Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:02:28 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 31 If you're under the legal age, homosexuality offends or is illegal in you're area. Close and shoo! Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal, nor do I know or claim to know his sexuality, preferences, fingerprint layout or relationship status. This work is fiction. Chapter 31: "No!" Chris grunted as he slammed his hand down on the snooze button, "I don't wanna!" Jake began to slowly pull himself out of the bed before he was quickly dragged back by Chris. "I don't want to get up, and neither do you." Chris pouted. Trying to break free, Jake whined, "If I don't get up now, I will miss my flight, and you will be late for work." "That's the idea." Chris moaned. Jake sighed, "You're making this difficult." Managing to flip his body around so he could face Chris, he finally negotiated, "Fine, 5 minutes more, then I'm throwing you out the door." "You can't do that!" Chris pouted. "It's my apartment." Quickly kissing Chris on the forehead, Jake whispered, "You're really not a morning person, are you?" Chris frowned, "I am when my boyfriend is fucking out of town for like weeks!" "Aww," Jake responded. "I have to actually do some work though. Who knows, I might surprise you with something too." A short time later, Jake finally dragged Chris out of bed and into the shower. Once they were both done, he dragged him into the wardrobe, where Chris dressed himself for work and Jake pulled on a grey sweater and a dark pair of jeans. "Will you call me?" Chris whined Jake smiled, "You're so cute. What gave you the idea that I wouldn't?" Chris shrugged and blushed. "I don't know. I'm just missing you already." He knew this was part of dating of Jake, but he still didn't like it one small iota. "I'll call you as soon as I land, okay?" Jake responded as he placed his arms around Chris and waddled with him into the kitchen. Grabbing Jakes hand, Chris examined the ring on his finger, "What are you going to do with this?" "Right, I forgot about that." Jake whispered. He had gotten used to wearing the ring constantly, but flying to a major film festival would mean thousands upon thousands of photographs taken of him. Letting go of Chris, he quickly grabbed the thin chain that was dangling around his neck. Pulling the clasp open, he slid the chain off before pulling the ring off his finger. "I feel naked now." "Well this is so it feels less naked," Chris replied as he gently kissed Jakes naked finger. Grabbing the ring out of Jakes hand, he slid it onto the chain before reattaching it around his neck. "Now you're close to my heart." Jake replied with a loving smile. Pulling him into a passionate embrace, Chris finally accepted the moment. "I guess you should be going." He then grabbed his keys and belongings and headed towards the door. "You're leaving now too?" Jake asked. Chris shrugged, "I might as well." Locking the door behind him, he followed Jake down the stairs. "I haven't really got anything keeping me here today now." "You're really making this difficult." Jake sighed. Following him down the stairs, Chris responded, "I guess I picked up Jewish Guilt somewhere, doubt it's working though." Once inside the basement, Jake pulled Chris into another kiss. "I think you're an expert at it actually...." Jake continued to navigate Chris towards their cars before kissing him once more, "You need to go to work." "Yeah," Chris sighed. "In a minute, I just want to get maximum Jake time." "Fine, a few more minutes." Jake replied. "Then I have to go." Chris moved his head so he could look Jake in the eye, "You're really dying to get away from me, aren't you?" "What?!" Jake exclaimed. "It's tearing me apart you idiot. You're just making it difficult, you keep acting adorable." "Well, fine." Chris conceded. "I guess I will see you in a few weeks then." Sighing from Chris' hurt tone, Jake grabbed his head and kissed him sloppily. "You're so cute." He then hugged him tightly and whispered, "I love you Chris." "I love you too," Chris replied. "Have a fun trip." After letting Jake go, he watched as Jake opened the door and slowly hopped into the car. Closing the door, Jake immediately started the engine and allowed the window to retract. "I'll call you as soon as I get in, okay?" Leaning in to kiss Jake goodbye once more, Chris responded quietly, "Okay, have fun." Gently running his hand along the hairy jaw line in front of him, Chris sighed and allowed Jake to place the SUV into reverse. Waving mournfully at Chris, Jake switched the car into Drive and slowly made his way out of the parking lot. And then he was gone. Unlocking his own car door, Chris hopped inside and leaned his head on the wheel. Letting out a sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. He was missing Jake already. ********* *************** ****************************************** "You going to finish that garlic beef thing?" Chris asked as he spied the half empty box next to Lana's own lunch container. Pushing it over to Chris, Lana replied with a mouthful of noodles, "Go ahead." Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Spinning the chair slightly, Chris called out, "It's open!" As the door opened, he smiled as he saw who it was. "I got the results here for you." Chris continued to smile, "You didn't have to drive all the way here for that Michael." "I had to bring some other stuff up anyway," Michael replied shyly as he stood in the doorway. "So I thought I'd personally drop these off." "Come on in," Chris responded in a slightly chipper tone. "We were just talking about men." Nervously Michael entered the office and closed the door. "If you don't mind." He then nervously stood by the door, "I don't feel like heading all the way back just yet." Noticing he was being extremely rude, Chris finally spoke up. "Sorry, Michael, this is Lana. Lana this is Michael, from San Diego." Standing up, Lana shook his hand before excusing herself, "I need to get back to work, I'll see you later." "Nice to meet you," Michael replied, still slightly nervous. Once she had vacated the room, he looked over at Chris. "So, how are you?" Chris shrugged. "Getting there, I guess." Gesturing for Michael to take Lana's seat, he continued, "And what about you?" Taking a seat, Michael smiled at Chris, "Tired, and dreading the trip back." "So, you drove all the way up here?" Chris enquired. "Well someone else did," Michael responded as he glanced over the various Chinese food boxes scattered on the table. "I don't know how long they will be." He then looked Chris in the eyes, "What did you mean when you said you're getting there? What happened?" "Jake left town today..." Chris sighed. "It sucks, I miss him already and I'm not sure when I will see him next, which makes it worse." Grabbing another piece of beef with the chopsticks, he shoved it into his mouth before holding the box out to Michael, "You want some? It's good." Michael shook his head, "Not really, it looks revolting." "Your loss," Chris shrugged before continuing to eat the beef. "So what's new with you?" Breaking the awkward silence, Michael replied, "I've been pretty busy with work, but I'm looking forward to the weekend." Chris nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it. Have you got anything planned?" "Not really, I was thinking about coming back up here," Michael continued, "Not exactly sure what I will do on my own though." He then looked sheepishly at Chris. Taking the hint, Chris smiled, "Well, if you need someone to hang out with, I'm free all weekend." "Sounds good to me. I'll find a hotel somewhere and come up Friday night." Shaking his head, Chris interrupted, "I would offer you my spare room, but I don't have a bed in there at the moment." Throwing the empty box into the trash, he continued. "You're more than welcome to crash on my couch if you want." "That's so kind of you!" Michael responded with glee. He was about to continue when Chris' mobile began vibrating across the desk. "Sorry, I should let you get that." Chris smiled, "You don't have to leave," He then picked the phone up and answered the call. "Yeah, I will see you tomorrow night." Michael commented as he stood up and waved. "Okay, see you then!" Chris then turned his attention to the call, "Hey gorgeous, how was your flight?" "Long, but I managed to get a toy on board." Smirking from Jakes statement, Chris traced his finger around the writing pad on the desk. "Oh yeah? What as it?" "Oh a pair of Air Canada wings, I'm wearing them right-excuse me for a minute." "Sure," Chris replied as the span the pen around on the desk and listened into the conversation. "Natalie was it? It's nice to meet you, there you go." Chris continued to listen in. "Thanks guys!" He then returned his attention back to Chris, "Sorry about that." "It's Okay," Chris whispered. "Can I run something by you?" "What is it?" Chris swallowed nervously before continuing, "Well, Michael is going to be coming up for the weekend, I offered him the couch, and the bed when I move it into the guest room." He sighed briefly, "I wanted to check, are you okay with that, or should I tell him to get a hotel?" "As long as he doesn't try and funny business, I'm fine with it." "Great!" Chris exclaimed with glee. "I love you so much." ****** ************************************************ ***************** "I'm home!" Chris announced as he entered the door before realizing he was home alone once more. Sighing, he waddled past the couch, ruffling Boo Radley on his head. "It's okay boy, I'll look after you while your Dad's away." Making his over to the coffee table with the shopping bags in his hands, he sat down in front of the couch and gently pulled the wrapping off the picture frames. Picking up the small pile images that had been taken during the movie night, Chris found the main image he was searching for. "I love this one," Chris whispered to the animals as he prized the back off the frame and slipped the photograph inside. He then closed the back of the frame and flipped it around. He smiled once more as he admired the photograph of him in Jakes arms on the couch, kissing him on the cheek. He then set to work framing a few other photos including one group image of all the guests from the night before piled onto Jake and himself. Task completed, he rounded up all the plastic and cardboard from the packaging and threw it in the recycling before making his way into the bathroom to quickly shower. About 45 minutes later he finally padded his way out of the bedroom smelling squeaky clean and still slightly damp. Heading over to the couch with a pillow in one hand and a white folded sheet in the other, he placed them on the coffee table and sat down. Searching for the remote, he reached over and picked it up, turning the screen on. "He's bound to be on one of these channels." Chris muttered as he began channel surfing. Finally finding a recap of the Toronto Red carpet events, he threw the remote on the table in front of him and grabbed Jakes sweater. Chris had pulled the sweater out of Jakes section of the wardrobe the night before. It still smelled faintly of Jake, and it was exactly the thing Chris needed while he was separated from his man. Pulling his knees up towards his chin, Chris draped the sweater over them and rested his cheek on the surface, trying desperately to mimic the feeling of Jakes warm body. He then turned his attention back to the red carpet. Still unable to see Jake, he sighed before noticing the intercom system buzzing. Throwing the sweater over his shoulder, Chris stood up and padded his way over to the wall. He then pressed the button. "Hello?" "Hey it's Michael!" "Hey man, I'll be down in a minute!" Chris responded, realizing he still hadn't checked his mailbox that day. "Sure," Michael replied calmly. Switching off the intercom, Chris grabbed his keys and made his way out the door and down the stairs. A short time later, he arrived at the front gate. He unlocked the handle and pulled the gate open. "Hey, come on in." "Thanks for letting me crash here," Michael commented, stepping through the archway. Chris smiled, "It's not a problem." He then padded his way down the short path to the mailboxes. After unlocking his box, he grabbed the mail and secured the lock once more. Making his way back to Michael, he then continued, "Come on up." Following Chris up the footpath, Michael smiled with glee as he watched Chris bounding up the stairs towards the third floor door. Finally, Chris arrived at the door and began to unlock it. He then pushed it open. "You're place looks so much better than mine." Michael commented shyly. "It's not much really," Chris responded, slightly distant. "My ex built it, so I kinda got it for a good deal after we broke up." Standing aside to allow Michael to enter the building, he continued, "It's nothing compared to Jakes place, but he keeps telling me he thinks this place is like home to him." Michael stepped through the small hall into the main living room, it was pretty well lit, but slightly messy, and obviously, Chris had been camped out in front of the TV before he got there. There were a few photo frames on the table, and on the couch was a grey sweater, along with a blanket, throw rug and pillow. "So where does Jake live when he's not here?" Sorting through the various bills, Chris pointed listlessly towards the Hollywood hills out the window, "Oh somewhere over there, up in one of the canyons." Continuing to sort through the plethora of useless bits of mail, he suddenly spotted a letter with a Canadian postmark. He immediately threw the other bills on the table and tore the envelope open. "So, what are you watching?" Michael asked as he stood by the couch. Looking up from the half-opened envelope, Chris smiled nervously, "Sorry! Take a seat, I didn't mean to be rude." He then looked at the screen, spotting Reese walking up the red carpet, "Oh it's the premiere thingy for Rendition." Michael took a seat between the pillows and sheets and looked over at Chris, who was obviously engrossed with the letter he had received. "That's the movie with Jake Gyllenhaal isn't it?" He then looked back at the screen, "Oh there he is. My god he's gorgeous..." Immediately staring at the screen, Chris sidled his way over and sat down on the couch. "He's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen, especially in that suit...." Looking over at Chris, Michael smirked as he saw him smiling like a small child on Christmas morning. Looking back at the screen, Michael saw what Chris was staring at. Chris sighed as he watched Jake flashing everyone a trademark smile. "Fuck, look how lovely he looks tonight." "Something tells me you have a bit of a crush on him," Michael replied before he looked over at Chris, noticing there was a small tear creeping out of Chris' eye. "Are you okay?" He asked as he turned slightly. Wiping the tear away from his eye, Chris finally responded, "Can you keep a secret?" ---32 soon--- Thanks Nick, you managed to pester me into putting this up earlier! I love hearing from you guys, via email chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com, via msn/aim and via the webgroup! I could just hug you guys all night, some especially more than others. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Another cliff hanger...dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnn. Okay, bed time for me I think! I'm angry. Don't y'all hate being stood up? Love you all, Chris