Jesse Hamill
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 series 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!
As always, a special thanks to Ash, my editor. Your hard work is much appreciated by me and the readers. Thank you!
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The Love of Rainn: Chapter 9
Rainn woke at 7:00 am the next morning and spent the longest three hours of his life trying to look nice. He ate breakfast quickly and talked with Gran only briefly before running back to his room. He spent the whole morning picking out clothes and standing in front of the mirror. They say that a watched pot never boils, but have you ever watched a clock? You'd swear the hands are stuck they moved so slowly....
Rainn tried on everything he owned at least twice before settling on a dark blue hoodie, a paint-stained green shirt and some dark jeans. He realized that he didn't have anything he liked to wear and almost all his clothes were stained. Rainn sighed and wondered what Jesse was going to wear. What did Jesse think of Rainn's appearance?
Does it even matter? We're just friends right? Anything is probably fine for the movies...
Sometimes though, Rainn wondered.... He thought back to yesterday at the diner...
He got bored at about eight and tried to draw something to keep his mind occupied. He started several sketches, but threw them away dissatisfied about half way through. Rainn had been trying to draw Jesse, trying to get his eyes right, but none of them compared to the real thing...
Rainn gave up trying to draw him realistically so he took the sketch in an abstract direction. He thought about what Jesse would most likely be as an animal, and the lone wolf stood out. Rainn drew a fierce predatory wolf on one half of the page and a tame, kindly husky on the other. They were actually the same dog, but he wanted to show two sides of the same coin, so to speak. In the middle between two wolves (or were they dogs?) he drew a mountain scape with an illuminated full moon centered. He was tempted to draw some black, thick-framed glasses on the husky, but he decided against it.
Before he knew it he was adding color and ink, and it became his full focus. Rainn loved to create things, it was his passion. He put all his effort and energy it it and sometimes it worked and sometime it didn't. He loved everything that he made, even if it wasn't what he expected it to be.
Rainn looked up at the clock and almost freaked out. It read five minutes past ten and he was just sitting there! He gathered everything he thought he might need and headed through the house as quickly as he could. He almost tripped on the kitchen table and the sofa in the living room before he stopped at the front door.
"Where's the fire mister? Be careful before you get hurt..." Gran said to him, concerned.
"Sorry Gran!" Rainn replied. "I thought I was late and keeping Jesse waiting..."
"Okay, okay, but slow down! Where are you two going today?"
"I was going to his house for some tutoring and then we were going to watch a movie."
"Oh, okay then. Please be careful while you're out okay?" she said.
"I will Gran..." he said. She had sounded a little sad, so Rainn went over and gave her a hug. Was it because he rushed through breakfast? Did he miss something?
Well regardless of what it was, she smiled and seemed in better spirits after his hug. Rainn heard knocking at the door and went over to answer, heart beating fast.
Jesse stood there hands in his pocket and a smile on his face. He was wearing a marigold yellow plaid shirt with stripes of black and forest green. Under it was a very clean white t-shirt. He was wearing his usual dark denim jeans and his red canvas shoes. He looked clean shaven and his hair a little more tamed than usual. Rainn almost fell over with how handsome he looked. He was talking and Rainn was just nodding, not hearing a single word.
"So it totally wasn't my fault okay?" Jesse said smiling.
"Huh?" Rainn asked, finally realizing that Jesse was talking.
Jesse smiled and tilted his head a bit. Rainn had noticed he did that he was a little lost or confused... so cute...
"....I was just saying that my mom had me make a few deliveries on the way over here, so I'm sorry I'm a bit late..." he said, carefully watching Rainn.
"It's okay... I was just lost in thought," Rainn said. "Oh and you're not that late... I wasn't worried..."
"Oh good. You ready?"
"Yeah, let's go," Rainn said.
He told his Gran bye and that he'd be home by ten that evening. She reminded him to be careful and to have fun. Rainn got in the jeep and Jesse did the same. He could smell the cedar incense on Jesse and it made him smile. He felt weightless and nervous, but good.
Jesse just smiled back. The color of his eyes was standing out because of the shirt he had on and Rainn had to pinch himself to stop staring.
"I hope you don't mind, but I have to make some deliveries this morning," he said, pointing to the flowers in the trunk behind them.
"Uh huh..." Rainn said, still dazed.
"Um... Is that a yes? Or...?" he asked. He was doing the cute tilted-head thing...
"Yes! Sorry! ...I have a lot on my mind..." Rainn said.
"It' okay. I'm the one who should say sorry, though. I thought we could hang out, but I was late coming home last night, so..." he said, "this is my punishment."
"Oh..."
"No it's okay! It totally wasn't your fault!" he said. "I should have called and told my mom I was fine during the blackout last night."
Rainn still felt kind of guilty for getting Jesse in trouble, but Jesse eventually convinced him it wasn't his fault.
"Besides... This isn't that bad. I don't usually get to make deliveries and I like driving around."
"Well, alright. But... I get to buy your movie ticket later. It's the least I could do after you helped me with math... and because it's my fault you're in trouble..."
"No it's okay! Really!"
Rainn just shook his head. "Nope, sorry! Not gonna happen! I couldn't do that to a friend." He had echoed Jesse's response from a few days ago when he offered to pay Jesse for tutoring.
Jesse was going to make another point, but he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. He was a little let down because he wanted to buy Rainn's ticket... Oh well.
Jesse just smiled as they backed out of Rainn's driveway and started making their way around town. Jesse wasn't real sure where he was going, but Rainn was an excellent navigator. He directed Jesse down a few backroad shortcuts and byways to avoid morning commuters and congested traffic. They were making good time and had only a few flowers left to deliver.
"Okay... let's see," Jesse said, looking at the list. "Oak Lane... You know where that is?"
"Yeah, it's close to the diner. Two blocks down I think..."
"Roger that. Making our way there now." he said, taking a left up ahead. "Thanks for the help finding all the streets. This is the best punishment I think I've ever had."
"You're welcome! It is kinda fun, right? Just driving around town?"
"Yeah. When you have good company that is..." he said, smiling at Rainn.
Rainn blushed just a little and smiled back. For having to do some work this morning, he was having a lot of fun.
They completed their deliveries in under an hour and he drove back to the flower shop, inviting Rainn up for some lunch. Rainn was actually pretty hungry and wondered what he ate that morning. He had just rushed though breakfast so fast...
"I'm cooking today, so I thought maybe some Japanese? You like yakitori?"
"Yes!! I love yakitori!" Rainn said excitedly. He loved reading about the grilled chicken skewers in manga. They were always coated in a special sauce and looked so delicious!
"Great! Looks like I chose wisely," Jesse said. That wasn't entirely true. He knew that Rainn loved manga, so yakitori was a pretty safe bet. He was still happy to make something that Rainn liked, though.
"Okay, let's head up to apartment. I need to get to the kitchen."
They headed into the shop and said hello to Diana.
"You finished all those deliveries? You weren't speeding, were you?" Jesse's mom asked.
"No, mom! Of course not! Rainn's just an excellent navigator. He got us around all the traffic and knew some shortcuts."
"Okay... but if someone complains about a missing order... or if you get a speeding ticket..." she said with a half smile and an accusing finger. "Then I'll put you on counter duty and you'll have to make all the arrangements for a whole month!"
"No! No, I promise!" Jesse said, shocked and a little dismayed. "Rainn can vouch for me! Right?"
"Yeah! No worries Mrs. Michaels, he's a good driver," Rainn said, smiling. Jesse was cute when he got all worked up...
"Okay, you pass this time. But I'm watching you..." she said with that same half smile. Diana looked like she liked having Jesse in trouble.
"Alright... Hey, we're heading up! I'm cooking lunch!" he said as quickly as possible. He hurried Rainn through the shop and up the stairs.
"Phew... I thought I was going to have to make seventy centerpieces for that wedding coming up..." he said when they got to the safety of the kitchen. "I'm going to get my recipes, but make yourself at home." He showed Rainn to the kitchen table before heading to his room.
Rainn sat down and got out his drawing from that morning. He wanted to finish it today before he lost his focus on what he wanted from it. He was busy coloring in the mountains when Jesse came back in with a Japanese cookbook and a composition notebook.
"Hey! That's so awesome! Can I?" Jesse asked, looking at the wolves. Rainn handed it to him and he stared at it for a few minutes.
"Can I have this one? I mean, if you don't need it for anything....?" Jesse asked.
"Sure! But, I have to finish it first..."
"Yes!" he said. "Okay, well... I'm going to get started on lunch."
Rainn continued working on the sketch, but he also watched Jesse cook. He started by washing his hands with plenty of soap, and then put some rice in a pot on the back burner of the cooktop. He returned to his notes and cookbook. Jesse went to the fridge and started pulling out all sorts of ingredients including chicken thighs and a tall, narrow jar. The jar held a dark sauce, but it looked a little low.
"Hmmm... I'll have to add to the tare sauce. I'm almost out..." Jesse said to himself. He went to the pantry and cabinets, gathering bottles and more ingredients. He mixed some of them together in a bowl, eyeballing most of the measurements. Jesse added it to the jar before he started cutting the chicken and skewering it on some bamboo sticks. Rainn was impressed with his knife skills and his cleanliness. Jesse was even careful with the chicken.
Jesse put the chicken skewers on a broiling pan and turned on the oven. He checked on the rice and smiled.
Must be looking good, Rainn thought.
"About another ten, maybe fifteen minutes," he said to Rainn.
"Okay," Rainn said.
The oven beeped and he added the pan of skewers.
"No sauce on them?" Rainn asked.
"Not yet. They get sauce towards the end so it doesn't burn," Jesse said.
"Oh... I see," Rainn said.
Rainn continued adding color while Jesse watched the chicken in the oven. When the skewers looked close to being done, he took them out and put them on a counter. Using tongs and an oven mitt, Jesse carefully dunked them in the sauce and returned them to the oven. He gave them another minute before taking them out again and giving them another coating. The smell of caramelizing sugar, toasty soy sauce, and roasted chicken had Rainn drooling and his stomach growling.
Jesse returned the skewers to the oven for about half a minute before taking them out and adding one last coating of sauce. He let them cool on the counter before digging around the fridge some more. Jesse emerged with a couple of cucumbers that he peeled and sliced into super thin half-moons. He added them to a bowl with vinegar, soy sauce and sugar and let them soak.
He cleaned everything up and put away all the ingredients and got out three plates. He served a healthy portion of rice and sprinkled it with some sesame seasoning. He added four skewers and a small pile of the cucumber salad. As he plated everything, he moved some of his stuff, including his notes to the table where Rainn was sitting.
"I gonna take this down to my mom," he said, carrying one of the plates. "But, please, help yourself!"
"Will do!" Rainn said, grabbing a plate of food.
It was the best chicken he ever had. It was moist and succulent and the sauce was savory, sweet and addictively good! He chowed down with gusto and spied some of Jesse's notes. He discreetly pulled them forward and looked.
It was the recipe for the yakitori and the cucumber salad:
Yakitori
1 lb. boneless chicken thighs
1 cup of sake 1/2 cup mirin 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon honey 1 and 1/2 cups soy sauce, low sodium 1/2 cup chicken stock, low sodium
Mix everything together and heat on the stove till it begins to bubble. Turn off heat, allow to cool, and store in the fridge.
Skewer boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes. Grill or broil about five minutes each side, but check to be sure they're cooked thoroughly. Once almost done, dunk into sauce, return to heat, briefly. Dunk again, return to heat before dunking one last time.
Cucumber Salad
1 - 2 small cucumbers sliced as thin as possible (Hint: Use a peeler) 1 tablespoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Slice cucumbers and put them in a bowl with the salt. Yes, it is a lot of salt, but it gets rinsed off later. Allow the cucumbers to sit till they are in a good amount of liquid. Rinse them out under the sink and wring them out. Make sure all the salt is rinsed off and that the cucumber slices are kind of dry, using a paper towel if necessary. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to sit for another 5 minutes.
Hmm... Jesse knew a lot about cooking, and he had the most peculiar handwriting Rainn had ever seen. Rainn wrote out everything in a sloppy print and cursive hybrid, but Jesse's handwriting was neat and even. He wrote out everything in capital letters, like block writing, and used a larger letter to indicate the start of a sentence or names.
Jesse came up the stairs and Rainn discreetly pushed his notes back to where they were.
"So... How is it?" Jesse asked, eagerly.
"Amazing! It is sooo good!" Rainn replied. For once, he didn't care how excited he sounded. He was just happy to be able to eat some of this delicious food.
"Good! I think I'll join you," he said, pulling up a chair and grabbing the last plate.
They talked about the food and Jesse's impressive cooking while they ate lunch. The salad was also good with its tangy sweet and sour dressing. Rainn was amazed that such simple ingredients made such tasty food. He paid Jesse several compliments and thanked him for inviting him to lunch.
"There's not even anywhere in town that makes these!" Rainn said. "I've only ever had these in the city and they were nowhere near as good! All dry and tasteless..." That was not entirely true, but Jesse's yakitori was about ten times better.
"Thanks! I love making and trying new food. It's like a mini vacation to wherever the food is from. Right now we're almost in Tokyo," Jesse said, smiling.
"I'm totally hooked! You should open a restaurant!"
Jesse laughed at that. "Maybe one day. I'm not sure I'd like to make it my job, though. I like to cook, but if it was my job it might not be as fun..."
"Oh yeah. You might get burnt out on cooking. Especially if you'd have to make, like five hundred skewers... that wouldn't be good..."
"I know, right?"
They finished up eating and cleared off the table. Jesse was cleaning up the kitchen and washing the few dishes he dirtied.
"I'll be done in just a few minutes... You're good, right?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'll just continue working on your drawing."
"Awesome!"
Rainn colored in the wolves' features while Jesse cleaned. The eyes became a familiar hazel and matched the moon between the two of them.
When Jesse finished he invited Rainn to his room. They had a few more hours until the movie started and had some time to kill.
Author's note: Yes, the recipes are real! I thought I'd share some with you faithful readers, with more to come. I love to cook and these are some of my favorite recipes. I hope you're enjoying the story and the recipes are my little bonus to you.
I know you've been patient and waiting for these two to finally realize that they are meant for one another, and the moment is soon. I promise!
NOTE: Please ensure that you cook chicken thoroughly through (to at least 165 Fahrenheit)! Also, if the sauce comes into contact with any raw chicken, make sure to boil it at a full boil for at least a few minutes to kill any cross contamination.
Copyright Jesse Hamill and nifty.org 2015. All rights reserved.