They only clap for a couple more seconds then look at him expectantly.

"Uh," he says, "hi.  I'm Lewis.  I'm from Florida.  Most people I know back home aren't really big on subs' rights, and, like, I'm a dom, and I've always known I'm a dom, so I've never really been to something like this.  I'm here now because, uh, there's a lot of amazing subs in my life, and I want to learn more about what doms like me can do to help with how subs are treated and stuff."  He tries to think of something else to say, and then says, jokingly,  "Also because this seemed like a good place to meet cute subs."

...there's a bit of an awkward silence after he says that last thing, but Allie quickly breaks it with a, "Well, it's really good of you to show up, and we hope you learn a lot here! Welcome, Lewis!"

Everyone repeats the "Welcome, Lewis" line, some less enthusiastically than others.

"Thanks!" he says.

...he is, uh, pretty sure he did something wrong here and not sure what it was.  This is a pretty normal state of affairs for Lewis, so it doesn't faze him too much.

"So, I know everyone else here, but Michael, this is your first meeting, did Natalie finally get through to you?"

"I just didn't have anything better to do." Natalie punches him again and he grins. "And yeah sure she convinced me of the merits of coming."

"So why don't you start with a story, then?" Allie encourages.

"Sure," he shrugs. "So last year I had a dom called Monica—" Natalie grimaces. "Come on, she wasn't that bad!" ("Was too," Lewis catches James muttering.) "Anyway, she took me to this restaurant and that was the first time I had a dom so I was kinda acting all subby and stuff—had a collar and all—and the waitress insisted on getting my orders from her instead of me. Like even after I called her out on it she just apologized and started looking at me for my orders but then she'd wait until Monica confirmed everything. That was crappy, I didn't tip."

"Now come on that's a bit harsh—" starts Kylie but Allie interrupts with, "We can talk about tipping later. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Michael."

He shrugs. "She was just an asshole."

Lewis...sort of figured that subs liked that.  Or, well, the sorts of subs who wore collars to restaurants liked that, anyway.  

(Subs are confusing).

"Did your dom stand up for you or anything?" he asks

Michael gives him a look and Kylie opens her mouth but Allie says, "While it's more likely she would have been heard, it should not have been necessary in the first place; if a sub gives their dom permission to order for them then this is easy to see, but assuming a priori that that's the case is harmful and erases subs' autonomy, especially when the sub explicitly requests to be heard. Think about it this way—imagine someone kept asking your parents about your preferences instead of you, and ignoring what you said. That would be pretty annoying at first, right? And if it kept up it would also feel pretty hurtful and invalidating, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah.  That'd be bad," says Lewis.  "And I didn't really get that before.  But I guess what I'm saying is...if something like that happens to you, your dom shouldn't have to stand up for you, because people should just listen to you.  But your dom should stand up for you anyway, or they're a shit person and a shit dom.  You know?"

"Hold that thought," says Allie. "We'll talk about that after everyone's told their story, but I like the way you think."

Lutan holds that thought but also looks maybe slightly pleased with himself.

There are a couple more stories about microaggressions in a similar vein, and then it's Lewis' turn.

"So, uh, one time I was having lunch with this cute, uh, switch—that wasn't the weird part, I'm totally cool with switches—and she was treating me really weird, not even bad, just weird."  He scratches his neck a little and looks at the floor.  "Like, she was looking at me in a way that felt kind of…" good "weird," he finishes lamely, aware that he's repeating himself but unable to find the right words to describe what he felt like during that conversation.  "And then she asked me why I kept my hair short, and I said because I was a dom.  Turns out, she thought I was a sub the whole time."  He makes a bit of a face.  "Like, that isn't what you want to hear from a cute...switch on your first day here, you know?  So that's my story."

"Classic," snorts James. "Assuming someone else's role just like that."

"Why did she assume that?" wonders Kylie.