Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 08:10:57 +0000
From: Chris Salter <chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com>
Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 43

If homosexuality offends, it's illegal in your area, or you're underage,
leave now.

Disclaimer: I don't know Jake Gyllenhaal, nor do I claim to know his
private life. This work is fictional.


Chapter 43:


Completely frustrated that the press conference ran over an hour longer,
Jake was fuming in the back seat of the town car on the way to the
restaurant. After being caught in further traffic snarls, he ended up
arriving at the restaurant just before 11.

Making his way inside, he was greeted by the host.

"Good evening Mister Gyllenhaal." The man muttered in a nonchalant
tone. "Table for one?"

Jake swallowed nervously realizing he'd been spotted immediately. It didn't
help he was wearing the same outfit from the press conference. "No
actually, I'm meeting a friend, the table was reserved under Salter."

Flipping through the notebook for a moment, he suddenly closed it, "He's
already here, I can show you to the bar, or to the table."

"Table will be fine." Jake replied as he was led through the restaurant
towards the back.  There were quite a few less people in the restaurant
now, as the night was obviously winding down. Finally, the host brought
Jake to a dimly lit table in the back corner of the restaurant.

"Someone will be with you shortly." The waiter murmured before remembering
Jakes guest was in the bar.

Jake smiled and looked nervously around the restaurant. No one seemed to
care that he was there, only the host, who seemed to be getting hot under
the collar.

A few minutes later he smiled as he saw Chris strutting himself through the
restaurant to the table. Standing up, he warmly hugged him. Not wanting to
overly affectionate in public, he quickly released him from the hug and
whispered, "Hey baby."

"You're late." Chris smirked.

Indicating for Chris to sit against the wall, Jake took his seat and
smiled. "And you're drunk."

Chris shook his head, "I'm not. I'm just tired."

As his body was completely blocking the view of the table from other
patrons, Jake gently grasped Chris' hand and stroked his knuckles. "I'm
sorry baby. The conference went overtime." Noticing Chris had something on
his mind, he decided to enquire, "What's wrong?"

About to answer, Chris quickly pulled his hand away as he noticed the
waiter approach the table.

"Evening guys. What can I get you?" The waiter asked as he pulled a small
digital pad from his back pocket.

"Can you give us five minutes?" Chris asked, looking up at the dimly lit
figure.

Shoving the pad back into his pocket the man smiled, "Sure, not a problem."
Wandering off, he allowed them a few more minutes of privacy.

Silently flipping the menu open to scan the items, Chris squinted to try to
read the fine print.

Jake looked over at Chris, he looked worried about something. Deciding to
bring it up later, he too began looking through the menu. "The chicken
looks good."

"Yeah I suppose." Chris replied distantly. "I'm not that hungry, maybe the
salad I guess."

Suddenly the waiter reappeared once more with the pad, "Sorry guys, the
kitchen is closing soon."

Jake looked up, "That's okay, I think I'll get the chicken, and Chris, you
were going to get the salad, right?"

"Yeah," Chris replied. "Sounds good to me."

"Excellent," The waiter responded as he keyed in the right commands into
the touchpad.  "Shouldn't be too long, but can I get you something to
drink?"

Chris looked at the bottle of water on the table, "I'm fine with that."

Jake smiled and nodded in agreement, "Me too."

"Great, well shouldn't be too long."

Watching the waiter walk off, Jake turned his attention back to
Chris. Gently stroking his hand again, Jake enquired, "Had a bad night?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, I kinda had a fight with Sarah."

"I'm sorry." Jake replied. "Do you mind if I ask what happened?"

"It was about you actually......" Chris answered softly. "I was defending
you, but she kept picking your actions apart."

"You mean Friday night?"

Nodding again, Chris explained, "Yeah, I was pretty pissed off and woke her
up, I guess she sees me as coming to her every time we hit a rough spot."
He sighed, "She doesn't know about New York yet, I'm not looking forward to
her reaction."

"It's a shame." Jake replied softly. "I really don't want you to have to
choose between your friends and me."

"I'm moving to New York with you, aren't I?"  Chris said with a cheeky
grin. "I think I've made my choice."

Jake sighed, "You shouldn't be like that."

"I know." Chris replied with an innocent smile. "I'm just annoyed tonight,
but now I'm here with you, the night is picking up again."

"Aww..." Jake whispered as he gently stroked Chris' hand for a moment
longer before Chris quickly pulled away. He then noticed the waiter
returning earlier than expected.

Appearing at the table, the waiter smiled. "Yours was the last order, so
they got it out pretty quick." Placing the food down on the table he smiled
again, "Have a good night guys."

Jake turned to the waiter, "Thank you."

Silently Chris picked up the fork and waited for Jake to do the same before
spearing a piece of greenery.

Breaking the awkward silence, Jake downed the glass of water in his hand
and looked over at Chris, "So are we really going to do this?"

"Do what?" Chris asked, slightly confused.

"We're really going to move in together, officially?" Jake continued, "Or
is it just a hopeful dream?"

Chris smiled innocently at Jake, "I'm serious about it, and who knows,
maybe when we officially get a place together I will actually meet some of
your friends."

"You've met Reese and Pete." Jake replied. "Those two and Maggie are the
most important people in my life."

"Gee, thanks." Chris responded cheekily.

Playfully swatting Chris' hand, Jake explained, "You're the most important
person, but I'm sorry if I've shut you out of my friends. I just don't want
everyone picking fault with you."

Chris sighed, "I can defend myself you know."

"I know," Jake whispered. "Actually I was going to introduce you to some of
my friends the other night."

"I'm just teasing." Chris defended. "I know you were going to. I just feel
left out of some things in your life. Like tonight."

Quickly losing his appetite, Jake began pushing the chicken around the
square plate.  "Sorry," he apologized. "I'll make sure to invite you next
time."

Chris smiled with joy, "I'd love that." Then, lowering his voice, he
continued, "I love you."

"Me too." Jake responded quietly. As Chris' infectious yawn caught onto
him, he gently aligned his knife and fork on the plate. "I think I'm ready
for bed."

Nodding his head in agreement, Chris aligned his own fork and smiled at
Jake. "I'm pooped."

Standing up, Jake looked over at Chris, "I'm going to sort out the check."

"Okay." Chris replied as he stood up, "I'll come with you, and then we can
go."

Leading Chris through the now almost vacant restaurant, Jake approached the
host and settled the bill before heading out onto the street. Walking with
him towards the car Jake smiled as it was a rare occasion where he was out
somewhere without the media sniffing around. "You okay?" He asked, looking
over at Chris.

Chris nodded, "Yeah, I'm just exhausted."

"Do you want me to drive?"

"Nah." Chris shook his head. "I'll be okay. You've had a long day, plus
it's my turn to drive you."

As Chris unlocked the doors Jake immediately jumped into the passenger seat
and closed the door. He was exhausted too, but he felt sorry for Chris, who
had to be up in less than 6 hours. Waiting until Chris had pulled out into
the street; he leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "I'm going
to speak to my realtor tomorrow."

"Oh yeah?" Chris asked as he waiting in line to turn at the
intersection. "About selling your house?"

Jake nodded and turned the radio up slightly. "I think my place might be
harder to sell, so I might as well get started on it early."

"What happens if it sells immediately?" Chris asked again.

"Well," Jake whispered. "It's not like I've been spending much time there
anyway, I will miss the backyard."

Chris smirked, "You mean the place you hide and smoke?"

"Yeah." Jake nodded. "It's a great place to relax too, out by the pool, in
the sun."

"I suppose it did look nice." Chris joked. "I'm sure it will sell in no
time." Turning to look at Jake, he noticed his eyes were closed and his
head was leaning on the window.  "Poor baby...." Chris muttered as he
turned the radio down and drove the rest of the way home in silence.

About half an hour later Jake was aroused by the feeling of someone gently
shaking his shoulder, he smiled when he realized who it was. "Mmm I'm awake
now."

"Good!" Chris yelped. "I was afraid I was going to have to carry you home."

Jake let out a small chuckle as he peeled himself out of the seat. "I kinda
like that idea."  Sticking his tongue out briefly at Chris, he continued,
"But you're a weakling and I don't think you could carry me."

"Funny." Chris grumbled as he swatted Jake gently. "Come on, I want to go
to bed."

"Okay, I'm coming." Jake groaned as he stumbled his way with Chris up
towards the apartment. Climbing the stairs was growing ever more exhausting
and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed with Chris.

Finally reaching the landing, Chris fiddled with the lock and pushed the
door open. As Jake passed through Chris quickly followed and pushed him
against the wall. Playfully slipping his tongue into Jakes mouth, he
giggled as he felt the growing mound within Jakes pants. "I want to play
with this," He muttered as he grabbed Jakes crotch, "But I need to get up
early."

Jake pouted and put his arm around Chris, "I know. But tomorrow night
maybe."  Grasping Chris' butt, he led him towards the bedroom. "I think you
should take tomorrow off."

"I can't!" Chris groaned as he peeled his shirt off. "I want to stay home
with you, but I also need to work."

Pulling his own shirt off and throwing into Chris' laundry basket, Jake
sidled up behind him and pressed his bare skin against Chris', "That's not
what I meant. I meant you look exhausted."

Pulling Jakes arms around his waist, Chris sidled with him into the
bathroom. "I am, but if I take time off, that means I have to make up for
it later."

"Things should get better soon, right?" Jake asked as he was handed his
toothbrush.

Chris nodded his head. "I've nearly completed that case. Then I should have
a bit of freedom." Shoving the toothbrush in his mouth, he mumbled
something to Jake as he began rubbing his neck.

"Your neck hurting?" Jake asked with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Yeah, it's killing me. I might have go take something." Chris replied as
he spat out the toothpaste from his mouth, rinsed it and turned to briefly
kissed Jake on the cheek. "I'll see you in bed."

Jake smirked and continued brushing his teeth. As he looked in the mirror,
he smiled as he saw Chris peel off his jeans and began wandering the
bedroom dressed in only a pair of shorts.

Chris burst out of the bedroom and looked over at the clock; it was getting
later and later.  Continuing on his trek to the kitchen, he began searching
through his stash of medicines for some muscle relaxants. "Ah, there we
go." Chris muttered as he popped out two pills and swallowed them with a
glass of water. He then padded his way back into the bedroom, switching the
lights off in the process.

"Now that's a sight I will never get sick off." Chris muttered as he saw
Jake pulling his jeans off.

Padding his near naked body over to Chris, Jake wrapped his arms around his
man, allowing their chests to come into bare contact again. "And I hope you
never do get sick of it." Kissing Chris for a minute, he finally pulled off
and grasped his hand, dragging him to the bed. "How's your neck now?"

Sitting down on the bed, Chris pulled Jake down with him and kissed him on
the nose.  "Still sore, but it should be okay soon."

"Aww." Jake whispered. "Turn over and lay on your stomach....."

"Okay?" Chris asked as he followed Jakes instruction. He wasn't sure what
Jake was about to do. His eyes widened when he saw Jake reaching for the
drawer containing the lubricant.

"Do we really need these anymore?" Jake asked as he pulled out the condom
packets. He then grabbed the bottle and closed the drawer.

Chris painfully shrugged his shoulders. "Can't hurt. I've had them in there
for a while."  Watching Jake pouring some lubricant on his hands, his
heartbeat increased slightly.  What was Jake going to do?

"Don't worry Chris; I'm not going to have my way with you tonight." Jake
continued in a calm tone. "This is the closest thing I knew you had."
Moving so he was straddling Chris' back, he leaned down and kissed Chris'
sore neck muscle before taking his thoroughly lubricated hands into a deep
massage.

Groaning from relief and slight pain, Chris rested his head back down onto
the pillow and closed his eyes. He loved the feeling of Jake straddling his
back, he loved the feeling of Jakes warm, soft hands caressing his skin,
and most of all he loved the attention his boyfriend was giving him.

"How's that now?" Jake whispered into Chris' ear.

Chris smiled warmly while keeping his eyes closed. "Much better. Thank
you."

"I love you." Jake whispered into Chris' ear again as he continued to work
with the tense muscles.

Moaning slightly from the touch, Chris mumbled into the pillow, "I love you
too Jake."

Continuing to work his hands down Chris' back, Jake smiled as he watched
his facial expressions turn from an expression of slight discomfort to an
expression of relaxation.  He was obviously asleep.

Jumping off his back, Jake pulled the bed covers carefully from under
Chris' body, before pulling them back over both of their bodies. Then, with
one careful movement, he pulled Chris up so his head was resting on his
chest and wrapped his arms around Chris' back, holding him tight. Nuzzling
his nose into Chris' hair, he smiled and closed his eyes.


-44 soon-

I hope you liked that. Some interesting things to come, and I just finished
writing Chapter 50 last night. So rejoice!

I love hearing from you guys, you're all great! chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com
is where I'm at if you want to drop me a line.

Hope all is well with you guys. I care about you all.

Chris