Our First Year Chapter 3
#3 of Our First Year
Chapter 3 of Our First year, I hope you enjoy!
Friday morning came rather calmly. Neither Shawn nor Jake had set an alarm, so they both slept in till about 9 am. Jake woke up first. He checked his phone to see if he had any missed calls... none. He got up and took a shower. When he got out he noticed Shawn sitting on the side of his bed. Shawn sighed heavily.
"Hey, you out of the shower already?"
Jake jumped a little. "Yeah. How did you know I was here?"
"I heard the water stop running. I've been awake since you turned the water on."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's okay, you didn't really. I didn't sleep much last night."
"Why not? Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. I couldn't sleep because I was worried about today. Well anyways, it's 09:30, you gotta head to Josh's in a few minutes."
"I know. I'm Just gotta get a few things and i'm ready to go."
"Alright. Let me know when you're ready. I'll walk you to Josh's."
Jake grabbed a few things and opened the door. Shawn went with him. When they reached Josh's room, Shawn grabbed Jake's arm. Jake turned.
"Hey, what's going on? Is something wrong?"
Shawn realized he was holding Jake's arm. He let go and looked at Jake.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to tell you again that i'm sorry."
"It's fine Shawn. We will still have all weekend to hang out. A few hours won't change anything."
Shawn grinned, then grabbed Jake around the head and put him in a headlock.
"Ach, Shawn, what the hell has gotten into you?"
"Nothing, i'm perfectly fine. And now you know that too!"
Jake pulled out of Shawn's arms and knocked on Josh's door. The door opened to reveal Josh with only a pair of pants on.
"Hey, what's up guys?"
"Hey Josh, still cool if Jake hangs out here with you for a couple of hours?"
"Yeah bro, it's all good."
"Thanks man, it means a lot."
"I know how much it means to you and I'm willing to do most anything to help you."
Josh winked at Shawn and Shawn began to blush.
"Yeah Yeah, I know that. Anyways, Jake, don't have too much fun without me. I'll be back in a few hours to get you."
"I know, I'm looking forward to it."
Shawn walked away and Jake entered Josh's room. Shawn went back to their room and began to gather a few things like food and blankets. He packed his wireless speaker and charger to help set the mood. When he got everything packed he headed out to the lake. At the boat, he set everything up. He had a table set with a candle in the middle with a tablecloth (a very fancy looking table cloth) with a single white Rose in a vase. Shawn laid the blankets on the bed downstairs and cleaned everything up to make it look nice. He stepped back to admire his work. It was all perfect. Shawn returned to the dorms to get Jake. He looked at his watch to see the time now was 1:35 pm. Everything was going according to plan. Shawn knocked on Josh's door. Jake opened the door and gave Shawn a huge smile.
"What are you so happy about?"
"I'm just really happy to see you. It feels like it has been ages since you left this morning."
"Well isn't that so? Where's Josh?"
"Coach Alex called him in to talk to him. He told me he didn't care if I stayed while he was gone. Josh said something about private lessons or something like that."
Shawn's eyes widened. "Wow, okay."
"What?"
"Nothing, it's all good."
Shawn remembered his conversation with Josh about Coach and was quite curious as to what Josh meant by private lessons.
"Well, you ready to get this show on the road Jake?"
"Shawn, I've been ready since 10. You're the one who needed more time."
"Shut up. I don't need your sass."
Jake laughed as he secured Josh's door.
"So now will you tell me where we are going?"
"You'll find out when we get there. First off, we are going to the mall for a few hours. We will have a shopping day."
"Alright! I love shopping!"
Shawn drove out to the nearest mall which was in Johannesburg, which was about 30 minutes away. It was a rather nice mall. Clean and beautiful. The mall was right next to a river which could be used for a nice boat ride. Shawn and Jake got to the mall at about 2. There really wasn't anyone there since it was Friday and most people haven't gotten off work yet.
"So Jake, where do you want to go first?"
"Let go hit that food court! I'm starving."
"Okay, just don't eat too much. You gotta have dinner later."
Jake looked at Shawn and smirked. "So that's where we are going. You're taking me to dinner."
Shawn sighed with relief. "Oh dang, you got me. That's where I'm taking you tonight."
Jake punched Shawn in the arm. "I don't need your sarcasm."
"You're the one who decided to guess where we are going. You should just let it happen."
Jake sighed, "Well I guess I have no choice."
Jake and Shawn made their way through the mall stopping at a few stores along the way.
"Hey Shawn, let's go to Destiny. I need some new underwear anyways."
Shawn got a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, I got you, I'll buy you as many as you need."
Jake began to blush. "It's okay, I can get them."
"Nonsense, you don't even have a job yet."
"You don't have a job either."
"True, but I have a large savings account. I worked hard while I was in high school and saved almost every penny. I've got about 20 grand in there."
Jake's eyes widened. "Holy crap! Where did you work?"
"My dad knows a guy who owns an oil field. He paid me a pretty penny to help maintain it. Was getting about two thousand a month. Putting nearly half in savings."
"Wow, what I would give to have a nice paying job like that in high school."
"Yeah, it's no matter. Anyways, about that underwear."
Jake began to blush again. "Yeah... I need... like six pair. That'd be fine."
"Okay, I just have one condition."
"What condition is that?"
"You have to model them for me."
Jake became as red as a cherry. "Yo... you want... me to... to model... for you?"
"Yeah, I was looking at buying some new brands to test them out, and I want to see what they look like on you before I buy them."
Jake got a nervous look on his face. "I don't... I don't... know... if I'd make a good model."
Shawn laughed. "Jake, I'm only teasing. You don't have to model the underwear for me. Unless you want to, I'd be okay with that."
"Uh... I don't know."
"Awe, come on! Please?"
"Yeah, I... I guess I can. Only for you though. No one else can be there."
Shawn's heart skipped several beats. He remained frozen for a moment. After a few seconds he straightened up. "Excellent. I look forward to it."
Jake began to return to his normal color. Jake and Shawn entered Destiny and went shopping for underwear.
Jake and Shawn left the mall at about 5 pm. They walked out to Shawn's car.
"Hey Jake, have you been to the lake yet?"
"No, I haven't, why do you ask?"
"I'm just getting a feel for some of the places you haven't been to yet."
"Oh, okay."
"Well anyways, I want you to close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you to open them, okay? This next part is your surprise."
"Awe, why do I have to close my eyes?"
"Because, I wanna make sure you are surprised when we get there."
"Fine. I'll keep them closed."
"Well it wasn't really a choice. Either way I was going to have you close your eyes."
"And just how were you planning on making me close them?"
"I was gonna slip you some sleeping pills and have you wake up where I want you."
Jake's eyes widened. "You were going to drug me?"
"No I wasn't really going to drug you. Gosh, take a sarcasm."
"I'll take a sarcasm when you learn to English."
"Ah, touche."
Jake closed his eyes. Shawn drove for about fifteen minutes before Jake started questioning what was happening.
"Shawn, where are we going?"
"You'll find out."
About fifteen more minutes passed when Jake and Shawn finally arrived at the lake. Shawn looked up at the sky. "Good, the sun is still up."
"What about the sun?"
"Stop worrying. Here, put these headphones in."
"Damn it Shawn, what's with all this?"
"You'll see, just trust me."
"Jeez, how can I not trust you when you sound so genuine?"
"Exactly, so trust me and put them in. It's your Playlist anyways, so it's not like you'll hear a bad song."
Jake put the headphones in. They were noise cancelling so he couldn't hear anything. Especially the sound of the calm waves. Shawn opened his door and walked him down to the boat. He picked Jake up and carried him down into the cabin. He laid Jake down on the bed. He pulled out one of Jake's headphones. "Okay, this next part is gonna seem weird. Just lay here and listen to your music."
Jake just nodded. Shawn started the boat and drove very slowly out into the middle of the lake. There was a beautiful red, blue, and black sky with several stars, no clouds and the reflection of the sun on the calm surface of the water. Tonight was the perfect night for this. Shawn threw the anchor and shut the boat off. He walked around to see if anything had fallen over. Nothing was out of place. He walked downstairs and took out one of Jake's headphones. "Hey, you ready for this?"
"Why do I feel like I'm floating?"
"Okay, come with me."
"Okay."
Shawn took Jake's paw and led him upstairs. He took the other headphone out.
"You can open your eyes now."
Jake opened his eyes. He froze.
"Jake... I have a major question for you."
"Shawn."
"Jake, will you..."
"Shawn, I've been meaning to ask you for some time now. And it looks like both of us had the same idea. So let me take the opportunity to ask you before you ask me. Shawn... will you go out with me?"
Shawn stood awestruck. He was shaking all over. Tears began trickling down his face. He cracked a smile. He grabbed Jake in a massive hug.
"Of course I will. I will. Most certainly. Just... just promise me something."
Jake started tearing up. He wrapped his arms around Shawn. "What is it? I promise I'll do anything."
"Promise me you'll never let me go."
Jake's heart started to beat at a more normal pace. "I already told you, I'll do anything."
Jake released Shawn. Shawn backed at looked at Jake.
"You're... crying. Are you okay?"
"You should look at yourself. If you think I look bad... go find a mirror."
Shawn laughed. "I've been setting all this up for tonight. That's why I needed you to go to Josh's earlier. I had to get the last few touches."
"It's perfect Shawn. I'm so happy you did this for me."
"For you... i'd do anything, but I have to ask... how long have you known I like you?"
"Well, I got the hint when you wanted to ask me a question on Monday, but backed out. After that, there were small details every now and then. Like when you told me we were going to do something fantastic today. Just small hints. I only figured it out at the mall earlier. When you asked me to model underwear for you."
"Oh, yeah, I was just teasing, but when you actually said yes I was a bit shocked."
Jake and Shawn started laughing. Shawn motioned to the table. "Tonight on the menu, we have Grilled Steak, Chicken Fried Steak, or Chicken Alfredo. Your choice."
Jake looked at Shawn and smiled. "I'll only agree to having you cook me dinner if we get dessert."
Shawn stopped, he hadn't planned on dessert. What was he going to do? Shawn started speaking without thinking about what he was saying.
"Well, you can have me for desert."
Shawn realized what he had said a second too late. Jake's eyes widened.
"That's... very... kinky, Shawn. I respect that."
Shawn's heart skipped several beats before returning to normal. "What?"
"I said that's fine with me."
Shawn sat down suddenly feeling dizzy. "That's what I thought you said."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine. Give me a few minutes and I'll have dinner ready."
Shawn got up and walked into the cabin. Jake stared at the water. The low evening sun was reflecting perfectly with the spray of the water, creating a rainbow along the surface. "This is simply beautiful."
A few moments later, Shawn emerged from the cabin carrying two plates with Grilled Steak on them. Jake grabbed his knife. "You know, I just realized that I never made a selection, how did you know I was thinking the steak?"
Shawn bit his lip. He felt like something was wrong. "Oh crap! I'm so sorry, did you want something else?"
"No, It's fine. I wanted the steak, so you chose well."
Shawn turned on the music. It was soft music, perfect for an evening out on the water. The first song that played was Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis. Jake looked at Shawn with a longing look. "This is one of favorite songs."
"Really? I totally chose it randomly. I googled love songs and that one came up, so I listened to it and liked it."
"Yeah, I really like this song. It really fits with tonight. Such a romantic song."
Shawn and Josh ate dinner and listened to music. They laughed at each other and told stories of previous experiences. The sun was far below the horizon now. It was dark and quiet. Shawn suggested they move to the bow of the boat. Jake agreed and followed Shawn to the bow where they sat enjoying the night sky above and calm waters below. The night was so peaceful.
"Hey Shawn."
"What's up?"
"What made you decide to do this? You don't like water."
"I may not like it that much, but you love it. So I figured that it'd be the perfect way to ask you out. Until you went and stole my thunder and asked me first."
Jake laughed. "Shawn." Jake rest his head on Shawn's shoulder. "This is so peaceful and beautiful. I love it so much."
"Yeah, I might have to accept the whole water thing. This is really nice."
Jake laughed. He grabbed Shawn's paw and squeezed it. "I'm so happy you chose me."
"I'm happy I chose you too."
Jake and Shawn sat holding paw gazing at the water. The calm waves swept up against the boat, spraying a mist into the air. The gentle breeze kept the air cool. The slow rock of the boat was enough to put them to sleep, but they didn't feel an ounce of drowsiness being as they were finally together. Jake and Shawn were making the most of every second. A boat full of about eight passengers drove by 20 meters out. They had lights blaring and music blasting. One of the passenger was a wolf. He noticed Jake and Shawn sitting together holding paws and howled. The other passenger began to join him.
"Howdy. Mighty fine night to be out enjoying some peace and quiet with your partner. Hope we aren't disturbin' too much." The wolf winked at them.
"You guys aren't disturbing us. We are just here for the scenery. We don't want to ruin the party."
"Y'all ain't ruinin' shit. You're a lovely couple and i'm glad to see folks like you who ain't afraid to show what they feel in public."
"Well it's nice to know we have some support."
The wolf bowed very low. "If y'all ever need anything, i'll be right here on this lake. Sixth house down from the launch ramp. Doors always open."
Shawn bowed his head. "Thank you very much. I'll keep that in mind sir."
"Please, call me Will."
"Thank you very much Will."
"Pleasures all mine."
The boat picked up speed and was out of sight in a matter of seconds.
The waters were once again calm, and the silence set in again. Jake put his head back on Shawn's shoulder and closed his eyes. The breeze picked up and blew some of the mist towards them. Jake opened his eyes feeling the water splash his face.
"Hey Shawn, can we go in the cabin? I don't want to get wet right now."
"Yeah, that's okay with me."
Jake stood up first. He walked aft to the stern of the boat. Shawn stood up and followed suit. Jake looked up at the stars again before walking into the cabin. There wasn't much room. Just a half kitchen, a bed, and a bathroom. The light was dull, but was good enough to see everything clearly.
"You know, we never did have dessert. I can run by the store and grab something."
Jake sat down on the bed. "I don't need dessert. I'm full from dinner."
Shawn sat next to Jake and took his paw.
"Jake.. what do you want to do right now?"
Jake looked up at Shawn. His eyes were shimmering in the dull light. Shawn could feel Jake's hesitation.
"Jake, there's no need to do anything rash tonight. I didn't have any plan for us to go very far. You don't need to force yourself to do anything you're not comfortable with."
"It's not that i'm uncomfortable with it. I've just never done it before."
"Tonight doesn't have to be the night. I won't push you."
"I want to... I'm just scared."
Shawn put his paw on Jake's shoulder.
"There's no reason to be scared of anything tonight."
Jake closed his eyes. Shawn closed his eyes, leaned forward, and pressed his lips against Jake's. The heat from Shawn's lips felt good. It lit a fire in Jake, causing him to swell with emotion. Jake grabbed the back of Shawn's neck and returned the kiss. After a few seconds, Jake pulled back and opened his eyes. He looked into Shawn's eyes, feeling the emotion behind them. Jake swelled with joy. He felt like he had just conquered the world.
"Shawn... thank you."
Shawn wrapped his arms around Jake and fell forward on top of him. They laid there for a few minutes before the swaying of the boat rocked them to sleep.
Shawn's dream was very pleasant. He and Jake were back on campus, in their room. They were laying on Jake's bed, still in each other's arms. Jake rolled over and faced away from Shawn. His breath was calm and slow. Shawn buried his face in Jake's back and squeezed his arms. Jake was still resting, his eyes were closed. Shawn was at peace. He felt like he could lay there forever. The alarm went off and Jake began to get up. Shawn laid there, bewildered, wondering why the alarm went off on a Saturday. Jake had gotten up and was wondering around the room looking for something. Shawn tried to ask what he was looking for, but his voice seemed to fail him. Jake shrugged and laid back down. Shawn, confused by the events that just took place, shrugged and wrapped his arms around Jake again. Jake rolled over to face Shawn. His face was relaxed, his beautiful blue eyes closed. Shawn drug his hand down Jake's body, feeling every inch, remembering every curve. His bare upper body was coarse and smooth. It may not have been the most athletic body, but it was Jake's and that's what made Shawn happy. Jake's fur was soft. The temptation to just caress him all day was great. Another alarm went off and Jake opened his eyes. His blue eyes gleamed in the faint sunlight streaming in through a crack in the curtains behind them. His eyes were mesmerizing, leaving Shawn utterly speechless. He had never seen Jake's eyes so close before. Jake smiled and buried his face in Shawn's chest. Shawn closed his eyes to savor the moment. It had felt like forever. After a couple of second, Shawn's breath began to slow and he fell asleep.
Jake's dream as a bit less soothing. Him and Shawn were in a car. Except it was different. Instead of his usual fusion, Shawn was driving a corvette. It was convertible and the top was down. It seemed to have cost about 50 grand.
"Shawn, when did you get this car?"
"Just now, from the gentleman we just visited. It's the one you wanted. What's wrong? You don't remember?"
"No, I don't remember anything until just now."
Shawn had a worried expression. Jake sat back and stared out the side, watching the world fly by. Shawn turned the radio up. The song playing was "Can't help falling in love" by Elvis. Jake looked at the radio.
"This is your favorite song, right? I remember from that night on the lake."
"How long ago was that night?"
"It was about five years ago, why?"
"I don't remember anything."
Shawn turned his hazard lights on and pulled to the side of the road.
"You're telling me you don't remember anything from the last five years?"
"No, not since that night on the boat."
"You don't remember going to graduation, or us getting married, or us moving here to Johannesburg?"
"Wait, we are married?"
Jake just noticed the gold band on Shawn's finger. He felt his hand and noticed the band on his own finger.
"When?"
"It was two years ago today. That's why I took you out and bought you this car."
"Why? There was no need to buy me this car."
"You're the one who found it at that fantastic price. You said I should get it for me, but I got it for you instead."
"How much was it?"
"Only 16 grand."
Jake was stunned.
"I had pegged it at 50."
"It normally was, but there was a guy who needed the money because he needed to pay his daughter's hospital bills."
"Oh, okay. I feel bad though, like we are stealing it."
"We didn't steal it. We paid good money for it. He's the one who sold it so cheap. I also traded him my fusion so he still had something to drive."
"Well that was nice. I'm glad we are together. Shawn put his paw on Jake's head and ruffled his fur. Jake looked down at the floorboard. Shawn turned off his hazard lights and began driving again. They reached a house after about 20 minutes of driving. It was a small house in the backwoods. It was beautiful. Magnolia trees, Pine trees, Oak trees, Crape Myrtle, as well as a flowerbed filled with roses and sunflowers. The color of the property was beautiful. It was awe-inspiring. In the backyard was a single swing bench made of mahogany. It was treated so it was a deep brown color. The Oak tree above it cast the perfect amount of shade to keep the bench in dazzling gleams of sunlight, making it the most beautiful and romantic spot on the property. Jake sat on the bench and ran his hand along the arm rest. Shawn walked up and stopped by the side of the bench.
"You made this for me. Well, for us. It was the spot where you proposed. The bench wasn't here, but you made it in memory of that moment, the happiest moment in my life."
Jake's began quietly sobbing.
"Why can't I remember any of it? Why is our whole life just gone?"
"Because you haven't lived it yet Jake."
Jake shot up in surprise.
"What do you mean I haven't lived it yet?"
"Jake, you're not here, you only remember that night on the boat five years ago because that was yesterday. That was last night. Actually that's still happening. Feel in your heart. Feel my hands around your waist. Feel my heartbeat against your chest. Feel my breath in your fur. Remember, realize I'm still laying there, right beside you, on that boat."
Jake closed his eyes. He sat down on the bench and leaned back. He felt a squeeze around his waist. He felt a soothing thump on his chest. He felt a warm wind blows across his forehead. Jake relaxed so much, he fell asleep.