Decisions upon Decisions!

But Suzanne said, "Not so fast. What if you get lucky with, say, your Harvard hail Mary, but not your Stanford one? Or Princeton? Or Yale? What then?"

The smile fell from Alan's face. "Hmmm. That would be tough. Maybe I should just not apply to those places?"

"And turn down a chance to go to HARVARD?!" Suzanne asked.

He replied, "Let's be honest. The odds of me getting in a place like that are really low. The competition is super high. I have good grades and test scores, but they're not outstanding like Christine's. Anyone who would look at her application and then mine would pick hers instantly. There are more than enough Christine-level students to completely fill a place like Harvard. If I don't apply there I won't feel bad, because it's a total pipe dream in the first place. Besides, I want to live in California. We all do. Once you live here, why live anywhere else? Between the Bay Area and the L.A. basin, there are so many college options that it's not even funny."

He continued, "I can do without those Eastern options. I have to remember that this isn't just about me anymore. We really are a family. Just because I'm the so-called master of this harem, that doesn't make me any more special than anyone else."

"It kind of does," Katherine said.

"No it doesn't!" he insisted. "It's true that I happen to have the obvious member that holds the harem together, so that is a special thing. But are my college plans any more important than, say, Amy's? In fact, I'd say Amy's are more important than mine, because she already knows what she wants to do and where and how to do it, and I only have a vague idea that I might want to be an archeologist. No way would I go somewhere without a good art college option for Amy. So that probably knocks out Princeton and Yale right there, anyway. We're FAMILY! You all spoil me so much that it's embarrassing. I want to give something back if I can. I think narrowing our college options down to the Bay Area, or L.A. in a pinch, is a good start. That'll allow us to start making plans already."

Katherine said with sincere eagerness, "Sign me up! That sounds like a plan!"

Susan turned to Suzanne and asked uncertainly, "Aren't people in Berkeley and San Francisco kind of weird?"

Suzanne replied, "I suppose that's true. A lot of unusual people head there. But remember that we're 'kind of weird' now too. One guy living with a bunch of beautiful women won't stick out there nearly as much. And if we move that far away, remember that no one else needs to know how we're related. Just think of the possibilities of having fun with your Tiger in public!"

Susan's eyes went wide. "Ooooh! Oh my!"

Since Amy hadn't said anything, Alan asked her, "What do you think?"

"I'm so there! That would be the awesomest, bestest thing ever! I moved there in my mind, like, five minutes ago already!"

Alan chuckled at that. "Cool. Can we all hug and kiss in celebration already?" In fact, the women were taking turns hugging and kissing the one sitting next to them, with only Alan being left alone.

Suzanne smiled at him, and said, "Not so fast. We've got some loose ends. For one thing, you just mentioned Christine. You said that she's planning on going to Stanford, right?"

"She is. Or Harvard or Yale."

Suzanne put a finger on her chin and smiled knowingly. "Hmmm... Interesting."

Alan said, "It would be nice to have her near, as a friend, but remember that's all she'll ever be to me. Besides, that could be a bad thing, since she'll know that we're related. She could blow our cover in a big way."

Suzanne said, "Putting her aside for a moment, what about your other lovers? Most especially Glory?"

He grimaced. "That would be tough, leaving her behind. I'd hope and pray that she would want to move to the Bay Area too, but I can't presume that she will. I mean, she hasn't agreed to anything like The Pact."

Suzanne grinned. "But you know that she WILL follow you, don't you? In your heart of hearts, you know."

He blushed slightly. "I know no such thing! Things are very rocky with her right now. Who knows if we'll be together in a week!"

But Suzanne persisted, "Come on. I know that's true at the moment, but don't you have a feeling, deep down, that she's going to join the harem for good? Even if that means following you to Berkeley or wherever you want to go? A teacher like her can get a good job anywhere."

He sighed. "I don't know. Let's put it this way: either things between us will come crashing down for good over the next month or so, or I think she'll be with me for the long haul. It all depends on how she handles the incest factor. Either way, I don't see my moving to the Bay Area as being a make-or-break thing for her and me. The make-or-break is kind of happening right now."

Suzanne grinned. "I see. Let's pencil her in, then."

Alan griped, "What?! You can't do that! That's soooo premature that it's not even funny!"

"Even so, I'm penciling her in," Suzanne insisted. "And ditto for Brenda. I have no doubt there. That means Adrian will have to change high schools, but that'll be good for him. He needs a new start."

Alan didn't dispute that; Brenda had been so submissive and enthusiastic lately that he couldn't.

Suzanne continued to go down her mental list. "Xania's a more interesting case. I'm not so sure about her. I know she's having a lot of fun with us, but you don't know her like I do. She has this kind of fear of commitment that I've never understood. Still, she might move. She doesn't really have anything keeping her in L.A., so who knows?"

Susan said, "I like her a lot. She's perfect for the harem."

Suzanne replied, "I know you do. If you want her to join us, you need to step up your effort to recruit her. Anyway, after her, there are other possibilities, like Heather or Kim or Simone."

Katherine groaned unhappily upon hearing Heather's name.

Alan responded to that. "I think Heather's got a powerful crush on me, but she's not going to follow me around. No way. Heather beats to her own drummer. Besides, if she and I are still talking to each other by the end of the school year, it'll be a miracle."

Suzanne smiled enigmatically. "You never know. In any case, if we all decide to move to the Bay Area, that could impact quite a few other lives as well, starting with Brenda, her son Adrian, her maid Anika, Glory, and Xania. Very possibly Christine, even if you two remain 'just friends,' which frankly doesn't seem all that likely. She's got it really hard for you, and we know that you're always hard for her when we bring up her name."

"And that's just for starters. So this isn't a decision that should be taken lightly. I think it was good we had this talk, but now we should think it over, and talk it over some more with each other, and with others like Brenda and Glory."

Alan said, "Brenda, okay. But Glory? Right now, things with her are on a knife's edge. To suggest that she should move to the Bay Area with us would be madness."

"Okay, maybe not her just yet," Suzanne admitted. "And you'll notice I didn't mention Xania's name. That kind of talk would only scare her off at this point." She smiled at Alan. "But still, keep moving forward with your college applications. I think a lot of things will get sorted out over the next few weeks and months. You don't need to make a final decision until April or so, right? We should definitely know our plans by then."

Alan nodded. "Good. With that settled, for now at least, can we please take off some clothes? The four of you look like you're about to head off on some Arctic expedition!"

The women all chuckled at that, mock-fanning themselves as if they were burning up.

Suzanne said, "Okay. Thank you all for sticking with my 'no penis tending' request, avoiding touching our man at all. It may have seemed harsh, but it was necessary, I think, to avoid the inevitable distraction and disruption of our talk. Susan, Angel, now you can tease him a little bit, but please - no touching. Let Amy and me have the big entrance that we'd originally planned. After that, all bets are off."

Katherine and Susan nodded and immediately took off their sweaters, breathing a big sigh of relief. It wasn't that they were actually overheated; they were just offended at having to be so covered up at home.