Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys - 18. Good Advice

Chapter Eighteen – Good Advice

Jonathan lingered by the side of the bed, taking in Maddox’s body as he lay on his belly, his arms tucked under the pillow. He had placed a blanket over him so he could no longer admire that gorgeous body, but maybe it was for the best since the time for living fantasies was over, and he needed to get back to reality with all that entailed.

Maddox was even prettier when asleep. His lips curled into a small smile as he appeared to have the most pleasant of dreams. As much as his heart ached, Jonathan risked a touch to Maddox’s cheek and drew an invisible line along his jaw. He stopped when he reached his chin and brushed his fingers slowly against the full lips.

Well, they had done it, so there was no point in overstaying his welcome. He had taken a very short shower, all the while taking care to not wake Maddox up. For starters, he didn’t think his ass could handle a third round, and secondly, he didn’t have it in him to spend any more time in Maddox’s company.

It had been the best time of his life, but going further with this was a mistake. How foolish of him to think that he could separate matters of the body from those of the heart. It was easy to fall in love with a boy like that, and Jonathan had promised himself not to get another serious case of history repeating. So what was he doing right now? If anything, he appeared to have miraculously forgotten the harsh lessons life had served him.

Maddox wasn’t Drew, but little could be done to change the fact that he was a straight guy. At some point, he would move on. And Jonathan wasn’t sure he could do that; no, that weak part of him would want more. So, it was for the better to cut and run while the damage was not too extensive, and he could still deal with it.

He would sneak out and head over to his dorm while Ray was still out partying for the rest of the night. Then, he would attempt to wash away some of the memories that had been made tonight while taking a longer shower and thinking over his transgressions that only seemed to complicate his life.

He snuck out, making sure to open and close the door without making too much noise. Why was his heart in his throat, though? What he was doing right now felt final, in a way. Definitely, tomorrow, Maddox would have cooled down considerably and they would become, not friends surely, but mere acquaintances. And Jonathan would be fine with it because that was the correct thing to do.

He moved stealthily as he went down the stairs and grabbed his shoulder bag. One last breath and he would be out.

Lost in thought and looking down, he was surprised to crash into someone as he turned toward the door.

“Rusty,” he said, struggling to keep his voice down, when he noticed who it was. “Hi.”

Maddox’s friend was right there, which seemed a bit strange, seeing how he was the soul of the party everywhere he went. Around the campus, shindigs must be still raging on, so what was Rusty doing there? Anyway, it wasn’t his business what Rusty did.

Maddox’s roommate was dressed in a sleeveless shirt that showed off his strong arms and baggy pants that somehow complemented his looks. Compared to Maddox, he was taller and slimmer, and Jonathan had to crane his neck a little to look him in the eye. By the haziness he saw there, he could tell Rusty must have been drinking, and quite a lot.

“Yo, Hamilton,” Rusty said lazily, giving him a slow once-over.

“I’m off,” he said, not wanting to make small talk, especially given the awkwardness of the situation. Could it be that he still smelled of sex, even after that short shower? He was almost sure Rusty was sniffing him, leaning in dangerously close.

“Did you and Maddox fuck?” Rusty asked promptly.

Jonathan tried to get past Rusty, but the guy moved swiftly despite his state of inebriation and blocked his path. “None of your business,” he said coolly.

“You look fucked,” Rusty drawled with a sly smile.

There was something heated and loaded in that voice, and Jonathan was acutely aware of it. “Well, so do you,” he replied in kind as he took in Rusty’s messy hair and what looked like traces of lipstick on his neck and right cheek.

Rusty smirked. “Yeah. By the way, I ate all that steak with the sweet sauce I found. Good shit. Where did you order it from?”

Jonathan had to fight hard against the impulse to push Rusty away and run out the door. “I made it,” he said curtly.

Rusty’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “For real?”

“Yes,” Jonathan replied, thumbing the strap of his shoulder bag and adjusting it although there was no need to.

“And I drank that bottle of wine, too,” Rusty confessed.

“Well, good for you. At least it didn’t go to waste,” Jonathan offered.

What on earth could Rusty possibly want? The guy was making him nervous. It had been so easy that time at the tree for him to overpower Jonathan and tie his hands. He was definitely scary.

“Home cooked food, expensive wine, and anal. Fancy as fuck,” Rusty concluded.

Jonathan sidestepped and pushed Rusty out of the way, not forcefully, but firmly enough to manage to move past him.

“Good night, Rusty,” he said in a controlled voice. His hand was on the door handle when he felt something brushing against his ass. He turned on his heel fast only to see Rusty still there, grinning at him.

Jonathan frowned and pushed himself into the other’s face. “Look here, dog brain,” he said through his teeth and pressed his index finger against Rusty’s chest, “I’m not one of Maddox’s hookups for you to treat me like this.”

Rusty snorted, apparently unfazed by his anger. “You’re not? Does he know?”

Jonathan suppressed the fury boiling inside him. He would not get into a fight over something like this. And Rusty’s words annoyed him to no end. So he chose to turn away and get out, as fast as he could manage.

“Nighty-night, Hamilton,” Rusty called after him. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite that tappable behind.”

Jonathan pressed one hand to his forehead hard, grabbing his temples, and pulled the door closed after him. For these straight boys, he was nothing but a fucking joke.

***

Fortunately for him, Ray had left him alone to oversleep and probably he was doing the same thing after partying all night with his girlfriend. Jonathan had heard him coming in last night but hadn’t gone to talk to him since he wasn’t sure he was in any mood to share his experience. Ray would love to hear it all, but what was there to say?

About ten o’clock, his phone began to chirp with incoming messages. He checked only so that he could make sure that he was right about the sender. Maddox probably wondered why he had snuck out last night, but he didn’t have it in him just yet to tell him that they should slow down or stop entirely.

That was assuming Maddox wanted a repeat performance, which he wasn’t even sure about. Could Maddox want such a thing? He was notorious for hooking up with girls and forgetting them the next day. But Jonathan wasn’t a girl, so probably the same rules didn’t apply to him.

Wishful thinking. And Rusty’s words kept swirling in his brain. What could he mean by them? Was Maddox thinking of him as more than just a hookup and had said something to that effect to his friend? Maybe Rusty just wanted to provoke him, for some reason. If he started nurturing any feelings toward Maddox, it would be terribly bad.

Also, he wasn’t ready for another hookup, which was more likely what Maddox truly wanted. Had last night been a mistake? Was he turning himself – through no other’s fault than his own – into a toy for a straight boy? That was how bad things began. And no matter what Rusty was running his mouth about, he wouldn’t do such a thing to Maddox, start rumors that they were dating or something incredible like that.

They weren’t dating. Jonathan groaned and covered his eyes. Sooner or later, he would have to get out of bed and face the day. Ray would probably pester him with questions, so he needed to rehearse what he would say so that his roommate didn’t smell anything fishy. Surely, his bestie thought that there was some big thing happening between them, which wasn’t true.

It had been nothing but hooking up, he repeated the words in his head over and over again. And no matter how amazing it had been, the light of day was bound to make things appear differently.

The most unnerving thing was that Maddox was firing message after message at regular intervals. Jonathan turned on one side and stared bleakly at the wall. Could it be that Maddox had talked about him with his friends in some way that made Rusty feel entitled to do such a stupid thing as touch him in that uncouth manner? The thought was chilling, but he couldn’t see Maddox doing something like that.

Or maybe, just maybe, Jonathan didn’t want to think of him like that, like the kind of boy who would run his mouth about his conquests in the most disparaging manner. As much as he tried to imagine Maddox making fun of how they kissed or did other things, the picture of that actually happening refused to conjure itself in his mind.

Rusty was quite the character. Jonathan could see him acting on his own impulses. That, of course, begged the question – why had Rusty touched him? Had it been a joke, one that only some bawdy character like that would consider funny?

He left his phone on the bed and traipsed toward the bathroom to brush his teeth and throw some cold water on his face, all the while seriously hoping that Ray was already out with Hannah for brunch or something and wouldn’t bug him with questions about his night.

***

Maddox frowned as he checked his phone for the umpteenth time. There was no sign that Jonathan had opened even one of his messages. Maybe he had gone a bit overboard, and at least half of what he had said there he wanted to take back, but all that silence on the other end was driving him up the wall.

Last night had been the most amazing time ever, but he hadn’t been able to shake off the feeling of disappointment at discovering that, at some point, Jonathan had just upped and left without saying goodbye. In all truth, he had slept like a log after fucking Jonathan’s incredible ass twice, so maybe the guy had just gotten bored.

Next time, he’d keep his eyes open or hold Jonathan trapped under him to make sure the same thing didn’t happen twice.

Kane and Dex were still sleeping off their hangovers, but Rusty, much to his surprise, was awake. Maddox waved at him and turned his attention to his phone, trying to will it into revealing a sign of life from Jonathan.

Rusty plopped himself down on the sofa by his side, and Maddox just grumbled. He was in no mood to make conversation, not when he wanted nothing else but for Jonathan to pick up the phone already. He couldn’t be sleeping so long, could he? Maddox hadn’t wrecked him completely, hopefully.

“I ate that thing,” Rusty said suddenly.

“Hmm?” Maddox frowned, hoping that his monosyllabic replies would convince his buddy to shut it.

“The thing your boyfriend cooked for you,” Rusty insisted. “It was fucking great. I had no idea some dudes could cook like that, unless they’re chefs or some shit.”

Maddox waved him off impatiently. “Whatever.” He had been slightly surprised to see that all the food was gone when he had woken up, but he had paid it little mind.

“And I drank all that wine. It was something expensive, right?”

Maddox sighed and finally looked at Rusty. The guy looked a bit worse for wear. “You look like warmed over shit,” he said. “Stop drinking everything you can get your hands on. Didn’t you drink enough last night?”

“Yeah, but it was right there,” Rusty pointed vaguely, “and it tasted good.”

Maddox shrugged and turned his entire attention back to his phone. Rusty remained silent, much to his relief.

“And I touched your boyfriend’s ass.”

“Hmm,” Maddox replied as he flicked through his phone and then he froze. “What?! Say that again.” He turned brusquely toward Rusty and blinked hard. Was this silly kinkster trying to pull a prank on him only to see if he was paying attention?

Rusty crossed his hands over his knees and looked him straight in the eye. “I touched,” he said slowly, “your boyfriend’s ass.”

Maddox blinked faster as something dark lowered over his eyes. No wonder Jonathan didn’t respond to his texts. He ground his teeth hard and punched Rusty in the face.

***

“What the hell is going on here?” Kane and Dex rushed to break them apart.

Maddox was breathing hard and struggled against Kane’s hold. Dex, who was stronger, had his hands full dealing with Rusty who now had a bit of blood under his nose and was sniffling.

“This asshole,” he yelled, “wants a fucking beating! Let me give it to him!”

Dex and Kane were staring at him in disbelief. “What the hell got into you?” Kane asked. “Why would you hit Rusty? Are you picking up this violent shit from your boyfriend?”

Maddox fought against the tide of red he still saw in front of his eyes. “He grabbed Jonathan’s ass!” He pointed at Rusty while Kane, who was bigger and stronger than him, put all his strength into keeping him in place.

“How do you know that? Did he do it in front of you?” Kane asked.

“No, but he told me!” Maddox growled. “Let me just punch that ugly mug! Because of him, Jonathan is ignoring me now!”

“What the fuck, Rusty?” Kane turned toward the culprit.

Rusty was fighting Dex, too, and Maddox really wished these two wouldn’t butt in when they needed to settle this thing and fast.

“Yeah, what the fuck, Rusty?” Dex asked the same thing.

Rusty pushed Dex away. “Screw you all! That guy’s not that big a deal!”

Dex made another move to grab him, but Rusty was quick and rushed up the stairs, thumping with each step, and leaving them all bewildered and staring after him like they were seeing him for the first time in their lives.

Even Maddox was speechless. Kane’s hold had taken the edge out of his anger, but he was still breathing hard. The right side of his face pulsed, which meant that Rusty must have landed at least one hit. Kane grabbed his chin and stared at him. “Let’s get that dealt with.” Maddox didn’t protest as Kane dragged him toward the kitchen.

Dex threw him a sharp look and then walked past them.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“Out,” Dex offered.

“Where is Dex going?” Maddox asked, not liking the short exchange between Dex and Kane at all.

“Out,” Kane said in a deadpan voice.

“Like hell,” Maddox tried to struggle again. “He’s doing some of his righteous shit, isn’t he?”

“Just stay still,” Kane ordered and forced him onto a chair. “Don’t move or I’ll kick your ass.” He grabbed something from the freezer and came back. “Here,” he said as he pressed an ice pack wrapped in a towel on the side of his face. “You don’t want this pretty face bruised, right? We can’t have Jonathan not liking you anymore.”

Maddox grumbled and allowed Kane to baby him. “Jonathan didn’t read any of my messages,” he complained. “It’s because of Rusty, the asshole.”

“Just chill for now. We’ll find out why Rusty did that. Just let him cool his hot head.”

“I know why he did it,” Maddox replied. “Because he’s an asshole. He always wants what’s mine.”

“Hey, hey, what’s this all about now? I bet that he was drunk and thought of pulling a stupid prank.”

Maddox batted Kane’s hand away and took the ice pack to hold it himself. “It’s obvious Jonathan didn’t think it was a joke,” he said aggressively. “He must think I’m an asshole, too, by association.”

“There’s no way he believes that,” Kane replied. “If he does, then he’s the asshole.”

“Ever since junior year started,” Maddox continued, deaf to Kane’s reasoning, “Rusty’s just had it bad for me, always rubbing it in my face how much he’s hooking up and shit like that. Like I give a damn. He can fuck the entire campus three-way if he wants, but he doesn’t get to touch my Jonathan’s ass.”

Kane ruffled his hair and snorted. “Maybe he wanted a bit of attention. Thought of that?”

Maddox scowled. “I’ll give him plenty of attention. With these.” He put up his fists.

“Really?” Kane caught his wrists and pushed his hands down. “Stop being so fucking extra for this dude.”

“What?” Maddox stood and pushed Kane away. “You too? What’s so wrong with that?”

Kane hurried after him. Maddox wanted to go to his room and lick his wounds alone, but upstairs was where Rusty was, and he didn’t want to be anywhere near the asshole, or they’d have another throw-down for sure.

“Easy,” Kane said as he pulled him back into a bear hug. “I dig you, man, I do. You’re falling for this guy, and you don’t want anyone else to touch his ass.”

“Thanks,” Maddox replied, feeling slightly vindicated. “You’d get mad if anyone touched Louise’s ass, right?”

Kane sighed. “Got me there. I’d probably floor the fucker. All right. But let’s not forget that Rusty is, well, Rusty. In some weird twisted way, he probably thought he was doing a good thing.”

Maddox sagged in Kane’s hug. After the rush of adrenaline from earlier, he felt the crash coming. “I still think he’s just an asshole. He saw that I was having it good and just wanted to wreck it for some reason.”

“We’ll work on finding out that reason,” Kane promised. “Don’t forget you and Rusty are best friends. You’ve always been.”

It was true. Even if they were a group of friends, Dex and Kane were closer to each other, just as he and Rusty were. Well, that was going to change, because there was no way in hell he could forgive Rusty for pulling something as stupid as that. If the asshole just ruined his chances with Jonathan, he would never forgive him. Never.

***

The energetic rap on the front door startled Jonathan. He really hoped it wasn’t Maddox, but who else could it be? If it truly was Maddox, he was ill-equipped to face him. He heard Ray rushing to the door and talking to someone, so he braced for impact.

Ray knocked softly on his door.

“Yes?” Jonathan said in a raspy voice.

“Someone’s here to see you, JJ,” Ray said from behind the door. His bestie surely thought he was still sleepy and didn’t want to bother him.

“You can open the door. Tell him to come in.” Jonathan straightened up and ran his fingers through his hair. He hoped he looked only half as messed up as he felt, because the conversation that was coming wasn’t going to be an easy one.

The door opened, but it wasn’t Maddox walking in with his sexy strut, but Dex Solomon. Jonathan stood promptly and searched Dex’s face with confused eyes. What was this about?

“Why are you here?” he asked, forgetting his manners.

“Can we have a word?” Dex asked, after a short nod that counted as a greeting.

“Sure, sure.” Jonathan gestured toward the only chair in the room. “Please, have a seat.”

Dex sat, making the chair groan. The room seemed so little all of a sudden. Ray had closed the door, supposing, kind soul that he was, that they needed privacy to talk.

“Well?” he asked.

Even sitting, Dex was impressive, so Jonathan chose to stand.

“Did something happen to Maddox?” he continued.

Dex leaned forward and steepled his fingers in front of him, while cocking his head and giving Jonathan a long, pointed look. “Yeah, you could say that. You’re ignoring his messages.”

“I barely woke up,” Jonathan justified himself, pointing at the unmade bed.

“Hmm,” came the noncommittal reply. “How about you stop hiding, Hamilton, and face the music? How about that?”

“I’m not hiding, this is ridiculous, I don’t even know--” Jonathan stopped his tirade on his own. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Truly, what’s this about?”

“Truly,” Dex mimicked his speech and leaned back in the chair, making it creak dangerously. “Rusty tends to be an idiot, more often than not, but this shit is on you.”

“What shit? What are you talking about?”

Dex observed him some more. Jonathan wasn’t sure what about that look unnerved him so much. “Short succession of events, because seriously, I have a hangover as big as this freaking campus, and I’d like to chill today without having to break up another fight.”

“Fight? What fight?”

“Just listen. So you and Maddox have a nice time, but at some point, Rusty comes in and grabs your lovely ass.”

Jonathan worked his jaw. Dex challenged him for a moment, waiting for him to comment or react to his words.

“Nothing untoward really happened,” Jonathan said in a cool voice.

“Well, it was untoward enough for Rusty and Maddox to get into a fight.”

“That is certainly not my fault.”

“Like hell,” Dex cut his words short. “Why the hell did you let Rusty get away with that?”

Jonathan felt heat rising in his cheeks. “I did nothing of the kind. What exactly do you think happened?”

“The way I see it,” Dex explained, parting his palms, “Rusty was looking for a punch in the face, and you didn’t give it to him. So he needed to ask for it from Maddox. Am I right?”

“What exactly do you want to be right about?” Jonathan asked, hating the defensive tone he had so quickly assumed.

“You didn’t punch Rusty for grabbing your ass.”

“No. But that doesn’t automatically make me a victim,” Jonathan replied and crossed his arms over his chest.

“No. It makes you a coward.”

“No shit.” Jonathan could feel his teeth hurting. “I don’t just go around, throwing punches--”

“You hit Maddox when he tried to kiss you.”

Jonathan closed his eyes and inhaled and exhaled slowly. So Maddox did tell everything to his friends. “Different matter,” he managed with great difficulty.

“Sure it is,” Dex said. Jonathan wasn’t sure if the guy was saying it ironically or not. “Now, listen here, you messed this up, and now Maddox and Rusty are crazy mad at each other. You need to make things right.”

“What?” Jonathan felt anger choking him. “Make what right? That Maddox goes around, telling you guys everything we do together and laughs behind my back? That Rusty is a fucking hooligan who behaves like a dog in heat?”

Dex stared at him, slightly amused. “You’re messed up, Hamilton. I don’t know what your deal is, don’t care, really, ‘cause you’re not my buddy, but Maddox and Rusty are.”

“So, what do you want from me?” Jonathan asked and curled his hands into fists. “To allow your buddies,” he hissed as he emphasized the last word, “to walk all over me? Treat me like I’m some fucking doormat?”

Dex leaned back farther in the chair and gave him an appraising look. “Glad to see there’s life under those preppy clothes. That’s why Maddox likes you, obviously. No, Hamilton, I don’t want you to be a fucking doormat. I want you to stop being one when you deal with my buddies. Fucking kiss Maddox because you want to without being so fucking frightened of whatever it is you think might happen, and slap Rusty silly because that horny dog, yeah, you’re right, needs to be put in his place. Am I being clear enough?”

Jonathan was too angered to see the reason in Dex’s words. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. You don’t get to tell me what to do.” To his ears, he sounded petulant and vindictive, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Tough luck, ‘cause that’s why I’m here. Stop hiding from Maddox and pick up your damned phone.”

Jonathan went purposefully to the door, jerked it open and stood there rigidly. “See yourself out, Solomon. I don’t need the cookie-cutter advice you got from mom and dad.”

Dex stood up from the chair slowly, all the while wearing an annoying smirk. He stopped short of Jonathan, dominating him with his size for a while. “Dad and dad,” he said smugly.

“What?” Jonathan asked.

“That would be ‘cookie-cutter’ advice from my dads,” Dex said.

Jonathan pursed his lips, not knowing what to say. Now wasn’t the time to turn over in his head what that meant and why Dex cared to tell him about it. “Maddox and I just hooked up,” he said brusquely. “No need for all this drama. We’re done. And feel free to tell him and Rusty that their friendship doesn’t have to suffer over such an insignificant thing.”

“You tell them,” Dex said, pushing himself in his face.

Jonathan pressed himself against the door. “Please don’t take advantage of the fact that I cannot, physically, throw you out. Just leave already.”

It was difficult to ignore the low chuckle that accompanied Dex Solomon on his way out, or the hammering of his heart over all that had just transpired. Maddox and Rusty fighting, Dex’s talk about how he was the one allowing…

Allowing what? Other people to treat him badly?

“I know you’ll talk to them,” Dex said with conviction before walking out. “Maddox wouldn’t be so wrong about the guy he’s falling for.”

Food for thought, really. What made this Dex guy so clever, anyway?

TBC