Chapter Thirty-One -- Green-eyed Monster
He didn't expect the unpleasant feeling in his gut to go away as the days passed by, bringing him closer to the day when he was supposed to call his parents and announce that he would pay them a visit on Thanksgiving. That was no shock, really. The most appropriate course of action was to do it and be done with it. Still, something was keeping him from taking that step, and he kept postponing the call even after he purchased his plane ticket.
How would they receive his reaching out? After so much silence, Jonathan felt as if they had become so estranged that it was as if they lived on different continents and hadn't seen each other in years if not more. Was this all that it took to forget about the importance of family? He liked to think he was better than to dismiss such essential emotional attachments from his heart. And yet, here he was, feeling more at home at Sunny Hill, in a tiny dorm room -- tiny by the standards of his family's estate, of course -- surrounded by strangers. Of course, that last bit wasn't entirely true.
He had friends, good friends, but they were all leaving to see their families, and that made him feel somewhat left out. Ray had extended an invitation to join him, and Jonathan didn't doubt that his BFF's parents had to be just as good-natured and easygoing as their son, but still, he couldn't help feeling that he would intrude on a space that belonged to family alone.
"What are you thinking about?" Maddox pressed a finger to Jonathan's forehead.
Supposedly, they were cooped up in Maddox's room to study, even if they didn't share the same classes except for Statistics. It looked like only one of them was keen on respecting the shared study time. Jonathan shook his head.
"I'm going to see my parents," he said in one dropped beat.
Maddox gave him a long, pensive look. "You don't sound very thrilled."
"I'm not," Jonathan confirmed. "I haven't talked to them in quite a while."
"They haven't called? Not once?" Maddox asked.
He rolled on his belly and looked upward at Jonathan. Wasn't he the luckiest guy alive? The sight of those pretty gray eyes, peering at him from underneath the rebellious dark locks, was making him easily forget about the unpleasant rock nestled in the pit of his stomach. "No. That doesn't mean that I should leave things as they are, though."
"Sure," Maddox agreed. "Jonathan, if you don't feel like visiting them, how about coming with me?"
"To your house?" Jonathan mumbled.
"That's where I'm going," Maddox said with a grin and a teasing wink. "And before you have one of those weird as fuck aristocratic strokes about protocol, manners, and who knows what else, no, you wouldn't impose. And you'd get to visit my room. I could show you my Pokémon card collection," he added and wiggled his eyebrows as if that kind of temptation should have been enough to tip Jonathan's internal balance.
Jonathan laughed and ran one hand through Maddox's hair to push it away from his handsome face. "Ugh, that's a tough sell, right there. How could I say 'no' to something like that?"
Maddox's face lit up. He even pushed himself up and sat on the bed with his legs crossed under him. "Don't say 'no', then. Say 'yes'."
Jonathan sighed. "Trust me, I would. In a heartbeat." Maddox's face fell, so he hurried to add, "I just need to see them. Also, we might not want to drop a bombshell of such proportions on your folks."
"What bombshell?" Maddox asked and looked at him with an expression of adorable confusion.
It was Jonathan's turn to be a bit puzzled. "Have you told them already? About us?"
"Ah, that," Maddox replied in an unconcerned tone. "Not yet. But I think it would be a good occasion to tell them on Thanksgiving."
His boyfriend was completely nonchalant about the whole thing, so much so that Jonathan stared at Maddox for a bit.
"What?" Maddox asked him.
"Just like that?" Jonathan asked. "Don't you think that they might be a little bit shocked about the situation? Or you plan on introducing me as just a friend?"
Maddox pulled at his right ear, only now seeming to consider the implications. "No, I would just tell them you're my boyfriend."
"Well, I don't know your parents, but don't you think that a bit of a heads-up would be nice? After all, they probably know you're a notorious ladies' man."
Maddox smirked. "Now that's something, and you're right. From ladies' man to one man's man. Hmm, it sounded a little bit better in my head. Now, that you put it like that, I'll call them first and tell them."
"Wait," Jonathan said, not really knowing why he was trying to stop Maddox from putting his plan into action. "I mean, maybe that's the kind of thing you should tell them face to face."
"My parents don't care so much about formalities, but all right, I'll do it the way you want. But only if you're bent on going to visit your folks and absolutely don't want to come with me. Otherwise, just say the word, and I'll make that phone call."
Jonathan leaned in and kissed Maddox on the forehead. "I have to go see them, as difficult as it might be for me and them equally."
Maddox opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but then appeared to think better of it. "Are you finished studying yet?"
Jonathan nodded. His mind wasn't completely on the task at hand, and sometimes, as he well knew, he had to focus on what bothered him. As deep in thought as he was, he missed how Maddox snuck closer. Taken completely by surprise, he fell on his back with a short yelp.
"Hey," Maddox drawled and stared at him with obvious naughtiness in his eyes.
"Hey," Jonathan replied in kind, his heart beating a little faster.
"Is there any rule I'm breaking if I suggest a little bit of fun?"
"One or two," Jonathan teased.
