The Affection Multiplier - Chapter 174: Finally. The trip back home. (Patreon)

Here you are. Your father made good on his petty revenge and got your plane ticket in economy class. Your brother, who could’ve bought his own ticket in first class but decided not to because he said his last girlfriend made him spend a lot of money, is sitting beside you.

He’s reading a book, and while you’re trying to do the same, Anzu’s words are still in your mind. Should you just talk to Jonathan about Julia? But what do you even say?

“Please, brother, don’t make a move on Julia! I want to add her to my collection of beautiful girlfriends!”

Yeah, that would be stupid.

You sigh. It’s not like he’s coming from higher ground. He got a new girlfriend in the time he was back in Japan. The only difference between you and him is that you keep your girls, while he dumps them (and occasionally they dump him), and now you don’t know how to feel about yourself after that comparison.

“Brother, can I talk to you about something serious?” You ask, closing your book.

“Without a drink in your hand? Are you sure?”

“Shut up.” You groan.

“Fine. Shoot.”

“…When we get back, are you planning on asking Julia out?”

“Julia? Julia… Julia… Ah! That hot blonde girl! Your P.E. Teacher!”

Had he… forgotten about her? Did you screw up? No. No, he would’ve remembered eventually.

“Yes, her.”

“You know what? I think I will.” He nods to himself. “But that’s not why you’re asking.” He smirks and waits for you to spill it out.

“…Yeah. I’ve been wanting to ask her out, too.” You admit.

“I mean, I don’t blame you. Not at all. But wouldn’t you be pushing it with three teachers?”

“I rather think of it like I’d have more people to cover for me.” You shrug.

“Huh. I guess that works, too.” He nods in agreement. “Anyway, I seriously hope you’re not asking me to stay away so you can have her.”

“…”

“Dave, I think you’ve been lucky enough to go after uncontested girls all this time. You don’t know how this works.” He shakes his head. “At times like these, you just fight for the girl you like. And no, I’m not saying we should slug it out. You might have put on some muscle, but I can still beat you up.” He smirks confidently.

“So what are you saying?” You ask, unamused.

“Let her take her pick.” He shrugs. “Tell you what, let’s do it like this. We each get two dates.” He says, raising two fingers. “After that, we let her choose. Oh, and no sex before she picks one of us. Whoever wins, no hard feelings. What do you think?”

All in all, it’s probably the fairest thing to do. You leave the decision in her hands, and while normally any woman would pick your brother over you 9 out of ten times, the Affection Multiplier evens things up.

Even so, all of this is still dependent on if Julia is even willing to go on a date with you at all.

“I never thought there would ever come a day we’d be going after the same woman.” You groan.

“I know. It’s kind of interesting. I just hope you don’t end up crying if and when she picks me.”

“And I just hope you still pay for my university studies when she picks me.” You try to trash talk back, but your heart is not into it.

You can’t help but think that this is just a game to Jonathan, when to you is anything but. This is about Emily’s sister, after all.

With that done, you decide to check a few scores on the AMA.

-Walker, Jonathan-
Affection Score: 92 (+10)

-Walker, Lisa-
Affection Score: 85 (+2)

-Walker, Martha-
Affection Score: 82 (+7)

-Walker, Oscar-
Affection Score: 100

You tried, but in the end you only got your father’s score to 100. Which is weird, but maybe it’s because you showed him you could take care of yourself, and he respects that. On the other hand, while spending time with your mom and your sister was nice, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary (save for telling your mom about your five girlfriends). 

-Miller, Julia-  
Affection Score: 35 (+2)
Lust Score: 26 (+6)

You’re not exactly in the most advantageous position when it comes to Julia. She probably just likes you as her sister’s boyfriend, even if she thinks you’re good looking. Even so, her lust score won’t help here.

You decide to go back to your book and stop worrying about that for now. There’s something else you’re looking forward coming back home to.

______________________________________________________________

Okay, so maybe 20 hours on economy class are a bit more uncomfortable than you though. Damn, your body is as stiff as a board. It’s also morning here. Thank the AMA for your Seldom Sleepy trait, because otherwise the jetlag would be killing you. 

You and your brother get your baggage and start making your way out of the airport. That’s when you see her. It’s like your eyes were magnetically drawn to hers, and you hope Jonathan doesn’t notice that your eyes are getting watery.

Emma doesn’t give a damn about the people looking at her funny for running towards you as fast as she can. You manage to leave your bags on the floor before she leaps into your arms and gives you a tight hug that you’re eager to return.

Neither of you says anything, but you don’t need to. Just being able to hold Emma in your arms again fills you with the sense of peace you had missed all this time. You rub her back and allow yourself to get drunk on her scent. Is that… chocolate? A new shampoo perhaps? Doesn’t matter. She’s really here. Your first girlfriend. Your Emma.

You hear her sobbing behind your shoulder, and you can’t help the faint smile.

“You okay?” You ask.

“I think I missed you even more than I thought.” She chuckles, still sounding teary. “Welcome back, love.”

“I’m glad to be back.”

You kiss her. It’s an innocent, very chaste kind of kiss, but it sends sparks all through your body. Emma pulls away and smiles broadly, her eyes locked on yours. You brush a few tears away from her cheeks and she just giggles.

“What? No hug for your older brother?”

It’s hard to express the irritation growing inside you and directed entirely at your own brother for ruining this moment, but it all goes away in an instant when Emma releases you with a kiss on the cheek and actually gives Jonathan a hug.

“David hasn’t told me all the details,” She says. “But I hear you really helped him out. Thank you, Jonathan.”

Your brother seems honestly taken aback. He blinks a couple of times before he relaxes and returns the oddly familial hug.

“Hey, he’s my brother. You don’t need to thank me.” He says. “Besides, weird as things might be, you’re my sister as well. We might have just met, but I’d like to build on that. What do you say the three of us go get a drink one of these days?”

“Yes, I think that’s acceptable.” Emma chuckles and pulls away from Jonathan. She then stands in front of you and looks you up and down with curiosity.

“Did you… grow taller?” She asks.

“What? I did?” You ask, looking at yourself as if that would confirm anything.

“I don’t know, but you look a little different.”

“It’s called growing a backbone.” Jonathan laughs and pats you hard on the back. Much to your surprise, Emma laughs with him.

“Okay, okay. Come on, let’s go.” Emma says. “We’ll drive Jonathan to his hotel and then I’ll take you home, okay?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

You take your things to Emma’s car and you get in the co-pilot seat. Huh. This might be the first time you get to ride shotgun while Jonathan’s the one in the back. What is this middle-child pride swelling up inside you?

You drop Jonathan at his hotel downtown, watching him leave from inside the car. As soon as you see him disappear into the building, Emma turns, grabs you by your shirt and pulls you into a deep, hungry kiss. The two of you melt into the other as your tongues meet after what might as well have been an eternity.

“Okay…” Emma grins and pants. “THAT I knew I how much I missed.”

“We have a lot to make up for.” You agree.

“Yep. And we’re not wasting time.” She eyes you sultrily and licks her lips. “But before that… Do you want to wait for Anzu?”

You shake your head. “She’ll be back here around midnight tomorrow. Besides, we talked about it. I told her I wanted some time with you all, and she agreed it was for the best. She still wants to be properly introduced later, of course.”

“Sure! And let me tell you something that’s been on my mind recently.” Emma says, starting the car again and driving out of the parking space. “Ever since you told us about how Anzu felt, I’ve been even gladder that you made me the same as her.” She nods confidently.

“Really? You’ve said that before, but…”

“I’m serious. Before, it only made me enjoy even more the things we already did. I love sharing you, I get off to it.” She giggles. “But now, I think I can understand why Anzu felt bad about feeling like this, and I seriously want to talk to her about it.”

“Oh?”

“I think that, if I enjoyed sharing you but I knew you didn’t care about me… that would hurt me more than anything else. I’ve said this before, but I’m happy with you, and I’ve come to understand that a part of why I like sharing you because I know it makes you happy as well. But if we didn’t trust each other as much as we do, I know things wouldn’t work out, magic powers or not.”

“I think you’re right.” You nod. “And… thank you for telling me that. I think I feel a little better about it now.”

“I still think you should’ve asked before. I’m 100% sure I would’ve said yes anyway.” She pouts.

“I was young and horny, okay?” You defend yourself weakly.

“You’re still both of those things.” She laughs. “But for the record, so am I. We have a surprise waiting for you back home.”

________________________________________________________________

After parking in front of your place (which you realize you missed more than you ever thought you would), Emma hands you a blindfold and asks you to put it on.

“Oh, so it’s that kind of surprise?”

“Just put it on! We spent a whole week on this!”

“Alright, alright.”

Emma makes sure to tie the thing tightly so I won’t fall off, so you’re now completely blind. She gets off the car and opens the door for you. You feel clumsy trying to get out, and in your struggle your hand catches something soft and wonderful.

“Ah!” Emma lets out a moan when you accidentally grope one of her tits, and it says something about your relationship that she lets you keep groping for a little while.

“I see. This is indeed a very nice surprise.” You nod to yourself.

“No! F-Focus!” You don’t know if Emma is talking to you or herself as she removes your hand from her chest.

She leads you into the house by the hand, and with your first step inside you know something’s different. You don’t feel the wooden floor. Instead, you feel a rug under your feet.

Did they do something to the place?

“Sit down.” Emma says and turns you around to sit you down on… wait, this isn’t your desk chair. It has wheels under it, like the other, but this one is more comfortable with a bigger backrest.

You hear Emma speaking behind you.

“Are you ready love?”

“Ready for what?”

“We wanted to welcome you back, but a hug and a kiss sounded a little boring, so we decided to make a game out of it.”

“A game?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, you’ll love it!”

__________________________________________________________________________________

 What kind of game does she have in mind?