“Cool,” he said and took another sip from hisglass.
I had him help me with setting out some food for the party and as I was getting a tray out of the fridge, the tone in his voice forced me to stop and look athim.
“Hey! You got thecookies!”
Excitement like I had never heard from him, came out of his mouth. I turned to look, and he was holding up the dessert tray I had picked up from the bakery. His face had a full smile, dimple andall.
“People enjoy sweet treats after they play,” I told him and continued setting out the trays from thefridge.
“Should I set this one out?” he asked, his tone still full of light-heartedexcitement.
“You may set it out, Ryan. It’s for the guests toenjoy.”
It’s for you toenjoy.
Each time I saw him, which had been several times a week for nearly two months, I was still amazed he’s thirty-five. He endured a very traumatic childhood. It was no surprise to me that he was mature regarding so many things in his life, but there were a handful of things that he did that made me see the lost child that lingered. Seeing him eye the cookies was one of those things. I doubted that his mother was the type that had a fresh batch of cookies waiting for him when he got home from school every now andthen.
As guests arrived, I made sure that I handled all of the introductions immediately. Just as I had hoped, all of my friends greeted Ryan warmly. Ryan made eye contact with each of them as I introduced them, shook their hands and repeated their names. He impressed me greatly with his poise, charisma and genuinesmile.
I stood a few feet away from Ryan as I spoke to my friend Daniel. While Daniel and I talked, Ryan spoke with Leonard. Though I couldn’t hear all of what they were discussing, I could hear bits and pieces, and that was good enough for me. Leonard likes to hear himself talk and immediately had taken up the ears of my fresh apprentice. They talked about sports here and there and now Leonard was telling him about a woman he had topped a few nightsago.
“Better keep a close eye on your boy,Russell.”
Myboy.
That phrase had turned my internal furnace on. I glanced at my friend, who was watching Ryan with a grin on hisface.
“Leonard’s going to work on negotiating him into a scene,” Danielteased.
“Like hell, he is.” I watched Leonard interact with Ryan and saw no sign of Ryan being nervous. “Leonard knows better than to mess with my apprentice,Daniel.”
Daniel twisted at the waist and looked at me with one raised eyebrow. I sighed at his expression. I knew what he was gettingat.
“You have put in a lot of time with this one, Russell.” I ignored his comment but continued to watchRyan.
“I put a lot of time into all of my apprentices,Daniel.”
“I know you do.” He was quiet for a moment and then added, “But this one is different for you.” He turned to look at me, and with all seriousness he said, “I cantell.”
“He’s my apprentice, Daniel. You know that I care about all of myapprentices.”
“Yes, I do. But, he’s different. There’s a current between the two ofyou.”
Daniel pointed out exactly what I’d felt for many weeks now. But I was still contending with those feelings and wasn’t ready to admit them to Daniel. Or anyone else just yet. Things would progress how they were supposed to progress, and at the pace that Ryan needed themto.
“Any chance that he’s your ‘one of a kind’ that you’ve been waitingfor?”
“Daniel, my friend, he is myapprentice.”
“Fine. Since he is just your apprentice, may I negotiate a session withhim?”
I didn’t answer Daniel and gave him a smug smile when the doorbell rang, conveniently pulling meaway.
“Keep an eye on Ryan would you please?” I asked as I headed to thedoor.
“Right.” I could hear his laughter. “I will keep an eye on your boy,” Daniel said quietly. Though I heard it, I chose not to acknowledge that Ihad.
I opened the door to Jeanine. She had been one of my dearest friends. She was a sadistic, heavy-handed Domme and one hell of a psychologist. We often did seminars together to educate others on the lifestyle. I’d kept her updated about Ryan over the past few months, so she knew what to expect withhim.
