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 18 years of age, 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.....
R.I.P. Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro
Well, I just want to say thank you to everyone that's taken the time to read and write back with your thoughts, good and bad. March 24th marks the second Anniversary, and I just wanted to give a special Thank You to Avy and Christopher for all your support. If y'all haven't checked it out yet, I suggest you head on over to Avy's site, The Gyllenhaal Chronicles at http://groups.msn.com/TheGyllenhaalChronicles/ for other good Jake stories. Also check out http://iheartjake.com for lots of great Jake photo's. I also want to say, have a safe and Happy St. Patrick's Day. Okay, now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, on with the story....
The Christmas Miracle, Part B.....
An Interlude Between Two.....
My cock was hard as a rock and pointing almost straight up....My whole body was on sensory overload. I was kneeling on the bed, hands locked in a white knuckled grip on the headboard, with a large bath sheet draped over the headboard and covering the pillows. I was looking down at myself....My cock was leaking pre-cum and I knew that it wouldn't take much more than the slightest touch from either of us and I would explode.
His chest was pressed up tight against my back, and I could feel the small patch of hair in the center of his chest scraping lightly between my shoulder blades and his cock was buried in me to the hilt....
He started making little circular motions with his hips, and I could feel the head of his cock stabbing my prostate. My head snapped up, and my eyes flew open....I didn't even realize that I had closed them. I allowed my head to fall back onto his shoulder and my breath began coming in shallow, panting gasps, and my eyes drifted shut again as my hips took up a carnal rhythm all their own, grinding back against him to get more of his dick inside me.....
His breathing matched mine as I felt his stubble roughened cheeks moving against mine and his chin rubbing on my shoulder....
My body felt the like the strings of a violin, pulled tight, and ready to snap! I could feel the churning, tingling sensations spreading, from where his cock was hitting my prostate dead-on with every combined movement of our hips, up through my own balls and cock, and even through my insides! My whole body literally felt like one gigantic impending orgasm, from the tips of my fingers, down to my toes, which were curling in anticipation of my upcoming release....
And then he did it....He pulled almost all the way out, his hands locked over mine, our fingers laced together on the headboard, and then slammed back into me, his cock hitting my prostate like a bell, and his teeth sinking into my shoulder!
"Oh God!!" I groaned as I came, ribbons of white shooting out of my cock and into the towel as my ass clenched again and again around his cock, pushing him over the edge and into his own powerful orgasm, his breath coming in shallow gasps next to my ear in time with his dick spasming deep inside me as he shot....
Using the towel to clean up afterwards, we collapsed back onto the bed to catch our breath.
It seemed like hours, but it was in fact only mere minutes later that I felt him roll over and turn towards me, and I felt him place a gentle kiss on my lips, and then on one of my closed eyelids before he kissed my temple and murmured against it, "We need to get to the airport, or we're going to be late," and then he was rolling back over to get out of bed. I opened my eyes and rolled over to watch his tall broad shouldered frame as he went into the bathroom, and I got up to follow....
Michael's POV
I had basically spent the better part of the year doing my Christmas shopping and I would then send the items off to Naomi for 'safe keeping.' Anything else that I had to get, I would get in L.A.
It was Friday the fourteenth of December. That gave me ten days to finish my shopping and get everything wrapped. Well, eight actually, since we were going to get the tree and decorate the house this weekend.
All of this went through my mind as I herded the twins in front of me, leather book bag slung across one shoulder with my laptop and a couple of DVD's in it, and made my way to baggage claim to grab my suit case. The twins were sharing one extremely large suit case between them.
We had just gotten to the carousel's when my phone started ringing in my pocket, and I pulled it out.
"Hello...."
"Hey, we're here....Where are you at?" Paul asked.
"Baggage claim. I'll be there as soon as I can," I said as I started to watch for our bags to start coming down the conveyer belt.
"Okay. I'll be waiting just inside the terminal."
"Alright. I love you," I said as I spotted one of our bags and grabbed it off the carousel.
"I love you, too," Paul replied, and then ended the call. I closed my phone and put it back in my pocket as I spotted the second bag and grabbed it as well.
Fifteen minutes later I was walking towards Paul. I'm sure I must have a silly grin on my face. Ryan and Michelle ran ahead and threw their arms around his waist to envelope him in a double hug. As I reached him, he was pulling out his phone and scrolling down through his numbers before he found what he was looking for and hit the "dial" button.
"Hey. Yeah, they're here. Okay, see you in a few," he said before closing the phone and pulling me into a quick one-armed hug. "I missed you. So did Jake," he said quietly as the twins released him and I stepped back a couple steps.
"I missed you guys too," I replied.
"How was the flight?" he asked as he took one of the suitcases in one hand and held out the other to Michelle.
"Surprisingly and blissfully un-eventful, especially for a Friday before Christmas. And it didn't hurt that I brought my laptop and a couple of DVD's for the kids. The on-deck flight crew just loved me!" I said giving him a cheesy grin as I grabbed the other suitcase and held out my hand for Ryan.
"I bet," Paul said as we made our way to the sliding doors and out of the terminal.
We only had to wait a couple minutes before Jake pulled up in the Excursion. Throwing it into park, Jake hopped out and opened the driver's side passenger door as I opened the other side and lifted Ryan up and in.
"C'mere buddy, let's get you buckled in," Jake said, motioning for Ryan to come to him. While he took care of Ryan, I attended to Michelle, and Paul got our luggage put in the back. We were on our way in under two minutes.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked.
"My folks are going to come over to watch the kids while we go to the premiere and the after party," Jake replied.
"Great! Just don't be surprised if I decide to make an early night of it...." I said as we headed home. "At least we have the weekend to ourselves. We still going to go get the tree tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yup. I have someone coming by to put up lights outside," Jake said as he maneuvered us smoothly in and out of traffic on the freeway.
"Rebecca's going to drop off Meadow tonight, and I'll take her back on Sunday night," Paul said.
I'd had a busy couple of days, with the New York City premiere of 'Obsession' and the after party last night, then flying out to L.A. today....I was glad to have a few days' respite from the whole publicity whirlwind. I was looking foreword to tonight and just being able to sit at home with my kids and the two men I loved, and relax....
When we arrived at home, we got out and got everything unloaded and headed inside. Paul took the suit cases and headed off toward the bedrooms, while Jake headed toward the kitchen, and the twins and I headed for the great room. Something nagged at my brain as I watched Jake disappear into the kitchen.....
Ryan and Michelle immediately went over to poke around in the boxes that sat in front of the sliding glass doors, and I flopped down on the couch, closing my eyes.
"Do you want something to drink?" Jake asked from the doorway leading into the kitchen.
"Just water for me," I replied. "Juice for them," I said, answering for the twins. Jake nodded his head once and turned back into the kitchen.
He returned a minute later with two glasses of orange juice which he set on the brick fireplace hearth near the twins and then went back into the kitchen. I heard Paul coming back down the stairs before he too went into the kitchen.
He and Jake came back out and sat down, one on either side of me, and that was when it dawned on me. I couldn't resist saying something about it!
"You're walking kinda funny there Jake. What did you guys do, spend the whole afternoon fucking?" I joked quietly.
Jake snorted on his beer, coughed and then choked, coughing some more. I looked over at Paul who blushed.
"Oh my god! You really did, didn't you?"
"Umm, yeah," Jake replied.
"So? Are you okay? How do you feel?" I asked.
Jake looked over at Paul, who looked back, before replying, "I'm okay...."
"Good," I replied. "So, what's in the boxes?"
"Christmas decorations....My folks sent some stuff over, Paul's mom sent some stuff over...." Jake said as he too looked over at the twins as they looked through the different boxes.
"Hmmm...." I sighed.
"What?" Paul asked.
"I ordered some stuff.....It should be coming anytime," I replied.
"What kind of stuff?" Paul wanted to know.
"I found some really nice tree decorations in a catalog and ordered them. The package will probably come with the mail tomorrow....." I said.
"Actually I think it came today," Jake said. "It was addressed to you, so I didn't open it," he said as he went into the dining room and picked up the medium sized box which was sitting on the table and brought it, along with some scissors, back into the living room.
After I had opened the package and assured myself that everything was intact, we got up and looked through the rest of the boxes along with the twins until Rebecca arrived to drop off Meadow, and then we ordered in some pizza and spent the rest of the evening trying to decide which decorations were going to go where.....
Saturday the fifteenth, which meant it was time to go get the tree! The guys that Jake had hired to put up the lights outside arrived while we were having our breakfast, so he excused himself to go outside and let them know what we wanted done. He came back in about fifteen minutes later and finished his breakfast and after rinsing off the dishes and pots and pans, we were pretty much ready to go.....
"Well, what do you guys think?" I asked as we stood looking up at the tree.
"Well.....It's tall....." Jake said, squinting as he looked up at it.
The tree in question was a twelve foot tall Nordmann Fir. It was nice and full and lush and green.
"It's twelve feet high....The ceiling in the Great room is twenty....It's perfect," I said.
"Great! We'll take it!" Paul said decisively as he reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
Twenty minutes later we were leaving the community college parking lot with the tree tied to the roof of the Excursion. We had them take an inch off the bottom to allow the tree to be able to take in water.
When we arrived home, we got the tree down and took it inside where we placed it in the tree stand and got it secured and put some water in the stand to feed the tree while we went and fixed some lunch.
Someone had put some CD's in the player and we now had a nice mix of holiday music while we fixed and ate lunch, and then went back to continue trimming the tree.
Jake and Paul went out to the garage and each came back in carrying a tall ladder. After they had them set up, I got out the lights, and the tree decoration was officially underway....
As the afternoon, and the decorating, progressed, I captured everything on digital 'film'.
At around five thirty, I went into the kitchen to set about making dinner. I went into the pantry and got out the bag of potato's and set it on the counter next to the sink where I began to peel and slice them into a large pot, which I then filled with cold water and set on the stove.
Next, I got out the flour and the spices I was looking for and set them on the counter and then got a glass pie dish out of the cabinet in the island. Putting a couple scoops of flour into the dish, I added a nice variety of the spices to the flour, and then went to get the three packages of chicken and some eggs from the fridge.
Within minutes, I was frying up the chicken. Thank God for nice big cast-iron skillets!
"Michael!"
At the sound of my name being called, I looked up, and immediately began to see spots, as Meadow snapped my picture using the flash. I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue at her, and she snapped another photo of me before heading back into the Great room. I shook my head, grinning to myself as I went back to my cooking.
Putting the lid back on the chicken, I made a quick check of the potato's, and then got plates and silverware and set the table. Looking out the windows, I noticed that the trees had all been wrapped in tiny white lights. That was when it dawned on me that we wouldn't be having a White Christmas this year.....
I stood looking at the action going on in the Great room. The lights had been strung, along with the garlands, and now they were hanging ornaments....Someone had taken the time to set up the Nativity scene on the mantle....
"Dinner's ready," I said. The kids cheered, and Jake and Paul climbed down their ladders.
"I totally forgot to ask yesterday, how're things coming along on the house?" Paul asked.
"Well, I'm just waiting on a walk through by the inspector next week. My dad agreed to go through the house with him along with Jason and Sparky. If everything goes the way we expect it to, Maggie and Peter's place is done and they can move in whenever they want to....." I replied.
"Hey, that's great!" Jake said as he spooned some mashed potato's onto his plate and then ladled some gravy over them.
"So, how're things coming with my place?" Paul wanted to know.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I was kind of putting of starting working on it...." I said, looking at my plate.
"What? Why?"
"I was sort of hoping you might want to live with me, with us, instead....." I said, finally looking up to meet his gaze.
Paul's gaze shifted to Jake for a second, and there seemed to be an unspoken communication going on before Paul smiled and nodded his head and said, "Alright, let's do it!"
"Good," I said. We finished dinner and then finished decorating the tree and then finished decorating the house.
The following day, Sunday, was spent putting the finishing touches on everything that we had done yesterday, and just being lazy, until Rebecca came by to pick up Meadow after dinner.....
I headed into Beverley Hills the following afternoon to do some shopping. Since I had the twins with me, I couldn't do any shopping for them, so I finished doing all my shopping for everyone else. We were doing Christmas dinner for everyone at home, so it would be pretty much everyone that had been over for Thanksgiving, hopefully minus Shane and Wes.
I was just passing a rather expensive jewelry store when my phone rang. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Andine and flipped it open.
"Talk to me gorgeous." I said as I entered the store.
"Aahh, now if only you meant that seriously," she sighed on the other end.
I let out a chuckle and said, "What's up?"
"I might have an early Christmas present for you...."
"Oh goody! I like presents! Is it bigger than a bread box?"
"Hmmm.... All depends on your definition...." Andine teased.
"Ohhh, now you've got to tell me!" I begged.
"Okay. Seven scripts. Two trilogy's, completely un-related to each other, and a prequel to an already established trilogy. A three and a half year commitment. Worth seventy-five million."
"Jesus Christ Andine!" I muttered quietly into the phone while looking furtively around the jewelry store.
"The only people I know of that do those kind of production schedules are either Peter Jackson or George Lucas! Please tell me that it's not either one of them!" My plea was met with only silence on the other end.
"Andine, you're not saying anything!" I said, feeling more nervous, yet excited by the second.
"All I can tell you is that I spoke with both Director's involved, and they both asked for you specifically."
"Oh my God!"
"Of course, the strike has everything put on hold, but as soon as it's over, they're moving full steam ahead and finishing up the scripts....."
"Shit!" I whispered quietly.
"And I've also heard rumors circulating of the possibility of 'Ocean's 14' as a definite possibility for '09," she said.
"That's eight possible? We're talking about nearly four years....."
"An eight picture deal worth ninety-five million dollars! Do you realize what a deal like this means? You do this, and manage to pull it off, and you could pretty much write your own ticket in this town, Michael...."
"I know.....But four years?"
"I know it's alot to think about in a very short period of time. Anyways, I thought I would call you with the good news," Andine said. "I'll see you Wednesday night, and I'll have more details for you then, I promise. Oh, and here's a little some- thing for your consideration. Jake and Paul's agents are probably on their phones right now having this very same discussion with the two of them. Just something to think about," she said before ringing off.
Closing my phone, I put it back in my pocket, and walked over to the jewelry cases. I walked out an hour later with two rings....One for Jake, and one for Paul.
They were polished Tungsten Carbide, with a row of six tiny diamonds in the center: one for each of us, and one for each of the kids. I put them in the glove box of the Excursion and then locked the doors and set the alarm before we headed off to get something to eat.
"Thanks for letting me send this stuff here," I told Naomi as she, Stephen and I finished loading everything into the back end of the Excursion and I closed it up.
"It was no problem. In fact, if you had let me know what was for who, we could have opened everything and gotten it wrapped for you," she said.
"Nah, we're going to do that this weekend. My family are flying in on Friday and will take the kids out for a few hours while we get the bulk of their stuff wrapped on Saturday."
"Well, if you change your mind, the offer still stands."
"I may just take you up on that on Wednesday. It will give the kids something to do for a few hours before they go to bed. I'll let Jake and Paul know also."
"Okay then, We'll see you all on Wednesday afternoon?" Naomi said as I opened the driver's side door and got in.
"Yes." I replied.
"Okay, we'll see you then. Drive carefully," she said as she closed the door.
Buckling up my seat belt, I put the key in the ignition and turned it, starting up the vehicle and backing around before I drove down the driveway and headed home.
I walked into the house from the garage and headed for my bedroom to drop my purchases on the bed, and then went back down stairs to the kitchen where Jake and Paul looked up at me as I approached and halted their conversation.
"I had a call from Andine this afternoon," I said, deciding to take the bull by the horns. They both looked instantly relieved.
"So, what did you hear?" Jake asked.
"I probably know about as much as the two of you. Andine said she'd tell me more on Wednesday night."
"We got the same story," Paul said.
"I guess all we can do is wait," Jake concluded.
"Hey, do you guys want to give me a hand? I picked up all my presents that I sent to Naomi. She said she and your dad would help the kids with wrapping duty when they come over. If there's anything that you want wrapped, you might as well get it out," I said, looking back-and-forth between the two of them.
We went and started unloading the boxes from the back of the Excursion, and took them inside.
"Where do you want them?" Paul asked.
"In on my bed. I'll sort thru it all after dinner," I said as we went and got the rest of it.
"Are you guys sure you don't mind doing this?" I asked Naomi as she and Stephen sat at the table. We were having an early dinner before leaving for the premiere.
"Of course not. We actually brought a few things to finish wrapping, so it's no problem," Naomi said. Stephen nodded in agreement.
"If you're sure...."I began.
"I'm positive. Now go finish getting ready," Naomi admonished.
"Okay," I said, getting up and taking my plate into the kitchen to rinse it off and put it in the dishwasher.
Heading up to my bedroom, I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my hair, which now hung down past my shoulders once again.
Picking up an elastic band, I pulled my hair back and up into a pony tail and then made quick work of securing it in place. I had long since gotten a second piercing in my left ear, just below the first one, so I put in a pair of diamond stud earrings and after putting on the backs, I went back into my bedroom to finish getting ready.
I was just putting the finishing touches on my neck tie when the twins came in to tell me good bye and give me a hug and a kiss before they went off to wrap presents. Picking up my jacket from the bed, I put it on as I made my way out of my room and down stairs to wait for the limo with Paul and Jake.
"Okay, we're all here, now would someone please tell us what's going on?" Jake said once the three of us were seated in the back of the limo with our agents.
"Well, this is what we know for sure," Andine began. "It looks like 'Ocean's Fourteen' is a definite go for '09. Jerry Weintraub is producing, Steven Soderbergh is directing. George Clooney himself suggested the three of you for the parts."
"What parts?" Paul asked.
"The younger siblings of George, Brad, and Julia's characters," Paul's agent replied.
"What about the other projects?" I wanted to know.
"Well, you were actually right on the money the other afternoon when you mentioned Peter Jackson and George Lucas, just not quite the way you think," Andine said cryptically.
"Oh? How do you mean?" I asked, my curiosity thoroughly piqued by this time.
"Okay, well, first off, Michael, you're pretty much a lock for a role in 'The Hobbit' when it starts shooting next year," Andine said looking me square in the eyes.
"Holy shit!" I muttered, just barely above a whisper.
"And?" Jake prompted.
"Peter Jackson and George Lucas are going to have a go at each others stories," Paul's agent replied.
"Meaning?" Paul asked.
"Meaning, Peter is going to do the final original trilogy in the 'Star Wars' series, and George is going to do 'King Kong.'
"Okay, but didn't Peter already....?" I asked.
"Yes, he did. As you know, they made a book based on Peter's version of the movie. Well, there was also a prequel book written. George has bought the film rights, and also gotten Peter's blessing, and is going to do 'King Kong: The Island of The Skull,' he's going to re-do Peter's version of 'King Kong,' and finish it all up with 'The Son of Kong.' Likewise, Peter got George's blessing to do the final 'Star Wars' trilogy."
"Any word on casting yet?" Paul wanted to know.
"Well, in the 'Kong' trilogy, it's shaping up to be Eric Dane as Sam Kelly, the male lead in part one, along with Patrick Dempsey as Jack, Johnny Depp as Carl, you, Jake, as Preston, Paul as Bruce Baxter, Anne Heche as Ann, Michael as Jimmy, Jamie Foxx as Mr. Hayes, Ralphe Fiennes as the Captain....." Jake's agent responded.
"Of course they've already talked to Mark, Carrie and Harrison for 'Star Wars.' They're also talking to Nicole Kidman about the role Mara Jade-Skywalker. This will be a family affair for Jake," Andine said with a cheeky grin.
"Oh?" Jake asked.
"It looks like it's going to be you and Maggie playing Jaina and Jacen Solo, and Paul and Michael playing Ben and Anakin Skywalker, respectively," his agent said.
"Paul's got 'Fast and Furious 4' in the works," his agent said.
"We're here," Andine said as we pulled up in front of the theatre. "You guys ready for this?"
Looking out the tinted windows, I could tell that there were even more people at this premiere than at the New York one last week.....
"Oh, one more thing," Andine said, pausing before she opened the door. "Merry Christmas!" she said, then opened the door and stepped out into an explosion of flash bulbs.
Jake and Paul's agent's followed Andine, and the three of us followed them. We were joined almost immediately by Shane, and then the four of us began the stroll up the Red Carpet.
"Michael!! Michael!! Over here!!"
I turned this way and that, smiling for the photographers, and going to answer reporters' questions.
"Michael! Mark McGrath here, from 'X-tra.' How does it feel having 'Oscar nominee' mentioned in conjunction with your name every time the press talks about this movie?"
"It all seems kind of surreal! Have you seen it yet?" I asked him.
"Not yet, but I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it from everyone who has. I've even heard a rumor floating around that you sang two of the songs on the soundtrack?"
"It's not a rumor, it's a fact. Oh, looks like they want me for a group photo with the other guys. I'll talk to you later?" I said as I started backing away.
"Sure thing," Mark said with a smile.
I joined the guys for a group photo-op. and then we resumed our journey.....
There was almost ten full seconds of silence after the movie ended, and the credits started rolling before someone up on the back row began clapping and whistling. I stood and turned to see who it was as the lights came up. It was Wes.
The four of us headed for the lobby to meet Andine, and the other two agents. Wes caught up with us and then we did the whole "post-movie" interview thing, and after that was done, our agents decided to give the after-party a miss, and left. The rest of us headed out to the limo to go to the party.....
After about three hours, I decided to head home myself.
"Are you sure you won't stay?" Jake said, just a tiny bit drunk.
"Nah. I'll just catch a cab. And at least that way your parents can head home," I told him.
After arriving home, I had a nice visit with Naomi and Stephen before they left, and then went to check on the twins before going through the house and turning off all the lights except for the Christmas tree, and then sitting down on the couch.
I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, I was awakened by the sound of the front door closing and the hushed sound of muffled voices. Sitting up, I looked over the back of the back of the couch and was.....surprised, to say the least! There, in the foyer, in a heated kiss, stood Jake and Paul, feverishly trying to remove each others jackets. Once they had their jackets off, Jake took Paul by the hand and led him off toward his bedroom.... Happy Birthday Jake!!
I had long since kicked off my shoes and taken off my jacket, so I got up and went and turned off the tree, and then grabbed the throw off of one of the side chairs, and grabbing one of the pillows, I laid down and covered up, drifting into an un-easy sleep, my mind going over the implications of what I had seen tonight. My last thought before I finally went to sleep was, now that they're back together, how do I fit into this relationship, and will they even want me to?
I walked into the darkened theatre just as the last preview was starting and looked for a place to sit. It looked to be pretty slim pickings, as the space was nearly filled to capacity with what looked like mostly high school and college students out for Christmas break. Spotting an empty seat about halfway up, I quickly headed for it. I didn't have the luxury of being able to see 'Inferno' in the theatre after it had come out, and I wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
It was one thing to sit in a darkened theatre and watch yourself on screen with a bunch of friends and fellow co-stars at a big premiere, and another thing altogether to see it in a theatre with a bunch of complete strangers who were all seeing it for the first time.
I had just gotten comfortable as Butterfly Boucher's 'Another White Dash' came pouring from the speakers, and I saw myself sitting next to the window on a Greyhound bus, earphones from my Ipod in my ears, looking at the passing countryside, the white lines on the highway reflected in the window as the opening scene from 'Obsession' filled the screen.....
Paul's POV
It was Saturday, the twenty-second, and I could tell that there was something really wrong with Michael. Jake and I had headed out to pick up a few last minute things for him and the twins at the same time his parents had taken them out for some shopping, leaving Michael at home with his younger brother to finish wrapping his gifts.
I wanted to get him a new ring, something from both Jake and I, which was why we found ourselves wandering around through various jewelry stores. Jake wasn't any help. He too seemed to be distracted.
"Something's wrong," he murmured quietly.
"What?"
He looked over at me, somewhat shocked, as if he didn't realize he had spoken the words out loud.
"With Michael....Something's wrong," he stated.
"How do you mean?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. I can't put my finger on it, but something's definitely not right," he said.
"Ever since the premiere last week," I agreed. "It's like he's just sitting back and waiting for.....something.....to happen."
"I don't know," Jake said, shaking his head.
"Okay, well in the meantime, we need to be looking for a ring," I said as we made our way along the display case, looking at the dazzling array of rings that were available.
I stopped as something caught my eye. It was a truly stunning three-ring set. The center ring had two rows of tiny diamonds that came up and around from either side and wrapped around a larger center diamond, and the matching bands each had a swirled row of tiny diamonds, so that the larger diamond in the center looked like the eye of a hurricane with the smaller diamonds swirling around it in a storm of glittering brilliance.
"Can I show you gentlemen anything today?" the saleswoman asked as she glided silently up to where we stood.
"That one." Jake and I said in unison, pointing at the hurricane ring.
"An excellent choice, if I do say so. The settings and mountings are all in platinum. The center stone is two carats, and all of the smaller stones are all either a half or one point diamonds. And, if you'll notice, all of the smaller diamonds are channel set, so that you don't have to worry about a tiny prong getting broken and losing a stone."
"We'll take it," I said, reaching back to pull out my wallet. Jake was pulling his wallet out also. "I got it," I said.
"It should come from both of us. It'll mean more that way," he reasoned.
"Okay. Put half of it on mine, half of it on his," I told the saleswoman. "Oh, we're going to need it sized to a size seven, and it needs to be ready by Monday."
"Why don't I just double check this one to see whether we need to size it up or down," the saleswoman said as she pulled a ring sizer out from a cabinet under the display case, and slipped the rings onto it. "It's actually a size six and three-quarters. Did you still want it re-sized?" she asked.
"Actually, no, we'll take it just the way it is. Better a little bit small and have it stay on than any bigger and have it slipping," Jake said decisively.
"Okay then, we'll take it just the way it is," I said to the saleswoman.
She gave a smile and then went over to start the paperwork to complete the transaction.
Michael let out a gasp and a whimper as I slid into him fully and rested there. Then I heard him mutter a strangled sounding, "Oh my God!" just before I felt the bed dip like someone was on the end of the bed, and he was torn between trying to push me off of him, and keep me there to shield himself from view....
I turned and looked over my shoulder and was surprised to see Jake crawling up the bed towards us. When he reached us, he pulled my head around to give me a kiss, his hands sliding up and down my chest. I could feel him pressing against me, hard and throbbing, and then he was moving over to the nightstand for the lube. I jumped slightly as I felt the cool sensation of his fingers lubing me up, the tip of my cock nudging Michael's prostate, causing him to gasp again.
Jake replaced his fingers with his dick, and began to slowly push into me.....
"Oh god!" The feeling was indescribable! I was buried to the hilt inside Michael, and now Jake was filling me in the same way! His chest was pressing me foreword, and soon I was laying chest to chest with Michael, with Jake laying on my back.
"I love you," he whispered in my ear, "and I love you too," he said to Michael. "And I'm not going to go anywhere. This, the three of us, is forever....."
"That goes for me, too," I said. Jake was resting his chin on my shoulder and we were both looking Michael in the eye. And then Jake started to move, and I forgot about everything....
I woke up the next morning, spooned up against Michael's back with Jake spooned up against mine. My body ached, pleasantly, in all the right places. I think I had finally figured out, maybe, what was up with Michael. I think that he probably thought that since Jake and I had resumed our sexual relationship, that there was no room for him in the scheme of things.
Michael stirred and I moved my arm from around his waist as he sat up. I could feel Jake starting to move behind me. Reaching up, I placed my hand on Michael's shoulder.
"We need to talk about last night," I said.
"I know....Just, not today....It's Christmas Eve. We'll do it the day after tomorrow," he said, reaching up a hand and placing it over mine. "C'mon you two, we need to get a move on. We need to go to Safeway and then hit the mall for some stocking-stuffers," he said as he turned his to look at us over his shoulder with a smile.
Jake's POV
Maggie and Peter stopped by with Ramona and asked if we wouldn't mind taking her with us, and we were also going to pick up Meadow and then head home to fix dinner. We had already gotten a bunch of fresh apples, oranges, pears, and banana's for everyone's Christmas stockings, as well as a ton of candy and other small gifts. Paul and I had taken Ramona and gone to a restaurant a couple of blocks away from the mall to wait for Michael and the kids. Michael had had to park the Excursion down on the lowest level of the underground parking garage across the street from the mall. There was also four level's of parking above ground, about the size of a football field, and next to that there was a new high rise going up.
"I think Michael might be thinking about ending it," Paul said quietly as we sat waiting. He had taken the box with the ring out of his pocket and had opened it up and was looking at the ring.
"What?" I said, snapping out of my thoughts.
"Think about it Jake....We jumped feet first into this.....thing.....between the three of us without really giving it any thought, and then you and I started things back up last week. Hell, he even made a joke about it, remember? I think last night might have pushed things too far."
"What?"
"You shouldn't have come in like that. It wasn't part of the deal. There's no telling what's going through Michael's mind, because he's not talking.... He hasn't been, not for several days."
"I know! You think I haven't noticed how he's been keeping his distance from both of us? I had to do something to get through to him that we, you and I, are in this for the long haul!" I said, feeling just as frustrated by the whole situation as Paul was. I looked down at Ramona in her stroller, looking back up at me. Anything else I might have said was put on hold.....
Third Person POV
Michael had just gotten off the elevator and was making his way over to the Excursion, thankful that he had been able to find a parking spot close to the elevator and the stairwell. Meadow and the twins had run on ahead of him to wait by the back end as he dug the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors. Then he opened up the back end and put the shopping bags he was carrying into the back along with all the other bags that were there, closed it up, and then went about getting the kids inside and making sure they were buckled in before fastening his own seatbelt and starting the engine.
He had just put it in "reverse" and had turned in his seat to make sure there were no other vehicles coming when he heard and felt a loud slamming "thunk" on the hood of the Excursion.
Whipping his head around, he stared in horrified fascination at the piece of concrete, roughly two feet square, which now sat in a small crater in the middle of the hood of his Excursion. Another loud "thunk", this time on the roof, had him looking up and then around the parking garage as he threw the vehicle into park and shut it off, glancing around as the terrible realization that something was dreadfully and horribly wrong started to sink in.
"Shit!" he muttered, hands scrambling to unfasten his seat belt as more concrete began to fall. Turning his head, Michael looked at the three frightened children sitting in the seats behind him. "Get down!" he said tersely. "Get down on the floor now!" he ordered, watching to make sure they were doing just that before he curled himself into the floor space on the passenger side to wait it out. "Cover your heads!" he shouted over the noise of the collapsing parking garage, just before pulling Jake's leather jacket over his head.....
After about a minute, the noise and shaking had stopped, only to be replaced by an eerie silence.
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Michelle said from her spot on the floor behind the front passenger seat. Michael could see one of her eyes peering at him from the narrow space between the seat back and the passenger-side door.
"Me too!" Ryan chimed in.
"I know....Everything is going to be just fine....." Michael said, praying that it would be true.
"Michael, what happened?" Meadow asked from behind the middle row of passenger seats. "Was it an earthquake?"
"I don't know sweetie," Michael said, as he removed Jake's jacket and got his first look at the interior of his rig.
The roof and windshield were completely caved in, down to the dashboard, on the drivers side. It sloped up to the pretty much in tact passenger door and window.
"What are we going to do? Are my dad and everyone else okay?" she asked.
"I'm sure that both your mom and your dad, and everyone else, are just fine. Now, the first thing we're going to do is get out of here," Michael said looking around his rather cramped quarters to try and figure out his best means of escape.
From the look of things, his only option was the passenger door, since the roof was too close to the head rest for him to be able to climb over the back of the seat.
"Michelle, Ryan, I want to you to do me a favor, and try to open your doors back there," Michael said as he un-curled himself and moved around to try the front door. It ended up being an exercise in frustration, however, as all three doors were jammed up tight.
He did happen to notice, however, that while the rear doors were still shut, if slightly askew, the back window was pretty much completely busted out, and while there wasn't enough room for him to be able to climb over the back of the front seat, there was enough room, since the kids were smaller, for them to be able to climb over their seats and into the back with the presents and groceries where he could get them out safely. All he had to do first, was get himself out.....
After a great deal of maneuvering, Michael managed to get himself laid out across the front seat, his head near the driver's side door. He had just enough room to move his arm around to cover and protect his eyes from flying glass.
"I want you three to get down and cover up until I tell you it's alright, okay?" he said. He waited several seconds while heard all three of them moving around, and then he closed his eyes, moving his arm to partially cover his face before his jaw clenched and tightened up as he raised his legs and kicked at the window, not for the first time thankful that he had worn his cowboy boots that morning.
It took three tries, but he finally managed to break out the window, and he gave the kids the 'all clear', and told them to start to climb into the very back of the vehicle while he himself began the process of moving out from under the caved in part of the roof.
Once he was free and clear, he moved around to clear away any broken glass, and then carefully began to ease himself out and then onto the cool cement floor of the parking deck where he got his first look at his surroundings.
Outside the Excursion, it was admittedly hard to see anything, since there was really no good source of light. Reaching in through the broken out window, Michael opened the glove box and grabbed the flashlight that was kept there, praying that the batteries still had a few hours of life left in them, and turned it on.
The immediate vicinity was a mess of concrete and twisted steel re-bar. There were several cars nearby which were crushed under huge broken pieces of concrete.
Drawing in a shaky breath, Michael turned back to reach in through the open window for Jake's jacket, and remembered the rings. Turning the flashlight on the open glove box, he saw the box sitting right where he had left it over a week ago, and grabbed it too, before turning to make his way to the rear of the Excursion where Meadow and the twins were waiting for him.
After getting all three children out safely, Michael swung the flashlight around, hoping to find someplace that looked to be relatively safe from further collapse. Figuring that any rescue attempt would come from either the elevator shaft or the stairwell, he carefully picked his way across the debris strewn parking deck to the stairwell door. Reaching it, he pushed down on the push-bar handle, and cautiously opened the door.
Shining the flashlight around the space revealed that there would be no means of getting out that way: It was pretty much impassible due to the cave in. Shoving a piece of concrete in front of the door, Michael managed to prop it open. Then he pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open and dialed. It rang three times before it was finally answered.
"Jake? Thank God! Are you guys okay? Was it an earthquake or what?"
Jake's POV
The first indication that anything was wrong was a couple of people coming to a halt on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, horrified looks on their faces as they pointed at something, and then began to walk backwards before turning and running the other direction. Then came that sound.....
It's something that I don't forget any of us will forget, not after 9/11..... That horrifying sound of a building crashing down.....It's strange, but I don't remember feeling any shaking or tremors before it happened, so it wasn't an earthquake. Paul and I looked at each other for a split second before we got up from the table and made our quickly toward the front door along with everyone else. When we got out along with everyone else, we looked up the street in the direction of the mall and the new hotel that they were building.....or at least where the hotel had once stood. I faintly heard Paul mutter a broken, "Oh my God!" a split second before he turned away and vomited on the sidewalk.
The entire structure now lay amid a mass of twisted steel and broken cement. For whatever reason, it had collapsed over sideways, into the above ground parking garage, across four lanes of traffic, and into the shopping mall.....
I was vaguely aware that my phone was ringing in my front pocket, and I pulled it out before it rang a fourth time and flipped it open without looking at the caller I.D.
"Yeah," I answered distractedly.
"Jake? Thank God! Are you guys okay? Was it an earthquake or what?"
"Michael!?!?! Are you alright? Are the kids okay?" I was aware that Paul was standing beside me in an instant.
"We're fine. What the hell happened Jake?"
"The hotel....Some kind of construction site accident. The whole thing just went over sideways, into the upper parking deck, across the street, and into the mall."
"Oh Jesus....." Michael said quietly.
"It's a mess up here, big time!" I said, looking around, still not able to wrap my mind around the enormity if the situation. I could already hear the sound of approaching sirens, signaling the impending arrival of Emergency Services on the scene. "Okay, I'm going to get off here and call the families and let them know what's going on. EMS are starting to show up and the cops are starting to move people away from the immediate area, so I'm going let Paul talk to you then make the other calls," I told him.
"I love you," he said quietly.
"I love you, too," I replied. "Okay, here's Paul," I said just before handing the phone to Paul.
"Hey! Are you okay? And the kids? Alright, let me talk to Meadow.....Hey, how's my best girl? Yeah? We're okay up here. Yup. Okay, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to listen to Michael and do what he says down there, alright? He'll take care of you. I know, me too. I love you....Now, can I talk to Michael again? How are you holding up? Yeah, it's really bad. He's waiting for me to get off here so we can start making calls, so I'm gonna get off here. We're going to be here when they bring you all out. I love you. Give the kids a hug for me, and we'll see you later," he said as he closed the phone and handed it back to me. Our eyes met.
"They're going to be fine," I told him. "All four of them." He just nodded and pulled his phone out and flipped it open and scrolled down through the numbers until he found what he was looking for and hit 'dial.' I opened my own phone and did the same thing.....
Within the hour, all of our families were there, as well as many others, and the wait for news, good or bad, began.....
Michael's POV
I pulled out my phone and turned it on. Twelve-thirty. Roughly twelve and a half hours since the cave in, give or take a few minutes.....
Less than hour after the collapse, the kids and I were joined by another guy and a couple of college kids named David, Sam, and Morgan, respectively. Between us four adults, we had three working flashlights, so we turned off the other two to conserve the batteries We eventually ended up turning on the headlights on the Excursion, but I knew they would only last so long.....
When we got hungry, we raided the grocery bags in the back of the Excursion for the beef-stick, cheese, and fresh fruit I had planned to put in every- ones stockings for our Christmas Eve dinner.....
I kept my phone turned off to save the battery, pulling it out about every hour or so to call up to the surface to see how things were progressing, and let Meadow talk to her father.
By eight o'clock, I'd had enough, and pulled out my phone and turned it on and scrolled through my list until I found what I was looking for, and hit "dial," walking over by the Excursion so I wouldn't be overheard by the kids.
"Hey dad....."
"Michael?"
"How's it going up there?"
"Slow....."
"Have they even started to try and get down here?" I asked.
"Son....."
"Jesus, dad!! It's been eight fucking hours! If we hadn't done the grocery shopping first, we'd probably have passed out from hunger by now! I know for sure the kids probably would have. I can't handle this for too much longer, dad."
"They're going as fast as they can, son."
"I know....It's a miracle I haven't had a panic attack yet....."
"Are you doing okay?"
"Yes....I just needed to vent. How are you all doing up there?" I asked.
"We're all worried, but we're coping. This is especially hard on your mother and Paul....."
"Yeah.....Well, I'm going to get off here. Tell everyone I love them and that we'll see them soon."
"Will do. I love you too, son."
I closed my phone, and made up my mind. I went back to where the others were.
"Meadow, let me have the flashlight sweetie. Please," I requested, holding out my hand. She gave it to me, and I turned it on and headed back to the Excursion. David was hot on my heels, watching as I put one plastic grocery bag inside another.
"What are you doing?" he asked as I began putting water bottles into the doubled up plastic bags and then tied it up.
"I keep hearing the noise from the equipment up above, but in never seems to be getting any closer! We've been trapped down here for eight hours.....I didn't survive nearly dying in a pool-house fire set by a former school-mate turned stalker just to end up dying in some freak construction site accident on Christmas Eve! I'm getting me and my kids the hell outta here, if I have to dig my way out to do it!"
David just looked at me, trying to decide if I was crazy, or what.....Maybe I was. I didn't know, I just wanted to get the hell out of there....
"Alright, I'm in," David said finally.
"Okay then, let's go," I said, and grabbed two more plastic bags. We went back to Morgan and Sam and the kids. "I've got two bottles of water for each of us. Everyone gets two apples."
"What are we doing daddy?" Ryan wanted to know.
"We're going to try to get out of here," I said matter-of-factly. I pulled out my phone once again and called to let the folks know what we were going to do and to let Meadow talk to her father. I gave my phone to her for safe keeping, and we began the task of digging our way out of hell.....
It took three and a half hours, some blood, alot of sweat, a few tears and alot of cursing, but we did manage to make it up to the fourth level and about halfway to the third when we had to stop. Since the stairs were gone, we'd had no choice. We back-tracked down to the fourth level to try that way only to find that the door wouldn't budge, and no amount of pulling was going to make it do otherwise. So, we went back up to our new 'resting place,' and waited.
Which brings us to where we are now, twelve thirty.....I turned my phone off and shoved it back in my pocket, and closed my eyes.....
I think I must have dozed off, because the next thing I know, I hear a voice, several voices, actually, coming down from above us!! I prayed to God that I wasn't dreaming as I called out "Help!!"
"Hello!" a voice shouted back. I looked at the others as we all stood up. The stairwell was suddenly awash in light as flashlight beams were bouncing off the concrete walls.
"Help! Help! Down here!" we were shouting back. I held onto the handrail, and leaned out over the open stairwell, and looked up.
"Please!! Please help us!" I called out, and was almost blinded when one of the rescue workers shown his flashlight in my face. I brought my free hand up, and he immediately moved the light away from my face.
"How many of you are there?" the fireman asked.
"Seven! Four adults, three children!"
"Okay, everything will be alright. We'll have you folks out of there in no time."
"Thank God!" I murmured as I moved back from the edge when a rope was dropped down in front of us.....
Within a minute, there was a Fire-Rescue worker there with us, and he was putting us into a harness and we were lifted up, one by one, to the next level. From there we would go up through the elevator shaft. The kids would be the first ones to go.
I reached into the pocket of Jake's jacket, and pulled out the box with the rings in it. I reached a quick decision, and took off the chain that I had worn Jake's ring on for all those months, and put the new rings on it.
"Meadow, sweetie, come here!" I said urgently. I slipped the necklace over her head. "Sweetie, I want you to do me a favor. If for some reason I don't make it out of here, I want you to give these to your father and Jake, and tell them I loved them both, very much."
"Michael, you're scaring me! You're going to get out of here, just like all the rest of us, and we're all going to be just fine," she said as she gave me a quick hug.
"Sweetie, we don't know what's going to happen....." I began, but she cut me off.
"Nothing bad is going to happen Michael....It's Christmas, nothing bad ever happens on Christmas...." And with that, she gave me another hug, and put the necklace in my hand and walked over to where they were ready to send her up next.
I walked over after her, putting the chain back on, and said, "Don't look down. Keep looking up, just keep looking up."
And then she and a rescue worker were being lifted up and out of sight.
"You're next," one of them said to me, and I just nodded my head silently. I stood still as I was strapped into the harness and given safety instructions, and then I was being lifted. I looked up. The area around the opening was brightly lit, and though I'm sure there was alot of noise, I heard nothing, not a sound.....
And then I felt hands on me pulling me away from that hole in the ground, and it was like the sound came crashing back, all at once, like someone had pushed the 'mute' button on the remote and suddenly the sound was back on.
Before I had time to realize what was going on, the rescue harness was being taken off, and I was being led over to a waiting ambulance, where after a quick check, I was pronounced "okay" and allowed to go.
"Michael!" I looked to my left, and there was my family. I began walking to them, my steps quickening, and before I knew it I was safely in my parents arms. It took me a minute to realize I was crying, and then I was in another pair of arms....
So many pairs of arms before I was in the right ones, and the three of us just stood there not willing to let the other go. I felt a tugging at my sleeve and turned to see Meadow.
"See? I told you nothing bad would happen on Christmas," she said with a smile.
"C'mere you," I said, pulling her into the hug. Within a minute, we were in the center of a giant family hug.....
"C'mon everybody, let's go home," Jake said.....
It was later, much later, in fact, on Christmas day. We had had a quiet dinner with our families, and then played 'rip and shred,' and opened our gifts. Jake and Paul had told me they had something they wanted to ask me, and so we went outside to sit down at the far end of the pool.
"You were going to end it, weren't you?" Paul asked without preamble. I looked at him, shocked.
"It's okay, you don't need to answer," Jake said.
"Michael.....I love you, and I don't think I can imagine what my life would be like without you in it. I think I started falling in love with you the first day I met you, in Jake's hotel room almost two years ago..... Aaww, shit.....This isn't coming out at all like I wanted it to....." Paul said, sounding and looking very helpless and frustrated.
"Just say what's in your heart," I told him.
"Okay.....I--we want you to stay. One bed, one bedroom. No more of this separate rooms crap. One bed, one bedroom. Not yours, not mine, not his. Ours Forever," he said pulling out a box and setting it on the table. "Fuck, this still isn't coming out right," he said, sending Jake a look full of frustration.
"I think I know where this is headed," I said, reaching into my front pocket. I put my closed hand on the table next to Paul's box, and opened it, palm up, to reveal the rings I had bought. There was a slight gasp as Jake and Paul looked from the rings to each other, then at me, then back down at the rings in the palm of my hand.
Paul reached out to open his box, and then it was my turn to gasp!
"So is that a yes?" Jake asked, nodding his head toward the rings in my hand.
I nodded silently, not able to speak.
I took the rings and then took Jake's right hand and slipped his ring on, and took Paul's hand and slipped his ring on, and then extended my bare right hand.
"This is only until the ceremony," I said. "Then these are going on our left hands where they belong." I looked up at the two of them.
"Absolutely!" Paul said. Jake nodded in agreement.
"Christmas really is a time for miracles," I murmured, looking down at the rings as they sparkled in the lights that decorated the trees outside. "Well, we may as well go back inside and get it over with."
With that, we got up and headed back inside.
"Well?" Maggie smirked.
"What?" Jake asked.
"What do you mean, 'What?' Don't you 'What?' me, little brother!"
"It's official!" I said as the three of us held our right hands up, side by side. Maggie let out a shriek and jumped up off the sofa to envelope the three of us in a huge hug. Naomi, Cheryl, and my mom came in a minute later carrying trays filled with glasses of champagne.
"What do we drink to?" Paul's younger brother Cody asked.
"To Love," Peter toasted.
"To Miracles," Naomi suggested.
"To Christmas Miracles," I amended, and we all raised our glasses.....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Well, that's it for chapter 12. Let me know what y'all think. dnsphelps@mcsi.net or you can find me on yahoo messenger at twains_fan_03@yahoo.com on msn at twains_fan_03@hotmail.com and on AIM at guyoregon8