(Insta-hate)

A new beginning. It was, after all, what he wanted after all that wallowing in self-deprecation, and it had to be here, at Sunny Hill, away from all the drama. Jonathan sighed as he arranged his toiletries in an orderly fashion on the bathroom shelf. He was more than thankful for the small suite designed to accommodate him and another student, which was a far cry from the dorm doubles and communal bathrooms that were the norm. 

Not that before coming here, he had lived in such a place. Before, he had been someone, but like for any other ‘someone’ having to atone for past mistakes, getting down from his high horse and accepting to share living space with another human being were part of the deal.

He frowned as he pushed the toothbrush stand to align perfectly with his shaving cream. “Get used to it,” he addressed his mirror reflection.

Indulging in more self-pity over his current situation was cut short by the front door opening and closing. It could only be his roommate, and while Jonathan would rather go through nail-pulling medieval tortures than face the nightmare that this person had to be, given his luck of late, he needed to face the music sooner rather than later.

He walked out of the bathroom, all the while trying hard to school his face into a neutral expression. Silently, he prayed that his partner wasn’t some jock, but since those usually shared their notoriously loud fraternity houses, the chances were slim.

Talking about small mercies. Jonathan’s eyes fell on a young man, or better said, on a giant backpack that practically obscured its owner almost entirely from view. Not a jock, obviously. His roommate appeared to be small-framed. 

He cleared his throat discreetly, which prompted the stranger, who must not have heard him moving about, to turn abruptly and lose his balance. For a moment or two, his arms flailed comically. Fortunately for him, the bed was right behind him, so he landed on a soft spot.

Jonathan hurried to help the hapless young man. “Oh, I’m so terribly sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Are you all right?”

He offered him a hand, and the stranger took it. A large grin lit up his face. He was nerdy, but in a cute way, Jonathan noticed right away and proceeded to chastise himself inwardly for judging a person by his looks. However, he couldn’t deny that his roommate didn’t look at all like he could pose a threat. Bright brown eyes twinkled at him from under a mop of chestnut hair.

“Uber fine,” the young man replied. “Do you think you could help me get out of this?” He pointed at his huge backpack.

“Of course.” Jonathan hurried to unbuckle the monstrous thing and aid his roommate out of his predicament.

Finally released from his contraption, the guy pushed back the strands hanging over his eyes and offered his hand. “I’m Ray.”

Jonathan shook his hand curtly. “Glad to meet you, Ray. I’m Jonathan. Jonathan Hamilton.”

“Oh, we’re doing full names.” Ray beamed at him. “Ray Franklin.”

Jonathan could barely keep from smiling back. And he had promised himself that he would be more guarded regarding new acquaintances. It was because of his lack of awareness that he had landed in this situation, being forced to change schools before the junior year.

Another promise he had made to himself was to make sure there was no room for any misunderstandings. “I don’t want to sound too forward,” he began quickly, to avoid any stalling rooted in his lack of trust in humanity in general, “but I need to let you know something from the start.”

Ray was dressed in a striped shirt and kakis that both seemed a bit too large for his frame. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. Therefore, he looked fairly harmless. “Sure.”

Jonathan took one deep breath. “I’m gay. I hope that’s not going to be a problem, but if it is, I believe --”

“No problem.” Ray stopped him right away and shot another dazzling smile at him. He leaned toward Jonathan and threw him a conspiratorial look. “To tell you the truth, I only last year came out as straight, so.” He let the words hanging and wiggled his eyebrows.

Jonathan’s lips twitched in amusement. As miserable as he had felt only minutes ago, it seemed as if Ray had just walked through the door with the last remnants of the summer sun. 

“Ah, so do I gather that a lot of people simply assume that you’re gay?” he asked.

Ray let out a heartfelt sigh and rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t believe it. You can imagine what it does to my dating game. Girls only want me to be their gay-best-friend-for-now.”

“I had no idea that was a thing.”

“Apparently, yes. Trust me, I accidentally became well-versed in everything gay because of all those misunderstandings. I even watched reruns of Queer as Folk with attempted girlfriend number three.”

“That must have been quite the experience,” Jonathan said, not really knowing how to offer comfort for something like that.

Ray grinned. “Yeah. By season four, she still hadn’t realized I was actually into her.”

“What happened by season five, then?”

“She thought she must have corrupted me somehow and confessed that she didn’t want to turn me straight. At that point, I almost wanted to go along with it and tell her that she was the best conversion therapy ever so she should assume responsibility.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No. I told her the truth. She was really surprised. And we remained friends. Sort of. Let’s just say that I had to finish watching season five by myself.”

Jonathan could feel his cheeks hurting from grinning too much. Whatever Ray had, it was highly infectious. Two minutes the guy was in, and he had made him forget all his worries. 

“Well, Ray, I promise I’m not going to torture you with gay-themed shows from fifteen years ago.”

Ray plunked on the bed. “No worries. I actually enjoyed it. But man, this year, I really need to get my dating game in shape. I just transferred here, and I hope that girls will see more in me than just a gay--”

“—best-friend-for-now,” Jonathan completed the sentence. A slow frown made its way up to his forehead. “Then I suppose you won’t want to hang around with me much.” He hadn’t wanted to be so blunt, but directness was just one of those curses he couldn’t shake off if they were the death of him.

“Nonsense!” Ray bounced on his bed, checking the springs. “That’s one more reason to hang out together, besides that you look like a swell guy, and I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

Jonathan had no idea what to say. It was challenging to fight against the warm feeling spreading through his chest. “I do?” he asked hesitantly. “Look like a swell guy, I mean.”

Ray nodded enthusiastically. “You totally do. And you’ll be the perfect wingman. Here is what we’re going to do. Girls will surely want to know about you because you’re so handsome. They will approach me,” he pointed at himself, “because they will think I can help them get with you. And then,” he made a convincing circle through the air with his index finger, “we will drop the bomb on them.”

“The bomb?” Jonathan asked, slightly confused.

“Yes. We will tell them that one of us is gay, and the other is straight, and have them guess. The loser has to go out with me. Score!” He threw one victorious punch in the air.

“That’s quite the plan,” Jonathan agreed. “So, you’re saying that I’m not looking gay?” He was genuinely interested in the answer.

Ray gave him a long and thoughtful once-over. “You do have perfect fashion sense, in a preppy way. But that’s like the only gay thing I can say about you. And when I say gay, I mean fabulous. I suppose people don’t think broad-shouldered, tall, and handsome guys like you are necessarily gay. But,” he pointed again at himself, “lanky, awkward, and nerdy, somehow equals gay in their book.”

“I don’t think you’ve met enough people just yet,” Jonathan offered a smidge of comfort. “Thank you for considering me handsome. If it’s any consolation, you don’t look gay to me. Although it does worry me a little that I don’t look gay to you. I’d rather not have people make wrong assumptions.”

“I don’t label people,” Ray said with another big smile. “So, now that you told your bestie your biggest secret, what’s your dating game?”

Bestie? Jonathan couldn’t remember when that had been established, but since Ray seemed so incredibly happy with the prospect, he couldn’t reject him outright. “I just transferred, like you, so I haven’t yet thought of it.” Not entirely true, but he could unveil his plans later to his nosy roommate if, indeed, they got along well.

“Cool. At least that means that I won’t be the only odd man out. We’ll be the new guys. Maybe even start a band. The New Guys.” Ray made a semi-circle with a sweep of the hand as if he could already see that name up in lights.

“Unfortunately, I’m not in the least adept at playing a musical instrument, and if you heard me sing, you would wish you just developed enough earwax to block the horrendous sounds leaving my throat.”

Ray laughed whole-heartedly. “That makes two of us. Anyway, do you have a boyfriend?”

Jonathan shook his head quickly. “No.”

Ray clapped in glee. “That’s great. We will look together for love this year. I mean, if you’re into love. If you’re into hookups --”

Jonathan shook his head. Hookup was a dreaded word and forever would be in his dictionary. “No, not at all.”

One hookup gone bad had been enough to destroy his reputation and life as he had known it up to that point. His parents didn’t need another shock of that proportion. Only thinking of it made Jonathan feel his cheeks on fire. 

“Ah, I dream of a nice girl who won’t mind getting my V card,” Ray said with an exaggerated sigh.

“V card?” Jonathan asked. Did people talk like that?

Ray offered him a sympathetic look. “Too much info? I’m afraid your bestie is not the kind to keep secrets. Also, it’s great that we have two bedrooms. You will hate me soon enough for my sloppy ways.”

Jonathan smiled. “How bad can it be?”

Ray patted his huge backpack. “My entirely life is in here. And not in a particular order if you catch my drift.”

“I see. I’ll let you unpack. I placed my toiletries on the left part of the shelf in the bathroom, but if you prefer it, I can move them.”

Ray waved. “Don’t worry. Hey, Jonathan,” he called after him as he started to walk away. “We’ll have a great junior year. It’s a promise.”

Jonathan smiled at his roommate again. At least, that was out of the way. Of course, he would have to curb Ray’s enthusiasm regarding having some common dating game. Unlike before, when he had made the mistake of thinking with what lay right under his belt, this time, if the opportunity arose, he would go for the safe option.

Which meant, of course, someone who was out and proud and not asking for oral sex on the down-low while pretending to be heterosexual in all the other dealings of his life. Yes, Jonathan had had enough of that to last him three lifetimes, not one.

***

“As the new kids,” Ray started the moment they were seated at a table in the dining hall that seemed to be packed at lunch hour, “we need to learn who’s who and fast.”

“Do you intend to be popular?” Jonathan questioned while he eyed the fries on his plate with a dubious look. They looked greasy and unpalatable, but together with the salad he had chosen, they could be considered a meal. Not a decent meal, mind you, but still.

“Hey, it’s all about knowing who’s worth knowing, right?” Ray said with a shrug. Unlike Jonathan, he was biting from his hamburger like he hadn’t had a proper meal in weeks. “The thing is popular students are the gateway to, you know, meeting others.”

“Do you want to hang out with the popular girls?” Jonathan teased. “Come on, Ray, that’s superficial. And I thought you were looking for true love.”

“Yeah, but it might take me a few tries to get there. Anywho, I did my research and --”

“Research? When did you have time for it? Only a few days ago, we were still unpacking.” Jonathan looked at the dressing pack and decided to skip it. It was good that their small suite had a kitchenette that could be used for some basic cooking.

“Sunny Hill Xpress,” Ray said with satisfaction.

“What’s that?”

“A very interesting digital publication that documents who’s who here, at Sunny Hill. It even has pictures and stuff.”

“Like Facebook?”

“Better.” Ray was barely waiting to share the fruits of his research with Jonathan. “This website lets you in the latest gossip, down to the juiciest details. Whoever is behind it, I’m telling you, they’re not mincing words.”

“So it’s a tabloid,” Jonathan said. He felt a growing unease at the thought. A look around half-convinced him that wannabe paparazzi weren’t present. His shoulders relaxed an inch. One thing he had to do was to convince himself that finally, here, at Sunny Hill, Jonathan Hamilton was nobody, and he had every intention to remain so. “Don’t believe everything it says in there.”

“Hey, it was really educational, and why are we here, at these esteemed halls of learning if not to get an education?”

Jonathan doubted he could argue with Ray on any topic. “I suppose,” he admitted with a slight shrug.

“Come on, JJ, don’t you want to know who’s gay, single, and out and proud on top of everything?”

In a moment of weakness, or just because Ray had insisted like a cat smelling catnip, he had admitted to his dating game being precisely that. While he had every intention to settle this time for something serious, Jonathan didn’t want to jump into it just yet.

“So, who’s the most important kid around here? Or kids?” he asked, wanting Ray and his matchmaking aspirations to steer clear of that topic.

“Gosh, JJ, you talk like you’re eighty,” Ray replied with a wave of the hand.

Another thing he had no idea of was when he had become a JJ. There was just something about Ray that made him accept everything the guy was throwing at him. All that talking about them becoming besties no longer seemed so far-fetched.

“Look,” Ray began and turned in his seat to point at a table several feet away from them.

The first thing Jonathan noticed was a red football jersey stretching on a back so large that a few stadiums had to be needed to accommodate such a presence. The student was standing, masking the view to his table, but the others were so rowdy that they were hard to miss. People walking by stopped to talk to them, high-fiving and doing all the inane things popular kids did.

The giant found his way to sit finally, so Ray continued. “That’s Dexter Solomon, Dex as his friends call him. He plays football, and rumor has it that he can drink an entire keg by himself. According to Xpress, he has done it at least once.”

“What a cliche,” Jonathan murmured.

“The brunet by his right,” Ray said, unfazed by his commentary, “is Kane Dubois. His dad attended Sunny Hill in his time and is now a big shot in the big pharma industry. He’s someone good to know.”

Ray wasn’t off the mark with that. As chemistry majors, going into the pharmaceutical business was an option to consider. Jonathan examined Kane briefly. He looked athletic, as well, not as big as Dex but impressive in his own right. As he had expected, Ray was drawn like a moth to a flame to the jock club, or one of the many.

“Kane plays lacrosse,” Ray added. “And that’s Rusty Parker.”

Jonathan examined the attractive blond with the dog-like name, who stood up and landed a perfect shot using a crumpled napkin turned into a ball to send through the improvised hoop offered by the linked arms of an equally attractive female student who screeched in delight. Ray didn’t need to tell him what sport he was into. What a tedious display. 

Of course, they were also the kind to score, Jonathan thought and shook his head. His eyes drifted, and then he noticed that there was someone else at the table. Unlike his companions that seemed as rambunctious as kids functioning on a megaton of candy, this one lounged in his seat, one arm wrapped lazily around the back of his buddy’s seat, and one long denim-clad leg stretched outside the table, right into the walking path of other pedestrians.

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the student’s other hand fiddling with some white stick stuck into his mouth. Was that a cigarette? Really? 

No, it was a lollipop, Jonathan realized. And perfect lips were wrapping around it with lustful abandon.

Lustful abandon? He needed to have his head checked. The guy was just enjoying his lollipop. Unnerved by where his thoughts were taking him so early in the day, Jonathan continued to examine the student. Rebellious ink-black hair covered his eyes, but a chiseled jawline and a tanned complexion were visible from that distance even. There was something playful and mischievous in how he rolled the candy in his mouth, only to retract it now and then to exchange a joke with his friends. And in his moves, something languid and predatory lurked, a proof of the devil-may-care attitude that appeared to define this particular character.

Apparently, he was much in a lyrical disposition today, so Jonathan decided not to fight it. Nothing could go wrong if he only looked at that perfect specimen of the male variety. He kept in a small snort at the sight of the rolled-up t-shirt sleeves. So the perfect specimen was kind of a douche, no wonder there. Not that his impressive biceps weren’t worth showing, or his perfect pectorals, clearly visible through the white t-shirt so glued to him that it looked more like a second skin and less an article of clothing.

There was a place and time for everything, including showing off one’s assets, but lunch in the college dining hall wasn’t one of them.

“Who’s that?” Jonathan asked, suddenly aware that he had tuned out Ray’s chatter while lost in admiring that student.

“That’s Maddox Kingsley,” Ray replied, excited that finally, Jonathan seemed interested in something he knew. “Or Mad Dawg, as people call him.”

“Mad Dog?”

“No, no, no,” Ray said with self-importance. “Say it with me. Mad Dawg.” He drawled the words like an extra in a gangster movie.

“As you say,” Jonathan replied. “What sports is he into? He hangs out with other jocks, so--”

“He’s not actually a jock. What he is into,” Ray leaned over the table and dropped his voice, “is actually illegal fights.”

“I call bullocks on that.”

“Call whatever you want. But he’s wild, dangerous, and all the girls want him.”

“Can’t say that I’m surprised.”

Ray didn’t seem to catch on to the sarcasm in his voice. “The point is, he’s the best, the ultimate, the BMOC.”

“Do you mind using plain English?”

“The big man on campus,” Ray said in a tone that was suggesting that Jonathan had just crawled from under a rock. “We need to become friends with him.”

“No, we don’t,” Jonathan retorted.

“Why?” Ray eyed him with suspicion.

Because Maddox, Mad Dawg, or whatever his moniker, was a nightmare dressed in a tight t-shirt that left nothing to the imagination regarding the perfect anatomy of his upper body. If he were to take after the long leg stretched as an obstacle for the other students happening by was any indication, the lower part had to be just as well built. Jonathan had no intention to go down the same road again even if the guy were interested, which was out of the question since the mentioning of girls throwing themselves at him had made that aspect painfully clear.

“Because such guys would never hang out with us,” Jonathan attempted to let Ray down gently.

“Why?” Ray asked again.

“Because we’re good guys. They,” Jonathan pointed at the rowdy group, “are the bad boys. Oil and water. We don’t mix, okay? And I bet he’s peddling drugs or something. Just look how many people stop by. What could they want?”

Ray didn’t seem wholly convinced. “Xpress didn’t confirm the rumors on the drugs thing. Hey, I think I want another soda.”

So there was a drugs thing, not that Jonathan would believe everything some obscure tabloid was saying. But anything he could tell himself to stop drooling over a straight bad boy was worth taking into consideration.

“I’ll go,” Jonathan offered. He didn’t need another soda; he would have plain water if they had such a thing.

***

“Man, it’s good to be back, right?” Dex stretched and yawned, making a display of his body and drawing the attention of at least half the female population present.

Maddox snorted. “What’s with you? Didn’t you get your beauty sleep?”

“I partied with my buddies back home until late. Then I drove here.”

That was Dex for you, of course. Party animal down to the last bone in his body. 

“You’re not going to start telling over the summer stories like we’re in third grade, right?” Rusty intervened. “I’m more interested in the bountiful future, aka the fresh meat.”

“Aren’t you tired of hooking up with all the newbies?” Kane questioned.

Unlike the rest of them who played the field, Kane was the only one in a serious relationship. What was more admirable, he and his girlfriend didn’t attend the same college, and they still made it work despite the distance. Maddox expected Kane to tie the knot and invite them to a big-ass wedding soon after senior year. But there was still time for them to party freely since junior year was just starting. 

“Hey, they want me,” Rusty said. “And I never say ‘no’ to a lady.”

“Yeah, you’re the perfect gentleman,” Kane commented. “There are also a few fresh off the boat transfers. Are you interested in them, too?”

“To our year? Yeah, I’m interested, as long as they’re hot,” Rusty replied.

Maddox let his eyes travel over the packed cafeteria in search, just as Rusty, of new faces. Or better said, new butts, since he was known far and wide as a total ass man. Just as he was eyeing a petite brunette packed in all the right places, something else entered his line of vision. Or better said, someone, a guy standing in line. It had to be one of the transfer students Kane was talking about because nothing in the way he carried himself said he was a freshman. Maddox examined the stranger’s profile with interest. He was dressed in sandy chinos and a light pink polo shirt. The clothes looked great on him, like they had been tailored, not bought off the rack. Complete with the oxfords on his feet, his outfit screamed conservative and old money. When the guy put his hands into his pockets, the chinos stretched over a fine piece of tail. Even as a straight guy, Maddox couldn’t help but notice when dudes had nice asses. This one topped many, tight and perky, and filling up those pants just about right.

The next thing Maddox noticed was that the guy was tall. Maddox didn’t consider himself short at his six point two, but this guy looked a bit taller than that. Among the other students, he was easy to spot. Maybe it was because of his impeccable clothes or his impeccable hairdo. His wavy light brown hair was styled in a preppy side-part, and he looked like someone who went through great pains to look that perfect. As he turned his head, Maddox also had the chance to examine a classic profile with a straight nose and high cheekbones. His face would have been considered a bit too harsh, but it was well balanced by a sensual mouth. Not that Maddox usually thought of guys in terms like that, but this one was a stunner, like movie star level. A movie star from the 1950s, mind you, but one nonetheless. 

“Who’s that?” He pointed with his lollipop at the guy. 

“Who? The petite brunette? I call dibs, bro,” Rusty said promptly. 

“Why would you call dibs so early in the day? I barely woke up,” Maddox protested. “I didn’t mean her. Him.” He pointed again.

“Wow, who’s Mr. President-in-the-making?” Rusty said. 

“Must be one of the transfer students,” Kane piped in. “Dude’s a looker. You guys should watch out, or the girls might forget entirely about you and line up for him.”

Rusty snorted. “Yeah, like who’s into this preppy look nowadays? I bet he’s boring like hell. Girls won’t make any sort of line for him, don’t worry, unless they want to hook up with a grandpa.”

“Someone’s jealous already,” Kane said with a chuckle.

Rusty ran one hand through his tousled hair, suddenly aware of how he might look compared to the guy they were gossiping about. “Me? Jealous? Nah, no way. Well, if he dares to be more popular than me with the ladies, I’ll challenge him to a duel or some shit.”

“Like a rap battle?” Kane asked.

“No, I’ll just have him play ball against me. We’ll see then who’s the tough guy.”

“Dude’s pretty tall. What if he beats you with your own weapons?” Kane raised a philosophical question right away. “Then he’ll really get all the girls and humiliate you in the process, too.”

“I wouldn’t worry if I were you,” Dex finally intervened in the conversation. Their giant friend got any girl he wanted without even trying, and that made him pretty chill. Rusty was the one with a bone to pick all the time, and Maddox simply didn’t care. If a chick digged any of his friends, he was hands-off.

Still, Dex’s comment made him curious. “Why shouldn’t we worry? Dude’s got class,” he said. “Chicks dig that.”

“Yeah, but he’s gay,” Dex said matter-of-factly.

“What?” Rusty exclaimed, a bit too loud. “Guys, just explain to me how this red-blooded, 100% straight mofo, can tell such a thing just by looking at a dude.”

“It may be that his folks passed the gaydar on to him,” Kane said promptly. “Like a family heirloom.”

That kind of banter was totally allowed in their tight-knit group. Dex had two awesome dads who had raised him since they had adopted him at the age of five. Although young enough not to recall in too great detail the pain of having been abandoned by his biological parents, Dex had a few scars of his own, which Maddox understood and respected. He also knew that Dex adored his dads, and they were his number one fans, too. 

“No way he’s gay,” Rusty insisted, while Maddox now stared at the guy’s perfect ass with renewed interest. With an ass like that, he had to be a bottom, even if, otherwise, there was something domineering and even slightly intimidating in how he kept himself. It had to be because of his height, or broad shoulders, or something like that. At least vers or else having that kind of ass was an injustice to all. “Dex, you gotta tell us how you know.”

Dex pointed with his soda can. “Do you see the petite brunette you’ve all been calling dibs on? For the last five minutes, while you kept flapping your traps, she’s been trying to get his attention. All she got from him were a few words. Not once has the dude checked out her rack. And I mean, look at that rack. He only looked at her face while talking.”

“So maybe he’s not into boobs,” Rusty protested. “Or like Kane, already got his ball and chain.”

“Shut up, dude. I have a girlfriend, not a life sentence. And I can tell that girl is pretty. Quite curvaceous and filled up in all the right places,” Kane added. “It’s not like I’m blind.”

Dex shrugged. “You guys don’t have to believe me. But dude’s also got ass. My educated guess is that he’s into dudes, and I stand by it.”

So Maddox wasn’t the only one to notice the guy’s perfect behind. 

Rusty angled his head and took a long, thoughtful look at the new student. “If I were gay, I’d totally hit that.”

“You’d hit on a grandma while helping her cross the street,” Kane shot at him, probably still salty over Rusty’s teasing from earlier.

“Yeah, if I were into old people. But I’m not,” Rusty replied, utterly unfazed by Kane’s remark. “I was just saying if I were gay. Come on, now that I know that he’s not into chicks, I can confirm that he’s like a gay guy’s wet dream with all that junk inside his trunk.”

“You’re all a bunch of pervs, commenting on a guy’s ass like that,” Dex said with a large grin. “Seeing how none of you is gay.”

Rusty bristled at that. “Hey, you brought it up. But do we have a name for Mr. Presidential Candidate slash Perfect Ass?”

Maddox surprised them by getting to his feet. “I’ll go and find out.”

He didn’t wait for the others to comment on his sudden decision. After all, he was easygoing and always made friends the fastest of them all. Finding the new student’s name was a piece of cake. Why he was so interested in finding it out, he couldn’t say.

“Hey, do you think you could let me cut in line? My friends are really thirsty and impatient like three-year-olds,” he asked the petite brunette who flashed a much-interested smile at him the moment he started talking.

“Sure,” she replied and allowed him to step in front of her.

“Thanks, gorgeous,” he replied and winked at her.

She smiled and bit her lower lip and seemed about to say something, but he forgot all about her the moment he took a closer look at the guy—Yeap, definitely taller than him by an inch or so. Amber eyes stared at him for a moment and then started moving away, seemingly bored. 

“Hey, it looks like you’re new here. I’m Maddox.” He offered his hand.

The amber eyes rested on him and the perfectly arched eyebrows above them knitted into a frown. “And I’m not interested.”

Maddox remained unmoved for a second. Say what? “Interested in what?” he asked with a snort.

“Whatever it is you’re selling.” The guy had the nerve to look away from him. “A soda and a glass of water, please,” he told the girl behind the register. “Tap water. Yes.”

Maddox could feel his fingers itching for grabbing the guy by the front of his polo shirt and asking him what the hell his problem was. Instead, he settled for a low rumble under his breath.

The guy snapped at him. “Did you just growl at me?” The girl at the register handed him the soda and the glass of water. “What a jerk,” he threw over his shoulder as he moved away.

“Stuck up prick,” Maddox called after him, too dumbfounded for a smarter comeback than that.

The guy didn’t even turn to look at him. Maddox shook his head in disbelief and stormed back to his table.

“Didn’t you want something?” The girl who had let him cut in line shouted after him.

“Another time,” Maddox replied quickly.

He plopped into his seat and let out a loud exhale. 

“What the hell happened over there?” Kane asked. 

“I officially hate that dude’s guts, whoever he is,” Maddox offered promptly. “He’s an arrogant asshole,” he added, as all his friends were staring at him, waiting for him to elaborate on that.

“So, you didn’t get his name?” Rusty asked.

Maddox looked at him like he was growing another head.

“What about the girl’s?” Rusty asked again, unfazed by his glare. 

“What girl?” Maddox bristled with annoyance. 

Rusty grinned. “Totally calling dibs, man.”

Maddox stuffed the lollipop back into his mouth. His day was fucking ruined. Amber eyes slash sexy ass could go fuck himself.

***

“O.M.G. Did Maddox just talk to you?”

Jonathan placed the soda can in front of Ray while congratulating himself for having a steady hand despite the knots in his stomach. The guy had to have gorgeous gray eyes fringed by dark eyelashes and a smile that could make panties drop at a moment’s notice. Could he be more ridiculously attractive? On top of everything, he had just needed to sneak up on him like that, taking him completely by surprise. 

“No, not really,” he replied stiffly. 

“Come on, I saw it,” Ray insisted. “He wanted to introduce himself, right?”

“He basically growled at me. No wonder people call him a mad dog.”

“Mad Dawg,” Ray said. 

“Whatever.”

“What happened? That was a pretty intense moment there.”

“I, well, I thought he was trying to push some drugs on me. I might have said something to that extent,” Jonathan settled for the truth.

“O.M.G., why did you say that? I told you the rumors weren’t confirmed.”

Jonathan shook his head. What was he getting so worked up about? “It was a knee jerk reaction, what can I say? The guy looks like a drug dealer. And he growled at me,” he added. “I’m sorry, Ray, but I don’t think we’re going to hang out anytime soon with Mad Dawg,” he emphasized the moniker, “and his merry men.”

“What of him makes you think of a drug dealer?” Ray asked, still flabbergasted, apparently, over what had happened. “Man, that moment looked like insta-hate from here,” he concluded. “But it doesn’t matter. I’d rather just hang out with you, anyway.”

“Insta-hate? I’d say that’s a bit too much,” Jonathan said.

“Nope. I think you got yourself an enemy.” Ray made a small move with his chin in Maddox’s direction.

Jonathan risked a glance. Yeah, the guy looked very much pissed, munching on his lollipop, a deep frown etched between his eyebrows. And he stared at him, with murder written all over his handsome face.

The only thing to do was groan in exasperation. While he didn’t need to be friends with a mad dog, the idea to have made an enemy so quickly was annoying, to say the least.

What did you think of this chapter?

(Someone Out And Proud)

“Are you even listening to me, JJ?” 

It was for the third time that day that he was spacing out. For some unfathomable reason, he kept thinking about the insta-hate thing he got going on with the big man on campus or whatever Ray called Maddox ‘Mad Dawg’ Kingsley. They had almost bumped into each other ever since the classes started a few times around the quad, and each time, Jonathan had felt something like an uncomfortable tension waving off from the other. Almost, because he had made sure to change direction and put as much distance as he could between them, which was ridiculous because it made him seem like a coward, which he usually wasn’t. 

He didn’t worry that Maddox might suddenly start a fight. No, his actual problems were closely related to the sudden and overwhelming effect those amazing gray eyes could have on him. He was obviously a sucker for punishment if he couldn’t fend off this type of primal attraction he instantly felt toward that kind of man. After what had happened last year, he should have known better, and yet the moment he saw a typical bad boy, he was up for handing out the leash like a stray puppy looking for an owner. 

Quite stubbornly, he had tried not to think of the guy at all. Each time his thoughts strayed there, he tried to convince himself that the resident BMOC was some drug peddler, a gangster, and someone who engaged in underground fights to feed who knew how many addictions, among which women were high on the list.

Maddox Kingsley was everything he didn’t need in his life. What he needed in his life was a nice gay man who was safe and pleasant and could make him forget all about his past ordeals. Definitely not a straight bad boy with an attitude who growled at people instead of talking like a normal person.

“JJ,” Ray called for him, this time a little louder. “What you got next?”

Jonathan consulted his schedule quickly. “Statistics. Did you choose it?”

Ray made a disgusted face. “More math? No, thank you. Hey, do you think we should go to a party this Saturday?”

“It depends. Were we invited?”

Ray made a small gesture like it didn’t matter. “I think we should. And we could, you know, start our search for true love. By the way, I think I have the perfect candidate for you.”

“You do?” Jonathan truly needed a distraction from his insta-hate affair slash forbidden attraction toward the BMOC of Sunny Hill. Great, courtesy of Ray, he was now thinking in acronyms and invented words.

“Connor Simmons,” Ray said with self-importance. “He’s a junior, too, and he’s into green energy and eco-friendly stuff. He’s out and proud, just as you like them, and he’s currently single.”

“All right. He sounds like a great person so far.”

“He also likes parties,” Ray added, “which obviously means that we need to go to some, too, just so that you get to bump into him and make his acquaintance.”

“So, all is just a cunning plan to drag me to some party. I’m afraid I’m not the type to indulge so much in beer-infused shenanigans. Is there any other way for me to meet Connor?”

Ray nodded. He was on his phone, probably checking that horrible digital tabloid. After an evening spent being roped into the gossip vortex of Sunny Hill, Jonathan had promised himself that he would never let Ray do that to him ever again. Even after taking a long hot shower, he still felt dirty.

“Ah, that’s perfect. He also takes Statistics, just like you.”

“Is there something that tabloid doesn’t know?”

Ray shrugged. “I have no idea. I mean, whoever’s behind it, seems to know everything, even about your run in with Mad Dawg.”

Jonathan would have preferred that thing to have remained between him and Maddox, but it looked like the gossip mill had taken that juicy piece of info, chewed it, and vomited it on computer and phone screens everywhere already. 

“We barely exchanged a maximum of ten words,” he said. “Talking about blowing things out of proportion. And I bet that Maddox has already forgotten about it.”

“Hey, it made you semi-famous,” Ray countered.

“In a somewhat bad way,” Jonathan said. “It looks to me like people prefer to stay clear of me. Do they think I got rabies from him or something?”

Ray offered him a compassionate look. “They side with him only because he’s been here longer.”

“Side with him? Nothing happened! Anyway, it’s a good thing that I’m being left alone. I’m certainly not chasing fame. How does Connor look like?”

Ray leaned against him and bumped into his elbow while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Do you want to know if he’s hot?”

“That is not why I’m asking. I just want to be able to recognize him. There are hundreds of students here if you haven’t noticed.”

“Well, you can thank me later because he is hot,” Ray continued unabashed, “and that’s why he’s my first pick for you.”

“How can you tell a guy is hot, straight boy?” Jonathan teased him.

“My long experience with gay-themed shows must be the culprit. Anyway, I don’t have to describe him to you since he’s over there. That man of the jungle with the flowery shirt. Doesn’t he look fit to start saving the planet?”

Jonathan stared at a group sitting on the grass. Everyone was enraptured with one young man that was talking loudly and gesticulating. He had long blond hair that ran below his shoulders and wore, indeed, a billowy shirt adorned by a colorful flower pattern. He got why Ray was calling him a man of the jungle. At first glance, it looked like his hair needed a comb, and there was something in how he was pushing his chest out like he was about to launch a loud cry and call all the creatures of the forest. And there was also the beard, a bit of the hippy kind, although it appeared to be quite groomed to fit the rest of the young man’s appearance.

He wasn’t sure about the hot part, though, but he didn’t want to rain on Ray’s parade. His bestie was obviously thinking that he was doing him a favor. From that distance, Jonathan couldn’t help thinking that Connor looked a bit like a poser, moving his arms too much, adjusting the wooden bracelets on his wrists too often, and trying too hard to prove a point, although everyone in his group was already listening. As Connor moved his head and looked at strangers, Jonathan could only think he was interested in enlarging his audience.

But he was not supposed to judge people by a first impression. And he truly needed to take his mind off Maddox and his gorgeous eyes, biceps, and everything else. Yes, he had thought about those arms, too, but he was only twenty years old and couldn’t be blamed for having his hormones running wild now and then. The fact that he didn’t find Connor hot at first sight was a good thing. He wasn’t planning on getting into this hormones-first like before.

“Then I should go listen to his speech. The more I learn about what moves him, the better my chances of making meaningful conversation from the get-go, right?”

“Go ahead, buddy,” Ray said and patted him on the back. “Gotta run, see you later. And JJ?” He stopped him for a moment and flipped up his thumbs. “You totally got this.” 

Jonathan smiled as his bestie scurried away.

***

For the last three days, ever since the incident in the cafeteria, Maddox had felt in a funk of sorts. So, everyone liked him, and there was just this one guy who didn’t. It shouldn’t have annoyed him so much, but it did. He had even let Rusty call dibs on all the new girls on campus until his friend had decreed that it was no longer fun to beat him at that game.

What was even more annoying was how the new transfer avoided him like he had the plague, each time they happened to be in the same one hundred square meters. Maddox was starting to suspect that someone must have badmouthed him, especially since the guy’s first reaction had been so bad, or else he couldn’t see why that kept happening. Also, it appeared that their little exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed, and everyone, with almost no exception, had decided that they had to treat the newcomer as a social pariah and ensure him, Maddox, wherever he went, that they were on his side, like there was some big war going on. The fact that he kept denying that was the case didn’t help either. Everyone loved him that much.

Except for that dude.

At least, the rumor mill had provided him with some facts for a change. The handsome asshole’s name was Jonathan Hamilton, he had transferred from a school up north, he was majoring in chemistry, he was openly gay (Dex had been right, after all), and that was pretty much it. Jonathan seemed to be a mystery, even to the most versed gossipers on campus. He was also there on an academic scholarship, so he had to be sharp as a tack. But there was nothing about his family and why he was staying at the dorms instead of renting some lavish townhouse and living like a king. Maddox wondered if he had mistaken in his assumption that the new transfer stank of old money. He usually was good at evaluating people and their wealth bracket. After all, he was majoring in business for a reason.

“I’m going to make that dude like me,” he announced to his friends as they strolled through the quad.

Everyone waved or tried to talk to them like usual, but he let all social interactions to Rusty, Kane, and Dex, too absorbed as he was in coming out with a plan to get close to Jonathan Hamilton.

“Are you still salty over that thing? So the dude doesn’t like you. Big deal,” Rusty said. 

“But everyone likes me,” Maddox protested. “Why doesn’t he?”

Rusty shrugged. Kane seemed keener on explaining. “Maybe he thought you were trying to hit on him.”

Maddox met that with a stricken expression. “Really? And what’s not to like?” He threw his arms to the sides and walked backward in front of his friends, allowing them to take a good look at him.

“Maddox, buddy, you’re not into boys,” Dex intervened. “Why does it matter if he likes you or not?”

“It’s about my reputation, come on,” Maddox complained. “I mean, just look at me, I’m practically candy for gay boys.”

His tirade was met with a snort from Dex, a chuckle from Kane, and a confused look from Rusty. 

“I’ll show it to you.” He searched with his eyes until they landed on a boy dressed in a rainbow flag t-shirt who was laughing with a group of girls. “Hey, you,” he called.

The boy stared at him in disbelief and pointed at his chest. “Who, me?”

“Yeah. You’re --” Maddox snapped his fingers while trying to recall the student’s name.

“Cletus,” the boy supplied.

“Right. Cletus, you’re into guys, right?”

Cletus just nodded, while the smile on his face was turning a bit cautious. 

“If I hit on you, what would you do?” Maddox asked directly.

Cletus blinked a few times. The crew behind Maddox started snickering. “How’s it going, Candy?” Dex teased him.

Maddox placed himself between Cletus and his buddies. “Ignore these assholes. Please, just tell me. It’s for a project, I’m running some statistics,” he added quickly, as he understood why the boy looked so intimidated now. “I’m not actually hitting on you.”

“Well, I guess I’d be flattered?” Cletus said and offered a forced smile.

Maddox groaned. “Seriously? You don’t think I’m hot?” His friends just started to laugh harder.

Cletus shifted nervously from one foot to another. “You are, but I’d totally think you’re pulling a prank on me.”

“What if I wasn’t? You know I totally respect gay people, right?” Maddox was starting to feel a little queasy. Was someone starting some nasty rumors about him? Although that was a good explanation for why Jonathan avoided him everywhere, it made him mad that someone would be spreading that kind of false information.

“Yeah, I know,” Cletus said, and some of his nervousness began to disappear while his good-natured smile returned. “So it wouldn’t be a prank?”

“Surely not. It would be the real thing.”

Cletus shrugged and grinned. He gave Maddox a long and suggestive once-over while biting his lips. “Then I’d say, bring it on, baby.” He then stopped and blushed a little as it was his crew’s turn to burst into laughter.

“Thank you, buddy, that was really helpful,” Maddox said and then turned to his besties. “I’m this close to unfriend you all, fuckers.”

Dex patted him on the back, hard enough to make him take an involuntary extra step. “So, Candy, gay boys want you. What does that prove?”

“Why doesn’t Jonathan Hamilton?” Maddox asked the obvious question.

“Maybe because he’s got his eyes on a different prize,” Kane said and pointed somewhere in front.

Maddox narrowed his eyes when he noticed what Kane was talking about. Jonathan was there, and he was engaged in conversation with that tree hugger Connor. Something about that dude had always irked Maddox, how he was trying too hard with his speech on protecting the environment as it looked like it was the only thing he could talk about, and there was also something shifty in his eyes that he disliked profoundly.

His sour mood only turned sourer as he observed how Jonathan kept angling his body, a clear sign of unspoken language that he was interested in his conversation partner. At the same time, Connor stood with his arms crossed and slightly defensive like he could barely wait to get out of there. Well, the interest was one-sided, and that offered Maddox a slight satisfaction. Not that he could understand how Jonathan would be interested in that greasy monkey and not in him, but that was something he would work on.

“See you later, guys,” he waved at his friends and walked purposefully toward Jonathan and Connor. “Hi, man,” he greeted Connor, who immediately turned toward him, seemingly relieved to be saved from having to talk to his current companion. “How’s it hanging?”

As Connor did his signature handshake and hug, Maddox looked over his shoulder at Jonathan. He was staring at him, and a frown was quickly forming on his face. Yeah, take that; how do you like being the guy who isn’t liked?

“Heading to Statistics,” Connor replied. “You too?”

“Sure.”

Maddox noticed the small hesitation in Jonathan. What was that about? Connor grabbed Maddox by the shoulders and made him walk toward the building where the lecture took place, all the while ignoring Jonathan, which was pretty rude and should have given him satisfaction but didn’t. Jonathan stayed behind, his face clouded, and turned away, and Maddox noticed that because he looked at him over his shoulder. 

“What’s with you and the new guy?” Maddox asked.

“Nothing,” Connor said quickly. “Can you believe that he just tried to lecture me on nuclear power?” He tsked like Jonathan must have told him some dim-witted things.

Maddox continued to sneak glances back until he noticed Jonathan moving and heading, surprise, surprise, in the same direction. Was he stalking Connor? That was so embarrassing. The dude should have taken a hint by now. Unless, of course --

“Is Jonathan in Statistics, too?” he asked.

“Who?” Connor said like he hadn’t spoken to him until seconds ago.

Maddox didn’t insist. If they all had the same class, he could see it happening, so he came up with an excuse to saunter off and head over to the lecture hall faster.

***

Jonathan felt a bit stunned. He was being ostracized, all because of that ridiculous run-in with Maddox. Connor had talked to him in monosyllabic words and then stormed off with Maddox like he wasn’t even there. He pinched the bridge of his nose and willed himself to relax. How had he managed to screw up things so badly from the first day? 

Was Maddox that much of a scumbag to tell everyone to stay away from him? He had thought it a bit amusing at first since everyone was a stranger, but now he found himself in the impossible position of not being able to strike a normal conversation with someone he was interested in knowing. 

He drew a long sigh. As much as he disliked it, he had to address the issue head-on with Maddox. It was true that he had assumed wrongly that Maddox was some sort of drug peddler, but using his influence to shut him out entirely from the campus social life? That was taking things a bit too far. 

Good thing he had Ray. At least, for now, his bestie was immune to the charms of the legendary Mad Dawg. He was probably called that because he could turn any student socially dead with a snap of the fingers like an insane emperor from Ancient Rome.

He walked into the lecture hall, his head wrapped in thoughts. As he crashed into another hard body, he looked up. “I’m so sorry,” he said automatically but swallowed his words when he noticed who had inconveniently placed himself in the way. His lips clamped shut.

Maddox examined him with curiosity. He was giving him a lazy once-over like he was licking him head to toes. Jonathan shuddered under that gaze for motives he didn’t care to explore. “No problem,” he said and finally moved away to allow Jonathan entrance. 

He moved quickly past Maddox and searched for a place in the back. The last thing he needed was to have everyone’s eyes on him. Most probably, those gossip-hungry students could barely wait for the next episode in the New Guy vs. BMOC war.

***

Maddox watched as Jonathan found a place in the last row away from everyone. His face was all a frown, but his hands were steady as he took out his laptop and placed it on the desk. At this point, a total noob in the art of getting someone to like you would have walked over and asked to sit by the guy’s side, but Maddox was no noob. He was plenty more refined than that.

Of course, it was a bit of a let-down that he wouldn’t get to look at Jonathan at all during the lecture, as he always sat in the front row, but it didn’t bother him much. Also, he wanted his little surprise to catch Jonathan completely unawares at the end of the lecture.

He exchanged a few words with the students around him while the professor waited for everyone to be seated. One last look couldn’t hurt. Jonathan was a pleasure to look at, Maddox had to admit. Only earlier, when they had bumped into each other, he had had the chance to smell his subtle, yet highly selective, cologne. For any gay guy, Jonathan had to be sex on a stick, not that Maddox knew anything about that, but he was just a keen observer. And his observations had led him to notice the broad shoulders, lean waist, pretty eyes, and of course, that perfect ass. Maddox sneaked another glance at the last row.

Jonathan had his forehead resting against his palm, shielding his face from view like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. Maddox frowned. Wasn’t he a bit too sensitive? So, yeah, the entire student body was kind of a bunch of douchebags for shunning him, but no one had done anything overtly hostile, as far as Maddox knew. Why did he have to look so down?

Well, things would change for Jonathan Hamilton starting today, Maddox decided. Because once they became friends, everyone would love him, and that was that.

***

Jonathan had a hard time focusing on the class and taking notes, as he couldn’t ignore the proportions of his inane conflict with Maddox. Mad Dawg clearly looked like he owned the place, and everyone was bending over backward to be in his graces.

He hated to do that, but he needed to apologize. It wasn’t because he wanted all that ostracisation of his person to cease, he tried to convince himself, but because he had been in the wrong to assume that Maddox was some drug dealer. As much as he needed to control his inexplicable attraction, it didn’t mean that it allowed him to go around accusing people of such horrible things.

Inexplicable attraction? It was hard to keep up with that after throwing the quickest of looks at the front row. Jonathan found himself drawn to the place where Maddox sat. He wore his hair cut close to the head at the back but let it long on top, which allowed him to look at the world through that jet black curtain that fell in his eyes and made him look so sexy and mysterious. Without a doubt, he knew very well what he was doing with that act. He had the small world at Sunny Hill wrapped around his little finger, and Jonathan struggled to find it in him to hate him. 

Their little bump-in from earlier had just lit a new fire under his ass, he pondered dejectedly. He had had the chance not only to look into those gorgeous gray eyes from much closer but also to notice how nice Maddox smelled. Yeah, that was the last thing he needed.

“And now I will announce to you the project pairings for this semester. As some of you already know, I prefer that you don’t change your partner unless you have a really good reason,” the professor said.

Jonathan straightened up and listened attentively. If it happened to be an odd number of students attending the course, he had the highest chances of being the odd man out, and he was fine with it. But he still needed to apologize to Maddox and maybe mend some of his catastrophic debut. As soon as the professor was done calling their names for the pairings, he would have to move fast and catch Maddox before he walked out the lecture hall.

“Mr. Kingsley,” the professor said loudly, “you’ll be with Mr. Hamilton.” She looked over the hall, and Jonathan put one hand up while his heart first slowed down and then began hammering in his chest. What were the odds of that happening? 

Maddox appeared to be crazily pleased as he turned and grinned at him. He even waved, and Jonathan waved back after a second of hesitation. What was that about now? Did Maddox think of some new way to haze him? It had to be as that satisfied smirk, visible even across the several rows between them, couldn’t announce anything good.

Jonathan repressed a groan. The chances were that Maddox would just have him put in all the work on the project as payment for not kneeling in front of him and kissing the pinky ring the moment they had met for the first time.

He bit his bottom lip hard. The last, but truly the last thing he needed was to picture himself kneeling in front of Maddox Kingsley. And he truly needed to take care of his raging hormones if only imagining such a thing was enough to get him going.

***

Maddox leaned against the desk and stretched his legs as the students hurried out. Now, Jonathan would have to talk to him since they had to partner for their project. And that was the chance to clear the air and make him like him, just like the rest of the universe. 

He didn’t move a muscle as Jonathan walked in front of him and stopped. His handsome face looked conflicted, and Maddox tensed without wanting to, expecting some other weird accusations to leave that perfect mouth.

“Maddox, I must apologize.” Jonathan looked away, clearly uncomfortable.

Maddox’s grin stretched lazily. Now that was unexpected. Jonathan Hamilton looked like the kind of dude who didn’t say those words easily, not when it was about serious stuff, at least. And by the expression in those beautiful amber eyes that finally settled on him, this was serious.

“What for?” Maddox asked. “You’re not backing out on partnering for the project, right?” That would be a total bummer.

Jonathan’s frown deepened. “No, I wasn’t talking about that. I was referring to our little incident from a few days ago. I shouldn’t have assumed you were trying to sell me drugs.”

Maddox munched on his lips, trying hard not to laugh.

“What is so amusing?” Jonathan asked. 

“Nothing, nothing,” Maddox replied and sighed, finally capable of reining in the laughter bubbling in his chest. “Apologies accepted. No harm done.”

“All right,” Jonathan replied.

The words rolled out of his mouth like they were gems he bestowed upon the world. Okay, so the dude had kind of a chip on his shoulder, which made things all the more entertaining.

“However, I can only assume that verbal apologies may not be enough,” Jonathan continued.

“Uh-um,” Maddox said, strangely attracted by his mouth. Jonathan had a nice pair of lips, and as a gay guy, he most probably liked sucking –

He shook his head to chase away that strange image that came to mind uninvited.

“So, to make things right,” Jonathan said, clearly oblivious to the effect he had on Maddox by doing nothing but talking, “I’m offering to contribute in a more substantial manner to the project. I mean, if you don’t feel like --”

“What?” Maddox finally managed to shake off completely the naughty image in his head. “Don’t worry, dude, I’ll pull my own weight. I mean it. And I love this course.”

“You do?” Jonathan seemed surprised. And then he offered a small smile. “I also enjoy it.”

“Great, that’s great.” Maddox said the words mechanically, incapable of remembering all the teasing he had had in store for Jonathan. 

“Excellent. Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” Maddox said with a shrug.

Light pink colored the heights of Jonathan’s cheeks. “Do you think you could, maybe, let the rest of the world know that we’re not engaged in some sort of… war?” It appeared that he was struggling to find the right words.

“What war? Ah, oh, yeah, sure. I mean, I kept telling them that it was nothing,” Maddox said.

He tried to look lower, just so that he didn’t have to stare at those sexy lips again. It wasn’t helping, though, since as much as Jonathan’s shirt was as conservative and regular as it could be, it did absolute justice to a nice broad chest and the perfect shape of his pecs.

“Is there something on my shirt?” Jonathan asked, looking at himself in confusion. “You keep staring --”

“You know what, Jonathan? Let’s meet up later to talk about the project.” He pulled out his phone, and Jonathan did the same.

Gosh, there was something weird going on with him and this dude. Maddox was perfectly fine with his sexuality, like totally. And he had never had any qualms with admitting when dudes were fine-looking. Yet, the more he looked at Jonathan Hamilton from up close, the less sense the images in his head made any sense.

“So, we’ll talk,” Jonathan said and offered another small cautious smile.

Maddox closed his eyes for a moment. That smile was fucking precious, for some reason. What he needed to do right now was to stop ogling that smile, lips, eyes, chest, whatever. So he stood and pulled Jonathan into a hug since that was a sure way not to be forced to keep his eyes open and stare at him anymore.

“Oh,” the other reacted, “are we hugging?”

Maddox nodded and held him close, wrapping one hand around the back of his neck. “That’s what I do with all my buddies.”

Yes, he did, but he’d never done it just so that he didn’t have to stare at their faces and have weird ass fantasies. Jonathan touched him gently on the back and patted him with cautious hesitation. That felt nice.

A bit too nice. He could totally smell the expensive cologne, and Jonathan really did smell fantastic. And his body was warm and perfect, all lean angles and hard surfaces, as Maddox could clearly feel through his t-shirt.

Jonathan broke the hug quickly. “Guess I’ll see you around, then,” he said and pushed himself back, almost at the same time with Maddox.

“Yeah, sure, I have a thing,” Maddox mumbled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I should go.”

They almost bumped into one another on the way out, and Jonathan just stepped back and allowed him to run away. In a completely different direction than him.

***

Jonathan could only do this much not to break into a sprint. His saving grace was that his dorm was close to the science building. He jumped the stairs two by two and dashed down the hallway. 

He was breathing hard as he walked through the door, checked for any signs of Ray throughout the small suite, and proceeded to lock himself in the bathroom. He groaned and leaned against the door. Then he opened his fly and grabbed his raging erection, which, somehow, had managed not to scandalize anyone on his way there. 

What was happening with him and this Maddox character? How could his body react so wildly at that sexy boy’s mere presence? And why, oh why, had Maddox decided to hug him out of the blue?

Even now, he could recall with the utmost clarity, the way Maddox had wrapped his callous hand around the back of his neck, rubbing a little and squeezing, while his other hand had rested between his shoulder blades. Or the way he smelled, spicy and clean and masculine, triggering an instant reaction in Jonathan’s loins. Or how he held him so close together, making him so painfully aware of his hard sexy body and heat. Or how his breath against Jonathan’s neck was enough to make him break into a sweat all over.

He wanted to punch himself in the face, but he had no choice for now. Later, he would have to think of ways to develop resistance to Maddox’s incredible charm. For now, he settled for a steady rhythm of his hand as he moved it up and down. It didn’t take him long. He struggled to voice his climax as quietly as possible, but to his ears, his moans and groans were shamelessly loud. 

Maddox Kingsley was out of this world, he decided. He had gone to an all-boys school and then an all-boys college, for fuck’s sake. He had seen plenty of guys, attractive guys, amazing guys, sexy as hell guys. And never, not even the young man behind the incident that had kicked his life off its normal orbit had anyone made him feel like this.

“I need to get myself a boyfriend,” Jonathan told himself as he washed his hands, trying to feel disgusted with himself and failing.

Yeah, he needed to settle for someone normal and attainable, not sport an erection each time Maddox did as little as breathe in his general direction.

***

“Nobody better need the upstairs bathroom for like ten minutes,” Maddox shouted at the others who were gathered in the living room, playing video games, as he rushed through the door of the house he shared with Dex, Kane, and Rusty.

“Are you shitting yourself?” Rusty asked.

Maddox just flipped the bird at him and rushed up the stairs. “Fuck,” he exhaled the moment he was inside and pulled out his hard as a rock cock. “Look who’s out and proud,” he murmured as he began to beat his meat.

So, Jonathan smelled fan-freaking-tastic. Maddox was pretty sure he had never met anyone who could smell so good, not even the girls he dated or hooked up with, let alone a dude. And his body was so damned fine, so fine actually that Maddox had wanted nothing else on the spot but to sneak his hands under his shirt and touch him everywhere.

And there was also that crazy fantasy he could now indulge in since he was alone, of Jonathan on his knees with a hard cock - no, not just any cock, but Maddox’s own pride and joy - between his luscious lips, running them up and down, all misty eyes and ready to take a load.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Maddox hissed and slammed one hand against the wall as rope after rope of cum landed in the toilet bowl.

He was totally drained when he finished. “Aren’t you a bit confused?” he scolded his cock before pushing it back into his underwear.

He needed to get laid. One week without getting his rocks off was enough if he was starting to fantasize about dudes sucking his cock. Yeah, he needed to get laid and forget about Jonathan Hamilton and his juicy mouth.

Also, he had to develop some self-control around the new guy. What was he thinking, partnering with him for that project? Maddox almost regretted getting so chummy with Jonathan Hamilton.

Almost.

What did you think of this chapter?

(Here We Go Again)

The small cooktop could barely serve the purpose, but Jonathan decided to try his hand at cooking anyway. After all, boiling some pasta and preparing some sauce that didn’t come in a tube or plastic package along with the entire list of preservatives ever created by mankind wasn’t that hard as he had discovered ever since he had left home.

“That smells nice,” Ray said as he stuck his head in.

“If you’re hungry, I’ll have everything ready in about five minutes,” Jonathan said.

“Awesome.” Ray sat at the small table that could accommodate two people at the best of its capabilities. “So, JJ, you have nothing to fess up?”

“Fess up?” Jonathan turned toward his roommate. Ray was eyeing him while fiddling his thumbs, the perfect impersonation of a parent waiting for a naughty child to spill the beans about breaking his grandmother’s one-century old porcelain vase. “Like what?” 

“Really?” Ray seemed surprised. “Do I have to find out from Xpress that you got paired with Maddox freaking Kingsley for your Statistics project?”

Jonathan groaned. “That little publication is starting to scare me. Why is such a thing important? Does it list who everyone else is partnering with?”

“Just the important people,” Ray said with a shrug. “When were you going to tell me?”

“Ray, Maddox is just a student like everyone else. And we happen to share a class, hence the possibility of us ending up as project partners, with a probability of --”

Ray put his hand up. “I’m going to stop you right there before you launch into some math dissertation that will make me doze off. So, did you talk to him?”

“Briefly,” Jonathan said and pretended that the sauce needed some vigorous stirring.

“Well, did he say anything about why he chose you?”

Jonathan turned toward Ray again. “What do you mean? The professor chose all the pairings.”

Ray smiled slyly. “Not according to Xpress. Apparently, a certain student had a little chat with your prof right before the lecture, insisting that he must be paired up with the new guy.”

“Stop reading that thing, Ray, I mean it. I doubt that happened.” Jonathan placed two plates on the table. When he went for the forks, his right hand did a weird thing, and the utensils ended on the floor with a loud clatter. 

“Something happened with you two, and you’re not telling,” Ray accused him openly, but in the same playful manner of his.

“What could possibly happen? We barely met. All right, since you insist so much. I talked to him, I apologize for mistaking him for a drug dealer, and we hugged.”

He hadn’t intended to let that little tidbit drop, but he couldn’t take it back now.

“O.M.G, JJ, that’s awesome! So you’re friends with him now?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But we’re no longer on the brink of nuclear war,” Jonathan replied.

That if he didn’t count what took place south of his belt whenever he happened to be within ten feet of Maddox Kingsley.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Ray continued to express his excitement, slapping his cheeks and grinning broadly, “that means that we’re going to get invited to all the parties. Hooray to us and goodbye, social exclusion!”

“I had no idea you disliked it that much,” Jonathan teased him. “I’d say being invisible to the social body is not entirely a bad thing.”

“Yeah, easy to say when you’re a six point four hunk dressed in tailored clothes and looking like a classic movie star,” Ray said without breathing for a moment.

“Aw, you really mean that?” Jonathan joked and let his eyelashes flutter in a coy gesture. 

“You know I’m right. I suppose you could do with a little less attention, well, provided that you don’t declare war on the BMOC on your first day of school, but I take whatever I can, thank you very much. Hey, I hope you’re not going to ditch me now that you’re popular?” 

Jonathan laughed and tousled Ray’s hair. “Like I’d do that. You’re my bestie, right?”

Well, he didn’t have to believe everything Ray was reading online on that tabloid, but it did make him wonder. Had Maddox done that? And if ‘yes’, why?

***

“What are you up to?” Dex asked and pushed him with his elbow as Maddox fiddled with his phone. 

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me. You’ve been doing nothing but look at your phone for the last half hour since I got home. You haven’t said a word.”

“Totally true,” Kane piped in. “And you didn’t even eat your tacos,” he added, pointing at the untouched meal in front of him.

“Yeah, can I have those?” Rusty reached for the plate, and Maddox slapped his hand away promptly.

“No, you can’t. And I was just checking… the weather,” he said defensively.

“The weather,” Dex said slowly.

Maddox stared at his friends, one by one. There were certain exchanges between Kane and Dex he didn’t like. Rusty didn’t appear affected, but when was he ever?

“All right,” Kane said, narrowing his eyes. “Who is she?”

“There is no ‘she’,” Maddox replied.

“Yeah, sure.” Kane continued to examine him with shrewd eyes. “She must be giving you the cold shoulder if you’re so distracted.”

“Hey, nobody gives the cold shoulder to my bro,” Rusty jumped to his defense right away.

“Yeah, thank you, Rusty. Here, have a taco.” He threw a small wrap at his friend, who caught it deftly. “I’m not distracted, but very much focused,” Maddox added and waved his phone.

Dex was quick to snatch it from his hand. “Let’s find out what you’re so focused on.”

The ping of an incoming message, supposedly the one he had been waiting for all day long, spurred him into instant action. He lunged at Dex so fast that not even his athletic friend had a chance to prevent him from snatching his phone back. In the blink of an eye, he noticed the sender, so he cradled his phone to his chest like it was a matter of national security and darted out of the room.

“Hey, what the hell, man? Who’s your sweetheart?” Dex called after him. 

“Let him be. He’ll fess up sooner or later,” Kane said loud enough for him to hear it even as he rushed up the stairs to his bedroom.

He made sure to lock the door and pressed his back against it. Then, after one deep breath, he checked the message.

When is a good time for you to meet up and talk about the project?

Maddox smiled. For the entire day, he had waited for Jonathan to contact him. In the short message, he could practically hear the correct pronunciation of each word, the rich vowels, the ups and downs of that low pleasant voice. He couldn’t be the one to make the first move, especially after locking himself in the bathroom and doing the unthinkable while thinking of the guy. He was locking himself in the bedroom, which surely looked mighty suspicious to his friends downstairs, but right now, he couldn’t give a damn about that.

What he did give a damn was for Jonathan to be the first to contact him. Wait, why was he so excited? Maddox shook his head. Well, whatever happened earlier had to be a fluke. Now that he had jerked off and his balls were dried out, for the time being, he could see the guy without having any unusual fantasies. And since he was a man of action, he had to check that theory sooner rather than later. Meeting up with Jonathan and spending time with the guy would make things perfectly clear, meaning that he was a straight guy who had just had a gay fantasy by accident.

Are you free right now? Let’s meet at the library.

He hit ‘send’ and waited. Who knew seconds could feel so long. Why was Jonathan typing so slowly?

I’ll be there in ten. But I must warn you that I won’t be able to spend more than an hour on this today.

Maddox pondered and rubbed his chin in thought.

Got a date or something?

Who could snatch Jonathan so quickly? Yeah, they were no longer at war, as everyone must have heard by now, but really, who could be so fast to snatch the guy?

No, I’m working.

Phew, not a date. Wait a minute, working?

You’re working?

Why did the guy have to work? He was there on an academic scholarship and looked like some couple of one-percenters’ offspring. 

Yes.

Maddox waited for a follow-up on that, but it looked like nothing happened.

Why? He sent the message quickly.

For the same reason everybody does. Money.

Maddox scratched his head. 

You seem surprised, or is it just my impression? A second text from Jonathan followed.

Yeah. I mean, you reek of old money.

All right, maybe he had worded that kind of weirdly, but it was precisely what he was thinking, and he usually said whatever crossed his mind.

I see. Are you at the library yet? I’m on my way, and I don’t have that much time to spare.

Maddox straightened up and then took a quick look at his clothes. They’d do. It wasn’t like he was going on a date or something. And phone text Jonathan seemed pricklier than in real life. He sighed in content. Yeah, today must have been a fluke. This guy who didn’t care to chat outside whatever they needed to talk about was kind of obnoxious. Maddox grabbed his laptop bag and walked out of the room.

“Where are you going?” Kane questioned him as soon as he was in his friends’ line of sight.

“To the library,” Maddox quipped. “Working on a project.”

There was another meaningful exchange between Kane and Dex.

“Tell her we’d like to meet her,” Dex teased him with a crooked grin.

“Geesh, guys, just drop it. There’s no girl involved. I’m really going to the library.”

He didn’t wait for more teasing to happen and walked out the door. Well, after checking that his temporary attraction slash insanity involving Jonathan Hamilton was nothing but a fluke, he would get himself a girl. To be back into action was everything he needed, after all.

***

Jonathan perused the case studies spread in front of him while consulting extra data on his laptop. Maddox sat across from him, looking just as distracting as always, which practically meant good enough to kiss and devour slowly one inch of his over six feet in height at a time. To focus on hard cold numbers was the best therapy. He had decided to text Maddox so quickly since he clearly needed some exposure to the subject of his maddening attraction just so that he could deal with it better and faster. 

So far, it didn’t work that great, but he was putting in the best of his efforts. Each time Maddox’s eyes lingered on him, he could sense a slight tremble in his fingers, like right now. To steady them for the moment, he searched for his glasses. He wore them only while studying for long hours, and since there was a bit of ground to cover to decide on the best course of their project, he could use them.

Also, they could serve as armor between him and the perfect male beauty across from him—a flimsy piece of armor, but still.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Maddox said.

Was it just his imagination, or had those words been said in a ragged whisper? The problem with Maddox was that he exuded sex. He could probably make sneezing sexy or something crazy like that.

Jonathan shook his head. How many times did he need to masturbate to get over this senseless crush? Obviously, as rational as he wished to be, his body seemed to have taken a life of its own, doing whatever it pleased.

“Yes, I wear glasses. And there are many things you don’t know about me since we’ve barely met.”

“Right,” Maddox admitted. “Hey, where did you go to school before coming here?”

Jonathan threw the other a look that he hoped was chilling enough to prevent any further conversation. “We’re here to talk about the project, not me. Here, take a look at these.” He turned his laptop toward his project partner.

Maddox frowned for a moment, but then his attention turned to the screen. He began talking, offering his insight, and Jonathan fell quiet. Clearly, the Mad Dawg of Sunny Hill was more than met the eye. Everything he said made perfect sense, but Jonathan had to pretend to look at the books opened on their table to avoid getting blindsided again. 

Watching Maddox from so up close was bad, truly bad for his nerves. How was he going to survive his junior year?

“Well, we set up the ground for it, so I think we’ll do well,” he concluded one hour later, as Maddox stood up and hiked his bag over his shoulder.

Jonathan winced internally at those rolled-up sleeves. The only saving grace was that Maddox really had amazing arms. But it would be bad taste to comment anything on that, given that they were hardly acquaintances.

“Yeah. Good work, man.” Maddox smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t you have to get to work? I could drive you there, wherever it is.”

“No need. I work here, at the library.” Jonathan consulted his wristwatch. “I start in about ten minutes. Don’t worry about these,” he pointed at all the material on the table. “I’ll return them. And thank you for your offer.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Maddox dragged his feet a little like he didn’t want to leave just yet.

Jonathan stared at him for a moment. “Well, it’s been a pleasure,” he said perfunctorily. “See you in Statistics, right? Hey, can I ask you a question?”

The gray eyes lit up with new interest. “Sure.”

“There is this weird rumor that you asked that you’d be paired with me for this,” Jonathan said, proud of his unwavering voice.

A lopsided grin was the immediate reply. “So what if I did?”

Jonathan opened his mouth and closed it. He should have asked ‘why’, but his courage had apparently taken him only this far.

Maddox moved away, the same mysterious and unnerving smile on his face. He threw Jonathan a few looks over his shoulder on his way out. 

And Jonathan stood there, absolutely nonplussed. First of all, this exposure therapy had proven useless so far. His attraction toward the resident bad boy was just as strong as before, if not made worse. Throughout the last hour, he had been able to observe numerous other details about Maddox, such as how he had the curliest and darkest eyelashes he had ever seen in his life or how his hands must be so calloused from lifting weights or something like that – which probably came in handy given his strange choice of extra-curricular activities - , or how the corners of his mouth curled and triggered the cutest dimples in existence whenever he smiled, something he often did. 

Those weren’t the only details he had noticed, of course, but he needed to stop for the sake of his sanity. The second reason for his current state of perplexity was how smart Maddox truly was. Why would a guy like that get into illegal fights, something that had clearly earned him that idiotic nickname? He obviously had the smarts to be a top student. 

He started to gather all the books, more and more aggravated by his lack of common sense when it came to hot young men like Maddox. No, this wouldn’t be a case of history repeating, he told himself. One time was an accident. Two times, well, that would be a habit.

A really bad habit.

***

Maddox dropped on the sofa and groaned in absolute disappointment with himself. Well, that had gone completely wrong. He had barely managed to keep his head in the game, as Jonathan had calmly and relentlessly thrown heaps of information at him. 

Rusty came into the room. “Back so soon from your date?”

Unlike Kane and Dex, who liked to tease him, Rusty actually meant the question as he meant everything else he ever said. 

“I wasn’t on a date,” Maddox said. “Did those two clowns really assume that?”

Rusty shrugged and sat by his side. “They seem sure you have a crush or something. They’re taking bets.”

“On who I’m crushing on?”

“They use the scientific method. The first bet is on what year she is in.”

“Ah, I see.” Maddox wasn’t surprised. It was the unwritten rule that whoever had a crush had to be teased by the others. Kane, the asshole, had it good since he already had a steady girlfriend. The others were free game. “Hey, listen, have you ever imagined how it would be to come on someone’s glasses?”

Rusty considered the question with a thoughtful frown on his face. “Sunglasses or prescription?”

“Prescription,” Maddox replied.

“Do they have light sensitive lenses or clear?”

He failed to see how that was important, but he was the one who needed to find out an answer to a pressing question. “Clear, I suppose.”

With rimless design and a platinum finish frame, but he didn’t add that.

“Are they on the person wearing them or would you like to come on them if they were like on a table or something?” Rusty continued his inquiry. 

“Seriously? Why are you asking so many questions?”

“When it comes to kinks, you gotta be specific,” Rusty explained. “Otherwise, you might end up ordering the wrong thing from the sex shop, and then having to find an explanation when your parents stumble over a pair of twelve-inch heels at the back of your closet.”

That sounded like something that could happen to Rusty. He had a thing for costume play, and not once his very transitory girlfriends had been seen leaving his bedroom in the strangest getups possible.

“How did that come about?” he asked.

Rusty shrugged. “They weren’t her size. Even legends have their bad days.”

Maddox couldn’t agree more, given his current situation and much distracting thoughts involving a particular new transfer to their college.

“So?” Rusty asked, still waiting for an answer.

“Okay, on the person wearing them,” Maddox replied. And that person was wearing them in style like he was born to star in ads for the latest fashion. 

“Well, no.”

“What?”

“You asked me if I ever imagined that, so I’m giving you the answer,” Rusty replied promptly.

Maddox patted his friend on the back. “Thanks, buddy, you’ve been of great help.”

“Anytime, man.”

Yeah, what he liked about Rusty was how the guy never pestered him like the other two fools. Even right now, when Maddox practically served him a thousand reasons to tease him relentlessly, Rusty didn’t take the bait and behaved like a bona fide friend.

However, that didn’t solve his problem. “I’m heading for a shower. Wanna go out for drinks later?”

“Sure,” Rusty said with a shrug.

“Really? After calling dibs on half the campus, you still don’t have a date?”

“I need to make a comparison chart first and choose accordingly.”

That sounded like Rusty, too. 

Maddox was fast to climb the stairs, shed all his clothes, and head for the shower. He let the water pour over his head and body, hoping for a little bit of reprieve after all the sensory assault from earlier. Yeah, he totally wanted to come all over those glasses, now that he had seen them. And yes, he wanted them to be attached to the person, while the guy knelt in front of him and blinked lazily and waited for him to shoot.

Maddox grabbed his cock and pulled back the skin. For a couple of moments, he stared at his former best friend as he held it by the root and watched the head pulse and getting ready for action.

“Here we go again,” he said with a sigh and began.

***

Could one be philosophical about things such as baffling attraction? Jonathan laid in bed, his eyes on the ceiling, hands behind his back. After another mind-blowing and exhausting session of masturbation, he was supposed to be perfectly capable of going to sleep, but none of that happened. As soon as he closed his eyes, that mischievous smile and gorgeous gray eyes jumped on him as they could barely wait for him to drop his guard.

“He’s straight,” he said. Maybe if he heard the words out loud, they would make sense, and he would finally be able to get over it. 

He wasn’t only straight. According to the gossip mill, he was a ladies’ man, and no one had ever heard of him doing something close to experimenting with a trip on the wild side. He clearly had no qualms with gay people, as Jonathan had learned from Ray, and he was just the type of guy comfortable in his own skin and sexuality. 

What he needed to do was to think of someone else. He could think about Connor, although the guy didn’t seem interested in him at all. But Connor was gay, out and proud, and, at least in theory, a viable option.

Jonathan brushed his hand by his cock tentatively. How would it feel to kiss Connor? He had kind of thin lips, unlike Maddox, who had truly sensuous lips, especially when he licked a lollipop, although basically, he had ever seen him do that once, that first time –

His cock stirred. Jonathan slapped it in frustration. He couldn’t just keep doing that. It was bad for him, just like sugar was bad for one’s weight, and fried foods for one’s arteries, and smoking for one’s lungs…

Yeah, he tried to convince himself. Dreaming like that about Maddox was unhealthy. This weekend, he would take on Ray’s idea of attending some party. Preferably one with no specifics on whether the people happening by were invited or not. He didn’t dare to think that the all-campus ban on his person was lifted permanently, as well as far and wide.

***

“So, we’re on for the party at Larson this Saturday, right?” Dex asked them all.

“Sure thing,” Maddox replied with fake enthusiasm.

Except for sleeping, and sometimes not even that, he had thought of anything and anyone else but Jonathan very little. How come he could call himself a straight guy anymore with all those gay fantasies hijacking his thoughts? So far, he had imagined the guy sucking his cock at least three times and then coming over various parts of his body several times more. He had drawn the line when trying to picture that perky ass without clothes and his dick gliding between the tight cheeks while he pressed them together to increase the imaginary friction.

Good thing no one suspected what kept happening inside his head. This party, the first this semester, was going to help. He hadn’t seen Jonathan at all, except from a distance. Unlike before, the guy had waved at him in recognition, but he hadn’t gotten out of his way to come and greet him properly or talk to him.

Which was completely fine with Maddox. They were, after all, nothing but acquaintances, so what did they have to talk about, anyway? It kind of pissed him off that now that no one thought the two of them were at war anymore, Jonathan seemed to strike conversations all over the place, with a high number of people. Wasn’t it better when he was a social pariah and no one wanted to talk to him?

Better for who? Well, Maddox didn’t take well to judgmental little voices telling him to pay attention to what was right or wrong. 

He would find a girl at this party, someone easy and up for fun, and he would get his rocks off so good that he would forget all about Jonathan Hamilton, his gorgeous face, his sexy body, and everything else.

Like that small precious smile.

Or pretty eyes.

Or his prickly personality.

Oh, yeah, he was that level of fucked up. Even that turned him on.

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