Chapter 13: Meat Lovers

“So, what’s your favorite?” Maddox asked while throwing him a tiny smile.

“Um, what?” Jonathan sat rigidly in his seat, after putting on the safety belt. Hours after his decision, and he still had no idea how to start a difficult conversation with his date.

No, it wasn’t a date, what was he even thinking? Regardless of how he had gone with a dark purple shirt and grey dress pants because they looked good on him, and how he even debated what wristwatch to wear, he wasn’t supposed to be on a date. Maddox looked amazing as always, although his long-sleeved light blue shirt was paired up with what looked like brand new jeans. Maybe, just maybe, he had put as much work into looking good for this as he had.

“What’s your favorite pizza?” Maddox insisted as he rested his hands on the wheel with the practiced ease of someone who did that a lot.

Jonathan knew how to drive, of course, but there had never been many occasions for him to do so. His eyes rested on Maddox’s hands. He loved them because they looked so strong, a bit square but solid. And he knew exactly how the tips of those fingers felt on his skin. Stopping the small shiver coursing through him was a tough task.

“I don’t really have a favorite.”

“Really? What is it going to be then? Give me a hint. Vegan? Pineapple on top?”

“No, no, nothing outrageous,” Jonathan protested. “Anything with meat and mushrooms, I suppose.”

Maddox remained silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter. “Omigod, don’t tell me you’ve never had pizza!”

“I surely have,” Jonathan replied, hoping that his indignation appeared real enough. All right, so maybe not in places called pizza joints, and during his falling out with his family, he had still preferred to cook at home instead of going out to eat so that experience had eluded him thus far.

Maddox slammed his hands against the wheel a few times and laughed some more. “I’m totally popping your cherry on some truly delicious pizza tonight.”

He gave Jonathan a wink and a naughty grin.

“Just keep your eyes on the road,” Jonathan mumbled while making himself little in his seat. “How far do we need to travel?”

“As far we need to go for pizza that will take your breath away.”

“I would much prefer it to fill my stomach instead,” Jonathan replied tersely.

“Hey, why are you so tense?” Maddox asked as his attention focused back on the wheel and road ahead. “I’m not going to jump you while we’re in the car driving.”

“Ah, so you’ll wait until we’re parked?”

Maddox burst into laughter. “You’re a riot, man, a total riot. It’s just my luck.”

“How so?”

“Well, if you really want me to tell you, here it is. I bet this prickly personality of yours is the absolute reason why your sexy ass is still a virgin to this day. I mean, come on, you were enrolled in an all-boys college, right?”

Jonathan nodded, slightly confused. What was Maddox getting at?

“And are you telling me that not one of them thought of getting into your pants? At least a little? That college must be either a secret place for eunuchs or enroll the most heterosexual guys on the planet. But of course, since you grow cactus thorns the moment someone gets near you, they must have been just wusses who didn’t dare to take things further.”

Jonathan pursed his lips. Had he lacked attention before? No, not necessarily. He had just chosen badly, and that was the thing that wasn’t supposed to happen again. Right. He needed to get back to his original plan and find a way to explain to Maddox why it was a bad idea to fool around together.

“You’re so quiet. Did you break many hearts back there?” Maddox asked. “They must have expelled you on the grounds of being a heartbreaker.”

“Oh, shut up, Kingsley, I wasn’t expelled. For the record, you’re not cute right now. And I didn’t break anyone’s heart.”

More like the other way around and more. What else had Drew broken? His reputation? His family ties? No, he told himself stubbornly; it had been nothing but his fault, and his fault alone. As long as he kept telling himself that, he would remain in charge. People who held themselves accountable for their mistakes were in control of whatever happened to them.

“Okay, it looks like someone’s grouchy when they’re hungry,” Maddox commented cheerfully. “Even you’ll have to smile once you taste this pizza.”

“I smile all the time,” Jonathan said as he tried to chase away the bad memories. Difficult conversations to be had or not, they could still have fun.

And he very much wanted to taste that pizza, since Maddox kept praising it.

There was something off about Jonathan tonight. He was guarded, a bit unhappy, even. Maddox wanted nothing more than to ask him directly what was wrong, but the only thing stopping him was that he doubted he would get an honest answer. He didn’t know Jonathan well, but hell if he didn’t want to get there.

Jonathan seemed a lot like someone used to keeping a lot to himself. Twenty-year-olds weren’t supposed to be so serious, and now that Maddox had a chance to look at him from up close, he could see how his cold demeanor could be mistaken for arrogance. It wasn’t that, though. Jonathan must have had some unhappy experiences in his life.

So, it was all the more a win to see his face lighting up as he took in the colorful pictures on the menu. Behind that façade, there was a young man who could love passionately, as Maddox would attest to anyone asking, and it was that part of Jonathan he wanted to drag out and keep out there so that the sun could shine upon it.

“What do you think?” he asked with a grin.

“There are just so many choices,” Jonathan replied, barely holding in his excitement. “I think I’ll take this one.”

“The Meat Lover,” Maddox drawled. “Apropos much?”

Jonathan’s eyes grew wide and then he pulled the menu closer. He was just too adorable when he got flustered like that. “I’ll choose something else.”

“No, no, no,” Maddox snatched the menu from him. “Come on, let’s face it.” He dropped his voice low and leaned over the table. “We’re both meat lovers.”

Jonathan blushed and threw a few alarmed looks around. Maddox allowed him to scan their surroundings, but it was more than just amazing pizza that brought him back to this place. The tables were arranged in such a fashion that patrons couldn’t easily spy on each other. Plus, the plush sofa seats were to die for, and the intimate atmosphere allowed for a bit of wandering hands when the need grew too high.

“All right,” Jonathan said brusquely, seemingly trying hard to get a grip and pretend he was the pretentious person many people had to have mistaken him for. “We’ll see if this lives up to expectations. I only have you to blame for any disappointment I might have to endure.”

“I’m willing to take my punishment, as long as you’re honest about what you’re really thinking.”

Jonathan gave him a sharp look. So, he understood.

Maddox ventured to ask the question he wanted. “What’s with you? You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”

A pursing of the lips was the immediate answer. “Maddox,” Jonathan breathed out, “do you really think it’s a good idea?”

“What? Eating pizza?”

“Come on, don’t make me spell it out for you. You know what I mean.”

Ah, so he was getting cold feet a little. Maddox could work with that. He leaned over the table. “Hamilton, we have the hots for each other. Admit it.”

Jonathan looked sideways for a moment. “Yes,” he said quietly.

“So, what’s wrong with going for it?”

This time, a low groan followed. “You make it sound so easy. Don’t you care?”

Ah, so Jonathan was still wary of being seen with him. Could it be because of that ‘good guys don’t date bad boys’ thing?

Maddox licked his lips and smiled. “What I care about is that I have you to myself for a month.”

“Will that be enough to satisfy your curiosity or whatever this is?” Jonathan asked, his voice as low as before.

“Don’t pretend you don’t want it, too. You’re really hurting my feelings.”

Jonathan looked around again as if he were expecting something. “People talk,” he said through his teeth.

“So let them talk. I don’t care.” Maddox shrugged to make a point.

“But I do.”

So, that was indeed what this was all about. “Fine,” he said, working his jaw a little. “Do you want me to pretend not to know you in school?” He knew he was coming across as rude, but all jokes aside, he did feel upset over Jonathan not wanting to be seen with him. It had to be because of his reputation, for sure, and there was nothing he could do about that. It wasn’t like he could go back in time and erase all the hookups and fooling around.

That meant that the mission was a bit more challenging than he thought. He had one month to make Jonathan change his mind about him. In the meantime, Jonathan would have to endure all the punishments Maddox came up with because, seriously, he was a bit of a prick, no matter how sexy and adorable.

“Let’s not be too extreme,” Jonathan eventually replied.

“What should we be?” Maddox asked pointedly.

“Normal,” came the sharp reply.

Maddox leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “Did you come here to break up with me even though we’re not dating?”

Jonathan let out a small huff. “I’m just trying to be reasonable. Do you even realize what you’re getting yourself into?”

“Fully well. I want to fuck the person that keeps fucking with my head.”

Jonathan’s cheeks turned pink in an instant. Maddox felt so pissed that he wanted to grab him, walk out of there, push him inside the car, and drive somewhere he could show him what words didn’t appear to be capable of explaining.

“A guy,” Jonathan said slowly, like it pained him to talk. “You want to fuck a guy.”

Maddox shrugged. “So? It looks to me like you’re more scared of being gay than me.”

“Are you gay?”

“Ever since I met you.”

“There’s no such thing --”

“Bullshit.”

Jonathan fell silent and cleared his throat. Only then, Maddox noticed that a server had stopped by their table, waiting to take their order. He reined in his desire to give Jonathan another precious piece of his mind and turned toward the server with a smile.

Nothing was going as planned, Jonathan thought, feeling a tiny bit panicked. Maddox could be fierce when he wanted, and that was enough to make him want to yield, no doubt about it. It all boiled down, as usual, to his obsession with cocky guys who knew – or thought they knew – what they wanted.

They said nothing more as they started eating. Jonathan asked politely for utensils when the server came around. First, he cut a small piece, and then, he started to chew slowly. The burst of flavor hit his taste buds like a wrecking ball.

“Oh my God,” he muttered.

Maddox grinned at him. “I know, right? But hell, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone eating pizza with a fork and knife.”

Unlike him, Maddox had folded a slice and was biting into it with gusto. Jonathan blushed at the thought of being so out of place. Not that he didn’t know how most people lived, but there were just so many things that had been imprinted on him from a young age that he couldn’t shake off overnight.

Yet, there was a first time for everything. He put the utensils down and imitated Maddox. Somehow, it tasted even better like that.

“This is definitely worth the trouble,” Jonathan said after he swallowed.

Maddox narrowed his eyes. “The trouble of spending the evening with me?”

“No, the trouble of having to drive up here,” Jonathan contradicted him.

It was troubling that Maddox was upset with him. As carefree as he was and with that happy disposition, he probably didn’t realize that he would be stigmatized the moment others learned that they were fooling around together. That meant that it fell to Jonathan to ensure that their secret was as heavily guarded as possible.

“Please, don’t be mad at me,” he started. “But I assume we both want to have a life still, after this month is up.”

Maddox blinked a few times like he couldn’t understand what he was saying.

“Just, could we keep it a secret?” he added.

Maddox relaxed. While he seemed to finally get what this was all about, there was still something about his sly smile that was a bit unsettling. “Sure, why not?”

With nonchalance, Maddox reached for Jonathan’s glass and drank through the straw. His eyelids dropped lazily and his tongue twirled around it for a bit before he put the glass back down.

Jonathan made an effort to swallow. Was it his fault that he interpreted everything Maddox said or did as sexual? Definitely. “You have your own. What am I supposed to drink now?” he asked, hoping that his voice sounded cutting enough to prevent Maddox from repeating the same move.

Maddox snorted. “I’ve had my tongue down your throat and plan to have it there again for like dozens of times. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of germs now. I thought we were past that.”

Jonathan nodded and grabbed his glass with a sigh. At the same time, he made the mistake of letting his other hand lie on the table. Maddox took him by surprise when he covered his hand with his. It was warm and reassuring.

Such were the ways that led him to pain and misery.

He pulled his hand away, shifting in his seat.

“Aren’t you jumpy?” Maddox commented. “Are you sure you’re not a coward about hooking up with me? You get like this if I touch as little as your hand.”

That wasn’t it, Jonathan wanted to scream. He wasn’t afraid of hooking up, but of the intimacy and attachment that came with it which, in the end, was bound to leave him hurting all over.

“That’s not true,” he denied and took another sip from his glass.

He was unaware of Maddox moving to sit by his side. The sofa was wide and comfortable, but what wasn’t was how Maddox pressed his thigh against his leg as he maneuvered himself close.

“Um, what’s going on?”

Maddox placed his chin on Jonathan’s shoulder forcing him to turn his head. He regretted that decision right away as their mouths ended up dangerously close in that position. He looked straight ahead quickly. Equally dangerous, if not more so, was how Maddox’s hand wrapped around the inside of his thigh, making him draw in a sharp breath.

“Maddox,” he whispered with urgency, “what are you doing?”

The other’s hot breath tickled his ear. “Usually, my dates look a lot happier when I take them out. I couldn’t stand just sitting across from you when I could come over here and make you smile.”

“You’re not making me smile.” Jonathan panted rapidly, as Maddox’s hand moved upward, stopping less than an inch away from the most important point of interest. “Are you going to have us thrown out of here for indecent exposure? I would have thought you’d like to come back another time.”

Mercifully, Maddox moved his hand away, and then, he picked up the slice from Jonathan’s plate.

“You’re really something,” he mumbled. “Just get back to your place, and I promise I’ll keep smiling like a toothpaste ad for as long as you want me to.”

“Maddox? Jonathan?”

Both their heads snapped up at the sound of that voice. Connor was there, staring at them like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Jonathan elbowed Maddox discreetly to make him move at least slightly away. That couldn’t look good. “We were working on our project and decided to have a bite,” he replied quickly.

Maddox looked incapable of taking a hint and wrapped one arm around the back of his seat, a hairsbreadth away from touching him. “I kept telling Jonathan that he had to try this amazing pizza,” he drawled. “So I thought I’d bring him here.”

“Cool. I’m with my buddies, so if you want to hang out together --” Connor pointed at another table.

“We were just leaving,” Maddox interrupted him. “This project is really frying our brains, so we need to get back to work.”

“Sure. Nice seeing you two.” Connor offered Jonathan a smile and a wink. “Especially you, Jonathan.”

He responded with a plastic smile of his own. He was barely out of earshot when he turned toward Maddox. “What the hell? Why didn’t you tell him we were on a date while you were at it?”

Maddox blinked like he was bored. “Do you like that guy or something?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

It was a lie, but right now, he needed to push Maddox away. Connor didn’t look like he got the gist of the situation, but he couldn’t be completely blind.

“Bad choice,” Maddox said.

“Really? Why?”

“He’s boring and obnoxious.”

“Not to me. And I’d like to take my chances with him after our little experiment is over.”

Maddox grabbed his shoulder. “For real? Are you going to cheat on me with him?”

“Cheat on you?” Jonathan asked, utterly terrified by the idea. “No. I won’t argue semantics with you since we’re not dating, but let me make it clear that as long as my agreement with you stands, I will not get together with anyone else. I hope you understand that the same rule applies to you.”