Chapter 5: Trouble Finds You

He was totally, absolutely, not stalking Jonathan. But he couldn’t help but notice the guy entering the sports building and heading for the indoor pool by the looks of it. Well, Maddox was much in the mood for a swim, too, and since only students on good behavior were allowed to use such facilities after dark, it meant that Jonathan had been a goody-two-shoes enough to impress the powers that be, which was quite the feat seeing the short time he had been there, at Sunny Hill.

Maddox only needed to pump up the charm to gain entrance everywhere, and he reached for the spare key, which he knew where it was hidden to get inside after Jonathan went in. Funny thing, the guy hadn’t bothered to lock after going in, and he must have used another key. Whatever, Maddox would take care of that because he didn’t want their little nocturnal rendez-vous ruined by other students happening by.

He had always loved swimming. It helped him clear his mind and find solutions to complicated problems, such as crushing on a guy who was everything he needed to stay clear of. What was about Maddox he liked so damned much? Yes, he was attractive. Yes, he was smart. And yes, he was likable, but not only in that superficial way popular kids usually were. It was just his damned luck that, after running away from an impossible situation, he would end up in much a similar one.

Drew had been ... Jonathan sighed. He had seemed perfect at first, too, right? Dangerous and sexy, that bad boy appeal, fantastic body, cute smile, and all that. He just couldn’t believe he was walking down the same path again. There were differences, however, in how the two compared if he thought about it long enough. Something was a bit twisted in Drew’s soul, as far as he could recall, a certain ruthlessness that should have sent all his alarm systems on high alert.

Only that he had been too much in love to pay it any mind. And who was to say Maddox wasn’t the same, or at least not all that could be gleaned at first sight? He was, after all, engaged in some unsavory activities, and he had the kind of body to prove that was right. He wasn’t into sports like his friends, but those callouses on his hands were a clear indication that he could use his fists, not only his natural charm.

Maddox was different, though, a small voice inside him told him over and over again. He shook his head. So what? He was a straight boy, and straight boys were nothing but trouble. Who needed any more of that?

Jonathan performed another lap and then pushed himself up on the edge. He grabbed the towel and, lost in thought, proceeded to wipe himself.

Hmm, so fully naked swimming appeared to be Jonathan’s secret pleasure. After the party on Saturday, Maddox hadn’t seen him close enough to have a talk, and he couldn’t just send a text and ask for them to meet up, especially since he wasn’t in the mood to work on a school project, but very much on something else.

He watched for a while as Jonathan swam around, his body cutting through the water with practiced ease. No wonder he had such a nice lean body. And Maddox could appreciate that he was keeping himself so smooth because that allowed the unhindered sight of all his perfect anatomy. Yeap, all those fantastic tight muscles which Maddox wanted to touch and explore to his heart’s content.

He noticed Jonathan pushing himself out of the water and sighed. It was one thing to imagine that perfect behind without clothes covering it and another to see it in all its naked glory—round, perky, tight, everything Maddox loved in an ass. And Jonathan had awesome thighs and calves, too. Dude was built like a fucking movie star. It made Maddox almost willing to forgive him for being around one inch taller. Why that annoyed him, it was hard to say. In his group of friends, he was the shortest, and that had never bothered him before.

It was also equally nice to see him out of his usual conservative attire, with his hair wet and looking somewhat more like a human being than someone you couldn’t reach with a ladder to the stars. Jonathan appeared to be lost in thought as he wiped himself and then began walking. What could be on his mind?

“Nice weather for a swim,” he said.

Jonathan’s head snapped up, and his hands clutched the towel, pulling it defensively in front of him. That was a shame because Maddox wanted to check that, too. “Geesh, man, what the hell?” Jonathan asked.

“What? Do you think you’re the only student who’s allowed in here?”

Jonathan averted his eyes.

“O.M.G., did you break in? That was why the door was open! How did you do it?”

“Are you going to tell on me?” Jonathan asked defensively.

“Not if you tell me how you did it. You’re so freaking gangsta! Where did you live before coming here? Did you do hard time?”

His words were met with a scoff. Well, now that was the biggest surprise ever. Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes wasn’t good at all. He was a bad, bad boy, and Maddox loved that he was the only one to know about it.

“No, I wasn’t in jail,” Jonathan replied as if that had been a real question. “But I was in an all-boys school and an all-boys college later. And boys get bored quickly if they don’t find something to do with their hands.”

“They can always jerk off,” Maddox offered promptly. “I bet you have some crazy stories to tell. Like, was circle jerking a daily thing?”

That earned him another stern look from Jonathan. Hell, how could he pretend to be all high and mighty after breaking into a school building? That was grounds for getting kicked out, presumably. Hopefully not, because Maddox wanted Jonathan to stick around for as long as they still attended Sunny Hill together. In case someone found out, he would just say he got them in there, so problem solved.

“Is jerking off really the only thing on your mind?” Jonathan asked.

“How could you tell?” Maddox faked surprise. Well, it usually wasn’t, but ever since he had met this dude, he had turned into a compulsive fapper. So, all in all, Jonathan was to blame anyway.

“You’re surprisingly peppy for someone who lost a dear one only recently,” Jonathan said, changing tack.

Maddox narrowed his eyes. What was he going on about now? Lost who?

“Your dog,” Jonathan supplied while quirking an eyebrow and letting a small smile tug at his lips.

“Oh, my dog, yeah. Sad, sad story. He got killed in a car crash.”

“I thought she,” Jonathan’s smile grew wider, “had to be put to sleep because she had cancer.”

“Right, right, I’m mixing them up all the time.”

“So, you have two dogs that died?” Jonathan was clearly biting his lips not to break into laughter.

Maddox didn’t stop, though. He started snickering. “You saw through that, huh?”

“Well, it wasn’t that hard. What kind of dark magic are you using to make all these people believe whatever flies out of your mouth?”

“How do you know it wasn’t all invented by that stupid online fake news piece of shit?”

An appreciative look from Jonathan let him know that he wasn’t alone in his opinion.

“Well, because you didn’t deny it and basked in the attention for the last few days,” Jonathan said promptly.

As he spoke, he made an attempt to cross his arms, and, in the process, he moved the towel away. Maddox grinned, angled his head, and allowed his eyes to wander. Way too soon, Jonathan moved his hand down again and covered the most interesting part of him. Well, it was the most interesting because Maddox hadn’t seen it yet, although he could tell the guy was interesting pretty much everywhere.

“Why so shy, gangsta boy? Weren’t you in an all-boys school? I bet it was a sausage fest all day long.” Maddox made a gesture to grab an imaginary dick and swing it around.

“Well, there’s an imbalance here. You’re all dressed and I’m naked,” Jonathan pointed out.

“That’s easy to correct.” Maddox pulled his t-shirt over his head in one fell swoop.

“Have fun, then. I’m heading out.”

Ha, like he would let that happen. He grabbed Jonathan’s towel fast and pushed the guy back into the pool. Jonathan huffed as he emerged back to the surface and stared like he wanted a piece of him. Maddox laughed and continued to undress. “Let’s race. I bet I’m faster.”

“Hey, don’t be a pig. Shower first.” Jonathan pointed with his arm in the direction of the facilities.

“Hmm, I don’t know,” Maddox drawled the words. “Are you going to wash my back?”

To his surprise, Jonathan swam toward the edge. “Sure. Anything to ensure that you’re clean before getting into the water.”

Well, he had said that mostly to tease, but when had he ever backed down from a challenge?

“After you,” Jonathan said as soon as he was out of the pool.

Dex’s theories about who was gay or not had to suffer some adjustments, because while Jonathan didn’t care to check out girls’ cleavages, he also surely kept his eyes steady without letting them wander lower and check Maddox’s junk of which, by the way, he was very much proud and wanted to show off.

Could it be that he wasn’t his type? After all, Ray the roommate was skinny and looked like a gust of wind could topple him over. Was that what Jonathan liked, after all? Someone he could overpower quickly and hold under him while pounding...

“Hey.” Jonathan snapped his fingers in front of him. “Shower. Don’t think I’m fooled by your pretty boy smile like the rest of the universe.”

Maddox shrugged and turned on his heels, all the while pretending that he hadn’t just imagined Jonathan fucking his boyfriend. Even if his cock got a little hard, since no one cared to look at it, it could do its little happy dance without fear of being discovered. He stole a look behind and couldn’t help but smile.

Jonathan was totally checking his butt. It was hard to tell what he was thinking since his face was all a frown, but he was. And that was an up point, no doubt about it.

Maddox’s bravado was something to behold, but it looked like none of it was left when Jonathan took the soap and began washing his back. The famous bad boy was so quiet now that the sound of running water seemed unusually loud.

If Maddox had walked in there, thinking of a dare or something silly like that, it must be firing back if his shy silence was anything to go about. Jonathan had no intention of pushing it, and he wasn’t the type to tease people, even when presented with such an opportunity on a silver platter.

He pressed his hands against Maddox’s back and moved them slowly. That wasn’t supposed to happen. To be correct, he should just rub the naughty straight boy’s back in under one minute and be done with it.

But no, his hands lingered, feeling the muscles underneath. Maddox would drive him crazy this year, and Jonathan just needed to accept it. While clothed, he could only guess what lay beneath those garments, and now, his imagination was fueled with the fantastic sight of a broad back that tapered down to a lean and strong waist. He couldn’t resist letting his eyes go lower, resting on top of Maddox’s small back, just above the enticing curve of a lovely ass. For now, he had managed to avoid staring at the other boy’s cock, but it was inevitable that his fantasies would soon be filled in with images of that, too.

And he bet Maddox was exceptional in that respect.

“Hmm, that feels good,” Maddox purred as Jonathan moved his hands around, stopping short of that scrumptious behind.

If that were him from one year ago, he would wrap his hands around that broad chest, filling them with the perfect pectorals, and he would press his lips against the slight curve of a round shoulder. He would align their bodies together and let the water pour down their skin while he would allow pure unadulterated ecstasy to take over him and forget about anyone and anything else existing in the world.

He stepped away. “I believe that covers it,” he said in a raspy voice. “I’ll leave you with the rest. Be thorough, okay?”

“Yes, dad,” Maddox threw over his shoulder.

Jonathan smiled. Maddox probably couldn’t imagine what he was doing to him, but it was fine. He walked out of the shower and dunked into the cold pool water to clear his mind.

What the fucking hell? Maddox grabbed his cock and held it until his erection finally decided to take a breather. He had practically stood there, waiting for Jonathan to take a fucking hint, and nothing had happened! Nothing!

He had never been in that kind of situation before. How did girls do it when they wanted a dude to get it on with them? Maddox had kind of an idea, but he doubted that he could flutter his eyelashes at Jonathan, smile prettily, bite his lips, and caress the guy’s arm with a hidden promise in his eyes.

Well, maybe he should have done all that because simply standing there doing nothing hadn’t worked. At all. It had to be that he wasn’t the guy’s type, but fucking tough bananas, Jonathan surely was his. He had seen naked dudes by the ton in his life, and it had been nothing like this before. Even his hands felt nice, firm, long fingers working his muscles...

He needed to up his game, he decided and began soaping rapidly. There was no way, but absolutely no way that his dude could provide so much fap material and not see what he was doing. Maddox felt his good mood returning as a sly plan began forming in his head.

Jonathan was already back into the water, so Maddox let out a war cry, rushed toward the edge, and jumped, making a big splash. When he resurfaced, he was happy to see Jonathan laughing. He was so serious most of the time and clearly needed to unwind more often. Maddox splashed some water in his direction, and Jonathan ducked.

“So, what should we bet on?”

Maddox pondered. “Whoever loses has to answer the other’s questions.”

“One question,” Jonathan replied. “There’s no way I’m letting you pick my brain, or tomorrow Xpress is going to tout all over the place that I like sticking feathers in my ass and eating edible underwear with strawberry flavor.”