Date: Thu, 14 May 2015 18:31:35 -0600 From: Jesse Hamill Subject: The Love of Rainn - 6 Jesse Hamill April 20, 2015 This is a love story between two consenting males and contains sexual themes and graphic depictions of sexual acts. It is by no means a sex story, and focuses on the relationship and romance first. This is also work of fiction. All characters in this story are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This is my first work for Nifty and any criticism, comments, improvements or thanks can be directed at jesse.hamill88@gmail.com. I appreciate all the comments and support that I've received so far, so thanks readers! Remember to please donate to nifty.org to help keep these stories free. We depend on your support, and even a small donation will do! * * * * * * * * * The Love of Rainn: Chapter 6 Rainn didn't see Jesse at all during the rest of the week. The school had decided to upgrade their network and internet connections, so Jesse had no way of getting online for his web classes. He only showed up for gym, and then went back home to work online there. Rainn felt kind of down about not seeing him at school, but refused to call him or text him either. He didn't want Jesse weirded out by Rainn bothering him everyday. So, instead he focused all his time into his artwork and looked forward to their date-- err...no... their *plan* to hang out on Friday. The week dragged on though, and put up a good fight, but it finally ended as Rainn took the bus to get to work at the diner Friday afternoon. It had rained everyday that week and he didn't feel like getting wet. On the plus side, Mark had detention everyday and there had been no sign of him before or after school. Better still, Rainn looked forward to seeing if Jesse was going to show up for his usual patty melt and fries. As Rainn walked into the diner and donned an apron, he saw Emily in an extremely good mood. "Hey, you! I have exciting news!" she told him, when they had a minute to talk. "I'm getting married!!" Rainn knew that Emily had been dating Todd, a business major at their college, for some time now. He smiled and was happy to see Emily so excited. "Hey! That's great!" Rainn said. "Congratulations! When's the big day?" "We don't know yet. We're still deciding!" she said. Emily, still excited, went on to tell Rainn how the proposal happened. Todd went through all sorts of trouble getting reservations at their favorite restaurant, a surprise violin serenade, and the whole down-on-one-knee-in-front-of-the-whole-restaurant proposal. "I still have the roses... awww, Todd's the best," Emily said. "Rainn, it was just so... magical, you know? Like a dream." She was holding three long stemmed roses in an elegant vase. It somehow seemed familiar, so he took a look at the card to see "Flowers by Diana" written on the back. "Hey, I know that place!" Rainn said. "That's where Jesse and his mom work!" "What? Who's Jesse?" Emily, asked. "He's the guy that comes in every week, sits over there," Rainn said pointing out Jesse's spot. "You know..." "Wait a minute.... Patty melt guy? You know his name?" she asked, perplexed. "...Wait. How do you know his *mom*!? Details mister! I need details!" Rainn explained what had happened to him last week as he walked home. How he meet Jesse, how they texted in the library, and when they hung out in the flower store. "I can't believe he talked to you! I thought maybe he had some sort of mental thing, you know, like he was a psycho, or something..." she said. "He's NOT psycho!!" Rainn said, a little hurt. "Just... a little distant... Shy, like me." "Sorry! Didn't mean to insult your new best friend... or..." she began, mischievously, "...is he *more* than a friend?" Rainn blushed and turned away from her. Somehow she knew all of his buttons and how to push them. "I like him... I know that for sure, but we're just friends," he said after regaining his composure. "I think he's straight." "Well, we're going to figure that one out right now," she said pointing to a familiar face taking his seat at the end of the counter. Rainn's heart started beating fast and his stomach was in knots. "Wait... what??" he asked her, a little panicked. What was Emily up to? "Here," she said, handing him an ticket book. "Go take his order." "Nooo!" Rainn replied, cringing at the ticket book she forced into his hands. He liked Jesse and didn't want to press his luck in one of Emily's little experiments. "Yess!" she said copying his tone and giggling. "Relax! He always orders the same thing, and what's the worst that could happen?" "That he'd hate me..." Rainn mumbled to himself. She wasn't going to let it go, so he casually walked over and asked Jesse what he was having. "Hey! Long time, no see! What, you lost my number or something?" Jesse asked. "No! It's just... that... I..." Rainn was looking into his hazel eyes. There were those flecks of gold... "Yeah? ...You still here on Earth?" he asked, smiling. "Sorry! I don't want to... bother you... in case you were busy or something..." Rainn finally managed. "Nah, I'm never really that busy," he said. "But, I was bored all week thanks to you!" "Sorry!" Rainn said, genuinely apologetic. "Nah, I'm just messing with you..." he said. "You know my order, right? Patty melt, fries, iced tea?" "Right!" Rainn said, jotting down the order in a nervous, jittery hand. "Chocolate glazed donut and black coffee after?" "Exactly. Thanks Rainn!" he said, smiling. He shakily took the order to the kitchen then made his rounds filling iced tea and clearing off tables. The whole time Emily was watching Rainn and Jesse, smiling and thinking to herself. "I think your `friend' over there likes you..." she teased. "Hey! Mind your own business!" Rainn replied, his face red again. "Seriously!" she said. "He's never even looked at me or in my direction. But, with you he's like, `Why haven't you called me? Don't you love me anymore Rainn?' " she said, mimicking Jesse's voice. "Shut it!! He's going to hear you!!" "You're too cute!" she said giggling. "We're not done yet. We have more tests to conduct." Rainn cringed inside. *Great! Now what's she going to make me do??* She just smiled and went back to her tables. Rainn heard the bell in the kitchen window and Carl calling his name. He jumped, not used to being a waiter, and went over to get Jesse's order. He rearranged some of the fries and tried to make the plate a little neater. "Just take it to the counter, Rainn!!" Carl, the cook, bellowed. Rainn nearly dropped the plate as he retreated from the kitchen. He paused for a second, trying to put on a little courage and went back to the counter where Jesse was waiting. "Here you are," Rainn said setting the plate down. He filled Jesse a tall glass of iced tea and brought out some lemon wedges and sugar packets. "Wow, what service!" Jesse said, smiling. "You might get a good tip." Rainn just smiled before returning to his rounds. He refilled glasses and cleaned up a bowl of soup someone dropped. As he finished mopping up the mess, Emily grabbed him and walked him back to the counter. "What're you doing?" he asked. "Proving a point," she said, "just watch." She walked down to the other end of the counter and took a stick of red lip gloss out her pocket. Using the window as a reflective surface, she put on the gloss, slowly and sensually. She ran the applicator slowly around her bottom lip, watching for a reaction from Jesse, who was sitting inches away from her. Rainn just watched, gaping mouth hanging wide open. Even though he couldn't believe what she was doing, Rainn watched anxiously to see what Jesse would do. Jesse was busy going back and forth between eating his food and writing things down in his composition notebook. Rainn thought he saw Jesse glance up at Emily for a split second, but his expression was hard to read. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't interest. Emily, noticed that Jesse wasn't looking, and stopped. She started putting her lip gloss away when she dropped it, rather noticeably. "Ooops! So clumsy!" she said in a sexy voice that wasn't her own. She bent down and picked it up from the floor, taking her time and making sure Jesse had enough time to get a good look. Rainn was in a frenzy inside, wanting to laugh, slap Emily, and watch Jesse all at the same time. A nearby crash made Emily stand up and straighten herself out. Apparently, she was putting on a show and caused the dishwasher to drop half a dozen plates on the floor. Carl yelled out from the kitchen, and the dishwasher went to clean up his mess. "Sorry!" he told Carl for the tenth time. "I was distracted." Emily shot him a murderous look before returning to Rainn. "So, did he... you know... look?" she said, blushing a little. "Nope, he didn't even bat an eyelash," Rainn said. "You know that doesn't prove anything, right?" "I know nothing of the sort. But, we're still not done!" She smiled and went back to her tables before Rainn could protest. Rainn grabbed a broom and helped the hopeless dishwasher sweep up the broken plates before returning to the counter to check on Jesse. He finished his food and Rainn cleared his plate promising to return with his donut and coffee. The diner was famous for its home cooking, breakfast being the most popular. However, they had a fanbase for their homemade raised doughnuts from the in-house bakery. Rainn took the plate to washing station in the kitchen before returning to the bakery case. He wanted to pick out the best, most perfect doughnut he could. He found a larger one towards the back of the case and placed it on a small dessert plate with care. He took it to the counter and was in the process of pouring a mug of coffee for Jesse when he heard another crash. "Sorry Rainn!" It was Emily. She had knocked the plate off the counter, doughnut and all. Rainn shot her an annoyed look as he went back to get a broom. *That klutz! What was she doing at the counter anyway? The only person there was Jesse and I already took his order!* When he got back, he noticed that the doughnut had rolled its way underneath a stool that Rainn didn't remember being there before. He bent over to pick it up and swept up the shards of the broken plate. He tossed everything and went back to the case to get a new doughnut. He picked out another one, irritated at Emily because it was a little smaller than the first. Rainn poured a fresh mug of coffee and brought them back to Jesse. "You weren't kidding about it being messy here, Rainn," Jesse said as Rainn brought him his dessert. "People are dropping stuff left and right." "Yeah, there a big case of butterfingers all around today." With that he smiled and walked back to where Emily was standing. Rainn was going to make her apologize for ruining Jesse's perfect doughnut. "Sorry! Jeez!!" she said, laughing. "I didn't know you had a wedding ring in that doughnut!" "Shut it!" he said hushing her. Did Jesse hear that? Why was she talking so loud? "Besides, I know something that you don't know..." she said in a children's song-song mockery. "That your a klutz?" Rainn asked, sarcastically. "No! I mean about your friend over there..." "Huh? What about him?" As she whispered it in his ear, his face got red. "He did NOT!" Rainn interjected. "He did, too! He got a real good look while you were getting the doughnut out from under that stool!" "Oh... my... god..." Rainn said softly, his heart beating fast. Then he turned to Emily, "Wait a minute... you put that stool there??" "Maybe..." she said smiling. "He got a little red when you were cleaning up the plate, too!" "You better not be messing with me!" he said, giving her a cold look. He couldn't take this kind of torture. Was she lying or telling the truth? Did Jesse really...? "I swear!" she said, laughing. "You should look at your cute face right now! You look like you won a sweepstakes!" "Stop it!" Rainn said back. "I'm being serious here! Don't lie to me!" "I'm not!!" she said giggling. "Here, I'll prove it to you." She took out her phone and started browsing through her pictures. She stopped when she got to one of the diner counter. There was Jesse sitting in his spot, looking down at Rainn with real interest. Jesse's face was a little bit pink. "Oh my god, Emily! You have him on YOUR PHONE?!" Rainn said, a little hysterical. "Shhh! Calm down, your making a scene!" "You gotta erase that! He'll kill me!" "He will not. He's in luuuve with youuuu!" she said, teasing him. "Erase it! Erase it!" Rainn nagged her, anxiously. He kept looking around to see if Jesse was looking at him. "Okay! Okay!" she said, dropping the photos into a little digital waste-bin. "There. Better?" she asked. "No, not really! What's the matter with you!?" he asked. "Are you crazy??" "Hey! I was just as surprised as you are!" she replied. "He just kept staring and staring... Finally I had to get out my phone for photographic proof." Rainn was just stuck there, blushing and lost in thought. Emily was watching him and just kept smiling and smiling. *Oh my GOD!! Was he looking at me? At my... butt? I think I'm going to pass out! I just need to breathe, Rainn thought to himself. Just breathe...* Finally she said, "Earth to Rainn! Come back to us!" "Huh? Sorry!" he said. "I was lost in thought..." "I saw," she said. "Opens up a lot of possibilities doesn't it?" "...yeah, I guess..." he started, "I still can't believe you did that, though! You're a lunatic!" "You say that now, but you know you love me for it," she said, slyly. "Do you guys have plans after work?" Rainn panicked a little inside. *How could he have forgotten!!?? Jesse was coming over today!* "Uh... yeah, I think..." he said slowly. "You *think*?" she asked. "I mean yes!" Rainn said, snapping back to reality. "Oh crap, now I might be too nervous... Should I cancel on him? Say I'm sick or something?" "No way!" she said. "You deserve to be happy, too! You're going to make your move tonight, that's what!" "Noooo!" he pleaded. "Oh yes!" she said. "What's the worst that could happen?" "That he hates me forever." *Wait a minute... déjà vu. Didn't he already say that?* "Oh get real. He's obviously got the hots for you. You were basically groped by his eyes earlier." "Stop talking about it!" he said, blushing furiously. "It's true! Besides... you guys would make a cute couple," she said sweetly. Rainn gave her another cold look, but he saw that she really meant what she said. "You think so?" Rainn asked, sheepishly. "Oh yeah. You're cute, he's cute, what else do you need?" she said. Rainn just blushed. "I still don't know Emily... what if... what if he..." "Oh no, stop that. You gotta listen to me," she said, motherly. "He likes you! Really likes you! You have to take a chance if you want true love, Rainn. It's the only way. You have to let him know how you feel." "I... can't. I'm too..." She grabbed him and stared into his green eyes. She hugged him close and he felt tears building up in his eyes. "I never want to hear that you `can't.' It doesn't suit you," she whispered in his ear. "Trust me. You don't have anything to be afraid of." She let him go, smiled at him and returned to her tables. He went to the bathroom and wiped his eyes, calming himself down before he went back to his rounds. His shift would end soon and he still felt like having Jesse come over although he was more nervous than ever. Emily seemed like she was telling the truth. Did he having anything to fear? Did Jesse feel the same way he did? Rainn could only hope so. He thought about ways of telling him how he felt and was afraid to hear the truth. He could hope that if he didn't feel the same way, they could still remain friends. Rainn had done that before. But... if he said he did... that he liked Rainn... what then? Rainn was more afraid of that than a rejection. After he calmed down a bit, he returned to his shift. As Rainn went to the counter, he saw that Jesse was still sitting there, waiting for Rainn to finish. He waved to him and smiled. Rainn waved and smiled back, but inside he was writhing in indecision. He felt his heart and mind in chaos, and battled to keep his emotions in check while he made his last rounds. As his shift ended, he went over to where Jesse was sitting. "You ready to go?" Jesse asked kindly. For a second, Rainn wasn't sure how to answer, so he just nodded. "Okay, let's go," Jesse said grabbing his books and his bag. "I brought the jeep, so we don't have to walk today. It's raining pretty hard out there." Rainn followed him to the jeep and got in. They drove off, as thunder rolled overhead and lightning flashed on the horizon. * * * * * * * * * Author's Note: Okay, readers! I'm asking what your opinion is for the rollout of new chapters. I've had emails in favor and against two chapters a week. Some readers think they might not be able to keep up and fall behind and others can't get enough of the story and want more. Write me and let me know what you think! I'll make my decision next week in the new chapter. My email's at the top, and thanks for reading! ***Special thanks to Ash, my new editor. You make it possible for me to write even more and the readers and I appreciate your hard work.*** Copyright Jesse Hamill and nifty.org 2015. All rights reserved.