Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys - 39. No Escape

Chapter Thirty-Nine – No Escape

Avoiding Maddox was easy, as everyone was caught in the flurry of nervous excitement caused by finals. Jonathan had a feeling that Maddox was giving him space, which he very much appreciated. They exchanged a few polite words when they happened to meet around campus, but there was a tacit understanding between them that they had to let the exams pass so that they could talk about themselves and their relationship. That only made Jonathan fall even more madly in love with Maddox, as it proved he had a big heart and also understood where they were.

Of course, Maddox was wrong, and Jonathan couldn’t let him know the real reason why he wasn’t running to him, crazy enough to kiss him in front of the entire school once more, and swear to him that he would never lie again, not even by omission. The letter he had written to Maddox during his weekend away had suffered a few amendments based on that decision, and Jonathan could only hope that it would make things easier once everything blew over.

He held absolutely no hopes that Xpress would honor the deal of not releasing the video. Whoever was behind that awful publication was only giving him the necessary breather to run away before the storm arrived. Jonathan wasn’t sure if he was grateful for that.

“Do you think it’s worth working yourself to the bone just so that you ace them all?”

The question took him by surprise, and not only that, the person uttering the words, most of all.

“Connor,” he said stiffly and adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag. He was moving between buildings and wouldn’t say that he wished for any kind of company, let alone Connor’s company. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me at all.”

Connor seemed genuinely surprised by his blunt rejection. He frowned and began walking by his side, even if uninvited. “No offense, Jonathan, but you look like shit. There are such things as breaks, you know? The reason why I stopped to talk to you is because we exchanged some words the last time--”

Jonathan felt his fingers tremble. “Don’t worry about a thing, Connor. I meant those words, and I have no intention of taking them back. So, if you think I’m going to apologize, think again.”

“You’re very difficult to talk to these days. Rumor has it that Maddox wants to get back with you. Your academic performance is above anyone else’s, and it looks like everyone is on your side. That incident with Rusty is already water under the bridge. So, what’s eating you?”

Jonathan couldn’t believe the guy’s audacity to taunt him like that. He grabbed Connor by the front of his shirt, making the guy yelp. Then, he stared him in the face. “Funny that you’re the person asking me that,” he said through his teeth.

Connor’s frown deepened and he put his hands on Jonathan’s wrists, struggling to get away from him. “You’re acting really strange. I’m just worried a bit about you, is all.”

“Worried?” Jonathan now trembled from head to toes, and it took him everything he had not to shake Connor and make him repent for every lie he had published in Xpress probably since the moment he had set foot on Sunny Hill grounds. “You, worried about me?”

Connor was leaning back now, in poorly concealed fear. He looked like he was afraid that he would get a punch in the face. Jonathan hadn’t thought him to be such a coward. He pushed him away in disgust. “Don’t worry, Connor. Your blackmail holds.”

“What? What blackmail?” Connor’s confused question followed him as he walked away.

The nerve of the guy. There was no point in confronting him over the video; he would deny everything like last time, and he seemed to be quite the actor. And as much as he wanted to give Connor a piece of his mind, it would only make the situation worse. At least as things allegedly stood now, he was supposed to have until the end of the week to make a run for it.

Tic-toc, tic-toc, Hamilton. Keep that pretty head low. We have such itchy fingers, you know? Gosh, such a tasty piece of gossip, and we just decided to be magnanimous. Is our speech fine enough for the likes of you? Play nice, and we’ll play nice, too.

Jonathan gritted his teeth. A part of him wanted to smash the phone against the sidewalk, just so that he could breathe. He looked over his shoulder to see if Connor really had the nerve to send him a message so quickly after their encounter. Connor was nowhere in sight, and Jonathan tried to call the unknown number again, in hope that his tormentor would be stupid enough to pick up.

No such luck, of course.

***

“Why aren’t you and Jonathan back together?” Rusty asked.

Dex and Kane stopped for a moment to raise their heads, but then, they pretended to continue studying, although Maddox could swear that their ears were perked up and ready to receive an explanation.

“It’s finals week, duh,” Maddox pointed out. “Jonathan told me that we would talk later, so I’m giving him space.”

Rusty pursed his lips and twiddled his thumbs, as he slouched on the sofa, his hands linked over his stomach. “That’s way too much space,” he eventually said.

“Yeah,” Dex seconded.

“Ditto,” Kane added.

Maddox groaned. “C’mon, guys, he’s not going to take a break from studying right now just so that we can get back together. I can wait. And I need to show him that I can wait.”

“Something’s fishy,” Rusty declared. “Last week, Jonathan was about to fall on his knees and beg you to get back together.”

“Yeah, but well, I waited too long to apologize,” Maddox said and pulled at his collar. “All right, I was an ass. It’s normal that he’s a little upset with me. And we have finals! Maybe we all mooch on our families for money, but he has to keep that scholarship. It’s not an option for him.” He hoped his exasperation sounded genuine enough. He was only a little short of plucking daisies and playing ‘he loves me, he loves me not’.

“Nope, nope, nope,” Rusty said and shook his head vigorously. “Jonathan’s got it bad for you since day one, and it’s not like him to change his mind.”

“You sure?” Maddox asked and rolled his eyes.

“I made him say out loud that he’s in love with you,” Rusty said promptly. “That’s not a guy who goes back on his words a week or so into the future.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Kane intervened, “let’s roll back a little. When did you force Jonathan to admit his feelings for Maddox, Rusty?”

Rusty lolled his head to one side and then threw Kane a funny stare.

“It had to have been during the ‘incident’,” Dex hopped on board with an explanation while hooking his fingers in the air as he said the last word.

“That must have been what gave Jonathan the courage to write that note,” Kane said brightly.

“What note?” Dex asked.

“What did it say in the note?” Rusty asked.

His friends had different pieces of information about where his love life stood. He groaned loudly again. “Jonathan left a note in a book in my room, telling me he loved me, and that’s all,” he said quickly. “Is everyone now up to speed? What’s next? Should we start braiding each other’s hair?”

Dex snorted, Kane rolled his eyes, but Rusty ran his hands through his tousled strands. “Do you think I’d look good in braids?”

“No,” Maddox said with a scowl. “You’d look like an idiot.”

Rusty appeared to be completely unfazed by his words and turned toward their other two friends. “Any second opinions?”

Dex smirked and said nothing. Kane leaned back in his chair and observed Rusty through his eyelashes. “Braids are not important. What could be fishy, Rusty?”

“Finally, someone asks,” Rusty said and threw his arms in the air. “I don’t know, though,” he added and let his arms drop in disappointment at himself. “I mean, Jonathan should be here, sitting in Maddox’s lap with them making doe eyes at each other until someone tells them to get a room. And Maddox’s room is upstairs, so they’d only have to--”

“We get the picture,” Dex interrupted him. “Rusty has a point. Something’s not right about Jonathan not wanting to rush back into your arms like a fairytale princess.”

“Prince,” Rusty corrected him.

“Prince,” Dex admitted his error.

“He’s just upset, and he’s right,” Maddox insisted, even though he didn’t like how petulant he sounded. The fact that Jonathan was still keeping his distance was irking him to no end. All right, they couldn’t just hop in bed again and fuck each other silly, but they could hold hands and share kisses.

It was painful how well he remembered Jonathan’s last kiss. At the time, he hadn’t even paid too much attention like someone would who was used to always ordering the tastiest desserts on the menu and then only taking a bite, but now it felt like such a precious experience that he carried in his heart and mind like nothing else.

His friends would laugh if they knew what he was thinking, how romantic he had gotten all of a sudden. Kane narrowed his eyes, Dex quirked an eyebrow, and Rusty leaned forward with a grin. “What?” he asked, all his alarm sensors tingling.

“You looked a little bit weird just now,” Dex said. ‘Weird’ was, probably, a tactful word in Dex’s vocabulary.

“Weird like how?”

“Like a fair maiden left at the altar,” Kane added and laughed at his own stupid joke.

“Like you miss him a lot,” Rusty added, the most delicate of all his three friends, much to his surprise. But Rusty, being Rusty, couldn’t stop there. He gave Maddox a long and intent once-over. “When did you guys fuck last?”

Maddox pursed his lips, frowned, and made a gesture with his hands as if he would get a lot of satisfaction if he could just wring Rusty’s neck. Instead of that, he tortured nothing but the empty air that, luckily, couldn’t feel a thing.

“Finals are not going to take forever,” Kane pointed out. “Wait it out. I doubt Jonathan’s going to have a change of heart.”

Well, he was worried about that, actually; there was a possibility that Jonathan had already had that change of heart. But no, it couldn’t be because one look from him was enough to tell him that the feelings they felt toward one another were still mutual. Their eyes said everything. The polite words they exchanged, not so much.

Kane was right, and it only strengthened his hopes. At the end of the week, he would get Jonathan alone, and then they would have that meaningful talk that would end up with them in the same bed, doing all those things he missed doing – yeah, Rusty, you crazy mofo, you’re right.

“Still, something’s fishy,” Rusty intervened once more.

“If you can’t say what is, then just go grab a book or something,” Kane advised him.

Rusty took advantage that Kane seemed already absorbed by his textbooks and started making faces. A crumpled piece of paper hit him in the face. Apparently, he had missed that Dex was looking straight at him.

Maddox sighed and turned toward his own study materials. Because of the excellent project with Jonathan for Statistics, his situation had already gone through an improvement this semester. Just one of the many things he had to be grateful for since having Jonathan.

***

Ray was barring the way, which, for certain, was a problem.

“Ray,” Jonathan started meekly.

“Are you running away, JJ? We’ve barely finished our finals.”

He sighed and looked away. The luggage in his hand was a dead giveaway, and Ray eyed it with unease.

“Where are you even going to go?” Ray continued.

“Home. My parents seemed willing to,” he stopped for a short sigh, “take me back the last time we spoke. Until I figure out what to do next, I can only say that I won’t be homeless.”

Ray’s face transformed as he talked, from surprise to a frown and then to a bit of a puzzled expression. “What you’re going to do next is that you will come back and be my roommate again. You didn’t do anything rash and inform anyone official that you’re not coming back, right?”

“No, not yet. That’s something else I need to figure out how to do without appearing like an ungrateful brat. After all, the people here have always been nice to me.”

“Except that piece of garbage, Xpress,” Ray mumbled. “I’m working on my plan, you know? The one that will make sure that you’re not going to be treated here like you were at your old school.”

Jonathan’s heart filled with fondness at Ray’s words. “You wouldn’t be my bestie otherwise.” He rubbed his forehead with his free hand. “But I don’t know if I have the strength, Ray. And Maddox will become embarrassed about me, too.”

“Is that a lie you tell yourself on a daily basis, or something? Maddox will never be like that with you. Just jealous, fine, but that’s another good sign. He really cares about you.”

He hadn’t let Ray know of Maddox’s confession. If he did, he had a feeling that Ray would resort to something crazy, like tying him to a chair and forbidding him from leaving completely.

“I know he does. But things like this can take a toll on anyone. Drew, as insensitive as he was when the video went, let’s say, locally viral,” he explained with a grimace, “he got into a few fights with some of our fellow students.” He said the last words painfully.

“So, he didn’t release the video?” Ray asked and frowned a bit. “But I thought--”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it would be misinterpreted like that. He was just negligent, leaving his phone around, unlocked and all. Someone else must have done it, and while he saved his skin and threw me to the wolves, at least of that I’m sure. It wasn’t at all in his interest, either, to have a video of him getting high all over the place.”

“He didn’t care about the other thing, naturally,” Ray said with obvious pique.

“No, he didn’t. Always looking out for number one, Drew,” Jonathan admitted. “Look, I’ll send you my parents’ address. I don’t intend to become a stranger, not after I found a friend as amazing as you are.”

“Bestie,” Ray corrected him. “Best friend. Hug?”

Jonathan couldn’t say ‘no’ to that. Ray squeezed him tightly. “I forgive you for running away, but only for now. As soon as my plan is in place, I’ll drag you back from the castle you live in.”

“It’s not a castle, Ray.”

“Whatever. I’d fight a dragon to get you, though. Don’t you forget that.”

Even if it was only fun banter between friends, Jonathan felt a couple of tears stinging his eyes as he held Ray close for a moment. “I never will,” he promised and walked out the door.

***

He was almost off the campus grounds when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder, forcing him to stop. “Hamilton, where do you think you’re going?”

Jonathan let out a long sigh but turned to face the guy anyway. “Rusty,” he said and shook his head. “I thought you weren’t talking to me for some reason.”

Rusty’s face lit up with a goofy grin, completely in contrast with his booming voice from earlier. “The sweater incident was a bit too much. And I didn’t want Maddox to think that I’m wooing you or something. Is that right? To say ‘wooing’?”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “You two are getting along just fine now, right? I doubt he’d still be jealous of you.”

“You don’t know him. He’s a monster,” Rusty declared theatrically. “He even made me study.”

“Oh, the pain, the horror,” Jonathan commented, a bit amused.

“But we’re done with all that,” Rusty said cheerfully. “So, where are you going?” He looked at the luggage in Jonathan’s hand just as Ray had earlier.

“I’m going to talk to my parents. They won’t be so cold-hearted as not to put me up for Christmas.”

“Hmm,” Rusty commented and put one fist under his chin. “But Maddox wants you home with him for Christmas.”

“He does?” Jonathan asked. He still had a letter to deliver, and his plans included a short meeting with Maddox, only not right now. He wasn’t sure he could face him and not crumble to pieces.

“He told me that his mom said so.”

“Oh,” Jonathan managed with some difficulty. “But I thought that his parents, you know, were not very fond… I’m sorry. I don’t know how much Maddox shares with you.”

“Everything,” Rusty said emphatically. “His mom said that at least before Christmas, he should bring you for a day or two.”

That actually solved his problem of seeing Maddox one last time and making an attempt at what he hoped would be a clean break without anyone being hurt too much. “Do you happen to have Maddox’s address?” he asked.

Rusty snorted. “Of course. Are you going to see him?”

“Yes. Before Christmas. But… just don’t tell him. I want it to be a surprise.” He even forced himself to smile, just to throw Rusty off. More like he didn’t want to get Maddox’s hopes high for no reason. He had seen plenty of those puppy stares during the week to know that it wouldn’t be easy.

“Okay. Sending it to you right now,” Rusty said and pulled out his phone.

***

“I can’t believe that he left like that. He knew how much I wanted to… Ah, whatever. He’ll get an earful when we get back to campus after winter break,” Maddox said and opened the fridge for no particular reason. “I’m not going to beg him over the phone.”

Kane sounded sympathetic at the other end. “Make sure to tame this one, Maddox. Jonathan surely likes getting away a lot.”

“Yeah, he’s like a wild horse or something. Mom is like really disappointed, though. I didn’t think she would be so upset.”

“She must be uber curious about him,” Kane offered. “We’re on for New Year’s, though, Jonathan or not, right?”

“Yeah, totally. I wouldn’t miss it. And I’ll drag Rusty there, as well.”

It wouldn’t be a winter break without them celebrating together. Christmas was for family, New Year’s was for friends. And Dex’s dads had already rented a cozy mountain lodge for them to have as much fun and snow as they wanted.

His mom was in the doorway, watching him and smiling. Maddox closed the fridge door. “Gotta go, man. I feel a disturbance in the Force.”

His mom rolled her eyes and made a motion with her kitchen towel like she wanted to bludgeon him with it. Maddox grinned as he slipped his phone into his back pocket. “Any errands you want me to run?”

“No, I just thought it was Jonathan calling. Are you sure you apologized properly?”

“Yeah, totally. He must have made up with his parents, and that’s why he hurried home like that.”

His mom was looking at him like she wasn’t completely buying it. “You must have done something really bad. You’re just too lovable to leave like this on Christmas otherwise.”

So, his mom was scolding and complimenting him at the same time. But Maddox liked to think that he had his pride, too. Well, maybe. He’d probably end up sending message after message tonight before he went to sleep.

The doorbell chimed cheerfully. His mom turned to go answer it, but that was as good an opportunity as any to pretend to be helpful. “I’ll get that,” he said and hurried down the hallway.

He pulled the front door wide open, despite the snow that had started just earlier. And then, his breath caught in his throat, and his heart started beating in its familiar rhythm again. A couple of feet from him, at the top of the steps, half-turned from him and looking up, several snowflakes caught in his hair, stood Jonathan.

His beautiful amber eyes turned toward him and lit up with warmth as they landed on him. “Maddox, hi. Rusty told me where you live. I hope I’m not inconveniencing you.”

Maddox felt for a moment as if he couldn’t breathe because he was so happy. “Inconveniencing, wow. Just get inside already.” He didn’t wait for Jonathan to heed the invitation and grabbed his arm to pull him over the threshold.

Jonathan offered him a giddy smile, and Maddox threw one cautious look down the hallway and then kissed him on the lips. Jonathan’s arms around him were familiar and strong, and Maddox hugged him back tightly, forgetting all about his plans of trying and failing to ignore his boyfriend.

“Ahem,” someone cleared her throat loudly.

They broke off like guilty kids.

“Mom, this is Jonathan,” Maddox said and rubbed the back of his head, trying hard not to blush for being caught like that.

“Hello, Mrs. Kingsley,” Jonathan said politely. “I promise I’m not going to disturb your Christmas preparations. I just meant to drop by and see Maddox for a bit, and then I’ll be on my way.”

Maddox tensed on reflex. So, Jonathan didn’t plan on staying. Yeah, like he would let that happen. Unless there was some life-or-death situation that required Jonathan’s presence that very moment, he would stay put.

“Nobody calls me Mrs. Kingsley,” his mom said with a small snort. “Call me Florence. And what’s this nonsense about not staying? You’re invited. I’m not sure if Maddox told you.” She threw him a pointed look. “Now, come, come, everybody’s dying to get to know you.”

Jonathan appeared to hesitate for a moment, but Maddox’s mom was not the kind to let people hesitate for too long in her presence. She practically forced him to walk inside, took his luggage and shoved it into Maddox’s arms, and even, somehow, managed to help him out of his coat.

“Sit over there,” she ordered Jonathan while pointing at the sofa in the living room and holding his coat like it was some precious object. “I’m just going to hang this up to dry a little, and then you’ll get to meet everyone. Oh, and I’m making tea. Do you have a favorite? I have everything.”

Jonathan seemed a bit baffled by the warm and enthusiastic welcome. “Everything’s fine, Mrs. … Florence. Please, do not trouble yourself for my sake.”

Maddox’s mom smiled from ear to ear. Then, she grabbed Maddox and pushed him up the stairs. “Put his luggage in your room. He’ll at least spend the night,” she whispered to him, while stealing glances toward the living room as if she expected Jonathan to bolt without his coat and luggage.

“In my room?” Maddox mumbled, astonished at his mom’s rapid arrangements.

“Where else? Pumpkin, he’s even more gorgeous in person. And so polite. If I were thirty-five years younger and had not met your father, I’d put him in my room.”

“He’s not into girls, mom,” Maddox protested. “You and Al, both, I swear,” he groaned but allowed her to push him further up the stairs.

“Good thing he’s not. This is how I get the most handsome son-in-law in the whole town. And the way he speaks, so distinguished. And this coat,” she commented while feeling the fabric. “You’re marrying up, Maddox.”

“Mom, you’re scaring me. No one’s getting married,” he protested.

She stole another look toward the living room. Did Jonathan feel weirded out already? Maddox wondered if he could hear them whispering at the foot of the stairs.

“Not yet,” she said promptly, and this time gave him a good shove to get him to hurry.

***

He had expected to ask Maddox outside for a bit, and then offer him an explanation that made sense, plus hand him the letter. But it had all happened very fast, the look in Maddox’s eyes of pure happiness, the kiss in the hallway, and of course, the mom dragging him inside and welcoming him so warmly that he couldn’t just make a run for it.

Hurried steps barreled toward the living room, startling him. In a moment, he was looking at a young attractive girl in goth makeup. “Oh. My. Gosh,” she exclaimed so loudly that Jonathan worried that the windows rattled at the volume of her voice. “You’re Jonathan!”

He smiled and stood up from the sofa. Then he walked toward her, his hand extended. “Yes, you guessed right.”

She didn’t take his hand, but instead flung herself into his arms, taking him by surprise. “I’m Alicia, Maddox’s older sister. You can call me Al.”

“Older?” Jonathan asked. Ah, that was right. Maddox was the youngest of all his siblings, so everyone else was older than he was. Alicia actually looked a bit younger than Maddox, but maybe it was how cute she was that made it easy for people to mistake her age.

“By two years, but he’s like, totally, my twin.” She seemed very excited to see him there. She nonchalantly took his hand and then they both sat on the sofa. “Wait till everyone sees you. You’re here for Christmas? You must stay. I know it’s only two days from now, but we’ll make sure you get presents, too.”

“I don’t want to inconvenience you and your family--”

“What inconvenience?” Florence walked into the room with a tray in her hands that Alicia immediately jumped to take from her. They fussed a little while they somehow managed to work in synch without spilling any tea. He felt like they were paying him way too much attention, but couldn’t say that he was displeased about it. The atmosphere in that house made his lips curl in a smile even if he struggled against it, which he didn’t. “You’ll at least stay until tomorrow.”

Jonathan wanted to argue and assure them that there was no need to bother for his sake.

“Maddox already put your luggage in his room. That’s where you’re going to sleep tonight,” Florence continued.

Any words he wanted to say died on his lips. This was definitely more than he had hoped for, but wasn’t he an ingrate for taking advantage of their hospitality when his plans were…

His plans were nothing. His eyes fell on Maddox who rushed into the room, his face all smiles. “Are you going home for Christmas?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“But you can go tomorrow, right? Give them a call,” Maddox said in the same tone as his mom, the one that made any protests futile.

“I will, of course. Thank you so much, Florence,” he said dutifully.

Somehow, the news of his appearance on the doorstep of the Kingsley household seemed to have traveled fast, because the room suddenly filled with people.

***

Everyone wanted a piece of Jonathan, Maddox thought with envy, as his siblings took turns asking his boyfriend a myriad of questions while plying him with food. Jonathan was his usual polite self, but Maddox could sense something else, a warmth that wasn’t displayed for just anyone. It looked like Jonathan took to his family like a duck to water, which had to be the biggest sign that things were good between them.

When he had learned from Ray that Jonathan was gone, he had felt a bout of helplessness for a moment. Sure thing, he could wait until the winter break was over, but it wasn’t going to be easy to deal with the disappointment and slight desperation he was going through.

His brothers were very much interested in the types of Irish whiskey Jonathan had tried in his life, particularly the most expensive ones, while his sisters were busy practically eating out of his palm. Sure thing, the female side of the family was more interested in their relationship, something that made Jonathan blush and become flustered now and then.

He checked his phone for the time. Why did it have to move so slowly when he needed it to be evening already so that they could go to sleep? He hadn’t expected his mom to be so forthcoming, so evening meant that he would have Jonathan in his room, and, of course, his bed.

Sophia was the only one who wanted to pick a bone. “So, how are things with your parents?” she asked.

Maddox made a silent gesture for her to cut it out, but it looked like she was out for blood, because she ignored him.

“I haven’t told them yet that I’m coming,” Jonathan replied. “But I want to spend this Christmas with them.”

“What made you fall out with them?” Sophia insisted.

Jonathan seemed uncomfortable, so Maddox decided to intervene. “Are you with the FBI, So-so?” He chose the nickname Al gave their sister to annoy her.

Sophia narrowed her eyes at him. “No, but I want to know the man who’s bent on stealing my baby brother.”

“I’m not a baby anymore,” Maddox moaned. Sophia had a streak of overprotectiveness in her, and he had been at the end of that one too many times in the past. Marcus had to be a saint indeed to put up with her.

“I am not going to steal your brother,” Jonathan said.

“You’re not?” Al asked, without hiding her shock. “But that’s the whole point!”

Jonathan seemed uncertain as to what the whole point was supposed to be.

“Maddox is totally smitten with you,” Mary, the oldest sister, intervened.

Jonathan moved his eyes between the women, like a little rabbit caught in a trap. “Um, I… know. I mean, same here.” He ended up looking at his plate.

Maddox wanted to get rid of certain sisters right now. He stared until he caught his mom’s eyes. She didn’t need a dictionary to understand what the deal was. “Girls, you’re scaring our guest. You’re just short of asking him when he and Maddox are going to get married.”

Oh, no. His mom was in on it, too.

“How about we let them get to know each other a little bit before that?” his dad intervened.

Maddox beamed at him. His dad winked.

“All this food has made me sleepy,” Vern said out loud and threw Maddox a conspiratorial look. “How about we call it a night? And the kids need their rest, too.”

Maddox recognized a good strategy when he saw one. If any of the adults mentioned the kids, it meant that everyone else had to tone down the excitement so that they could get some sleep. He muttered a silent ‘thank you’ to his older brother and then waited patiently until everyone began to get up, grabbing dishes and utensils and heading for the kitchen, while exchanging hushed opinions. He knew exactly who was being put through the wringer.

Jonathan said thank you for the food and stood up. When he tried to pick up his plate, Maddox’s mom intervened promptly. “No need for that. You’re our guest. When do you plan on leaving tomorrow?”

“As early as possible,” Jonathan replied. “And I must apologize again for dropping by unannounced.”

“We were waiting for you, so no harm done. And you can see that I run a full house. One more guest is nothing to me. This household has seen a lot worst,” she explained with a big smile.

Maddox jumped to his feet, hoping that he wasn’t too obvious in his trying to stave off his mom’s attempts to embarrass Jonathan even more. “I’m beat,” he said out loud, feigning a yawn. “Do I get out of dish washing duty?”

“Mary’s on it already. I put new sheets and an extra pillow in your room. Make sure Jonathan’s comfortable.”

She really didn’t need to tell him that. Maddox took Jonathan’s hand and forced him to follow before he became ensnared by who knew which of his mom’s machinations.

***

Jonathan felt slightly dizzy. He certainly hadn’t expected the warm welcome he’d just received. He felt slightly panicked at not being able to remember everyone’s names, especially the kids who had been impossible to make stay put at dinner and had mostly run around the table, causing a ruckus that no one except their grandfather seemed to care about.

He followed Maddox into a cozy bedroom that looked like it was still inhabited by a teenager with many hobbies by the posters on the walls and the various collectibles arranged neatly on the shelves. “I hadn’t quite pegged you as a nerd,” he said with a smile as he looked at the figurines without touching them.

Maddox was busy making the bed and fluffing the pillows. The sight of that bed was enough to make Jonathan gulp. His plans were clearly down the drain. Maybe it had been a mistake to come here… but he couldn’t convince himself of that at all.

“Did you just call me a nerd?” Maddox asked with a snort. “Now,” he said and put his hands on his hips, “why did you leave so early without saying anything? And if you didn’t go to your folks, where have you been staying for the last several days?”

He could go ahead and tell him everything, about Xpress, the blackmail, the mere fact that he couldn’t face the same hazing once more. But it would ruin the mood, he thought, and by how Maddox was slightly moving his hips, the mood was already set.

So, he smiled and leaned against the door. “I’m a man with means. Scholarship, work-study, all that. Plus, I still have my sapphire card.”

Maddox guffawed at that like he had just heard the best joke ever. Jonathan blinked a couple of times. Could it be that Maddox was nervous? That made two of them.

“Would you like to come to bed?”

It was an innocent question, but Jonathan didn’t believe in such things when it came to Maddox. He didn’t move as Maddox walked over to him and hovered close. There was suddenly not enough air in the room to fill his lungs. From up close, Maddox still looked as pretty as he remembered.

Jonathan cleared his throat. “I have so many things I need to tell you.”

Maddox leaned closer and pressed one thigh between his legs. Jonathan let out a small surprised sound, but it was swallowed from his lips by a hot mouth.

“Anything that can’t wait?” Maddox asked.

Jonathan shook his head. He was weak in the knees already.

“You know,” Maddox teased his ear, while his strong thigh moved so that Jonathan’s crotch was caught in the crossfire, “I was this close to sending you mournful love songs just so you would understand how you made me feel by keeping me away.”

Jonathan shivered. Maddox’s hot breath on the side of his neck did nothing to calm his nerves. “You’re not the kind to listen to mournful love songs. The whole thing would have been a little trite.”

“Maybe you don’t know everything about me.”

“Maybe.”

To his surprise, Maddox pushed himself away from him and then took out his phone. Jonathan stared at him, not understanding. He blinked when a pleasant harmony filled the room. “It’s an old song,” he remarked. Maybe mournful wasn’t the right word to describe it, but it was a love song.

“I know some of those, surprisingly,” Maddox said and smiled.

Jonathan wondered if it was possible to survive if you turned into a puddle on the floor.

“That’s how I’ve felt since I met you,” Maddox added and bit his bottom lip suggestively.

“Really?” Jonathan tried to put off the inevitable by playing it cool, but his voice was hoarse, his heart threatened to jump out of his chest, and his palms were sweaty. Under other circumstances, all of that would have felt like a nightmare. But this was no nightmare; it was paradise.

“Do you want me to say it?” Maddox moved closer again and whispered the words of the song into his ear, deftly replacing the word ‘woman’ with ‘man’ in the lyrics. “Take responsibility,” he said while wrapping his arms around Jonathan, “because I can’t escape.”

Jonathan aimed his head so that he could kiss away that last word from Maddox’s mouth. He couldn’t escape, either.

TBC