Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:35:02 +0000 From: Chris Salter Subject: How I Met Jake: Chapter 11 If 2 men offends, ye needs to click onto some other website, yarr. If ye be under the legal age in your country/principality/state/province/etc then also do not be reading. Disclaimer: I don't claim to know Jake, nor do I claim to know his sexual preference and relationship status, it's his own business and we should be happy, whatever his choices, because we all love Jake. That is why you're reading, no? Apologies for the pirate talk. I've gone insane. Anyway, Enjoy! Chapter 11: Chris woke up for the second time in two days with his front being cold, and his back being warmed by the presence of another mans body. He loved the feeling of being protected in this fashion, only he wished it was Jake doing the protecting, rather than his ex boyfriend. As he had agreed to drop Danny back at Burbank Airport, Chris had managed to arrange to have the morning off from work. As he became more lucid, he looked to see it was just after 9. Danny's flight back to New York was leaving at 11:55AM. He slowly broke himself free of Danny's grip and headed into the shower. After he was done, he quickly dressed then woke Danny. He then slowly made his way into the living area as he waited for Danny to shower. Chris quietly sat down in his egg chair and stared out the window at the blinding sun hitting the windows of the houses in the hills. A part of him was hoping one of those windows belonged to Jake. A short time later, Danny appeared out of the bedroom dressed in a plain white business shirt and a brown hair of pants. He was also wearing a fedora, much to Chris' amusement. Quietly Danny put his second bag next to the other by the door and made his way over to Chris who was spinning slowly in the chair. "You okay?" Chris continued to spin as he replied, "I guess, I'm just a little down." He then looked back at Danny's fedora, "Lose that," he commented, "You know I find them irresistible, but yeah, just lose it." "Fine, you win." Danny replied as he stuck it on Chris' head. He then quickly extended his hand to prevent the chair from making another 360 turn, he then kneeled down in front of Chris, "When he calls," "If he calls." Chris replied as he took the hat off and put it on the coffee table. "No, when he calls. Tell him how you feel." Danny continued, "From the sound of it, he feels the same way, he just doesn't know how to go about expressing it. Just tell him, it might make things easier." Chris smiled and leaned forward to quickly kiss Danny on the cheek. "I suppose we better get going." "Yeah I suppose," Danny said as he helped Chris out of the chair. He then made his way to the door and picked up his bags, with Chris carrying the files. They then made their way down to the Volkswagen in the garage. Once everything was loaded into the cargo area, Chris jumped in the drivers' seat and Danny in the passenger seat. They then made their way towards the airport. Pulling up at the parking lot, Chris switched off the engine and helped Danny with the bags. They then made their way to the JetBlue check-in desks. After checking his bags in, the pair slowly made their way to the security checkpoint and passed through without much delay. Danny then made his way towards the seating area in front of his gate, while Chris made his way to over to the kiosk to purchase a bottle of water for both Danny and himself. Making his way back to the gate, Chris found Danny sitting by the window overlooking the runway. "I thought you might need this," Chris said as he handed the bottle to Danny. "Thanks Chris." Danny said as he took the bottle out of Chris' hand. He looked over to see Chris staring blankly out the window. "Try calling him, maybe he phone was off?" "I don't think he will answer. Besides, if I keep calling I will look like a stalker." Quickly and slyly, Danny stuck his hand in the pocket of Chris' shirt. He pulled out the cell phone and held it out for Chris. "Call him." Groaning, Chris took the phone and found Jake's phone number in the memory banks. He pressed connect and wait for the call to connect. As expected, the call went to Jake's voicemail. Saddened, Chris ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. "I really think I've blown it." As Danny was not shy about expressing his feelings in public, he put his arm around Chris and pulled him close. "Try again tonight." "Maybe." Chris replied in a morose tone. He continued to sit there held in Danny's grip until an announcement came over the PA system announcing the boarding of the JetBlue flight to Kennedy. Standing up, Danny hugged Chris tightly before saying his goodbyes. Chris stood at the window as he watched Danny's plane begin to pushback. Once it had, he slowly made his way back to the parking lot to make his way to work. After paying the parking fee, he jumped in the car and started the engine. Chris then set off down the freeway on the way to the lab. When he was nearly at the parking lot he suddenly realized a song came on his iPod that made him even sadder. He looked down at the screen. It read "Lisa Loeb - Jake" Quickly pulling into the garage, Chris switched the engine off and slumped his head on the steering wheel. He softly began to cry. Putting it on repeat once more, he listened to the first half of the song. "I'm going as far as I can go, away from here, away from you, Jake, and the hole you've sunk me into. I wish that I could belong here, with you, and just be, but that's not all that I'm about. Your life is built on accidents, like meeting me. You write everything down in your grocery list - people do this. Even insects buzz like airplanes, why can't we fly away? I'm going as far as I can go." He continued to cry for a few minutes more. "I've really really really blown it." He muttered. Eventually sucking up enough courage to go inside, Chris locked the doors and headed towards the stairwell to his office. If he kept himself occupied, he would be able to take his mind off his mistakes. He solemnly walked down the corridor occasionally looking up to make sure he wouldn't crash into anyone carrying volatile materials. As Chris walked past a t-section, something caught his attention out the corner of his eyes. It was someone that looked like Jake going into an interview room. Quickly, Chris walked towards the door; however, by the time he reached it, it was already locked. "Fuck." Chris muttered as he reached the door. He then decided he would hang around by the door, on the off chance it was Jake. An hour later Chris' leg was beginning to go numb from standing in one position for a while. He looked at his watch and acknowledged it was nearly 2. "Come on, Come on." He muttered. A short time later the door began to open. Chris quickly dashed out of sight to make it appear as if he was just walking past. He then decided to walk past as the group of people began to exit. "Jake, hi." Jake stopped suddenly and felt sick to his stomach, "Hi Chris." "What are you doing here?" Coldly Jake responded, "They wanted me to identify the gunman." "Have you gotten my messages?" Chris asked, deeply saddened at Jakes tone. "Yes, I did." Chris' bottom lip began to tremble, "Can we talk somewhere?" Jake was feeling horrible inside, he was hurt, but he could also see Chris was just as upset. "I don't think we've got anything more to say." "Please," Chris begged. Jake thought for a moment, he really didn't want to get hurt. On the other hand, he couldn't say no to Chris. "Okay, I have to go soon though." Chris' heart skipped, he wasn't expecting Jake to say yes. He then motioned for Jake to follow him back into the interview room. He locked the door and then walked over to the stainless steel table in the middle of the room. It was a dimly lit room, only illuminated by a large light hanging above the table. "I'm sorry Jake." "Sorry? You're sorry you went behind my back and went back to Danny?" Chris' eyes widened. He took notice that Jake's lip was trembling. "I haven't gone back to Danny. He flew back to pick up some stuff. He's gone now." "Did you sleep together?" Jake asked. Chris winced, "We slept in the same bed yes. But we didn't have sex." Jake closed his eyes and sat down on the desk. He felt nauseous. "I guess Monday night meant nothing to you." "What?" Chris exclaimed. "The time I spent with you was the most amazing night I had ever had in my life. It meant the world to me." He continued, "Last night when I tried to call you, Danny wanted me to make sure I told you something." Jake was already dreading what he was about to hear, "What was it?" Chris sat down on the table next to Jake. "Jake, I'm falling for you. I can't get you off my mind." He watched as Jake lifted his chin up from his chest, "Whenever I'm around you I feel giddy with excitement, whenever I'm not, I find the time thinking about you." Chris gently placed his hand on Jake's leg. To his surprise, Jake didn't move it away. "I have to confess something." Jake said softly. "I've completely fallen for you. It hurts so much." Once again, Chris' heart skipped a beat. For a moment, he thought he was suffering from Cardiac arrhythmia. "You have?" "More than fallen I guess. It's stupid, I hardly know you. When Danny answered the phone I collapsed on the ground. I even called Maggie. She told me to leave you alone but I can't. My sister knows me more than anyone and she could see I was feeling like shit." Chris silently got to his feet and stepped in front of Jake, who was still seated on the table. He slowly pulled Jake into a tight and romantic hug as he let a tear run down his cheek. "I wish you had answered your phone. Nothing happened with Danny. All I could think about was you." Jake hugged Chris back even tighter, "Do you still love Danny?" "I do," Chris said as he felt Jakes shoulders lower, "I always will, but I don't want to be with him, I want to be with you." He paused for a moment, biting his tongue before deciding to bite the bullet. "I care too much about you, I would say I love you, but that would sound a bit stalkerish so early on." Jake smiled and shifted his head so he could look Chris his blue and green eyes, "I guess it does make you sound like a stalker." He joked. He then tilted his head to allow the tip of his nose to poke Chris' nose. "Are we okay now?" Chris asked as he gently stroked Jakes hairline. Thinking for a moment Jake responded, "I guess. But there is something else." Ceasing his grooming actions Chris shot Jake a puzzled look, "Have I done something else wrong?" "No." Jake chuckled. He then lightly held onto Chris' arms, "Can I see you tonight?" Chris smiled and hugged Jake once more, "Of course, come over to my place after work." "It's a date then!" Jake said as he stood up, "I guess I should let you go back to work." Chris grasped Jake's right hand and slowly led him to the door, "I'll show you out, if you're done with Lana." "Yeah I'm done I think. She rushed off to the police station I think." Jake replied as he followed Chris to the door. As Chris unlocked the door, he quickly squeezed Jake's hand before letting go. He opened the door and led Jake back to the large glass door. After swiping his card, the door slid open with a soft hiss. Jake stepped through into the entrance and turned to face Chris, "I'll see you tonight then." Blushing, Chris stared at his shoes before looking up to smile at Jake, "Tonight then, have a good day." He quickly waved before the door hissed shut. Slightly happier, he then made his way to his office to occupy himself for the next three hours. Arriving home a little after 6:30, Chris parked his car in the garage and made his way up to his apartment. As soon as he unlocked the door he was greeted by Fergus demanding attention. Quickly picking his cat up off the ground he twirled his way into the living area singing to the song that was replying in his mind. "I suppose you want to be fed." Chris said as he put Fergus down on the kitchen bench. He then grabbed a can of cat food, opened it and emptied the contents into a bowl. Chris then switched on the air-conditioner and headed into the bathroom to grab a cool shower. When he was done, Chris quickly dressed himself in a dark brown t-shirt and a faded pair of jeans. He then padded barefoot back to the bathroom and applied some cologne to strategic places before switching the lights off, closing the blinds and making his way back into the living area. Unsure as to when Jake would be getting there, Chris then decided to lie on the couch and flick through the TV Channels. After quickly skipping over a majority of the channels, Chris then grabbed the remote for the DVD player and turned it on. Realizing the DVD he had watched with Jake was still in there, he groaned and slowly got up before making his way to the large shelf of DVD's. Not in the mood to watch a movie, he switched his attention to the shelf of TV shows, eventually settling on The Golden Girls. Slipping the disc into the tray, he closed it and retook his position lying on the couch. After navigating the menu, he then began to watch an episode. About an hour later, a buzz sounded from the intercom system near the door. Quickly Chris jumped up and made his way to the small panel. Pressing the small button, he spoke into the wall, "Hello?" "It's Jake," Came a familiar voice from the speaker. "Can I come up?" "Of course," Chris replied as he simultaneously pressed the button to unlock the gate. "It should be open now." He then let go of the intercom button and waited for a knock at the door. Several minutes later the knock finally came. Chris quickly opened the door, only to find his neighbor standing in the doorway holding a bag full of dripping garbage. "What? The cans are in the garage, near the door." "Okay, thank you, sorry for bothering you." The young woman apologized. Chris peered over the woman's shoulder and spotted Jake reaching the top of the stairs. Chris waved at Jake as the woman turned around. "Oh my god, are you Jake Gyllenhaal?" The woman asked in excited tone. Jake panicked for a moment before Chris came to his rescue, "You know he gets that ALL the time, James I think you should be that Jake's stunt double." He then looked at the woman, "Don't you think?" The woman, obviously fooled by Chris' statement, agreed with him, "Wow you could have fooled me. I think you should start charging people to have their photo taken with you." "I guess I should!" Jake exclaimed, "But I guess that's why Chris is friends with me, you know he's obsessed with that Jake guy." The woman turned to Chris, "Really? Me too, we should totally do coffee sometime and talk about Jake!" She then looked to see the bag beginning to drip on the ground, "Shit, I better get rid of this, thanks Chris, and nice to meet you James!" "Nice to meet you too." Jake replied as he moved to the side, allowing the woman to hurry down the stairs with the dripping bag. He then slowly made his way through Chris' open door and closed it. Quickly pulling Chris into his arms, he kissed him before breaking off, "Thanks!" "She deserved it; she's been here for 5 months and still can't find the garbage cans. I think she needs a slap with a big wet fish." Chris replied as he kept Jake close to his body. He missed the smell of Jake, even if he could smell the slight smell of tobacco. Jake laughed, "I had no idea you were such a liar." He then went silent for a moment, thinking, he then spoke up again, "What other things have you lied about? The Danny thing?" Chris let go of Jake and stepped back slightly, "We're not back on this are we. I have never lied to you, I care about you, I don't care about that airhead." Chris slowly cupped Jake's right ear in his hand before continuing, "I'm sorry things got blown out of proportion." Smiling, Jake once again brought Chris into his arms and hugged him tightly. "Okay, I believe you." Eventually freeing himself from Jake's arms, Chris took Jake's hand and led him to the couch. He sat down, with Jake following close behind. As Jake made himself, more comfortable Chris quickly relocated himself so his head was leaning on Jake's shoulder. Jake in turn put his arm around Chris and pulled him closer. Leaning his head on Chris', he then looked up to see what was on the screen. "The Golden Girls? Are you kidding me? How much gayer can you get?" Chris sat up sharply and turned to Jake, "I'm the epitome of gay actually. I even spend my days thinking about kissing Jake Gyllenhaal." As soon as Chris finished his statement, Jake quickly slipped his shoes off, leaned over, and planted his lips on Chris'. Slowly changing his position so he was straddling Chris' legs, he slowly parted Chris' lips with his tongue. Keeping Chris' head in place with his hands, slowly he allowed his tongue to circle Chris' before finally breaking off. "Kind of like that?" he asked with a coy smile on his face. Chris tried to hide the tightening in his pants; luckily, his stomach grumbled, diverting the attention. "Sorry, I haven't eaten in over 24 hours, and yes, that was how I imagined it." "That's good to know then." Jake said as he jumped of Chris' lap. "I'm hungry too; did you want to order something?" Chris shook his head, "Nah, I'm sick of that crap; I can try and scrounge something from the fridge. I'm sure there's something in there." He then stood up and padded his way to the kitchen. Jake turned and watched Chris squat as he looked in the fridge. Several moments later, he too jumped to his feet and softly made his way to the kitchen area. "You find anything?" Fishing a small bowl out, Chris poked his head out of the fridge. "I was going to make this the other night, but things came up. 4 days should have marinated it more than enough." He placed the bowl on the bench as Jake examined the nondescript meat marinating in a brown sauce. "What the hell is it?" Jake said as he tilted the stainless steel bowl under the light. Pulling a pile of vegetables out, Chris closed the door, dumped on the bench before replying to Jake. "Duck breast marinated in Hoisin Sauce. I was going to bring it along to Sarah's thing, but at the last minute she changed her mind and didn't want anyone to bring anything." "Sounds good, is there anything I can help with?" Jake asked as he shot Chris an innocent smile. Stepping over so he was in front of Jake, Chris quickly kissed him on the cheek, "I should be fine, and it won't take that long to cook. If you want to collapse on the couch..." "Can I sit here?" Jake asked as he pointed at the kitchen bench. Chris nodded and Jake jumped onto the bench top. He watched as Chris pulled a wok from the depths of his cupboard and placed it on the flame. As Chris made his way back to chopping the vegetables quickly, he would occasionally divert to kiss Jake quickly. Eventually the oil was hot enough and Chris threw the duck breasts in to cook quickly. It didn't take long for them to cook, and when they were done he pulled them out and put them on a small white cutting board to rest. He then returned to cutting the salad up. "It smells really good Chris." Jake commented as he continued to watch Chris with loving eyes. "You seem like a good cook." Chris laughed, "We'll see if you survive the night." He quickly broke up the lettuce with his hands and placed it on the plates. Diverting once more to kiss Jake on the cheek, Chris then sliced the duck breast and placed it on the two plates. He then headed to the table and placed them down. "Did you want something to drink?" Chris asked. Jake jumped off the bench and headed to the closest seat. "Water is fine." "Sure, sparkling, bottled, tap, toilet water?" Chris joked. He then returned to the table after making a detour to turn the stereo on. Jake chuckled, "Sparkling I guess." He waited for Chris to return to the table before sitting down opposite him. Jake then picked up a fork, stabbed a piece of duck and put it in his mouth. "This is really good. I love your cooking." "I thought you were going to say something else then." Chris commented, softly before blushing at his own stupidity. Jake smiled and reached his hand out to gently stroke Chris' arm. At the same time, he moved his sock covered feet to gently stroke Chris' bare feet. "In time. This is all pretty new to me." Chris nodded in agreement, "I know, I wasn't expecting you to, it would be a little strange, in my head you have to be in a relationship with someone before saying that." Changing the subject Chris enquired, "So what did you do today?" Between bites Jake replied, "I didn't sleep much last night. I was too busy thinking things over. I didn't even work out this morning, but after I saw you I went to see my agent. She wants to organize some stuff for an upcoming movie." Chris didn't know Jake had recently finished filming, he enquired, "What movie is it?" "It's this movie called Rendition. It was really fun to make. Had to go to Morocco, so that was a blast." Jake continued to play footsies with Chris under the table. Chris smiled, part of him not believing Jake was sitting across from him. "I'll have to go see it sometime." He watched as Jake smiled and took another bite from the fork. "What is this?" Jake asked as he pointed to the stereo. "That, my dear, is something called a stereo, you put these things in and they play music." Chris replied sarcastically, "But if you're referring to the music playing, it's Roger Cicero." "Do you speak German?" Jake asked. Chris smiled, "I can barely get by in a conversation. Danny was the one fluent in it. I really just like the music." "Yeah it's pretty good." As Chris was starving, he finished the meal first, yet remained seated while Jake finished. Once he was, Chris picked up the plates and threw them in the dishwasher; he turned it on and then led Jake back to the couch. Once Jake was settled, Chris quickly took his place in Jakes arms and handed him the remote. Jake quickly flicked through the various channels, finally settling on a documentary about North Korea. After placing the remote on the couch next to him, he then pulled Chris in closer. After a short time, their little world was suddenly interrupted by Chris' phone ringing. Slowly he peeled himself from Jakes body and padded his way over to the phone, he picked it up and answered, "Hello?" Jake watched Chris as he began to pace up and down. "Yeah I did." Chris said into the phone, "He's here right now." He continued his conversation before finally ending the phone call. Chris then walked back to the couch and lay down on the couch, resting his head on Jake's leg. After turning his head, he noticed Jake looking at him with a puzzled expression. "It was Danny," Chris said. Jake closed his eyes and grimaced, "Oh?" "He wanted to know if you were talking to me yet." Chris explained, "He wanted to say he was sorry for the other day, he was trying to explain when you suddenly ended the call." Jake pouted his lips and slowly moved his hand so he was stroking Chris' chest through the fabric. "I wasn't really in the mood to talk to him," Jake explained. Chris placed his hand over Jakes and gently stroked it, "He wants to make it up to you. He said next time you were in New York he wanted to buy you a drink or something." Chris thought for a moment, "Doesn't your sister live in New York?" "Maggie? Yeah she lives in New York. I don't know if I would feel comfortable with Danny buying me a drink though. Not alone at least. Maybe if you came with me it would be okay." Chris closed his eyes and continued to rest his head on Jake's thigh, "I will, if you want me to." He then enquired, "Does Maggie know about you yet?" Jake thought for a moment before replying, "In a way. I mean she knows I like someone, but I would rather tell her something that important in person. I'm not entirely sure of myself just yet." He then lightly ran his finger around the periphery of Chris' ear, "I just know I like you." "You're cute." Chris said softly as he changed his position once again. The feeling of Jake caressing his face quickly sent Chris to sleep. Several hours later Chris woke up in the same position he had been in when he fell asleep. He slowly turned his head to see Jake was asleep. Slowly Chris sat up and stretched his body before turning the TV off. He then sat down on the couch next to Jake and kissed him on the cheek, "Jake wake up." Slowly Jake began to stir and turned his head to look groggily Chris in the eye. "Yeah?" he croaked. Chris took Jake's hand and pulled him up, "Come to bed." Jake staggered his way to Chris' bedroom, being led by Chris. Jake squinted as Chris switched on the light to navigate to the large bed. Jake quickly looked around, the room was decorated in muted tones of grey and browns. On the bed was a large plain bedspread with a fake fur throw on the bed. Chris led Jake into the bathroom, fished out a new toothbrush, and handed it to Jake. "You're so cute." Jake muttered as he noticed Chris' preparedness for most situations. He then brushed his teeth while exchanging glances at Chris who had disappeared back into the bedroom to change. A few minutes later Chris returned to the bathroom to expel the toothpaste from his mouth. He rinsed his mouth before heading back into the bedroom. Chris pulled back the sheets on his side of the bed and slipped in. A few moments later Fergus joined him on the bed, and a few moments after that Jake padded his way back into the bedroom wearing only his jeans. Jake padded across the soft carpet and sat on the side of the bed. Sitting for a few minutes he then quickly got up and pulled the sheets back. Chris lay in bed admiring Jake's broad and smooth back. As Jake slipped into the bed, Chris gasped as he caught sight of his body once more. Slowly Jake inched himself closer as Chris surveyed him. "What?" He asked as he shot Chris a coy smile. "Nothing, just admiring your prettiness." Chris joked. He then slid over to kiss Jake on the cheek once more. As Chris moved to pull away, Jake quickly grabbed him and flipped Chris over so Chris' back was now facing him. Jake then moved himself so he was spooning Chris, he then kissed the back of Chris' neck and lightly stroked his arm. "Goodnight cutie." Jake whispered. Chris blushed and pushed himself back so he was closer to Jake's body. He then moved his hand so he was holding Jakes hand on his chest. "Goodnight Jake." Chris muttered as he pleasantly began to sleep. --Stay tuned for Chapter 12-- Well, aren't I the little tease? Something happens in the next chapter, honest! Anyway, love to hear from you guys, drop me a line if you want at chezmoi_ou_cheztoi@msn.com I will usually reply, if I have the time to email,but I usually get back eventually. Its been great talking to you guys. I love my little gaggle of fans. Also, from advice from a reader, I created a little silly MSN webgroup thing for people to chat about the story, or Jake or ...whatever. Check it out if you want. I haven't done much with it at the moment, as I've been pretty..blergh for the last few days. But I shall let it grow over time. http://groups.msn.com/HowIMetJakeCafe Great to hear from you guys, hope you're enjoying it thus far! Chris.