Chasing Rusty Parker Ch. 15

"Didn't they think it odd?"

"No. It was on the grounds of having the once in a lifetime opportunity of meeting the man of their dreams."

"Did you really use those words?"

Rusty pulled out his phone again and showed Matty the message, at which the other only groaned in resignation.

"You do realize that now I'll have to live up to some outstanding expectations."

"And? I know for a fact that you can meet them and go beyond."

Matty rubbed his cheeks and reached for his eyes under the glasses with the tips of his fingers. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, teach. Now, I need to get mentally prepared to disappoint some gay boys. Are you going to tell me their names? Or how are we going to go about this?"

Rusty patted Matty's shoulders hard, for encouragement. "The first contender just walked in. Andy something. Go get him, tiger."

***

Matty stared at the nerdy boy, who seemed to be wishing to be anywhere else but there, while he took one step after another. For a moment, he had felt tempted to tell Rusty that he knew for a fact that Xpress was talking out of their asses because he had been present at that meeting with the cat boy. Rusty's suspicions had proven short-lived, so there was nothing for him to worry about.

Still, to think that Xpress thought the cat boy to be a cat girl. Where the hell did they get that idea? Matty had only skimmed through the gossip at a glance since Zoey had insisted, but now those insinuations were starting to get to him. So, according to Xpress, Rusty couldn't be gay, not even a little. And he might have fathered some illegitimate children, just like that.

Well, he could spend a lot of time and think about how Xpress was eating shit for all their daily meals, but he had a bigger problem on his hands. He stopped in front of Andy something, and the boy stopped his fidgeting, throwing him a confused look.

Matty smiled and waved. "Hi, Andy. It looks like you're here because of me."

Andy pulled out his phone. "Rusty Parker sent me a message. I thought it was a prank."

Matty winced a little inside. "Well, he is kind of a prankster. The truth is he hopes that I could find a partner at this party, and that's why he sent the message. To you."

And others, but Matty wasn't sure he was supposed to divulge that.

Andy let out a long sigh of relief and offered Matty his hand. "I'm relieved. I was worried he might push me into the arms of a male stripper, just for the lulz."

Matty shook the offered hand. "I'm Matty. Rusty wouldn't be so cruel, though."

Andy grinned and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I think I hoped he would be, though. I've never been in the arms of a male stripper."

They both laughed. "That makes two of us, because I've never been in that kind of situation, either."

***

Rusty followed Matty with hawk-like eyes from afar. It looked like he and Andy were starting out on the right foot, because they were laughing like they were having the best time in the world.

The same could not be said about him, though. The cat jokes were growing a bit old already. The girls wanted to know if he knew the name of the chick he might have happened to impregnate in the throes of desire. The boys wolf-whistled and called him a hound dog or something along those lines. All that noise for nothing, and it was only serving to piss him off. Especially now, when he needed all his concentration to keep track of how Matty was doing.

Hmm, but they weren't touching and were only conversing like friends. Had Matty learned nothing, after all that hard work? Maybe Andy wasn't his type. His forehead a frown, Rusty fired a quick message off to his student.

Make a move if you like him. Else, get back to base.

He observed Matty as he checked his phone. It was now or never, and Rusty held his breath for a moment. Matty waved Andy goodbye and sauntered back to him.

What a relief. Rusty frowned at that simple realization. Well, he did have five or six guys lined up for Matty. Maybe not all of them would attend the party. Maybe some weren't interested in meeting the man of their dreams.

"So?" Rusty asked, worrying his bottom lip.

"He was expecting a male stripper. It looks like I struck out." Matty smiled apologetically and shrugged his shoulders.

"A male stripper?" Rusty threw Andy a curious look, and the shy nerdy guy waved at him with a confused smile. "We could turn you into that. Get on that table and began undressing slowly."

Matty pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am so not going to do that. I still have half a brain, I think."

"After three years and a couple of months or so in college? Nah, you only think that. What's wrong with being a male stripper? You have those cool abs. Ah, don't tell me. He's not your style."

"No Ivy League degree," Matty counted on his fingers, "no Lexus, no big schlong. Sorry, no match."

"Are you sure about the big schlong? These studious types tend to hide some oversized sausages in their baggy pants."

"So, who's next?" Matty asked. "I'm just getting the hang of things."

Rusty searched the room for the next target. When he found him, he grinned. The goth boy yawned demonstratively to show what he thought of the choice of music and picked invisible lint from his black t-shirt.

***

After the guy with the very narrow taste in music came a guy who confessed timidly to Matty that he wasn't actually gay, just not adept at meeting girls. That brought the number of attempts to three, and he was starting to think that Rusty's criteria for choosing possible partners for him might have suffered some serious alterations from what he had imagined.

"No luck so far," he explained to his teacher.

Rusty's brow furrowed. Matty really hated to disappoint him, but there was no way he'd play that game only for the sake of that.

"A-ha," Rusty said victoriously, "what about him?"

Matty turned to look in the direction of where Rusty was pointing, and he blinked. The guy who had just walked in sported a sleeveless shirt that showed off his intricate sleeve tattoos. He looked dark and dangerous. Somehow, Matty doubted that guy was a student at Sunny Hill.

"You said something about alley cats, right?" Rusty whispered in his ear. "Go try your luck now, Mr. Fancy Pants."

Matty would have argued about that nickname, but his attention was captured by the new guest more than he cared to admit. When he walked toward the guy, he felt a little like the proverbial moth flying frantically toward the flame.

Blue eyes, deep like sin, settled on him, making the words die in his throat. The guy chuckled and leaned against the wall. He crossed his arms, showing off his tattoos. Matty could hardly hear a word, as the guy's lips moved.

Only when the aforementioned lips stopped moving, Matty realized that he was supposed to answer. "What?" he stammered. "I'm sorry, I didn't get what you just said."

The stranger laughed again, making a cute dimple appear in his right cheek. "I said," he drawled seductively, "you must be Matty."

Had Rusty mentioned his name to the other guys? Matty didn't remember. "And you are?" He stretched out his hand.

The guy pulled him close suddenly and wrapped him in his arms. Then, he blew hot air over Matty's ear. "Tonight, I'm going to be your alley cat."

***

Rusty watched with increased annoyance as Jamie played Matty like a pro. He had been the one with the idea of calling a veritable heartbreaker and put him in Matty's path, but now, he was starting to regret his decision.

By all reckoning, Matty should have been prepared for such a challenge. But, instead, he looked like he was smitten beyond belief, leaning toward Jamie, laughing at his jokes -- very lame jokes, Rusty knew them all -- and brushing that sexy body of his against the other.

That wasn't how a gay overlord should react to a cookie-cutter bad boy. Rusty pursed his lips and clenched his fists.

Jamie, who had been more than happy to hear that he'd have a cute college boy to hook up with tonight, made his next move with the nonchalance of a player, which he was, obviously. He was whispering into Matty's ear, probably inviting him outside, for a little bit of heavy petting.

And Matty, forgetting all about his training, seemed eager to agree to everything.

Absolutely no way.

***

All right, so this guy was so different from all the others that Matty couldn't believe it. He was so striking in appearance that Matty had forgotten how to speak for a minute or so. But, now they were at ease, laughing together, and sharing what brought them to that party.

"Did Rusty send you the same message he sent the others?"

The guy, whose name was still a mystery, was playing the seducer by the book. Matty thought it funny to play along. Now, Zoey's plan to go with it and see Rusty's reaction to his being taken with some dude made some sense.

Plus, Matty was actually paying attention because this alley cat was a true player.

"What message?" Rough hands massaged the back of Matty's neck.

"To meet the man of your dreams and all that."

Another chuckle followed. "That you, pretty boy? That's on the mark. How about going outside for a moment? It's getting hot in here."

"For the record, was that a pun, or are you really hot?"

"What do you think?"

Okay, this guy was a player, Rusty was a womanizer, and Matty was a virgin. What to do?

TBC