“You wound me,” he mocked. “Look, would I fuck Paolo if he was single? Yes.”
Max growled.
“But he’s not, and I’d never do something like that to you.But if I were in your position, I wouldn’t let you massage my man either.”
Max chuckled.
“What did you want to see us about?” asked Deacon. “It sounded urgent.”
“How quickly did you realize you were in love with your men?”
They both looked at each other and smirked.
“Something you want to tell us, Ryder?” asked Deacon.
“Answer the question first.”
“The moment I sat down next to him and looked in his eyes,” said Max. “I didn’t know it at the time, but looking back it was instant for us.”
“What about you?” he asked Deacon.
“When I fucked things up, I knew then he was it for me, but even that first night I met him, there was an instant pull there.”
Both Max and Deacon had been through hell getting to their happy endings. Max and Paolo had been torn apart for twelve years, and Deacon and Hunter had needed to deal with an abusive asshole, who was now thankfully locked up where he belonged.
“I think I’ve met someone,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee to avoid eye contact.
“The cute readhead?” asked Deacon.
“His name is Felix.”
“Felix O’Sullivan,” said Max. “We’re well aware of his name. As is the world.”
Ryder groaned and put his head on the table.
“Tell us about him, then. We want to hear your version, not the shit they’re posting online,” said Max.
“How is he dealing with all that?” asked Deacon. “It’s got to be difficult when you’re not used to that level of scrutiny.”
“Felix doesn’t know how bad it is yet. He’s not beenlooking at social media since it all kicked off. He’s been staying at mine.”
“And you’ve been otherwise occupied,” said Max, waggling his eyebrows.
That cracked them all up. He’d missed them over Thanksgiving. It hadn’t been the same without it being all six of them, but he got it now. If he had a choice between spending time with Felix and them, he hoped they’d understand. Ryder talked about Felix and the brief time they’d had together so far. He left out the dirty bits because they were private—which was new for him. He was usually told to rein in the sharing.
“Wow, you’re in deep, aren’t you?” asked Deacon.
“I know. How will I know if he feels the same way?”
“Be honest and ask him.”
“What if he says no? I don’t know if I could deal with that again.”
“Again?” asked Max.
Ryder took a deep breath. He’d never told his friends this story, other than Sebastian.
“In my twenties—before I moved to New York—I met a guy called Brian. He was older than me, and I was immature back then. We met in a bar one night, hooked up, and I thought that was the end, but he wanted more. I’d only ever had relationships with women, and they were a couple of months at most. I’d fucked plenty of guys, but this was the first one I got serious with.”
