NOTE ON CONDOM USE
Because this is a fantasy and no lives are in danger and there's no possibility of pregnancy (unless conceived in my creative brain) I have eschewed the use of condoms. You may assume one of the following: Condoms are, in fact, being used (hard to assume in some cases). We're in a time warp and have gone back to the early 70's. Everyone has been tested and given a clean bill of health and (unlike real human beings) have a deep sense of integrity which precludes them from engaging in sex with anyone who can't prove they also have tested negative. These people are nuts.
I am not, in any way, advocating for the abolishment of condoms in real life. This is fantasy, folks.
*
CHAPTER ONE
The first time I heard about the Happy Lady's House of Roosters I was having my nails done. Shelly, my regular manicurist, turned to Roberta, her co-worker, obviously continuing a conversation that had been interrupted by my arrival.
"She's crazy," Shelly said as she began working on my left hand. "What woman in her right mind would want to join a club just to get screwed on a regular basis?"
"Who's crazy?" I said.
"Oh, some woman in town I heard about," Roberta said. "She's starting a rooster club or something like that. Like a whorehouse only with men in it instead of women."
"She's nuts," Shelly said. "Women aren't like that. And, anyway, it's easy enough to find a man to do that for free."
Maybe, I thought to myself. Maybe if you were an extrovert like Shelly and had the time to spend searching for a suitable man it would be easy. And in Shelly's case she'd had a steady boyfriend for the last seven years so she was talking off the top of her head.
By the time my nails were done my head was buzzing with fantastical ideas that made me want to squirm.
The second time I heard about the Happy Lady's House of Roosters I happened to catch part of a conversation between two well dressed women in the dairy products aisle of the grocery store.
"It was fun," one of them was saying. "I can say that I'm a happy lady. I was with Garth and I'd recommend him to anyone. He looks like a caveman but he's really sweet. He makes the damndest noises when he's doing it."
Doing what? I lingered as if uncertain as to precisely which brand of yogurt I wanted to buy.
"Are you thinking of joining?" The other woman said.
"I just might," the first woman replied as the two of them began to move away. "The place is kind of funky right now and there are only three roosters to choose from but Dorothy has big plans."
Roosters? Why did that word ring a bell?
The third time the House of Roosters entered my life it was during a lunch date with my best friend Ellie.
"Hey, Melissa have you heard about this new club called the House of Roosters?" Ellie said after we'd exhausted our usual catch-up chit chat.
"Like a brothel, only for women?" I said.
"Yeah."
"A couple of things. Nothing very specific."
"Do you think it sounds interesting?" Ellie asked.
Ellie and I are close and at various times in the course of our friendship we'd discussed our sexual frustrations and experiences. Never in a lot of detail but enough to know that we both enjoyed sex and wanted more than we were getting. Which, for me at least, wasn't very much at all.
"Kinda," I said.
"Only kinda?"
"Well," I said. "It's kind of a weird idea. I mean, I find it exciting to think about but what's it like in reality? I heard someone say it's kind of funky and that there's this guy there who looks like a caveman.
"Shit, you know more about it than I do." Ellie said.
"But the woman who said it seemed to like the place. And the caveman guy."
"Let's check it out," Ellie said.
"How?" I said. "All I know is that it's supposed to be somewhere in the city. Maybe it's already been shut down."
"I found it on the Internet," Ellie said. "There isn't much on the website but I do have a phone number." She took a card out of her purse and slid it towards me.
"Oh, right," I said. "You're going to make me call this place."
"I found the phone number," Ellie said. In truth this was how we usually operated; Ellie tended to be more the nerd while I had the people skills.
"Okay," I said. "I'll do it."
It took me two weeks to work up the nerve. After telling myself every day I was going to make the call I finally did.
"The House of Roosters," a cultured older woman's voice said.
"Ah, yeah..." I said, my mind suddenly blank.
"It's okay, honey," the woman said with a hint of laughter. "I realize this is scary at first. Why don't we set up a meeting and I'll explain what I'm doing and answer any questions you might have. My name is Dorothy, by the way."
"Okay," I said. "I'm Melissa." After a minute or two of discussion we settled on a time and she gave me her address.
"Oh," I said. "Is it all right if I bring a friend?"
"Male or female," Dorothy said.
"Female," I said.
"Sure, no problem," Dorothy said. "I'll see you both Thursday."
"This is not what I expected," Ellie said when we pulled up in front of an ordinary looking but rather large split-level ranch style house on a quiet suburban street. I had to agree.
Only a moment after ringing the doorbell the door opened and a short, pudgy, smiling, older Hispanic woman ushered us in. "I'm Dorothy," she said, shaking both our hands. "Please come this way." Ellie and I traded glances as we followed her plump sweat suit clad body and then looked around. There wasn't a rooster to be seen.
After offering us a choice of refreshments Dorothy guided us to a large round dining table.
"Now for the spiel," she said once we were seated. "Men have been able to indulge their sexual fantasies for centuries, millenniums, so it's time for women to be able to do the same. The problem, as I see it, is that it's difficult for women to control their experiences in a way that gives them maximum pleasure with minimum hassle. Too often men hijack a woman's search for sexual pleasure and use it for their own satisfaction. Am I right?"
Ellie and I looked at each other. I could read her affirmation in her eyes. This was making sense.
Dorothy watched us and nodded. "I thought so," she said. "What I'm trying to do is create a network of women who will then facilitate the types of erotic entertainment they most enjoy. I think of it as a club. Like the old gentleman's clubs in Victorian times with yearly dues and a board of directors. What do you think so far?"
"Wow," I said.
"Yeah," said Ellie.
"I have to admit that this is more of a fantasy right now than anything else," Dorothy said. "But I've found several men who meet my standards and have been talking to a number of women like the two of you so I'm beginning to believe it can be done. At this point all I'm doing is making connections and hosting a party every now and then. Would either of you be interested in being added to the mailing list?"
"I would," Ellie said. No hesitation.
"Yeah, me too," I said.
"Great," Dorothy said, handing us each a short form for contact information and a ballpoint pen. "I know I don't look like it," she said, leaning back in her chair. "But there's nothing I love more than cock. Fucking them. Sucking them. Feeling them. Watching them shoot. Oh man."
In shock, Ellie and I started laughing. Dorothy grinned.
"My husband died three years ago. No, it's okay," she said as our laughter abruptly faltered. "He was a good man and after watching what cancer did to his body I'm glad he's at peace. But in his prime we fucked three or four times a day. Yeah," she said, seeing our expressions, "I don't look like I'm hot to trot, do I? But I am. And about a year after he died I went a little crazy. I got on the Internet and fucked everything in pants I could find. Thank God I didn't catch anything."
"That's the thing," she continued, "I always knew what I was doing was dangerous, not to mention stupid, not only because of disease but because of the potential for physical abuse as well. I was lucky. And on top of that I found myself catering to what the men wanted rather than following my own desires. That's where the idea for the House of Roosters came from. I wanted a safe place where I was in control."
"Yeah," Ellie said. Wistfully.
A short time later Ellie and I were headed back to our own side of the city.
"Whoa," said Ellie, "That's one wild lady."
"No kidding," I said. "But I really like her idea."
"Oh, I love it," Ellie said. "I'm not criticizing her. I want to be like her."
"Really?" I said, looking across the car seat at her. "I knew you liked sex but..."
Her face wore a fierce expression. "I don't talk about it because it's so frustrating to want it so bad and know that it will never happen. But maybe now." She took a deep breath. "But maybe now I'll be able to fuck the way I've always dreamed of fucking. Maybe."
It was over a month before we heard from Dorothy again. Ellie called me to say that she'd received an email announcing a meeting to plan the expansion of the House of Roosters club. When I checked my email I found that I'd gotten one too.