Michael and Jake

Disclaimer: I do not know, nor do I claim to know Jake Gyllenhaal, nor do I know or claim to know any other celebrities that may wander through these pages, and I do not know, or therefore mean to imply, any knowledge of their personal lives and/or their sexual preferences. This story is a work of fiction. The character of Michael is my own creation, and therefore any use of him outside of this story cannot be done without first gaining my permission. If you are under the age of 18, or you are bothered by the prospect of a homo-erotic relationship between two men, or it is illegal for you to be reading this where you live, then I highly recommend that you go and find something else to read on another web-site. There, I think that that takes care of the C.Y.A. part of things.....

And now, on with part one of The Christmas Miracle....

Paul's POV

"What are you thinking?" I asked Michael as our plane circled on its final approach into L.A.

"I'm thinking about how much I'd rather be anywhere else in the world at this moment than right here," he replied.

"Hey, you'll be fine. I'd think for as many times as you've been to the Daytime Emmy's you'd be an old pro at handling The Red Carpet. For everything else that was going on at the time, I think you handled Cannes like you had been there a million times."

Although he was looking out the window, I could tell his brow was furrowed, and I was immediately sorry for what I said.

Right before we had all gone to Cannes, Michael had found out that Jake had cheated on him with Reese Witherspoon. To this day, I still don't know what went down at Maggie and Peter's apartment that afternoon, but whatever it was, it was bad enough to land Michael in the lounge of Jake's hotel, which is where I found him, drunk off his ass, but still managing to, in no uncertain terms, tell the guy that was trying to pick him up, thanks, but no thanks! It was at this point that I decided to intervene, with much gratitude from the bar-tender, and took him up to my room. I got us inside, and closed the door, and the next thing I knew, Michael was all over me, mumbling incoherently. The only thing I did manage to catch was, "Why couldn't I have met you first?" just before he plastered his lips over mine, and started fumbling with the front of my pants.

"Okay Michael, you need to stop this right now! You're drunk!" He had me out and was stroking me to full hardness.

"Why should I? He didn't stop with Reese!" he said as he looked up at me with those green eyes of his, his gaze never leaving mine as he dropped to his knees in front of me and I was engulfed in the sweet moist heat of his mouth. My knees almost buckled from the feeling!

Sliding his lips back up, he released me long enough to say, "different from Jake....Longer, not as thick.....I like it," before he dove back down and began wetly mouthing my cock for several moments before he took me all the way in and I was lodged in the back of his throat. His eyes met mine once more, and he began swallowing on my cock. The feeling was incredible!

"Oh god!" I shot instantly, streams of white spooling down his throat.....

When he was sure I was finished, he released me. I was glistening in the dim light from the lamp across the room, and still hard as a rock! He stood up and turned to go into the bedroom, pulling off his clothes as he went.

By the time I reached the bedroom, he was laying naked on top of the bed, legs spread, knees bent, feet flat on the bed-spread. I quickly got undressed and went and knelt between his thighs, my hands stroking his legs from calve to hip. I pulled his legs out and pressed his knees back against his chest. We were both breathing heavily as I positioned the head of my dick at his opening. Michael let out a contented sounding sigh, and I looked up at his face.....He was asleep.....

Letting out a sigh of my own, I got off the bed, and moved Michael up to the head of the bed where I pulled the covers out from underneath him and covered him up before grabbing my boxers off the floor and an extra blanket and pillows out of the armoire before heading back out into the living room where I pulled my boxers back on and then made sure all the lights were off before stretching out on the sofa to go to sleep.

I'm not stupid by any means.....I'm sure that somewhere in the back of his mind there was a tiny little voice egging Michael on and telling him that Jake had had Reese, so what better form of revenge than to have sex with Jake's ex, who also just happened to be the first guy that his Jake ever had sex with? Sleep didn't come easily that night....

I woke up early the next morning and sent Michael's clothes out to be freshened, and then settled down to wait for him to wake up. It was almost noon before I heard him stirring about in the bed, and then he let out a groan. I got up and walked to the bedroom doorway. He was sitting up on the side of the bed, head held in his hands, feet on the floor. I cleared my throat, and his head snapped up.

"Paul! I-Did we-Where are my clothes?" he managed to stutter out. The gentleman in me came to the forefront.

"We got up here, and you took off your boots, and then made a mad dash for the bathroom. You made it in there, but didn't make it to the toilette in time, so I stripped you, got you cleaned up, and put you in bed. I sent your clothes out to be cleaned. Why don't you grab a shower. I'll have some coffee waiting for you when you get out."

"Um, yeah....." He continued to sit there on the side of the bed, the comforter pulled across his lap, looking at me uncertainly.

"We'll talk after you get out of the shower," I said, and then returned to the living room to wait.

Michael re-joined me about forty-five minutes later, wearing one of the robes that the hotel provided for its guests. I poured him a cup of coffee and waited until he was sitting down before I said anything.

"I'm going to get right to the point. We've known each other for more than a year now, right?" I asked. Michael nodded his head in response. "We've also worked together on a couple of films during that time, and I'd like to think that you consider me a friend."

"I do. You've been a great friend Paul....." he said quietly. I stared at his hands as he held the coffee cup, and it dawned on me....He wasn't wearing his ring. As far as I was aware, he hadn't taken it off since Jake had given it to him a couple of months ago.

"Good, then you know I'm not going to pressure you or anything. You can tell me whatever you want, whenever you want, okay?" He simply nodded once again. "You can trust me, Michael."

"He cheated on me." He said it so quietly it was almost a whisper.

"You want me to go kick his ass?" I asked him. The question had the intended effect, and he smiled.

"No need to. Peter pretty much took care of that yesterday."

"Okay then, why don't you get dressed, and we'll go see if we can find you something to wear on the Red Carpet over in Cannes." I told him as I picked up the neatly folded stack of clothes that was sitting next to me on the sofa and handed it to him. He got up and headed back into the bedroom to get dressed. I knew I was taking a gamble on the hope that Michael wouldn't remember his actions from the night before, and that when he finally did, that he wouldn't hate me for not telling him the truth about it sooner, but it was a risk I was just going to have to take.

Cannes was.....interesting. It was the first big "push" for "Inferno", so all the principal actors were there. Christina Aguilera brought her husband along, and Michael refused to share a room with Jake, so Jake had to room with Shane, and Michael and I roomed together.

Since Reese was there also, things continued to remain strained between Michael and Jake, and so Michael and I spent alot of time talking about whatever. I think we talked more during the time that we were over in Cannes than we did when we worked on the films together. The first thing that surprised me was Michael's command of the French language and just how fluent he was, and then I remembered that he had mentioned that he had spent a year in France as an exchange student back when he was in school. We talked about his house and the fact that he was sure it was haunted.

We talked about our kids.....Alot.....We talked about how much daytime T.V. had changed since I had worked on The Young and The Restless. We talked about his feelings over the split with Jake..... And as we talked, I finally figured out what it was that Gyllenhaal saw in him, and that was the moment I knew I was walking down a dangerous path, falling in love with my ex-lover's current partner.....

I also realized something else, that while Jake and I might have been lovers, we weren't IN love, at least not with each other, and that's why things were so dangerous with Michael....I WAS falling in love with him, and what made things bad, was the fact that I had no idea how he felt about me....

On our last day in Cannes, I woke up to see Michael sitting on his bed next to mine already dressed, with his camera resting in his lap.

"Come on Walker, get your lazy ass out of bed! This is our last day here, and I want to play 'tourist' and get some pictures of the city before we leave tomorrow," he said as he lifted the camera to his eye. I closed my eyes and heard the shutter snap several times before I heard him get up from the bed. I opened my eyes to see him standing in the doorway. "I already got some REALLY good ones before you woke up! I like those ones best," he said before he left the bedroom.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I turned over onto my back. He returned a minute later carrying two mugs of coffee. I moved up so I was reclining back on both elbows and took the mug that he had extended to me and took a sip and then nearly sprayed it all over myself when he said, "When were you planning to tell me what I really did the night you found me after I found out about Reese and Jake?"

"What was I supposed to say? 'I found you down in the lounge completely hammered and took you upstairs to sleep it off, and you were all over me and then you went down on me, thanks for the blow job, and oh, by the way, you give really great head'? I couldn't do that to you, not in the shape you were in then, and still are in, as far as things go with Jake. I'm not a total bastard."

"Oh...." He stood there looking non-plussed for a second, and then he lowered his gaze to look at the floor, his brow furrowed in thought. "Listen, I have no idea what's going to happen between us, or where things are going to end up with Jake, but I would really like it if we could at least still be friends? Take things one day at a time" he asked.

"You got it," I replied without hesitation.

"Okay so, um, back-handed as the compliment was, you're welcome, and thanks," he said with a smirk. "You're not so bad yourself."

I could feel the blush creeping up my face, and muttered "Thanks."

"Okay, so get your ass out of bed! The day's wasting away, and I've got places and things to go, do, and see!" he said as he turned and left the room again.

So I got up, jumped in the shower, and then after I got dressed, we headed out for the day, which included a stop by the casinos, and a speedboat ride around the bay, among other things, and Michael recorded it all on film....

As we were walking back into the hotel, tired from a day spent wandering all over town, we heard someone calling out Michael's name, and turned to see two guys approaching us.

"Thierry? Eduard? Oh my god!"

I stood back and watched as they quickly exchanged hugs and then began chatting away. It didn't take long before the three were exchanging hugs and farewells, and the other two were once again on their way.

"That was Eduard and Thierry de Fourment. Their family was my host family for the year that I was over here. They want me, well us, actually, to join them for dinner tonight. They're actually staying here in the hotel too, so we can just go to that little cafe` that we all went to the other night," Michael suggested.

"We need to make an early night of it tonight. Don't forget, we still need to pack," I reminded him.

"I know....Why don't we go up and we can each grab a shower before we head back out," Michael said.

"Works for me," I replied, and we headed back into the hotel.

Our dinner with Michael's old friends turned out to be a nice distraction, and when we were done, we headed back to the hotel to pack and crash.....

I popped in to see Michael about a week after we got back home. Work had continued on his house while we were gone, and the new foundation was done, and now work was going on inside. I called from outside the front gate to let him know I was there, and he came out to let me in. He wore a simple white t-shirt, relaxed fit jeans, and sandals.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said with an easy smile. I raised an eyebrow at him as I turned to get a better look at his house.

"Humble? Whatever!" I said as I just took it all in.

"It certainly makes an impression, doesn't it?"

"That it does...." I said, then threw my arm around his shoulders. "So are you going to give me the ten cent tour or what?" He threw his arm around my waist to give me a quick squeeze, then let it drop back down.

"Sure. By the way, I hope you brought your tool belt. I'm here working every day that I'm not on the set. I'm also sleeping here three nights out of the week."

"What?"

"I got one of those inflatable Aero beds. They're quite nice actually."

"I can't believe you're staying here while the work is going on."

"Why not? It's just me and the ghost in the evenings. I've gotten used the fact that he's here, and I'm almost positive that he reads the paper over my shoulder in the evenings. I usually take a shower at my parents when I take the kids home at night and then come back here. I've got one of those big Rubber Maid tote's that I'm kind of living out of. Any ways, come on inside and let me show you around. I have a prospective buyer coming by later this afternoon."

"Anyone I might know?" I asked just out of curiosity.

"Sorry, but unless you want to buy in, owners, even prospective ones, are not up for public knowledge."

"Let me see what the place looks like first, then I'll let you know," I said as we entered the house and began our tour....

Michael's POV

I felt a gentle nudging against my shoulder and turned to see Paul looking at me with that 'are you doing okay?' look on his face.

"We're here," he said as he stood up to get his carry-on from the overhead compartment. I reached down to pull mine out from under the seat in front of me, and un-buckled my seat-belt, and stood up. Paul moved aside to allow me to head up the aisle ahead of him. Jake was just in front of me. As we left the plane and headed up the jet-way, I felt Paul's hand settle comfortably into the small of my back and stay there. Jake led the way to the baggage claim area where we grabbed our bags and then went to the arrivals area to wait for which ever family members were going to come to pick us up. At some point, the three of us had slipped into our sunglasses, and there we stood, me in the middle, Jake on my left, and Paul on my right. Jake had added his hand to Paul's on my back so that his was right below Paul's, and Jake had linked his thumb with Paul's pinky. As we stood there waiting for our ride, I wondered just how the three of us had reached this point in our relationship.....

I heard the door open behind me and turned to see Wes Ramsey.

"Well, what did you think?" I asked him as I climbed down the ladder where I had been cleaning windows while he had taken a walk around the property. So far I'd been lucky in that with everyone that had been coming and going with the re-model, not one person had been tripped or anything by the ghost. I often wondered if Alistair made himself "scarce" during the day while the work was going on.

"I'll take 'D'," he said.

"And I'll take 'B'," Paul said from the doorway.

"Hey, great! Nate's actually here making some sketches of his space. Just let me call Maggie and Peter and see if they can come over and we can get the interview out of the way!" I said as I walked out of the room, phone in hand.

I was sitting on the porch. Everyone was gone for the day. Well, everyone but Wes and I. I heard him step out on the porch, and then he was sitting down beside me.

"So, do you think you can handle living here knowing there's a ghost hanging around?" I asked.

"Eh, as long as he leaves my camera equipment alone, it's all good. So, you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"About what's got you worrying your ring finger with your thumb?"

I looked down at my left hand where, sure enough, my thumb was busy rubbing over the spot where my ring had been, and I stopped abruptly.

"No one likes an observant smartass....." I said looking out toward the street.

"So.....?" he prompted.

"He cheated on me.... Slept with Reese."

"And.....?"

"And...what? He slept with her....End of story."

"I don't think so. It wouldn't still hurt this much if you didn't still love him...."

"Observant and perceptive.... A dangerous combination."

"Absolutely," he said with a smile. "Now talk...."

"Bossy as well. Okay....I hadn't seen or talked to him since right after the photo shoot for People Magazine. We did it right here, you know. Anyways, he went back out to L.A. to finish 'Rendition', and I was still dealing with the after effects of something that had happened earlier in the Spring. Then all the magazines started coming out with all this stuff about them being together, or not, and when he finally comes back, he's got her with him....We were at Maggie and Peter's place when things went down. He came in looking like a deer caught in the headlights, and I just knew....So, I took off my ring and went out onto the balcony to get some air. Then the next thing I know, Reese is out there also going on about what a great friend he's been throughout the whole divorce thing, and that no, they never slept together. So when we went back in, Jake and Peter were in the kitchen glaring at each other and I asked Jake, flat out, did he sleep with her, since she's saying that nothing happened. He got that deer in headlights look once again, and I just knew..... So, I called him a bastard and I left. Paul found me a couple hours later in the hotel lounge and took me up to his room to sleep it off, which is pretty much exactly what I did, but apparently not before giving him head right after we walked through the door....I don't know why I just told you all this!" I said, bringing my hands up to cover my face in embarrassment.

"Because I'm a stranger, and not connected with any of it, which also makes me the perfect candidate for a revenge fuck, don't you think?" he replied with a wicked grin.

"What?!?"

"You can't deny the fact that there's a tiny little voice in the back of your brain that keeps saying that you won't be happy until you've hurt him as much as he's hurt you. At the same time there's another little voice saying no, two wrongs don't make a right..... That's the voice that you've been listening to, until now."

"You're crazy....." I told him.

"Then why didn't you sleep with Paul? You had the perfect opportunity, and you could have just written it off as a drunken moment, but you didn't."

"I--"

"The main reason you didn't sleep with Walker is that there's too much of an emotional connection in here," he said tapping a finger against my chest over my heart. "It would all to easy to fall for him, and you know it..... That's the real reason why you didn't sleep with him."

I sat staring at Wes in shock as he stood and held out his hand to me.

"Come on, I promise to be gentle," he said as he took my hand in his and pulled me to my feet and led me into the house, closing the front door behind us.

True to his word, Wes was indeed gentle. I lost count of the number of times we made love, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he had me in every way imaginable, and when he left the next morning, I had a very noticeable hickey on the side of my neck, and a variety of new sexual positions to choose from.

Since Paul actually had some carpentry experience, Jason put him to work, as well as Wes. If it didn't involve the use of power tools, I was allowed to do it.

I noticed him the minute I stepped out on the porch. He was standing down by the front gate. I walked down the sidewalk, mailbox key in hand.

"Hey," Jake said quietly as I approached.

"Hi," I replied.

"I brought you this," he said, holding out his hand. My ring sat in the palm of his hand.

"I can't accept it...."

"You don't have to wear it. I just wanted you to have it. It's yours, no matter what happens with the two of us....."

"I can't make any promises right now.....You really hurt me that night Jake....."

"I know, believe me.....Maggie and Peter won't let me forget about it, and neither will my folks."

"You screwed up, Jake, big time!"

"I know!"

"Don't do it again....." I said as I held out my hand. He dropped the ring into it and then closed my fingers over it, lowering his head to place a tender kiss. I turned my head momentarily, and heard his sharply in-drawn breath just seconds before I felt the tip of his finger tracing over the spot on my neck.

"Who was it?" he asked hoarsely.

"That's none of your business!" I replied.

"Well I'm making it my business, now who was it? Was it Paul?" he demanded tersely.

"No, you gave up your rights where I'm concerned when you slept with Reese," I said as I took a step back. "And no, it wasn't Paul....." Jake looked past me to the house. I turned to see Wes standing out on the porch.

"Everything okay?" he called out.

"Yeah," I replied. "Jake was just leaving." His hand dropped away from me and the look on his face was one of sadness and regret as he turned and walked away without another word.....

I let out my own sigh of regret and headed back to the house. If anyone had any thoughts about the rather obvious hickey on my neck, or what had transpired out by the mailboxes, they didn't voice them. Instead, the rest of the day was spent with everyone doing one project around the house or another.

The next few weeks were spent in much the same fashion, until Paul and I were supposed to be attending the big city premieres of 'Inferno'. I did alot of thinking about what Wes had said, about my reasons for not sleeping with Paul when the opportunity presented itself, during that time while we were all working on the house. I also thought alot about the way he had been towards me, really, since he and Jake had pulled Luc and I out of the pool-house fire, and I finally understood what Wes was talking about when he had mentioned the emotional connection between Paul and I..... While I might not be in love with him the way that I still was with Jake, even with what happened with Reese, yes, he was still in my heart, there was a small piece of my heart that had opened up and let Paul inside, and I had to admit, if only to myself, that I actually did love him.....

With that realization also came a sense of calm which allowed me to actually look forward to the up-coming premieres.....

L.A., Vegas, Miami, New York, and now London.....I had done a great deal of thinking over the past few weeks, and I would like to think that I was ready to see if there was a chance to see where things stood with Paul and I. It looked like London would be the backdrop.

We were sharing a four bedroom suite with Jake and Shane this trip, which had three of the four of us circling each other like caged tigers, and now I was just a little bit nervous.... Paul had been a bit moody the past couple weeks, and he seemed to be knocking them back one right after another at the premiere after-party, and so after what could be deemed a "respectable" amount of time had passed, I decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

After letting myself back into the room, I took a nice hot shower, and climbed into my bed and lay there waiting....

It was perhaps an hour later when Paul returned, and I heard muffled noises coming from the living room as he moved about the room. Then I heard the clink of ice-cubes against glass, and then it was quiet. I decided it was now or never, and got quietly out of bed, stopping to grab several items from my toiletries bag along the way. The door opened silently on well oiled hinges, and I looked out into the living room.

Paul sat in one of the comfortable wide chairs facing the window, his back toward me. Other than the lights coming in through the window, the room was dark. From the way the light coming in the window shown on his shoulders, it was obvious that he had at the very least taken off his shirt.

"So are you going to just stand there in the doorway staring at me for the rest of the night, or are you going to come out here?" he asked.

I made my way over to where he was sitting to discover that he had taken everything off, and was sitting there, un-abashedly and gloriously naked, legs slightly parted, one out-stretched, the other bent at the knee as he reclined back in the over-sized chair.

"Didn't you have enough to drink at the party?" I asked. He tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow. "You were knocking them back pretty steadily."

"This is actually my first one. That was ginger ale earlier," he replied.

I knelt down between his legs and reached over to place the items I had brought out with me on the table next to his left elbow. His gaze followed my hand and then rested momentarily on the condoms and lube I had left there before returning to meet mine.

"You won't be needing this anymore," I said, taking the glass from his hand and setting it on the table, my other hand reaching up to gently cup his balls. I lightly began massaging them while I started slowly sliding my hand up and down his rapidly hardening cock. His hips jerked and lifted as he started lightly grinding against my hand as I continued stroking him.

"Michael! What are you doing?"

"Well, if you have to ask, maybe I'm not doing it right..... Here, how about if I do this instead....." I murmured as I bent over him and took him into my mouth, swallowing him to the half way point before I slid up and swirled my tongue around the head. I was rewarded with the taste of his pre-cum flowing across my tongue. I opened my mouth, breathing in at the same time I took his cock back in my mouth, relaxing my gag reflex, and took him all the way in to the base and held him there, allowing the muscles in my throat and my tongue to lovingly massage his throbbing length. If I had to guess, I would probably say that he was probably about an inch longer than Jake's seven inches, but not quite as thick.....

"Oh God!!!" I heard Paul mutter above me as his hands came to rest on the top of my head. I noticed that his balls were beginning to draw up in preparation of his impending orgasm, and I reluctantly let him slide free of my mouth..... Eyes locked on his, I reached over to the table and grabbed the lube and a condom. I flipped open the lid and allowed a tiny stream to drizzle around the head of his cock, and he jumped a little at the sensation. Closing the bottle, I set it back on the table while using my teeth to tear open the foil packet. Taking the condom, I rolled it down the length of his cock, and he was ready with the lube.

I stood up and straddled his hips, one leg bent so that I was partially standing, partially kneeling, and my hands were braced on the arms of the chair. I reached back with one hand and positioned him right where I wanted him, and he grasped my hips in both hands as I slowly began to lower myself onto him, my eyes never once leaving his.

I winced a bit as I felt the pressure, and closed my eyes.

"Open your eyes, Michael....Open your eyes and look at me," I heard Paul say.

I opened my eyes and looked down at him. "Just look at me and relax...." His hands were gently stroking my thighs, and I felt myself beginning to relax, and then let out a gasp as I felt him push past the muscle ring, and then just the head of his cock was inside me.

I had to pause a minute to allow myself a few seconds to adjust to his size. After about a minute, I began to slowly lower myself once again, both hands now braced on the arms of the chair and bearing most of my weight as I moved slowly down his length until he was finally buried fully inside me.

"Oh god!!" It was impossible to tell which one of us started first, as we ended up saying it at the same time, just as it was impossible not to feel every inch of where he was, as he filled me so completely!!

I began to move slowly, his hands never leaving my hips, his eyes looking up at me as I found a rhythm, and then he did something....extraordinary!! He leaned forward, just enough, at the same time that he brought my hips forward, and took me into his mouth!!

My arms and legs almost buckled from the feeling! With some artful maneuvering on Paul's part, I was soon in absolute heaven! He somehow managed to arrange the both of us in that chair so that he was able to suck me while he was fucking me!

"I'm getting close!" I stammered out.

"Do it Michael....cum for me...." he said just before he took me back into his mouth, and swallowed me clear down to the base....

Eyes wide open, I felt like I was one gloriously fluid arch of sensation after another....

When I finally came down from my orgasmic high, I realized that Paul had pulled me off of his cock, and released me from the warm prison of his mouth, and was now hugging me around the middle, his head turned sideways against my stomach. I also realized that we were still out in the living room!

"Oh my god! We need to stop this!"

"What!?!" Paul looked incredulous.

"We can't do this!"

"But...."

"Paul, we're right in the middle of the living room! We're not the only ones here this time. Jake, or Shane, could come walking through that door anytime!"

"Bedroom!" Paul said. I moved so that I was no longer straddling him, and he stood up and took me by the hand and led me into his bedroom to his bed, where he eased me down and then laid down next to me where he stared at me intently for several seconds before seeming to reach a decision, and he moved toward me, his gaze resting on my lips before he finally brought his mouth to mine and gave me the gentlest of kisses as he rolled me onto my back and followed, settling between my parted legs. I began running my feet up and down the backs of his legs, my fingertips lazily following the ridges and valley's of his spine.

We sighed into each others mouths as he entered me once again, taking me with long fluid strokes.

Our loving was slow and languid, neither of us wanting to rush the inevitable ending of our coupling.....

I was beginning to feel the stirrings once again, my breathing had become more shallow and erratic. So had Paul's.

"....So close!" I murmured.

"Me too, can't hold back anymore! Going to cum right now!" Paul gasped as his hands felt blindly for mine and laced our fingers, locking our hands together.

"Not inside me.....Not yet!" I managed to stammer out as I felt myself verging on my own orgasm.

He pulled out and disposed of the condom, and then his hands were reaching for mine, our fingers lacing and our hands locked together as he exploded, his face buried in the side of my neck, lips and teeth grazing the skin, his body quaking on top of mine.

I could feel my own climax beginning and my eyes slammed shut as the feelings swept over me, my legs wrapping tighter around his hips to bring us closer together.

Our breathing had finally returned to normal, and both Paul's and my eyes met for a second before we shared another kiss and then turned our heads and lay cheek to cheek, eyes drifting shut as we dozed off, totally unaware of the figure standing outside the door.....

I got up early and threw on some clothes to run out for some coffee and sweet rolls. I was waiting for the elevator to come when the bell ding-ed to signal it's arrival on our floor, and the doors slid open to reveal Shane standing there, still wearing his clothes from the previous evening and his sunglasses, and carrying a steaming "to go" cup.

"Are you just now getting in?" I asked as he stepped off the lift and I stuck my arm across the doors to keep them from closing.

"What?" he asked, pulling his sunglasses down to peer at me over the tops of them.

"Well, you're still wearing what you wore to the premiere and the after-party," I tried again. "Did our little Shane get lucky last night?" I smirked.

"I can neither confirm, nor deny," he replied, tilting his head sideways to look at me a bit more closely. "But from the look of things, I'd say you certainly did....."

I winced and muttered "Fuck!!" as I rubbed the spot where Paul had buried his face last night when he had cum.

"What? You mean you and Walker finally got it on?"

I blushed. "Yeah...."

"Well, it's about damned time!"

"Um, yeah."

"Okay, so are you guys like together now or what?"

"I'm not exactly sure what we are yet," I said with a shrug and then got on the elevator. "And I'm still not sure where things stand between Jake and I."

"You'll figure things out....."

"I hope so," I said as I pushed the button for the lobby. The doors slid shut and the lift began its descent to the lobby.

I slid on my sunglasses as the elevator made its way downward, and when the doors opened, I stepped out and crossed the lobby and exited the hotel.....

While I was waiting in line to order my coffee and sweet rolls, I was listening to the radio, yet not really paying that much attention to what was playing, when a particular line of the song caught my attention....

".....These tears I cry, aren't tears of pain,

They're only to hide my guilt and shame.....

You want forgiveness, now I ask the same

of you.....

While we were apart, I was human too....."

I absently placed and paid for my order, and then headed back to the hotel, all the while, the last two lines of that song verse re-played themselves over and over in my head.

I really couldn't stay angry with Jake any longer, not after what had happened between Paul and I the night I found out about Jake and Reese, and then with Wes a few weeks later.

I got off the elevator and headed down the hall to the room. I had to set the bag with the rolls down on the floor while I got out my key-card. I could also hear the muffled sound of voices coming through the door, and made up my mind right there on the spot to tell Jake that I had forgiven him.

Letting myself in the room, I walked over to the table. Paul and Jake looked up at me.

"We need to talk!" Jake and I said in unison.

"Go ahead," Jake said.

"You first," I countered.

"Okay....I would like to apologize--" he began, but I put up my hand.

"Just a second, please, before you go any further....I had an epiphany, of sorts, and I came to the conclusion that in light of recent events, I really can't stay angry with you over what happened with Reese....It doesn't serve any purpose...." I said.

"Okay, so, what about us? Is there still a chance?"

I let out a troubled sigh....Here it was, the moment of truth.... "Honestly? I don't really know.....In spite of everything, I still love you....I'm still in love with you...." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Paul flinch and look away.

"But?" Jake prompted.

"But, the trust is broken, and you can't just...fix it...and expect everything to go back the way it was."

I noticed Paul's head come back up at this. I looked Jake right in the eyes.

"And there's someone else now," I said, holding my hand out at my side. I soon felt Paul's hand slip into mine.

"I'd still like the chance to win back your trust," Jake said, not to be deterred. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes," he said quirking an eyebrow. "The question now is, are you?"

"What? Didn't you hear me just now? I'm with Paul...."

"I'm willing to share," Jake said nonchalantly, leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms.

"If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, you're insane! I'm not some little toy that you can pick up play with and then just put aside when you're bored!" I told him. "I have feelings, and for you to just casually throw out a statement like that....It shows a total lack of respect for you, me, and Paul!"

"Do you love him?" he challenged me. "Are you in love with him?"

"Yes, I do," I answered without hesitation. "And I'm starting to be." I felt Paul's hand squeeze mine encouragingly.

"I'm still willing to share," Jake stated once again.

I frowned at him, trying to figure out what he was up to, and then decided to call his bluff.

"Alright, I'm going to call your bluff Jake. If, and this is a Big if, I agree to this, there have to be some ground rules."

"Absolutely."

"The first one being that we both have to agree to this," I said looking down at Paul. He gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"And no jealousy when I'm with the other person." I said, once again looking down at Paul. Another nod.

"Agreed," Jake said. "That goes for you too."

"What?" I asked, not quite sure what he was getting at.

"If this is going to work, all three of us are going to have to learn how to share. We do this equally, or not at all."

"So, you mean...." I began.

"If something develops and happens between Paul and I, there can't be any jealous feelings on your part." Jake stated emphatically.

"Alright, fine....What goes on behind closed doors is no one's business but the two people involved," I said.

"Meaning?" Jake asked.

"Meaning, I'm not going to talk about what goes on in the bedroom between Paul and I, with you, and vice versa, and I expect the same courtesy," I replied. "What Paul and I do is none of your business, just as what you and I do is none of his business, and what goes on between the two of you is none of my business. At least as far as what goes on in the bedroom is concerned. Understood?"

"I think we all need to think long and hard about this," Paul said.

"I don't know about the two of you, but I intend to start by taking a nice, long, hot shower, and then spending the rest of the day exploring the city."

"Would you mind some company when you go out?" Paul asked.

"Um, okay, sure...."

"Thanks," Paul said, giving me a re-assuring smile.

I returned his smile before turning and heading into my bedroom. I remembered something and turned and stuck my head out the door.

"You guys might want to drink that coffee before it gets cold. Oh, and the rolls are fresh too."

"Thanks," they said, almost in unison. I pulled out a white t-shirt and laid it out on the bed along with a hoody, and then grabbed some socks, underwear, and a pair of jeans and headed into the bathroom for a nice relaxing shower.

When I got out of the bathroom, I threw on my t-shirt and hoody and picked up my tennis shoes and headed out into the living room. I noticed that this morning's early morning sun had now given way to slightly overcast skies.

"Is it okay if I tag along?" Jake asked.

I looked over at Paul.

"It's okay, we talked, got some things out, cleared the air...."

I stood surveying them.

"Listen, Michael--" Jake began.

"No. I made a deal. We made a deal. Whatever you two discussed is private and stays between the two of you. Although, I must say, whatever you two talked about, it must not have been too bad.....There's no blood anywhere and you're both still standing. Okay, let me have my breakfast, and then we'll go," I said.

"We ordered from room service, it should be here any time," Jake said, and just seconds later, there was a quiet tapping at the door. Paul answered it and signed the bill while the waiter wheeled the cart in and over to the table.

Once he was gone, the three of us filled our plates. After we were done, we grabbed our camera's and after scribbling a quick note for Shane, we left and spent the remainder of the day playing tourist.

After we returned home, life settled back into its usual routine, except that things were different now. Paul and I continued our relationship, and when I was with Jake, we slept in the same bed, but that was it....I wasn't ready to be with him again in that way....Not yet....And we talked....And as we talked, we got to know each other all over again.

On the nights that Paul and Jake were together, I could hear the quiet rise and fall of their voices as they too talked and took the time to really get to know each other.

I'm sure our families all thought we were crazy. I even thought we were, at times. Whenever any of them asked why we were doing this, I told them the same thing: It really was none of their business, since we were all grown-ups, but if they really had to know, we were doing whatever we thought was necessary, and that we would do what needed to be done, with or without their blessings, but we would much rather have them behind us, supporting us, than second guessing our decisions.

Days were spent working on the house. I really was coming along quite nicely!

Late in September, I had to fly out to L.A. to record my versions of 'I Can't Make You Love Me' and 'Songbird' for the 'Obsession' soundtrack.

One day during a break in filming, I was bored and started wandering around the huge warehouse set, and had found a Baby Grand Piano tucked away in a corner. I sat down on the bench, and lifted the cover and started playing, just whatever came to mind. As I sat playing, I got more into K.C.'s mind set, and began to think about what he would play, and found myself starting to play the intro for Bonnie Raitt's 'I Can't Make You Love Me.' Closing my eyes, I began to sing.....

When I was done, I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was the camera. Then I noticed the boom mic overhead. I waited several seconds before I said anything.

"Did you actually get that on film? The whole thing?"

"Yup," Jake replied as he and the others turned and walked away.

So now, here I was, almost a year later, in a recording studio getting ready to actually do it for real! Thank god Christina was there! We made our way through the maze of hallways, and she showed me into a recording booth. I looked into the studio to see who was there, and was somewhat shocked to see J.C. Chasez sitting at the piano. He looked up at that moment and saw me standing there and winked and gave me a "thumbs up" sign and smiled.

Leaning toward the mic, he said, "I wasn't expecting an audience, let alone one of the film's stars! This is great! Hang on just a second!"

Getting up, he moved the piano around so that he was facing the booth, and then sat back down. "Okay, lets nail this puppy!" he said. He took a long swallow from the bottle of water that sat on top of the piano, and then nodded his head to the producer that sat in front of the large complicated control board, and there were four beeps and then the music started. I recognized it immediately. George Michael's 'Father Figure.' Except for where he changed the lyrics from "blue eyes" to "green eyes", with a wink, he stayed true to the original song, watching me the whole time....

When he was done, the producer gave him two thumbs up, and said, "That was great Josh! I think that's going to be the one."

In the studio, Josh took off his headphones, and got up from the piano to come into the booth. Christina came back in through the door that we had entered from, and we waited for the producer to cue up the song to play it back.

When it was done, we all clapped and cheered and then headed out of the booth and went down the hall to another, larger, studio. Entering the room, I almost had a heart attack to see Bonnie Raitt standing there warming up on the guitar.

"Ms. Raitt!"

"Call me Bonnie."

"Wow! This is such an honor...."

"I saw the clip from the film! Have you ever given any thought to recording an album?" Bonnie asked.

"Nah, I know where my real talents lie. I'm happy right where I'm at."

"Then that's all that matters. Now, what do you say, let's record a couple of songs together, shall we?"

"Let's do it!" I replied.

We got everything set up, and began. It was just Bonnie on the guitar, Josh on the piano, a bass player, and someone else on drums, and myself. We did it three times, and everyone agreed that the first one was 'the one.'

For 'Songbird,' I decided to do it in the same style that Eva Cassidy did, so we broke for lunch while the producer put out a call for four violinists. When we got back, we went right into the studio. I put the headphones on and was standing facing the musicians when Bonnie noticed something over my shoulder and smiled and nodded her head toward the recording booth behind me.

I turned around and there stood Paul. He gave a sheepish grin and a small wave.

He leaned in to the mic in the recording booth. "We finished early today, and I knew you'd be in town, so....." he said, and gave a little shrug.

I managed to give a weak smile, and nodded my head. I took a deep breath looked at Paul one more time, smiling back at me, and I could see the love in his eyes.

"Ok, I'm ready."

Just like when Josh had been in the studio earlier, and before when I had done my first song, there were four beeps, and then Bonnie and Josh started playing the intro on their guitars.....

I got it perfect in one take....How could I not? I realized as I was singing to Paul that I had, whether I had intended to or not, fallen in love with him. It was different from how I loved Jake, yet in many ways it was the same....

As everyone filed out of the studio, Paul was waiting to come in, and I heard the producer say quietly before the door closed, "Kill the studio mic's,"

"That was incredible..." Paul murmured as he gently traced his fingers along my jaw. "Are you done? I'd like to take you out to dinner."

"I think so."

"Then let's go," he said as he took me hand and led me out of the studio and eventually out of the building, once we were sure I was done for the day.

We went to a nice little Italian restaurant and got a quiet table in a back corner.

"I bought something before I came out here, and I swore I was going to wait until I got back to give it to you, but after hearing you sing that song, I new I couldn't wait, so, anyways, here...." he said as he placed a small box on the table in front of me.

I picked it up and opened it. There inside was a plain white gold band.

"I just wanted you to know that I've given this alot of thought, and I know that this is real between us, and I can honestly promise that I will never do anything to hurt you, or make you regret loving me. I also know that you're probably not ready to wear another guy's ring, especially after what happened with Jake, but I just want you to know that I'll hold on to that until you feel like you're ready to wear it...."

I placed the box in my right hand and extended it across the table. When he removed the box, I turned my hand over and left it there, suspended, waiting....

"Michael?"

I simply nodded my head and waited. He took the ring from the box, and slid it onto my finger.

Paul was in bed, right behind me. I could feel him pressing against my hole, which was already becoming slick with his pre-cum. He reached over my shoulder for the lube and a condom, and I stopped him.

"Just you....You and nothing else."

"Michael, are you sure?" he asked, giving my shoulder a gentle kiss.

I simply nodded my head, and watched as he grabbed the lube, and then his arm moved back. I heard the top open, heard him squeeze out a small amount out into the palm of his hand, and then he was closing the cap, and putting it back on the table in front of me. Several seconds later, I felt one of his fingers tracing around my opening before slowly slipping inside.

After about a minute, he began slowly sliding the finger in and out, bending it occasionally to nudge against my prostate, eliciting a gasp from me each time he did it. Then the finger withdrew completely, and I felt the head of his cock pressing against me once more, smearing more pre-cum around my opening, and then the finger was back, this time joined by a second one, as he gently eased them both into me.

My breath caught, held. I let out a moan as I felt his chin with its day's growth of stubble on my shoulder as his teeth nipped my earlobe, and then moved down to leave a trail of kisses along the flames that extended halfway down the back side of my upper left arm, his fingers slowly moving in and out of me the whole time.....

His fingers withdrew once more, and I felt him once more pressing the head of his cock against me. His left hand grasped my hip as he pressed against me more insistently, his lips buried in the back of my neck.

I took a deep breath and held it as I pushed back against him, and the head popped inside me. I exhaled, and took short shallow breaths to help myself relax. I noticed Paul was doing the same thing. Once the initial pain was gone, I moved my hips just a little bit, to let him know I was okay.

Wrapping both arms around me, Paul held me close as he slid home. He laced the fingers of his right hand with mine while his left slid down my chest to wrap around my cock, and begin stroking me.

"Tight! So tight and hot! I knew you'd feel like this," he whispered in my ear. "You feel like hot silk! So good....."

"So do you!" I gasped. It was happening to fast! I couldn't believe the feelings were overtaking me this quickly!

His thrusts were coming more quickly now.

"I'm getting close!" he said as he began to move back in preparation to pull out.

"No!" I said, reaching back with my left hand on his ass to stop him from withdrawing.

"But--"

"It's okay, don't stop," I assured him. "I want it all this time!"

"Oh god!" he muttered, his hips slamming un-controllably into mine, as he continued stroking me, faster and faster.

I gasped loudly, and just like that, I shot..... My muscles gripped him in fabulous orgasm, and I heard his ragged breath next to my ear as his hips thrust into me one final time before he surrendered to his own powerful orgasm.

It seemed like an eternity before we finally separated from one another. Paul went into the bathroom and got a couple of warm wet washcloths for us to clean up with, and then we climbed back into the other bed.

We were laying in bed facing each other and I reached up to cup his cheek.

"I love you."

He took my hand and brought it to his lips. "I love you too," he replied.

And that was just how we stayed, until we finally drifted off to sleep.....

"You know, you don't have to keep wearing Jake's ring on that chain around your neck," Paul said as we were flying home. My head jerked around from the window, and my eyes flew to his.

"Come on, let me see it. Give it up," he said, holding out his hand. I studied his face for a moment before I reached up and un-clasped the chain from behind my neck and dropped it into his up-turned palm. He picked up the chain and un-did the clasp and then took the ring off before handing the chain back to me.

He studied the ring for a moment before he looked up at me once again.

"Give me your hand, please," he said.

I automatically extended my right hand, palm up and open, and he took it and turned it over and slipped the ring onto the third finger, right next to his. Then he raised my hand to his lips and kissed my finger right where the two rings rested, side by side.

"There. You're a marked man now, Michael Orsini. Marked by the two men who love you most....."

I came out of my reverie as Peter was pulling up in my Ford Excursion. Well, that answered that question.....

"So, are you guys ready for this?" Peter asked as we were loading out luggage into the back of the Excursion. I looked at Jake and Paul, who both wore a slightly sullen look on their faces.

"What? It's just Thanksgiving! Jeez!" The three of them were looking at me like I had suddenly sprouted horns and two extra heads. I looked up and shook my head and left Paul and Jake standing there looking after me as I walked around to get in the back seat.

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine," I said in even tones as I fastened my seat-belt. "Trust me."

Jake's POV

Okay, so the first thing I noticed after Michael and Paul came back from L.A. was that Michael was wearing my ring again....along with another one, presumably from Paul....

I should probably start by saying that I'm damn lucky that he somehow found a way to forgive me, because when I fucked up and slept with Reese that time, I hurt him, badly....

It all started when I got the part in 'Rendition.' Reese was going through an ugly divorce in the public eye, and I had considered Ryan a friend.

As time passed Reese continued leaning on me for more support, Ryan began accusing me of taking sides, and eventually, one thing ended up leading to another, and Reese and I ended up sleeping together, something which we both regretted immediately. Then the tabloids got into the mix, and things just spiraled completely out of control at that point. When I went to talk to Maggie and Peter about what had happened, Reese went with me, which in hind sight was probably not a good idea, since Michael was there too....

Needless to say, the next couple of months were the worst of my life, knowing that I had hurt Michael so badly and then having to watch as he and Paul started their friendship and eventual relationship.

When I went to give Michael back the ring, and saw the hickey, I was positive that it had been Paul that had done it, until Wes Ramsey had come out and spoken and I noticed the look in Michael's eyes.....I knew that I needed to just back off and give Michael his space....

London changed everything though....I had never been so jealous...or turned on, in my entire life!

I knew my idea was ballzy, and it would either work, or blow up in my face... I'm so glad it worked!

I don't know what happened between Paul and Michael in September when Michael went out there to record a couple of songs for 'Obsession,' but whatever it was, I was glad to see Michael wearing my ring again.

I had to fly out to L.A. in October to finish editing 'Obsession.' The minute I heard Michael's version of 'Songbird,' I knew exactly where it had to go....It was the perfect accompaniment to Michael and Paul's love scene in the movie.....

Things continued between the three of us, although I still had yet to make love again with either one of them.

'Rendition' came out, and did okay. I was glad it was out and to be able to finally put that whole chapter of my life to rest, once and for all.

As October turned to November, we started making plans for the upcoming holidays.

Michael wanted to get everyone from all of our families together, which was why he, Paul, and myself currently found ourselves in L.A. Peter had picked us up from the airport and then drove us to up to the house in the hills.

After we arrived, we got our luggage into the house, and got unpacked. Peter had gotten back into his own car and left, and Michael got a yellow legal pad and a tape measure and started prowling around the house, making lists and taking measurements.

I could hear him let out a sigh of satisfaction when he first laid eyes on the kitchen. It was huge.....There were four built-in wall ovens, and the commercial style gas stove had six burners and an additional two ovens. There were also side- by-side refrigerator and freezer units, not to mention tons of storage space. He was currently rummaging through the cupboards, taking stock, and writing furiously on the legal pad.

I decided to leave him to it and go check my e-mails.

Paul and I were watching the American Music Awards later that evening when Michael came into the room.

"Okay, let me know if I've missed anything. The menu consists of turkey, ham, mashed potato's, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato's, three vegetable's, maybe four, rolls, maybe a green salad, dessert....."

"Baked corn?" I suggested.

"I was going to do fresh, then cut it off the cob, but I guess if you really want it...."

"How about that green bean casserole stuff?" Paul wanted to know.

"Okay," Michael said, writing on the notepad once more.

"Appetizers?" I asked.

"Vegetable platter," Paul suggested.

"Cranberries!!" we all three said at the same time.

"Okay, anything else you guys can think of?" Michael wanted to know.

I looked over at Paul, and we both shrugged and then shook our heads. I looked over at Michael, and said, "Nope. I think that that pretty much covers everything."

"Okay," he said standing up from the sofa. "Oh, by the way, your table is nowhere near long enough to fit everyone, so I think we'll just do it buffet style, and then everyone can just sit wherever they want...."

"Um, just how many are coming?" I asked.

"Twenty three," he replied.

"What!"

"Just immediate family and spouses and/or significant others...."

"I know, but still, twenty three? That's a hell of alot of people to feed all at once....."

"Jake, don't worry about it. By the time we're ready to go to the store tomorrow, I'll have the menu finalized, and the three of us will be able to get everything we need. Trust me," he said giving me a wink and a smile, and then turned to head from the room.

As he was walking up the steps that led down into the sunken great room, he paused as though a thought had suddenly occurred to him, and he turned back around.

"Paul, does your family know about me, the two of us?" he asked.

"Yes. Don't worry, everything will be fine," Paul replied. Michael let a sigh of relief and then turned and left the room, headed for the kitchen.

Paul and I looked at one another, grinned, and went back to watching the awards.....

It was Monday of Thanksgiving week, and the three of us had just returned from a marathon shopping trip and finished unloading the back of the Excursion, and there wasn't an inch of empty counter space to be found anywhere in the kitchen.

True to his word, Michael had settled on a menu and then made out a list, well, three actually, the results of which we were now staring at.

There was a knock at the front door, and Paul quickly volunteered to go answer it.

"Don't think that that's going to get you out of helping to get this all un-packed!" Michael called after him, and then began doing just that.

The first thing he did was to get out four shallow baking pans and put some paper towels in the bottom, and set them on top of the stove. He was just taking the first twenty five pound frozen turkey out of a bag and putting it in a pan when Paul came back, followed by his mother and daughter.

"Mom, you remember Michael?"

"Of course. How are you doing?" Cheryl Walker asked. It was easy to see where Paul had inherited the majority of his looks from. Both mother and son shared the same blonde haired, blue eyed good looks, and if Paul's daughter Meadow was indication, they had passed on to the next generation.

"Very well, thank you. Much better than the last time we met," Michael replied.

Cheryl looked perplexed for a moment, until Paul reminded her, "The fire...."

"Ah yes.....That was a terrible situation for all concerned."

"Well, I'm still here, and I'm not ever going to take anything for granted, ever again," Michael said as he took another turkey out of a bag and put it in a baking pan.

"How much turkey did you get?" Cheryl asked.

"Four. Twenty five pounds each."

"Please tell me you're kidding!" Cheryl said.

"Nope," Michael replied. "I changed my mind about the ham. I kind of figured that might be over-doing it for getting everyone together for the first time...."

"Are your kids coming?" Meadow wanted to know.

"Yup, they're coming with the rest of my family tomorrow," Michael replied as he took out the last turkey and put it in a baking pan.

I could tell my presence was no longer needed so I excused myself to go read through some scripts that I'd had sent over. They were discussing plans for Rebecca, Meadow's mother, to pick her up on Wednesday afternoon as I left the kitchen. Going into the living room, I sat down on the couch and lifted the large manila envelope off the coffee table and opened it, pulling out the first script.....

I heard the door open and opened my eyes, turning over onto my back. I looked at him standing there, and then he started toward the bed. Stopping beside the bed, he paused and looked down at me, and then he grasped the sheet and pulled it down. Sitting down, he leaned over and kissed me, reaching for the drawer of the bedside table. Opening the drawer, he pulled out the bottle of lube that was kept there, and flipped open the cap, squeezing out a small amount into his hand. Flipping the cap closed, he began stroking me into full hardness. Once I was fully erect, he moved, throwing one leg over my hips so that he was straddling me, and reached back to apply some lube to his opening. Once he was ready, he gripped my cock and positioned it and then slowly began lowering himself down onto me.

When he had me completely inside him, he began moving slowly up and down on me, and I started to rub up and down his sides, also sliding around to move up and down his back, and massaging his thighs as well. Reaching up behind his head, I pulled him down into a kiss, our tongues meeting and dueling. I started raising my hips to meet him every time he slid back down, and I could tell by the little gasps that he was starting to make that I was probably hitting his prostate dead on. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him down for another kiss, and as he pulled away after, whispered, "on your back," against his lips.

He paused, and slid off me, immediately lying down beside me. I followed him over, parting his legs and lifting his knees before surging into him, his legs quickly wrapping themselves around my waist, creating a sweet prison from which I never wanted to escape.....

"God, you're so tight and hot! It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten how good you feel, wrapped around me like a glove!" I muttered as I buried my face in the side of his neck.... I answered his groan with one of my own when I felt his teeth nipping at my shoulder....

I felt the churning feeling beginning to build. "I'm getting close!" I gasped out.

"Me too!" he replied, and raised his lips to mine. As we kissed with an almost animalistic intensity, my hips bucked against him, and the look he gave me was positively carnal when we parted.

I slammed into him one last time, driving in as far as I could and groaned, "Oh my God!!!!" as I started shooting, deep inside him, my head thrown back, eyes open wide but looking at nothing, jaw slack....

He gasped and I could feel him clutching me and pulling me deeper as he came several seconds later himself, streams of white shooting up between our bellies and chests.

"I still love you Gyllenhaal....I don't think I ever stopped," he said quietly once his breathing had returned to normal.

"I never stopped loving you, either, Orsini....."

It dawned on me the following day as I watched Michael moving around the kitchen in a baking frenzy that his hair had grown back out, and now just brushed his shoulders.

"What'cha doin?" I asked.

"Making dessert for Thursday," he replied as he rolled out what looked to be a pie crust.

"What're we having?" I asked as I walked over to stand beside him and survey the space that used to be the island in the middle of my kitchen.

"Three pies, two cheese cakes. Apple, blackberry, and pecan, and raspberry swirl and chocolate," he said as he placed a glass pie dish down next to the freshly rolled pie crust and gently held the edge of the crust against the rolling pin, and slowly began rolling the rolling pin back toward himself, thus rolling the pie crust with it. When he was done, pulled the dish over and then rolled the pin back out, allowing the pie crust to un-furl itself over and into the dish. Setting the rolling pin aside, he made quick work of pressing the crust down into the pie dish, and then he was done, stepping back to admire his handy-work.

"Perfect," he said quietly, then turned to look at me with a brilliant smile.

"Anything I can do to help?" I asked.

"Yeah. Stay out of my way. No offense, but I'm on a roll here, and you're entirely too much of a distraction--"

He was interrupted by the cordless phone ringing over on the counter, and held up a hand as he turned to go answer it.

"Hello? Oh, hi. Yeah, he is. He's out by the pool with Meadow, hang on." He held his hand over the mouth piece as he extended his hand out to me. "It's Rebecca. She wants to talk to Paul," he said.

I took the phone and headed out through the dining room, through the great room, and out through the sliding glass doors to the patio, where Paul was just pulling himself out of the pool on the far side of the deck. I watched the play of muscles beneath his skin as he bent to pick up a towel, my mouth suddenly going dry as I watched a tiny stream of water sluice its way down his back, to disappear into the waistband of his trunks.

"Paul! Phone!" I called out. He turned around to look at me as he continued to dry off. I held up the phone, and he nodded and quickly made his way around the pool to where I stood, and I handed him the phone, saying, "It's Rebecca." Then I turned and headed back into the house.

I wandered back into the kitchen to watch Michael putting the finishing touches on a pie and make a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to vent. Paul came in a minute later, and Michael looked out the window to check on Meadow.

"That was Rebecca. Her folks won't be able to make it after all, so she's not going to pick Meadow up tomorrow after all," Paul said.

"So then, what's she doing on Thursday?" Michael asked.

"She'll probably just go out to dinner somewhere....She really didn't say what her plans were," Paul replied.

"Why didn't you just tell her to come here?" Michael wanted to know.

"I figured we already had enough people coming....Sorry." Paul said with a sheepish grin.

"Pish! With the amount I'm cooking? Call her back and tell her I said she's coming here, and don't argue, because she won't win."

Paul dialed Rebecca back. "Hey, Becky, Michael told me to call you back tell you that you're coming here for dinner, and not to argue, because you won't win. Yeah, hang on. Here, she wants to talk to you," Paul said, holding the phone out to Michael.

Michael took the phone and put it up to his ear. "Hello, Rebecca? No, you're coming, and that's final. There's more than enough food, believe me! Just the immediate family's, spouses, partners, significant others, whatever. My family are flying in tomorrow, and I'm doing an informal get together tomorrow night, so you're more than welcome to come for that too. Just a chance to get all those that want to come together and have some good food, good wine, and good conversation before the 'formal' get together on Thursday. Six o'clock, but anytime after three is fine. Okay, we'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye," Michael said, ending the call, and giving the phone back to Paul.

"I said she wouldn't win."

Michael's POV

I got up early on Thanksgiving morning and pulled out the makings for breakfast and started getting things ready.

My family had all arrived the previous afternoon, and with various members of Jake's and Paul's family's also popping in, it made for a nice relaxing evening. True to her promise, Rebecca showed up, and by the time the evening was over and we were getting the kids to bed, she was glad that I hadn't taken "no" for an answer, and enquired if there was anything that she could bring the following afternoon. I told her to just bring her appetite, as I was pretty much cooking enough to feed an army, and we said goodnight.

When I was done, I had batter made for either pancakes or waffles, a dozen and a half eggs ready to be cooked to order, potatoes peeled and waiting to either be shredded or diced up O'Brien style, and ham, bacon and sausage links. Oh yeah, and fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee ready to be turned on and brewed, which I did.

All that was needed now was for the first warm body to come strolling in and let me know what they wanted.

While I waited for the coffee to do its job, I decided to begin getting a headstart on breakfast, and turned both ovens under the huge cooktop on to "warm." Next I plugged in the waffle maker and turned on the griddle, and put three large skillets on the front burners and turned up the flames under each. I decided to do potatoes O'Brien, and was just about to get started in them when Jake came in, his face scrunched up in a yawn as he absentmindedly scratched his chest. He kind of came to a halt just inside the doorway when he noticed me by the stove slicing and dicing the potatoes into the hot skillet.

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, grab some coffee and have a seat. As soon as everyone else gets down here and decides what kind of eggs they want, I'll get going on everything else."

"Okay, yeah....." Jake said, still somewhat dazed as he headed for the coffee.

Paul and the kids came wandering in shortly afterwards, and after everyone decided what they wanted, the day was officially under way.

Thank god I'd had the foresight to do alot of my prep work over the past few days. I had spent the better share of Monday evening, Tuesday, and yesterday slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, and baking.

I had several platters sitting on the counter, and I went over to the fridge and pulled out the zip-lock bags that I had put in there Monday night. Next, I got the pickles and olives and the mushrooms and pineapple, and then I went to work.

I think Boo and Atticus had taken up permanent residence in the doorway, in the hope that I might accidentally drop some tasty treat on the floor that they would be able to scavenge.

By the time I had finished at about a quarter til three, I had a couple platters each of stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, and shrimp, olives-green and black, pickles-sweet and dill, fresh veggies-celery, baby carrots, and sliced peppers-red and green, and even grilled pineapple, set up on the dining room table.

At the same time someone rang the doorbell, the phone rang.

"Shit!" I muttered under my breath. "Would someone get the door?" I yelled out as I picked up the phone and pressed 'talk.'

"Needlemeier's Mortuary! You stab 'em, we slab 'em!"

There was a loud bark of laughter on the other end before a voice said, "Mikey?"

"Hey Shane, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you could see it in your heart to feed a couple of hungry souls that have nowhere to go on Thanksgiving?"

"Um....Sure, why not. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Hell yeah!"

"We're at Jakes place up in the hills. Come anytime."

"Okay, we'll be there in thirty. Bye," he said ending the call. I pushed 'end' and stood staring out the window.

"More company?" Maggie asked from behind me.

I turned around and rolled my eyes and said, "of course," and then walked over to give her a hug.

"Come say hi to Peter and the baby for a bit before you have to disappear into the kitchen again," she coaxed. I spent about a half hour away from the kitchen during which time the rest of my family, along with Jake's parents showed up, along with Shane, who brought Wes, of all people!

"Okay, so why didn't you go home to Baton Rouge?" I asked Shane when he finally made his way into the kitchen.

"I couldn't get a flight out on anything to save my life!" he said.

"Well, that's what happens when you wait til the last minute to try to book a flight!" I told him. He had the grace to give me a sheepish grin. "So, what's going on with you and Wes? Is it serious?"

"I don't know....Right now, we're both having fun, which is just the way we want it, but who knows....."

"I actually think that you two would make a good couple," I told him, and I meant it.

Over the next couple of hours, Paul's family arrived. His mom showed up with Paul's youngest brother Cody, and David, her partner. His father, Paul, arrived with his girlfriend, Colleen, and this younger brother Caleb, and sister Ashlie, each showed up with their significant others. Rebecca, Meadow's mother arrived in the midst of the rest of Paul's family, and was grateful to be included in the festivities.

By the time dinner was served shortly after six o'clock, we had managed to gather twenty nine people for Thanksgiving. The menu consisted of turkey, of course, mashed potatoes and gravy, sausage and mushroom dressing, candied yams, fresh corn, steamed carrots, French-cut green beans with slivered almonds, and peas, rolls, and last but not least, cranberry sauce.

As I sat eating my dinner and listening to the rise and fall of conversation around me, I counted myself to be truly blessed, for I was surrounded by family and friends, and on a day like this, what more would a person ask for.....

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Well, that's the end of Michael and Jake--The Christmas Miracle, part A. Look for part B soon. As always, I can be reached at my email, dnsphelps@mcsi.net or on yahoo messenger at twains_fan_03@yahoo.com on msn messenger at twains_fan_03@hotmail.com or on aim at guyoregon8.

I also have a myspace account (who doesn't these days?) myspace.com/dnsphelps So feel free to drop me a line, or hit me up to chat. Just be sure to include the story title so that I don't delete anything. I want to give a shout out to Christopher and Avy. Thank you guys so much!

Also, if there's a story that you like, be sure to write and let the author know....We really do appreciate the feedback! Thanks,

Stephen