Chapter 10

Our “basking” didn’t last long though. Girls being girls, our teenage contingent wanted to talk amongst themselves about these latest developments. I gathered that Ruby’s new status as “full” sister in the family was a cause of great celebration. So they went inside where they could talk and gossip without us “square” adults getting in the way.

With just Mindy, Cindy, and I left at the patio table near the hot tub and pool, Mindy said, “Boy, I sure am glad THAT is over! It went better than expected though, don’t you think?”

I replied, “Thank God for Ruby becoming part of the family too. Frankly, I’m VERY surprised at how well Nicky is taking all this, and I think that’s a big part of it. It’s not just ‘Hey, your dad has a mistress, ‘ it’s ‘Hey, your dad has a mistress, and you have a new sister, and kind of a new mother too.’”

Cindy said, “I can’t tell you how relieved I am. Not to mention how THRILLED I am! I know already that I’ve been fully accepted into this, well ... family.”

I could tell that she’d wanted to say “harem,” but she’d checked herself. Undoubtedly, she was trying to follow Mindy’s instruction to not say anything that could tip Nicky off, even if Nicky wasn’t nearby at the time.

She continued, slightly abashed, “That said, telling Nicky that I’m your mistress, Dan, it somehow makes it a little more real, a little more permanent and official. There’s no turning back now, is there?”

I smiled from ear to ear. “No turning back.”

She scooted her chair closer to mine. “It is ... okay ... if we kiss?!”

I looked to Mindy for confirmation. “I think it’s very okay, no? I mean, I know Nicky would be shocked if she saw that so soon after we dropped that big bombshell on her, but since she’s taking it well, I say we proceed like we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Mindy pondered that, and then nodded her head. “Agreed.”

So Cindy and I kissed. We started out in our chairs, but the passion rose so high so fast that we found ourselves standing up so we could hug each other tightly and kiss that much more intently.

Mindy laughed as she sat there and watched. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I agreed to a kiss THAT hot and sexy! You two had better calm down or I’m going to have to dump you in the pool before you set the entire house on fire!”

Rather sheepishly, but with our smiles splitting our faces open wide, Cindy and I returned to our chairs. I still held Cindy’s hand though, and we stared at each other lovingly.

I found myself thinking, Everything that’s happened with Cindy has been remarkable. Not that many days ago, she was looking and feeling beaten down. She was stuck in a crappy job, no good relationship prospects, and she was facing Ruby going to college and leaving her alone before long. But now, she’s transformed! I know that what we’re doing must be right, because she just LOOKS so much better. She’s always smiling and happy, and there’s this kind of glow to her. I swear, she looks ten years younger too. It’s amazing how much people can change in a short time.

And damn! She’s become such a sexual dynamo! She started out tired and uncertain, worried that she couldn’t keep up with my oh-so-sexy girls. Confidence has always been a big issue for her. But I can tell her confidence is soaring! And that makes her extremely enthusiastic about the sex, such as the way she just kept on sucking and sucking me during the sexy spanking earlier.

Mindy chuckled. “Look at you two, looking all googly-eyed at each other. That’s very nice, but you might want to take it down a notch or two when Nicky is around. Some kissing in front of her is good to show her how much you love each other. But not a kiss and fondle like THAT, where you’re so hot together that you’re liable to melt a hole to the center of the Earth. And think about the property damage I’ll have to deal with afterwards, when I can look down the hole and see the Earth’s molten core. So limit the P.D.A., okay?”

Cindy and I nodded. We were still lost in each other’s eyes. With our rule not to say anything in private we wouldn’t be able to say with Nicky there, I had to be circumspect. I said, “Cin, certain people around here tend to hog the spotlight.” I’m sure she understood I was referring to the Gruesome Twosome, and Michelle in particular. “However, you should never worry that you’re some kind of also-ran, because you’re not. I love YOU. I want YOU. Not only are you beautiful, and sexy as hell, but I love simply being around you and spending time with you. I feel very honored you’ve chosen to be my mistress.”

“Oh, Dan!” It looked like Cindy was on the verge of crying. Things had gotten quite weepy around this house lately. But instead she grabbed my shirt and pulled me in close for another passionate, literally breathtaking kiss.

Mindy laughed. “Hey! What did I say about the nuclear kisses? I swear, if you two get any hotter, you really are gonna leave me with a Chernobyl-style meltdown to deal with!”

We managed to cool it down. The only reason though was Nicky’s nearby presence. Had she not been in the house, I’m sure the clothes would have started flying off.

The three of us chatted for another twenty minutes or so when the girls - Nicky, Michelle, Ruby, and Sue Ellen - returned. They took seats in the shade around the patio table and joined in the conversation.

I was keeping a close eye on Nicky’s mood. I was glad to see that she seemed even happier and relaxed than before. Obviously, whatever the girls had talked about with her had had a positive effect. It was extremely important for me to see that Nicky accepted Cindy’s mistress situation. If she couldn’t do that, then having her eventually learn about our entire harem probably had no hope. How would we ever reveal additional details to her later, such as the fact that I also had actual sex slaves? And to have her find out about Michelle being one of them would be even more dangerous. But the way she seemed to be recovering from the shock so quickly was very encouraging.

The mood was light and jokey. Again, we were all happy to simply be with each other. I was particularly pleased to see that Nicky appeared accepting of Cindy’s and Sue Ellen’s presence. In fact, she and Sue Ellen looked to be getting along quite well.

After a while, Mindy tapped on her wrist as if she was wearing a watch. “I don’t know what the time is, but Nicky, you mentioned something about wanting to work on your tan for Hawaii. You might want to get started on that, because it’s gotta be three o’clock already. Maybe three-thirty. Why don’t we all take a minute to get into our bathing suits and then come back here?”

Nicky’s reaction was unexpected. She immediately blushed and looked away. “I don’t know about that ... Maybe later...”

Mindy reached out and put a sympathetic hand on Nicky’s shoulder. “What is it? Is something bothering you?”

Nicky mumbled while still avoiding eye contact, “It’s just that ... I’ve turned into such a fatty. I’m embarrassed. I was thinking that I could go down to the deck - I love it there! And just, you know, tan on my own.”

Michelle said, “Hold on, girl. We can SEE you! It’s true that you’re wearing too many clothes for this kind of weather, as usual” - she rolled her eyes - “but it’s not like you’re bundled up in a burka. It’s obvious that you look GREAT!”

Nicky looked at Michelle and asked hopefully, “You think?” But then her hopes sank. “No. You’re just saying that. The problem is the ‘freshman fifteen.’ For me, it’s more like the ‘freshman twenty.’ I’m a bloated-up fat ball!”

I knew what she meant by the “freshman fifteen,” because she’d complained about it on the phone more than once. It seems that when teens go off to college, enough of them gain around fifteen pounds in their first year for the phrase “freshman fifteen” to be well known on college campuses everywhere. It seems that when teenagers get away from the meals they’d been getting at home, their eating habits often go haywire. Some end up eating far too much of the cafeteria food, which is usually “all you can eat” style for many unhealthy foods. Others binge on junk food, fast food, and other things their parents usually have limited them from eating back home.

I said to Nicky, “Look. I can see that you have put on some weight. However, that’s not a bad thing. You’ve grown a bit too, haven’t you?”

“A bit,” she admitted.

I continued, “The thing is, you were on the skinny side before. Coltish, if you will. Most teen girls are. I can’t tell for sure with the clothes you’re wearing, but it seems as if you’ve filled out quite nicely, Muffin. So, like I said, the fact that you’ve gained a few pounds isn’t a bad thing. It’s a very good thing.”

Nicky seemed encouraged about that, but she still groused, “I don’t know...”

Michelle dramatically stood up and pointed a finger in the air. “I DO know! Nicky, I’ll PROVE to you that Daddy is right and you look even better than before. If I’m wrong, I’ll eat my hat!” She looked to all the girls at the table. “Come on!”

Nicky got up with the others, but she asked quizzically, “‘Daddy?’” When she’d been home last time, for Christmas, Michelle and everyone else had been referring to me as just “Dad.”

My heart went to my throat. I held my breath.

Michelle said hastily as she tried to pull Nicky towards the house, “It’s a new thing. Since we’re all even closer than before, and with a new kind of bigger family, we’ve got some new lingo to reflect that. Now, no stalling, We’re going to fix you up!”

I carefully exhaled. It sounded like Michelle had dodged a bullet!

“Okay, okay, already.” Nicky let herself get pulled along, but she asked, “Where are we going? What are we doing?”

“You’ll see!”

With that, the four girls disappeared back into the house.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Mindy snickered, “Muffin.”

I chuckled a little bit. “I know. We’ve gotta work on that.” Deciding the best defense was a good offense, I complained, “Why didn’t you warn me when I came up with that name all those years ago? I swear, I didn’t know the double meaning back then!”

Mindy smirked. “Hey, you were fine with it as of six months ago. What’s the big problem now?”

I was frustrated by all the things I couldn’t say, due to our ban on incriminating talk. The best I could do was, “Things have changed since then, and you know it.”

Mindy smiled and fondly stared into the distance. “They have, haven’t they? Aaaaah ... Life is good.” Her dark blue eyes flashed at me, full of mischief, love, and sexual desire. Obviously, she was having some happy thoughts about the harem.

Then she started to get up. “I’m feeling peckish. I think I’ll get a snack and something to drink. Would either of you like something? Honey, would you perhaps like to ... nibble on a muffin?”

Cindy couldn’t help but giggle at that.

I pointed at Mindy and said harshly, “Don’t you even start! Don’t! Some things you don’t joke about!”

“Okay, fine. Geez. But I do want to get a snack. Hubby, how ‘bout I get you a cupcake to nibble on instead?”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a hopeless case, aren’t you?”

“Guilty as charged. You know how I HAD to joke about that once, right? But I’ll be good now.”

I grumbled, “Sure you will. And bats and moonbeams are going to fly out of your ass.”

She stood there looking puzzled. “Moonbeams? Bats, sure, no problem. I have a whole nest of trained bats in there, ready to fly out at my command. But moonbeams? I’m gonna have to work on that.” Smirking and happy with herself, she went inside.

Cindy tried to be nice to me. “You have to admit that muffins and cupcakes are very similar. And that’s kind of weird. It makes for good joking material.”

“I know, I know! Don’t remind me.”

We had previously decided that we wouldn’t try to hide the “Cupcake” nickname from Nicky, so it wasn’t a problem that we were referring to it now. Our excuse was going to be that it was a name Sue Ellen had picked up in the time since Nicky knew her in high school. We were all supposed to call her that, not just me. That way, there would be one less thing I’d have to be careful not to say.

Mindy, Cindy, and I were enjoying our snacks and drinks when the girls came back.

Curiously, they were all dressed exactly the same as before, except for Nicky. As if she wasn’t covered up already, now she wore a robe that covered her body from head to toe. However, I looked her all over and noticed that wasn’t entirely true. Her toes were actually covered by high heels, a pair of sleek black heels that covered most of her feet.

This seems extremely odd to me. For one thing, Nicky isn’t the type to wear high heels at all, since she hates to draw attention to herself. And why on Earth would she be wearing heels in the middle of the day, while all bundled up like that?

Why do the high heels have to be black?! That reminded me of the spanking session that had ended not long before Nicky arrived, where all of my women wore black high heels, and that was a very arousing reminder. Dammit, the last thing I want is to be aroused right now!