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“Well, that went well,” I say to the empty room as I sit back, scribbling a few notes to myself on what to keep my eye on with Lucas and what to talk to Evan about.
Lucas could be a problem. And his session casts a dark pall over my mood.
A lot of these guys come here, listen to the podcast, and benefit from both. But when they’re outside our cultivated environment, they hear, see, and live the opposite. Lucas’s demeanor and anger are disturbing, and it makes me wonder, am I pitching my message the right way? Or am I pissing into the wind and pretending that the wetness is rain? Am I really making a difference here?
While I ponder, I hear a ruckus out in the club. Getting up to go investigate, I send up a silent prayer that Rico didn’t have a secret raccoon girlfriend hiding out that’s pissed at her missing man or a gaggle of baby Ricos.
“Toro, toro, toro!” someone shouts.
I have no idea what I walked into, but there’s a small group of guys wielding various dildos and vibrators as the other guys cheer them on like warriors returning from battle. And the ‘toro’ seems to be directed at Anthony, who has a twisted, silver glitter dildo suction cupped to his forehead. He’s acting like a raging bull, running penis-horn first into a towel another guy is holding up like a matador’s cape.
“What the hell?” I mutter to myself, a small grin blooming.
It’s ridiculous, it’s stupid, and a bit wild, but the guys acting crazy isn’t that unusual. They need to let off steam sometimes. And they definitely seem to be having a good time considering Anthony’s running at various guys now and they’re jumping over him bullfighter style.
“‘Ole!” a new guy shouts with a flourish of his hands and a stomp of his feet.
“Check it out! They were all ‘oh, no, give ‘em back’ and the goth girl chased us over the table on the way out.”
“Yeah, and Sex Toy Barbie was shouting—”
“Fucking bitch almost racked me to get one back.”
Wait, what? Their commentary is still processing, but what does register is ‘Sex Toy Barbie’.
That’s Samantha. That’s what they called her after the bag of dicks stage incident.
My good mood evaporates in a blink. “What the hell is going on here?” I bellow. I cross the room, standing in the middle of the group to break it up. “I want answers.Now.”
Anthony grins widely and shakes his head to make his penis-horn wiggle triumphantly. “Got her back for you, Chance. Sex Toy Barbie won’t embarrass you ever again.”
I can feel anger building in my gut, hot and sour, but I force myself to stay steady. “Explain,” I demand coldly. I need to know what these knuckleheads have done because I know that I need to talk to Samantha. Whatever they did, in some ways, it’s my fault. And I need to deal with it ASAP.
Anthony’s smile falls by a few degrees, but as he speaks, his pride is still obvious. “We were hanging in the community rec room and saw the two girls from the meeting selling this shit with no shame, right there in front of everyone. We took care of it.”
He makes it sound like they did a mob hit right in the middle of campus. “What do you mean you took care of it?” Keeping my voice even is getting tougher and tougher.
“We confiscated some merch, made enough of a scene that they’re definitely not gonna get invited back, and avenged you a bit,” Anthony summarizes with a chuckle.
He holds a hand up, and another guy jumps in to offer a high-five like anything he just said is a good thing. “Fucking right,” he says. “Good work, Anthony.”
I scan the crowd around us, shocked at their eager eyes and approving grins. There are a few who look uncertain, but overall, the guys think I’m going to whole-heartedly approve of what Anthony’s done.
“Seriously? You thought I’d be happy that you gave those women a hard time and took their merchandise?” I bite out. “Have you learned nothing from being a member here?”
“Wha—” Anthony mutters, his smile all but gone.
Louder, I tell the gathered guys, “I talked to that woman after the meeting. She was horrified, so embarrassed at what happened, all because she walked in the wrong door. Something that could happen to any of us.” Gritting my teeth, I glance around the group, seeing if they’re hearing me. “And do you know why she had the sex toys? Because she’s a businesswoman, a successful one, I might add. Nothing to be joked about there, is it?”
I meet the eyes of every guy surrounding me except one. Anthony’s head has fallen, his horn pointing to the floor as he stares blankly like a scolded child.
“What’s going on?” Evan asks, coming up and pushing his way through the guys to the center next to me. It’s been a long time since it’s been me and him against the world, but it’s good to know that he’s still got my back.
I exhale heavily. “Was thinking as I came in this morning that I’m damn proud of the good work we do here. Heard guys supporting each other, saw the community of good men building relationships, and know the growth some members have made since joining.” Even the good things I’m saying sound accusatory because I’m that furious. “But I just got a really bitter wake-up call that, when given half a chance, some of them will bully women, steal from them, and then celebrate like they did something to be proud of. I’m just damn fucking disappointed and angry as hell.”
I push my way through the circle, shoulder bumping a couple of guys to get face to face with Anthony. “That’s probably gonna leave a big fucking hickey on your forehead. I want you to think about what you did to those women every day when you have to explain the penis-horn stunt you pulled.”
There’s a snicker of giggles, but for the most part, the guys try to swallow down their laughs, especially when Anthony pulls the suction cup from his head with a loudpop!
