[The Victoriana - Dinner Date]
Maddox had spent most of his life trying to live up to expectations. His parentsā, his family membersā, his Beta brothers, but mostly his own. Heād built this idea, this model of himself that he was meant to follow. Goals he was supposed to meet and emotions he was meant to avoid, love being the very first. And he had been doing a damn good job of it, but life had different plans for him.
The night heād found Cyrus in his room, drunk and disoriented, baby blues staring back at him as if looking for answers that Maddox didnāt even know he had, the Beta hadnāt thought much of it. Aside from the nagging that reminded him to not get caught, heād expected nothing more than a nightās hook up. Convinced himself so. If only past Maddox could see him now. Sitting across the restaurant table from the boy heād deemed nothing more than ājust sexā, fine wine and candles filling the space between them, eyes locked on each otherās as if they were the only two people on the planet, and a four-letter word hanging from Maddoxā tongue, waiting for the perfect moment to come out. The irony of it all almost made him laugh.
āWould you prefer someone elseās company tonight?ā Maybe Maddox had changed over time, but Cyrus hadnāt and somehow that gave the Beta a piece of mind. Maddox responded with a smirk of his own, matching the one directed at him. If there was anything the two boys had in common, it was their pride. Neither one would openly admit that, despite the flirtatious smirks and witty banter, their nerves were silently running ramped. Luckily for Maddix, not only was he skilled at hiding emotions but heād also become quite skilled at reading others. More specifically, at reading Cyrus. The blonde was nervous, no doubt about it, and Maddox couldnāt blame him considering he felt the exact same way.
Still, he managed to keep his features smoothed out even while Cyrus brought up the subject Maddox had been most anxious to talk about. Friday night...the night of the party. The night Maddox peeled back just about every layer, every mask heād worked so hard to put up over the years and laid his soul bare for no one but Cyrus to see. The thought of being so honest, so...vulnerable with someone made his stomach sink in fear of all the possible ways this could end badly for him. But what was done was done, there was nowhere to move now but forward and nothing to do but prepare for the fall.
āFair enoughā he finally spoke after a silence prolonged by a sip of wine. He set the almost empty cup down, fold his arms on the table in front of him as his body leaned slightly forward, signaling that Cyrus had his full and undivided attention. āAsk me anything you want to know, and Iāll answer with one hundred percent honesty.ā his eyes searched for Cyrusā, their usually cold and distant charm now replaced by genuine interest. He was done lying, some with hiding, over pretending he was something and someone he was not and Cyrus deserved nothing but the absolute truth.
āAfter all, what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didnāt.ā the words left his mouth so smoothly and casually that not even Maddox himself realized heād said them until a few seconds after. His first instinct was to backtrack, fear immediately claiming that he had crossed the line. But feigning confidence had always been what Maddox did best, so despite his urge to run from his seat and vanish before Cyrus could break his heart, he say perfectly still, eyes fixed on the ones across the table while he silently waited and hoped against all hope that the blonde staring back at him felt the same way.