Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys – Ch. 30
By Laura S. Fox
Copyright © 2022 Laura S. Fox
All Rights Reserved
Gay Erotica
Intended for Mature Audiences Only
This story will contain graphic depictions of sexual intercourse, strong
language and it is not meant for readers who are less than 18 years of age.
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Chapter Thirty – What You
Don't Know Makes You More Curious
Ray grinned all-knowingly
and wiggled his eyebrows while Jonathan tried to focus on his textbooks. One
could only do so much to ignore a curious roommate slash self-proclaimed BFF.
Not that he had any qualms about that, and Ray was the first and only BFF he
had ever had. On top of it all, he was very grateful to have a friend like
that. Nonetheless, the unspoken questions that floated in the air made it a less
than ideal environment for studying and also unnerved him a little.
"Is there something on
your mind, Ray?" he asked, without pulling his eyes away from his study
materials.
"People say you're
getting married," Ray whispered, his eyes darting around like he was expecting
someone to jump on them while they were safely tucked away in the kitchen of
their dorm room.
Jonathan ignored his
self-imposed rule of trying not to give in to the temptation of indulging Ray
in his latest obsession with current gossip and looked up in utter shock.
"Married?"
Ray burst into laughter.
"Glad I got your attention. No, no one says you're getting married."
"Well," Jonathan
straightened up in his chair, "you surely have my attention now. What is it?"
They were supposed to be studying together, but it looked as if Ray was like a
kid with a new toy which he was dying to show to others.
"Are you going home for
Thanksgiving?"
The question took him by
surprise. He felt his body stiffen up and grabbed his pen, while his eyes moved
over the open textbook in front of him, in search of answers. "I haven't yet
given it proper thought." He had tried. Even if they didn't reach out to him,
that didn't mean he should maintain the silent war between them. He wouldn't go
back to being under their thumb, but he didn't want to ignore them forever
either.
"I was thinking," Ray
said, completely unfazed by his lack of enthusiasm regarding the quickly
approaching short vacation. "How about you come home with me to meet my folks?"
Jonathan stared at his
roommate. Ray's face was an open book, and he was waiting for an answer. "Thank
you for inviting me," he replied. "But I should seriously think about visiting
my family."
Ray nodded
sympathetically. "Sure thing. But if you change your mind, just let me know."
Jonathan fiddled with his
pen. Things such as inviting friends over for Thanksgiving were normal, but why
were they such an alien notion for him? "Are you sure your parents wouldn't
mind? I'm a stranger," he pointed out. And he doubted Ray's family had a
guesthouse where people who visited them on occasion could stay.
"Pfft," Ray made a
strange sound and smacked his lips, "what stranger? I told mom and dad
everything about you. My mom can barely wait to make you slave in the kitchen
with her. She wants to see the miracle of a college boy going beyond the
boiling of an egg."
Jonathan laughed and
shook his head. "So, it's all a ploy to get me in your parents' kitchen."
"You can say that. But,
jokes aside, JJ, you're really welcome if you want. And it can even be a
short-notice thing, like right before we have to go out the door and head to
the airport."
Jonathan couldn't
remember feeling so touched by another human being ever before. Ray had zero
obligations toward him; everything he did, he did because of the goodness in
his heart, and that meant a lot. "Thank you, Ray," he said quietly.
As much as he seemed an
airhead more often than not, Ray had proven once more that he was more attuned
to other people's feelings than most people. He reached over the table and
squeezed Jonathan's hand briefly. "It's the least I can do for your not letting
me die of starvation. Mom is even certain I gained some weight." He leaned back
into his chair and stretched his t-shirt over his ribs.
Jonathan pursed his lips
not to laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure. One more bite and we might have to find a dorm
room with a bigger door."
Ray huffed in disbelief.
"Make fun all you want. I'm sure I finally put some meat on my bones. Hanna
thinks so, too."
"Ah, well, if Hanna says
so, who am I to say otherwise? Now let's study, or else."
"Or else what?" Ray asked
with emphasis to show that he wasn't scared.
"I'll put us on a diet.
Keto. Raw. All that," Jonathan joked while burying his head in his books to
hide his grin.
"Eww,
no," Ray decided. "I don't even know what keto is, but raw doesn't sound too
good."
"You eat raw fruits and
vegetables all the time," Jonathan pointed out.
"Yeah, but not raw meat."
Ray pondered for a bit. "Unless it's sushi. Does that count?"
"Study, or no pizza,"
Jonathan threatened. It didn't work to be subtle with Ray. His roommate had a
special skill for wriggling himself out of any situation.
"No pizza?! All right,
tyrant," Ray mumbled and finally turned his attention to his books. "But if we
get through our mid-terms with flying colors, you make sure to add some extra
toppings."
"Cross my heart,"
Jonathan promised.
***
Maddox stretched and
yawned. He was done studying for the day, but he didn't feel like going to
sleep already. For a while, he toyed with the idea of sexting Jonathan, but the
guy's major was definitely a lot harder than his, and as a responsible
boyfriend, he needed to let him study. He realized that he needed to pay more
attention to his obligations, too, and not only the fun parts.
Thinking of which, he
realized, there was something part fun part obligation he hadn't done in a
while, which was to pester Rusty to study. The kinkster
was lucky to be gifted by nature in the smarts department, but some things
couldn't be navigated by wits alone. Maddox had already heard Kane warning
Rusty to study so that he didn't flunk like an idiot.
He walked out of the room
and knocked energetically on Rusty's door. He had heard him earlier, and it
wasn't possible for him to be asleep already. "Go away," the familiar voice of
his friend called from behind the door in an exasperated tone.
Maddox grinned and
knocked louder. He couldn't exactly explain why, but sometimes pestering and
teasing Rusty felt incredibly rewarding. Maybe it was because the kinkster could be convinced to do the right thing now and
then, and when he did something, he never did it by half. Maddox shared Kane's
opinion that Rusty was some sort of closet genius, and it was one of his secret
vows that he would make it come out, eventually.
"I will strangle you with
a sock and then make you eat it," Rusty called again.
Maddox was about to knock
for the third time, when the door was yanked open abruptly, and he found
himself face to face with his bestie. Rusty's eyes were red-rimmed and his hair
was a mess.
One possibility was that
Rusty's room was full of girls of various shapes and sizes, which explained why
the guy was in such bad shape.
The other possibility,
the undesirable one, was that Rusty had gotten into another ugly and
conflictual conversation with one of his parents. Maddox's bet was on the
asshole absent father, but Rusty's mom was also difficult to deal with, as
well.
"Rusty, come back to
bed," a feminine voice whined.
Good, it was the first
guess, Maddox thought and sighed in relief. "I didn't know you were busy, man,
my bad." He made a move to go back to his room, but Rusty caught his shoulder
and dragged him back.
"Say I gotta study and
shit," Rusty whispered in his ear.
Nothing like a buddy to
save you from a bad hookup. That was one of Rusty's wise quotes, and Maddox
believed that he knew why the guy lived by them. Therefore, he played along.
"Rusty, you fucking piece of shit," he said loudly, "why the fuck aren't you
studying right now?"
Rusty threw him a pointed
look and gestured for him to up the ante. Maddox pondered for a moment. What
the hell worse insults could he come up with? Rusty and his weird ideas.
"You're one bad grade away
from finding yourself a bum on the street," Maddox continued.
Rusty put his hands on
his hips and gave him a disapproving stare. Maddox hunched his shoulders and
stared back, at a loss of what was needed of him. Rusty rolled his eyes,
grabbed one of his hand and put it on his own shoulder. Then, using Maddox's
hand, he pushed himself back into the room while staring wide-eyed at him.
"That's it!" Maddox
exclaimed, filled with righteous, yet fake, indignation. "You're going to start
studying right now or there will be consequences!"
Rusty mouthed at him,
`what consequences?'.
"I'm going to fuck you up
so badly," Maddox said, "you won't be able to sit for a week!"
Rusty finally offered him
a quick satisfied grin and then schooled his face into a seriously frightened
look. For a moment, Maddox lost his composure; Rusty knew so well how to change
his expression at the drop of a hat that unless people knew him very well, they
easily bought into his act.
"Maddox," the girl
squealed from the bed, "leave Rusty alone!"
He had failed to notice
how Rusty had surreptitiously moved his hand from the shoulder to his throat,
and now it looked like he was strangling his buddy. "No can do, darling," he
said. "This fucker needs to study, and unless you're not squeamish about seeing
blood, I suggest you take a hike."
That seemed enough to
convince the girl of how serious he was about those threats, because she jumped
half-naked from the bed and quickly grabbed the rest of her clothes.
They remained unmoving
like extras for a photoshoot while she ran out of the room. Only after they
heard her rushing down the stairs did Maddox dropped his arm. Rusty began
laughing like an idiot.
"You're such a fucking
ass," Maddox whispered to him.
Rusty waved and plopped
down on the messed up bed. "Thank God, she's gone. You don't have to whisper.
Phew, that was some bad shit. Remind me not to hook up again with the heroine
chick look."
"I think it's actually
heroin chic," Maddox corrected him.
Rusty made a gesture like
he had it up to his neck. "This one wanted to convince me to go vegan, but only
after sacrificing a goat at midnight and drinking its blood."
"You're full of shit."
Maddox crossed his arms and stared at his friend with a critical eye. "And let
me open a fucking window. Did you two sacrifice the goat in here already?"
Rusty laughed and rolled around
on the bed like the naughty kid he was. Maddox shook his head and opened the
window. It wasn't goat or anything, but that chick was probably high on
something that smelled pretty funky. Maddox didn't exactly feel bad about
sending her on her way with their little act.
"Thanks, man. You helped
me dodge a bullet right there."
"Sure. By the way, I'm
here because I actually want to make you study. That was no joke," Maddox
warned him.
"I'm not going to study,"
Rusty drawled.
Maddox was sure his
friend was testing him right now. That meant Rusty was more restless than usual
and needed some putting in his place. "You look like warmed over shit. You need
to shower and get that head in order," Maddox said in what he hoped was a
no-nonsense tone.
"I'm too blasé for all of
that," Rusty replied and made a sweeping circle with one arm through the air as
if it suddenly conveyed his current state of Baudelairean
spleen.
"Blasé? Since when do you
use such words?" Maddox questioned him.
Rusty gave him an
offended look. "What? Only Jonathan can talk fancy like that?"
"I have yet to hear him
use the word blasé in casual conversation," Maddox pointed out. "Don't tell me
you suddenly want to cosplay as Jonathan."
Rusty shrugged. "He's a
good character."
"He's my boyfriend,"
Maddox said curtly. "Leave him out of your weird cosplay shit."
The heartfelt sigh that
followed wasn't enough to convince him of the kinkster's
good intentions.
"Do I have to drag you to
the bathroom?"
Rusty stretched out an
arm as if he was on his deathbed. "Yes, please."
Maddox shrugged. Well,
that was what people got for being friends with Rusty. On the other hand, he
was sure that the world would have been a much sadder place without people like
that in it. "Come here, bum," he said and hooked Rusty's arm over his shoulders
to help him out of the bed.
***
Rusty didn't protest
while Maddox shampooed his hair and stayed there, kneeling inside the bathtub,
his back to him, without saying a word. "Now, before you start suggesting
something weird, I'm not going to wash your balls," Maddox said.
Kane used to say that
having Rusty around was like having an overactive dog. Maddox couldn't say he
saw any fault in what Kane said. He wasn't the only one who washed Rusty's hair
like that on occasion. The only thing that came to him now, however, was how
comfortable and uninterested he had always been around other naked guys. Only
Jonathan did it for him, it seemed. Still, his eyes lingered for a moment over
Rusty's back and his broad shoulders.
Rusty grunted in
displeasure, but then he agreed. "Yes, boss."
"The things I do for
you," Maddox commented. "You realize that tomorrow Xpress is going to write
some stupid shit about how I turned into Mad Dawg again. That chick is going to
say that I beat the crap out of you."
Rusty didn't seem affected
by the gossip that was bound to flare up after their little stage act. "I can
paint myself a black eye. Or two."
"Don't you dare," Maddox
warned him and used the shower head to wash the shampoo out of Rusty's hair. He
winced when Rusty began shaking his head, spraying droplets of water
everywhere. That only meant he would have to change before getting the kinkster to study. "I have a boyfriend now, and I don't
think Jonathan will want to hang out with me, the friend beater."
"Jonathan wouldn't believe
Xpress over you," Rusty pointed out.
"That's true. But I'd
rather lay low for a while. They've kept on dragging up all of my hookups since
freshman year, and I think Jonathan is a bit weirded out about it. I mean, not
one third of what they say in there is true, but still. No smoke without a
fire, right?"
"It's not like you can
change that," Rusty pointed out. "Jonathan's too smart to fall for it."
"I hope so," Maddox
replied. "Have you thought about coming home with me for Thanksgiving?"
"I did," Rusty said. "But
I do have plans with my dad. For real this time."
Maddox didn't comment on
it. Rusty's strained relationship with his parents was
a sore point. "Well, there's still plenty of studying to do until then, so how
about we do that?" he suggested.
"Just because you're
asking," Rusty said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't study for the world."
"I bet Kane could
convince you if he put his mind to it. Dex might just beat you up, though."
"Yeah, you're the least
worse," Rusty said. "That's why you're my first bestie, and they are second
besties."
"I bet they're just as
pleased with that arrangement as you are. I'll leave you to it, but I'll wait
for you in your room. You won't get to go to sleep tonight without studying for
at least two hours."
"Does Jonathan like you
with dark circles under your eyes?" Rusty smirked as he hiked himself up on his
feet and began to wash.
Maddox stole a furtive
look at Rusty's junk. Jonathan's was slightly longer. His own was thicker. "If
that means that you plan on keeping me up late, you don't scare me. I've had
worse rides with you."
"Good. Now let me wash my
balls since you were so keen about not doing them for me. Unless you've changed
your mind," Rusty added with a smirk.
Maddox shook his head, a
bit flustered over being caught staring. "No fucking way," he said and walked
out of the bathroom as quickly as he could.
What the hell was that
all about now? Had he developed a sudden urge to check out other dudes' junk?
Maddox pursed his lips and frowned. It had to be Jonathan's fault somehow;
maybe it was because they had gone to that show and stared at that actor's
pride and glory on stage.
Whatever the hell it was,
it had to stop. He belonged to one guy, and one guy only.
***
One downside to being
Maddox's official boyfriend was that, everywhere he went now, random people
wanted to talk to him. The polite thing to do was to exchange a few words and
then be on his way. At first, he hadn't been particularly annoyed by the
attention since he had been such a loner all his life. However, having to stop
and talk to anyone who thought him some kind of celebrity by association was
starting to wear him down a little.
He put on the usual smile
he had prepared for such situations when someone called him from one of the
tables in the dining hall. Ready to offer a few perfunctory phrases, he turned,
but when he saw Connor at the table, surrounded by his usual posse, his level
of annoyance slightly intensified. Jonathan couldn't say that he had anything against
the guy, but they didn't have anything in common either, except attending
Statistics together. Nonetheless, he was supposedly an acquaintance and that
warranted more than just the usual exchange of several phrases tops.
"Jonathan, how are you
doing, my man?" Connor asked as soon as he greeted him back.
"You know, studying,
mostly," Jonathan offered. "How are things with you?"
"You would know if you
asked him more often," a female voice quipped from Connor's right.
Jonathan craned his neck
to identify the speaker, but Connor angled his body in such a way that he blocked
him from seeing that person.
"Don't mind my friends,"
Connor said and smiled broadly, showing quite a bit of teeth. "You know,
Jonathan, we were just having a very interesting conversation, and we hoped you
could help us."
"I doubt I'm more
qualified than you are in regard to eco-friendly industries," Jonathan offered
politely, eager to extract himself from what portended to be a very tedious
conversation.
"No, it's not about
that," Connor said. "My friends here have a hard time wrapping their heads
around certain aspects of human sexuality. So, I wouldn't mind a little help
from you since it looks like I'm failing to convince them."
Jonathan didn't hide his
surprise. Instinctively, he grabbed the strap of his bag tightly. "I doubt I'm any
kind of expert in that area, as well."
"It concerns a very timely
topic," Connor continued, ignoring his very obvious discomfort. "You and Maddox
are boyfriends now, correct?" He waited as if there was an actual need for
confirmation on Jonathan's part.
"Yes," he said when he
understood that he was expected to agree to that loud and clear.
"Maddox was well-known as
not only a straight male," Connor said in a grating scholarly voice, "but an
unapologetic serial monogamist."
"Serial monogamist?"
Jonathan asked slowly.
"Apparently, any rumors
concerning his being involved in sexual encounters with more than one partner
are just that, rumors," Connor offered promptly.
"All right," Jonathan
said, for lack of anything else to say. "What is the question?"
"Did Maddox just wake up
one morning gay?" Another guy asked. "Connor was wondering," he added quickly
and withdrew his hands from the table, as if he had just committed the sin of talking
too much.
Jonathan examined the
speaker. He was a thin young man with eyes that looked unnaturally large behind
his thick glasses. Something about him made Jonathan think of Uriah Heep from Dickens's novel. "I don't believe so," he said
slowly. He was of a mind to become flippant and tell them all to fuck off for a
change, but that wasn't him. "First of all, it would be better if you asked
Maddox about that, and second of all, you ought not to because it would be a
rude question."
A short, collective gasp
moved through the people at the table like a wave.
"Why would it be rude?
It's normal to wonder why a straight man, successful with the ladies, suddenly
switches to a relationship with another man."
Jonathan frowned. Connor
continued to act as a shield between him and the mysterious female speaker, and
he couldn't try to look around him without appearing suspicious. "Normal for
whom?" he asked, punctuating every word.
"Anyone curious about the
whole thing."
It was so strange to look
at Connor, while someone else was speaking from behind him. "Being curious
about business that isn't yours could be considered a flaw of character," he
said in a pedantic tone.
"Oh, bull," the annoying
female voice commented. "Everyone just wants to know how you turned Maddox
Kingsley gay. And, of course, if you're going to flip other guys, as well."
Jonathan regretted
stopping to talk to this bunch more and more by the second. "I did not flip
anyone, to begin with. I suppose that when you like someone, other aspects
simply don't matter."
"There's no accounting
for taste," Uriah Heep chimed in.
When Jonathan stared him
down, the boy looked away, cowering into the narrow space occupied by his own
person as if he was trying to hide from the world. It only then occurred to
Jonathan how little attention he had paid to Connor's posse until now. At
first, he had thought them to be just part of the usual campus crowd, maybe a
little more eccentric in their choice of clothes and hair dye. Upon closer inspection,
however, they looked like a strange collection of curiosities. Jonathan
believed that he wouldn't stoop so low as to judge anyone, but it seemed as if
Connor had chosen the people of his personal fan club based on possible
disadvantages that would motivate them to look up to him as someone superior. By
Uriah Heep's side, a girl who seemed to have
painstakingly dyed each one-inch thick lock of her hair in a different color
looked down and constantly touched her nose. Jonathan looked, his eyes drawn by
her nervous gesture. There was nothing particularly wrong with her nose, as far
as he could see, but she gave him a hard glare. "What? Something on my face?"
He shook his head. "No.
Do you happen to have allergies? I could recommend--"
"Mind your own business."
Just like the boy on her right, she retreated into herself and masked her face
with a handful of her multi-colored hair.
A couple, boy and girl,
looked dejectedly at their plates on which some sorry salad lay bare. They were
overweight, Jonathan noticed, but he couldn't understand why they had to be
miserable about it. The others around them had burgers and fries, and that didn't
bode well for their efforts to diet.
"Forgive them, please,
Jonathan," Connor called in falsetto. "You know what they say. The more you
don't know something, the more curious you become."
"I haven't heard that
saying before," Jonathan pointed out.
"Someone wise and ancient
said it," Connor said promptly.
Jonathan frowned. "Who?"
Connor shrugged like it
was of no consequence. "It doesn't matter. But here's a piece of advice,
Jonathan, because people will continue to pester you." He leaned slightly
forward as if he was sharing something meant for Jonathan's ears only. "You need
to have a better explanation at hand when you're asked again, so you can help people's
assumptions to die down."
"What assumptions are
those, exactly?"
Connor smiled, his eyes
glinting with malice. "That Maddox cannot be the first and only guy you ever
flipped. But cheer up, buddy, and take heart. It's like having a superpower.
Are you finished yet?" He addressed the last question to the rest of the people
at the table. The chubby couple tried to grab another quick bite from their
salads, but everyone else was already getting up, ready to leave at the word of
their leader.
Jonathan waited, while
Connor got up and offered his hand to the girl by his side, the one who had
spoken earlier. She quickly dragged her hoodie up, shielding her face, so he
didn't catch even a glimpse of her features. Connor hooked one arm over her
shoulders and began walking. He gave Jonathan one last arrogant look as he
moved past.
In unison, except for the
girl in the hoodie, everyone turned and gave him the same look. Jonathan stared
back until they moved away. What a strange bunch, he thought to himself.
But what was the ominous
sensation in the pit of his stomach that the conversation had left him with?
TBC
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