Chapter 10 #2
“I’ve got him with me.”
Who was he speaking to?
“I’m taking him home . . . No, Ryder. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Felix’s heart sped up. Mason was speaking to Ryder. Why hadn’t he called Felix? Didn’t he want to speak to him?
“He needs to go home and get his head round this stuff first. We’re used to this. He isn’t, Ryder.”
“What does he want?” asked Felix.
Mason waved him off as if it was nothing for him to worry about, which annoyed him. He wasn’t a child. If Ryder had a problem with him, he wanted to know about it now. Without thinking, he snatched the phone off Mason.
“You can talk directly to me you know, Ryder.”
“Baby, how are you doing?”
The endearment made him preen, even though it was close to the “babe” which Sam had used. It felt affectionate rather than patronizing, though.
“I haven’t looked at everything yet. How bad is it?”
“It’s just people who are jealous. Always best not read the stuff like that.”
Felix took a sharp intake of breath as his mind went into overdrive imagining what people had been saying about him.
“Why don’t you come and stay here tonight? I think it’ll be good to have someone with you who knows how to navigate all this shit.”
“I’m not sure . . . What if people take more pictures or something?”
“Let them. Those pictures of us kissing are hot by the way.”
“There are pictures of us kissing?”
“Just come over here, Felix. This is on me. Let me look after you. No funny business. You can stay in the spare room.”
Felix felt a wave of disappointment from him saying that. Despite everything, he would love to be wrapped up in Ryder’s powerful arms right now.
“I need to let Laura know I’m okay, then I’ll come over.”
“Okay, baby. Put Mason back on. I’ll see you soon.”
He handed the phone back to Mason, who spoke to Ryder, but he zoned them out.
Why was he going round there at night? Because it was Ryder, and he couldn’t say no to the pull there was between them.
He looked at his phone again, which felt like a grenade in his hand.
Once he opened it, there’d be no putting the explosion away.
“We’re going back to yours first. Ryder said Laura would want to see you were okay in person. He suggested you pick up clothes for a few days.”
“Days? Am I being kidnapped?”
Mason chuckled. “I’m sure Ryder would like to kidnap you.”
Felix flushed and felt nervous. He remembered the warning Mason gave him and wanted to ask him about it, but kept quiet.
He didn’t want to think about Ryder just using him for sex.
That didn’t feel like the man he’d had the two wonderful dates with—three if you counted the evening at his apartment.
Even with those bitches getting under his skin at the end of it, nothing could take away the memories of how it felt to be touched and kissed by Ryder. Something they would never experience.
They pulled up at his apartment building. Mason offered to go in with him, but Felix needed to speak to Laura alone. He hadn’t even looked at her messages, or listened to her voice notes. She loved sending those. He found them irritating, which is probably why she kept doing it.
“Take your time. I’ll wait here for you.”
“I can get an Uber.”
“No chance. Ryder would kill me.”
Felix wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just nodded and got out. As soon as he opened the door to his apartment, Laura barreled into him with a hug.
“I’ve been so worried about you.”
She squeezed him tighter, and then when she broke the hug, she slapped him on the arm.
“Ow. What was that for?”
“Ignoring me all day. I’ve been worried sick. If Ryder hadn’t called me, I would have marched over to that wedding myself.”
“Ryder called you?”
“Of course. He was worried about you. How are you feeling anyway? It’s fucking crazy, isn’t it? How something like two guys on a date can go viral.”
“You need to tell me because I haven’t even looked at my phone. I’ve got thousands of notifications and my followers have gone down. How bad is it?”
“You haven’t even looked?” She looked nervous, which was not like Laura.
“Just give me the highlights. How much do his fans hate me?”
“Probably about thirty percent. The rest are on your side.”
“Side? What are they even saying?”
She hesitated.
“Just tell me.”
“It’s mostly that they don’t think you’re right for Ryder, and that you’re only after his fame to build your own business.”
“That’s it?”
“Mostly. There are some trolls who think you’re not good enough, but that’s mostly skanks who think they’d have a chance with him.”
“So I’m not good enough and trying to use him to further my business. Anything else?”
“Some gays want you to start an OnlyFans, so they can watch Ryder give you a pounding with his ten-inch cock.”
Felix burst out laughing. The gays never disappointed with their thirstiness, even in a crisis.
“Wait. Did you say ten inches?”
“That’s just online rumors, but just in case, should I buy you some adult diapers?”
“Oh. My. God. You really need a filter, woman.”
To be fair, from what he’d been able to glimpse when it was running down his leg the other night, ten inches was probably not an exaggeration.
She laughed. “Have you eaten?”
“I had something at the wedding. I need to pack a bag anyway.”
“A bag? Where are you going?”
“Ryder wants me to spend the night there.”
“Ooh. Hot!”
“In his spare room.”
“Boo!”
Felix couldn’t help but laugh. He asked Laura to help him choose some clothes, and she squealed with delight at him being away for a few days and what it could mean.
Laura ran through lots of scenarios of what they might do in that time, and even suggested he pack his tuxedo in case they went out somewhere posh.
The last thing Felix wanted to do was go out in public with Ryder again if people had such strong views about them.
It was easy to ignore someone online, but in person . . . he wasn’t sure if he could do that.
Despite her pushiness, Felix just packed clothes for a few days, and nothing that would be suitable for going out anywhere public above the standard of a diner.
He took his camera and laptop, so he could still do his work.
His next gig wasn’t until the weekend, and he’d be back home by then, but he wanted to play it safe in case something last minute came up.
Once he was all packed up, he gave her a hug and promised to text her when he arrived safely and to call her in the morning.
The whole situation was bizarre. He wasn’t even sure why he was going to Ryder’s apartment.
Did he think something was going to happen between them?
He wanted it to, but still believed that once they had sex, Ryder would lose interest in him.
He made his way downstairs. The driver saw him and jumped out to take his bags and put them in the trunk. Mason smiled at him when he got in the car.
“I’ll let Ryder know we’re on the way.”
Felix couldn’t do anything but nod. He was a bag of nerves.
Why hadn’t he just stayed with Laura in the sanctuary of his apartment?
There was nothing he could do about it now, as the car pulled out, but he didn’t know what to expect when he got to Ryder’s place.
There was a part of him that was excited, but another that was terrified he was making a big mistake—one he would live to regret.