The Man of the House

Chapter 110

“This is it!” Bethany declared excitedly, gesturing to the giant sign that was obvious to all three of us.

“Fighting Game Tournament.” I read the sign. “So, how big is this gaming team you want me to join?”

It was the following day, and Bethany and Dawn had dragged me out. According to Bethany, she wanted to be on a team, but they would only let her join if she brought a boy with her. Thus, after Dawn let it slip that I wasn’t bad at video games, she decided to promise that she’d bring a guy to register with the team, volunteering me without asking. There was a second reason to be excited about this event too. The only reason Bethany had even heard about it was that they had hired Dawn to do the photography for it. This was the first time she’d be paid to work. It wasn’t much, as this competition was local and the cash reward was only $500, but it was the principle of the thing.

“Fighting? Is that like the games where people just punch each other?” Samantha asked.

Samantha had also tagged along. It was her day with me according to her agreement with Abigail. Even though I was busy, she was unwilling to forfeit her day and thus came to cheer me on. I also wouldn’t be surprised if a jealous Abigail was hiding somewhere, stalking me from afar.

“No… it’s a variety of games.” Bethany explained. “They called it fighting as an alternative to competitive because there already is a local competitive game tournament. It still had all kinds of games. Shooters, fighters, racers, and sports are all possible. We can decide which circuit we want to be involved in.”

“You don’t game, Samantha?” Dawn asked.

“O-of course I do!” She puffed her chest out proudly. “I just usually play shooters.”

“Shooters…” Bethany couldn’t help make a face. “You mean, like military shooters that come out every year?”

“Yeah! You play?” Samantha asked, her eyes lighting up.

“Not a real gamer then.” Bethany sighed, and Dawn snorted, covering her mouth.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Samantha took a step forward, but I lifted a hand on her chest.

“It means, you’re cute just the way you are.” I declared, trying to maintain the peace.

Samantha flushed, likely realizing she was trying to bully my little sister in front of me and that it would look really bad. I realized my hand was on her chest. My hand couldn’t help but squeeze her soft melon before I willed myself to snatch my hand away. Samantha looked down at her chest and then back at me, cocking her head as if she didn’t understand why I had suddenly looked away.

Although I was growing increasingly used to this world, I still occasionally experienced moments of shock or surprise, even months later. This was a world where a woman’s chest wasn’t sacred, and I could grab one and rather than being slapped, they’d merely look at me like I was strange. I mean, I probably couldn’t go around public just squeezing a girl’s breasts, but whether it was my mother, sisters, or girlfriends, there was no limit.

In general, I knew that my behavior since coming to this world had become timider and less aggressive. Some would even accuse me of becoming feminized. When the world constantly pressured you to act a certain way, it became rather easy to fall into that role. If you were constantly told you’re a victim, it’s easy to act like a victim. If you’re constantly told you can do anything, then you would be able to do anything. For me, I just found it easier to get by assuming a passive role. My tips were larger, my social life was improved, and the girls were happier. It also meant that when the time came to assert my dominance, I could catch people off guard and get my way.

My sisters seemed to see the pseudo-flirting between Samantha and myself and didn’t like it. Dawn rolled her eyes while Bethany puffed out her cheeks before reaching out and grabbing my arm, pulling me to her. She pressed her chest against my arm, but there wasn’t much there. She still shot Samantha a defiant look, who responded by scratching her head and laughing awkwardly.

“Let’s get going! We need to meet the rest of the team. We’re just here today to sign up and touch base.” Bethany immediately began pulling my arm.

I shrugged helplessly as she pulled me on ahead and the two other girls followed after giving each other a look. I was dragged into the hallway where I immediately saw various game posters on the walls. Most of them involved women in cool-looking outfits, but occasionally there was an image of a man who was wearing something extremely scantily clad. It would probably bother me more, but honestly, there were far more images of women.

Most of the men at least attempted to have their chests covered up, but it wasn’t uncommon to see a woman with her boobs hanging out in a poster everyone passed by. Women wore holey jeans, outfits with cameltoe, their butts exposed, and their naked breasts on display. Comparatively, the men were almost puritan in appearance. However, if you asked anyone, it was the men being exploited in this world. After all, female chests weren’t taboo in this world. They still wore swimsuits and bras. After all, gravity was still a thing, but when a woman wanted to look macho, her shirt came off.

“Guys, I’m going to go scope out the location. See where I need to be to get the best pictures and stuff. I’ll see you later.” Dawn explained before taking off to the side.

I gave her a wave and decided to not dwell on the eye candy all around me and instead focused on where Bethany was pulling me. As she started to approach a group of girls standing to the side, my eyes couldn’t help but pop. That’s because I recognized one of the girls in the group. When she saw me, she also turned rigid.

“What the hell is he doing here?” She snapped as soon as Bethany approached.

Bethany’s eyes widened. “Wh-what do you mean? You wanted me to bring a boy?”

“Hey, Avery, it’s been a while.”

The girl was none other than Avery, the juvey bully who was blackmailing Kristy. It probably wasn’t that surprising though. Avery was the same age as Kristy. Bethany was 14 now, so they were only a year apart. Although the twins never hung with Bethany as they had each other, it wasn’t odd for Bethany to hang with girls.

“I didn’t mean him!” She snapped.

“What does it matter what boy? Boys suck at video games anyway.” An older girl with glasses spoke up. “We’re just having him because the rules allow us a handicap as long as we have a boy on the team.”

The other two girls I didn’t recognize. They weren’t the ones that had been tagging along with her from before. One of the girls looked to be about Bethany’s age, while the other looked a bit older.

“How did you two meet?” I asked Avery suspiciously.  

“She occasionally volunteers…” Bethany responded.

“I have to do community service!” Avery responded.

It seemed like Bethany was still volunteering in house building, and Avery had to do it as part of her community service.

“You’re not bothering my youngest sister as some kind of bullying, are you?” I asked, a small smile on my face.

Avery suddenly shook, a flash of fear on her face. The last time she had attacked Kristy and Kelsey, I had beat her up and threatened her. It seemed like that fear was still in her.

She waved her hands frantically. “It’s nothing like that! I have nothing against Bethany. We just both game! That’s it! I swear.”

I continued to look at her with a suspicious look, but that’s when Samantha wrapped her arm around me, apparently not liking the look these girls were giving me. Her casual flexing caused me to almost laugh, but then again, I did bang Avery, so she had some reason. She was the oldest girl there by at least a year, a point she used to her advantage.

That’s when the younger girl spoke up. “He has a girlfriend too? Lame…”

“If he can’t game, then even with a handicap we’re not going to get very far. I want to win this!” Avery declared, shooting me a defiant look. “If you want to join, you’re going to have to prove to us that you’ve got the skill.”

I shot Bethany a side look, feeling just a bit annoyed over the seeming hostility. They kind of reminded me of my lunch friends. In short, they were all kind of geeks. Well, Avery probably wasn’t a geek, but thanks to circumstances she became known as a pervert. After that, the only people who would still hang out with her were those she could bully and geeks. Since I scared off the people she was bullying and emasculated her, it turned out she ended up here. At least, that was my guess.

Bethany returned my look with a desperate plea. I eventually sighed and nodded.

“Alright, let’s go.”

I thought we’d end up going back to someone’s house, but apparently, the young one had a backpack on her with a complete rig. There was a portable screen, a game system, and controllers all in her backpack. We ended up sitting right there in the lobby as she set up the entire thing in a few minutes. I had to say I was impressed. So, Bethany brought the boy, the girl brought the rig, the glasses girl brought the smarts, and Avery brought the guts. My job was bringing a boy’s handicap. I didn’t know if I should feel embarrassed or amused.

“What about you?” The girl in glasses asked Samantha.

“I’m just here to support my boyfriend.” Samantha managed to say without blushing for once.

“You game?”

“Yeah! I play a lot of popular shooters.”

She sighed. “Not a gamer then.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Samantha gave an irritated expression.

“Alright, then, here are the rules! We’re going to play some Peach Smash Sisters.” The younger girl declared once the setup was booting. “If you’re able to beat me in two out of three rounds, then we’ll let you in.”

“I thought you just wanted to see if I was good enough to play with a handicap. Now, you seem to expect me to be better than you.”

“Don’t worry…” she gave a smirk that didn’t look trustworthy at all. “I’ll go easy on you.”

As I frowned, Avery shot me a defiant look. “You either can complete the task, or leave! You’re not scared little cock, are you?”

“Hey… guys…” Bethany tried to step in.

“Just like a cock, it gets scared and shrinks into their little hiding place. Now, a pussy can take a pounding.” Avery laughed.

“You’d know,” I responded, causing her laughter to break into a cough.

Samantha shot her a slightly hard and jealous look, and Avery immediately quieted down, looking in any direction other than the older and territorial woman. I wasn’t sure if Avery was aware, but Samantha had grown a bit violent since we started officially dating. She’d been in no less than two fights over my alleged honor. Considering what was going on in her home life with her mother and father divorcing and her mother’s sexual assault, most people didn’t blame her.

I felt like I was responsible for destroying her home life, but Samantha didn’t blame me at all. She was ashamed that I had been dragged into her home drama. I had decided the best I could do was stay by her and not abandon her again. If she was having a hard time, then I’d be with her.

“What?” She asked as she realized I was looking at her.

“You’re cute sometimes,” I responded, causing Samantha’s cheeks to blush.

“Are you going to play, or are you going to flirt with your girlfriend!” The younger girl snapped.

“Hand me the controller,” I ordered.

It was time to get to business.