It was a sunny day, which made it ideal for a ride, and Jonathan wanted to take Asta out for a bit of action very much. She must have become bored in his absence, although Mr. Simmons had assured him that she was allowed to roam free for a good portion of the day, and that she received the same grooming and attention as when he was there.
“Come on, girl,” he urged her softly, as soon as they were out of the stables.
He breathed freely for the first time in a while. Asta wasn’t built for speed, but she liked a vigorous pace now and then. Jonathan guided her toward the stone wall to the east, from where the beautiful sight of the lake and the forest bordering it on one side could be admired without hindrance.

When he got there, he dismounted and offered Asta the apple Mr. Simmons had handed him as he was walking out the door. The Kincaids would leave today, and that meant that Christmas was going to be a family affair only, something a bit unusual for the Hamiltons. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t mind that at all. Some peace and quiet, finally.
He leaned against the wall and smiled when Asta snorted and shook her head. “Isn’t it nice here?” he asked her and patted her strong neck.
Maddox must have read his letter by now. His phone had been silent, so he had left it in his room so he wasn’t tempted to check it every other minute. There was a lot to process, so he didn’t expected Maddox to call him and try to convince him to go back to Sunny Hill. No, that wasn’t true. He had expected Maddox to be all over him with phone calls and messages and all that.
The silence made him a little sad, although he knew that he didn’t have the right to ask Maddox for anything. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the little breeze. The snow squeaked under Asta’s hooves, but it wasn’t chilly enough to rob him of delight in the beautiful day.
The sound of another rider approaching him pulled him out of his serene tranquility. He stared at Drew mounted on one of the horses offered at the stables for visitors. Not such a long time ago, seeing the guy riding toward him like that would have made him feel butterflies in his stomach.
All he felt right now was annoyance. However, seeing how everything was already said and done, nothing would change even if Drew was coming to see him now for whatever reason.

He waited until Drew got to him but didn’t say a word as the guy dismounted and walked over to him. He just watched with what was, hopefully, a slightly bored expression.
Drew seemed pissed. “You really made me look like a fucking schmuck in front of my parents,” he hissed at him.
Jonathan leaned against the wall and measured Drew up and down with judging eyes. “Maybe you’ve always been that.”
Drew’s eyes flashed with anger. So strange how different things looked in a different light. There was nothing candid and playful in those eyes now, like he had thought before. “Don’t fucking try me, Jonathan.”

“Try you for what? Just as a curiosity, what on earth were your parents expecting to happen? What were you?”
Drew threw him a loaded look. He clenched his hands into fists. “You’re such a fucking piece of work.”
“That doesn’t answer my questions, now, does it?”
Drew closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I do have a thing for you, you prick.”
“Oh. Is this thing related to how easy it used to be for you to manipulate me?”
“Wow. Woe is me much, Jonathan? You were all in for my dick.”
“Luckily, I grew out of it.”
Drew stared at him with a dark expression in his eyes. “Why don’t we test that?”
Jonathan made a disgusted face. “I hope you don’t mean what I think you do.”
“Wow, it’s a freaking castle!” Rusty exclaimed as soon as they reached the gates.
“Castles should have moats and dragons and stuff,” Maddox pointed out. In all honesty, he was beyond impressed with the property stretching into the distance behind the massive iron-wrought gates. There was a good chunk of a lane before reaching the entrance, and while the building in the back wasn’t a castle, it was the largest home he had ever seen from up close. Usually, he only saw that kind of stuff in documentaries about the rich and famous. Only those houses looked tacky, while this one was not. This one was built by old money, and world-class elegance, and plenty of other stuff he didn’t quite understand.
“Well, I tell it like I see it,” Rusty said matter-of-factly. “And while I don’t see any moat or bridge, I bet there are some dragons inside. Just saying that we should be prepared.”
“All right. I suppose you’re right.” Maddox looked at the gates a bit perplexed. Now what were they supposed to do? It didn’t look like the gates would open automatically in front of them like at the supermarket.
Rusty was already out of the car and inspecting the electronic device on the thick wall on the right. “I think this is where we call for someone to open the gate,” Rusty said with conviction.
Of course, it was. He had seen things like that before. It was only his addled brain that caused him to make little sense of his surroundings.
“Hello?” Someone’s voice came through the speaker. “Please introduce yourself.”
It sounded like an old man’s voice.
Rusty grinned. “I’m Rusty Parker,” he said, leaning forward and drawling the words in a phony accent.
“Pranker?” the voice inquired. “Is this some kind of joke?”
Rusty began laughing. “Pranker is my last name from now on.”
Maddox groaned and pushed him away so that he could stand in front of the speaker. “Hello, sir,” he said. “Is this the Hamilton residence? We’re looking for Jonathan Hamilton.”
“And who might you be, young man?” the voice inquired again, in the same haughty, annoying tone.
“My name is Maddox Kingsley,” Maddox said slowly, punctuating every syllable so that the old man didn’t mistake his name for something else, like in Rusty’s case. That couldn’t be Jonathan’s dad, so it had to be a butler or someone like that. “Could you please tell Jonathan I’m here? I’m his boyfriend,” he said with an importance which he then immediately regretted. What if they weren’t allowed inside because of that?
“Maddox!” the voice exclaimed. “What a surprise!”
Maddox remained nonplussed for a moment. “Um, do you know who I am?”
“Of course, I do! I’ll open the gate for you right away. Is the Pranker boy with you?”
“Yes, he totally is,” Maddox said with a grin. “How do you know about me?”
“Butler’s secret,” the voice said cheerfully. “I’m Simmons, by the way. Just drive straight to the front.”
The whirring sound of the gates opening cut their conversation short. Rusty was already behind the wheel, excited like a little kid. “Let’s go, let’s go,” he yelled at Maddox, his head out the window while he patted the car door impatiently.
Maddox rushed to join him. Wow, so that butler knew who he was? Then, Jonathan must have really told his parents about him.
An old man in a conservative suit opened the door and smiled at them as they climbed out of the car. “Come, come,” he said and gestured for them to get closer. “Which one of you is Maddox?”
Maddox grabbed Rusty’s hand in time. This really wasn’t a good time for pranks. “That would be me, sir.”
“Oh, please, don’t ‘sir’ me. And you’re Pranker?” The man turned toward Rusty. “The name suits you.”
Maddox wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but he didn’t have the time. “Can you tell Jonathan to come down, please?”
“He’s out for a ride, but I’ll tell you how to get to where he usually likes to make a stop.”
Maddox smiled. “Super cool, man.”
The butler quirked an eyebrow.
“Sorry, sir, I mean Mr….”
“Simmons, and ‘man’ is fine. Now, can you ride a horse?”
Maddox made a face.
Simmons seemed to understand the reply without even hearing any words. “I’ll give you the keys to the UTV I usually use to inspect the grounds. Come with me.”
The butler closed the door behind him and guided them around the property.
“Should I meet Jonathan’s parents first?” he asked, wondering about the protocol in such situations.
“That can wait,” Simmons said and waved. “Jonathan will be very happy to see you. But leave the Pranker boy here. Three’s a crowd, as they say.”
“Will I have to drink tea with the pinky raised?” Rusty asked, without hiding his rightful worry.
Simmons turned to look at Rusty over his shoulder. “He’s as unique as his name, isn’t he?” he addressed the question to Maddox.
“He’s one of a kind,” Maddox confirmed.
“Hey, I’m right here,” Rusty protested.
“Yes, indeed. We’ll have to brush that hair,” Simmons said. “And maybe change you into something more suitable for the tea room.”
“No way. Are you going to give me a cowlick?” Rusty asked.
Much to their surprise, Simmons laughed. “Got you there. We don’t really have a tea room. You’ll stay as you are, young man. There are few highlights at the end of an old butler’s career. I can barely wait to see Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton’s reaction to you, Pranker. And that would be a highlight of the kind I’m talking about.”
“It’s actually Parker,” Rusty carefully corrected the old man.
“Pranker suits you better. I’ll introduce you as such. And I can always blame it on my failing hearing.”
“What failing hearing?” Maddox asked. “You definitely knew who I was… and you said it’s a butler’s secret. Which can only mean eavesdropping.”
Simmons opened the door to a shed impeccably painted in a light blue color. “That’s a perk of the job. Nothing to do with hearing. Here it is. And now, let me give you instructions on how to get to Jonathan.”
Drew moved closer, ignoring Jonathan’s body language that should have been screaming at him to keep away already.
“I warn you,” Jonathan said calmly. He straightened up and steeled himself.
Drew stopped inches from him. “Come on, Jonathan, what can some country boy have on me? In case he’s real, which I doubt. I get it that I hurt you, okay? I really do. And you’re right to give me the cold shoulder, but come on, are you really willing to give up on this? We practically have our parents’ blessing.”
“Drew,” Jonathan said, this time more firmly. “You’re not gay. You’re bisexual, to some degree, I suppose, although now I’m wondering if you were only getting hard for me because you were high.”
Drew pursed his lips. “That’s not true.” He leaned in, angling for a kiss.
Jonathan moved his head again, without giving up one square inch of space. “Drew,” he said again, “I caught you jerking off to pictures and videos of naked women too many times. You don’t really want this, whatever you believe it is.”
“You’re not fair,” Drew complained.
Jonathan closed his eyes so that he could hide his impulse to roll them. So Drew was really trying to play the seduction card. He felt absolutely nothing, except for slight annoyance.
It looked like his silence was misinterpreted because Drew kissed his cheek and wrapped his arms around him.
Jonathan reacted by impulse and pushed against Drew’s chest as hard as he could. Drew only laughed and upped the ante, pushing one thigh between Jonathan’s legs. “I know I make you hard,” he insisted.
Jonathan frowned. He hadn’t expected this full-on assault, and now it looked like Drew wasn’t easy to push away. It didn’t matter. Drew was going about things the right way for getting punched in the face, if that was what he wanted. He gathered more of his strength so that he could get rid of the asshole, when a bellow from nearby brought his actions to a halt.
“Get the fuck away from him!”
The shout and the sound of a UTV approaching took them both by surprise. Drew let go of him, taken aback by the interruption.
And Jonathan couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping as he watched Maddox jump from behind the UTV’s wheel and march straight toward them with murder written all over his face. In several steps, he was by their side, grabbing Jonathan and pulling him toward his hard chest.
“Who the fuck are you?” Drew asked.
“I’m Jonathan’s boyfriend, and my name is Mad Dawg!”
Jonathan bit his bottom lip hard. He paused for a moment and then pushed Maddox behind him. “As you can see, Drew,” he said in the most serious voice he could manage given the circumstances, “my very real boyfriend is here. Please, don’t make this difficult. Your parents wouldn’t approve.”
Maddox was fretting behind him, pushing against his back, and pointing at Drew over his shoulder. “Let me at him! I’m going to bite his ear off! No, the entire head!”
Jonathan struggled to contain Maddox with some difficulty.
Drew took a cautious step backward. “Gosh, Jonathan, the company you keep. Is this the kind of white trash you’re going for now? Your parents will be livid.”
“Well, that is only my concern, I suppose,” Jonathan said lightly.
“What did you call me, fat face?” Maddox growled.
“Fat face?” Drew seemed surprised by the insult and brought his hands to his cheeks, only to drop them quickly.
“You look like a pig!” Maddox shouted. “When I’m finished with you, you’re going to be a roasted pig!”
Drew blinked a few times. Jonathan didn’t know how much longer he could keep a straight face. And Maddox just kept piling up reasons for him to break into hysterical laughter.
“Drew, please, just go,” he insisted.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I have just been insulted. I have no intention to leave things like that. Release your… mad dog, or whatever he is.”
As if, Jonathan thought and smirked. “You’re a guest here. Leave with your pride wounded instead of your face. It’s not a choice.”
“I can take care of that,” Maddox assured him, but Jonathan continued to hold him back firmly.
Drew sneered. “All right, Jonathan. If you insist. But we’re not finished. You’ll get over this…” he seemed to be at a loss for words while looking at Maddox, “this country boy.”
“What does he mean by that?” Maddox asked, losing some of his Mad Dawg persona for a bit. “That I look like a cowboy? I’ve only been to a farm once, in fourth grade.”
Jonathan sighed. “Drew, I’ll never get over Maddox.”
“Mad Dawg,” Maddox corrected him.
“I’ve already told my parents about him,” Jonathan continued.
“Yeah, and I told mine,” Maddox added with emphasis.
“And? Are you two going to announce your engagement or something?” Drew crossed his arms and stared at them with disdain.
“Yeah,” Maddox said. “That’s why I’m here.”
Jonathan turned his head toward Maddox so fast he must have pulled a muscle in his neck. He was most likely joking.
“Yeah, I’m not joking,” Maddox insisted. “So stop pissing Jonathan off, and keep your hands off. Or I’m going to show you some country boy moves. One of them includes a foot in your ass.”
Drew made a disgusted face. “Well, Jonathan,” he said in a frosty tone but with a bizarre smile, “it’s your funeral. Too bad I have to leave shortly. I would have excessively enjoyed your family’s reaction to this…”
“One more word, and I’m punching you in the nose,” Maddox warned him.
Drew squared his shoulders, looking like he’d won. Then, he mounted the horse that had brought him there and turned it so that some of the snow under the hooves of the animal sprayed in Jonathan’s and Maddox’s direction. “It’s not goodbye yet, Jonathan,” he threw over his shoulder.
“Why didn’t you let me take care of his ugly face?” Maddox protested as soon as Drew was out of hearing range.
Jonathan turned to finally face the boy he loved so much. He couldn’t stop grinning. “You came,” he said. His heart was too full for any other words.
“Hello,” Maddox waved, “you should have let me beat the asshole up.”
Jonathan laughed, tipping his head back and then kissed Maddox loudly on the cheek. “I couldn’t have let such a thing happen to you. Unlike you, Drew is a bit of a brawler. And he’s trained in boxing since he was sixteen.”
“Ugh,” Maddox said and grimaced. “Still, I would have taken a beating to protect your honor, just so you know.”
“No way am I letting anyone mess up this pretty face,” Jonathan teased and kissed him on the nose. “I like you with all your teeth, and this perfect nose.”
Maddox growled playfully. Only then, Jonathan realized that he hadn’t really addressed why Maddox was there. A few of his doubts from before returned, as he let go of Maddox. He leaned against the stone wall again. “So,” he said, trying to act as casually as he could manage, “did you watch the video?”
Maddox was highly adept at reading the room. He came to rest against the wall by his side. “Yeah, I did,” he replied.
“What did you think?” Jonathan asked and looked away, not wanting to read uncertainty or reproach in the beautiful grey eyes.
“I thought you looked beautiful. Damn sexy,” Maddox replied. He didn’t resist as Maddox cupped his cheek and turned him to look at him. “There was just this weird cock in the picture, really yucky.” Jonathan snickered and looked down. Maddox, however, had other plans, and forced him to look up, this time holding his face with both hands.
“His cock isn’t weird,” Jonathan protested meekly, not knowing what to say.
Maddox sighed. “I know. He’s one handsome asshole. I was so dying to mess up his perfect square jaw.”
“He would have wiped the floor with you. You’re just a big marshmallow inside, and we both know it.”
“Well, I’m your boyfriend, so I would have taken my chances.”
Jonathan smiled. “We’re still boyfriend and boyfriend?”
“Totally,” Maddox confirmed. “Although,” he said, frowning a bit, “there’s this rule about good guys not dating bad boys.”
Jonathan snorted. “I know you’re not a bad boy, Maddox. You’re a good guy. No, the best.”
“I know that,” Maddox replied as if Jonathan was stating the obvious. He was looking at him like he couldn’t stop himself from bursting into laughter any minute now.
“Wait,” it was Jonathan’s turn to frown, “are you trying to tell me that I’m the bad boy?”
Maddox nodded in confirmation, his eyes glinting with mischief, his eyebrows raised, and with a smirk on his handsome face. “You totally are.”
“Really? How come?”
Maddox looked up as if he was trying to recall all the reasons he had to call Jonathan that. “Well, you know how to break into buildings…”
“Oh, that,” Jonathan said airily.
“You punched me in the nose…”
“Ugh, I apologized,” Jonathan replied in an exasperated tone.
“You ran away from home…”
“I wouldn’t have met you otherwise.”
“True,” Maddox admitted. “Wait, I’m not finished. You made amateur porn…”
“O.M.G., really?” Jonathan groaned.
“Really hot amateur porn,” Maddox teased him. “Did you just say O.M.G.? But still, bad boy stuff.”
“Are you finished now?” Jonathan moaned.
“Do you have any hidden tattoos?”
“Like where? You’ve seen me naked.”
“Maybe I missed one,” Maddox joked. Then, he laughed and pulled Jonathan close for a sweet kiss.
Jonathan leaned into it, feeling close to melting. Asta broke their moment by snorting loudly.
Maddox offered him a cute grin. “That your horsey?”
“Don’t ever call Asta that,” Jonathan warned him.
“It’s a girl?”
“Cool. Now what?”
Jonathan examined his boyfriend carefully. “You didn’t come here with a plan, did you?”
“Well, I went with the flow. I’m here to convince you that you’re my boyfriend forever and to make you come back to Sunny Hill. That’s the big picture.”
“All right, I’m good with that,” Jonathan agreed. “Hey, what do you mean, your boyfriend forever? That’s as far as you go?”
Maddox smirked at his attempt to pull his leg. “I haven’t yet met your parents. But I don’t mind shocking them with an engagement proposal. I think they’ll be fine with it, since by now, I suppose they’ve already been shocked enough for the rest of their lives.”
“Why would they be?” Jonathan asked, puzzled.
“Rusty’s having tea with them as we speak, I suppose.”
“Rusty?!” Jonathan feigned an outraged gasp, and then he grinned. “In that case, let’s hurry up and save him.”
“I’d worry more about your folks, but whatever floats your boat.”
Jonathan laughed and pulled Maddox by the hand. “Ah, wait, I’m with Asta, and… did Mr. Simmons give you his UTV?”
“Looks like it,” Maddox confirmed. “You ride in front, and I’ll follow.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“You look really cool in this riding outfit. I must check out your ass while you ride your horse.”
“Must, huh?”
“Totally,” Maddox confirmed and kissed him again. “You know, I think Rusty’s fine. We don’t have to hurry, right?”
Jonathan pinched his cheek. “I’m sure he needs us. And don’t worry, I can strut around in my riding outfit for you later.”
“All right, then. But you’ll need to ride me in it.”
“That would be difficult, don’t you think?”
“Then just keep the boots and the cute hat. That will be enough for me.”
Jonathan swore under his breath when Maddox’s hand moved over his ass and squeezed. “Let’s just save Rusty first, all right?”
Maddox laughed. “All right. But you’re not getting out of my request for bareback riding.”
Jonathan rolled his eyes, but then he cupped Maddox’s cheeks and kissed him again. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”