Page 50 of Ruined

Lane snorts. “Tried to?”

“We tried to fuck, okay? But it didn’t work. He stopped because he thought I was in pain.”

“Is he big?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And it’s your first time, right?”

“Yeah.” I tell him about the plug and the dildo. It’s good that we’re not talking face-to-face; I’d die of embarrassment.

“Well, Mason is big too. Like, really big.”

I grimace. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“I’m just saying! A little pain is not a big deal, as long as it’s not, like, a lot of pain.”

“Logan won’t let me be in any pain.” My tone is exasperated, but the truth is that this is quite a good problem to have.

“It only hurts the first few seconds—in a good way! Then it starts feeling really good. Like, amazing.”

“Too much information,” I laugh. I don’t really want to hear about my best friend and my brother’s sex life, but if it can help me reassure Logan, I guess I’ll endure it.

“Just make sure you’re relaxed,” Lane continues. “And you’ll be fine. Use fingers first and a lot of lube—a dildo if you want to. Sounds like he knows what he’s doing.”

“He does,” I say, face burning.

“Well, he sounds hot. Can’t wait to meet him.”

“Uh… I don’t know about that.”

“Why?”

“Mason.”

Where Lane goes, my brother goes, and Logan was his stepfather, too. If he ever finds out what’s been happening between us, I’m pretty sure he’ll lose his shit. He doesn’t know what I know. He doesn’t know that I’m the one who made our relationship happen. That I’m the one who’s been begging Logan every step of the way. He did nothing lightly.

Mason will think otherwise, though. He’ll think Logan groomed me or something, and nothing could be further from the truth.

Lane is quiet for a while. When he speaks, his voice is low and serious. “Well, it might be hard to hide your relationship in the long run. Sooner or later, he’ll find out, don’t you think?”

“I guess,” I mutter, but I’d rather not think about it.

“What about your mom?”

I roll my eyes. I’m not even remotely ready to consider her part in this equation. “She doesn’t know.”

“Yeah, no shit. I bet she’d go ballistic. No offense, but she’s kind of an ice queen. I’d be more scared of her than of Mason if I were you.”

“Of course you wouldn’t be afraid of Mason—he’s a massive simp for you.”

“He’s not!” Lane protests, but he sounds delighted.

“So, things are good between you two?”

“Not to brag, but yeah, things are pretty amazing. We got busy for a while with work and everything, but recently, we’ve been trying something new.” He lowers his voice conspiratorially. “Do you know anything about puppy play?”

I listen, mortified, while Lane explains what he and my brother have been up to, and my mind spins with images of leashes, collars, and tails. Before he can go into any more detail, I change the subject, and we shift our focus to gaming again. Thank God.