Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 17:16:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Christian Garcia <synful_romance@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: The Gyllenhaal Encounter - Part Eighteen

Before you read...: This story is completely fictional. I don't know and
don't mean to imply that I know Jake Gyllenhaal and I don't have any
knowledge of his sexual preference. If you're under 18 (or 21 depending
on where you live) or don't like M/M relationship stories then turn back
now. Finally, don't post or take this story anywhere else with out
telling me first. I've seen stories from other authors on different sites
with others claiming them as their own. So sit back and enjoy!
________________________________

The next day Kate was escorted to the airport by Peter, Maggie and Jake
to board the plane and head back to New York. Everyone sealed their
goodbyes with loving hugs and kisses then stood back and waved as Kate
made her way passed the ticket taker and into the long hall leading to
the planes entrance. Jake stood off to the side and looked out of the
glass wall to survey the landing zone and watch as enormous steel birds
launched and landed back down to earth, the view dimmed slightly by the
heavy black sunglasses covering his eyes. He crossed his arms and watched
the boarding hall detach from the side of the large steel plane. The
aircraft slowly moved forward then spun around to race down the length of
the entire strip of black asphalt stained in yellow and white stripes.
"Saying goodbye?" Maggie came over with Peter and stood besides Jake.
Jake turned to her and smiled then looked back out the glass. "Yeah."
"Come on, Romeo. Time to go." Peter placed his arm around Jake's neck and
guide him to the airport exit.

They arrived home a few short minutes later and walked straight into the
cool home to rest after having to wake up so early. Jake slumped down on
the living room couch, his ass sinking deep into the cushions, letting a
sigh laced in exhaustion slip from his mouth as he slipped deep in his
seat. He sat in the silence of his house, reflecting on the hectic week
behind him. His mind began to drift away from him. Soon, Jake began to
think about the inconvenient kiss Kate had laid on his lips the night
before. The intimate moment between him and Kate playing and rewinding in
his head; trying to figure out what he could have done differently in
order to avoid going through the ordeal. Jake realized that Maggie was
right, he was in fact leading Kate on and if he didn't do anything about
it soon then things might escalate to a point where Jake will be forced
to come out. If anything, he was positive that he had to let Kate know
about him and Christian if no one else ever did. Jake leaned his head
back onto the plush throw pillow pressing against his neck and closed his
eyes; thinking about ways he could possibly come out to Kate, acting out
the scenarios in his head. The couch shook slightly, signaling someone's
sudden drop onto the cushions. Jake's eyes shot open and his head
straightened above his shoulders.
"Are you taking a nap too?" Peter asked, half smiling. "Maggie just went
to lay down."
"No. Just thinking." Jake replied, grinning politely.
"What about?"
Jake nod his head and shrug his shoulders. "Nothing in particular."
"So, Maggie tells me she saw you and Ashley sucking face last night."
"No big deal, man. We got a little carried away and she was just thanking
me for letting her stay here."
"Hell of a way to thank you."
"Yeah, well, that's what happened."
"Don't get caught with you're hand in the cookie jar."
"What in the world---What does that mean?" Jake giggled. "Is that
supposed to be some sort of sexual innuendo?"
"Perhaps. Are you guys sleeping together yet or what?" Peter's blunt and
forward question sent Jake for a loop. He wasn't expecting such things to
come out of his mouth but then again this was Peter he was talking to.
"That's none of your fucking business. But no, we're not."
"You make it sound like you're a little disappointed by that. Is she not
'ready for such a big step'?" Peter teased.
"Fuck off." Jake leaned back onto the pillow again and scanned the
ceiling.
"Come on, Jakey. Time's a wastin'."
Jake couldn't take Peter pocking into his business and assuming things
that weren't true. "Look, will you just mind your own damn business?
Jesus Christ, Pete." Jake turned to Peter wide eyed and angry.
"Okay, alright. Sorry. I'm just fucking with you."
"Well can you not, please?" By this time, Jake was fuming. He wasn't
entirely mad at Peter. Most of his anger was the combination of
frustration and anxiety building up deep inside him.
Peter nod his head and stood up then walked towards the kitchen. "I'm
going home. Tell Maggie I'll give her a call later." He shouted from
across the room.
Jake rolled his eyes after hearing the front door open and close. He
dragged himself off the couch and head upstairs to his room to calm down
a bit. Things were really starting to get to Jake. He couldn't take
hiding anymore and tried to urge himself to come out to his friends and
family and tell then that he was gay. It was the only way to be
completely happy and comfortable with himself.
                                      +++

Christian and Randy fell back into their normal retain after the incident
at Christian's apartment. Christian was completely oblivious to the fact
that Randy knew of his false stories since Randy didn't bring it up
afterwards. Randy felt that if he were to tell Christian about him
uncovering the dishonest story he was told then things would head in a
direction he didn't want them to. The mood in their relationship was
upbeat yet sorry at times. They had their ups and downs like every other
couple in the world but lately is had felt like they were encountering
more downs than ups. Christian felt as though everything was as it had
always been between them but Randy didn't. He thought that things were
slipping down and away from his hands. the control he had - if any -
inside the relationship was beginning to slid through the cracks of the
floor. At least that's what Randy had perceived was happening the more
Christian cancelled and snuck away from dates and evenings of intimate
affection.

During work hours, Randy tried his best to focus on the tasks at hand but
was sidetracked by the sight of Christian attending to customers at the
ticket counter. He looked on as Christian communicated and interact with
buyers, smiling politely as he handed tickets to those waiting outside
the glass casing and starting conversations with passing men and women.
Paranoia took Randy by the heart, squeezing menacingly, causing jealousy
to begin and manufacture deep inside him. Of course, all of Christian's
kindness towards others was nothing more than what he has been trained to
do in order to keep people coming back for more. After all, nobody liked
a grouch when going to see a movie.

As they head into late night, the theatre became still and quite;
drowning in the nothingness that engulfed every inch of the building.
Randy leaned over the glass encasement glowing brightly under his elbows.
"We need more cups and straws." Said Christian, holding the empty straw
dispenser and walking out from the back room to stand besides his
co-worker.
"Hmm?" Randy faced Christian. He was completely gone from the world;
dreaming about nothing in particular.
"Straws and cups, we're out. We need more."
"Oh, okay. I'll go get more from the utility closet." Randy turned and
walked out from behind the counter and started to traverse across the
dark blue rug embellished heavily with different red and yellow shapes
scattered about decoratively. He returned minutes later holding a large
plastic bag tightly gripped between his fingers and made the trip back
over to Christian.
"Here." Randy let the bag fall onto the counter top and resumed standing
in the position he stood in before.
"You're not gonna help?" Christian took the lid from the tin dispenser
and pulled open the small pack of red straws.
"Do you need any help? I mean, you just have to put the straws into the
box, not that hard." Randy replied coldly, looking out into the
nothingness in front of him.
"Well damn, I'm sorry. Just thought you'd help out but I can see you're
too busy standing there, staring into nothing." Christian replied
sarcastically. Randy turned to him in frustration and forcefully ripped
open the bag of cups stacked high then walked over to refill the cup
holders besides the cola machines across the room. Christian noticed how
indifferent and reserved Randy was acting and went over to confront him.
"Hey! What's going on with you? Are you okay?"
"Perfectly fine." Randy snapped back, his hands furiously slipping a
paper cup on top of the others.
"You're pouting." Randy shrugged. Christian slipped his hand up to
Randy's waist and squeezed tenderly, bringing him in closer to his body
to try and make him open up a bit. Randy kept his focus on the stack of
paper cups in his hands, his face serious and stern. Christian tilted his
head slightly to try and make contact with Randy's hazel eyes and smiled
innocently then said, "Come on, look at me."
Randy lifted his eyes and replied, "I promise I'm fine."
Christian squint his eyes, trying to figure out Randy's sour facial
expression. He sighed and curled the corner of his mouth up into a
insignificant smile. "Okay." He pat Randy's lower back and made his way
back behind the concession stand.

The theatre became overwhelmed once again as most of the films were all
ending at around the same time. A sea of people flooded the front lobby
of the theatre, creating a feeding frenzy as men, women and children flee
for the exit doors, stopping at the refreshment stand to grab last second
snacks. Christian stood near the front doors along with Randy, seeing
everyone farewell, repeating "Hope you enjoyed the movie" and "Drive
safely" over and over again. Once the place became bare and empty again,
everyone started to burnish the floors, counter tops and show rooms to
get them sanitary and working correctly for the next days business. Lisa,
one of the many co-workers, locked the front doors as everyone worked on
finishing the last minute preparations. A shop-vac sounded loudly as
Randy ran the long hose along the carpet floor, sucking up any debris
left by the patrons of the theatre as they fought for their way out.
Christian swept the long corridor and set up enormous cardboard cut outs
of movie characters and posters along the walls to remind customers of
films soon to be released. When he was done with his tasks the manager,
Mr. Anderson, came over and gathered everyone around for a briefing of
the upcoming days events. Christian stood near the concession stand with
Randy standing in front of him with his back up against Chris' chest.
Christian rest his chin on Randy's shoulder and brought his hands around
to place them on Randy's stomach in order to massage the area gently
through the thin white uniform fabric. Randy stood still with his arms
crossed and head slightly tilted back onto the side of Christian's head.
"I need you all to remember that next week we have a very special guest
coming in." Mr. Anderson started, looking down at the clipboard in his
hands. "Mr. Ian Sturn is going to pay us a visit to talk about maybe
setting up a movie premier here." Everyone began to get excited. "Calm
down, calm down. Don't get happy just yet. He's coming to check out the
place first, we won't know if they plan to use this theatre until a month
before the event."
"What movie is the premier for?" Randy shouted.
"I'm not sure of the title." His boss replied.
"When exactly is he coming in?" Another one of the employees asked.
"Most likely on the 14th---16th by the latest."
"Do we all need to be here when he comes?" Asked Christian.
"No, but remember that we need to have this place impeccable so when Mr.
Sturn finally does arrive he'll see how great we keep the theatre. I'm
counting on each and every one of you to make this happen, alright? Are
we clear?"
"Yes!" Everyone cheered.
"Okay, go get changed and get the hell out of my theatre." Mr. Anderson
joked, allowing his employees to get up and flee to the locker room to
change out of their uniforms. Christian and Randy dismembered and made
their way into the backroom to head to the locker space to get ready to
clock out.

Inside the brightly lit room filled wall-to-wall with large pale lockers,
Randy stood off by himself, changing out of his white collar T-Shirt.
"Are you going home right away or do you have plans?" He asked,
unbuttoning his work shirt and sliding his arms out of the sleeves. He
stood at his locker opposite Christian and spoke tranquilly. It was as if
Randy had to ask permission to spend time with him and seeing as
Christian was hardly ever around anymore, he felt like he had to
constantly fight for time.
"Nope, no plans. You?"
"I don't know. I was going to go out and grab a bite to eat, maybe rent
a movie. Kinda hoping you would come."
Christian placed his slacks and shirt in his backpack to take home and
wash and after getting into his normal clothes he slammed his locker shut
then walked to the wooden bench sitting still near the center of the wide
florescent room. Randy closed his locker as well, the loud sound echoing
through out the walls.
"Tonight? It's a little late for hanging out don't you think?" Exclaimed
Christian, tossing his bag over his shoulder.
"Yeah, guess you're right. Forget it." Randy picked up his things and
head for the locker room door, stepped out into the bowels of the
building and went for the exit.
"Randy!" Christian called, lagging behind. Randy sighed and turned around
slowly. "Hold on."
"What?"
"I changed my mind. Am I still invited to come with you tonight?"
"Do you really want to go?"
"Yeah, I really do."
Randy smiled. "Okay. Let's go." The two men got inside their cars and
drove out from the parking lot. Christian followed behind Randy in his
black car, dodging and swerving around traffic to try and keep up with
Randy's silver Nissan. The night was still young, part of the reason why
the streets were filled with patrons looking for a club to party in.
Street lamps illuminated the ground brightly, making every grain of sand
and rock visible from a mile away. Everyone walking the streets resembled
angels in Christian's eyes but not because of their great accomplishments
towards the world and others but because of the false halo created over
their heads by the light glowing down on their shoulders. The sight of
scantily glad women and casually dressed men almost caused Christian to
miss the green light flashing uncontrollably above the road. Only until
he heard the other cars horn blowing behind him did Christian step on the
gas and accelerate forward. Christian caught up with Randy's car as he
pulled into the parking lot of a late night diner glowing brightly due to
the veil of lights covering it's walls and front lounge patio. The two
cars pulled up besides each other and Christian stepped out first, the
unforgiving wind blowing at his hair and clothes. Randy got out last,
slamming and locking his car door then walked to the front of the
building to enter all the while Randy took hold of Christian's hand as
they walked and pulled him close to his side. The inside of the
establishment was gently lit by dim lights coming from round globes
hanging down from the low ceiling. Everything was decorated in an old
Mexican style. Large murals showing the vast landscapes of different
historical places in Mexico covered the walls. Beautiful deserts and
beach scenes covered one side of the restaurant while a large painting of
children running and skipping along the shoreline took the other side of
the space. The chairs and tables painted wildly in greens and reds, a
giant rooster covering the table face and chairs hawked passionately; the
moment caught inside the work of art. Christian and Randy walked through
the open space between tables and greet the Hispanic man dressed simply
in a white apron and nametag behind the cashier box.
"Hello, can I help you?" The man named Esteban asked, his accent was dim
but strong enough to know it was there.
"Can we have an order of the rolled tacos..." Randy looked at Christian
as if looking for an objection. "And two cokes."
"For here or to go?"
"To go, please."
"Okay. Your total is $15.09." Replied the cashier, punching the keys on
the plastic covered keyboard. He then turned to face the large
rectangular hole in the wall that separated the front from the kitchen in
the back. Christian watched as one of the cooks looked up at a small
screen with green letters flashing the food order Randy had just given.
Randy placed a twenty dollar bill on the white counter and slid it over
to Esteban. Esteban gave him his change and closed the cashier box. The
wait for the food was lengthy and silent, neither Christian or Randy
saying a world, both admiring the quaint surroundings they stood in.
Randy watched Christian's eyes scan the painting and decorations on the
walls surrounding them. This moment of unblemished innocence caused Randy
to smile wide from ear-to-ear, flashing his teeth happily.
Christian turned to Randy and lowered his eyebrows in wonder. "What?" He
asked.
"Nothing." Randy shook his head, still grinning proudly.
"Why are you smiling? Is there something on my face?" Christian ran his
hand over his forehead.
"No, it's nothing. Don't worry."
Randy's teasing was abruptly stopped when their cashier placed a plastic
bag onto the counter. Inside was a large Styrofoam box holding their meal
warm. Christian took the drinks in his hands while Randy let the bag
dangle from his fingers at his sides.
"Thank you." Christian said before turning with Randy and heading
outside. The trip back to their cars was joyful and filled with small
talk. Once inside the automobiles, Randy once again led the way to the
next pit stop.

Christian pulled up behind Randy as he drove into the driveway of his
house. From outside the place looked small and quaint but that was just
an optical illusion made to trick the human eye. Christian turned the car
engine off and stepped out from inside his car with the bag of DVD's by
his side.
"Come on!" Randy called him over as he fumbled the house keys in his
hands. Christian walked up to Randy as he inserted one of many silver and
gold keys into the door knob and turned it to be let inside. "Piece of
shit." Randy hissed as key-after-key failed to unlock the wooden door.
Christian smirked as he watched Randy become filled with frustration.
Finally, the door unlocked and swung open, the hinges making a slight
squeak as they glide past each other roughly. They placed their bags on
the kitchen table and extract large porcelain plates from high in the
wooden cupboards before placing them down on the desk.
"Where are your glass'?" Christian yelled at Randy from inside the
kitchen, ravishing through the dozen doors above the oven.
"Above the pantry!"
Christian returned from the kitchen confines and set the two tall glass
cups down on the placemats set for two.

After they were finished eating, Christian and Randy stood side-by-side,
cleaning and drying the plates used minutes before and making small talk
involving incidents at work. Before they knew it an hour had flown by.
"Feel like having a sleep over tonight?" Randy asked, rinsing a glass cup
under the steady stream of water.
"What?" Christian replied, dragging a small white towel around the
perimeter of the glass cup in his hands.
"It's been a while since you've spent the night. It'll be nice."
"Umm, yeah. I guess. I mean, it would be nice."
"Great." Randy shut the running water off and dried his hands off then
made his way into the dining room to take hold of the plastic bag holding
the rented DVD movies. "Meet me in the room!" He yelled. Christian
stepped out of the kitchen and walked passed the living room and down a
long hallway leading him to a dead end. The door in front of him was the
entrance into Randy's bedroom. Christian took the door handle in his
hands and held on tightly while turning it and pushing the door aside. He
stood in the darkness that surrounded him, his eyes trying to focus like
a camera lens focusing on a distant object. The inside was simply
decorated with only the essentials: A bed, two dresser drawers,
television set with addition DVD and VCR plug-ins, and vanity mirror. The
walls pale white and the shag carpet a dim sky blue. The only source of
light entering was from a large window above the beds headboard that
looked out into the backyard. The sound of speeding cars also snuck its
way inside along with a stead breeze of cool night air. Christian stepped
deeper into the room after turning the lights on and took a seat on the
end of the king size mattress to await Randy. Not long behind, Randy came
in and tossed the plastic bag in his hands onto the bed then casually
walked around to the other end of the bedroom to rummage through his
dresser.
"What time is it?" Christian asked, turning to face Randy but only seeing
his back.
"11:23" Replied Randy, unbuckling his wrist watch and setting it down on
the wooden surface of the drawer. "Don't tell me you're already tired."
Christian smiled. "No, not yet."
Randy came back around and tussled Christian hair with his hand as he
walked by then entered the quaint bathroom hidden behind another closed
door. He came out again barefoot and only wearing thin blue pajama
bottoms and a white under shirt. While Randy peeled the bed sheets back,
Christian dug through the movies and placed one of the discs into the DVD
tray to begin the film. The room lights turned off as the glowing T.V.
rays took it's place. After getting into nothing more than a pair of
Randy's low fitting shorts, Christian slipped between the sheets to join
Randy as the opening of the movie appeared on screen. The two sat upright
in the television light, their backs against the cold hard headboard.
During one point in the movie, Christian looked over at Randy to see him
smiling at the movies comical satire. The sweetness in his eyes as he
looked on at the man sitting to his right suddenly changed into pity.
Christian wondered if Randy had any clue about what was going on behind
his back and was quickly consumed with regret. Sadness overwhelmed him as
he thought about the harm he was causing Randy with his two-timing ways.
Christian wrapped his arm around Randy's shoulder and brought him in
close to try and subliminally apologize for what he was doing to him.
                                      +++

Jake sat comfortably on the white lawn chair sprawled across the lush
green grass behind the house, looking out into the Los Angeles valley. He
held a cigarette between his index and middle finger as it burned slowly
towards the filtered end, the white smoke dancing up towards the clear
blue sky. The low wind howled over the trees and house, stirring up dirt
resting on the floor and sending it across the road. Cool air brushed
against Jake's exposed feet and legs, some even sneaking up his cargo
short and shirt. The sun was perfectly exposed to the world, sending it's
warm light down to touch everything and everyone one it was able to. The
tree branches swayed and crashed together high over Jake's head, creating
a ruckus too overwhelming to be left unnoticed. Jake took his dark
sunglasses from the small glass table by his side and placed them on his
face so that he could look towards the sky to watch as a small flock of
birds swooped overhead, diving and lifting higher up into the clear sky
until finally becoming a speck in the far off distance. Jake took a long
drag from the cigarette in his hands and ran a finger behind Boo's ears
to give off some of the comfort Jake felt to his dog. Boo whined happily
as Atticus galloped over to bid for his owners attention, wagging his
tail in the wind to show his sudden strike of cheerful glee. Maggie
walked up to the sliding glass doors from inside the house and watched
over Jake as he hooked one ankle over the other and placed his hand
behind his head to cushion it from the hard steel of the chair. She
pushed the doors aside and stepped out onto the concrete covering half
the backyard. As Maggie moved towards Jake, she couldn't help but notice
the still life suddenly surrounding her. It was as if she had stepped
into a portal where time stood completely still, briefly frozen and
isolated from the heavy traffic of the hectic city bellow. The wind took
a drastic change in direction as it head for Maggie, causing her long
skirt to flutter around her ankles wildly.
"It's tranquil out here." Maggie said, getting closer to the white lounge
chair where Jake lay happily. Boo shot up from Jake's side and ran
towards her, Atticus following close behind. She picked up Boo from the
floor after petting Atticus under the jaw and kissed him on the head.
"Hi, baby. Hi." Maggie pressed her nose against Boo's ear and spoke
tenderly.
"Don't baby him." Jake said, knocking off the burning embers from the
cigarette onto a small black ash tray resting over his groin.
"I'm not babying him." Maggie complained. "I'm not babying you, am I Boo?
No, no. I'm not." She nuzzled her nose against the small black and wet
nose of the puppy in her arms. Maggie pushed Jake's feet off the end of
the chair and took a seat, handing the Puggle back over to Jake.
"Is Peter here yet?" Jake asked, taking Boo and holding him close to his
chest while blowing plumes of smoke into the air.
"No, not yet. Why? Are you coming with us?"
"Just asking."
"Come one Jake. Come with us. It'll be fun. You can invite Christian to
come along."
"No thanks. Plus I think he might be busy today."
"Busy with Randy?" Maggie questioned.
"Unfortunately."
"Even more reason for you to come. I'm sure Peter won't mind."
"No. I'm okay." Jake confirmed. "Anyways, Peter's been planning this day
for ever so you two go and have fun."
"Are you sure? I don't want you staying here all alone."
"Maggie, I'm fine. Trust Me. I'll be okay." Jake smiled. "Plus I wont be
alone. I wont be in the house for much either. I think I'll call Mike and
ask him if he wants to hang out or something. It'll be fine."
"Okay."
Silence took them by surprise.
"I got to thinking last night. You know, about Peter and Kate." Jake
broke the surface.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, I think I'm going to tell Pete."
"Yeah? When?" Maggie asked.
"Tonight. Maybe when you guys get back." Jake replied.
"Why so soon? Are you sure you don't want to wait a while?"
"No, I'm long overdue. It's getting to the point where I want to shout it
in peoples faces. Sometimes I get really paranoid and start thinking that
everyone secretly knows." Jake smashed the cigarette into the ash tray
and looked Maggie dead in the eyes. "It's becoming too much. To tell
someone would be a sigh of relief don't you think?"
"What about Kate?"
"There's absolutely no question there. I have to tell her or else she'll
be left thinking there's something going on between us."
"Hate to say I told you." Maggie teased, grinning victoriously.
"Yeah, the older sister's always right. Seriously though, Kate is someone
I really admire and love because she's so understanding and I think it'll
be easier to come out to her, you know what I mean?"
Maggie stayed quiet, only nodding her head in agreement but spoke later,
"Well, I'm sure Peter would understand too. He can be a little tough to
talk to at times but you two are close so he'll completely get it."
"Yeah." Jake began to drift into a fantasy about how Peter would react to
the news about Jake's lifestyle. He pictured Peter yelling and throwing
around words like "betrayal" and "disappointment" at him then rushing out
of the house. Jake was brought back down to reality when Maggie pat his
bare knee.
"I'm going inside." She said while standing up off the end of the lawn
chair and fixing herself. "I'm proud of you, Jake. This is a really big
thing you're going through and I'm ecstatic that you're being so bold
about it. I'm just... I'm extremely proud." Maggie wiped a small tear
away from her bottom eye lid and smiled.
"I love you, Maggie." Jake beamed. Maggie smirked and walked into the
house.

Later that day, Peter arrived to pick up Maggie and take her out to begin
the special evening. Jake saw them farewell as Peter and Maggie board
Peter's small silver car and drove away from the driveway. Jake was
beginning to have second thoughts about coming out later on but knew he
had to go along with the plan if he wanted to feel like he belonged in
his skin. In order to get his mind of things for a while, Jake picked up
the phone in the living room and dialed Michael's phone number in hopes
that Mike could help get his mind off of the upcoming events. Mike picked
up soon and Jake asked if he could meet him in half an hour at their
favorite restaurant so they could hang out. Fortunately Michael was free
and agreed to do what Jake asked of him then they hung up the phone.

Jake walked out of his house and locked the doors after grabbing his keys
and half empty pack of cigarettes from the kitchen counter then made his
way down and out of the large gates keeping the house safe from the
outside world. He stroll down the sidewalk merrily, noticing the small
details in the world like the way shadows created by trees and shrubs
resembled figures or the way the dead leaves on the ground danced and
flutter about when the wind blew swiftly at his ankles. The traffic
became worse the more Jake moved forward into the main street. The
weather was much too perfect for anyone to spend their day inside a house
or room as they would be missing the magic the day brought to the world.
Jake inched closer to the restaurant he would be meeting his friend and
butterflies began to flutter inside his stomach. He didn't know exactly
why but they were there. He moved passed the establishment window and
noticed Mike sitting on the other side, sipping on a small glass of ice
water. Jake knocked on the window in order to get Mike's attention and
signal his arrival. Michael smiled and waved then rushed him inside. Jake
walked into the brightly lit place and skipped on ordering anything since
he wasn't really there to eat.
"Hey!" Michael stood up from his seat and hugged Jake roughly, patting
him firmly on the back. "What's going on? Long time no see."
"Yeah, I know." Jake smiled and took a seat on the empty chair on the
other side of the small table Michael sat behind. "How've you been?"
"Good, you?"
"Good, yeah. Were you waiting long?" Jake asked.
"No, several minutes. So what's new?"
"Nothing much. I just thought I'd call you up to hang out seeing as
Maggie and Peter totally ditched me earlier."
"Did they?" Michael asked, believing Jake.
"No, I'm kidding."
"Do you want to order something or...?"
"What? No, no. I'm not hungry."

After an hour or so of talking in the restaurant, Jake and Michael exit
the place and walked around the streets for a bit. First they hit West
Hollywood, taking time to look around the small fashion and book stores,
buying small nick knacks here and there but nothing too costly. They took
their time, enjoying the time they've put on hold for a while. Jake
completely forgot about everything when he was having fun and that's just
what he needed now that so many hectic and surprising things have been
going on in his life. Of course, Michael knew nothing of what Jake was
going through so he was completely oblivious to the fact that Jake was
going through some life changing situations. Jake and Michael spent most
of the day together, walking around Los Angeles as if they owned the
city. As night fell, they became hungry and restless, not having eaten
any lunch the entire day so by this time both their stomachs were
growling in starvation. Jake suggested that they go back to his house so
he could cook something and Michael agreed. They rushed home before the
sky completely blackened and arrived a short while later even more hungry
than ever. Peter and Maggie were still not home from their daylong date
so Michael situated himself in the house living room then briefly helped
Jake prepare a plate of food in the kitchen. The atmosphere in the
kitchen was friendly and comical due to the constant laughter and smart
comments coming from both men. They were suddenly brought back to their
childhood memories of pranks and tomfoolery. Once dinner was ready and
served, Jake and Michael sat down in the dinning room table and enjoyed
the fruits of their labor.
"Where's your sister?"
"I told you, she and Peter went out to some place to spend the entire day
together." Replied Jake, whipping his lips clean with the corner of his
white napkin.
"You didn't want to go?"
"Nah. I figured they'd want to be alone so... I mean, Maggie asked me to
go but I said no."
"It's probably good you didn't go." Michael smiled, setting up one of his
corny jokes.
"Why's that?" Jake smiled, feeling the cheesy pun coming on.
"Well, they're probably shacked up at a motel six somewhere trying to
make a mini Gyllenhaal." Michael smiled wide. Jake burst into laughter
and almost spit up the food he had in his mouth but managed to keep
everything in with help from his napkin.
"Very funny." Jake huffed. "Since when are you such a fucking comic?"
Both men's laughter began to slowly and surely wither away as the night
died down. They gathered around the television set when they finished
their meal and watched a few minutes of T.V. before Michael had to run
and go home for the night.
                                      +++

Maggie and Peter arrived home late. Maggie insert the house key into the
key hole above the front door knob and turned it clockwise to be let
inside the dark home. They stepped inside the warm house and flipped the
front lights on to be able to see clearly through out the halls. Peter
walked into the living room and was met with a late night surprise.
"Maggie, Maggie." Peter whispered franticly.
"What?" Maggie hissed quietly, dropping her bag onto the kitchen table
and noticing the dirty plates left out in full view. She turned and
walked into the living room illuminated by the dim light coming from the
big television screen. "What is it?"
Peter nod his head forward, signaling Maggie to look ahead. Maggie's eyes
traversed across the room to the long sofa couch and saw Jake sleeping
soundly on the cushions. An insignificant smile appeared on her face as
she gently tip toed over to her brother snoozing a few feet away. Maggie
bent down and kneeled besides Jake's resting body and ran a hand over the
area above his left ear then stood erect to look at Peter in the kitchen.
"Looks like he had company tonight. There are pots and pans everywhere."
Peter said.
"Yeah. Come on, let's pick up." Maggie and Peter began to clean the table
and wash the dishes used and afterwards Peter gave Maggie a kiss and head
outside to his car. While Maggie did some last minutes cleaning, Jake
slowly came to, opening his eyes ever so slightly and sitting up in the
soft couch he lay on. For a moment blinded by the T.V. light but his
vision became clear after rubbing his eyes with the tips of his fingers.
"Maggie?" Jake called.
"Yeah?" Maggie came out from the kitchen.
"You're home. How was the date?"
"It was great. Peter took us whine tasting and we had dinner at some
fancy and really expensive restaurant. Everything was amazing."
"Sounds like fun." Yawned Jake.
"Yeah, it was. And umm... Peter asked me to marry him" Maggie walked into
the living room and took a seat besides Jake.
"What?"
"Yeah, look." Maggie held out her hand to show Jake the diamond band
Peter had given to her when he got down on one knee in the middle of the
entire restaurant.
"Jesus Christ! Congratulations!" The two leaned in and hugged tightly.
"So everything went perfectly then?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
"No, Peter hasn't asked me to marry him yet." Jake teased, smiling
crookedly.
"Very funny." Maggie laughed.
"No, I mean, I called Mike and we hung out for a bit. I bought a few
things and then we came back here and made dinner."
"That explains the mess Peter and I cleaned up."
"Yeah, sorry bout that." Jake scoffed and ran a hand over his head.
"Wait, Peter's gone?"
"Yeah, he is."
Jake became concerned about not being able to tell Peter what he had been
waiting to tell him the entire day. But then again, some relief came into
play. "But I was going to..."
"Don't worry. There's still tomorrow." Maggie smiled sweetly, assuring
Jake. He nod his head still half asleep and returned the smile. Jake
didn't want to say anything then but in fact he was happy that he was
going to have to wait until the next day to tell Peter his big secret.
Deciding to give himself time to practice.
"Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning."
"Yep."
Jake stood up from the couch and head upstairs. The way up seemed longer
than it actually was since Jake was still drowsy and tired. It felt to
him as if he was moving in slow motion and his weak knees didn't help
make the situation better. He got to his room and shut the door behind
him before letting himself fall onto the bed sheets and falling asleep,
not bothering to pull back the bed covers and getting under them
________________________________

Hello! Well, it took me for ever to get this up here since I've been busy
with the future parts of this story but it's up now and I hope you all
liked it. I'm not going to make this long so thank you for readng and I
hope you all are well and joyous. Feel free to email me with any regards
you may have. Talk to everyone soon!
-Chris