Free Ricochet by Xanthe Walter

rang.
    "Hey, dom-bro!" It was Cilla, one of his dom
    friends. "I'm watching the news right now. Shit,
    man - that looks painful. Way to go, bro; you're
    such a fucking badass!"
    "What…?" Rick fumbled for the remote and
    turned over to the news channel.
    "TV star Richard O'Shea was pulled over for
    a speeding violation earlier today," a smug
    sounding presenter said. "It looks as if O'Shea has
    a lot in common with the character he plays on the
    hit TV show Collar Crime - trouble magnet Agent
    Alex Tanner!"
    "What the hell?" Rick stared at the TV in
    horror.
    "You're one bad dom-fucking dom!" Cilla
    hollered down the phone.
    "Yeah, whatever. Fuck off, Cilla." He
    snapped the phone shut and turned his attention
    back to the news.
    "It hasn't been a good day for O'Shea - our
    sources tell us he took six in the studio discipline
    room earlier in the day too - and then another six
    this evening at the Justice Hall. Even Alex Tanner
    doesn't usually get into that much trouble in one
    day!"
    Rick watched, in stunned surprise, as they
    showed some grainy cell phone footage of him in
    the discipline room at the Justice Hall. He could
    feel the embarrassment deep in his bones as he
    watched every single humiliating second of it. It
    only made it worse when he realized that whoever
    had taken the footage had to have been standing…
    right in the spot where Susan Antonio had been.
    "Shit. What a crappy thing to do! I was nice to
    her as well," he muttered, feeling completely
    betrayed. It wasn't, strictly speaking, legal to video
    other people's punishments, so maybe Susan
    Antonio hadn't been the sweet innocent he'd taken
    her for. She clearly didn't seem to have any
    problem breaking the law, even straight after being
    punished for it.
    His cell phone rang again, but he ignored it.
    The only person he was worried about was Petra -
    he hoped this didn't mean his job was in danger.
    He sent her a text, apologizing and saying he'd
    explain at work the next day. He really wasn't up
    to any kind of conversation with his boss tonight;
    he'd probably only say something to make the
    situation worse.
    He turned off the TV and stared blankly at the
    carpet for a long time, feeling like the entire world
    was against him. The doorbell rang, and he
    wondered if it was the press, wanting some kind of
    stupid interview. He supposed it was better to get
    it over with, so he rolled off the sofa, walked
    slowly to the front door, and opened it.
    "Hey, Rick - are you okay?" Matt was
    standing there, holding a pizza box in one hand and
    a bottle of wine in the other. He was wearing dark
    chinos and a blue shirt that brought out the color of
    his eyes. He looked like he was dressed for a date,
    except for the denim jacket slung over the top,
    which didn't match his outfit at all, and the silver
    scarf draped around his neck.
    "What are you doing here, Matty?" Rick
    asked tiredly.
    "I saw you on the news." Matt pushed past
    him and walked into the house. "You looked like
    shit, and I figured you hadn't eaten, so I thought I'd
    bring something over. Pizza and sympathy?" He
    held up the pizza box.
    Rick gave a little chuckle and shut the door.
    "No need, Matt. I'm fine. Okay, so this hasn't been
    the best day of my life, but I'm fine."
    "Bullshit." Matt's eyes blazed angrily. "I can
    tell you're hurting, and I don't blame you. How
    dare they show that footage? Nobody should have
    been allowed to film you! That's infringement. Do
    you know who it was? You could bring a case
    against them."
    Rick thought of Susan Antonio quietly
    snuffling into her tissue beside him on the bench.
    He thought of her thin shoulders, scuffed shoes,
    and the hole in her blouse and decided he didn't
    mind her making a fast buck out of his misery.
    "Yeah, I know, but I won't bring a case. I'd rather
    let it drop."
    "Good luck with that - it'll be all over the
    papers tomorrow."
    "I know." Rick ran a tired hand through his
    hair. "But if I don't make a big deal of it or
    complain