Chapter 16

Ryder didn’t see Nolan for a few days because of their work schedules. When he came home on Wednesday, his mother was in the driveway, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked angry.

Ryder wished he could have snuck away, but there was no escaping Sherrie since she’d already seen him. If he popped his truck into reverse and squealed away, she would have his hide. It was best to get it over with.

"Hello, Mother," Ryder said as he stepped from his truck.

"I've been talking to Cindy. It looks like a wedding in August would work best since she works at the school."

"Who is Cindy getting married to?" He knew his mother meant him, but he sure as heck wasn't going to let her think he accepted her meddling in his life.

Sherrie frowned and narrowed her eyes. “You know she’s marrying you.”

He didn't even shake his head. Instead, he hit her with a hard stare. "I'm not getting married to anyone."

Sherrie’s lips thinned. “You had better ask her before the end of the month. She and her mother need to prepare.”

"Well, they had better find someone else because it's not going to be me." He said the words as nonchalantly as he could, hoping she didn't see how pissed off he was. Thick anger boiled beneath the surface, and he hoped she didn't keep pushing because if she did, he might just boil over.

"Now you listen here. We accepted that you married Amy. She wasn't my first pick, so now look what that got you."

The cork popped, and the bubbling anger overflowed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" It was the first time he'd ever cursed at his mother. "Leave. Now!" He'd also never yelled at his mother, but he guessed there was a first time for everything. He wasn't going to put up with his mom badmouthing Amy. She may have had her flaws, but she'd been the best woman for him. Now she was gone, but that didn't mean he wasn't still in love with her.

“How dare you?—”

“No, how dare you? You can’t come onto my property and badmouth my dead wife. She doesn’t deserve that. I will never get married to another woman as long as I live.”

“Don’t you?—”

"Shut up and leave. I'm done with you trying to force me into a relationship I don't want. Get the fuck off my property, and don't come back this year. And when you do, never say anything bad about Amy again."

Maybe he’d pushed too far, but he couldn’t take her saying anything negative about Amy. She was dead and couldn’t defend herself. Every couple had issues, but his and Amy’s had been kept between them, so his mom didn’t know about some of the fights they’d had. He was glad they’d never talked about their relationship with their parents. He would die if his mother held any of the issues they had in their marriage over his head.

Sherrie huffed and got in her car, slamming the door. She backed up fast, pulling into traffic without looking. He wanted to tell her to stop, but he couldn’t bring himself to forgive her yet. She’d said something about Amy, and that was unforgivable. She pulled away, but the anger hadn’t diminished. He stalked into his house, angry about everything. When someone knocked on his door, he marched over and wrenched it open, snarling in the process.

Nolan stood on the porch, his eyes wide as he held up a plate with cookies.

“Um, hey,” Nolan said.

“What do you want?”

“I heard you yelling and brought over cookies. I know it doesn’t help, but maybe having someone to talk to would help.”

Ryder's breath was coming heavy, and seeing Nolan standing on his porch, his eyes wide and maybe a little innocent, he couldn't help the rush of lust that shot straight to his dick. He reached out and grabbed onto Nolan's shirt, hauling him into the entryway. He grabbed the plate of cookies and placed them on the table at the entry before pressing the man up against the wall.

He liked the flash of heat in saw in Nolan’s eyes. But then he liked the feel of Nolan’s body against his more as he walked him backward toward the wall.

"You like men who are a little dangerous, don't you?" He should have stopped, but Nolan had turned him on too much.

“W-what are you doing?”

"You heard that fight with my mom, and you came over to see what you could do."

“Ryder, you don’t want this.”

He leaned in and sniffed Nolan's neck. "You smell like cookies. Besides, you don't know what the fuck I want." He stuck out his tongue and ran it up the side of Nolan's neck, then bit down on his earlobe.

“Oh God.” Nolan shivered against him.

“You feel this?” Ryder took Nolan’s hand and placed it on his hard cock.

Nolan gasped, and Ryder pressed against him, feeling the hard ridge of Nolan's cock in his pants. Ryder chuckled and ground against Nolan's hand that was still grasping his dick.

“That’s it. Squeeze my cock again.”

Nolan’s hand tightened just for a second. “Fuck, Ryder. What are you doing?”

“You know exactly what I’m doing. You’ve done this before. I haven’t, but you have.”

“This is a mistake.”

Ryder pulled back, searching Nolan’s gaze. “Maybe. But you heard me tell my mom I’m never dating a woman again. Why do you think that is?”

Nolan shook his head. “I-I don’t—you’re not...”

Ryder couldn't hold back and plastered his lips over Nolan's. Stubble grazed his lips, sending excitement pumping through him. He moaned against Nolan's mouth. It took a moment for Nolan to open for him, but then their tongues were stroking against each other, and he thought he might just burst into flames.

Nolan's hand was on his back, pulling him closer. Then Nolan did the most amazing thing, and Ryder didn't think he would ever recover as Nolan pushed Ryder's jeans low and pulled his cock out, lining it up against Nolan's as he used his hand to stroke both of them together.

The feel of Nolan’s dick rubbing against his was enough to push him close to the edge. The pressure in his head and his balls grew.

“I can’t stop,” Ryder said as he ripped his lips away from Nolan’s.

“Then come,” Nolan barked.

He glanced down, seeing both of their cocks being stroked by Nolan’s hand, and the sight set him off. He came hard, shooting his cum over their shirts and his hand. He held onto Nolan, trying to recover as he watched Nolan’s cum shoot out of his dick.

The relief of it all almost had him crying. It had been so long, four years since he'd touched another person. And now he was standing in the entryway of his house, cum dripping down his shirt with his dick in another guy's hands.

Panic set in. He stepped away from Nolan, unsure what to do or say. He couldn’t be gay. His family would freak out. What would his friends say? How could he face people in this town after this?

“Ryder?”

Nolan's voice made him jump, and their gazes met. Ryder was breathing hard, and he wasn't sure what to do.

“You’re freaking out,” Nolan said.

He stared at Nolan, who was tucking his cock in, cum still wet on his shirt. The man had the audacity to smile.

“Fuck, what have we done?” Panic raced through Ryder.

“Obviously you need a moment,” Nolan said so calmly it made Ryder’s panic increase.

He couldn't deal with this. He took off to the back of his house, stepped into the bathroom, and then locked the door. He tugged off his shirt, getting cum in his hair. How had he let this happen?

He shucked his pants and then jumped into the shower, scrubbing the cum and sweat off his body. His head ached, and his body burned. It had felt so good kissing Nolan. Having the man in his arms had been perfect. He remembered how it felt to hold Amy, and it had been good, but holding Nolan had been perfect.

What was wrong with him?

When their cocks touched, it was like electricity ran right through him. He couldn't be gay, though. What would everyone say?

Ryder stepped from the shower and pulled on his underwear and a pair of shorts. When he stepped out into the den, he wasn’t expecting Nolan to be sitting at his kitchen table, sipping a glass of wine.

He froze and stared at the man, realizing that his cock was getting hard again. Nolan had changed his shirt, so he must have gone home, but he was back and looked very serious.