Shit is scary out there. Had a situation recently that definitely reinforced how spooky it is being a woman in public.
So I'm chilling with the crew at a bar, came out to catch a homie mixing originals. One of our friends is a cutie. She's with 3 of us fellas. We're in a booth, very obviously a group that came here together. One of the regulars kicks it with us for a bit, harmless banter, classic bar chat shit.
He ends up chilling for a while. We're cracking jokes & having fun, he says his dude owns the bar, etc. He gets a bit flirty (again, felt fully harmless at the time), goes to fetch us a round of brew. She only wanted a water by this stage in the night. When she finally gets around to taking a small sip all her internal alarm bells go off, thinks sum'm tastes off.
We manage to pick up the vibe and dip before anything extra sketch went down and had a lil debrief, made sure everyone was ok etc... One of my dudes had also taken a decent gulp first and seemingly got pretty woozy off it. Now, I can't for sure confirm whether it was truly laced or just shitty dirty bar hose water and a mild panic attack. Can't say whether homie was chemically woozy or placebo woozy (very well could've been tired from long day and lots of brew + dancing), but either way, enough to be a scary situation! We're like 95% sure shit was sketchy.
Absolutely worth trusting the gut when you get an off feeling. Better safe than sorry, all that. As a dude, I've NEVER needed to think twice about a gift beverage at a bar. I circle lots of music scenes and almost every single time I'm out I'll catch a random free drink, smoke, lol candy or whatever off a stranger randomly offering. I've definitely asked to confirm what these gifts are, but generally felt safe enough to take their answers at face value.
Ladies DEFINITELY can't be as cavalier about gifts from strangers though... That's how they end up the subject of these crime podcasts.
Idk, felt like a relevant story to share.
Stay safe, stay frosty, y'all ❤️ Good weekends all around!