Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 22:43:33 -0700 From: Alan A. Subject: Jake Grimke The College Years Chapter 2 NOTE: This is the fictional story of Jake Grimke's senior year at the University of Virginia where he is a standout D1 lacrosse player. It contains genuine and fabricated representations of his life on the Charlottesville campus and interactions with some of his old Severn High friends, new ones from campus and his Maryland parents. All of the characters in this story are fictional and resemblance to any one person whether dead or alive is purely coincidental. If you liked or disliked this chapter, please share your feed back. I have a rough idea where this is headed but I am always open to some suggestions. The kitchen in the Grimke house was silent now, John and Emma sitting on their patio enjoying the last of the wine as Jake ended his call to Jose with a "see you in an hour or so and you better have some clean clothes for church tomorrow." Jake found his plate warm with a generous portion of roast chicken, his mother's sausage-cornbread stuffing and an orange and green heap of broccoli and carrots. He stuffed a knife and fork in the back pocket of his jeans before grabbing a glass of water and carrying the plate of food out to the patio table where his parents were sitting. "So?" John asked as Jake attacked the pile of food on his plate. "I'm going to Baltimore tonight and talk with Jose, face to face; man to man," Jake said, with a smile before adding, "with my big boy pants on, which will stay on while we talk." "And we will you at St. M's at 11:00 a.m; correct?" Emma tagged on with a last swirl of the wine in her glass. "Probably almost 100% certain if I knew there was going to be a gluttonous Sunday brunch afterwards," Jake hinted. "We can walk over to Copra afterwards," John said, referring to the restaurant in the historic Belvedere hotel not far from St. Michael's. "Do you think Jose will be coming too?" Emma queried as she finished her wine. "Oh yeah, confidence is high," Jake said with his winning smile as he got up to carry his plate back into the kitchen before heading up stairs to wash the day's funk off his body. Although it was still "his" bedroom, Jake felt like a stranger in it; perhaps because it was no longer really his room. He peeled off the long sleeve tee shirt and folded it loosely to be repacked in his overnight bag for the trip back to Charlottesville in less than 24 hours before gazing into the big mirror on the inside of the closet door to his childhood clothes. Jake Grimke topped out at an even six feet but his body was much more manlier than the last time he stared in that mirror. His once lean swimmer body had seriously bulked up across his lightly hairy chest and down his arms due to the strength conditioning mandatory for the Cavalier lacrosse players. His suntan that once never completely faded when he was a teenage swim champion was almost already gone. And the strawberry blonde hair that used to bleach blonde in the summer had morphed into a darker shade of reddish rust brown that he always kept short, just like his father's. His old room also seemed so much smaller than before he had left for college as he hunted in all the old familiar spaces for a clean pair of Under Armour boxer briefs, no-show socks and a fresh pair of cargo shorts before heading down the hall for a quick shower and shave. Once he was dried off, he went back to the closet and found suitable clothes for church and stuffed black socks in his black shoes before heading downstairs to pack the last of his items in the Saab before his jaunt to Baltimore. Out on the patio, he hugged his father good bye who reminded him, "Listen son, don't force it, remember the relationship takes priority over the outcome." "I know what you are saying Dad," Jake replied, "I love you. I'll see you in the morning." "Good bye baby boy," Emma cooed in his ear again, "I expect to see both of you in church tomorrow. We love you Jake." "I love you guys too," Jake said breaking the embrace, "I'll call when I get to FIJI." And with that, Jake Grimke began his second trek to Phi Gamma Delta in Baltimore; texting his course of action to Evan Harmes before parking in front of the frat house this time since there were less parking restrictions. As the late summer sun began to set, Erik Priest and some of his purple clad brothers were tossing a football on the commons green fronting the different Greek houses. Jake closed up the Saab's convertible roof and called home to let his parents know he had safely arrived. "Think fast Grimke!" Erik yelled, firing the ball at Jake's chest. Jake easily caught it and with a less than perfect spiral, sent it back to Erik before he turned to step up to the sidewalk in front of the fraternity house. Erik passed the ball to the knot of FIJI men and ran back towards the house, "Jake, man, hey, wait up," Erik shouted. The lacrosse player stopped in his steps to offer a shake and a hug, "Hey Erik, sorry I wasn't very cordial this morning, the whole thing kind of through me for a loop." "It's cool, I really felt bad about the whole thing, from start to finish," Erik added, "and just a heads-up for you, Jose is pretty torn up about this too; and if you want my two cents..." "Might as well, I've been getting advice all day," Jake said. "Listen Jake; Jose's world revolves around you, I think you know that. What you saw this morning was not his A game, he knows it, you have to trust me on that. He spends more time telling me about how great his life and your lives together are going, all the things you are going to do; he's at his best in those moments and at his worst when you can't be near him. That's his weakness Jake, he craves being with you and sometimes when you aren't around, he does what he did." "So, how often does he do what he did?" Jake asked Jose's pledge brother. Erik answered, "In all honesty, maybe once a semester." "We're pretty early into this semester, Erik," Jake replied. "You were gone most of the summer between your internship and the lacrosse camps you were coaching down there," Erik reminded him of his extended summer absence. "You're right, I didn't even factor that in," Jake admitted before looking up to see Jose approaching in a purple polo shirt and khaki shorts, flip flops with his courier bag slung over his shoulder and carrying a single red rose. "Hey bro," Erik said, giving Jose a quick hug before returning to the commons, "I'll let you guys talk things over." "I'm sorry," Jake started, "I over-reacted." "Me too, Jake, I'm really sorry," Jose replied and with a nod towards St. Paul Street, Jose suggested, "ice cream?" Jake nodded approvingly and then at the rose, "that for me?" "Yeah, wish I could give you a million of them," Jose gushed. "We never really planned for this, did we," Jake said trying to open the conversation. "No, I kind of hoped it wouldn't have happened but I get so lonely Jake-O, so damn lonely without you around," said Jose; pausing to fight back a tear, "I miss you fiercely when you are gone for so long. The last time I saw you was right before you started your internship and then boom, you were go, go, go; internship, lacrosse camp or a trip to Annapolis to see Evan." "I'm sorry, I"m so sorry I didn't try to make more time for you this summer," Jake offered apologetically. "I want the best for us, I'll do my part, I swear I will and I know Jake Grimke will do more than his fair share; you hear me Jake-O?" Jose asked, stopping to squeeze Jake's hand before they crossed St. Paul Street to 31 Flavors. "Loud and clear," Jake replied with a firm squeeze of Jose's hand before they dashed across the street in a break of traffic, "I hear you loud and clear." The bells on the back of the ice cream store rang as they stepped in and formed into the line leading up to the counter. "You want a scoop of coffee-Oreo in a cup?" Jose asked quietly. "How'd you know? And your favorite is the flavor of the month!" Jake said. "Are we good now?" Jose asked, wondering all of sudden if the intervening 12 hours didn't really happen. "We're good, you are always going to be my Jose," Jake said, remembering his father's advice about relationships and outcomes as he placed his hands on Jose's hips from behind before whispering in Jose's ear, "I love you." "You are spending the night, right?" Jose asked as they got their ice cream. "Yes and the `rents are expecting you in church tomorrow, with me," Jake said, "and I think I scored us a decent brunch too." "Very cool," Jose said, his big brown eyes, olive skin, raised cheek bones and huge white toothy smile all working together to trigger Jake's memory of their first meeting after the Christmas concert at Children's Medical Center. "What's in your courier bag, what's your big project this term?" Jake asked as he scratched the bottom of the paper cup with his plastic spoon. "Actually, something perfect for Baltimore," Jose said, "re-gentrification of urban neighborhoods." "Sounds messy," Jake said. "Not really, it's been happening in Washington, D.C for the last couple of decades, even during the economic downturn," Jose started to explain, "DC is always going to have the federal government as its industry but if there could be a new, clean industry here in Baltimore, then it could happen here too." Jake looked puzzled as he tried to put the pieces together, "what sort of clean industry?" "There's tons of medical research and development, large medical schools, teaching hospitals; maybe some high-end biotech research. Look at Bryant working on his master's in bio-mechanical engineering," Jose gushed, "Maryland is willing to throw some decent seed money to get things started if there is a decent plan." "How is Bryant?" Jake asked steering away from the technical aspects of Jose's studies. "He's great, he asks about you all the time," Jose said with a smile and clasp of Jake's hands across the table. "Back to your place?" Jake suggested. "Oh yeah," replied Jose with his big lusty grin, "oh yeah." They walked back to Phi Gamma Delta, pausing for Jake to grab his overnight bag and his church clothes out of the Saab before heading up to Jose's room. As a senior and chapter officer, Jose rated a single suite. The bulletin board above his desk was a pictorial archive of their lives together, snapshots dating back to Jake's high school prom, pre-induction barbecue with Evan and the rest of the Severn gang, their first trip to New York City and a number of functions that both attended at each other's schools whenever possible. Jose locked the door to his room while Jake hung up his church clothes before their lips met in a long awaited passionate kiss. "I promise I'll make more time for you Jose," Jake said after the first kiss waned. Jose nodded, squeezed Jake's hands, "I know, I promise I'll never stray again, I couldn't stand myself this morning when I saw how hurt you looked." Jose leaned down and kissed Jake on the head and then stood up, found his iPhone and connected it with the paired Bluetooth speaker next to his bed before scrolling through his playlists, clicking on his revamped "Make Out Music" and letting Anita Baker's Sweet Love start before stripping off his polo shirt and planting himself on top of Jake who was now horizontal on the full-sized bed. Jake's hands began to explore Jose's body that was in even more incredible shape since they met, the "freshman fifteen" long banished and machined into lean muscle. As the kissing continued, Jose eased Jake out of his shirt, shorts, shoes and socks until they were both cuddling with each other, alternating between top and bottom and wriggling under the covers as the house air conditioning system powered through its cycles. "Sorry, no candles, house rule," Jose said. "It's okay, we still got some rose petals," Jake said, grabbing the single stem Jose gave him earlier in the evening as he remembered Jose's welcome home from a bad family vacation before he left for UVa; "I got you Jose and so many beautiful memories of us." "Make love to me and then hold me all night," Jose begged; tearing the stem from the petals and throwing them around each other. Jose reached for the lube in the drawer of the nightstand next to his bed as Jake slid off his boxer briefs and then slid Jose's white Calvin Klein briefs down his dark muscled hairy legs and threw them on the floor. The lacrosse player took the tube and smeared its contents liberally on the two places where it mattered most before arcing his lover's kneecaps to his pecs and entered gently after a minute of teasing the entrance with his head. Almost as soon as he penetrated, he pulled out before going back in slower, feeling the one-time soccer player's insides grip his lacrosse stick. Even though the room was almost black, there was enough light for Jake to read Jose's eyes and the see the affirmative nod to continue. Jake proceeded, inch by inch, slowly, allowing Jose's insides to accommodate and tolerate the increasing depth and speed of Jake's muscular thrusts. Jose's hands reached up and cupped Jake's face, bringing his lips close for a deep long kiss as the thrusting reached a sustainable pace, driving over Jose's internal pleasure spot repeatedly and vigorously as their motions rocked the bed's wooden headboard rhythmically into the wall. As sweat dripped from Jake's arms and pecs on to Jose under him, their kiss broke long enough for Jose's eyes to marvel at the body mechanics of the finely tuned lacrosse fuck machine pounding away over him. Jake's efforts were encouraged by Jose's moans which evolved into a sustained primal groan of pleasure that faded only long enough for Jose to inhale more air to sustain himself. "Oh Jake, take me there," begged Jose as soon as he could manage to form a cohesive phrase, lifting his head off the pillow to kiss any part of Jake his lips could reach. And that was all it took to make Jake's powerful muscles twitch and drill deeper into Jose who had now draped the back of his knees over Jake's shoulders. Jose grabbed wads of the fitted sheet in his fists as the moan turned into a series of whimpers before his body began to shake with the pleasure of losing any form of self-control to another man. "Oh my God, Jake, oh my God," Jose let loose in hushed screams as he unwadded the sheets and grabbed the lacrosse player's lats just as Jake was about to have his orgasm wash up on Jose's beach. "I love you Jose, I will always love you," Jake smiled, a big tear dripping down onto Jose's cheek before planting a fresh deep kiss with his tongue doing the butterfly through Jose's mouth. Jake collapsed on top of Jose and they panted together, each trying to kiss each other, their abs and pecs smeared with a mix of their sweat and Jose's ejaculate. The kisses continued until Jake withdrew from Jose and repositioned himself, rolling Jose to his left side and then sliding up behind him on his left side also, his crotch against the small of Jose's back. He slid his left arm past Jose's head and pulled Jose's back snug against his chest, holding it there with his strong right arm. "Mmmmmm, Jake, that's perfect," Jose whispered, "don't move an inch." "I won't, I got you, I always have, I always will," Jake said reassuringly before they both drifted into blissful sleep to the songs on Jose's playlist. Always the light sleeper, Jake could hear some of the other FIJI brothers stirring as the morning sunlight streamed in the window. He lifted his head high enough to glance at the dive watch on his wrist, 8:44 a.m., plenty of time to gently wake up Jose who was never a good morning person. Jake extracted himself from the cuddle position and shuffled off to the bathroom shared with the adjoining single suite to relieve himself. On his way back to the bed, Jake grabbed his iPhone and checked the messages. Only one was a text from Midshipman Harmes "How did it go?" "We're good, I'll call later. A&4VR" "A&4VR bro." Jose sat up, and reached around Jake, "Evan?" "Yeah, my brother from another mother," Jake said tossing the phone into his bag. "You tell him what happened?" Jose asked stretching, getting up to go take his own leak. "Yeah, and Mom and Dad," Jake confessed. "Who doesn't know?" Jose asked. "That's it," Jake said before adding, "Ev may have said something to Annie while we were at the Navy game but I doubt it, he knows how to keep a secret." "John and Emma gonna give me the nth degree or nasty looks this morning at church?" Jose followed. "Nah, you should have heard Mom in your corner though and Dad was totally Switzerland, being all neutral and stuff," Jake said, "just telling me to think it through, just like Evan did." Jose turned and opened the closet to find Jake a clean shower towel, "Like you Jake, they are all good people, my world would drastically shrink if you weren't in it." "I'm not going anywhere, and if it's any consolation, I get pretty freaking lonely too," Jake said as they wedged themselves into the shower stall together. Jose lathered up Jake's hair and then his own before lathering Jake's body, Jake just trying to make room for Jose to work before he did the same to Jose. They finished showering and drying before slipping into khaki pants, button down shirts and black dress shoes for church and brunch with the rest of the Grimke's and probably Evan's mom Annie. They walked together to St. Michael's, one of the older Episcopal churches in Baltimore and down the center aisle, finding John Grimke sitting with Annie as Emma sat at the console of the Moller organ in the chancel organizing her music for the service. A few rows behind the Grimke pew sat Janet and Fred Hanford and not far away was John Grimke's big boss, Carson Whitelaw, now chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department and his wife Charlotte. As the boys sat down, John and Annie each gave Jose a church-whispered yet warm and friendly greeting just as Emma began the light Bach prelude and the choir massed for the processional hymn. After the prayers, sermon, Holy Communion and the blessing, Emma let loose with the opening notes of "O God Our Help in Ages Past", a stalwart hymn of the Anglican church with Jake singing most of the words to the six stanzas from memory. Knowing Jake was in the congregation, she pulled a few extra stops engaging the trompette en chamade during the final stanza, pausing for a glorious A-men before launching into one of the congregation's favorite short but powerful postludes: Eugene Gigout's Toccata in B minor. By the end of the toccata, Chief Whitelaw and his wife had worked up to the Grimke pew and were greeting everybody while they waited for Emma to hang up her gown, gather up her music and lock up the console. "So, is Evan still trying to get into flight school," Charlotte asked Annie. "Oh yes, hopefully complete his initial training in Pensacola and then move over to helicopters," Annie replied, almost as knowledgeable of the intricate training requirements as Jake. "And the wedding plans?" Charlotte followed up. "At the Academy Chapel after Commissioning Week," Annie continued, "Jake is going to be the best man; those are the only two certainties right now." Emma walked up, giving Jose a maternal hug and kiss, just like he was her own son. John and Carson were having a sidebar conversation that was probably more fire department related than anything to do with the upcoming Ravens game that would start at 4:00 p.m. Jose talked with Annie and was introduced to the Hanfords just as Jake began to organize an exit strategy out of St. Michael's and on to brunch. After shaking hands with Father Lowery, Annie Harmes joined the Grimkes and Jose for brunch at Copra. If Evan had said a word about what happened, she didn't mention as neither did John or Emma. In fact, most of the conversation centered on how close all of them were to graduation and what their life's plans might be for the near future. As brunch finished, Annie gave Jose and Jake a quick good bye and then stepped aside to let John and Emma say their good byes too, first to Jose and then of course to their son Jake as they walked their separate ways, Jose and Jake towards Hopkins, Annie, Emma and John towards St. Michael's. "I love your family,' Jose reminded Jake. "I know, they love you too, Annie does; even Evan," Jake said. "Ev's your best friend ever, like Bryant and I," Jose added as the red Saab came into focus in front of Jose's fraternity. "Listen, we hit a pretty big speed bump together, we went over it together, we got knocked around a little; maybe a lot. Maybe one of us should have seen the signs on the road warning us and said something but we didn't, we both missed it for whatever reason. It happened Jose, it can't unhappen; I can live with it but I can't live with it happening again," Jake said, the tone of his voice giving notice of how serious he was. Jose clasped Jake's hands as they got to his car, "it won't happen again. I love you Jake." "You know the train goes from Penn Station to Charlottesville, why don't you come down," Jake said. "I'd like that, I'd like that alot Jake" Jose said with a flash of his smile. Jake moved in for a good bye hug, "please don't ever hurt me like that again; if you get an urge like that please call me; promise?" "I promise, you're the best Jake, I love you tons," Jose said, wiping his eye. "I love you too Jose, say hi to Maria and everybody else too for me, please," Jake said unlocking the car and sliding into the driver's seat. "I will" Jose said with a much bigger smile on his face than the last time Jake left. Author's note: If some of the relationships portrayed seem deeply developed, chances are they were established in the prequel Jake Grimke series found in Nifty's High School section.