And I was right. Without saying a word, he got up from the table, wandered down the hall, and climbed into his cubicle. Buck and I were definitely not making any progress here.
River was the only one left at the table, which was fine by me. "I'm surprised Chuck doesn't want a shower before letting those groupies have his body."
River grinned. "Doesn't need to. Those girls will lick him clean."
My gut churned involuntarily, and I realized I was nowhere near the level of these groupies, blindly willing to engage in Chuck's twisted kink. I almost retched at the thought of licking whatever it was that was stinking up the bus.
And then things got worse. The bedroom door flew open, and Chuck stepped out, completely naked. From my seat in the living room, I could see more than I wanted to. I could see his excited state, which like the rest of him was tall and well built. I could also see two naked women hanging on his shoulders, and behind him, two more laying on the bed. These were not things I wanted to see.
Chuck bellowed out across the bus. "Annalisa! Join us. I've saved my thighs for you, girl! Lick me and then I'll lick you." And here I thought River was joking.
Any interest I may have had in Chuck's physique was instantly obliterated. How was it possible for any woman to be so desperate for this man that she would overlook his smelly body and smellier attitude? River must have noticed my reaction because he burst out laughing. I needed to escape Chuck's pandering, so I got off the bus.
Standing outside in the fresh air, I took a few long breaths to purge my lungs. It didn't help. I flopped against the side of the bus with my head down and my hands on my knees.
"How did you like the show?" Jason was standing there, smoking a cigarette. He was talking about the music, of course, but I was thinking about a different show that I'd just seen.
"You were right about them. Chuck has got to be the biggest pig on the planet, River doesn't say much, and Buck gets upset by everything I do. Only Gabe is nice to me. Not what I expected."
"I warned you. But you said you wanted a fiery life, right? So get back in there and burn. Fifteen thousand women would trade their ovaries to be you right now."
"That's an unpleasant image. You actually think I can get along with these guys? How? By watching them screw and get drunk?"