Chapter 8: Three Mistakes

Jonathan had to be thankful for small mercies as the class he had together with Maddox went without any notable incidents, which meant that the guy hadn’t thrown knowing looks in his direction or done anything to appear that he was even aware of them being in the same room. Now he was starting to believe that he had done nothing but overreact lately. That kiss had been nothing but some sort of a joke, after all, with Maddox challenging him to do it, and him ... well, doing it. It didn’t mean anything. Given Maddox’s experience, he must have been kissed thousands of times by people with a lot more to offer than Jonathan.

No, not people in general, but girls in particular, he told himself. Actually, he had no idea. Maddox could go around kissing guys at random, for all he knew. Only for him that moment had been special, and he was just blowing things out of proportion like a teenager experiencing the frissons of a first love.

Jonathan liked to believe he was way past that stage, thank you very much. Therefore, he had no reason not to accompany Ray to the party and pretend he was a part of the campus life like everyone else. Maddox would just play around with some girl, like he usually did, no matter what Sunny Hill Xpress kept talking about, and Jonathan would play the wallflower for as long as it was polite to be there and then return to his humble quarters.

The most annoying part of it all wasn’t how things played out, which was entirely for the best, but how disappointed he felt. He couldn’t repress that annoying feeling if it killed him, and he was getting a bit tired to be so guarded all the time just so that he could keep any thoughts of Maddox out of his mind.

Ray was already bouncing off the walls with excitement, as the hour at which the party started was drawing near. He had tried four different hairstyles that Jonathan had found strangely similar since Ray couldn’t discipline his mop of hair if an army of hairstylists were at his beck and call. Then the wardrobe ordeal had come, and Jonathan had used all the persuasion he could muster to convince his roommate that he just needed to dress comfortably to enjoy the party.

“Is this how you’re going?” Ray’s eyes grew wide when he looked at him.

For no particular reason, Jonathan had opted for the same light sweater he had worn at the time of the kiss. In the evenings, the temperatures were starting to drop, so it was a reasonable choice. “Yes. What is wrong with it?”

“It’s like you’re dressed for class, not a party. So conservative,” Ray commented and shook his head.

“You somehow still have the wrong idea about this party. It’s not the country club, Ray.”

“My point exactly. The only thing you’re missing is a tie.”

Well, if it had happened that he wore one that time, he would have picked a tie, too, right now. Was he being sentimental? No, he just enjoyed clothes he could feel comfortable in, unlike Ray. “Stop pestering me already. Look who turned into a party animal overnight, giving lessons to others on how to dress and all. Let’s just go already so that you can see that it’s just another party.”

“Just another party,” Ray mirrored his last words with a moan. “You must have been to some really cool ones before coming to Sunny Hill, right?”

“Not really, no,” Jonathan said abruptly.

Ray stopped brushing his hair for the tenth time and turned toward him. “Was it that bad? Before? You never talk about it, but I feel like it was.”

Jonathan just threw Ray a look that needed no explanation. He didn’t want to talk to anyone about it, and it wasn’t like he had something against his roommate in particular. But he preferred if that particular sore spot in his life was forgotten, and he was not one to raise the dead, figuratively speaking. The Jonathan Hamilton from before was no more, which meant that he was supposed to be done and over being starry-eyed, naïve, and in love with the wrong person.

That thought kept buzzing around his brain. If he were falling in love with Maddox, it would be so, so bad. What the hell was happening to his resolution that he would just find a nice gay guy, someone out and uncomplicated, who would have no reason to hide? Apparently, it was enough for a pair of lovely gray eyes to look his way, and he was turned into a ditzy character incapable of controlling himself or his feelings.

“I get it,” Ray said, interrupting his musings. “But just know that whenever you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be right here.”

“Thank you,” Jonathan said and allowed Ray to embrace him shortly. “That’s good to know. Now let’s just go to that party so that you can get it out of your system.”

Maddox was so restless he could barely do more than exchange a few words here and there with people he had personally invited. His eyes kept darting toward the door, as it appeared that Jonathan enjoyed testing his patience by being fashionably late.

Dex slapped his shoulder and then grabbed him to pull him aside. “Maddox, it’s not that I don’t enjoy watching you fret like a schoolboy waiting for his crush to come through the door, but even I, despite enjoying teasing you the most, need to tell you to chill. It’s torture merely looking at you fidgeting like you have something up your butt.”

“I don’t think he’s coming.”

“It’s early. Not even half the people are here, and Kane is still debating if crackers and chips should be mixed in the same bowl.”

“I don’t think so,” Maddox offered his input. “I mean, just tell him to place them in separate bowls, and get the biggest ones. People are going to start feeding like pigs after a few drinks.”

“Ah, nice to hear you talking about other things. Now, move away from the door and mingle a little like the most popular boy on campus that you are.”

Maddox was about to follow Dex’s advice when the door opened to let in another stream of new comers. And behind them, he noticed right away, Jonathan Hamilton walked in, and suddenly, the entire universe, except for one special guy, disappeared.

He strutted over to him, deciding not to let him out of his sight for one moment. Jonathan might choose to walk back home any moment since he didn’t appear to be the kind to party.

“Hey, Maddox,” someone called and put himself between him and Jonathan.

“Hey, man,” he replied and turned his attention to the intruder with reluctance. That was Ray, Jonathan’s roommate, and Maddox had already forgotten the ruse he had used to get the most important person to attend his party. “Glad to see you could make it.”

Gawd, he was talking like a middle-aged soccer mom. He responded to Ray’s off the scale enthusiasm by giving him a short hug. He stared at Jonathan over the boy’s shoulder. “And that you brought your roommate with you.” His eyes bore into the beautiful ambers that were challenging him from less than one foot away.

“Yeah, not like it was easy, but I convinced him,” Ray chatted happily.

Maddox patted Ray on the back. “See the big guy there?” He pointed at Dex. “Tell him I sent you. He’ll show you around. I’ll take care of your roommate in the meantime,” he added quickly.

Dex needed to help after teasing him so much, so taking care of Ray should be on his list, Maddox decided. While Ray waved happily at Jonathan and rushed toward Dex, he no longer dallied. Without a word, he grabbed Jonathan by the hand and pulled him toward him. As much as he was a mess on the inside, he knew how to play cool on the outside. “What do you say? Do you like our house?”

“It’s big,” Jonathan admitted and pulled his hand away, a bit too slowly to not be interpreted as reluctant. “And nice. I mean, I suppose. I just entered.”

“Let me show you my room,” Maddox said abruptly and gestured with his chin for Jonathan to follow him.

Jonathan frowned slightly and threw a cautious look around. Loud music broke out all of a sudden, as Rusty began taking his DJ role seriously. The already gathered crowd cheered. Maddox took Jonathan firmly by the arm and dragged him up the stairs, without allowing him one single moment to become indecisive.

Jonathan couldn’t stop the butterflies in his stomach from doing somersaults. The moment he had stepped inside the house where the party was held, Maddox had seized him and now, by force of fate or circumstance, they were alone in his room. To give himself a moment to gather his thoughts, he looked around. The room was neater than he would have thought, and the bookshelves were loaded with books. He took a step toward them and began reading titles at random. Maddox’s bed was right in the middle, but he wanted to avoid looking at it, as if an inanimate object such as that could jump at him and give him a scare.

“So, what do you think?” Maddox asked while leaning lazily against the door.

He was wearing a white t-shirt and washed out jeans, both glued to his perfect body like usual. At least, the sleeves had stayed down, Jonathan noticed with a bit of satisfaction. “You have some really great titles in here.”

“If you ever want to borrow anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I work at the library, remember?” Jonathan said with a small laugh.

He sounded so awkward, so out of his depth, and the next thing he truly needed to consider was how to find a way back to the party and away from that dangerous boy and his dazzling smile.

His first mistake was looking. Maddox cocked his head and blinked slowly, while his full lips stretched even more. Something about how he did that made Jonathan think of a tomcat preparing to devour a bowl of cream.

“So, what is it like to suck cock?”

Jonathan blinked rapidly and stood there, in shock. Maddox was grinning and now it felt like he was actually blocking the door, trapping his guest inside. “Wow, what an ice breaker,” he commented, as soon as he found his words.

Maddox shrugged. “Well, you were talking about books, and that’s not why I brought you here.”

“Oh, really?” Jonathan crossed his arms. “I hope you didn’t bring me here to suck your cock.”

Maddox stared at him nonplussed and then started laughing. “Oh, screw me sideways, you’re so easy to rile up. No, no, I was just wondering because I’ve never sucked cock, and in life, it’s good to learn new things from others.”

Jonathan swallowed thickly and made a second mistake, this time by looking at Maddox’s beautiful lips and imagine them briefly – He shook his head. “Well, if we’re just discussing for the sake of knowledge, well, I can’t say if I do enjoy it.” Finally, his cool was returning to him, and if Maddox thought he would be easy to tease, he wouldn’t make it a walk in the park.

Maddox’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? So, let me get this straight, you’ve never slept with a guy, and you don’t even like sucking cock. What exactly makes you think you’re gay then?”

Jonathan smiled affably. “Well, that’s simple. Right now, the only thing I’m thinking about is how much I want to kiss you.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had just made his third mistake. It was supposed to be mere teasing! Maddox grinned and walked over to him, his walk confident as usual. “I see,” he said and stopped inches away from him.

Jonathan began searching frantically for a way out. But he was caught between the bed on the right, the desk on the left, and the bookshelves were dangerously close to his back. If he took just one step backward, he would bump into them.

And, of course, Maddox was blocking the only way out. “That’s quite a coincidence,” he purred, “because I was thinking about the exact same thing.”

“Do you want to kiss yourself?” Jonathan made a lame attempt at a joke. “In the mirror? I can’t really blame you. I’d probably think the same if I looked like you.”

He was babbling, turning with each word into a more confused mess, but it was hard to keep his mind going steady when Maddox was so, so close. Jonathan stopped breathing and was about to close his eyes and let the inevitable happen when the other spoke.

“Just to get something clear, if I kiss you, will you punch me before or after? Give a man the chance to prepare.”

Jonathan burst into laughter, most of the tension in his shoulders suddenly gone. “I’m not going to punch you ever again. That was so stupid of me I don’t know what I can do to make it right.”

“I see,” Maddox said, “and I’ll take your word for it. So, you won’t punch me if I do this?”

Jonathan had no time to react as Maddox grabbed him and pushed him onto the bed. In a split second, he was trapped between strong thighs and his shoulders were pinned to the bed. Above him, Maddox’s pretty eyes were burning. “Well? Are you sure you’re not going to do anything?”

Jonathan just nodded and licked his lips.

“Good,” Maddox said matter-of-factly, and the next moment, those maddeningly soft lips were on his, making each and every one of his dreams from the last week come true.

Dreams were one thing; reality was way, way better. The first time, he hadn’t allowed Maddox to kiss him properly, and then he had been the instigator. But now, he was getting a front row seat to an outstanding performance.

First, his lips were slowly taken, despite the quickness of the initial attack. It looked like sometime, overnight, his bottom lip must have turned into a most delicious dish because Maddox appeared to be fixated on it, and especially on devouring it with tiny nibbles. Just as he was about to protest, Maddox switched angles and took his mouth completely.

His shoulders were no longer pinned to the bed; however, his head was caged between strong arms, and he could detect the other’s pleasant smell, of just washed skin and something deeper. Jonathan chased the scent, lost in sensations, while Maddox began pushing his tongue inside, challenging his to come out and play.

Never before had he been the kind to step back from a sweet fight like this. Thus, he started giving back, enjoying every second of hearing Maddox’s moans triggered by each of his actions.

“Fuck.” Maddox stopped for a moment, and they stared at each other, breathless and far from satisfied. “You’re one hell of a kisser, Jonathan Hamilton.”