“I crashed your roleplay scenario?” he asked.
August leaned forward and put his head between his knees. “Fuck. Shit, fuck, shit. Holy fuck, you thought it was a normal fucking appointment to look at a mole. Fuck!”
Ryker winced, putting a calming hand on August’s back and rubbing it.
“I mean, I had a lot of fun?” Dylan said, hesitant. It seemed that his feelings on finding out that he’d committed inadvertent sexual identity fraud were being overshadowed by his reaction to August’s freakout.
August kept his head between his knees, making a low keening sound in the back of his throat. He sank his head lower and spoke at the floor, “I asked you to have sex with me in exchange for medical care.”
The words were despondent, like he was the worst kind of villain.
Dylan met Ryker’s eye, shaking his head like he disagreed with that assessment of their encounter.
“No, you didn’t. You propositioned me during my appointment, and though I thought it was wildly inappropriate, I was very happy to accept. I never thought that you would refuse to treat me if I didn’t let you fuck me. Besides, I’m the one who crashed your date. It’s my fault-”
“Getting an address wrong doesn’t mean you should expect to be tied up and fucked by your doctor!” August lifted his head, his eyes red and looking on the verge of tears. “I thought we’d talked about stuff! I’ve been tying you up anddoingstuff to you, and I don’t even know if you like it.”
Ryker was pretty sure that Dylan had liked everything they’d done together – though he and August might have pushed him to discover a few things about himself that he wouldn’t otherwise have discovered.
A lot of Dylan’s careful reactions to things made a lot more sense, with this new information.
“I sat on your face until you almost passed out. I muzzled you. I spanked your hole until youcried.”
Dylan swallowed, his expression firming with resolve. “Yes, and I enjoyed all of those things, and when you did things I didn’t like, like spit in my mouth or piss on me, you stopped after I asked you to.”
“I never peed on you,” August said, frowning.
“Because I told you I wouldn’t like it.” Dylan looked at Ryker. “Right? You told me to tell you when I didn’t like something, and I have.”
Ryker nodded. He cupped the back of August’s neck and rubbed his back. “He’s right. We’ve been operating on some false assumptions, but he’s been very good about letting us know when he doesn’t like something.”
“Exactly,” Dylan said, crossing his arms. “Now stop freaking out. It’s my turn.”
“Your turn?” August asked. He no longer looked on the verge of crying.
“Do you even like me?” Dylan asked. At first Ryker thought he was kidding – trying to lighten the mood – but then he realized he was serious.
“Of course we like you,” he said.
“But I’m not who you thought I was,” Dylan said, looking between them. “You thought I was someone else, and it’s pretty obvious that I’ve been a disappointment compared to that person.”
“You have not,” Ryker said.
“You haven’t,” August agreed. “You’re way hotter than him, and you’re much more fun to talk to. I thought you’d reverse catfished me.”
The compliment on his appearance made Dylan flush, and Ryker seized his advantage.
“Trust me. The guy August was talking to was just intended to be a casual hookup – one that I wasn’t even involved in. It wasn’t until we met you in person that we actually liked you.”
August nodded along. “It’s true. I don’t know anything about Dylan Lander, except that he likes to chat about kinky sex with werewolves, but doesn’t have the courage to follow through. When I thought you were him, I was surprised by how much better you were in real life than on the internet.”
Dylan swallowed. “You’re not just saying that because you bit me and now you’re stuck with me?”
Ryker laughed. “Dylan, we never would have bit you if we didn’t like you. You, the person that we know and who we’ve invited to spend his life with us. You’re the furthest thing from a disappointment.”
Dylan was quiet for a beat, studying them carefully. After a moment, he asked, “Even though I don’t have a leather glove fetish?”
August burst out laughing. Ryker closed his eyes, grinning in pained amusement.
