Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 17:37:30 -0500
From: bright lite <brightlite52@hotmail.com>
Subject: Jase 'n' Zach Chapter 2

Copyright 2001.  The following story is a work of fiction, and the
rights of this series belong to its author.  If you are breaking one or
more of your local laws by reading this, don't read any further!  There
are many other interesting and non-threatening places on the web to
visit.  Warning: this story has generally bland depictions of
homosexual sex :P  If this is not what you are searching for, keep
sifting the archives, as there is something there for everybody.

This chapter is the continuation of a story begun a long time ago on a
particularly lonely evening sometime between my January birthday (I'm
and Aquarium) and Valentine's Day.  I had just moved to the Tampa Bay
area from Gainesville, FL and left seemingly everyone I knew behind
including a boyfriend who just didn't know what he wanted.  As a way to
stop thinking about the sad stuff I decided to make up a story where
things work out for someone I could relate to; wishful thinking, I know,
but surprisingly therapeutic.

I am frequently amazed at the quality of first time authors whose work
I read in Nifty; until recently I just didn't have the courage to
submit this, a story which served a purpose and needs to be brought to
conclusion.  Unfortunately, I don't know where the story is headed, so
it's sure to end up somewhere else!


Chapter 2.  Morning has broken-

	My sleep was peaceful and I woke to the soft touch of lips against
my face.  Jase was gently kissing me to wakefulness and I felt his hard
strength pressed against me.  I have awakened almost every morning over the
last three years to the same bright blue eyes and the same hard insistence
throbbing against my leg, waiting for me to make the transition from dreams
to reality.

	Rewarding Jase with a quick kiss of my own, I turned on my back and
stretched so hard I could feel every muscle and tendon holding my body
together.  Jase took his cue and became my blanket; rolling over on top of
me his warm, erect self nestled against my own.  His eyes almost touched
mine as our foreheads came together.

	"I love you, Jase," I said with the feeling I should have given him
last night.

	"Por nada, Zach, apology accepted," I heard as he began breathing
into my ear, tracing its outline with the tip of his nose.  I dug my
fingers into his shoulder muscles; my elbows gripped his sides.

	"Jase, let's be naughty and stay in bed for once."

	"You know we can't, sunshine", he replied as he adjusted our
positions and began a gentle massage with one hand.  "You know your sister
would drag us out of bed and down the stairs yelling at us all the way."  I
chuckled, momentarily imagining that scene and feeling the warm sense of
completeness Jase's nearness brings to me.  Nothing could ever worry me as
long as Jase is here, I think, but I remember the strangeness of the night
before.  Coolness suddenly hits me at my center, where Jase has applied a
dab of lubricant and is working it in with his fingers.  I reach blindly to
my left, looking for condoms in the nightstand drawer, but with no luck.
Growling in sudden exasperation, I leaned over and pawed through the
contents of the drawer trying to free one condom from a chain of them with
only a single hand.

	Jase started laughing.  "You never used to have that problem,
babe-you want me to peel it for you?"  I looked at him through narrowed
eyelids while I used my teeth to rip one loose.  "Hmmph," I muttered,
spitting out the wrapper onto the floor.  "I'm the only guy here with a
hand to spare."  Jase smiled and withdrew his fingers while presenting
himself to be covered; his shaft stood away from his body at a sharp angle
as he kneeled over my chest.  I sat up slightly and nuzzled it with my lips
and cheek, then rolled the condom on.  Jase's head was tipped back, and he
sighed contentedly.  "No one could make me feel the way you do, Zach-I love
you always."  He lowered himself over me and then I felt him enter.  His
lips brushed mine and I opened to him, kissing him passionately as we made
love.

	Later, I am downstairs hosing down the cobblestones, thinking of
how hot it is likely to get today, and worrying about the flowers I have
planted in the boxes under the windows along the street.  The building has
a small, sunken courtyard along one side and in this area of uneven brick
pavement we have several tables set out.  Two old elm trees stretch upward
and outward like a pair of friendly, leafy green umbrellas.  Ivy grows wild
along the tall wrought iron fence standing sentinel to the street beyond.
It is altogether the perfect place to forget the noise and crowds of the
city, a haven where friends can stop and enjoy a quiet moment together.
This is Jase's favorite spot, too, and he loved it the moment he saw it.

	A delivery truck is at the curb, its driver unloading his crates
and nodding at me in hurried greeting as he passes with his dolly.  I smile
in turn and wave from where I stand; his grin is a welcome sight every
morning as I prepare for the coming day.  My hands are occupied as I sort
through the flowers at the window front picking spent blossoms.

	Jase loves plants, and got me hooked as well by giving me a small
potted palm for `company' back when we first met in college.  Today that
palm is as tall as either of us, and leans companionably against the window
in our bedroom.  Once I realized how easy it was to grow things, I began
filling up every available nook with greenery, much of it outside.  I like
the way plants soften the lines of the building and sidewalk, and add color
to an often-dreary urban landscape.  Flowering vines drape the edges of the
roof on the street and courtyard sides of the building, with window boxes
to the street adding more splashes of color.  Jase also helped me assemble
a freestanding swing and slat-roofed shelter on the roof screened with
potted shrubs and hanging baskets.  Many nights we find ourselves together
gently rocking and looking for those few stars bright enough to be seen
past the glow of city lights.  The air-conditioning equipment nearby groans
and rattles as it adds heat to the typically warm night breezes; I like to
think of its droning noise as the city's equivalent of crickets.

	The delivery truck shifted its gears and pulled away from the curb,
startling me with its sudden rush of noise.  Outside chores done at last, I
coiled the hose in its little box against the wall then shut and locked the
lid.  My hair chose that moment to fall forward into my eyes; I ran a hand
through it in irritation, sweeping it back in a single gesture.

	The small brass bell attached to the doorframe tinkled as I let
myself into the shop.  "All done?" Jase asked from behind the counter,
where the morning preparations were nearly complete.  Kara bustled past
with her son Chris to walk him down the street to school; at eleven, he was
learning to skate pretty well and kept us all busy juggling work and
chaperoning his activities.  Jase went back to threatening the espresso
machine with dire consequences if it didn't stop leaking on the counter
while I-thinking to myself that life was pretty good-put on my apron and
went back to flip over the `closed' sign on the door.