The Eight Brides of Lincoln Loud

by Flagg1991

Lincoln Loud is the luckiest man in the world. He has eight amazing girlfriends and wouldn't trade them for the world. Oneshot. [Commission]

Lincoln Loud was, by all metrics, the luckiest man in the world.

Alight, maybe not by all metrics. There were, objectively, people out there who were richer and more handsome than he was. All you had to do was make a cursory search of TikTok or Instagram and you'd find rich kids who'd never worked a day in their whole lives partying on private yachts or buzzing from New York to Paris for lunch on ornate private jets. One of Lincoln's favorite YouTubers from childhood, MrFeast, a guy so fat that he had to use a scooter, had made something like 20 million dollars just from his YouTube channel. His job was coming up with cool challenges, pulling funny pranks, and eating. He ended every video by pounding down a massive pizza or five or six hamburgers in a row. Any self-respecting zoomer would kill for such a lucky life. True, MrFeast had died three years ago of a massive heart attack at the age of thirty six, but he had a good run. Maybe not a long one but a good one.

Of course, yachts, private jets, and cool HoverRounds with flames up the sides were all material things, and material things are a poor way to judge happiness and success. Like the old saying goes, money doesn't buy happiness. Sure, it can provide you with security and peace of mind, but how many rich people have used that money to self destruct with drugs or alcohol? Having money and nice things is great, don't get him wrong, but if you're not happy - if you're sad, depressed, empty inside, traumatized, etc - then that money will eventually be your downfall.

Lincoln had never at any point in his life had the kind of money that MrFeast enjoyed. He grew up in a lower class neighborhood in a small town in Michigan, the kind they wrote country songs about. He had ten sisters and his childhood home was rotting around them even before he was born. His father drove a van so old it ran on apple sauce and Matlock instead of gasoline, and all of his clothes came from second hand stores. Hell, he wore the same orange polo shirt pretty much every day for two years. It eventually decayed to the point where it would rip and tear just when he put it on. Hid dad eventually commendeered it for use as a rag in the garage, and Lincoln was pretty sure that he had seen it sitting on a work bench, old, crusty, and drenched in old motor oil, the last time he went home.

All of that to say this: Lincoln and his family had always lacked material wealth. However, that was not a sore point for them…nor, for that matter, was it a point of pride. It just…was. Too many people hinge their entire personality, worldview, or ideology on simple things like that. To Lincoln and to his sisters, the way they grew up was just the way they grew up, nothing more and nothing less. They were better off than a lot of kids because they had a stable home and never went without the necessities. They were worse off than others in that they didn't get many extras. Lincoln didn't get a PlayStation 5 like everyone else he knew…he had to be content with an old PS2. At the time it was a little annoying, but looking back now from the view of a twenty five year old man, that was hardly worth complaining about.

No, maybe Lincoln wasn't lucky when it came to material things, but at the end of the day, those things don't really matter. He was, however, lucky in life.

First of all, he had ten sisters. Sure, growing up, it was rough as shit, but in hindsight, his childhood was great. There was always someone around to play with, always someone to talk to, always someone to help him out when he needed it. He pitied his friend Clyde who was an only child. God, it would be so boring to go home and just…sit there. Nothing to do, no life, nothing going on.

Ugh, that sounded horrible to Lincoln.

Even when they were kids and they would constantly be at each other's throats, the Loud kids always had each other's backs. If Lincoln needed someone to cover for him, one of his sisters was happy to do it. If one of them needed help, he was right there to offer it. It was kind of a family pact whereby they would stick together and give each other aid as needed. It was a good system and Lincoln was grateful for it, because there were times in his childhood when he really needed it, especially when he got a little older and started dating. There were times he'd sneak out of the house and needed help getting back in or would need cover when he was out all night. He'd be at a girl's house and Lori or Leni would make sure that if Mom and Dad noticed he wasn't there, they'd say they'd seen him leave early or something.

Now that they were all adults, all with their own lives and rarely got to see each other, they wee somehow even closer. Theirs was a tight relationship forged through years of mutual experience. No one quite understood them or where they came from like each other. It might sound a little corny or something but Lincoln considered his sisters his best friends.

Of course there was also Clyde. Another area in which Lincoln was lucky was his social life. Even though he had spent most of his childhood as a scrawny nerd with white hair, he was never really bullied. Sure, there were kids here and there who picked on him - like Ronnie Anne Santiago - but for the most part, he was fairly popular. He had a lot of friends and aqquaintences and was generally accepted by his peers. That was a miracle, really, considering that, again, he was a scrawny, pasty nerd with white hair. Really, he was the kind of kid who seemed to have been tailor made by God expressly for the purpose of being bullied. In another day and time - the eighties, maybe - he would have been eaten alive and then his bones spat back out, but he lucked out and came along at at time when most of the nerd stuff he liked was becoming mainstream.

Marvel, Ace Savvy, Dungeons and Dragons, and Lord of the Rings were all cool. If he remembered correctly, it was called "nerd chic." Being a nerd nowadays wasn't the social death sentance it had been just twenty years before. That was a good thing for him. Otherwise his childhood might have been much, much different.

Of all the guys he knew, Clyde was his best friend. Clyde was an orphan and had been adopted by Howard and Harold McBride, Royal Woods' resident gay couple. Howard ran an antique store and Harold wrote an advice column for the local newspaper called Ask A Gay Man. Everyone read it because he was funny as fuck. One time this woman wrote it complaining about how she couldn't find a "good man" who was six feet tall, made six figures, fit, attractive, charming, funny, sensitive, strong, progressive when she wanted him to be and traditional when she didn't, and all this other crazy stuff while admitting to being an overweight single mom in her early forties.

Lincoln remembered Harold's advice like it was yesterday.

"As a gay man, I say…bitch, calm down. Your standards are way too high for what you have to offer. Honey, I don't know who stroked your ego to the point where you're like this, but you need to get your head out of your old butt and come back to reality."

That got him in so much trouble that he almost lost his job, but everyone rallied around him because he was the only guy in any position in any media outlet who kept it real and told it like it was. Clyde didn't know much about his birth family except that his mom was really young and his dad was in prison somewhere for fraud or some other white collar crime. "I'm just happy he's not a gangbanger," Clyde said once, "that'd be too stereotypical."

Clyde spent his earliest years in various foster homes, orphanages, and state run facilities before Howard and Harold adopted him. "Not gonna lie," Clyde once told him, "I was kind of homophobic at first and thought they were going to molest me."

I mean…that's not an entirely unreasonable fear. Two gay men adopting a little boy is really no different from two straight guys adopting a little girl. People would look at them sideways and wonder what they were up to, but because of political correctness, we can't say that about gay guys. They get special treatment. There are lots of sick motherfuckers out there who wanna fuck kids, and yes, some of them are gay, sorry to break it to you. Howard and Harold, however, were not among them. They were just two normal dudes in love who wanted a family and had to adopt because no matter what the purple heads say about identifying as a woman being just as good as actually being a woman, two guys can't get each other pregnant. It's impossible. All these news stories that are like "OMG MAN GIVES BIRTH!"? Yeah, guarantee that "man" was actually born with a vagina.

But no one likes talking about that, they'd distract themselves with porn, cartoons, and Marvel movies while everything burns around them. They're like that dog in that meme, sitting at the kitchen table as the house is engulfed in flames around them. "This is fine." No, no it's not, but you could save yourself if you just grab a fire extinguisher….aaaaand you're dead.

Nice.

Lincoln considered himself lucky to have been raised with morals and values. See, morals and values mean that somewhere, you have a limit. Lincoln accepted all people but stopped when you started in with stuff about trans women being actual women. Like…gender wise? Okay, he guessed, if that's how they identified, whatever, but come on, you know there's a difference in the bodies of the two groups at least. Stop playing.

And a lot of people did nothing but play these days. About everything. People came out with the dumbest shit and expected you to accept it. One guy he knew online believed that the way you "took" a movie or other piece of media was just as good as how it was intended. That's to say, if you saw something in a movie that wasn't there, it was just like it was meant to be there. Example: If you think a character in a book is a closet Nazi despite spending 500 pages in that character's head and having volumes of evidence to the contrary, then that character is a fucking Nazi and it's okay to attack the author for positvely portraying a Nazi.

Retarded, right?

Lincoln, thankfully, was not retarded, though like anyone else, he'd done retarded things. Another way he was lucky was that he always came through no matter what. He and Clyde once got lost in the woods and were attacked by a bear; one time he went sailing with the fam, and their boat sank out from under them after crashing into a rock; another time he flipped over the handlebars of his bike and rolled head over heels down the largest hill in Royal County. He'd done or suffered all of these things and more and yet he had come out largely unscathed.

Luck was certainly on his side.

Or maybe there was someone upstairs watching out for him.

You never know.

But he wouldn't be surprised. Really, he'd been so lucky throughout his life…some might even say "blessed"...but the area he was most lucky in was love.

When he was eleven years old, he met Ronnie Anne Santiago, a pretty and fiery Latina who had recently moved to Royal Woods from East Los Santos with her mother and her older brother Bobby AKA the great Bee Oh Double Bee. Lori met Bobby at school and they quickly fell into the most cloying and cringy relationship you could imagine. nO yOu HaNg Up FiRsT bOo BoO bEaR. When he first met Ronnie Anne, she was…well…what's the right word?

A fucking bully.

This girl made his every day a living hell. She picked on him, pantsed him, shoved him into lockers, teased him, pushed him, slapped his books out of his hands, and did everything else you'd expect from a bully in an 80s teen movie. Lincoln endured it for a while, but every man has his breaking point and he reached his the day she shoved a sandwich down the back of his pants and said, "Eat up, asshole."

She did it in the lunch room in front of literally the entire school. That was beyond the pale and Lincoln could no longer tolerate such extra behavior. He resolved to give her a piece of his mind. In fact, there was a small part of him that wanted to jump out of a bush and beat her ass. The old fashion gentleman in him was appalled at the idea of beating up a girl, but the modern, progressive man in him was all for it. Hell, everyone says boys and girls are the same and should treat each other equal, right? So why not beat up a girl if she's bullying you? She wants to act like a man, treat her like a man. They were about the same size, and if anything, he was maybe a little thinner than she was. It would totally be a fair fight.

Wishful thinking, He wasn't much of a fighter to begin with. So he'd have to just tear her down with his words.

To make a long story short, his sisters got involved and convinced him that Ronnie Anne was nursing a crush on him. He tried to kiss her and she punched him in the eye.

Then she gave him her number.

Uh…k?

Thanks for the mixed signals.

From there, he and Ronnie Anne became very close friends…and then something more. They held hands, stole the occasional kiss friom one another, and did everything together. Lincoln hesitated to say that they fell in love, but to be perfectly honest, that's pretty much exactly what they did.

Then she moved away.

Lincoln was heart-broken, and felt like he had lost the love of his life. Thankfully, he was able to get through it with the help of his friends Stella and Girl Jordan. He had known Girl Jordan for most of his life - she was a sporty blonde who reminded him a little of his sister Lynn - and Stella, a pretty Asian, moved to town right after Ronnie Anne left. They formed a tight little clique and did everything together. It was almost like it was with Ronnie Anne.

One day he was at the park with Jordan. They were sitting on a bench overlooking a meadow. As she talked, her hand crept into his, and then when he turned to look at her, their eyes locked. They leaned in and kissed each other. With Ronnie Anne, he never used tongue. Jordan was a little more advanced; she slipped her tongue into his mouth and for a second, he didn't know what to do, but then he followed what his heart and body told him to do and kissed her back.

Lincoln was over the moon and everything seemed perfect.

Then two days later, while playing video games with Stella, she kissed him too. She was clumsier and not as experienced as Jordan, but she kissed him anyway, and he couldn't help himself, he kissed her back.

He didn't think about the fact that he and Jordan were basically boyfriend and girlfriend now. Not in the moment, anyway. Afterward, he was wracked with guilt. Were they really together, though? Aside from the kiss, nothing had changed between them. They didn't call each other cloying pet names or anything like that. They carried on as before, like the regular old friends they had always been. Did kissing a friend automatically make you together? He didn't know but he still had the feeling that he was kind of a scumbag for kissing Stella after kissing Jordan. He was really conflicted about the whole thing and felt horrible. He needed to make things right, but he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. In fact, he liked both of them a lot and didn't know what to do at all.

As luck would have it…he didn't have to do anything. Stella and Jordan both liked him and had been talking about him for months. They decided that they were okay with sharing him between them, and had planned the whole thing, more or less. He was so relieved when he found out that he almost cried manly tears of joy. He got to have not one but two beautiful girlfriends with amazing personalities. Hell, most guys aren't lucky enough to get one much less two.

His luck would only improve.

Ronnie Anne moved back from Great Lakes City along with her friend Sid Chang. At first, Ronnie Anne was deeply disappointed to discover that Lincoln was already with someone else…well, someones elses. She still wanted to be friends, however, and despite her best efforts - and his - the spark was still there. Stella and Jordan noticed this and approached him about it. He thought they were going to be mad or upset with him, but on the contrary, they were supportive and encouraged him to start a relationship with her. "You know what they," Stella said, "three's company."

Of course it wasn't as easy as adding Ronnie Anne to his collection. She was a person and had to be okay with it, to be willing to go along with the whole thing. When he first brought it up to her, she was against the idea. Over time, however, she thought it over and came to be a little more accepting of it. Finally, they, too, kissed, and the deal was pretty much sealed.

With one unintended consequence.

Ronnie Anne had sought help and advice from her friend Sid. She had done such a good job of talking him up that Sid became interested in him too, and also wanted to be a part of the harem. Thus, by the time he was thirteen years old, Lincoln Loud had four girlfriends.

Insane.

Well…buckle up those straight jackets, because it gets even more insane.

Lincoln, despite being a scrawny, pasty, busted-tooth geek, proved popular with girls in middle school and high school. There was something about him that they just couldn't get enough of. Maybe it was his gaming abilities, or how great he was at Dungeons and Dragons…heck, maybe his passion for Lord of the Rings and Star Trek was infectious. When he was fourteen, Cristina, whom he had a crush on before he met Ronnie Anne, and who rejected him so brutally that he might think about it still if he wasn't busy with four girlfriends. Maybe she was drawn to him because of his looks and confidence, or maybe she was a victim of her biology. Lincoln had heard somewhere that many women subcocniously fall victim to a "mating stratagy" caled "mate poaching" in which they are attracted to men who are already in relationships because the man has already been vetted and deemed worthy by another woman, so he might be a safe option. Lincoln would not have considered that possibility if he was with only one other woman, but the fact that he had four…well, that was different. If a man is deemed worthy by that many women, no wonder others might be interested.

Cristina had been distant for a long time, but around the start of the school year, something changed. It was radical, sudden, almost like someone had thrown a switch. She made an effort to start conversations with him, laughed at his jokes, batted her eyelashes at him. By this time, after having so much experience with women, Lincoln instantly recognized the signs that she was interested in him. So, too, did his harem. Surely they wouldn't be okay with adding another member. The girls all got along great and it was like a big, epic friend group, but adding more people would just complicate things. Lincoln was not entirely closed to the idea, but he wouldn't aggressively pursue Cristina either. He'd let things continue on as they were - with her thirsting for him from the sidelines lol.

His harem, however, had other plans. Behind his back and without his knowledge, they went to Cristina and basically welcomed her into the fold. Lincoln would later come to think that his harem got tired of all the old members and wanted fresh blood from time to time. As it grew in numbers, it became increasingly insular. Sure, each of the girls had their own friends outside of the group but they spent most of their time with each other and shared a deep and special bond that they could never truly have with someone outside of the group. It stood to reason that they would want to recruit new members. Lincoln was not against that. You might think that managing relationships with so many women was a fucking headache, but it wasn't. Maybe he was lucky and managed to snag the best, most easygoing, and drama free girls he could - after all, some women seem to delight in making a pest of themselves, the Karens and Shaquandras of the world.

Or maybe he was used to it. After all, didn't he grow up managing a large group of girls with conflicting personalities? He was the middle child in a large family - all girls save for him. He had learned how to deal with them, how to think like them, etc. It came second nature to him. A lot of men have trouble understanding women and their ways, which wasn't a knock against guys - women can be confusing as hell sometimes. He didn't have that problem so perhaps that was it.

Either way, Cristina joined the harem and became another one of his girlfriends.

As the late, great Billy Mays said, though: But wait…there's more.

The finally three girls to join Lincoln's harem came in rapid succession during tenth grade. Paige, Mollie, and Kat. Mollie, a thin girl with brown hair, and Kat, a tall, rail thin girl with black hair and pasty skin, were unlikely friends. They came into the fold by way of Lucy, who knew Kat. Kat mentioned to Lucy that she thought Lincoln was "hot" and was interested in his "lifestyle." Poly, if that's what you want to call it, was new and not many people in Royal Woods understood it. Of course they were interested in the shiny new object, Lucy set Kat up with Lincoln and they went on a date. Kat was nervous - tall, gangly, and awkward, she didn't know how to act with boys and had never had a boyfriend. She brought her friend Mollie along with her for moral support. Mollie had had several boyfriends and knew all about dating, so Kat was hoping she could take her cues from Mollie, that Mollie could help and guide her.

Mollie wasn't interested in Lincoln going into the date, but by the end of it, she liked him just as much as Kat did.

They both joined that night, Kat giving Lincoln a sloppy and clumsy blowjob and Mollie sitting on his face.

Pagie was the last. She came by way of Cristina. Lincoln met with the group at the park one day and Paige was with them. Not a word was said about it. Just was just absorbed into the harem and that was that. No fuss, no muss.

By the time Lincoln finished high school, he had eight girlfriends, and was a minor celebrity in Royal Woods. Everyone knew about him and his "flock." Some people took a live and let live attitude, other people - small minded bigots that they were - refused to accept his lifestyle. Some of the people in town accused him of being a pervert, a rapist, or even a cult leader. Every time he went into Flip's, the old man would greet him with "How's it going, Jim Jones? Want some Kool-Aid?"

Lincoln had only the vaguest idea of who Jim Jones even was. Wasn't he an artist in a fandom whose lies, mistreatment of those around him, and hateful personality caused his closest friends to desert him and the fandom he created to turn its back on him? Or was that someone else? Eiter way, it was meant as an insult, which was par for the course with Flip. The man was the dictionary definition of an asshole and the older he got, the more toxic he became.

Not that it bothered him. Having the love and devotion of eight beautiful, amazing women made everything better and could help him get through all of life's problems, no matter how bad they were. Almost everyone in town expected such a massive and complex relationship to implode. Surely, someone would get jealous, or feel left out, or decide that they wanted Lincoln for themselves. Hell, two of the girls might even fall in love with each other and break away from the pack. Who knows? They had all entered into this relationship when they were young, and it did seem likely that as they grew and evolved as human beings. Those naysayers were wrong, much even to Lincoln's surprise. It might seem like a weird and convoluted dynamic from the outside, but everyone got along and loved one another, sharing everything - including their bodies - in common.

Lincoln guessed you could say they were communists. Only instead of sending each other to the gulag, they sent each other to cloud nine in big, sweaty, panting orgies. Lincoln didn't think that he and his harem were overly perverse or anything, but they sure did enjoy having sex with one another. Often times, Lincoln did it one on one with each girl. Sometimes they lezzed out together, sometimes they'd seduce him. If he wished, he could have a different girl every night of the week, and two on Sundays. He honestly couldn't understand monogamy at this point. Tying yourself to literally one person for the rest of your life? The same sex, the same pussy, night after night? That was lame and boring. Lincoln loved having the excitement and adventure of doing different girls.

Of course, sex wasn't the most important thing about the relationship. Sure, he would be lying if he said that sex wasn't important, but the love and support he got from, and gave to, his harem was even more important than anything else. He had a great support system and each one of his girls shared some vital trait or similarity with him. They didn't all like the same things as him, but taken individually, one on one, each one of them liked at least a few of the things he did, meaning that his relationship was well rounded. He felt complete in a way that no man can with only one woman, or even two. Lincoln loved his girls with all of his heart and they loved him with an equal intensity and ferocity. None of them wanted any other kind of life, nor could they even imagine another kind of life.

Lincoln's parents tried their best to be supportive of the relationship, but they both thought that it would end badly for him. Mom especially believed that sooner or later, jealousy would rear its ugly head and tear the whole apart. "I know women," she proclaimed in her most genuine and caring way, like a wise sage dispensing life advice, "they are extremely jealous of one another. I don't care what the feminists say, women make themselves sick with envy over each other. I don't want to see you get hurt."

He didn't know if his mother was right or not - about women being consumed with jealousy over one another - but he understood her concerns and didn't think that she was wrong in general. Yes, most relationships like this do fall apart because someone gets jealous of someone else. Lincoln had seen it before. But his relationship was different. He and his girls genuinely loved one another, not only in a romantic sense but in a plutonic one as well. They were his best friends and he loved being with them. They, in turn, loved being with each other, and were all mature enough to understand how he felt about them. Ronnie Anne didn't worry about him spending five minutes more with Stella than he had with her. Sid didn't get it into her head that he liked Jordan more than her because he kissed her good morning first. This was the one poly harem that actually worked, the unicorn of all such relationships. Lincoln was happy with that. In fact, you could even say he was proud of it.

After college, Lincoln used the sizable inheritance that Pop Pop had left him (RIP, Pop Pop, press F for respects) to buy a large house a few streets over from the one had had grown up in on Franklin Avenue. Each of the girls had their own room. He did not. He rotated, sleeping with Stella one night, Ronnie Anne the next, and so on. It was an odd arrangement, perhaps, but one that worked for them.

On the morning of May 18, Lincoln came slowly and languidfly awake next to Paige, who lay with her head and her hand on his naked chest. Warm sunshine streamed in through the window over the bed, and the sounds and smells of breakfast drifted up from the kitchen. Each one of them - Lincoln included - took turns making breakfast and dinner (for lunch, you were basically on your own). Today was Ronnie Anne's day. Sometimes she made elaborate Mexican-style breakfasts with eggs, peppers, and chorizo…and other times she toasted Pop-Tarts and said "Here, this all you get." From the good smells coming in under the closed door, it was the former this morning.

Lincoln shifted his weight and Paige stirred, her lips smacking together and her legs rubbing lazily together as her muscles unfroze. Her eyes fluttered open and Lincoln smiled at her. "Good morning," he said.

She smiled back, a slow, drunken, sleepy smile. "Good morning," she said.

Her morning breath almost knocked him out but he didn't show it. He had always known that morning breath was a thing but it wasn't until he started waking up next to girls that he realized holy shit, it's fucking awful. One thing you need to realize about girls is that they aren't angels on pedestals. They fart, have hair in weird places, make funny sounds, and stink sometimes just like the rest of us. He only said that because before he started dating, he was guilty of thinking girls were something special, another species entirely that was close to man but not the same. Nope, he was wrong. They shit and have awful BO just like guys. A lot of guys out there were horny virgins who fetishized everything about women, and if Lincoln could say one thing to them, it was this: Don't. Women's BO is no different from yours.

Anyway, Lincoln braved Pagie's dragon breath, kissed her on the lips, and got up. They were both as naked as the day they were born and the cool air felt good against Lincoln's skin, raking it with goosebumps. "Nice ass," Paige said appreciatively.

"Nice tits," Lincoln said over his shoulder.

"Okay, wow, that was really sexist," Paige laugher. "It's, like, objectifying or whatever."

"You are an object," Lincoln said, "an object of my love."

Paige laughed again. "Nice save."

Lincoln left the room balls naked and walked to the bathroom. Jordan cat called him from her room, and Ronnie Anne whistled. "Yummy balls," Cristina called.

"The way they swing really turns me on," Mollie said.

"Me too," Sid added.

Stella came out of her room and slapped his ass. "Sexy," she said.

"Hey, no touching," Lincoln joked, "I'll have you put away for harassment."

"At that point, why not just all the way and rape you?" Stella asked.

All the other girls voiced their agreement. Lincoln expected them to all rush out, drag him to the floor, and have their way with him (it wouldn't be the first time they had done that), but they held themselves at bay for the time being. Lincoln went into the bathroom, turned the shower on, and climbed in. The water was hot and felt good against his skin. He reached for his shampoo, squirted some into his cupped palm, and massaged it into his hair. He was just finishing up when the curtain jerked open and Stella appeared, naked. Lincoln's eyes went from her small but full breasts to the furry tangle of pubic hair between her thighs. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," he greeted.

She climbed in and wrapped her arms around him from behind, hugging him close like he was a big teddy bear. She reached around and started to stroke his cock. As she did so, the curtain opened again and Jordan and Sid got in. A moment later, the curtain slid aside and Ronnie Anne poked her head in. "Room for one more?" she asked.

"Barely," Sid said.

Ronnie Anne squeezed in with much grunting and straining. Now they were packed as tight as sardines in a can. No one could move. Stella stopped jerking Lincoln off because her arm was pressed against Jordan and the wall. They stayed that way for a moment or two. "Yep," Ronnie Anne said, "this is one sexy shower."

You could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"Well if you'd all get out, it would be," Stella said.

"Not on your life," Jordan said. "If I can't put Lincoln's dick in my mouth, I at least want to be close to it. What's it doing, anyway?"

Stella pushed up on her tippy toes and looked over Lincoln's shoulder to see. "Going soft," she said.

"Talk dirty to him and get it hard again," Ronnie Anne said.

"I shit myself last night," Stella said in an alluring whisper.

Everyone erupted in laughter.

"What?" Stella asked, genuinely confused. "You said talk dirty."

"Not that dirty," Jordan said.

Stella, God love her, was awful at dirty talk. She seemed to not grasp the concept and said the most outrageous things. If she tried to talk dirty to Lincoln, he would bust out laughing and it would take a while for him to get turned on again.

After a while, everyone got out and Lincoln finished his shower. He wrapped the towel around himself and went into Paige's room. He dressed in a pair of slacks and an orange polo shirt, then pulled his socks on. In the dining room, everyone gathered around the table for breakfast. Ronnie Anne sat a plate in front of Lincoln that was heaped with scrambled egg, bits of bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and toasts. The heavenly smell wafted into his nose and he breathed deeply, savoring the scent. His mouth began to water and his stomach let out a big, hungry growl. "This looks really good," he said by way of a compliment.

"It tastes really good too, lame-o," she said affectionately and ran her fingers through his white hair. "Just like my tit."

Without further ado, Ronnie Anne opened her robe and whipped out her breast. Her nipple was brown and hard, ringed with goosebumps. Grinning, Lincoln leaned it, wrapped his lips around it, and gave it a sloppy, squelching suck. Everyone laughed, said ewww, or turned away in faux horror. Ronnie Anne tucked her breast back into her robe and belted it again. "How'd it taste?"

"Spicy," Lincoln said, "like Mexico."

Everyone roared and Ronnie Anne gave him a playful slap across the back of the head. "You white boys think everything is spicy," she said. "Oh, no, my bread. Quick, give me some milk."

"You just did," Mollie said.

Everyone laughed again.

After the hee hees and haw haws had subsided, they all sat down and ate, chatting as they did so. Meals often took up to an hour, sometimes even two, because everyone talked and interacted so much. They were beautiful times of bonding, sharing, and togetherness, and Lincoln couldn't imagine having breakfast, lunch, or dinner any other way.

"So," Lincoln said, "I was thinking."

"That's dangerous," Jordan quipped.

"Why don't we do something today?" Lincoln went on. "I was thinking we could have a date. Just me and you"

"Which one of us?" Cristina asked.

"All of you," Lincoln said.

Though he made it sound casual and spur of the moment, Lincoln had been thinking and planning this for a while. He didn't know yet exactly what they would do, but he had certainly given a ton of thought to the basic idea of them doing something today…and him doing something special later on. No, this would be no ordinary date. It would be something more, something…well…special.

"What do you have in mind?" Paige asked.

Lincoln sighed. "Well…I don't know. I was thinking we could just have a day out. Do different things."

"I want to go to the movies," Stella said.

"I'd rather the zoo," Sid said.

"We can do all of that," Lincoln said. He finished off his breakfast and stood up. "You guys get ready."

While they cleaned up from breakfast and got ready, Lincoln slipped away to the attic, a space that held the combined cast off stuff of nine people that didn't fit anywhere else in the house. It was dusty, full of fluttering cobwebs, and connected to the world through only a single shuttered window through which shafts of sunlight fell in narrow slats. Lincoln looked suspiciously around, then crept to a steamer trunk as silently as possible, even getting up on his tippy toes like a cartoon cat burglar. He knelt down before the trunk, gave one last look around, and undid the rusty clasps. This trunk had been in his family since 1919, when his great great grandfather came to Michigan from Virginia. The old man had bought it cheap and at the time, it was nothing special - it might even have been considered a poorly made piece of crap, something even a penniless beggar could afford and that no self respecting man or woman would use to store their things. It had survived through the years, however, and its age and sentimental value lent it a statliness that it never had in its first life.

He opened the lid with a shriek of rusted metal hinges, and reached inside. Underneath the folded and moth eaten remains of his great great grandfather's WWI army uniform and all the supplies he used, including his gas mask and his Springfield rifle, was a long black box roughly the shape of a flashlight. Lincoln reached in, picked it up, and took it out. He opened it and held it up to the sunlight. Inside, encased in red velvet, were eight engagement rings that sparkled and refracted the light. Each one was had a different color diamond and was custom made for each girl in his harem. It had cost him a pretty penny but it was so totally worth it. He had been planning to ask his girls to marry him for quite a while now and today was it - he was bound and determined to pop the big question.

Snapping the box shut, he tucked it into his pocket, closed the trunk, and latched it. He got to his feet, stretched, and left the attic, pulling the door closed behind him. He went downstairs and got ready for his big day.

---

Lucy Loud awakened to the gentle embrace of golden sunshine streaming through the half-opened curtains. The warmth of the morning light caressed her pale face, and she blinked her dark-rimmed eyes open, feeling a mixture of comfort and melancholy. Her long black hair cascaded like a shadowy veil, partially covering her enigmatic gaze.

Stretching languidly, Lucy's thoughts drifted to the day ahead. She lived in a college dorm with two roommates, Kira and Melissa, each with their unique personalities that balanced and complemented her own gothic charm. The room, a sanctuary of darkness amidst the vibrant college life, was adorned with morbid decorations - plastic skulls gazing from shelves and purple Halloween lights casting eerie glimmers on the walls.

Her roommates were already awake, the sounds of laughter and chatter floating from the kitchen. Melissa, the bubbly and playful one, was flipping pancakes with a grace that belied her energetic nature. Kira, the sassy and straightforward friend, leaned against the counter, adding a pinch of spice to the morning.

"Good morning, sunshine," Melissa greeted Lucy with a radiant smile, her eyes reflecting the joy she brought to every moment.

Lucy smirked. "Morning, my dear ray of darkness."

Kira rolled her eyes playfully. "And here we go again with the nicknames."

Lucy chuckled, enjoying their playful banter. "Can't help it. It's in my gothic nature."

As they sat around the dining table, the aroma of breakfast filled the air, and the three friends shared light banter over their plates. The conversation took a turn when Lucy revealed her weekend plans.

"I was thinking of going on a special trip this weekend," Lucy said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Kira raised an eyebrow. "Special trip? Where do you have in mind?"

Lucy leaned forward, her voice lowering as if sharing a secret. "The woods."

Kira's eyes widened with surprise. "Seriously? You want to spend the weekend camping in the woods?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, it's for my horror blog. I'm writing an article on the local legend of Sherman Poindexter."

Melissa looked intrigued. "Sherman Poindexter? What's that?"

Lucy's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she began to narrate the chilling tale. She recounted the story of Sherman Poindexter, a nerdy boy with dreams of space travel, who had become the subject of a cruel prank that disfigured him. He vanished into the woods, seeking revenge against those who wronged him, and local legend spoke of his ghostly presence stalking the forest at night.

"People say he still roams the woods, seeking vengeance against those who caused his suffering," Lucy explained, her voice tinged with a sense of awe. "It's a spine-chilling legend, and I want to experience it firsthand."

Kira chuckled, a hint of skepticism in her tone. "You don't actually believe in that stuff, do you?"

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. It's just an adventure, but part of me wonders if there might be some truth to the legend."

Melissa looked both excited and apprehensive. "Count me in. It sounds like an unforgettable experience."

Kira raised an eyebrow playfully. "Well, as long as we don't become part of the legend ourselves."

With their decision made, the three friends spent the morning packing their camping gear. Lucy brought her writing desk, notebook, and pens, eager to document their adventure. Melissa packed her camera, ready to capture every moment, and Kira made sure they had enough snacks and drinks for their trip.

As they loaded their gear into Melissa's trusty Prius, they noticed a group of boys playing frisbee on the campus commons. The sun beat down on them, and Kira complained, "Ugh, it's way too hot."

Lucy chuckled, patting Kira's shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll be cooler in the woods."

With one last glance at the bustling college campus, they drove out of town on a winding road that led them into the foothills. The cityscape faded into the distance, and the landscape transformed into rolling hills and lush vegetation.

A short drive brought them to a quaint gas station along the way. They stopped to fill up the gas tank and pick up some snacks and drinks for their camping trip.

As they browsed the aisles, Lucy noticed an old man eyeing them curiously. He had a wild look in his eyes, and his unkempt beard added to his eccentric appearance. When he overheard them talking about Sherman Poindexter, he approached them with an air of foreboding.

"Y'all talkin' 'bout Sherman Poindexter, huh?" the old man said, his voice low and gravelly.

Lucy nodded cautiously. "Yes, we are. It's for an article on my horror blog."

The old man shook his head, his eyes filled with a mix of concern and fear. "Y'all best stay away from them woods. Those are his woods, and he ain't too keen on visitors."

Kira smirked. "Are you trying to scare us, old man?"

The old man leaned in, his voice even lower. "I ain't tryin' to scare ya, I'm tryin' to save ya. People who go in them woods, they don't come back. You best turn around while you still can."

Melissa looked nervous, her grip on the snacks tightening. "I don't know about this, guys."

Lucy exchanged a glance with Kira, her determination unyielding. "Don't worry, it's just an old legend. We'll be fine."

With that, they left the gas station, the old man's words lingering in the air like a warning. As they continued their journey, the road wound deeper into the hills, and the landscape became more rugged and wild.

Finally, they reached a gravel parking lot at a trailhead. The sight of towering trees and the faint sound of running water greeted them, and the air was infused with a sense of adventure.

Lucy couldn't help but feel a thrill run through her veins as she stepped out of the car. The woods were calling to her, enticing her with their enigmatic beauty and the legends that shrouded them.

With their backpacks slung over their shoulders, they set off on the trail, their excitement building with each step. The woods embraced them, its ancient presence a silent witness to their journey into the unknown.

---

The day was bright and hot. Lincoln and his harem stood in line at the zoo, waiting as it slowly inched forward. Even from the parking lot, they could hear the strange sounds of exotic creatures drifting forth. Sid, whose idea this was, swayed back and forth and strained to listen, trying to get a peek around the barricades at the animals beyond. "This is awesome," she said, "I love the zoo."

"I wanna see the monkeys," Jordan said, "the last time we came here, I caught one jacking another off."

"Of course you'd be into animal porn," Cristina said and rolled her eyes. Lincoln smiled to himself. Ironic, since it was Cristina who sometimes liked to put on cat ears and a tail attached to a butt plug when they had sex.

"Shameless monkey sex is hot," Jordan said carelessly, "but only when it's between people. That's why I like to jill off while watching Lincoln and Ronnie Anne have sex."

She wasn't joking about that. Jordan did have a thing for watching. The girls joked around and said she liked cucking, but that wasn't it, not really. She wasn't being cucked per se, she was just watching two people she was attracted to have sex. At least that's the way she framed it, but of course, being a cuck is not something that many people would proudly admit to in this day and age.

The line moved forward, and Lincoln and the girls made their way through the ticket booth. He was surprised to see his old pal Rusty in the booth. "Hey, Rusty," Lincoln greeted, "how's it going?"

"Fine," Rusty said briskly.

He didn't sound fine.

"So…married yet?" Lincoln asked.

The redhead let out a sardonic laugh. "Seriously? You pigged up all the single women for yourself. There are none left for the rest of us."

Lincoln chuckled.

Inside, Lincoln's harem clustered around him like a team of bodyguards (or a celebrity's entourage) as they made their way down the winding flagstone paths past the different animal enclosures. They saw zebras, lions, gazelle, and elephants. They stood in front of the giant cage holding all the monkies and watched them swing from limb to limb, horseplay, and fling shit at each other. One monkey came up behind another, shoved them to the ground, and then mounted it, whereupon the first began to hump for all it was worth. A big, sly grin spread across Jordan's face and she nodded. "Nice."

The humping monkey slammed harder and harder, as if playing to its audience. The submissive monkey just lay there, taking it like a champ. "Nut on her back," Jordan called.

Much to Lincoln's shock, the monkey actually did it. He pulled out of his partner, aimed his weiner at her lower back, and let loose ribbons of hot monkey sperm. "Yeah!" Jordan called and gave a whoop. "Way to go, little girl. You made her your cum slut."

A woman with a little girl gasped in shock, covered her daughter's ears, and rushed her away. The monkey ambled over and Jordan gave him a high five through the bars. "Okay, wow," Sid said, "I was not expecting this." She laughed.

"It reminds me of us, lame-o," Ronnie Anne said and squeezed his butt.

Lincoln grinned. "If he finished on her face, that would really remind me of us."

"Gross," Stella said. She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

"That's where you like him to finish," Mollie said.

They all laughed.

From the monkey enclosure, they made their way to the penguin pit, where penguins splashed, waddled, and climbed over rocks and chunks of ice. Mollie and Cristina were both far more interested in these slippery, flightless birds than they were in anything else at the zoo. At least they (the birds, not Mollie and Cristina) looked slippery. Now that Lincoln thought of it, he wasn't quite sure what penguins were, you know, made of. He kind of assumed that they had feathers like any other bird, but he had also assumed that they had blubber or something like seals.

Hm.

From here he couldn't see them very well, but it looked kind of like a mixture of both. Maybe that's why they couldn't fly. They didn't have feathers. Or did they?

Oh well. It didn't matter. The girls were enjoying watching the penguins play and court one another, and that was all that mattered. After leaving the penguins, they made their way to the gift shop, where they each picked out a stuffed animal or other little trinket to commemorate their visit to the zoo. Outside of the gift shop, there was a concession stand. They all picked up snacks shaped like animals: Pretzels, pastries, things of that nature. Lincoln got an ice cream that looked like a monkey, and Jordan made a crude remark about him fucking her with it. "It'll get all hot, melty, and sticky," she whispered and then licked his ear, "just like I am right now."

Lincoln gulped a little bit. When she got turned on, Jordan could be very aggressive. There were times when she would tackle him, pin him to the ground, and have her way with him. Not, he supposed, that that was exceptional. All of his girls did that to him from time to time. It was kind of their MO.

Not that he was complaining. Personally, he loved it.

He half way expected her to drag him off to one of the public bathrooms for a quickie, where there would both pull down their pants and she would bend over for him, but she wound up being sidetracked and the moment was forgotten.

When they were done browsing the animal enclosures, the gift shop, and the other places the zoo had to offer, they left and went to the movies. Lincoln had not planned ahead and honestly had no idea what was playing. As it turned out, not much. He wasn't the kind of guy who lived in the past and wished he was a boomer or anything, but most movies these days didn't interest him. Then again, he couldn't say that the movies of yesterday held any special interest for him either. There were good ones, yeah, but very few that actually captivated him. No recent movies did that. Then again, all the movies today were superhero movies, reboots, and consumeristic cash grabs.

He and each one of his girls took a vote and decided to see Confederate Desire, a romance set during the Civil War. Lincoln was bored to tears by romance movies, but he liked history, so he had fairly high hopes for this one. The Civil War period had always been interesting to him. Surely, the movie would have some redeeming qwualities, right?

Well…it did have a few cool battle scenes. A guy literally got his head ripped off by a cannon ball. There were a few hot sex scenes, but being with eight women, Lincoln had had so much awesome sex that sex scenes in movies really did nothing for him. Nothing he saw, nothing some Hollywood writer could come up with, could compare to the amazing things that Jordan could do with her mouth, or the way Stella moved and swiveled her hips when he was inside of her.

Plus, there was the fact…well…Lincoln wasn't exactly like most men. Or at least a lot of men. Look, men are biologically designed to be horny bastards who'll stick it in (almost) any woman, any time, any place. They kind of have to be that way because if they weren't, the human race would have died off millions of years ago. Dealing with women can sometimes be frustrating, more for some than for others, and without a strong biological drive to fuck and reproduce, men wouldn't bother. Why go through the whole song and dance of mating - putting in the time and effort to find someone, to court them, to deal with them in the long term? Unless you luck out like Lincoln had, that's a lot of work. God (or evolution) gave men the urge to fuck all the time to ensure that the human race continued. The whole process of finding someone, meeting them, dating them is a headache, then there's the eventuality that it won't work out, so you have to repeat steps one, two, and three - maybe even four - all over again, and then again, and then again.

Ugh.

Lincoln didn't mean to imply that he didn't have those same urges, but he couldn't gather up any sexual desire for a woman that he didn't have feelings for. For instance, he couldn't see a hot chick and instantly want to bang her. He didn't know her for one, and for two, he didn't have any feelings for her. He guessed he could physically do it, but sex without love, emotion, spiritual connection…that just seemed like 3D masturbation to him. Sure, it felt good physically, but sex was about more to him than just raw physical feeling. It was deeper, better, more satisfying with someone you genuinely love and care for.

Anyway, the movie was alright but Lincoln would probably never look it up on Netflix and watch it again. All of the girls, however, loved it, each of them finding their own reason to adore it. On the way out of the theater, the blazing sun blinding their dark adjusted eyes, they all raved about the movie, and Lincoln had the feeling that he would definitely be seeing it again at some point. Probably on Netflix.

As they were leaving, they bumped into Sam and Luna, who were coming in holding hands. "Hey, bro," Luna happily greeted.

"Hey," Lincoln said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're gonna see Fast and Furious 28."

Lincoln blinked, then looked over his shoulder at the posters lining the wall. Indeed, there was one for Fast and Furious. "They're still making those movies?" he asked.

"Yeah, bro," Luna said, "those movies rock."

"I don't think anything can rock for twenty eight movies," Lincoln said, "but okay."

They said their goodbyes and then went their seperate ways, Luna and Sam into the theater and Lincoln and the girls south along the sidewalk lining Main Street. Two blocks down, they went into Cafe Bistro, a small Italian place that had opened a few weeks before. It had red vinyl booths, red and white checkered table clothes, and pictures and paintings of Italy on the walls. It looked like the kind of place where a mobster might have have an important meeting over spaghetti and meatballs, and then get raked with Tommy Gun fire by asassins in suits. In fact, if he remembered his movies correctly, there was just such a scene in The Godfather or something. The place looked exactly like this too.

Cafe Bistro had quickly become one of the most popular dining spots in all of Royal County. Every time Lincoln passed it, there was a line out the door, and the little gravel parking lot to the side was jam packed with cars. The girls - especially Mollie - had been wanting to try it ever since it opened, but Lincoln kept putting them off. "Wait a while," he told them, "when it's not so crowded."

Well, that day had finally come. The place was busy, to be sure, but not overly crowded, not the way it had been for the past couple weeks.

Since Lincoln's party was so large, he had to call ahead and rent the "banquet hall", which was just a small room off the kitchen. It had a long table, low lighting, and it's own waiter in a black vest and white shirt. Lincoln wanted to show off a little, so he waved him over. "Una bottliga di vino, per favore."

The waiter looked slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting this white haired, pasty face yt boi to bust out some broken Italian. He whipped out his notepad. "Bianco o rosso?"

Lincoln thought for a moment. "Rosso," he finally said.

"Andrò a prenderlo," the waiter said.

And that was where Lincoln's limited Italian ended. Andare meant "go". The O at the end meant "I". I go. He assumed the waiter was saying that he would go and get the wine. "Grazie," Lincoln said.

The waiter rushed off, and Mollie grinned at him. "I see those Italian lessons are really paying off."

Lincoln let out an exaggerated stage sigh and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "I was sweating bullets hoping he wouldn't say something I didn't understand. That'd be embarrassing. Try to show off and then instantly switching to English because I bit off more than I could chew."

"How much can you chew?" Stella asked.

"How much carpet can he chew?" Jordan asked with an evil little grin.

Everyone laughed. "A lot," Paige said. "He chewed my carpet last night."

"Oh, we heard," Mollie said.

"Yeah," Cristina put in, then mocked Paige's orgasm noises. "Oh, oh, OH, OH, BAYYYYBEEEEEEEEE."

The entire table burst out laughing, and Paige's cheeks turned a light, rosy shade of red. It was not uncommon to overhear bedroom fun in their house, but some of the girls still got a little embarrassed over it. "I do not sound like that," she mumbled.

"Oh, yes you do," Ronnie Anne said.

"You totally do," Stella said.

"Yeah," Mollie agreed, "you kind of do."

"I don't blame her," Sid said.

"Neither do I," Jordan added, "Lincoln munches a mean carpet."

The waiter returned with the wine and everyone ordered. Each girl got an appetizer, a soup, a salad, and a meal. Of course, there were breadsticks. Lots and lots of breadsticks. He didn't know if they had endless breadsticks like Olive Garden, but they sure as shit had a mega fuck ton. By the time Lincoln's entree came out, he was so full of bread that he felt like he was going to burst. Hell, a part of him forgot that he even had an entree coming his way. As they ate their salads, pastas, and veal cutlets, they talked, laughed, and joked as they did over most meals. Lincoln enjoyed dining with his girls because there was never a dull moment and the conversation never lapsed, because there was always two or three people between bites to keep it going. Most meals in the Loud house lasted a minimum of two hours.

"So," Jordan asked at one point, "how's Clyde?"

Lincoln took a bite of pasta, chewed, and swallowed. "He's doing really good."

Clyde did so well in high school that he started taking college courses in the tenth grade, with an eye toward finance. He decided to take summer school classes and graduated at the beginning of 12th grade, going directly into college. He eventually graduated with a master's degree, married their classmate Cookie, and moved to Detroit, where he worked for a global financial firm. Lincoln had gone out to see him a few days ago, and they spent several hours hanging out. Cookie was pregnant with their first child, about a month along, and Clyde swore Lincoln to secrecy. They didn't want to announce it yet, which Lincoln respected. He knew 100 percent that he could trust his girls but out of respect for Clyde and their years long friendship, he hadn't told them and wouldn't. They could find out on Facebook when Clyde and Cookie decided it was the right time.

"It's been a while," Jordan said, "he could some up and see us."

"They're thinking up coming up for Christmas," Lincoln said and took a sip from a glass of wine, "they're not entirely sure yet."

"I'd love to see him again," Sid said.

"Yeah, he's my second favorite lame-o," Ronnie Anne said.

Lincoln grinned. "And who's your first?"

"Poppa Wheelie."

Everyone laughed. Poppa Wheelie had become a 300 pound incel who wore fedoras, watched cartoons and anime, and couldn't get a girlfriend. He ranted and raved about nonsense like high value men, Beckys, and MIGTAO or something. Poppa Wheelie hated Lincoln because Lincoln had eight girlfriends while he had none. He was a sad, lonely little man who would probably wind up deleting himself in a few years, so Lincoln didn't pay him any mind.

"I bet if you sucked his dick, his attitude would improve," Mollie said.

"If I could find it buried under all that blubber," Ronnie Anne said.

"You'd need a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass," Cristina said.

"And you'd have to dress up like a Japanese school girl and call him oni-chan or something," Lincoln added.

Everyone laughed. "What is it with weirdos and anime?" Paige asked. "It's like moths to a fucking flame."

"I've known some normal people who like it," Sid said.

Mollie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Some. Most of them are Losers with a capital L."

"And obsessed with Japan," Stella said.

"I have a theory," Lincoln said. "The people who are obsessed with moving to Japan and shit fetishize it because it's a place they don't live. Like…in some weird way, they think it's a better place because here, they're losers and don't fit in. They put Japan on a pedestal because it's not tainted with the rejection they face every day. I gunaretee that most weebs who go there won't be accepted and they'll realize that the problem isn't the country or culture they live in but the problem is them."

Ronnie Anne hummed. "Makes sense."

"Probably," Mollie said.

The waiter returned, and everyone ordered dessert. They had cakes and tiramisu, eclairs and other fine Italian pastries that tasted like sweet, sugary ambrosia. By the time they were finished, everyone felt full, tired, and distended, and Lincoln was secretly dreading the bill. He had money and never wanted for anything but he knew that this lunch would cost him a pretty penny. The waiter returned with the check and Lincoln braced himself. He looked at it and nodded to himself. Yep, it was about what he expected. It could have been more expensive, of course, but it also could have been a little cheaper. Then again, what does money matter when compared to good times, great company, and lasting memories?

"How much is it?" Ronnie Anne asked, having noticed his anxiety. He had known her the longest of anyone here and she understood him in a way that, he suspected, the others did not. "I hope you girls are ready to do the dishes," he quipped.

"Broke as trick," Mollie said.

"Wow, what a loser," Stella added.

"If you can't afford us, Lincoln, just say so," Cristina said, "we'll leave."

"Get to steppin' then," Lincoln said as he pulled out his wallet. They were joking, of course, but he knew full well that his harem couldn't leave him anymore than he could leave it. For better or worse, in sickness and health, with money and without, they were each other's home and life. You could no more separate them than you could two strands of DNA. They belonged to him and he belonged to them. No matter what, they would stick together.

Lincoln paid the eye watering bill, and then he and his harem left. "I say we take a walk," Lincoln said, "burn off some of those calories we took in."

And with that, they started for the park.

The forest was a tapestry of colors and sounds - sunlight filtering through the canopy above, painting the ground with patches of warmth, while the rustling leaves created a gentle symphony in the breeze. The scent of earth and foliage filled their nostrils, mingling with the sense of anticipation that hung in the air.

As they delved deeper into the woods, Lucy's thoughts drifted, blending with the beauty of nature surrounding her. She couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at the mysteries that lay ahead, the untold stories waiting to be discovered.

Her mind wandered to the legend of Sherman Poindexter - the young boy with dreams of space travel, the cruel prank that changed the course of his life, and his mysterious disappearance into the woods. It was a tale that echoed through the generations, woven into the fabric of the community's folklore.

As they walked, the conversation turned to memories of their time at college, and the laughter of their shared experiences filled the air. The worries of everyday life seemed to fade into the background, replaced by the beauty of the natural world surrounding them.

Kira couldn't help but comment on the serene ambiance. "You know, for a supposedly haunted place, this forest is quite peaceful."

Lucy smiled. "Perhaps the legend is just that - a legend. But there's something magical about being here, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life."

Melissa nodded in agreement. "You're right. It's like we've stepped into a different world, a world where time stands still."

As they continued their hike, the woods seemed to come alive with secrets and whispers. Lucy's heart quickened, her imagination weaving tales of ghosts and specters lurking in the shadows. The line between reality and legend blurred, and she found herself immersed in the eerie enchantment of the forest.

With each step, the scenery changed, revealing hidden nooks and crannies that beckoned them to explore. The woods became denser, and the sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick canopy above. Shadows danced around them, as if the trees themselves whispered ancient secrets.

They reached a clearing, where a small stream meandered through the undergrowth, its water glistening under the sunlight. Lucy crouched by the edge, observing the delicate ripples that danced across the surface.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured.

"It sure is," Melissa agreed, snapping a few photos. "Nature has its own way of captivating us."

As they continued their exploration, they stumbled upon an ancient-looking tree with gnarled branches that reached out like skeletal hands. The trunk was covered in moss, giving it an eerie appearance. Kira couldn't resist making a dramatic pose beside it.

"Behold, the tree of doom!" Kira proclaimed, drawing laughter from her companions.

Lucy playfully joined in, pretending to cower in fear. "Oh, mighty tree, spare us your spooky curses!"

Their lightheartedness dissolved any lingering tension, and the three friends reveled in the joy of the moment. Their laughter echoed through the woods, blending with the rustling of leaves and distant calls of birds.

As they ventured deeper into the woods, the foliage became denser, and the sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick canopy above. Shadows seemed to dance around them, and the ambiance grew more mysterious.

With every step, Lucy felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. The legend of Sherman Poindexter felt more real than ever, and she couldn't wait to uncover the mysteries that lay ahead.

Little did they know that their adventure was just beginning, and the woods held secrets that would challenge their beliefs and test the limits of their courage.

As the day waned, the friends decided to make camp near a serene glade. They set up their tents amidst the trees, the sense of isolation wrapping around them like a comforting embrace.

Sitting around the campfire, the crackling flames casting dancing shadows on the forest floor, they shared more ghost stories and local legends they had heard over the years. The woods seemed to be listening to their tales, as if adding its own mystical touch to the night.

As the firelight flickered, Kira leaned back against a log, looking thoughtful. "You know, it's hard to believe in all these spooky stories, but there's something about being in the woods that makes you wonder."

Lucy nodded in agreement, her mind still wandering between reality and myth. "I know what you mean. There's an aura of mystery here, like the forest is keeping its secrets from us."

Melissa added, "Maybe legends like Sherman Poindexter are born from a need to understand the unknown, to make sense of the unexplainable."

Their conversation delved into deeper themes, touching on the human psyche and the power of storytelling. The woods seemed to embrace their words, carrying them through the night like echoes from the past.

As the hours passed, they eventually retired to their tents, the night enveloping them in a cocoon of darkness. The sounds of the nocturnal creatures created a soothing symphony that lulled Lucy into a peaceful slumber.

In her dreams, she found herself in the heart of the woods, surrounded by ancient trees and dancing shadows. The moonlight painted everything in a silvery glow, and the air was filled with an otherworldly stillness.

In her dream, she saw a young boy, disfigured and consumed by rage, walking among the trees. His eyes held a mix of sadness and vengeance, and his ghostly figure seemed to float through the underbrush.

As she followed him deeper into the woods, she could feel the weight of his tragic fate and the pain that had driven him to this eternal wandering. Her heart ached for the young genius whose dreams had been shattered, and she couldn't help but wonder if the legend held a grain of truth.

As morning light filtered through the trees, Lucy stirred awake in her tent. The remnants of her dream lingered in her mind, leaving her with a sense of awe and wonder. She could feel the woods calling to her, inviting her to delve deeper into its mysteries.

As she stepped outside, she found Kira and Melissa already up, their eyes filled with excitement for the day ahead.

"Morning, adventurers!" Melissa greeted, a smile brightening her face.

Kira raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ready for another day of debunking spooky myths?"

Lucy chuckled, her heart still wrapped in the remnants of her dream. "Absolutely. Let's make the most of our last day in the woods."

As they continued their exploration of the forest, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that the woods held secrets they were yet to uncover. The legends, the missing persons, and the tragic fate of Sherman Poindexter seemed to merge into an enigmatic tapestry, begging to be unraveled.

As they ventured deeper into the woods, the atmosphere seemed to change subtly. A sense of stillness and isolation enveloped them, and the sounds of civilization faded into the distance. The forest seemed to hold its breath, as if it were guarding its secrets from prying eyes.

They stumbled upon a small creek, its water glistening under the sunlight. Lucy crouched by the edge, observing the delicate ripples that danced across the surface. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she murmured.

"It sure is," Melissa agreed, snapping a few photos. "Nature has its own way of captivating us."

As they continued their exploration, they stumbled upon an ancient-looking tree with gnarled branches that reached out like skeletal hands. The trunk was covered in moss, giving it an eerie appearance. Kira couldn't resist making a dramatic pose beside it.

"Behold, the tree of doom!" Kira proclaimed, drawing laughter from her companions.

Lucy playfully joined in, pretending to cower in fear. "Oh, mighty tree, spare us your spooky curses!"

Their lightheartedness dissolved any lingering tension, and the three friends reveled in the joy of the moment. Their laughter echoed through the woods, blending with the rustling of leaves and distant calls of birds.

As they ventured deeper into the woods, the ambiance grew more mysterious, and the legends seemed to cast longer shadows over their minds. Lucy's heart quickened, and her mind wavered between skepticism and fascination.

The day wore on, and the heat became oppressive, but the friends pressed on, determined to unravel the secrets of the forest. They stumbled upon an old, abandoned cabin, its weathered wood telling tales of bygone years.

"What do you think happened here?" Kira wondered aloud.

Lucy pondered, her gaze fixed on the decaying structure. "It's hard to say. Maybe it was just left to be reclaimed by nature, or maybe there's a darker story behind it."

Melissa shuddered playfully. "Don't tell me it's another haunted place!"

Lucy grinned. "Who knows? But it's fascinating, isn't it? All these forgotten places with untold stories."

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, they returned to their campsite. The flickering flames of the campfire provided both warmth and comfort, and the woods seemed to come alive with sounds that were both mysterious and comforting.

As they sat around the campfire, the conversation drifted to the legends of the woods, and the friends couldn't help but share their own versions of the stories they had heard. The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the forest floor, and the night seemed to stretch infinitely before them.

As the hours passed, the friends eventually retired to their tents, each immersed in their thoughts and dreams. Lucy couldn't help but wonder what mysteries the next day would bring and whether they would find any truth behind the legend of Sherman Poindexter.

In her dreams, she found herself wandering through the woods once again, following the ghostly figure of the disfigured boy. The moonlight bathed everything in an ethereal glow, and the air was filled with a sense of otherworldly stillness.

The boy's eyes met hers, and she felt a strange connection to him, as if she were seeing into his tortured soul. Her heart ached for the young genius whose dreams had been shattered, and she couldn't help but wonder if the legend held a grain of truth.

As morning light filtered through the trees, Lucy stirred awake in her tent. The remnants of her dream lingered in her mind, leaving her with a sense of wonder and curiosity. She felt a deep yearning to explore further, to delve deeper into the heart of the woods and uncover the enigmatic truths that lay hidden within.

As she stepped outside, she found Kira and Melissa already up, their eyes filled with excitement for the day ahead.

"Morning, adventurers!" Melissa greeted, a smile brightening her face.

Kira raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ready for another day of debunking spooky myths?"

Lucy chuckled, her heart still wrapped in the remnants of her dream. "Absolutely. Let's make the most of our last day in the woods."

As they continued their exploration of the forest, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that the woods held secrets they were yet to uncover. The legends, the missing persons, and the tragic fate of Sherman Poindexter seemed to merge into an enigmatic tapestry, begging to be unraveled.

As they delved deeper into the woods, the sense of isolation grew, and the forest seemed to envelop them in its embrace. Each step they took felt like a journey into the heart of a forgotten world, where the past and present blended seamlessly.

The day passed with a sense of timelessness, and the woods seemed to reveal its secrets bit by bit. They discovered an old, weathered sign marking the boundaries of an abandoned trail, its letters faded and almost illegible.

"What does it say?" Melissa asked, squinting at the sign.

Lucy strained her eyes, deciphering the worn-out words. "It looks like it says 'Sherman Poindexter Trail.' This must be the path he took before he disappeared."

Kira raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Coincidence, perhaps? Or did someone name it after him to add to the legend?"

Lucy shrugged. "It's hard to say, but it's an interesting find nonetheless."

As the sun began to dip below the horizon, they returned to their campsite. The flickering flames of the campfire provided both warmth and comfort, and the woods seemed to come alive with sounds that were both mysterious and comforting.

Sitting around the campfire, the friends shared stories of their day, each tale a chapter in the larger narrative of their exploration. The fire crackled, casting dancing shadows on the forest floor, and the night seemed to stretch infinitely before them.

As the hours passed, the friends eventually retired to their tents, each immersed in their thoughts and dreams. Lucy couldn't help but wonder what mysteries the next day would bring and whether they would find any truth behind the legend of Sherman Poindexter.

In her dreams, she found herself wandering through the woods once again, following the ghostly figure of the disfigured boy. The moonlight bathed everything in an ethereal glow, and the air was filled with a sense of otherworldly stillness.

The boy's eyes met hers, and she felt a strange connection to him, as if she were seeing into his tortured soul. Her heart ached for the young genius whose dreams had been shattered, and she couldn't help but wonder if the legend held a grain of truth.

As morning light filtered through the trees, Lucy stirred awake in her tent. The remnants of her dream lingered in her mind, leaving her with a sense of wonder and curiosity. She felt a deep yearning to explore further, to delve deeper into the heart of the woods and uncover the enigmatic truths that lay hidden within.

As she stepped outside, she found Kira and Melissa already up, their eyes filled with excitement for the day ahead.

"Morning, adventurers!" Melissa greeted, a smile brightening her face.

Kira raised an eyebrow playfully. "Ready for another day of debunking spooky myths?"

Lucy chuckled, her heart still wrapped in the remnants of her dream. "Absolutely. Let's make the most of our last day in the woods."

As they continued their exploration, the woods seemed to unfold before them like an ancient manuscript waiting to be deciphered. Each step felt like a journey into the heart of a forgotten world, where the past and present blended seamlessly.

They stumbled upon an old, moss-covered statue hidden among the trees. The figure depicted a young boy, his face obscured by the passage of time. Lucy couldn't help but feel a sense of connection to the statue, as if it were a silent tribute to Sherman Poindexter.

"It's like the forest is speaking to us," Melissa mused, snapping a few photos. "As if it wants us to unravel its mysteries."

Lucy nodded, her mind still filled with thoughts of the legend. "It's as if we're unraveling the threads of time and discovering the stories that were once lost."

Kira added, "Maybe the legends are more than just tales. Maybe they're the voices of the past, speaking through the woods."

The day wore on, and the friends found themselves exploring deeper into the heart of the forest. The legends seemed to grow stronger with each step, and the sense of wonder and trepidation mingled in their hearts.

As they reached a clearing, they spotted an old, weathered cabin nestled among the trees. Its crumbling walls and broken windows spoke of a bygone era, and Lucy couldn't help but wonder about the lives that once inhabited the place.

"Who lived here?" Melissa wondered aloud.

Lucy touched the weathered wood, feeling a connection to the past. "Maybe it was Sherman's family. Maybe this was his home."

Kira looked around, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "There's something hauntingly beautiful about this place, like it's frozen in time."

As they explored the abandoned cabin, they noticed faded pictures on the walls and old, dusty books on the shelves. The remnants of a life once lived now seemed like echoes from the past.

Lucy sat on a weathered chair, her thoughts drifting to the legend of Sherman Poindexter. She imagined the young boy, filled with dreams of space travel and a bright future, his life tragically altered by a cruel prank.

"He must have been brilliant," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Kira sat beside her, her voice gentle. "It's a tragedy, what happened to him. And the legend that followed, like a ghostly shadow, is a testament to the impact he left on this place."

Melissa added, "Legends like these are born from pain and loss, from the need to understand the unexplainable."

Their words lingered in the air, as if the forest itself were listening, absorbing the weight of their reflections. The sense of timelessness intensified, and Lucy felt a deep connection to the past, as if she were peering through the veil of time.

As the sun began to set, casting a warm, golden glow over the woods, the friends returned to their campsite. The campfire once again crackled with life, and the night seemed to embrace them like an old friend.

Sitting around the campfire, they shared stories of their day, their thoughts entwined with the legends and mysteries that surrounded them. The woods seemed to come alive with the stories, as if they were being woven into the very fabric of the forest.

As the night deepened, the friends huddled close, finding solace in each other's presence. They spoke of dreams and aspirations, of fears and hopes, their hearts connecting on a level that transcended words.

Lucy couldn't help but feel a profound sense of gratitude for her friends and the adventure they had shared. The legend of Sherman Poindexter had brought them together, leading them on a journey that had touched the essence of their souls.

As the embers of the campfire slowly faded, they settled into their tents for the night. The forest seemed to enfold them, its ancient presence a silent witness to their camaraderie and the stories they had shared.

In the darkness, Lucy's thoughts drifted to the legend of Sherman Poindexter. The tragic tale of the young boy with dreams of space travel, the cruel prank that altered his fate, and his disappearance into the woods - it was a story that resonated deeply with her.

She couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the legend than just tales and superstitions. Perhaps the woods held secrets that were waiting to be discovered, hidden in the shadows of time.

As she closed her eyes, a sense of wonder and anticipation filled her heart. The woods had left an indelible mark on her soul, and she knew that even after they left, the legend of Sherman Poindexter would continue to haunt her thoughts, inviting her to return and delve deeper into its enigmatic depths.

The morning sun greeted them with its warm embrace, and the friends began to pack up their campsite, their hearts filled with memories and reflections of their time in the woods. The legends and mysteries of Sherman Poindexter had left an indelible mark on their souls, and they knew that this adventure had changed them in ways they couldn't yet fully comprehend.

As they made their way back to the gravel parking lot at the trailhead, they couldn't help but feel a sense of bittersweet nostalgia. The woods had become a part of them, and the legend of Sherman Poindexter had woven itself into their lives like a haunting melody.

As they loaded their gear into Melissa's Prius, the forest seemed to bid them farewell, its ancient presence still lingering in the air. They knew that they were leaving with more questions than answers, but they were content in the knowledge that the woods would always be there, waiting to reveal its secrets to those who dared to seek them.

With a final glance back at the woods, they drove away, their hearts filled with the memories of their adventure and the legends that had come alive before their eyes. The road stretched before them, leading them back to the bustling world of college life, but the spirit of the woods remained with them, a haunting reminder of the mysteries that lay just beyond the shadows.

---

From the restaurant, Lincoln and his harem made their way through Royal Woods in a meandering, lackadaisical way that saw them drifting from one street to another with no real aim or goal. Lincoln, of course, wanted to evrentually lure his girls to the park, where he could pounce on them like a rapist ambushing an unsuispecting jogger (only instead of his D, he would give them his heart), but he was kind of nervous and needed time to amp himself up for it, so he didn't steer them directly there. Realistically, he did not think any of them would say no. In fact, he expected them to accept his proposal with whole hearted and full throated enthusiasm. And also realistically, nothing would change from the way it was right now. They all lived together as though they were married; they were loyal to him and he was loyal to them. Their lives would continue much as it had before.

Even so, getting actually, legally married made things seem somehow real, somehow more…he didn't know, concrete? Important? He wasn't sure what it was, but being married seemed somehow different, more permanant. He had been grappling with those feelings for quite some time now but they had been small and vague, in the back of his mind and easily ignored. Now that he was literally moments away from actually doing it and making the ukltimare committment, he was getting anxious. He kept telling himself not to worry, but he couldn't help it. They were basically already married. Again, it's not like their lives were going to change or anything.

See, in the olden days, way back when people called each other squares and listened to grown men going shoopy doo wop for two minutes straight, people didn't live together until they were married. So getting married back then was a huge deal because you didn't know what it would be like to actually live with your partner. Today, it wasn't like that. You got a trial run before you had to pull the trigger. Lincoln had had his trial run and knew perfectly well what it would be like to be married to his girls. He was used to it. He really had to reason to be all weird about it.

Still, he kind of was.

Before going to the park, they stopped at Flip's for some refreshing Flippeez. "You brought the whole gang with you today, huh, Jim Jones?" Flip asked over the counter.

"Sure did," Lincoln said, ignoring the old man's barb.

"Today the day?" Flip asked as he rang them up. "You finally gonna drink the Kool-Aid and fuck off?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Lincoln said.

"Damn," Flip said, "and here I thought I'd be rid of you."

"And my business," Lincoln said. "I spend more money here in one day than most people in a month."

"Why do you think I don't poison you myself?" Flip asked.

Lincoln winked, and they all left the store. "What a jerk," Mollie said.

"Yeah," Cristina added, "he's just jealous."

"Everyone's jealous of us," Jordan said, "which is why people in this town act so snooty to us."

"Fuck 'em," Lincoln said, "it's not worth worrying about them anyway."

From Flip's, they made their way to the park, a vast, open green space on the edge of town. Pine trees, playgrounds, and pavilions dotted the hilly land, and a series of concrete walking paths crisscrossed the grounds. The laughter of children seasoned the air and Lincoln caught a whiff of grilling hamburgers. Someone, somewhere, was having a cook out, and even though he had just finished a virtual feast, his mouth watered.

From the entrance of the park, they made their way toward the vast duck pond toward the park's rear, the girls following Lincoln as trusting and sheep like as the children of Hamlin followed the Pied Piper. They knew Lincoln wasn't a creep, obviously, but even if they didn't, what was he going to do, rape and murder them? All of them? If he tried, they'd swarm him and beat him into the dirt. He'd have to whip out a gun and blow them away if he wanted to do something like that, which meant he'd have to molest their cold, dead bodies. Why do that when he could get the warm, living bodies for free and without the risk of going to prison?

When they reached the duck pond, the girls all clustered around Lincoln. He could only fit his arms around Stella and Ronnie Anne, but the others knew that he had his arms around them as well, if only in spirit. "It's so peaceful here," Sid said.

"I love the park," Mollie said.

"So do I," Paige added.

"And I love you guys," Lincoln said a bit sheepishly. He always felt a little awkward when he talked lovey dovey, but girls love that kind of shit, so he did it anyway.

"Aw, we love you too," Kat said.

Lincoln pulled away from Stella and Ronnie Anne and faced his harem. "I really do. You guys mean the world to me and I'm so happy that we're together." He blushed, rubbed the back of his neck, and momentarily flicked his eyes to the ground in front of him. "The last couple years have been the best of my life and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I want this feeling to last forever." He reached into his pocket, pulled out the box, and sank to one knee.

The girls all knew what came next, and reacted in a variety of ways. Shock, satisfaction, amazement, and giddy delight. Stella put her hands over her mouth, Jordan beamed, and one corner of Ronnie Anne's mouth turned up in a sly smile. "Ronnie Anne, Stella, Girl Jordan, Sid, Paige, Cristina, Mollie and Kat…would you do me the honors of being my wives forever and ever?"

The answer was a resounding yes.

The girls rushed Lincoln and mobbed him, sweeping him into a tornado of hugs, kisses, ass grabs, and dick feels. They were all chattering and babbling happily like little kids, and Lincoln couldn't help but take a type of parental joy in how excited they were to be his wives. Lincoln hugged and kissed each one of them in turn, and their excitement grew, like little puppies, until they knocked him down. They all fell on top of him, some accidentally and others on purpose, and everyone laughed.

When the giggles had subsided, they all got back to their feet. "Come on," Lincoln said, "let's go home."

---

That night, Lucy got back to her dorm. It was dark and she went into her bedroom without turning on any lights. She turned around and jolted when she saw the dark outline of a person against the window.

Lucy's heart raced as she stood frozen in the dimly lit room, her hand inches away from the light switch. The silhouette against the window sent a chill down her spine, and she couldn't help but tremble in fear. Her mind raced, searching for an explanation or a rationalization for the dark figure that had invaded her dorm room in the dead of night.

"Don't," a voice, high-pitched and nasally, broke the silence. It was a voice that sent shivers down her spine, a voice that seemed to belong to a being from another world.

Lucy swallowed hard, her throat dry, and her voice barely above a whisper, she managed to ask, "Who are you?"

"My name is Sherman Poindexter," the voice replied, its tone filled with an odd mix of vulnerability and resignation. "I believe you were looking for me."

Lucy's shock was palpable. She had embarked on her camping trip into the woods with the intention of investigating the legend of Sherman Poindexter, but she had never truly expected to encounter the man behind the myth.

"You're real?" Lucy stammered, her mind struggling to grasp the surreal situation unfolding before her.

"Precisely," Sherman responded, his presence still obscured in the darkness. "Only, I don't kill people. I just lead a quiet life in the woods where no one can bully me."

The words hung in the air, and Lucy's initial fear began to ebb, replaced by a sense of sympathy for the man who had become the subject of a terrifying legend.

"Were you really burned in a fire?" Lucy asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes," Sherman confirmed, his voice carrying the weight of painful memories. "But it was a lab explosion, not arson. I mixed two unstable compounds that resulted in my present condition. I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to find me. I just want to be left alone."

Lucy understood his plea. The legend of Sherman Poindexter had taken on a life of its own, distorted by fear and misconceptions. The truth behind his disfigurement was far less sinister than the stories had portrayed.

"I promise," Lucy replied, her voice filled with sincerity, "I'll respect your wish for privacy. I never intended to cause you any harm."

Sherman's gratitude was evident in his voice as he said, "Thank you."

With that, he turned and left the room, his presence fading into the night as mysteriously as it had arrived.

Lucy sat heavily on her bed, her mind racing with the events of the night. Some myths, she realized, did indeed have a grain of truth to them, and the legend of Sherman Poindexter was one of them. She couldn't help but feel a mixture of relief and wonder, knowing that she had encountered the man behind the myth and had the opportunity to set the record straight.

As she pondered the strange encounter, Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that there were countless other legends and mysteries waiting to be uncovered, each with its own hidden truths and untold stories. The world was a place of wonder and complexity, and she was determined to continue her exploration, armed with a newfound understanding of the power of myth and the importance of seeking the truth.

---

That night, Lincoln and his harem did something that they rarely ever did (for obvious reasons): They all cuddled up in bed together. There was a special custom made bed in a cozy and furnished corner of the basement that could hold all nine of them. They rarely ever used it because that many people trying to cuddle, snuggle, or sleep together (literal sleep, not sex) was pretty awkward and uncomfortable. Tonight, howeverm was different and they were all willing to forge a little comfort in order to be together. Lincoln lay in the middle and the girls all cuddled up to him, each managing to lay a hand on him for closeness. One by one they fell asleep until only Lincoln remained. He had been nervous about asking his girls to marry him but now he was happy that he had. He loved his life and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

And from here, he was excited to see where it went.

With that in mind, Lincoln drifted peacefully off to sleep.