He was 160 kg, almost 2 meters tall, a jaw made of chromium-steel and a bar bouncer. When he picked me up off the floor and helped me outside he told me I had a good punch. He wasn’t even angry with me. He was amused. I am far luckier than I deserve. His name was Amos. When I found out he had a sister, I got a good look at her picture to make sure I never, ever hit on her.
Felix wasn’t that guy. He also wasn’t getting back up. ‘Best’ of all, no one was going see how he was. I hoped I hadn’t killed him, or broken his neck. Before I could go to him I heard a voice behind me.
“Is this the part where you take his underwear as a trophy?” Dora asked.
“For the love of G – the Goddesses, tell me you are joking,” I gasped.
“I got you!” Dora snickered.
“Is someone going to help Felix?” I inquired. I sensed a bit of combat etiquette I was ignorant of. My previous Amazon opponents had always came to me when the fight was over and I’d lost.
Usually they stood over me until I regained consciousness. Felix wasn’t getting that courtesy. He was being studiously ignored and I would have been separating myself from the ‘lioness pride’ to help him. It was moral judgment time – Felix wasn’t worth the grief I’d get for disregarding the lesson the rest of the Amazons were administering.
I waited at the closest mat edge, doing my cool-down with Yasmin and a few of my female… I guess I had to consider them friends now. What Felix did in front of them was bad, but they had gone above and beyond in coming to this gym and shattering his sexual anima and turning the crowd against him.
Worse, while the ‘new’ hires couldn’t justify an official corporate campaign against Felix, at the gym he was vulnerable to a propaganda blitz. By lunchtime tomorrow every woman in the building would know of Felix and his predilections toward the female gender. Amazons would still desire him alright. Felix better watch his precious Henie though in case someone decided to explain to him who was really the boss.
After eight minutes, Felix stirred. He leveraged himself, took in his surroundings before letting his gaze settle on me. Any anger over my rudeness was dissipated by the social hostility focused on him. I silently offered up a water bottle. Felix hurriedly sprang up then blew the macho display by nearly tumbling back over.
Felix took the water, splashed some in his face then drank the rest.
“That was fast,” he finally spoke. “Damn fast.”
“It was what it was, Felix,” I stayed neutral. “I hope this settles matter between you and I.” I could read it in his eyes – no way in Hell was this over.
“I’ll stay away from Brooke,” Felix conceded. “Until next time.”
“It was never about Brooke, Felix,” I sighed. “It was about using a woman to get at me. I never cared about anything like that before yet I do now so just don’t do it.” Felix snorted in amusement. He took up a towel and began drying off as he exited the gym.
“He should be…” Oneida got out. I took another gamble.
“No, Oneida,” I rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “He did what a thousand other men would do. He’s an egotistical pain in the ass. He is also a fighter, brave and he refuses to accept defeat easily. You can’t instantly dissect his good qualities from his foul ones.”
“It takes time,” Daphne supported me. She was also soothing any anger over the over-familiarity I was showing to Oneida. “Along with the rest of us, Cael is showing Felix the delicate position men will hold in our world. It is a learning process for all of us.”
“Felix is not a good man,” Oneida stated, “not like our Cael,” she added, clearly crushing on me. Eeeekk!!
“Umm… ladies, thank all of you for your help this evening,” I looked over the group around me. “Having the room divided over Felix’s predations wouldn’t have done any of us much good. I’m glad this morning’s encounter was brought to light. Thank you all.” If someone does you a favor, thank them.
If it is a woman, make doubly sure you tell them exactly what they did and risked for you. They will appreciate it – it strengthens your bond aka the promise of sex. Yes, I’m a sex-obsessed bad little piglet. The looks my Amazons were giving me told me how well my words were working, except for Yasmin, who seemed terribly amused by the whole romantic spectacle.
The resulting shower scene was its own interesting ballet. As a male, I couldn’t be in the center. As a gravitational point in space, the tightest group of Amazons decided on who got into which orbit. Yasmin, despite me being on ‘date’ with her, was exiled to the periphery. I wasn’t going to get into a shoving match over a six minute shower.
Exiting the building was its own paranoid experience. Yasmin and I were leaving together. She was going to take a taxi home, check up on her son, then circle around to my place. We’d figure out ‘where to go out to eat’ from there. Before Yasmin could stop me, I paid the cab for the trip, the wait and the delivery to my place.
(The Ash Men – a history dump, for those not interested)
I strode into my apartment, bike on my shoulder, when I realized I wasn’t alone. Elsa and Katrina – sigh. Breaking and entering? Disrespecting my domicile? This was not the time to be petty, or a stickler for boundaries. I put my bike in its customary place.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I offered as I made my way to the kitchenette.
“Lemonade would be nice,” Katrina stated.
“What is that orange stuff?” Elsa inquired. Yeah, they searched my place already.
“Dark orange, or light orange?” I countered.
“The darker one.”
“That’s carrot juice,” I informed Elsa.
“I’ll try some of that,” she said. I fixed three drinks in tall glasses, handing them out before I joined Katrina on the sofa. Sipping my own lemonade, I turned to face Katrina.
“Oneida is becoming a problem,” Katrina began. “She’s told you some things she shouldn’t have.”
“The Ash Men,” I sighed. “You two being here makes this nothing but bad news.”
“Not so,” Katrina corrected me. “It is a shameful episode in our history; so disgraceful we keep the truth of what really happened a closely guarded secret. Unfortunately, it is something House Arinniti has always felt strongly about and teaches their young.”