5. Ryan
CHAPTER FIVE
Ryan
My fingers tighten around the racket as I wait for Wes to serve.
Sweat trails down my back beneath the quick-drying fabric of my shirt.
The ball launches and Parker volleys it back across the net in one smooth motion.
Oliver, Parker’s brother-in-law, lunges forward, rebounding it off the back glass. I spin to recover it.
“Good cover,” Parker breathes.
Still, after an awkward rebound off the side wall, our opponents take the point. Game over.
I drop the racket to the ground, placing my palms on my knees. After a full hour of cardio, my chest heaves. I’m used to working out, but Parker doesn’t accept anything below a hundred percent of our effort. Still, the hour of padel every week is one of my favorite things to do.
“Good game, guys,” I tell Wes and Oliver, shaking their hands and patting Parker’s shoulder emphatically.
The four of us hit the showers, and I’m glad that the facility has private shower stalls.
I spent my high school days sharing the showers with Wes and Parker, but I don’t care to find out if Parker grew out of towel snapping.
With a towel wrapped around my hips, I exit the shower and open my locker. The three of them follow after me.
“Coffee?” Parker points a finger at Wes, and he nods. He then points it at me. “Coffee?” I dip my head, too. “Coffee?” he asks Oliver, but he shakes his head.
“No can do. I promised Joy I’ll be back right after padel.”
“Man, you’re whipped.”
Oliver shoots him a pointed look. “That’s your sister. You still flinch when she pretends to punch you.”
Parker shrugs and pulls a shirt over his head. I let out a chuckle and do the same. My hair is wet, so I slick it back, throw my shit in the gym bag, and zip it up.
“See you next week,” Oliver says before leaving, and we all hum in response.
Unlike the weathered, dark bar we typically spend our time in, the coffee place at the rec center has a sunny terrace overlooking the padel and tennis courts. It’s a nice place to space out when Parker’s stories get too much. The metal chair screeches as I pull it out, dropping my bag next to me.
A young server in sporty shorts and a white t-shirt approaches our table, and Parker’s face pulls into a blinding smile. “Hi, what can I get for you today?”
Parker pats a finger to his chin. “Erm, I’d like a rib-eye steak, medium rare, with a side of potatoes.” Wes rolls his eyes, while the server’s eyes widen to saucers. Parker quickly continues, “A joke, of course. We’ll have three cold brews, thank you.”
The server blinks three times before simply leaving our table.
“Tough crowd,” Parker comments.
“She’s way too young,” I add.
“I was just making a joke.”
Even though he’s an unapologetic flirt, this girl is too young for him to make an actual effort. If he did, though, I have no qualms about him being successful. The man is a magnet for women.
“I can’t stay long. My nanny needs to leave in an hour.” Parker checks his watch. “So, fill me in on the news. Wes, what’s up with you?”
His head snaps up like he wasn’t expecting the question. He hesitates for a second before responding, “Nothing much.”
There’s a furrow in his brow and no conviction to his words. I realize there’s more hiding underneath, but he’s obviously not ready to share it with us yet. The server brings us drinks, and I jump to Wes’ aid.
“You know the girl from the other day? The one with the vibrators?” I make a dramatic pause to take a sip of my coffee, knowing Parker is going nuts to hear more.
“Yeah?” he urges me on, losing his patience.
“She got another delivery. It was kind of terrifying.”
“Terrifying?” Parker’s eyes narrow.
“Yeah, man. I’m no stranger to toys, but this thing, whew… It was something called a tentacle dildo.”
Wes chokes on his drink, the liquid spraying the table.
“I’m serious,” I continue. “It was bright blue and probably a foot long.” I keep waiting for Parker’s face to transform into one of shock. I was hoping to get a reaction similar to Wes’.
“Yeah, tentacle dildos typically are pretty huge.” He shrugs, like I mentioned the need to mow my lawn this weekend.
I let out a disbelieving chuckle. “What do you mean typically? This is the first time I’ve heard of such a thing.”
“No offense, Ryan.” He chugs a sip of his beer. “But you’re kind of vanilla.” A scoff escapes me, but he continues, “No, you are. I know you fuck and all that, but I imagine you in two positions tops, with long, sensual foreplay and lots and lots of respect.”
My face scrunches, but Wes interjects, “You imagine him fucking?”
“Not only him. You too. Don’t we all?” Parker responds.
“No, not really.” Wes shakes his head.
“Well, now that you know, I think you are a closeted freak.” He points a finger at Wes, whose neck breaks out in hives.
“Can we get back to what you said?” My mind is still stuck on his words, and how frighteningly accurate they are. “What’s wrong with long foreplay and respect? Women love that.”
“Sure, they do. But they also like to be respectfully disrespected, and they sometimes like their foreplay less sensual and more…dirty.”
“Dude, you have a daughter,” Wes comments.
Parker lifts his palm. “Low blow, man. But also pointless. This is about adults engaging in consensual acts.”
“You’re saying women like tentacle dildos?”
“Some.” He shrugs. “To some, it’s a challenge. Or a monster fantasy.”
“Monster fantasy?” My expression is stuck on one of confusion.
“Yeah, monster fantasy. A lot of women have them, but they differ on the breed of monster.”
“Where the hell do you get your info?” Wes asks.
“Fellas, fellas... Seems like I haven’t done my job of educating you as a senior of this group.”
“You’re four months older than me,” Wes murmurs.
“Well, dear Wes, I read. Now that I know how clueless you both are, I think my duty is to right that.”
“You mean those silly little books you tend to have in your car?” I ask. A couple of times he picked me up, there were cartoon cover books on the passenger seat. I always suspected they were his daughter’s.
“Those are not silly little books. They are romance books. Written by women, for women.”
“So what?” Wes runs a hand through his hair. “You read them to learn what women like?”
“I read them because they’re great books. It’s a coincidence I can pick up a thing or two from them.” Parker bites the inside of his bottom lip, staring into the distance before slapping the table. “I know. I’ll start a book club.”
“For whom?”
“For you two dumbasses. You really need to broaden your horizons. Besides, you obviously like this girl, and it seems like she’s a freak. You need to be ready for that.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t like… Wes, can you please stop this before it gets too late?”
“I don’t know, man. I dig the idea,” Wes responds.
“You?” I glance at him with suspicion.
“You know I like books.”
“But these… these are books that Parker likes.”
“Hey!” Parker slaps my shoulder. “Don’t knock it ‘till you try it.”
I let out a sigh, obviously outnumbered.
“Good, it’s settled then. I’m starting a book club. The name will be Parker’s Book Club.” His hand motions to the imaginary banner. “PBC.”
I roll my eyes, well aware that once Parker gets an idea rolling, there’s no escaping it. That’s how we started with padel, after all.
“I’ll order the book for you and let you know the time and place of the first meeting.” He slaps a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “I expect you to take this seriously.” He points at each of us before grabbing his bag and leaving.
With a huff, I turn to my other friend who still seems out of it. “What’s wrong?”
His eyes widen. “It’s nothing. Probably nothing.”
“Probably nothing and nothing aren’t the same thing.”
“My mom has some doctor’s appointments, okay? I still don’t know shit, but I don’t plan to speak it into existence.”
His resolute tone settles like a weight in my stomach, and I swallow. “I’m sure everything will be okay.”
“Fuck, I hope you’re right.”
Moving his glasses, he runs his hand over his face, and I notice the dark circles under his eyes. Wes is an only child with a single mom, just like I am. She’s pretty much his entire world. I can’t imagine how he must feel right now.
“I’m here for you, you know? You can talk to me.”
“I know, man. But I want to have more information before sharing it. Anyway…” He sighs. “I should get going. Mom and I are heading to lunch.”
“Sure. See you next week.”
Wes leaves my line of vision, and I focus on the game of padel playing in front of me. My brain replays Parker’s words back to me. Am I really so vanilla to be missing out on a whole world of sexual experiences? I never had any complaints, but I don’t really do repeats either.
My hand runs through my hair, frustrated by my train of thoughts. Quitting my job and moving back home is one thing, but actually considering Parker teaching me about sex? I must be out of my goddamn mind.