A gay sex story: Good Guys Don’t Date Bad Boys Ch. 47 – Epilogue
Jonathan picked up his toiletries one by one and placed them carefully in a small bag, making sure not to knock over any of Ray’s stuff by accident. It felt so strange to do these things in reverse. His mind took him to the first day of junior year, when he had stood there, in the exact same spot, pondering over how, most likely, his roommate would be some spawn of hell, since he had had only bad luck before coming there, to Sunny Hill. At the same time, he remembered that day as if it had just happened the day before, yet he perceived it as a distant memory from a lifetime ago. One thing he was entirely sure of. It was a dear memory.
“JJ!” Ray shouted from behind the door. “Where are you?”
“I’m here,” he shouted back as an irrepressible grin broke from within. “I’m just collecting my last things.”
“Grab mine, too, please! We’re going to be late for the most awesome party of the year!”
The Amazing Four wouldn’t be called that if they didn’t throw a party to celebrate the end of the year, Maddox had informed him. That meant that the deal was to empty their dorm room, drag all their stuff to the house where Maddox had lived over the year with his friends, party until the wee hours of the morning and then saddle up and leave for home directly. Jonathan would have argued that it wasn’t the most convenient plan, but Ray had begged him, with stars in his eyes, that he wanted the experience of getting tired out of his eyeballs, sleep in a room with fifty or so other people, and then embark on his ride home with bloodshot eyes and a hangover.
Yeah, when his bestie put things in perspective like that, it had to be part of college life to get to that state of exhaustion by having fun until they dropped. Jonathan wasn’t sure it would truly count as fun, but who was he to argue, anyway?
He walked out of the bathroom with his arms full of Ray’s toiletries. The famous and infamous backpack leaned against the wall, already full to the brink. Jonathan had yet to decipher the mystery of what Ray had in there. Probably his entire collection of board games that had only gotten bigger with Hanna around.
He handed Ray the remaining items only to be met with a forlorn look. “Where am I going to stuff all that?” he complained.
Jonathan offered him a sympathetic look. “Are you sure there is nothing in there you don’t really need?”
“Definitely,” came the unfazed reply. With a sigh, Ray grabbed the things and somehow found a way to stuff them all into one of the side pockets. “There,” he said with satisfaction. “I’d hate to be a waster.”
Jonathan hiked his own bag on his shoulder. In his case, he was travelling light after sending his books home first. “Ready to go, roomie?” he asked.
Ray let out a sigh that came from somewhere deep in his solar plexus. “Can you believe it, JJ? We survived junior year.”
“With flying colors, I’d like to think.”
“Totally.” Ray nodded eagerly. “I got a girlfriend, you got a boyfriend… Phew, I mean, going through all the finals was nothing compared to achieving that. I mean, we even got in the inner circle of the best group on campus.”
“Aren’t you supposed to say the most popular?”
“I don’t think that’s the most important thing when it comes to them. After getting to know them all, they’re nothing like the other popular kids I’ve ever met.”
“I believe you’re right about that.”
“Maddox really surprised you, didn’t he?” Ray grinned and nudged him in the ribs.
“Yes, without a doubt.” Jonathan smiled fondly.
“So,” Ray said with aplomb, “I heard that Maddox called you a bad boy.”
Jonathan feigned surprise. “You did?”
“Yeah, he was bragging to Dex that he’s the one actually dating a bad boy, and by that, obviously, he meant you.” Ray gave him a knowing look. “So, all this time, it was the other way around. You were afraid of bad boys, when you were one.”
“I will have to invoke the roommate code and ask you to keep it a secret from all the others. My reputation might suffer.”
“With your grades?” Ray snorted. “It would only make people finally believe that you’re not some android sent to make the rest of us look bad. I just don’t get how you manage to juggle both a boyfriend and studying like that!”
“Call it bad boy magic,” Jonathan said with a shrug. “You know how most villains are usually incredibly intelligent?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, JJ. You’re not villain material. Just be satisfied with the bad boy label. It’s all you’re going to get.”
Jonathan had nothing to add to that.
“JJ, do you think we can still be roommates next year?” Ray asked. “I mean, probably Maddox will want to be your roommate, and I have nothing against that–”
“Don’t worry, Ray. I talked to Maddox about it, and he agreed that we should postpone moving in together until we finish college.”
“Really? Was he really okay with that?” Ray didn’t hide his excitement well.
“Our parents told us that we need to prove ourselves, and it looks like Maddox is bent on impressing my folks by showing off how mature he can be about it all. In other words, we should focus on our studies first.”
“I bet it wasn’t that easy a decision to make, right?”
“I won’t risk answering that.” Jonathan grabbed Ray by the shoulders and squeezed hard. “Until the end of college, you’re the best roomie ever. Is that fine with you?”
“Yes. I hope Maddox doesn’t hate me already.”
“He would never,” Jonathan assured him. “I enticed him with the idea of sleepovers and sneaking around, and he got quickly on board.”
“Good. I like those ideas, too. I’m going to tell Hanna about them and see what she thinks.”
“Let’s go, Ray. Weren’t you the one saying that we’re going to be late to the party of the year?”
Ray took him by surprise by hugging him abruptly. “Thank you for this year, JJ. You’re my best friend ever.”
“Same here. You know, some might say you’re pretty emotional for a straight dude.”
Ray gave him a puzzled look and then he laughed. “You said ‘dude’.”
“Ah, well, I’m hanging out with quite the strange crowd if I can call it that.”
“And by that, I suppose you mean Rusty.” Ray gave him a fake sour look. “You know, not only Maddox was jealous over the Rusty incident.”
“I think I might have heard something to that effect,” Jonathan said in an airy tone. “Your worries are completely unfounded, Ray. Rusty is Maddox’s bestie, and I don’t think either of them would ever surrender that title.”
“Besties for life, right?”
“Besties for life,” Jonathan agreed. “Like you and me.”
“I’ll hold you to that fifty years from now. Don’t think I won’t.”
“Same here. It’s a promise.”
Jonathan gestured for Ray to walk out of the room first. He threw one last look over his shoulder. Would the room they would be in next year also seem so small, all of a sudden?
***
We just caught a whiff of something amazingly romantic, guys and gals of Sunny Hill! Maddox Kingsley proposed to his boyfriend Jonathan Hamilton, and the answer was a resounding ‘yes’. We promise to keep you posted on the proceedings, and maybe, just maybe, we can get someone to crash the wedding and take some really cool pictures. We wonder what sleeping arrangements will be made next year, if Maddox and Jonathan tie the knot this summer? We’ll wait and see.