Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys – Ch. 44
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 Forty-Four – A
Gang Of Great Minds
After Jonathan told him
that he wanted to talk to Rusty by himself about the blackmail, Maddox
discovered that the free time he had on his hands was as good as any to begin
rallying the troops. His first choice was a no-brainer.
"Ray of Sunshine," he
said cheerfully as soon as the guy picked up.
"Maddox? Maddox
Kingsley!" Ray exclaimed, seemingly having forgotten that he had stopped being
Maddox's loyal fan not so long ago. The explanation for the change of heart
came swiftly. "Jonathan told me on the phone how you drove night and day to get
to him! In case you're wondering, you're totally forgiven."
"I wasn't wondering,"
Maddox teased in turn. "Hey, what are you and Hanna doing for New Year's? If
you don't have set in stone plans, there's a party with your names on it."
"A party with The Amazing
Four?" Ray asked excitedly.
"There are going to be
other people there, but yeah. Plus, I'm counting on you to convince Jonathan to
come to the party, as well."
"Color me flattered, but
I doubt Jonathan would tell you `no' to anything at the moment."
"Yeah, speaking of
which." Maddox scratched his head and sat on the bed. "Jonathan told me about
those messages blackmailing him, and also that he told you, so I was thinking of
joining forces."
"Sure thing," Ray said
brightly without waiting for more details. "Wait, I hope you're going to
convince JJ to come back to school. Once you go JJ's cooking, you never go
back, and that's a fact."
"That's what I want,"
Maddox confirmed. "He told me he'd think about it, but I feel like an asshole
if I insist for him to do it only for my sake. At his old school, the people
were complete douchebags about it."
"Yeah, I know," Ray said,
his voice dropping with a forlorn sigh. "I promised him that I wouldn't let the
same thing happen to him at Sunny Hill, but I have to admit that I've only come
up with a handful of ideas so far, and I'm not sure how effective they will
be."
Maddox was rightfully
impressed with Ray's capacity to come up with some plans already. He had only
been gripped by righteous anger and had done very little in terms of thinking
of a coherent strategy for dealing with the potential fallout of Xpress
releasing the video. Still, it didn't hurt to ask. "Is one of those ideas somehow
related to punching anyone who dares to say a thing to Jonathan's face?"
"And behind his back,"
Ray replied. "Seriously, you need to think of all angles when you come up with
something like that."
Maddox couldn't agree
more. "Well, I thought of that, too. I haven't yet discarded it. I mean, it
could still be an awesome way to deal with fuckers who care too much about
other people's lives."
Ray laughed at the other
end. "JJ won't be crazy about it, I bet. He's that kind of nice person."
"He is," Maddox said in
kind. "So, are you and Hanna on for the party? I'll send you the details."
"We're totally on board.
I mean, she came to see my folks on Christmas, and I'm going to meet her
parents, but we can make it to the party. It's for a good cause, and I'll convince
Hanna."
"So," Maddox drawled,
"meeting the parents and all that, huh? What do you know?"
"And you, where are you
right now?" Ray asked and laughed. "By the way, what are JJ's parents like? Are
they really scary?"
"You'll have to ask Rusty
about that. He's already dealt with the toughest side of the family."
"Ah, Rusty. JJ told me
he's also there, with you two. I bet you had an awesome Christmas party."
"You can say that again."
As much as Maddox enjoyed spending time chatting with Ray, they needed to focus
on finding ideas to brainstorm at the New Year's party. "We'll talk about it
when we meet up. So, grab Hanna and get her on board. I'm sure she'll help."
"Totally. See you guys,
then. Now, I need to pack my bags so that I can go meet Hanna's parents. Wish
me luck!"
"I don't think you need
it, but hey, good luck, and come back engaged."
"Engaged?" Ray perked up
significantly at the sound of that. "Wait a minute, are you and JJ planning
something outrageously romantic to make the rest of the world look bad? `Cause I'm not gonna lie, I'll
have to hate you two a little."
"Why, don't you want to
propose to Hanna?" Maddox asked.
"Yeah, but she's one hell
of a girl, and I don't plan on scaring her off. I'm biding my time."
They knew they were
joking when they talked like that, but Maddox was also very aware that they
were both only half-joking. He bid Ray goodbye and dropped to the bed, with his
phone pressed to his chest. Pursing his lips, he began thinking of the most effective
ways to punish the fuckers writing for Xpress. If possible, he wanted to put a
foot so far up their asses that they wouldn't be able to sit for a year.
But first and foremost,
he needed to think of ways to protect Jonathan and his fragile self that had
been hurt so badly in the past. No way in hell Sunny Hill would be a second bad
experience for him. The Amazing Four would take care of that.
Only that they wouldn't
be only The Amazing Four. No, they would have Ray and Hanna with them, and, of
course, Jonathan. That meant the name needed to undergo some amendments.
Hmm, they had to come up
with another name, different from the one given by those assholes at Xpress.
But what would be a good one for a gang of great minds?
***
Jonathan found Rusty in
the living room, all by himself. He was on his feet, close to the piano and was
studying the polished surface, his arms behind his back, as if he was a teacher
searching for mistakes in the homework of an unfortunate schoolkid.
"Hey, Rusty," he called
out to draw his attention.
He was pleased to see
that Rusty was wearing the new sweater, and by the looks of it, he seemed very
content with his new look. Rusty turned on his heel to face him. "Hamilton, do
you like sneaking up on people?"
"I wasn't sneaking. You
were just lost in thought. What were you thinking about?"
Rusty shrugged and moved
away from the piano. "Hey, do you think your mom got terribly mad `cause I don't wanna
see that vocal coach? It said something on the note that the first ten lessons
have already been paid in full."
While the notorious
troublemaker was trying to make it sound like it didn't trouble him much and
that he was only asking out of politeness, it was easy to see how anxious he
actually felt. He was digging into his palms with his fingernails, then pulling
at the cuffs of his sleeves and dragging them down.
"Don't worry about my
mom. She told you the paid lessons are not time-sensitive, so you'll be able to
take them whenever you feel like it."
Rusty hesitated before
speaking again, shifting his entire weight from one foot to another, as if he
couldn't decide how to stand in a more comfortable position. "What if that time
never comes? What if I never go?"
"I suppose she'll be
disappointed, but it won't be the end of the world." Jonathan examined Rusty
slowly. It wasn't very often that handsome face was scrunched up in thought,
but, in a way, Jonathan was well aware that he was seeing more of Rusty's real
face, and not the mask he usually wore, the embodiment of nonchalance bordering
on belligerence that he exhibited for the world to see.
"So, she might think of
ways to punish me," Rusty concluded.
If that was the out he
needed so that he went to see the vocal coach later, so be it. Jonathan
pretended to frown in troubled thought and gave Rusty a long meaningful look.
"That might happen. I know I don't want to be on her bad side, and I'm her
son."
Rusty nodded solemnly and
then stared at Jonathan, narrowing his eyes. "Are you fighting with Maddox? `Cause I won't try to stop you
two. Lovers' quarrels," he declaimed in a phony accent, "are not my specialty."
Jonathan snorted.
"Anything could be your specialty as long as you put your mind to it, I'm
sure."
Rusty was more than
pleased with the praise and grinned ear to ear. However, when Jonathan pursed
his lips, his smile faltered. "Still, you're here to tell me something bad."
"Something bad? No, no,
it's not like that," Jonathan tried to soften Rusty's
guess. How attuned was the king of Sunny Hill to other people's feelings that
he sensed something like that so quickly? Rusty never ceased to amaze him. "I
mean, it is for me, and it's why I made a run for it once finals were over."
Rusty didn't interrupt
him, not even with one question, and waited patiently, something that could
have been interpreted as out of character for him by someone who didn't know
him well. Jonathan liked to believe that he had come to know Rusty more deeply
than most.
"You see," he continued,
"someone from Xpress is blackmailing me by threatening to release a certain
video."
"Xpress?" Rusty asked
slowly.
"Yes. These are the
messages." Jonathan handed Rusty the phone, while his eyes darted sideways. The
video would be out in the open anyway, so there was no point in backpedaling
now. Rusty and everyone else would see it.
Rusty read carefully.
"What's the video about?" he asked. "Don't tell me they have proof that you
skipped school in third grade or something."
Jonathan began to feel an
unpleasant heat creeping up his neck. His face had to be on fire by now, but
running and hiding weren't an option. "No. I'm just in a compromising position
with another guy." He choked on the last words, not knowing how to put it more
clearly and bluntly.
"A sex video," Rusty
concluded, saving him from further explanations. "So? It's no secret to anyone
that you're gay. Wait, is the other guy Maddox?"
"No," Jonathan denied
quickly. "It's Drew. You've heard the name, right?"
Rusty nodded and frowned,
his eyes narrowing even more. "Is it some kind of pony training?"
The video was right
there, in front of him, but Rusty showed no signs that he intended to open it.
"No," Jonathan said, and
a small bubble of laughter swelled in his chest. "It's not pony training."
"What is it, then, that's
compromising? Give me the tl;dr
version," Rusty said.
"Drew does drugs, I go
down on him," Jonathan said in less than a second and then clamped his mouth
shut.
"Meh, so basic," Rusty
commented. "People in retirement homes throw wilder parties, Hamilton."
"Oh, so you've been to
many of those?" Jonathan asked airily, his good mood slowly returning. It
seemed that people couldn't stay serious for very long in Rusty's
company.
"I've been to all kinds
of parties," Rusty assured him. "So, what's the problem? For the record, if you
ask anyone at Sunny Hill if they imagine you suck dick, they'll say `yes'." He
put both hands up. "Just saying. I mean, you're gay. You like dick, obviously,"
he added very matter-of-factly.
If everyone in the world
took things in stride like Rusty did, there would be no wars, Jonathan thought
with mirth. "Well, I suppose, yes. But it's one thing to imagine it, and
another to see it, right?"
Rusty handed Jonathan the
phone back, clearly uninterested in something as basic as a blowjob and someone
getting high while getting head. "Yeah. I mean, if it were me, I'd say, just
look at the Mighty Thor." He pointed downward, and Jonathan caught himself just
in time.
His lips twitched in a
smile. "Well, unfortunately for me, I'm nothing like you." An explanation was
required, however. "At my old school, they gave me hell for it. There wasn't a
day I wasn't mocked." He stopped before going further. The last thing he needed
was to come across as pathetic and whiny.
"Hmm," Rusty muttered
under his breath. "Are you sure it's Xpress doing this shit?"
The question took
Jonathan by surprise. "They practically say so."
Rusty's eyebrows furrowed
in thought. "Not quite. They didn't sign or anything. Like, Love, Xpress or Sincerely yours, Xpress."
"I doubt anyone in
college would end phone messages with such words," Jonathan argued. "But what
makes you think it's not Xpress?"
"I'm not saying that.
It's just there's something weird about it all," Rusty replied. "I mean, it's a
douchebaggy gossip site, but I don't know... they
always kind of struck me as stupid."
Stupid. That was a big
word coming from Rusty. Jonathan couldn't imagine him saying it unless he was joking.
And right now, Rusty didn't look like he was joking at all.
"I mean, do you remember
how they bought that dog story? And when they thought they got proof that I was
boning you behind Maddox's back, that was stupid as hell, right?" Rusty
continued. He puffed out his chest and began pacing the room, again with his hands
behind his back.
Jonathan couldn't argue.
He kept his eyes on Rusty and only then realized that right now, Maddox's best
friend was playing the detective. The only thing missing was an audience of
five plus suspects, one of them evidently the murderer.
"All right," he said. "I
can't exactly say anything against that. But is that proof enough?"
"Xpress never hits home,"
Rusty explained. "And they're completely bonkers and just full of assumptions.
And shit. Yeah, that, too. Not only about Maddox's dog or us playing ball
together while I'm wearing your very expensive sweater." At that, Rusty took a
moment to admire himself in a full-length mirror on the wall. Jonathan was pleased
he had chosen a good Christmas gift for him.
"Do go on," Jonathan
encouraged him. He had suspected Connor of being Xpress, when maybe he should
have suspected him of just being the blackmailer. That definitely put a
completely new perspective on things. However, he didn't want to put ideas in
Rusty's head, at least not before he heard everything the other wanted to tell
him.
"But this," Rusty said,
turning on his heel, "sounds really vindictive and personal. Whoever sent you
those messages wants to hurt you."
"And Xpress doesn't want
to hurt people?" Jonathan asked what he thought to be a fair question.
Rusty finally removed his
hands from behind his back to wave them dismissively. "They're just clickbaity and think it's fun. Well, I'm not saying I'm
right. Only that this blackmailer kind of threatens you that the video will be
made public by Xpress, not that they'll do it directly. Just saying."
"Well, it could all be
semantics, and the bottom line still stays the same. I'll get publicly
humiliated."
Rusty tipped his head
back and looked at the ceiling. "Hmm," he said mostly to himself and stayed
like that for a while. "Do you know someone who would like to, you know, do you
harm?" By the way he struggled with the words, Jonathan could only surmise that
Rusty was trying to get into his detective persona to the best of his
abilities.
So, at that question, he
shrugged. "I don't want to point fingers. I did think that Connor could be
behind it, but I confronted him, and within seconds after that, I got one of
those unpleasant messages. I don't think he could have sent it."
Rusty tipped his head
from side to side slowly and grimaced. "He could have had it already written
and just hit send."
"Yes, you're right,"
Jonathan agreed. "But, I don't know, I feel like it would be too convenient for
me to suspect him."
Rusty made a circle with
one finger through the air. "Everyone's a suspect until proven otherwise."
Clearly, they were acting
in a detective drama series at the moment. "Come on, Rusty, we can't say that.
Our circle of friends must be above all suspicion."
Rusty acquiesced with a
slow, self-important nod. "All right. But everyone else is a suspect," he took care
to add quickly.
"Fine," Jonathan
admitted. "Only that such a conclusion doesn't get us anywhere closer to
finding the culprit. Wait, did you just drag me into something? Because I came
here to talk to you only so that you don't end up disappointed in me when the
video's released, which clearly it will be."
"Disappointed?" Rusty
scrunched up his nose. "Why? Don't tell me you suck at blowjobs. By the way Maddox
looks each time--"
Jonathan put his hands up
to stop whatever was coming next. "The thing is, Rusty, I don't know what to
do. Maddox wants me to come back to Sunny Hill once the winter break is over.
And I don't know if I can do that. I just wanted his best friends to know the
reason why."
"You are totally coming
back to Sunny Hill. Wait, when was this leaving school thing on the table?
Nobody tells me anything," Rusty moaned and threw his arms in the air in a
theatrical gesture. "By the way, I won't watch the video. I'm sure Dex and Kane
won't either. I suppose your buddy Ray knows everything."
"Yes."
"So? Whose opinion do you
care about? No one's judging you," Rusty said with determination.
Jonathan couldn't argue
with that. "But the public opinion--"
"Fuck public opinion."
He fell silent for a
moment and stared at Rusty.
"I mean it. Just look at
me," Rusty continued.
"I am looking at you,"
Jonathan said, a tad confused.
"Who do you think I am?"
"Um, the king of Sunny
Hill?"
"Exactly. How do you
think that happened?"
"Well, because you're a
star?"
"Thanks, man, but that's
not the reason." Rusty stopped for dramatic effect. "It's because I'm selling
them the image they want to see so that they leave me the fuck alone."
Jonathan was speechless
for a moment. He had no idea to what alignment of planets he owed the gift of seeing
Rusty in such a serious mood, serving wise comments like hot cakes, but he
appreciated it. "They don't exactly leave you alone," he pointed out. "You're a
headliner by definition."
"Yeah. And what do they write?
What do they know?" Rusty continued. "I'm telling you. Nothing. None of them
knows me like Maddox, Dex, and Kane. They have no idea who I really am. And I
like it that way."
"I feel like there's a
lesson here, but," Jonathan said while rubbing his forehead, "I have no idea
what it is."
"What's the worst that
can happen once that video is out?" Rusty asked. "Are they going to laugh at
you? That's it?"
Jonathan couldn't be
entirely sure, but he sensed that there had to be some painful story behind
that kind of argument. He hesitated, not knowing how to breach the topic in a
manner that didn't come across as nosy, especially since Rusty was obviously
trying to help. "Well, in a nutshell, I think so, yes."
"But why would they laugh
at you?" Rusty insisted.
Jonathan felt his skin
getting hot again. He looked down. "Because, you know, the nature of the
video."
"The cocksucking,
you mean?" Rusty asked, very matter-of-factly.
Jonathan just nodded and
cleared his throat.
"But half the population
at Sunny Hill or more sucks dick. The other half is getting their dicks sucked.
Also, maybe more than half, probably," Rusty continued in a very academic tone.
"We have the straight guys and gals. I'm telling you, there's a lot of cocksucking going on. Ask anyone."
"I'd rather not,"
Jonathan said, choking slightly.
"Well, it's true whether
you think about it or you don't. Then, there's the gay guys, right? A lot of
them must be sucking cock. I mean, even if they're only bottoms, or tops, or
versatile, when it comes to cocksucking, they all
suck cock, right?"
"Um," Jonathan squeaked,
incapable of offering a proper reply.
"You're the expert, you
tell me," Rusty said and pointed at him. "And then, there must be some bi guys. Those guys must really suck cock. It's like the
gateway to anal, right?"
Jonathan stopped fighting
and began coughing at this point. "I wouldn't really know?" he choked out a
half-question.
Rusty waved dismissively
and made a disappointed face. "Your lack of knowledge in this area is
flabbergasting, Hamilton. But it doesn't matter. For your own good, I hope
you're better in practice than theory. Now, my point is, everyone is into cocksucking. Otherwise, there wouldn't be over three point
five billion results when you search for blowjobs."
"Results?" Jonathan
mumbled.
"On the internet," Rusty
said brightly.
"You even know the numbers,"
Jonathan added.
"Hey, we live in the age
of information. So, stay informed or gtfo." Rusty made a gesture as if he was
inviting Jonathan to leave the room. At this point, Jonathan wasn't that sure
that he didn't want to make a hasty exit.
"All this is very
interesting," Jonathan cleared his throat once more, "and informative, but I
still don't understand what that's got to do with me and my situation."
"The point is," Rusty
declared and patted his chest with both hands for no apparent reason,
"everyone's a cocksucker. Or, you know, the other guy. Pitchers and catchers,
right? Hey, it's your gay slang, not mine."
Jonathan truly believed
that Rusty was more well-versed than he was in that
particular area of linguistics. "And?" he asked, too lost for words to say more
than that.
"They laugh at you,"
Rusty continued with aplomb, "they laugh at themselves." He crossed his arms
and grinned. "I rest my case."
Jonathan stared at him
for a couple of moments. "I thought we were in a detective drama, not in a court
of law."
"Eh, I'm moving things
around," Rusty said in a conspiratorial voice. "Whatever floats my boat, it's
it."
Jonathan couldn't really
argue with Rusty's arguments. Still, he didn't see himself capable of walking
with his head held high through a throng of people hurling insults at him.
Rusty surprised him by grabbing him by the shoulders. "Whoever says anything to
you, just say it back to them."
"How?" he asked.
"It's simple," Rusty
replied. "Anyone who says `you're a cocksucker', you just reply, you know, with
your aristocratic accent and all that, very courteously and shit, `oh, no, sir,
you are a cocksucker'. Hmm, maybe something more elitist? Is polesmoker good enough? Ugh, ugh, I know! Fellator! Sounds
academic enough?"
"Rusty," Jonathan argued,
"not everyone sucks... wow, the things you have me say with a straight face."
"Hey, do I need to take
this argument further? Don't worry, I have plenty of aces up my sleeve, like a
full deck. So, you say not everyone's a cocksucker. But guys who have their
dicks sucked kiss the chicks who such their dicks. And don't start me on the
gay and bi guys."
"I don't dare," Jonathan
said dryly.
"Anyway, they all taste
cock one way or another. Even if it's only their own, which is still pretty
kinky, right?"
Jonathan pressed his
fingers against his temples. "Are you sure you didn't want to become a lawyer
when you were little?"
"Nah, just a lion tamer."
It could be a joke, but
no one could really say with Rusty.
"So, my man Hamilton,
whoever's not a cocksucker, is a cockkisser."
"That's not a real word."
"It is now. Ah, let me
search my knowledge base." Rusty made a show of closing his eyes and muttering
under his breath. "Irrumator. That's a word, ha! You
know, for the guy on the receiving end."
Like he could argue with
Rusty, even if he wanted to. Jonathan took one deep breath. "I told Maddox I'll
think about it. I mean, about returning to Sunny Hill."
"Don't think about it.
Just come back. You're not going to dig a moat and have a drawbridge, right?"
"I have a feeling that my
parents would have something to say about such renovation plans," Jonathan joked.
"It would be cool, but
never mind that. You're coming back to Sunny Hill once the winter break is
over. Did Maddox tell you anything about our New Year's party?"
"Yes, and he invited me
to come along."
"You're coming, then.
Don't worry, we'll all get on board and think of something."
That was the same thing
Maddox had told him. Jonathan could hardly suppress the warm sensation in his
chest and realized that he didn't have a reason to stop it anyway. "All the
talk about the sexual practices of the students at Sunny Hill aside, I'm really
grateful for this conversation, Rusty," he said in all honesty.
Rusty gave him a broad
smile and then opened his arms. "Bro hug?"
"I suppose that's fine,"
Jonathan teased jokingly.
Rusty grabbed him, pulled
him close, and squeezed him to the point of breathlessness.
Well, not only had he
found himself a boyfriend, he had found friends at Sunny Hill. The world didn't
revolve around the narrow corner of the universe where he had lived all his
life, and that was an amazing relief.
***
"So, how was your convo
with Rusty?" Maddox asked directly.
"An eye-opener, I'd call
it," Jonathan said brightly.
"That's Rusty for you. He
really opens your eyes for you, only that you're not always sure you want to
look at what he's showing you," Maddox joked.
They both laughed at the
same time. "That's true," Jonathan agreed. "But he's an endless fountain of
gems of wisdom, so I don't dare to say anything against that. I'm coming with
you, guys, to the party. And I don't want to make empty promises, but I should
be a little gutsier, right? I might come back to Sunny Hill, after all."
Maddox hugged him.
"That's awesome, Jonathan. Hey, are your mom and dad okay with me and Rusty
freeloading for a week?"
"I told them I wanted to
keep you here until we leave for the New Year's party. They were more than
happy to hear that. But, I now realize, what will your parents say? They are
clearly very attached to you, and I don't want them to be mad at me for
stealing you from them during this time of the year."
"Eh, you know what they
say. The chick must fly out of the nest at some point."
"I honestly believe that
your mom will have something to say to argue against that. Have you talked to
them?"
"Shoot, not yet. Ah, my
mom is totally going to strangle me, but I suppose that she knows what's up
since she didn't call, either. And that's big, since I bet everyone at home is
now wondering how things worked out. Also, I need to wish them Merry
Christmas."
"So, what are you waiting
for? Christmas day is going to be over soon. You don't want them to think
you've become a bad son. They'll blame it all on me, and I can't have that. I'm
counting on my in-laws accepting me."
"In-laws, huh?" Maddox
asked, and his eyes sparkled with mischief. "I'm happy to see you buying so
well into the narrative."
"A narrative in which
you're here to proclaim your engagement to me? That's up my alley, I'd say."
"Up your alley? I like it
when you talk dirty."
Jonathan gave him a long
adorable look of confusion. Maddox burst into laughter. "You need to loosen up,
Hamilton."
"Look who's talking dirty
now," Jonathan said, quirking an eyebrow.
Maddox's face fell for a
moment. "You know what? Shut up." He put a finger in Jonathan's face. His
boyfriend just blinked slowly and made a move as if he was about to swallow his
finger whole. Maddox pulled his finger back, feigning outrage. "I need to call
my folks."
"All right. Should I
leave?"
"No." Maddox stopped
Jonathan by grabbing him by the elbow and making him fall on the bed by his
side. "Let's talk to them together."
"I wouldn't want to
interfere--"
"Nonsense," Maddox
insisted. "See, I can talk like you. We're practically joined at the hip right
now, and I bet that mom is going to love hearing you again."
Jonathan nodded and
smiled. Maddox pulled him close and took out his phone. "Mom, I'm at Jonathan's,"
he began brightly. "You wouldn't believe where he lives. I'm honoring my
promise of bringing home that noble title."
By his side, Jonathan
snickered. Maddox pushed the phone to his ear. "Hello, Mrs. Kingsley, I mean
Florence. Merry Christmas, and please do take whatever Maddox is saying with a
pinch of salt."
"Not even a grain of
that," Maddox said, pulling the phone back. "There are real paintings on the
wall, and real horses!"
"Maddox, stop
embarrassing your host," his mom scolded him, but he could tell she was
laughing. "Tell Jonathan we raised you better than that."
"You tell him. Hey, is
everyone around? I want to wish them all Merry Christmas."
"Sure they are. When are
you coming home?" his mom asked.
"We kind of want to spend
some more time here, like, until New Year's."
"Aren't you and Rusty
imposing on those good people?"
"Mom," Maddox whispered
conspiratorially, "it will help me blend in with the high society."
"All right," she
whispered back. "But if you come back home full of airs, I'll make sure to knock
you off your high horse with a broom."
"Don't worry, Florence,"
Jonathan intervened in a smooth tone, "Maddox assured me he doesn't intend to
learn how to ride a horse."
"Since when are you a
quitter, pumpkin?" his mom scolded him again. "Jonathan will surely love to
take you for a ride. Just make sure to be safe," she added in her usual
maternal tone.
"I'll take care of that,"
Jonathan assured her.
Maddox exchanged a short
look with his boyfriend. Then, he kissed him quickly. "Just put everyone on,
mom. I'm sure they're all dying to talk to Jonathan."
TBC
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