NOTE: This is the fictional coming of age story of Jake Grimke as he matures through high school, into college and eventually into adulthood in the Baltimore, Maryland region. It contains and embraces accurate representations of life in Baltimore and its suburbs; Maryland's traditional sport of lacrosse and the career path a firefighter might follow in his profession. All of the characters in this story are fictional and resemblance to any one person whether dead or alive is purely coincidental. If you liked this installment, please send me some feed back; I got a rough idea where this is headed but I am always open to some suggestions. Needless to say, if you are offended by handsome athletic young men growing up gay and the obstacles they will encounter as well their personal triumphs, you should use the BACK button on your browser forthwith.
Jose slipped out of the bed and dressed quietly before letting himself out of his brother's Upper East Side penthouse and heading to the corner bakery 17 floors below for some coffee and sweet rolls to bring back to Jake. When he returned he found the lacrosse player standing at the parapet wall of the rooftop patio's southern edge staring south towards where the twin towers of the World Trade Center had stood nearly a decade before.
"Jake-o, breakfast," Jose said as he slid the sliding glass door open to the patio without getting much of a response, before walking closer, "Jake, you okay?"
"Where were you when it happened," Jake asked taking the black coffee, sipping it.
"Fourth grade social studies with Mr. Haskell," Jose replied, "you?"
"Third grade, my eighth birthday was the 12th, the day after," Jake started recalling, "when it all started, Dad went into work early that day, he was gone before I got home from school which was unusual because he usually waited for me before leaving for the night tour."
Jake continued staring straight ahead, his eyes welling up, "and Dad didn't come home the next morning and I began to cry."
Jose moved in closer, gently hugging Jake's body as he continued to remember out loud what happened on that tragic day, "I cried so hard after seeing what happened on the television, hearing how many fireman died that day. I was too young to know that the Baltimore World Trade Center was different than the one in here. All I knew was that it was my birthday and my dad wasn't home at his normal time from work."
Jake's body heaved in Jose's grip, "All the fire departments made everybody work, nobody was allowed to be off once they reported for duty that day.
Jose tried to console Jake as his memories overwhelmed him, "but at least your dad came home; a lot of other dads and moms and sons and daughters and husbands and wives didn't that day."
"I know; 343 didn't," Jake replied, added citing the number of New York City firefighters killed that day, "think we could go down there today?"
"You really want to?" Jose questioned.
"Yeah, I really want to," Jake asserted slightly above an audible whisper.
After finishing their coffees and sweet rolls, Jose and Jake showered and changed into typical teenage all-American male poster boy outfits before heading to the Hunter College Metro stop for the subway ride to Ground Zero.
Just as they emerged from the Chambers Street stop they were greeted with a wall of people, most moving with a destination in mind. Jose got his bearings after being underground and led Jake towards where the twin towers had once stood. As they got closer to the site, the crowd of gathered people began to thicken in mass. With Jake in tow, Jose picked his way through the throng until they were just a few feet from a wooden police barricade.
Jake saw firefighters from FDNY in their dress uniforms assembled in ordered rows with their apparatus nearby as a mammoth crane held a suspended load wrapped in the United States, New York and FDNY flags. Jose let go as Jake began to straighten up into a solemn form of attention as the breezes blew just enough of the flags shrouding the precious cargo for Jake to realize it was a damaged ladder truck being lowered into what was the not yet finished World Trade Center Memorial. Nearby, the Pipes and Drums of the famed FDNY Emerald Society played a stirring version of "Abide With Me" as the truck was lowered into its display space.
After the ceremony, most of the crowd dispersed back to wherever they came from. Jake watched the ranks of proud firemen hug each other as they mounted their apparatus and headed back to their stations; knowing the camaraderie his father shares with those he works with in the Baltimore Fire Department. "Had enough yet, Jake?" Jose asked.
"You mind if we walk around, we've come this far," Jake pleaded, sensing that Jose was not connecting to the significance of the event like Jake was.
"Sure, we can do that if you like," Jose said agreeably.
The work on the memorial was continuing, and it wasn't ready to open to the public even nearly a decade after the attack. Throughout the area, there were impromptu and make-shift remembrances to those who lost friends and family that day. There were also some formal, yet temporary exhibits in the area that would later be incorporated into the actual memorial that Jake and Jose perused as they toured the World Trade Center site.
One exhibit caught Jake in particular; one that played a short video on a flat screen monitor about one of the heros that day that wasn't a firefighter or police officer or EMT. The narration began with "What would you do in the last hour of your life?"
The bio piece continued, describing a young athlete, not unlike Jake, who excelled at lacrosse in his hometown of nearby Nyack, New York where he was also a junior volunteer firefighter. The testimonial to this lacrosse player went on to elaborate how much he valued team work and his athletic prowess while attending Boston College before he took a job with a securities firm in Manhattan at the World Trade Center after graduation.
When the attack began, the lacrosse player called his parents and let them know he was okay before his volunteer firefighter training kicked in and he began to organize an evacuation of the floor he worked on. Instead of continuing down to ground level, he returned to the upper floors and helped evacuate more before the South tower collapsed. A story in the New York Times some months after the calamity had one victim refer to him as the "man in the red bandana" which linked the heroic actions of this lacrosse player to his grieving parents so that they knew how he proudly lived the last hour of his life. His remains were found next those of deceased New York City firefighters.
Wiping tears from his eyes, Jake thought out loud "I got you brother, I'll be your wingman and pick up where you left off; I promise."
"You're not okay, are you?" Jose asked.
"No, I'm not," Jake said with a sigh, "but I'm done here, let's bolt."
Together they walked away, slowly back to the subway stop that brought them down to Ground Zero, Jake's mind seared with the story of the Boston University Eagle's lacrosse player.
"Pretty amazing Jake," Jose commented, "you're grieving for somebody you never met."
"It's like a little piece of me died that day and I didn't even know it until now, until I learned about this guy and what he did," Jake said.
"You going to be okay?" Jose asked, "really, don't push yourself to be happy. I'm not sure you want to be right now."
They rode back in silence to the Hunter College stop before the short walk to Alejandro's apartment building. Once inside, Jake went for the bed and crashed before being waken by Jose tugging at his Nike sneaker and whispering "Hey Jake-o."
"Huh" Jake replied.
"We got a couple of hours to kill, let's do some more shopping; I'd rather hit the real stores than all the factory stores Mom takes me to at the outlet mall," Jose proposed.
"Sure, where to?" Jake asked, having put his grieving aside.
"Start with Fitch," Jose suggested, "I'd love to pick up a couple of polos for fall."
"Sounds good to me," Jake said, teeming with spirit.
Another quick trip on the subway and they were near all the famous retailers on Fifth Avenue picking through their wares and trying on clothes and shoes and pretending they were hot models running loose in the Big Apple. Jake had popped out of his funk and was texting Will that he was shopping in the real Kenneth Cole store and the real Abercrombie and Fitch store, not the cheap outlet mall versions.
Jose found his polo shirts for fall and Jake was happy to find some shoes at Kenneth Cole and shirts and shorts at Abercrombie and Fitch. Upon returning again to Alejandro's apartment, they found Alejandro and Nancy there picking up some more clothes since he was spending the weekend with his fiance while the boys were staying at his apartment.
Of course, Nancy wanted to see what they purchased and demanded an impromptu afternoon fashion show on the roof top patio. Never too far from any of her cameras, Nancy took out her big digital Nikon SLR and began taking pictures of Jake and Jose as they posed on the roof top terrace in various states of new clothes and then eventually in less clothes.
While the guys showered and changed and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with the apartment owner, Nancy busied herself uploading the latest pictures from the Nikon to her MacBook Pro and then sent the best of them to Jose's email address she got from Alejandro before enjoying some wine herself.
They all shared a cab down to the theater district, with Jose and Jake headed to see the Saturday night performance of "The Book of Mormon" while his brother and future sister in law headed to her flat. Jake and Jose thoroughly enjoyed the show from excellent seats at the O'Neill theater.
As they came out of the theater on the warm summer evening, Jake noticed the flashing neon lights on one of the side streets and asked, "What's over there Jose?"
"Probably some of the sex shops," Jose said with knowledgeable confidence.
"You mean like 'The Block' in Baltimore?" Jake said trying to compare it with something he had knowledge of himself.
"Yeah, that would be a close guestimate," Jose supposed.
"Think we can go over there and check it out," Jake suggested with a squeeze of Jose's hand.
"If you're brave enough but then again, I haven't found much that stops you, Jake-o," Jose replied.
They headed in the direction of the flashing neon lights with Jose reminding them they were little fish in waters infested with predators and if Jose felt something wasn't right, they were going back to the safety of the brighter lights and crowds found on 42nd street. The first shop they found obviously catered to heterosexual customers but after a quick scan, Jose spotted the familiar rainbow flag and said to Jake, "that one, across the street."
Jake walked in, the scent of leather and lube filling his nose densely while his eyes bulged at the different leather coats, pants, vests and chaps that he quickly rifled through while Jose watched. The lacrosse player turned and looked in the display case behind him and saw all sizes and designs of cock rings made from different materials before looking up and seeing the flat screen monitor playing gay porn with a pair of jocks pissing on each other.
With his head spinning in every direction possible trying to make sure he didn't miss anything, Jake surveyed the entire store with Jose at his side. It was early by gay standards on a Saturday night as men began making purchases for whatever they were going to be doing later in the evening with whomever. It was getting cruisy and Jose grabbed Jake's hand and kept him close by as Jake examined a rubbery singlet with chunks of the rubber material missing from where the ass cheeks would go.
Intrepidly, Jake walked back further into the store, noting a slew of lubricants centered on the wall interspersed with assorted jock straps of leather and other materials and an assortment of leather harnesses above. Jose just let Jake's eyes wander until they worked their way further into the back to find the collection of dildos and related anal toys. Jake's amazement was in no way shape or form diminished when he saw what was available for men to put up their ass. Dildos in assorted sizes from normal human to Oh-My-God; butt plugs in a similar size spectrum and other insertables.
Finally, Jake saw a black rubbery double-ended dildo, about 18" long with a two inch or less diameter. He looked at Jose and asked, "would you?"
Jose had already done a few kinky things early on his sex life and considered this a modest beginning for Jake and replied, "with you, sure."
After finalizing their purchase on Jake's debit card, they walked out and headed back to 42nd street to hail a cab for the trip uptown, practically making out in the backseat of the cab on their way home. Making out began in earnest once the elevator doors closed after Jake and Jose cleared the lobby of the apartment building.
As soon as the elevator stopped on the penthouse floor, Jake tugged Jose down the short hall to the apartment and pressed him hard against the bare brick wall just inside the door and planted a deep kiss in his Latin lover's mouth before the lights could be turned on. After catching their breath, Jake pulled Jose towards the bedroom and pushed him down on the bed before imposing himself on top.
Jose responded with equal passion as Jake clamped his muscled quads around Jose's torso and wrapped his strong arms around his upper body and kissed harder. As soon as Jake relaxed his grip, Jose began unbuckling the belt and undoing the zipper on Jake's pants and then his own letting them grind themselves together, underwear to underwear before Jake began undoing Jose's shirt.
With Jose's chest exposed, Jake slowed and kissed each pec gently, kissed and licked each nipple gently, kissed and licked each ripple of ab gently as he finally got down to the waistband of Jose's silvery 2xist boxer briefs. He pulled it down an inch at a time until Jose's manhood was completely exposed and engulfed it in his mouth and then caressed Jose's shaved balls with his tongue before going even further down into the crack of Jose's cleaved ass.
Before he could get any further, Jake stopped to take off Jose's shoes, socks, pants and underwear and deftly removed his own almost as fast before rolling Jose up on to his shoulders to begin spitting and licking his hole sending Jose into a mass of moaning muscled flesh, with Jose's fingers pulling his cheeks apart to give Jake even better access to the nearly hairless hole. The middle finger from each of Jose's hands began to rub around the outer ring of his hole while Jake continued to swirl his tongue in the very center.
"Make love to me Jake-o," Jose pleaded.
"Yeah, you ready for that?" Jake asked taking a break from the task at hand to look Jose in the eyes and saw the seriousness of his appeal.
"Yeah babe," Jose replied, "are you; `cause I love you Jake-o"
Jake nodded yes silently, his eyes wet and warm with a tear, hearing for the first time in his life that another man, like him, loved him. And with that, Jake lowered Jose's legs until they were flat on the bed again and climbed on top of him and began making out all over again before he reached for the lube and condoms.
Kneeling between Jose's soccer jock legs, Jake applied lube to Jose's dick and then his balls and down into the crack of his ass before smearing it on Jose's hole. Jake slicked his right index finger and worked it inside Jose's ring and probed around, making Jose wince just a little before pulling it out to glob lube on to his own cock. Jake then reached for a condom but his hand was stopped by Jose's hand.
"No babe, I trust you," Jose said staring him in the eyes, "I'm clean."
Jake lubed his meaty shaft and then applied more lube to Jose's hole and then inserted two fingers trying to get more lube inside his lover before he made his initial insertion. Jose reached down and held Jake's right hand with the two fingers inside and pulled it further inside of himself before releasing and pulling again.
"You're pretty big Jake-o," I don't want to scream like a little girl when you get that monster in me," Jose said with a wry smile as the bright blue-white light of the moon shone in the window.
Jake took the cue and applied more lube to his finger's as Jose continued working his hand in and out until Jake's fingers could feel the slickness inside Jose. Jake ran his left hand all over Jose's right quad, down to his knee and then grabbed the back of his right ankle and pushed until Jose's knee bent and almost touched his left shoulder. After removing his slicked fingers, Jake's right hand found Jose's left ankle and pushed back until Jose's butt was up in the air before aiming himself squarely with Jose's hole and easing himself in gently.
Their eyes locked, Jake reading Jose's body language as he gradually made entry until a smile broke across Jose's face and feeling his insides mold around his manhood. Slowly, Jake lowered the weight of his upper body against the underside of Jose's quads until their lips met and they began kissing as Jake began short, gentle thrusts into Jose.
"I love you Jake-o," Jose said as the kiss broke.
"Love you to Jose," Jake replied as the speed and depth of the thrusting began to gradually increase.
As their comfort level increased, Jake pounded away a little harder and a little faster. Jose intently watched Jake's body work, drinking in his muscles, his hair, the definition in his arms and chest, commenting, "I am so lucky to have such a beautiful man make love to me."
Jake smiled and licked the small puddle of sweat that had formed between Jose's pecs and swallowed it before he planted his lips on Jose's and proclaimed he was ready to ejaculate.
Instinctively, they grabbed and held each other together as tight as they could, kissing as hard as they could as their bodies shook and shuddered in the ultimate male on male pleasure.