“True, but it's a different vibe out there. And you wouldn't have to worry about the fam coming down on you all the time,” he pointed out, knowing how they suffocated me. And it had been even worse since the wedding.
My mother had been giving me the silent treatment ever since we got home, insisting that I had hooked up with Ryan just to try and steal the spotlight from Deegan and Haley. It didn't matter how many times Haley told my mom she was happy for us; my mother was still holding the king of all grudges. She wouldn’t rest easy until I admitted that I’d somehow seduced Ryan and convinced him to help me ruin their weekend. There was no convincing her that Ryan coming out to everyone by kissing me at the stroke of midnight was because of a mutual attraction we couldn’t deny a second longer.
“Maybe after I visit him we’ll talk about it some more,” I told Mav. “You know me, I'm not a spontaneous guy most of the time.”
“That’s such total bullshit.” Mav made himself comfortable at the end of my bed, alternating between staring at the box like it might be a bomb and checking his phone. “You're the one who used to be up for just about anything. You were the ringleader, once upon a time.”
“You can't even try to compare moving to be closer to someone I spent one weekend with to running off into the woods and getting lost,” I scoffed.
“You're right, but it's not totally different, either. It’s an adventure, and that’s something you used to always be up for.”
My phone chimed before I could ask Mav what the hell he meant by that.
I pointed at the bedroom door. He lingered a moment too long and I glared at him.Go, I mouthed as I picked up the phone.
“Hey. Did I catch you at a bad time?” Ryan asked. It was possible I had a tendency to answer the phone before it even rang through on his end. I didn’t give a single shit about possibly coming across desperate to him.
“Not at all,” I assured him. “Mav and I were just talking about some things.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything's fine. I flipped the box over and lifted it to my ear, giving it a shake to see if I could figure out what he’d sent today. “Just roommate stuff.”
That wasn't completely a lie. Even if we hadn't been arguing about what an idiot I was to not trip over myself as I packed to follow Ryan home, bickering was pretty typical for us.
If this shoe had been on the other foot, I probably would've been saying the same things to him.
“Do you have something to open for me?” Ryan asked, changing the subject. His voice echoed, and I wondered where he was calling from.
“I do,” I confirmed. I could hear the clicking of his dress shoes across the floor. “If this is a bad time for you, I can wait until later.”
“That’s sweet, but now’s fine,” he reassured me. “I’ve been waiting for you to get this one and open it. You’re not the only one who can get impatient.”
“You know you don’t have to buy something for me every single day, right?” It was a weak protest that had become part of our routine. I told myself that, as long as I made a halfhearted attempt to get him to stop, I didn't have to feel guilty about the collection of toys and clothes I had amassed since he left.
“Sooner or later, you'll realize you're not going to keep me from spoiling you,” he teased. “Sue me if I’m enjoying the hell out of finally having a boy of my own who’s more than just someone I meet up with at the club when I need something.”
I grunted, hating hearing him talk about what he did before we got together. I trusted him completely and knew that wasn’t something he was still doing, but I wanted him to be going to the clubs with me so he could forget about those other boys. I was way better than them.
“What you say when you get a present, sweetheart?” he coaxed, completely ignoring my petulant reaction. That was way better than the times he’d chuckled. For some reason, he thought it was cute that I was jealous of men who were nothing but memories for him.
“Thank you, Daddy.” My eyes shot toward the door, hoping Mav wasn't still on the other side eavesdropping. For some reason, I hadn't been able to bring myself to tell him about this aspect of my relationship with Ryan yet. I didn't want him judging me if it was too weird for him.
I chuckled at that thought. Mav was one of the most sexually adventurous people I knew. What he hadn't already tried, he had on a mental kinky bucket list, and I knew he'd eventually try just about everything. No, he probably wouldn't have any problem with me calling Ryan Daddy. Still, it was something that felt special between the two of us.
“What's so funny, sweetheart?”
I shook my head, forgetting he couldn't see me. “Nothing, I was just thinking about something Mav said. Can I open my present now?”
“Someone's anxious. You didn't peek at what's in the box, did you?”
“No, Daddy. Mav told me I should, but I knew you'd be upset with me if I broke the rules,” I rambled. Just thinking about what he’d promised to do to my backside the next time he saw me, had me squirming on the mattress.
The first time I’d earned a punishment, had been less than two weeks after Ryan went home. There was nothing worse than hearing his heavy, disappointed sigh across the line. I’d gone out with some friends from work and had forgotten to call him ahead of time.
When we stayed out longer than we planned on, I also missed my call to say good night. Those happened long before I was ready to go to bed, because I wasn't willing to have him staying up until three in the morning just to tuck me in, but they were something he insisted on.
It seemed so weird, at first, to have him say he wanted to help me get ready for bed, even though he was on, what felt like, the other side of the world. But eventually, I found that I couldn’t settle down for the night until we’d talked, and he talked me through my nighttime routine and instructed me on how to take off my clothes while he watched. Most nights, that wound up with a mutual jerk-off session while he told me all the things he wanted to do to me.
