Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Austin
“Your table is ready, please follow me.”
As I gestured for Marcie to proceed me, my hand on her lower back to guide her through the maze of tables, I remembered a night from six years ago.
We were on Christmas break from college. What should have been an evening of fun had become the opposite. Hence the headache that was beginning to pound behind my eyes. I had to admit, I wasn’t feeling much of anything but the loss of time I’d never get back.
Leo, Tilda, and I were standing in a corner of a converted warehouse trying to hold a conversation.
Another strident squeal of a half-assed stereo system cranked up as high as it could go stabbed into my brain like a laser and made conversing all but impossible.
I saw Tilda’s lips moving but couldn’t make out a word she said.
“What?” The fact Leo’s shouted word didn’t so much as slow the movement of her lips as she attempted to convey her thoughts was the last straw.
I set my beer can on the bar, shaking my head at the sight of darkened rings of god-only-knew what that had been slopped by customers or spilled by the bartender behind the makeshift bar.
The guy was well on his way to be half-sloshed himself.
Hands free, I used both to form the letter “T” at chest level to ensure my friends didn’t miss it.
Seemed sign language was a far better medium in the club and both she and Leo nodded.
Their drinks joined mine, Tilda’s glass was still three-quarters full which told me the liquor served was about as far from top shelf as the sound system was.
We wove through the crowd and out the front door without pause.
“And another one bites the dust,” Leo said loudly, causing both Tilda and I to flinch a bit. “Sorry,” he was quick to add after dropping his volume by several decibels.
“What is wrong with these people?” Tilda asked.
“Let’s just say by the time we list everything, we’ll need those little blue pills to even perform,” Leo said.
“Speak for yourself,” I chuffed and punched his shoulder.
“If you’re having problems getting it up, then maybe Austin and I need to widen our search for a third.”
While Leo rubbed at the spot I’d punched, he was totally unaffected by Tilda’s jab. “Since when do you care about anything having to do with dicks?”
Tilda shook her head. “Man, you really don’t have a clue about what makes a lesbian tick do you?”
Leo pressed his hand to his chest as if wounded.
"How can you say that? Women are the most interesting, incredible species ever to walk this earth. Hell, if I wasn’t fascinated by them, I wouldn’t be spending every spare moment trying to discover the best place to continue my education about the most precious creatures to ever exist.”
Tilda rolled her eyes and punched his other arm. “You’re so full of shit.”
Though this debate could definitely be entertaining, I wasn’t sure it was helpful at this moment. “Let’s get back on topic,” I suggested. “After this club, I think I, for one, have come to the only logical conclusion about our endeavor.”
“Me too,” Tilda agreed, then turned to Leo. “Well, how about you? Anything useful stirring in your lizard brain?”
“Yep, pancake batter.” He grinned and shrugged. “What can I say? I can’t think when I’m hungry and since this is a business meeting, we can take the cost of breakfast off taxes, right?”
We both turned to look at Tilda because she was the one earning her Master’s in Accounting as well as having suggested we start keeping receipts and mileage logs, and time spent touring and interviewing club owners just in case they came in handy.
“That depends,” she said as she bumped into me when the club door opened and a guy stumbled out and into her.
I steadied her and shot the guy a nasty look, which he totally ignored.
“Forget it, Austin. He’s as lost a cause as this dump. Let’s take this somewhere less chaotic.”
“That’s exactly what I just said. IHOP it is!” Leo declared. “To the car!”
At the restaurant, I asked, “How long ago did you decide?” as I gestured for Tilda to slip into the booth before sliding in beside her.
“After the third club you two dragged me to,” she said as Leo completed our trio, sitting across from us. “I was just waiting for both of you to catch up.”
“So, you’re saying we’ve wasted a whole lot of time in the interim? Not to mention sampled a lot of god-awful drinks. Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be streamlining the process?” Leo grouched from behind the menu he was already perusing.
“Not at all,” Tilda countered. “If you are truly interested in the outcome, you’ve got to collect a lot of data.
Every single club, even those wannabe clubs, had something to share.
And not all of it was negative. Sure, there were a lot of questionable aspects, and I can say I would be suspicious if any of them claimed any kind of commitment to their members’ safety, though a couple did seem to be trying.
But since not a single one had me itching to get naked and play”—she held up a finger as if to hold her place—"coffee with cream for me, please”—she turned back to look at us—“and without people who feel safe and anxious to play, we might as well just all stay home and invest in batteries, right?”
A soft laugh had both Leo and I shifting our stare from Tilda to see a young woman had appeared at our table.
I wasn’t sure what impressed me more. The fact that Tilda didn’t look the least bit embarrassed at being overheard, or the fact the waitress wasn’t blushing or fidgeting, but was smiling.
“I’m afraid we’re fresh out of batteries but would you gentlemen also like coffee?” she asked, her pen poised above her pad.
“Better make it a carafe,” I said. “I have a feeling this might take a while.”
“I’ll take my coffee with a double stack of blueberry pancakes with a side of eggs scrambled soft, bacon and sausage, and a double order of hashbrowns,” Leo said, snapping his menu shut.
“A side?” I asked, my eyebrow quirking.
“Creative thinking takes a lot of calories,” he said, then glanced at the waitress again. “Oh, and if you don’t mind, could you ask the chef to make those hashbrowns extra crispy, please, Dawn.”
The waitress’ smile widened as she nodded. “Certainly, Sir.”
As she walked away, Tilda reached across the table and patted Leo’s hand. “And that, right there, is why despite the fact you drive me bonkers, I’m in this with you.”
“Because I ordered a lot of food which I’m sure you’ll be sharing?” Leo asked.
“No, because you addressed Dawn by name which is something I should have done.”
My best friend grinned. “Especially because unless I’m totally off my game, Dawn has eyes for only one of us and it sure wasn’t my handsome self.”
It was amusing to see his words had Tilda’s mouth opening and closing like a little fish. It wasn’t often anyone or anything knocked her off balance.
Leo chuckled. “As some very wise person said, we learn something from every encounter.”
I grinned and sat back in the booth. “So, we’re agreed that instead of buying into an existing club, we will begin our own?”
“Absolutely. Not only will that give us the freedom to design it to include everything we want to offer members, we will make sure it is a place Tilda actually wants to run about nakey and play to her little heart’s desire,” Leo said, ducking when Tilda shot the paper off her straw at him.
“It will allow us to include all the safety measures that we found severely lacking in the places we’ve seen,” she added firmly.
Things they’d both mentioned had me leaning forward and speaking in a serious tone.
“Most importantly, no matter how we design our place or which apparatus we set up in stations, our commitment is to make it a place where all members can enjoy all sorts of different kinks. I don’t want anyone feeling as if others are yucking their yum.
Inclusion is probably the most verbalized complaint I’ve heard ever since I stepped into the first club back when we were freshmen.
I want our club to be different, where Doms, Dommes, and their submissives feel welcome and comfortable and where–”
“Littles can play without fearing they’ll be exposed as weirdos and freaks.”
Three heads whipped up to see Dawn had returned with a large carafe, a bowl of individual, flavored creamers, and a trio of glasses full of orange juice.
“Important meetings also require a healthy dose of Vitamin C. It will help strengthen your immune systems so that this club can be built quicker. God knows, a lot of people have been searching for that hidden gem among a whole lot of dirt and scum. And don’t worry, the juice is on me.
Consider it my contribution to the future of your club.
” With that soliloquy, she transferred the items from her tray to the table and asked me and Tilda if we planned on eating anything.
“I’ll just need an extra plate,” Tilda said.
Leo chuckled having made the right call, while I ordered chicken and waffles with a side of hashbrowns.
“I’ll bring it right out,” Dawn assured us as she turned to walk away.
I grinned as I watched Tilda’s eyes follow the young woman’s hips as they swayed beneath the skirt of her uniform.
When Dawn was out of sight, Tilda gave a soft sigh and I chuckled.
“If that’s not a sign this is the direction we need to go, I don’t know what is.
” I lifted my glass of juice. “A toast.”
My friends lifted theirs and I smiled. “To Dawn.” I ignored the way both their foreheads furrowed and continued, “For not only vouching for the need of a different type of club, but for naming it as well.” The two exchanged looks of confusion and my smile grew.
“The search she spoke about will be over the moment we open the door and welcome people to Gem.”
Confusion changed to understanding and then to huge smiles and nods, agreeing on the name.
“To Gem,” Leo said, tapping his glass against mine.