Chapter 7 Ryder
RYDER
Ryder woke up with something he hadn’t experienced for a while: morning wood!
He had a cute little redhead to thank for that.
It had been torture sending Felix home last night, but it would all be worth it.
His instincts told him there was something special about Felix, so he was going with it, and his typical alarm bells reminding him of a painful past were silent, which he welcomed.
They’d made out on his sofa like horny teenagers for over an hour, but then reluctantly, he’d let Felix leave before his restraint crumbled.
Now he had to decide what to do for their date, without being extravagant or extra.
Ryder liked to spend money on those he cared about.
He didn’t have a barometer for etiquette on dates because it had been years since he’d been on one, and sharing a takeaway with someone so they could refuel before you gave them another hard fucking didn’t count.
Not that he wouldn’t love to do something like that with Felix.
He just knew he’d be a firecracker in bed when he was loosened up. Ryder snorted at his own joke.
Ryder could be moderate with a date if he put his mind to it.
He hadn’t always had money, and he wasn’t na?ve enough to think the bubble would never burst. Ever since Ryder had made big money, it had been divided into two—one half went towards the future, and the other covered his living expenses and lifestyle.
Sebastian had advised him on how best to invest his money for a steady return, and regardless of how much he made each month, half his net income went into investments. No exceptions.
The living expenses included all his bills, but because he owned his apartment outright, it still left him with a sizeable disposable income, which gave him the lifestyle he loved.
His personal training business had been successful before, so the money had been good, and now his online academy was a reliable passive income, and he had a good team running it for him.
He wasn’t a businessperson, and he knew that.
But he was hot as fuck, and would do whatever the team needed as the face of the business to keep those dollars coming in.
It would be something he could fall back on when the influencer bubble ever burst.
Ryder had an appointment with his therapist in an hour, but given the reaction he’d had to Felix, he was less concerned.
Still, he’d promised his friends he would go, and he always kept his promises.
Besides, if something was wrong, he’d rather know now instead of later when he got Felix into his bed.
The thought of the gorgeous redhead had him reaching for his swollen cock.
He pictured Felix with his kissable lips stretched wide around it.
He was already soaked with precum, so he could coat his head and shaft, making it easy to speed things up.
He imagined Felix taking all of his cock down his throat—few people could, but he knew Felix wouldn’t disappoint him.
Those innocent eyes would look up at him as Ryder pushed in further, choking the air out of him, pliable and eager to please.
“Fuck!”
Ryder shot gallons of cum all over his chest and abs.
His body pulsed with pleasure as the orgasm continued, more and more cum shooting out of his cock, the buildup of three weeks releasing in one hit.
His body trembled with aftershocks as he breathed deeply, bringing his heart rate back down.
Looking down at his still hard cock and his body coated in jizz, he felt a wave of emotion and almost started crying.
What was wrong with him? That had been one of the quickest and most intense orgasms of his life, and it was proof his dick wasn’t broken.
Why was he close to tears? It had to be Felix.
That boy was doing something to him, and he wasn’t sure what it was.
All he knew was that he couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.
“It’s been a while, Ryder. How have you been?”
Antonio de Luca was an Italian wet dream, if you went for that sort of thing.
Ryder may have chosen his therapist based on his picture on the website, but he’d quickly gotten over that little crush.
Antonio had helped him so much over the past three years.
When his life had gone crazy and people started recognizing him on the street, it was difficult.
That might sound like “first world problems,” but when you’re in the public eye, there’s an expectation of you.
You can’t have a bad day because someone will be there to catch it on camera.
Any wrong word could go viral and your livelihood would be gone.
It’s not like you can walk into a regular job when you’ve been canceled.
Ryder was a lot more relaxed about it now.
He was himself, or at least as close to his real self as he was comfortable with.
Some things would always be private. His family remained off limits, and people were mostly respectful of that.
“I’m not sure I need this appointment anymore if I’m being honest, doc.”
“Why don’t you have a seat and tell me what made you book it in the first place?”
Ryder sat in one of the squishy armchairs.
Antonio always sat in a solid looking chair, which looked hard and uncomfortable.
The office was sparsely decorated, with few personal touches, but the portrait of the elderly woman awash in pride colors was still there.
It was one of the things that had made Ryder choose Antonio as his therapist. He needed them to be another queer guy, so he could be completely open without concern.
He had some fantastic straight male friends, and they were staunch allies, but he wouldn’t regale them with a story about rimming a twink for three hours.
Though to be fair, his queer friends didn’t enjoy hearing those stories either.
“I thought my dick was broken, but it looks like it’s okay.”
Antonio’s lips twitched, like he was suppressing a smirk. He said nothing, just nodded at Ryder to continue.
Ryder explained what had happened, not sparing any details, and Antonio didn’t flinch, just listened. He wasn’t a note-taking kind of therapist either. You had his full attention the whole time. When he talked about Felix, Ryder became more animated, and when he looked at Antonio he was smiling.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen you speak about someone like this. You’re gushing.”
“No I’m not. Hopefully I’ll be gushing after our date, though.”
Antonio just shook his head, smiling.
“What?”
“You really like this guy. What it is about him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because when I first made a move he slapped me across the face and stormed out.”
Antonio laughed. It didn’t happen often, but Ryder loved it when he made the doc crack.
“Before we talk about Felix, have you gotten your test results back yet?”
“No. Should be a couple of days. Why do you think I can’t get hard for anyone but him? Do you think he could be a witch?”
Antonio snorted. “You make our sessions very memorable, Ryder.”
“Thanks, doc,” he said, preening from the compliment.
“There could be a lot of things at play here, Ryder. If we take Felix out of the equation for a second . . . You couldn’t perform with a new partner, or should I say, partners.
You also had a regular partner, who you were familiar with but weren’t interested in.
Then you also weren’t able to masturbate.
Was there anything stressing you out at the time? ”
“No. My life’s great.”
“Any changes? Did anything happen before the first incident?”
Ryder thought, but nothing sprang to mind.
“It doesn’t need to be anything sexual, or even emotional. Perhaps there was a disruption to your routine?”
“The only thing I can think of is that Friendsgiving was canceled. Well, not canceled, but different.”
“How?”
“Sebastian, Deacon, and Max went on a cruise with their men. The singletons were left to do their own thing.”
“How did you feel about that?”
“I was pissed.”
“Why?”
“Ugh. Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“Focus, Ryder. Why were you pissed?”
“I guess because they’re all pairing off. The other two will be next. Ethan has a secret thing on the go, and Mason just needs to pull his head of out his ass and do something about the guy right in front of him. Where will that leave me once they all have someone?”
“I know Sebastian moving to London was difficult for you. Did you ever talk to him about that?”
“How could I? He’s so happy with Charlie, who’s the perfect guy for him. Why would I taint that by trying to make my best friend feel guilty?”
Out of all of them, Sebastian was the one he was closest to, which was why he’d bought an apartment in the same building.
Sebastian was like a big brother to Ryder.
Growing up, he’d been the oldest and the only boy, so when his dad had died, he’d had to be the man of the house, and he’d stepped up to that challenge.
He’d never thought of how much he could get from the guidance of an older sibling until he’d met Sebastian.
“Your intention wouldn’t be to make him feel guilty, Ryder. How long has Sebastian lived in London for?”
“It’ll be two years in the spring.”
“Don’t you think it’s time to have that conversation? Put it to bed?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Ryder!”
“That growly voice might work on your twinks, but it doesn’t work on me, doc.”
Antonio smiled and shook his head.
Ryder was making assumptions, but Antonio was all solid muscle and chiseled jaw.
He gave off major alpha energy, but then so did most of his friends.
Now they’d all turned into soft tops, though.
He wasn’t sure what Antonio’s story was, or even if he had a partner—the man was very guarded about his personal life, which was understandable—but Ryder was a nosy bastard. Antonio was still staring at him.
“Fine. I’ll talk to him when he’s next over.”