“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.
CHAPTER 11
RYDER
Ryder wanted to tear his hair out. Mason had confirmed they were on their way and Felix was fine and well, but until he saw him with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe it.
The moment his agent had called him, he knew things were bad. Fiona wanted to capitalize on it, and suggested they post a video to social media of them being all loved up to deal with the trolls. He’d told her to get fucked and hung up on her. Not the most mature response, and neither was ghosting her all day.
Felix’s phone being off had driven him mad, and it had taken a few contacts to track down Laura’s number. Felix had mentioned the newspaper she worked for, so he’d been able to get to her through work, and now he had her cell number. She’d explained Felix always had his phone off when he was on a gig so he could focus.
He discovered Felix was working the wedding of a couple who were friends of Mason, and he was attending. He was grateful that at times it was a small world. Mason had called Ryder saying he believed Felix was oblivious to what had happened. It was in that moment, when Ryder had wanted to run to the wedding venue and rescue him, that it becameclear he’d passed the point of just having a crush on Felix. It went much deeper.
A picture of them kissing had been posted to social media and gone viral, followed by other pictures and videos from their date. Of course, it didn’t take long for the social media trolls to find Felix’s identity, and the narrative quickly turned from“Who is this redheaded angel who’s tamed Ryder Quinn?”to“Flame-haired money grabber gets his claws into Ryder Quinn.”
Thankfully, it was just a social media thing, and there’d been no press other than a few gossip rags who just reposted other people’s comments and called it journalism. There were also some positive comments saying that someone had tamed the playboy. They’d only been on a couple of dates, but Ryder felt a rush of excitement at those comments. He wanted more with Felix. He’d hated the sour note their last date had ended on, but their kiss on Felix’s doorstep last night had reassured him. That was something else which had been captured and posted to social media. Nothing from their first date at Epicure had been captured, though, and he had Mason to thank for that.
The venom appeared to be aimed at Felix, and Ryder was scared this would have him running for the hills. It had taken all his self-restraint not to respond to some of the awful comments. What was wrong with people? Were their lives so unhappy they had to attack other people they didn’t even know?
