“I got you.” I turned to Chad and Scooter. “We’ll be right back. Ash has to pee.”
“You can’t just leave us,” said Chad. “The invitation was very specific. We were supposed to bring girls.”
“Okay. Slavanka will stay with you guys. I’ll go with Ash.”
“Actually,” said Ash. “I’d prefer if Slavanka went with me. You know…since she has a sword and all.”
I shrugged. “As long as you don’t have to go alone, then the Single Girl Rules are satisfied.”
Slavanka and Ash ran off.
“What now?” asked Chad.
And to answer his question, a door opened.
A cloaked figure emerged. “Good evening, gentlemen. Thank you for coming. And for bringing such a beautiful offering. Please join us.” He stepped aside and gestured into the room. A dozen or so cloaked figures were inside, all lounging on plush sofas talking to girls in party dresses. I craned my neck to see if Adonis was one of the guys. The cloaks made it difficult to be sure, but none of them looked quite tall enough to be him.
Chad started to walk in, but the cloaked man put his arm up to bar his entry. “Not you. I was talking to her.”
“Huh?” asked Chad. “Then what are we supposed to do?”
He pointed down the hallway. “Go down the hall and take a left. Door 3A.”
“So you want us to go into some weird room while you party with my girl?”
“The company you keep reveals a great deal about your character. Now please, let’s not waste any more time. You’re already one of the last to arrive.” He gestured again for me to enter the room.
So I was supposed to go flirt with the members of the Gryphon Club while Chad got hazed? Hmmm…
“No thanks,” I said. “Door 3A sounds more fun.” I booped him on his masked nose and then hooked arms with Chad and Scooter. We walked off down the hall while the cloaked figure surely gaped at me. And definitely stared at my ass. Because this dress hugged me in all the right places.
“Are you sure that was the right move?” whispered Chad.
“Yeah. Think about it. The Gryphon Club wants grown ass men. Not little bitches who are willing to let them flirt with their girls. The only thing they’ll be able to talk about all night is the smoke show in the little red dress who didn’t want to hang with them.”
“Shit, you’re right,” said Chad.
“I know.” I opened door 3A and we walked into an antechamber with a table right in the center. Little notecards sat on silver trays. It was like name cards at a wedding. Only instead of names, these just had numbers. And we must have been awfully late to the party, because only three remained. The sign in the middle of the table instructed us to “TAKE ONE, LEAVE YOUR PHONE, AND GO TO YOUR PLACE.”
The only three numbers left were 22, 23, and 24.
Hmmm… Single Girl Rule #23: Never back down from a huge cock. #Fearless. The first part of that didn’t apply here (unless this hazing was about to get very interesting), but the #Fearless definitely did. So I grabbed 23.
Chad took 22, and Scooter took 24. We put our phones in a big bowl and then joined the rest of the pledges in the main room. The light was so dim that it was hard to make out much, but it appeared to be a library that had been stripped of all furniture. The only thing that remained were floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves, a ton of books, and a number of old marble busts.
No, not just any number of busts. There were 24 of them. And each one was wearing a gold medallion with a number on it. The only three without someone standing in front of them were the three numbers we’d just grabbed.
I walked over to #23, and as I got closer, I was sure I’d made the right choice. Because while most of the busts were of wrinkly old men, #23 was a total stud. Based on his twirly mustache and mutton chops, I guessed he’d been dead for at least 150 years. But back in his day, I bet that dude fucked.
“Good evening,” boomed a voice.
“Holy shit,” hissed Chad, jumping and clutching my arm.
I patted his hand to calm him. There was nothing to be afraid of. The five cloaked figures that had appeared on the far side of the library weren’t even carrying and swords or ropes or anything. Although I was quite curious about how they had appeared there. Because there were no doors on that side of the library…
One of the cloaked men stepped forward. “Welcome to the most important night of your lives. Four teams will set out tonight. But only one will return victorious.”
He stepped back and another cloaked man stepped forward. I wasn’t really sure why…maybe the first guy could only remember those three lines? Either way, it made for a nice dramatic effect.