on her possibly bare body wasn’t an unpleasant one by a long shot. If it had been Emma massaging Val, the odds of something happening were much higher, especially given that Val had recently lost an avenue of release and Emma somehow seemed into it. This confused him.

Ethan glanced over at Emma’s atrocity again.

‘I thought you were competitive.’

‘Fuck you,’ she laughed. ‘I’m only competitive when I feel like I have a chance to win.’

She nodded over to Chloe’s side of the table.

‘Chloe! Show us your work.’

The redhead hesitantly lifted her piece of paper, clearly not wanting to show off. Not only did her painting actually resemble a bowl of fruit, but the use of colours was also clearly deliberate.

‘See?’ Emma complained. ‘I can’t compete with that. It looks amazing, Chloe.’

The redhead put her sheet back down. Ethan considered this. Did Emma have something to prove when it came to Val? Had her interaction with Chloe on Sunday activated something in her psyche?

Ethan’s train of thought was disturbed by Danielle’s arrival. She looked incredible after her shower and joined the others at the table. Twenty minutes later, Val and Aya came back down and Isabelle and Chloe took their turns for the forfeited massage. Ethan knew the house elder had massaged the youngster before with interesting results. He wondered if they’d go for a reprise.

The bowl of fruit was replaced as the subject of their artwork by cat-Ethan who was asleep on the couch. Ethan’s interpretation of this scene looked like a thunder cloud. Emma’s was somehow even less recognizable. Val had moved outside to get the barbecue started and the painting supplies were put away. Emma countered Ethan as they put the box of watercolours back on the basement shelf.

‘Are you refusing to give me any attention on purpose?’ she asked with a smile.

‘Uhm, no? What do you mean?’

‘I just feel like I’m not getting a large part of the Ethan-pie lately.’

‘There’s a lot of competition,’ Ethan teased. He knew how to push her buttons by know.

Emma left with an ominous ‘we’ll see’.

Chloe coordinated the barbecue preparations while Val managed the coals. There were vegetarian alternatives for Ethan, Aya and Isabelle and Danielle had even ordered what she needed to prepare a number of cocktails. Ethan hadn’t expected there to be alcohol present this prominently, so he adjusted his expectations. All this preparation would surely blow the earlier barbecue they had, on day three, out of the water. This had grown beyond just another meal, it was more like the type of night you’d organise with friends on a warm summer night.

The evening brought a pleasant mood. Even Val and Isabelle managed to have some positive interactions. Plenty of cocktails and glasses of rosé were consumed. After everyone had finished their plates, and the surprise desserts, courtesy of Danielle, Aya put on a ‘Summer Vibes’-playlist and the group spread out over the patio area.

Val approached Ethan who was just sitting on a bench and watching the women have fun and mingle.

‘I’m horny,’ she said as she took a seat.

‘That’s not how people normally start conversations, Val,’ Ethan replied.

She looked at him.

‘There’s nobody else I can tell without coming across like a weirdo.’

Ethan laughed.

‘You think that’s not the vibe you’re bringing?’

Her face turned serious.

‘It’s not fair. I’m locked up in here same as you. The only person I can have sex with is angry at me while you’ve got them basically lining up.’

Ethan frowned.

‘I don’t think that’s true.’

‘Seriously? You’re five out of five. You’ve even got better odds than me to share a bed with Isabelle right now.’

‘Five out of six,’ Ethan corrected her. She didn’t find it amusing. ‘And no, that was not what I was getting at.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I don’t agree that Isabelle is the only person you could have sex with. You already know this too.’

They both looked at the other five women on the patio.

‘I know about Chloe. I managed to put two and two together after Isabelle massaged her.’

‘See,’ Ethan replied, ‘that’s one more person.’

‘I don’t know. I’m twice her age.’

‘She’s an adult.’

‘Barely.’

‘I’m not forcing you. I’m just saying there are options.’

Val nodded.

‘You’re planning to get with her, still? It’s not too much pressure?’ she asked.

He didn’t want to think about it like that.

‘At least I can’t be bad by comparison.’

Val sighed.

‘We just talked about how she’s been with women. You think you can’t be bad compared to them. They don’t count?’

She was right.

‘Well, I’ve gotten a half-offer to be taught some things, but the tutor hasn’t gotten back to me since.’

Val rolled her eyes.

‘Maybe if you have something to offer in return,’ she said. ‘Maybe.’

‘I don’t think Emma was joking the other day, either,’ he continued.

They both looked at her. She was the only one dancing to the music. Her slightly tipsy state helped her not to feel awkward about it.

Val shook her head.

‘Not the first straight woman to ‘jokingly’ offer me that. I’m not looking to be experimented on. Been there, not fun.’

‘Okay, sure, but it’s still an option, just your choice not to take it.’

‘What about Aya?’ the Swede asked.

‘You think she’s hot?’ Ethan asked.

Val punched his shoulder.

‘Don’t perv out. Of course, I think she’s hot. Have you seen her?’

‘I’ve done more than see her,’ he boasted.

Val ignored this.

‘When she massaged me today … I must admit it was very nice.’

Ethan understood completely. He’d be the same.

‘But she’s pretty straight, no?’ Val asked.

Ethan nodded. From the corner of his eye, he saw Emma climb on top of a table.

‘Yup. As far as I know. I’m sorry.’

There was a silence.

‘Are you trying to patch things up with Isabelle?’ Ethan asked carefully.

Val shook her head again.

‘No. I actually think it’s good that there’s some space between us.’

Ethan tilted his head.

‘We coupled up pretty quickly, didn’t we?’

Ethan didn’t want to judge, but he agreed.

‘You’ve got to do what works for you,’ he said, ‘but keep house morale in mind too.’

Val wasn’t granted time to respond to this as chaos erupted. Ethan saw it happen. Emma was in the middle of some sort of not very graceful dance move when the table collapsed underneath her. She stretched out her arms to break her fall, but they didn’t seem to do what she wanted to.

‘AH FUCK!’ she yelled as she moved her left hand to her right arm.

Cat-Ethan hurried away. Val and Ethan jumped up, but Danielle was nearest to Emma and already attempting to calm her down.

‘Let me have a look at that,’ Ethan heard her say as Emma turned pale and started sobbing.

The older woman then turned around.

‘Call the researchers,’ she commanded Ethan. ‘Now.’

He did as was told and dialled the number. His questioning looks prompted Danielle to mouth the words ‘broken arm’ at him along with a fitting mime of a bone breaking before turning her attention back to Emma.

Ethan, understanding Danielle didn’t want Emma to worry, moved inside so she wouldn’t hear the phone call.

‘Good evening, Ethan,’ an unfamiliar voice greeted him. ‘Is everything alright?’

He got to business.

‘No, we need medical assistance. Urgently.’

‘Alright Ethan. Help is already on the way. Can you tell me more about what has happened?’

The person’s voice was soothing.

‘We think Emma broke her arm. It just happened right now. Outside on the patio.’

‘Thank you, Ethan. Emma will be taken to a hospital. It’s great that you called us. Help should arrive in … less than a minute. Do you want to stay on the line with me?’

‘Sure.’

The person had been right. From inside the house, he saw four people had entered the garden from the back. Two of them were carrying a stretcher.

‘They’re here,’ Ethan said.

‘Great,’ the voice replied. ‘It’ll be alright. Don’t worry.’

Ethan saw the aides interact with the women outside. One of them had a brief interaction with Aya before she waved him away. They helped Emma onto the stretcher and walked away. Ethan hung up the phone and joined the others outside. It was dead silent.

‘Don’t worry guys,’ Danielle continued her caring role. ‘A broken arm isn’t as bad as it seems. The cast is just a bit annoying. It could have been much worse.’

‘What if she doesn’t come back?’ Chloe articulated what everyone was thinking.

‘We’ll just have to wait and see,’ Isabelle said, calmly.

She was right, but the wait would not be easy.

‘What now?’ Aya asked. ‘We clean up?’

‘I’m not in the mood to chill more,’ Val replied.

The others agreed. What needed to be put away urgently was taken care of, but plenty of the work was put off until the next day. After, everyone got ready for bed. Aya was in the bathroom when Ethan came to brush his teeth.

‘I hope she’s all right,’ Aya sighed, genuinely concerned.

‘Me too. I’ve never broken anything, but I heard it can be awful.’

‘Emma’s tough,’ Aya consoled herself.

‘She is.’

‘It’s not your fault, by the way. If you’re worried about that.’

Ethan shook his head.

‘Should I have been?’

‘It’s just … you know Emma. She enjoys attention. Your attention. Doesn’t make it your fault.’

He hadn’t looked at it like that before.

There was a gap in conversation.

‘One of those researcher dudes looked at my eye for quite a while. I wonder if there’ll be follow-up to that.’

‘Why would there be?’

Aya shrugged.

‘A black eye never looks great without context. The research team may … assume things.’

She was right, but Ethan still hoped it wouldn’t be an issue.

He hugged Aya goodnight and went to bed after filling in the daily survey.