Failure of the Heart : Chapter 3 : by Blackheart
Disclaimer: The following story is a work of pure fiction. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is pure coincidence. The story may graphic sexual situations including M/M M/F M/M/F if you are not old enough to legally view such content in your area or if you find it questionable please read no further.
All work contained here in remains the sole property of the author Blackheart and may not be reproduced physically or electronically with the exception of private personal use with out express written consent of the author.
**Failure of the Heart **
Chapter 3 Written by Blackheart Final Edit by Watch
Joanna Keats had searched long and hard for the right job and right town in which to escape her troubles. She found the position as a Human Relations Manager at a large printing facility and the right home for her and her son in Oak Meadow, California, a small but growing town offering quiet neighborhoods and excellent schools.
The town sprouted up around a once successful, granite-mining operation that shut down in the early 60s and had since become a thriving bedroom community for commuters from both Los Angeles and Orange County. Joanne found a modest craftsman style bungalow in the older part of town on a quiet oak shaded street called Lily Court.
The roar of the diesel engine broke the silence in the quiet thoroughfare. Its presence causing curious looks through curtained windows and open garages. A small, beautiful woman of mixed heritage followed behind the truck driving a metallic tan Ford Explorer.
Jacob sat in the passenger seat, a look of apprehension spread across his face as he peered out at the street and onto the neighborhood he would now call home. The moving truck pulled to a stop with a loud hiss of the air brakes while Joanne pulled around it and into the driveway of 2536 Lily Court. Jacob's eyes studied the exposed timber house painted in dark browns and greens.
Joanne shut off the engine and turned to Jacob. "Well kiddo. What do you think?"
"I still don't understand why we had to leave Sacramento." Jacob sighed as he pulled the door release.
Joanne shook her head, she new it was going to be hard as Jacob adjusted. Hell she would have been just as pissed if her parents had uprooted her two months before her 16th birthday.
"The pay is better for starters, and I don't have to worry about crack dealers on the corner." Joanna climbed out of the car and looked back at Jacob who was staring at the other side of the street
She stopped dead and followed her son's line of sight.
Across the way, a teenage girl clad in a pair of small jean shorts that showed off her shapely legs and a white bikini top, stood soaping up a midnight blue Ford Mustang. On the other side of the car stood a boy about Jacob's age wearing nothing but a pair of yellow and blue hibiscus print board shorts. He waved the hose menacingly towards the girl, laughing.
She screamed as the cool stream of water splashed across her chest and retaliated by throwing the soap-filled sponge. It flew through the air and smacked him on the upper left shoulder, giving her time to run and tackle him to the soft grass.
"The sights are definitely better," Joanne added stepping beside her son.
Joann looked up at him, as he was already a good six inches taller than she.
"So which are you looking at?" she asked smiling and pinching his sides.
"Mom!" Jacob yelled as his face flushed red.
"What?"
Their eyes strayed back across the street, as the boy yelped. The girl had managed to top him and now had the hose shoved down the front of his shorts and opened full tilt as he made a futile effort to escape.
"C'mon kiddo, lets get moved in and home." She said finally ruffling his hair as she walked away.
Jacob watched another second before joining his mother.
"Stop!" Matt squealed from beneath Valerie.
Tears streamed down his face from the laughter and sting of water.
"Look!" he said exasperated as Val eased off the water "Someone's moving into the old Wilson place."
Val squinted across the street; she barely caught the site of Jacob before he disappeared into the shadows of the house and through the front door.
"Looks like a kid our age." Val said her hand absently leaving the pressurized hose.
"Yeah," he said as he deftly removed the nozzle from his shorts and pointed the business at the young woman still straddling him.
"We-" she began, but as she turned back towards Matt, he squeezed the trigger.
Valerie screamed as she attempted to stop the spray with her outstretched arms and open hands only getting the both of them even more drenched than before.
The air was cool and crisp inside the rapidly filling house. Boxes were stacked in piles out of the way of the larger pieces of furniture. Jacob took a break from sorting and hauling boxes to their various rooms. Resting his weight on the kitchen counter, he stared out the sliding French doors and into the rear yard. It was lushly landscaped and guarded by several large trees that dotted the perimeter. He gazed longingly at a very inviting black-bottomed rock pool. A Macintosh apple rolled in his hand as he peered through the glass.
"What's up?" She asked as she adjusted the bandanna holding her hair back.
The question caught Jacob off guard as he jerked back from the inviting sights outside. He faced her and remained quiet for a second.
"Uhh..." he stammered
"Hun just be yourself, you'll make friends easy." Joanne said rubbing his arm.
She peered out the window at the pool beyond.
"Why don't you take a break and test it out?" She urged.
"Trunks?"
"Live a little; skinny dip." She laughed
"Movers?"
His brow raised.
Joanne chuckled and looked behind her at the group of men shuffling boxes and furniture around.
"Right, better keep your drawers on I guess. I'll unpack a towel and get you a nice glass of lemonade in a few. Go on." Joanne nudged her son out the back sliding door.
"Thanks Ma," he said giving her a quick peck on the cheek before disappearing through the door.
Joanne was pleased with herself, and with the opportunities present here for her small family. Distant were the days in that small rundown two-bedroom apartment on the seedier side of Sacramento. Even though it was unfamiliar to him, she knew Jacob would find friends quickly. His sense of humor and good nature assured it.
The dark slate slabs that circled the pool were hot underfoot. Delivering a singing burn to Jacobs tender soles as he hopped across them pulling his shorts down in a hurry. Pants shucked and pushed aside he made a running jump. His body hit the water after a gracefully clumsy, untrained summersault in the air creating a thunderous cannon ball as he broke the surface of the water.
Millions of tiny bubbles cascaded upwards, flowing over his lean body as he floated briefly in suspended animation before the weight on his chest reminded him to rush back to the surface. Jacob swam the length of the pool doing a series of laps before Joanne came out with a large glass of lemonade and some apple slices.
"How is it?" she asked as Jacob swam up to and grasped the edge.
"Great! A little warmer then the one at the apartment though." Jacob said wiping the water from his face.
Joanne sat and dipped her feet in the water as Jacob grabbed the lemonade and took a healthy drink.
"So?" she asked her feet moving through the water.
Jacob read the unasked question on her face.
"Its cool mom, I like it."
Her face widened with a smile and she grabbed the back his head pulling him toward her and planted a kiss on the short wet mass of hair. Jacob growled as he tried to pull away from her. She chuckled lightly.
"Hurry up, the movers are almost done and you have to at least get your bed set up for tonight." Joanne ruffled his hair one last time and pulled her self from the cool water.
"K."
Jacob took another gulp of lemonade, nearly finishing the glass and pushed away from the edge. He did a few more laps before climbing out and retrieving the towel his mother left for him. He dried quickly as he reached for his shorts.
He quickly pulled off the wet boxers and replaced them with his shorts, leaving them hanging dangerously low on his hips the waistline of the denim sitting just below the line of pubic hair. Seemingly decent again he threw the towel and his discarded shirt over his shoulder and mad his way back into his new home.
The cool of the air conditioning felt great against his water-logged skin as he made his way through the kitchen. Joanne passed at that moment carrying a box labeled kitchen in harsh black letters.
"Pull your shorts up," she fussed as she walked by.
Jacob nodded tugging at his shorts as he made his way down the hall to his room. They raised obediently about two inches only to fall back an inch. Jacob spent the rest of the night re-assembling his mission style bed and setting up his room.
As with any teenager the stereo was the first thing he hooked up, even, if it was only assembled in a jumble of components and wires on the wooden floor. He loaded discs into the changer that spanned genres and eras. The rapid beat of a modern rock band filled the rather large second floor room as he began to push boxes out of the way.
The Porter's and King's sat down at their usual table in the local steak house. A longstanding evening for the neighboring families who counted each other as the oldest and dearest of friends. Val and Matt sat across from each other talking about the still young school year.
"I still can't believe you got Jacovy." Val said as she dredged her fork through her baked potato. "He's a hard ass."
"What do you expect from a guy that makes his Algebra two class to call him coach just like his wrestlers." Matt commented as he sliced up the steak before him. "How's Higgens?" He asked of her Literary Compsition teacher
"Boring hag" Valerie sighed.
"Valerie!" Daniel King admonished his daughter.
"What? It's true. She spent an hour last week touting the greatness of Danielle Steele. Any teacher that promotes the stunning works of soft core porn poorly disguised as literature is a boring hag."
"Have either of you seen the people who moved into the Wilson place?" Viola Porter, Matt's mother, asked attempting to change the subject.
"Caught a glimpse of the son while we were washing the Mustang." Matt answered
"I heard that their name is Keats." said Kitty, Val's mom, "and I hear that she is single."
"Imagine, raising a teenage son all on your own", Viola, mused as she dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.
"I wonder where the father ran off too?" Richard Porter asked no one as he cut through the remnants of his steak.
The group of adults looked over at the two teenagers as if they knew the answer. Matt stopped mid chew, staring back. Valerie set her glass of tea back on the table as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"Well?" Kitty stared them down
"What?" Val responded feeling as if she were in the inquisition.
"Have you talked to them yet?"
"You want us to jump em' and pump answers out of them before the engine on the truck is even cool?" Matt said shocked.
Richard glared at his son.
"Sorry."
"No, but if the boy is your age he might be looking for friends, someone to show him around town," Kitty continued.
"I don't think they day they were moving would have been such a great time," Matt countered receiving yet another stern look from his father.
"You could have offered to help," Richard added raising his beer to his lips making Matt feel about three inches tall at that moment.
True he could have offered a hand but with a team of burly mover-types running about he would have been more hamper then help. Matt would have offered this information but he knew after the look and tone of voice that to continue the conversation would be talking back to his father.
Matt's appetite vanquished as he stared at what remained of the meal before him. Valerie too, had pushed her plate away. She looked at her father, eyes begging him to allow her leave.
"Why don't you guys run home," Daniel finally said excusing the pair "We'll be there in about an hour. Unless you guys want to catch a movie?" He directed the last part at his wife and the Porters.
"That would be great," Kitty and Viola agreed.
The two mothers got up and hugged and kissed each of the children in turn.
"You kids don't stay out too late." Viola said. "I don't care if it's a Saturday."
"That's right young lady," Kitty piped in. "Don't you go driving all over God's creation. I want to see that car in the driveway when I get home."
"All right mom," Valerie sighed before she left.
Out of sight of their parents Valerie rolled her eyes.
"I can't believe they still treat me like a child," she complained.
"I know, my dad just made me feel about two inches tall, talkin to me like I was a bad toddler or something."
"Its just not right"
"Yeah" Matt agreed.
"So what do you want to do?" Valerie asked as they stepped into the cool September evening.
"Truthfully? Go home."
Valerie sighed again as she climbed behind the wheel.
"Your not exactly a hot date Matthew Porter."
"Would you rather I say go to the quarry and screw like rabbits?" Matt asked laughing.
Valerie laughed along.
"Only in the wettest of your dreams you snot."
Valerie started the car as Matt climbed in. As soon as he had his belt fastened she sped into the night.
"What do you think of Jackie Spencer?" Val questioned as she drove.
"Jackie Spencer?"
"She has a crush on you, you know."
Matt's face crumpled in disgust.
"I've heard, but crush or no crush it doesn't change the fact that her face and 'chest' are as flat as her back!"
Valerie laughed.
"What about Jay?"
"What about him?" Valerie stopped laughing and her voice became serious.
"You guys still an item? I haven't seen him in a while."
"First off, we were never an item, I wouldn't go out with him if my life depended on it!" Valerie said defensively.
"But-" Matt started
"No but's, he's an ass. I don't go out with asses."
Matt looked at her in a way that made Valerie feel like she needed to explain herself.
"Any guy that kisses that Carmichael slut is an ass."
"Wendy Carmichael?"
"Do you know of any other Carmichael slut?"
Matt remained quiet as Valerie turned the corner onto Lily Court. His stomach was in a knot and his palms sweaty. He went to speak but failed to find the words several times before Val looked at him curiously.
"What?"
"Go out with me," Matt croaked.
"What!?!"
"Go-"
"I heard you the first time Matty, don't you think that would be weird?"
"I dunno," he stammered regretting he'd said anything at all.
His eyes began to burn as the car pulled into the drive of the King residence. All he wanted to do now was escape. Val pulled the parking brake and gave him an appraising look. She had never really considered Matt as a boyfriend before.
Yes, he was good looking in a mature kind of way. Yet she had always over-looked that, seeing his more as a friend and brother. That changed tonight as she saw him as if for the first time under the amber glow of the streetlights. Matt had opened the door, ready to make his hasty retreat, when she reached over and grabbed his arm.
As he turned his head to look at her, his lips brushed against her full, waiting ones. Time stopped with the gentle kiss, not going any further then the peck it was, but anything else would not have fit the moment. She slowly pulled away.
"Is that a yes?" Matt asked breathlessly?
"It's a definite maybe, sexy," Val said in a deep sensual voice he had never heard from her before.
"Shit!" The voice reverberated across the quiet night. As the sound of a handful of boxes hitting the cement followed.
Val and Matt peered across the street in time to see the new inhabitant of 2536 bent over trying to gather more crushed boxes than his arms could handle.
Matt looked over at Valerie, who shrugged her shoulders.
"Hey!" Matt called. "Do you need a hand?"
Jacob looked from the scattered pile of boxes that just wouldn't go back into his arms.