Chapter Thirty-Six -- What's That Word... Context?
"Are you worried about something?" Jonathan felt the need to ask, while taking in Maddox's slightly drawn face. His pretty features were tinged with a new kind of sadness and made him look more mature, but that didn't mean Jonathan enjoyed seeing his boyfriend suffer. Yes, he was thinking of Maddox as pretty, despite what he had told Rusty about guys not liking to be called that. As long as he was thinking it, not saying it out loud, there would be no incredulous glares directed at him, so it was fine.
It was Sunday evening, and everyone was back from their short Thanksgiving break. Jonathan had been waiting for Maddox, eager to see him again, and maybe to gather the courage to tell him the same words Rusty had wrenched out of him. Timing was everything, and right now, seeing Maddox troubled like that, it didn't feel like a good time at all.
Maddox lay on his belly on the bed and he was munching on his bottom lip. They had kissed briefly, and Jonathan had felt butterflies in his stomach as he anticipated how it would feel to be in Maddox's room again, both sharing the same space, thinking of the same thing.
Only they weren't thinking of the same thing, and Jonathan withdrew into himself, not wanting to behave like a horny teenager with disregard for the other's internal suffering. He placed a sympathetic hand on Maddox's shoulder and began massaging it. "Is it about your parents?" He lay on one side, so he had an unhindered view of Maddox's frown and the drooping corners of his mouth.
"Well, they didn't take it well at all, as I told you," Maddox eventually replied.
"Maybe it was too soon?" Jonathan offered.
Maddox gave him a glare. "Too soon?"
He was somehow saying the wrong things. "I don't know. We've only been seeing each other for a few months."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Apparently, any word he said was just a shovelful of dirt out of the huge hole he was digging for himself.
"Nothing," he hurried to say.
The beautiful gray eyes narrowed at him. "Are you kidding me?" Maddox scoffed and looked away. "I thought we were serious." The last words came out quietly.
"We are," Jonathan said in a defensive tone and let his hand slip from Maddox's shoulder. "It's only that it might not look the same to the outside world, that's all. I mean, it would be a different thing if we had dated for a year or two. In their eyes, I mean." Usually, he was considerably more articulate when it came to what went out of his mouth.
"Hmm." Maddox rested his chin on top of his crossed forearms and let out a long sigh.
Jonathan began caressing his head, running his fingers through the dark hair. It didn't take long for Maddox to start purring, which was definitely a lot better than awkward conversation.
"Are you going to introduce me to your parents?"
The question took Jonathan a bit by surprise. Maddox at his parents' estate took some effort of imagination, for no other reason than his parents never invited anyone over who wasn't of the same station. He could easily imagine the priceless look on their faces, and he didn't want to expose Maddox to that sort of judgmental behavior. A sudden and strong feeling of possession and over-protectiveness washed over him.
His silence was misinterpreted. "Don't tell me you didn't even about think it," Maddox said in a sharp tone and turned his head to give him a hard look.
Jonathan felt like shriveling on the inside under those hurt eyes. "Yes, of course, I did," he said, and even to his own ears, he sounded unconvincing.
Maddox frowned and looked away. Jonathan didn't know what to do to make it better. As long as they lived their relationship here, in the large cocoon that was the campus of Sunny Hill, everything went fine. The troubles began, apparently, when they tried to take it out into the real world. It hadn't worked with Maddox's parents, who, according to their son, were kind-hearted and open-minded.
"Look," he said, "it's not like we're about to ask for their blessing. We'll convince them all in due time. Until then, we have finals, and a lot of work to do."
"Fine," Maddox agreed, but he did so in an exasperated tone. "So, you don't want to spend the night?"
Jonathan wanted to say that he would like to, but he sensed that he had blundered enough. "We should both get some rest," he replied.
He leaned over and kissed Maddox's cheek. He could tell his boyfriend was pissed, but something told him that even if he stayed, things wouldn't have gotten better, either. Sometimes, people just needed a little bit of space.
***
The name of the game? Secret love affair. (Of course, nothing's ever too secret when Xpress is on the job.)
The stars of the game? This is where things are getting juicy... and by that, we're telling you, guys and gals, you're gonna lick the cookie bowl clean, once you hear the names of those involved.
First, the sexy, the mysterious, the too-good-to-be-true... cue drums! Jonathan Hamilton! Yes, the accomplished new sensation of junior year, the one who made Maddox Kingsley reevaluate his sexuality from the ground up, is in the headline!
Second, our very own college idol, the veritable king of Sunny Hill, the guy famous for making the world tour (the world we live in, here, at our campus) in eighty beds or more... ta-da! Rusty Parker!
But what do these two have in common? You may ask. Aside from the fact that one's Maddox Kingsley's official boyfriend, and the other's the same guy's bestie for life, anyone would feel tempted to say 'not much'. Jonathan Hamilton dresses to impress when he goes out to buy popsicles. Rusty Parker just throws anything that happens to be in his way on his perfect muscular body ... yet he still manages to look perfect.
Where one has a perfect GPA score, the other barely makes it from one exam to the next.
Where one is clearly some one-percenter's offspring, the other comes from a broken home.
Where... you catch our drift, right?
Well, as the old adage goes, opposites attract! Thanksgiving break proved the perfect opportunity for these two opposites to meet and...
