Love and Pain

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Xavier honked the horn. The traffic in front of him had snarled. Traffic lights blinked in the far distance while streetlights illuminated the way. Because of construction the lanes had constricted to one lane eastbound. Xavier tired of seeing brake lights come on every millisecond.

Fuck! Why’d I take Constitution Avenue?

He passed the National Archives on his left and looked for Seventh Street Northwest. He exhaled long, inhaled deeply, then repeated. He did this a few times to calm down. To reassure himself, he spoke out loud.

“Okay, take it easy. He said he was fine. Not to worry.” He shook his head and gripped the steering wheel. He replayed what Jake told him—how he told him. Jake’s voice sounded normal, but he detected a slight quiver when the phone conversation initially began.

Finally when he saw Seventh, he made a right and gunned it. Seconds passed and he saw another landmark, the U.S. Congress, lit up. Once he passed the National Air and Space Museum, he scanned the streets for parking signs until he saw a garage with a vacancy notice lit up. He knew this one was close enough. Once he parked, he threw the parking ticket near the seat and ran. He realized the hours at the Bureau’s gyms and their incessant fitness tests paid off as he propelled through the stairs out of the garage, heading for the bus and staging areas near L’Enfant Plaza at a quick speed. Just a few months ago, the Metro had a similar occurrence so district police and fire had protocols already used recently. This time the radio had reported no deaths, but lots of passengers were treated for smoke inhalation.

As he neared the buses that ferried Metro’s passengers to the nearest stations, he looked for the ambulances on the south part of the station. He dug his credentials from his pocket and as he got closer, he approached one DC police officer by a barricade. The officer used a small flashlight to check out Xavier’s information then waved him through without saying a word.

Xavier counted ten ambulances, with people milling about with blankets. He quickly scanned to see if Jake was in any of them. As he walked to one ambulance closest to the station, he noticed camera crew from two local stations. Jake stood ten feet away from one. He cleared his throat and slowed his walking pace. There were two other DC police officers nearby. Instinctively, he straightened his back, adjusted his tie, and brushed his jacket collars to make sure they were flat. Jake and he had addressed how they would act in public since Xavier wasn’t completely out. When he got closer to Jake, Jake saw him and smiled. Xavier wanted to push the people that blocked his path. Instead he nodded as he approached then patted Jake on the shoulder, careful not to jostle Jake too hard because Jake was sipping coffee.

Shit, I want to hug him, kiss him.

He cleared his throat. “Glad you’re okay, Jake.”

Jake narrowed his eyes, as if to say something. Instead he saw Jake take a deep breath, then bit his bottom lip. “Thank you.” Jake glanced around, behind Xavier.

Dammit, I hate acting like we’re just friends.

“I drove and parked at a garage not too far from here so I can drive you home, if you want.”

Jake did a slight nod, raised his eyebrows, and said matter of fact, “Thanks.”

Xavier observed Jake nod to the camera crew. “Thanks for the coffee!” Jake shouted as they walked away, past the barricades.

“Where’d you park?”

“It’s a couple of blocks from here.” Xavier didn’t say another word to Jake, who remained silent, his head looking at the ground most of the time, until they reached the garage. “I think I’m on the third floor. Can you take the steps?”

“I think so.”

As they reached the third level, Xavier and Jake made a beeline to Xavier’s grey Chevy sedan. As soon as they sat in the vehicle, Xavier locked the doors and moved closer to Jake, their eyes level, he grabbed Jake’s neck and pulled him in, without any words. Their lips touched and Xavier kissed Jake, hard. He smelled of smoke, but didn’t care. The warmth of Jake’s lips and face close to him made his heart race fast. Xavier grabbed Jake’s face and held it until Jake pulled away.

“You had me worried.”

“I told you everything was okay,” Jake whispered.

Xavier brushed some of the brown hair that covered Jake’s left eye.

Ah! Those beautiful blues!

“I know but I wanted to get you.”

“Thanks for getting me, love. Can we go home now? I hope we still have some Chinese leftover in the fridge because I’m starving.”

“I’ll order some delivery on the way over and I’ll draw you a hot bath when we get home.”

“Aw. That’s sweet.”

“I know. It is. But you also smell like smoke.”

Jake lifted his jacket and smelled it. “I can’t smell anything.”

“Trust me, you do.”

Jake smiled. “Oh, I believe you. I just can’t smell it.”

As the Chevy exited the garage, Jake grabbed and held Xavier’s hand. “Thanks for getting me again.”

“Nothing would have stopped me from coming after you.” Xavier gripped Jake’s hand. “By the way, were you talking to a reporter or something? I saw you thank them for coffee.”

“Yes, one of them stopped me to ask me questions.”

“On camera? Or off? Did you give your name?”

Jake faced his window. “On camera, I think. And yeah, I gave them my name.”

Xavier groaned. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”