Copyright 2001. The following story is a work of fiction, and the rights of this series belong to its author. If you are breaking one or more of your local laws by reading this, don't read any further! There are many other interesting and non-threatening places on the web to visit. Warning: this story has generally bland depictions of homosexual sex :P If this is not what you are searching for, keep sifting the archives, as there is something there for everybody.
This chapter is the continuation of a story begun a long time ago on a particularly lonely evening sometime between my January birthday (I'm and Aquarium) and Valentine's Day. I had just moved to the Tampa Bay area from Gainesville, FL and left seemingly everyone I knew behind including a boyfriend who just didn't know what he wanted. As a way to stop thinking about the sad stuff I decided to make up a story where things work out for someone I could relate to; wishful thinking, I know, but surprisingly therapeutic.
I am frequently amazed at the quality of first time authors whose work I read in Nifty; until recently I just didn't have the courage to submit this, a story which served a purpose and needs to be brought to conclusion. Unfortunately, I don't know where the story is headed, so it's sure to end up somewhere else!
Chapter 2. Morning has broken-
My sleep was peaceful and I woke to the soft touch of lips against my face. Jase was gently kissing me to wakefulness and I felt his hard strength pressed against me. I have awakened almost every morning over the last three years to the same bright blue eyes and the same hard insistence throbbing against my leg, waiting for me to make the transition from dreams to reality.
Rewarding Jase with a quick kiss of my own, I turned on my back and stretched so hard I could feel every muscle and tendon holding my body together. Jase took his cue and became my blanket; rolling over on top of me his warm, erect self nestled against my own. His eyes almost touched mine as our foreheads came together.
"I love you, Jase," I said with the feeling I should have given him last night.
"Por nada, Zach, apology accepted," I heard as he began breathing into my ear, tracing its outline with the tip of his nose. I dug my fingers into his shoulder muscles; my elbows gripped his sides.
"Jase, let's be naughty and stay in bed for once."
"You know we can't, sunshine", he replied as he adjusted our positions and began a gentle massage with one hand. "You know your sister would drag us out of bed and down the stairs yelling at us all the way." I chuckled, momentarily imagining that scene and feeling the warm sense of completeness Jase's nearness brings to me. Nothing could ever worry me as long as Jase is here, I think, but I remember the strangeness of the night before. Coolness suddenly hits me at my center, where Jase has applied a dab of lubricant and is working it in with his fingers. I reach blindly to my left, looking for condoms in the nightstand drawer, but with no luck. Growling in sudden exasperation, I leaned over and pawed through the contents of the drawer trying to free one condom from a chain of them with only a single hand.
Jase started laughing. "You never used to have that problem, babe-you want me to peel it for you?" I looked at him through narrowed eyelids while I used my teeth to rip one loose. "Hmmph," I muttered, spitting out the wrapper onto the floor. "I'm the only guy here with a hand to spare." Jase smiled and withdrew his fingers while presenting himself to be covered; his shaft stood away from his body at a sharp angle as he kneeled over my chest. I sat up slightly and nuzzled it with my lips and cheek, then rolled the condom on. Jase's head was tipped back, and he sighed contentedly. "No one could make me feel the way you do, Zach-I love you always." He lowered himself over me and then I felt him enter. His lips brushed mine and I opened to him, kissing him passionately as we made love.
Later, I am downstairs hosing down the cobblestones, thinking of how hot it is likely to get today, and worrying about the flowers I have planted in the boxes under the windows along the street. The building has a small, sunken courtyard along one side and in this area of uneven brick pavement we have several tables set out. Two old elm trees stretch upward and outward like a pair of friendly, leafy green umbrellas. Ivy grows wild along the tall wrought iron fence standing sentinel to the street beyond. It is altogether the perfect place to forget the noise and crowds of the city, a haven where friends can stop and enjoy a quiet moment together. This is Jase's favorite spot, too, and he loved it the moment he saw it.
A delivery truck is at the curb, its driver unloading his crates and nodding at me in hurried greeting as he passes with his dolly. I smile in turn and wave from where I stand; his grin is a welcome sight every morning as I prepare for the coming day. My hands are occupied as I sort through the flowers at the window front picking spent blossoms.
Jase loves plants, and got me hooked as well by giving me a small potted palm for `company' back when we first met in college. Today that palm is as tall as either of us, and leans companionably against the window in our bedroom. Once I realized how easy it was to grow things, I began filling up every available nook with greenery, much of it outside. I like the way plants soften the lines of the building and sidewalk, and add color to an often-dreary urban landscape. Flowering vines drape the edges of the roof on the street and courtyard sides of the building, with window boxes to the street adding more splashes of color. Jase also helped me assemble a freestanding swing and slat-roofed shelter on the roof screened with potted shrubs and hanging baskets. Many nights we find ourselves together gently rocking and looking for those few stars bright enough to be seen past the glow of city lights. The air-conditioning equipment nearby groans and rattles as it adds heat to the typically warm night breezes; I like to think of its droning noise as the city's equivalent of crickets.
The delivery truck shifted its gears and pulled away from the curb, startling me with its sudden rush of noise. Outside chores done at last, I coiled the hose in its little box against the wall then shut and locked the lid. My hair chose that moment to fall forward into my eyes; I ran a hand through it in irritation, sweeping it back in a single gesture.
The small brass bell attached to the doorframe tinkled as I let myself into the shop. "All done?" Jase asked from behind the counter, where the morning preparations were nearly complete. Kara bustled past with her son Chris to walk him down the street to school; at eleven, he was learning to skate pretty well and kept us all busy juggling work and chaperoning his activities. Jase went back to threatening the espresso machine with dire consequences if it didn't stop leaking on the counter while I-thinking to myself that life was pretty good-put on my apron and went back to flip over the `closed' sign on the door.