The coward chickens out. He takes one step forward and just about immediately flees. âOh, did I hurt your feelings?â Dominic words trail after him, mocking him unabashedly. He hopes he has hurt his feelings. If Dominic didnât know any better, he thinks scares the other. Good. Dominic loves inspiring a little fear.
âDid that guy just leave?â
Dominic turns to see a waiter and raises his glass at him. âSure looks like he did, doesnât it sport?â
Dominic makes a face that clearly says: âWhy should this bother me?â The waiter, in turn, holds out the strangerâs check.Â
âUh no, we werenât.â
But they had been standing together for a good 5 to 10 minutes. It is an understandable mistake.
âGuess you better find him then -â The waiter responds stoically, â- or Iâm putting it on your tab, George.â Dominic realizes he recognizes this waiter. âHeâs been beta orbiting the entire evening. Someoneâs paying for all the scotch.â
And with that, the server is gone, disappearing into the crowd before Dominic can ask if heâd happened to catch the loserâs name. With the frustrated âwhat the fuck,â Dominic turns around just in time to see the tail of the betaâs suit jacket disappearing into the bathroom. Fine! This should be easy enough. Swirling his drink, Dominic downs it in one go.
The dark, glossy tiled bathroom is empty - except for one closed stall door. Dominic enters and quickly spots the cowardâs hiding space, hearing the shuffling behind it. It has to be the guy. âHanging out in the club bathroom,â Dominic calls out. âThis is really taking me back to my coked out college frat boy days ââÂ
He takes a few steps forward - and thatâs when he hears it. A soft sniffling. A heavy inhale. âWhat the fuck?â Dominic exclaims out loud. âAre you CRYING?â His voice gets louder at the word âcryingâ and itâs good thing thereâs no one else in here otherwise heâs certain the embarrassment would have made the other burst into full-blown tears.  With swift strides, Dom crosses over to the stall and bangs his fist on the door. He jiggles the cheap metal handle when the other makes it clear that heâs not going to let him in. Crying? What is this? High school?
âWhat did you think was gonna happen you beta bitch? You were off your game the second you stepped up to the plate. Did you think you were going to - what? Sweep them off their feet? Serious question - has that ever worked out for you?â Dominicâs glaring, drilling holes into the metal of the door as if his acid stare can reach the man on the other side. Heâs still listening intently. âJesus - would you - would you STOP crying on the seat of this bathroom stall like some goddamn 19-year-old? Why is your Rolex the realest thing about you?â
He gives one last smack to the door. Fuck! Whatever! He should finish what he came here for.Â
âWhatever. Cry. No one cares if this all links back to some unaddressed trauma about how your dad left for a pack of cigarettes and never came back. Iâm here because youâve got to pay your bill. The server seems to think weâre together so if you donât, Iâm gonna have to close out for you⌠and thereâs no way in hell Iâm paying for a bunch of Glengoyne wasted on the likes of you.â A pause. âTake a bump or whatever it is you need to man the fuck up and get back out there.â
Nothing. Dominic jostles the door once more.Â
âOpen the door. I just wanna talk.âÂ
Unsurprisingly at all, the sound of the other Dominantâs voice strike anxiety and fear in Enderâs heart in equal measures. He canât take any more tonight, he just canât. So he tries to quickly straighten up, though the banging on the door which makes Ender jump does nothing to settle his nerves. In fact, the way he falls silent while digging his palms into his clenched eyes are indicative of the duress he feels.Â
Ender doesnât know why this is happening, or what he did do warrant the rage of this guy. He just wants it to stop, he wants to take this whole night back. His throat burns, his heart pounds, and all he can do his shrink away from the banging sounds against the stall door. Itâs a pathetic display, he knows itâs a pathetic display, but thereâs just something about the poison his assailant is spewing that hits every. Last. Nerve. The panic he feels is quickly eating away at his grit, and before he knows it Ender snaps.
âShut up!â he screams, raising his head and wiping his face. âShut up shut up shut up! Whatâs your fucking problem, huh?! Why are you doing this?! What did I ever do to you?!â Heâs trembling where he stands, unable to contain himself any longer. In response to the banging on the stall door, Ender slams his palm against it too. âIâm not ... crying! You donât know me, you donât know a damn thing about me! You donât ... you canât...â Heâs thinking about his father now, and his occasional feelings of inadequacy when it comes to expressions of dominance. Is he really that transparent? Or maybe this guy is just that good at getting under peopleâs skin.Â
Either way, Enderâs not going to take it from him lying down any longer. âYou wanna talk? Fine, then ... fuck you! Weâre done talking. Now go be a good little bitch and pay my tab. Just leave me alone!â Anger, humiliation, and fear all swirl together in Enderâs mind and in response he forces himself to gather his courage and be strong if only for a moment. His influencer gods would kick his ass if they saw him cowering away from a challenge. Ender is the man after all, the alpha, the one on top. He doesnât need any of this crap. âYeah, thatâs all you are, a mean little pussy bitch whoâs only good for servicing real Doms. Like me. And you canât do anything about it.â Yeah, thatâs right. If this guy is already on the hook for paying Enderâs tab, then all Ender has to do is stay in the stall. He can wait this dude out and slip away before anyone who witnesses his embarrassment can see him again and start laughing. He slams his palm against the door a couple more times in an attempt to intimidate the other. âWhat are you going to do, huh? Nothing, thatâs what. You canât lay a finger on me. Ha!âÂ