Chapter 38: Valentine Part 1 & 2

(click the title to go to the chapter itself)

This is not only a new chapter, but it’s a new chapter in the relationship between Pete and Earn.  Maybe it’s me, but I’ve sensed a settling down and consolidation process in last few chapters.  It’s not that life will hold no challenges for them, but there is a clear sense of their growing coupledom on display here.  The scene that opens this chapter couldn’t be more domestic.

Pete awakens to the enticing smell of food and struggles to place who’s doing the cooking since the housekeeper is off on Sundays, but soon discovers that Earn is no longer in bed.  He gets up and heads into the kitchen to find Earn wearing only a pair of boxers while he labors over the stove and greats him with an enthusiastic ‘Good Morning’ and a hug.  He watches with his chin on Earn’s shoulder while he flips pancakes and listens to Earn boast of the banquet he’s prepared, but Pete acknowledges that although he is hungry, it’s not for breakfast.  After nibbling on Earn’s neck he tries to coax him into some fun, but Earn turns around and tells him to behave explaining that he didn’t hold back for four days for nothing while grabbing his own crotch.  With an building, Pete whines that he knows he wants to give in as he pats Earn’s crotch.  Ultimately Earn consents to a slow kiss complete with dancing tongues and fireworks in Pete’s mind, but their lingering kiss is interrupted as the smell of burning pancakes breaks up their passion and Earn turns to remove the pan from the heat and toss the burnt food onto the counter.  They decide to leave the cleaning for later and eat breakfast.  As they sit down, Earn wishes Pete a Happy Valentine’s Day and Pete returns the wish.  In his heart Pete celebrates how their love life has been in overdrive since the date they shared with Lhew, although they had been abstinent since then in anticipation of Valentine’s Day.  At first Pete thought it would be easy, but they went from too much s*x to none, so it turned out to be harder than he anticipated.  And then Earn added a ban on ion, and started watching Pete like a hawk to make sure he abstained.  But Pete reasons that Earn has got to be in even worse distress since his s*x drive is even greater.  After they finish eating they sit and enjoy each other’s company.  Pete notes that the food was nothing special, but that each dish was indescribable.  In spite of the flaws it was the best breakfast he’s ever eaten.  All he cares about is the love and effort Earn put into making it for him.

The story advances to Pete kvetching to Earn about being dragged into their exercise routine, claiming they should slack off because it’s Valentine’s Day, but Earn teasingly warns him that now he knows and not to make the same mistake next year.  Pete shoots back saying Earn seems so certain they will still be together in the next year, prompting Earn to question if Pete thinks they won’t be.  Pete grins and tells him he’s certain they will be together, but that he just likes to hear Earn say sweet things.  They run down a checklist of what they have to accomplish and when Earn gets to taking a shower, Pete perks up only to learn that he expects them to do so separately at their respective homes before they meet up and exchange presents and then head off to the movies.  Earn makes sure to instruct Pete not to do anything funny during his shower while staring down at Pete’s crotch and then explains he’ll be timing Pete, giving him a mere 30 minutes to race home, get ready and return before Earn throws out his present for being late.  Pete jumps up and rushes Earn explaining that the sooner they get moving the sooner the day will pass and he can get Earn into bed.  They rush to the car and after dropping Earn home, Pete races to his house to take a quick shower, dress, and race back to Earn’s.  He parks outside the gate and stands with his present for Earn tucked behind him.  After a short wait he sees Earn emerge from the back of his house hiding a present behind his back.  As he approaches, Pete notices that they are similarly attired and falls in love all over again with his handsome boyfriend.  After trading some quick witted barbs, they stumble over how to exchange gifts but decide on a three count.  Both boys are surprised when the presents are revealed; Pete holding out a chocolate candy bouquet and Earn an oversized stuffed panda.  Pete jokingly states he prefers the real thing, and Earn jokes back that it’s for the nights he can’t have real thing.  They exchange I love you’s and Pete takes Earn’s hand and leads him to the car. 

They head off to the movie theater with Earn strapped into the passenger seat with the stuffed panda on his lap eating chocolates, feeding one to Pete every so often.  Pete remarks that it’s when Earn is playful and innocently humorous and while being caring that he loves him the most.  After buying tickets and snacks, they spend some time in the dark theater cuddling before the movie starts.  They hold hands throughout the show and Pete glances toward Earn every so often to see him engrossed in the film, and they feed each other popcorn at varying intervals.  When the film finishes they exit the theater and discuss it excitedly, sharing a sweet moment about their own past and present before bumping into Tee and his girlfriend Leslie.  Tee asks them what’s up, and Earn points to the movie poster, explaining they just finished watching the movie.  Tee introduces them to Leslie who comes across as shy and quiet, but attractive.  Tee notes the boys are dressed up, and Earn tells they’re dressed for Valentin e’s Day, which prompts Leslie to ask if they are dating.  Both boys are shocked at her question, and Pete puts his hand behind him to pinch Earn as a sign that he’ll handle her question.  Pete quickly points out that they are best friends and lies that they are dressed to meet up with their dates later.  While Leslie looks disappointed, Tee asks them to forgive her because she’s a fan and keeps pairing Choi with Odd and Rad with Kal to satisfy her fantasies.  Earn secretly laces his hand with Pete’s behind his back while Tee asks if Earn’s date is the girl he’s been pining for since the trip to Card’s rest house.  Pete is, of course, puzzled, but Earn quickly tightens his grip on Pete’s hand and answers yes to Tee’s question.  Tee then turns to Pete and states that he didn’t know Pete was seeing someone new, but Pete bunts it back and Tee is satisfied, so he bids them adieu reminding them to use condoms.  As Tee and Leslie prepare to walk off she asks Tee it he’s certain they are not really dating, insisting they are look perfect together.  Earn asks Leslie to take care of their friend, but she tells Earn he can’t have him, before correcting herself and saying that it was nice to meet them.  Both Pete and Earn agree the encounter was strange but they liked her observation that they look perfect together.  They walk toward the car oblivious that they are still holding hands the entire way.

I think the scenes that follow the breakfast opening are marked by the same sensibility which is capped by Leslie’s intuition and observation that they are dating and look perfect together.  The boys have  become close enough to be recognized as a couple by others.  Perhaps not everyone, but to those who know what to look for, they can be spotted.  The chapter makes this into a kind of tongue-in-cheek joke about Leslie being into and prone to see boy pairings everywhere in, of all things, a BL story.  It’s a bit akin to having an actor break the fourth wall, but I note that maybe Tee is wrong about Leslie’s -fueled fantasies on more than one level.  First, perhaps those other boy pairings Leslie’s made really are couples, too.  Who knows, right?  Beyond that though, Leslie is dead right about Pete and Earn, and maybe it’s her interest in that allows her to see it.

So their next destination is a rooftop restaurant with a killer view (check out the image provided because it’s pretty sweet).  The boys are on cloud 9 as they review the menu (the accompanying song says it all, really) and they eat a sumptuous meal which ends with the boys feeding each other pieces of cake when no one is looking (although why Pete thinks no one saw them in that place is beyond me – hee hee).  As they finish off dessert Earn explains the ‘girl’ Leslie referred to earlier outside the theater.  Pete states that he’s never read any but knew it was about boys love.  Earn admits that when he first noticed his feeling for other guys he started to do research online that lead him to the topic of and proceeds to give Pete brief synopsis of the genre.  At some point Pete’s teasing prompts Earn to whack him on the forehead with a spoon, which gives Pete the excuse to pull the remaining cake away from Earn before chowing down on the last of it, all to Earn’s fervent objections.  After some additional teasing they suddenly whip out their phones to check how long they’ve taken eating and each discovers multiple messages from Card and Por.  Earn makes a crack that he’s surprised Lhew hasn’t messaged him and Pete’s phone jumps to life as her picture announces her incoming call.  Pete makes a ‘speak of the devil’ joke, and Earn seconds it.  Pete says he thought they were friends now, but Earn won’t admit that much and just says they’re good while rolling his eyes.  Pete answers the call and assures her they close by and are coming.  She tells him that Ngaw is coming along and cautions him not to call him Ngoi and indicates that she’s been making an effort to reveal her true self to Ngaw.  Pete and Lhew trade barbs over Pete’s remarks and Lhew’s request that he change the ringtone he uses for her calls.  As they wind down the call he holds out the phone and tells Earn to say goodbye and he barks ‘See you later, Lhewd’ and gets a ‘See you later, dumba*s’ in return. 

Their next destination involves a meet up among the extended family of friends which is a nice way to spend Valentine’s Day because it includes everyone, paired up or not.  When they arrive at the place, Pete is hit with mixed emotions of and a flood of memories.  Earn picks up on this immediately and asks Pete if he’s okay, and challenges him when Pete tries to play things down about how he feels.  This causes Earn to try and force it out of him by tickling him which induces Pete to talk because he knows he can’t stop him.  Pete admits that this isn’t the first time he’s been to this place and then tells Earn this is the last place he and Lhew went together before they broke up as he looks down in shame.  Earn reacts by resting his hand on Pete’s thigh and giving it a firm squeeze while telling him he’ll get over it and that he doesn’t have to be alone.  Pete privately rejoices at having Earn in his life.

The next thing they know Por is shouting out across the expanse calling them d*ckheads while Josie complains that he’s being too loud.  While Earn greets Josie, Pete remarks that he’s surprised they beat Card, until Por tells him that Card is parking the car.  As soon as Pete mentions Lhew and Ngaw they suddenly appear, with Lhew’s outfit dazzling the group.  Even Ngaw cleans up so well that Pete finds him pretty handsome without his glasses and Pete realizes that Lhew was right when she said Ngaw looks like a Pete did in his freshman year.  Lhew has to tell them all to stop gawking and Por reassures Josie that he’s more shocked with Lhew’s friend.  Ngaw greets everyone and then complains to Lhew that his contacts are hurting his eyes.  Por throws an arm around Ngaw and calls him Nong Ngoi as he welcomes the boy.  A cold and serious admonishment for using his nickname is heard and they all look up quickly to see Card standing before them.  Card calls Por and idiot and slaps his head telling his lucky Lhew hasn’t killed him.  With all present and accounted for, they head up in the elevator.  Along the way Pete apologizes to Ngaw for the “chat” in the restroom, but Ngaw tells him it’s okay because Lhew is so nice and innocent.  Pete plays along and tells him to have an open mind, but Ngaw says he just wants them to have fun tonight.  The ride up has Pete standing beside Lhew making him feel nostalgic but Earn is on his other side and they secretly hold hands on the trip up.  Everyone is happy and excited and when the doors open Lhew, Josie and Pete lead everyone out onto the rooftop scene.  The three remark that the place hasn’t changed and look back at everyone else’s awed expressions (except Card).  Josie grabs Por’s hand and Lhew takes Ngaw’s as they rush off to meet their waiting friends and Pete grabs Earn’s arm who in turn grabs an appreciative Card by the arm and they follow.  They dance their way through the crowd to their friends seated at a table.  Por greets everyone with hugs, and Ody greets Card as Mr. Frost and tries to hung him but Card stops him and greets him formally while his eyes shift to Kern as he greets him too.  Kern jumps up and gives him a bro hug and urges him to sit next to Rose while Kern pours him a shot and asks how he’s been.  Pete asks when Card became so friendly but Ody tells him Kern and Card are a lot alike so it’s not surprising they get along so well.  Placing a hand on Pete’s shoulder, Ody asks him how he’s been, and Pete tells him life is great and he has no complaints.  Ody turns and greets Earn with the same inquiry and a firm hand, and Earn tells him everything in life is amazing with a smirk and sideways glance toward Pete.  Ody remarks that they gave the same answer to his question and chuckles when stating that they really are best friends while throwing each arm around their shoulders and walking them toward the couches.  Pete asks him if he’d be surprised to learn that he’s not the first person to tell them the same thing that day, and Ody says he wouldn’t. 

Everyone meshes really well, an Earn joins in with the group easily.  Pete feels that Earn and Lhew being friends has really opened things up for them.  Net does his usual introduction with Ngaw and everyone laughs like a riot, but Pete notices Lhew plays along more than when Net did it to him.  Pete also picks up certain differences in the way Lhew treats Ngaw, as well as Ngaw’s reaction when Card interacts with Lhew.  Basically, Ngaw seems uncomfortable seeing Card and Lhew interact.  Pete’s attention turns to Earn and how much fun he’s having and then the topic of singing comes up and Ody convinces them to perform a few songs.  Card balks at first, but Por and Pete react excitedly; Pete noting he and Earn sing together when they bored at home.  Card is afraid that since they haven’t practiced in a while they may perform badly and embarrass themselves.  Lhew teases him about being nervous because he’s unprepared, but he assures her he’s always prepared, prompting Net to make a playful pass at him for being such a good boy scout.  Por is the first to agree, followed by Pete.  Card finally assents if Earn agrees, and Earn turns out to be very enthusiastic about it.  With the deal made Earn lifts his beer in a toast and everyone clinks glasses. 

After the toast, everyone heads to the dance floor with their girlfriends and Pete notices how much more fluid Por is when dancing with Josie and sees how this has helped him in his Cheer Club routines.  Net, Card, Earn and Pete remain behind to fend for themselves, but then Net sees a guy giving him the eye as disappears in pursuit.  Since only the inner circle of friends knows Pete and Earn are together they aren’t so they aren’t comfortable around the others.  Card joins Ngaw and Lhew and while Josie and Por rope Earn and Pete in with them for some dancing fun.  Eventually Por pulls Josie in for a kiss and Earn takes the opportunity to tug on Pete’s hand and lead him into the crowd.  Pete’s eyes stay glued to Earn’s back as they move through the crowd, his heart beating madly.  They stop at a more less secluded spot and Earn turns around and they joyously sway along with the music briefly before Pete asks him why Earn dragged him there, stating their friends may wonder where they went.  Earn tells him to let them wonder and pulls Pete closer saying it’s not fair that they get to enjoy themselves as Pete loses himself in Earns dark eyes.  The yearning that’s been building for days takes over and Pete grabs Earns neck as he dives in for a passionate kiss.  The passion and the public setting send Pete’s heart into overdrive and the worry of the ridicule they might confront getting caught being so affectionate melts into the background.  As they shift around in their kiss they affectionately explore each other’s bodies and as the song ends, so does their kiss.  They stare into each other’s eyes as if they are in their own universe, then Pete snaps back to reality to see that no one is paying the slightest bit of attention.

So ends part one of this chapter, and I for one am out of breath.  First, this has been a non-stop day for the boys and it’s still going strong, but I’m pooped out already.  It reminds me of my younger days when we used to plan days packed with activities that ran late into the night.  For seconds, I’ll say this, if you have a break a long chapter in half, this is a great spot to leave it hanging.  That kiss scene was mind-blowingly romantic.  Plus, it really speaks to the intensity of the attraction they are feeling toward each other.  Kissing in such a romantic way in a public place is a huge step for them.  Yes, Pete is aware of what they are doing and the potential consequences, but it’s huge that he just doesn’t care.  He’d rather swap spit with Earn at that moment and the world can just deal with it.  This scene was anticipated several times earlier in the chapter with the boys displaying public intimacy first by holding hands in public (walking to Pete’s car at Earn’s and then later after the movie as they walked to the car again) and then feeding each other (popcorn in the movie and dessert after dinner).   I know I mentioned this already, but I want to give a big thumb’s up to the idea of the family of friends spending Valentine’s Day together as a group, even Card who does not have a date.  These people are not only good people at heart, but they sincerely care about each other and act on that caring. 

We haven’t seen the boys perform yet and there is the much awaited Valentine’s Day s*x that the boys have been waiting impatiently for (and so have I).  Can’t wait!!!

With the magical kiss ended, Earn speaks Pete’s name and Pete does likewise.  Earn delivers the three magic words into Pete’s waiting ears, and Pete replies in kind.  They hear the announcer state that Ody’s band is up soon and the boys head into the crowd and back to their friends.  They find them right where they left them, and Ody asks them to think of two songs to perform as he and the band head for the stage.  Por and Card ask where they were off to and Pete tells them they were in the restroom, but he can tell they’re a bit skeptical from their expressions.  The group decides to sing one song for singles and one for the couples in attendance, while Ody and the band tune their instruments and perform sound checks.  They lead into their first song with some banter to the crowd and then the show begins.  As the band plays Pete remarks that they haven’t changed a bit, in fact they may be even better than the last time he saw them and reasons it’s because their girlfriends are present.  Pete notices Por and Josie holding hands and swaying to the music, and Lhew and Ngaw are doing the same, with the addition of Lhew resting an elbow on Card’s shoulder.  Earn places his arm around Pete’s shoulder as Ody sings a love song and they stare at each other smiling, and Pete throws an arm around Earn.  When the current song ends Ody pleas with the crowd for a 10 minute break, and then introduces P’Cheer. 

They climb onto the stage, fist bumping and high fiving the exiting band and claim their instruments and start adjusting everything for their performance.  When everyone’s ready, Earn addresses the audience by asking how everyone’s doing and gets an enthusiastic response from the crowd.  He introduces himself and then throws it to Pete, who gets a bit flustered by the crowd as he introduces himself to a round of screaming and cheering.  Earn calms the crowd down before introducing Por on bass who strums his instrument loudly, riling the crowd.  Earn’s last introduction is Card on drums and sound board, who also hits his instruments brightly to the delight of the audience.  With the introductions over, they play their first song, It Will Rain, by Bruno Mars.  While performing the band can see couples slow dancing lovingly, and Earn’s voice has Pete swooning each time Earn throws a glace his way.  When Pete joins in on back-up vocals, he feels as if it is only the two of them together on stage.  The crowd applauds and cheers generously when they finish and Pete speaks into the mic, reminding Earn that not everyone has a date on Valentine’s Day.  Earn acknowledges the lead-in, and remarks that one of the most attractive guys on stage is single while turning to receive the death stare from Card.  They trade barbs briefly and then begin their next number.  As they play, Pete’s eyes return to the crowd and he homes in on Lhew who is focused on them.  He tries to figure out who she’s specifically looking at and ponders various scenarios as to why, but then he notices Ngaw picking up on Lhew’s focused stare as he shifts his glance from her to the stage trying figure out the same thing, clearly displeased.  After they finish the second song, Earn makes a joke about Pete offering his services to singles in the crowd, but then quickly points out that he’s taken and not really on the market which riles up everyone, embarrassing Pete thoroughly.  As Earn announces they’re finished, Ody shouts offstage for one more song and gets the crowd into a chant.  Earn speaks to the audience giving hints to his band members what to play and they launch into Dashboard Confessional’s, Stolen.  The conclusion of the song is met with cheers and their friends are all smiles, especially Josie who’s beaming at Por, while Earn and Pete exchange smiles.  Ody and the band retake the stage to launch into their final number, keeping the boys on stage to sing along as they launch into 99 Red Balloons (follow the link – this song kicks a*s and Goldfinger’s version on the link isn’t bad).  The song is about potential war, but involves releasing balloons into the air which entices the crowd to do the same with those tied all around the rooftop, highlighting the celebratory mood of the evening. 

I’m still not entirely sold on P’Cheer being able to get up in front of a crowd ad hock and grind out a performance as described, but I suppose if you squint a little you can sort of see it.  This entire story presents and holds together on its frank approachability, accessibility and normalcy.  I should first state that the only pause I routinely have in most BL stories is the apparent obliviousness of the adults to what’s going on, and this one is no exception, but otherwise this story is set the real world where real things happen and real issues are experienced, so when something sort of fantastical transpires, it sort of stands out as incongruent with the story.  I’m sure that’s just me though.

The rehabilitation of Ngoi into Ngaw as a viable character with dimension is a welcomed event, but considering what this story has already done for Card, Por, Lhew and Oil it’s not surprising.  The interesting development in this portion of the narrative is the tension between Ngaw and Card, which seems entirely one-sided on Ngaw’s part.  It’s not clear exactly why he’s so bothered either, at least to me.  It wasn’t so long ago that Pete had to pressure him to call Lhew in the first place, so unless it was love at first sight, it’s hard to see him caring enough about her at this point to feel jealous.  I look forward to where this is headed in the future.

When the show ends, everyone packs up pretty quickly and heads downstairs in an acute emotional high compressing their sense of time such that the boys find themselves back at Pete’s house in what seems like seconds.  Earn collects their things from the car and they race to Pete’s room where Pete quickly slaps them from Earn’s hands before pinning him the door in a lust-fueled rush.  Pete describes himself as starving as their tongues battle each other and clothes are ed and ties removed.  Pete falls to the bed only to be reminded of a forgotten gift as it digs into his back.  Earn asks what it is and Pete throws out that it’s the last of his gifts while attempting to toss it aside to resume their intimacy, but Earn wants to know what it is and rips into the box to find and expensive projector.  At this point Earn admits that he hasn’t given Pete all of his gifts either, and he stands up to set his playlist on his phone starting with Bump n’ Grind, but Pete’s reaction pushes him to change it to I’ll Make Love to You.  Strike two.  Earn becomes a bit dejected over this and Pete swipes his phone and puts on something he finds more romantic, and then props himself up on his elbows to watch Earn as he stands before him.

This is the start of the explicit part of the chapter.  Earn begins a slow striptease in front of Pete replete with discarded clothing and a lot of muscle flexing.  Following a slow ped reveal, Pete is delightedly surprised to find Earn standing before him wearing a tightly fitted jockstrap with Earn’s massive rod pushing to escape.  Pete calls Earn a s*xy beast and pulls him in for a furious kiss as he falls back onto the bed.  So begins the hot and heavy s*xual encounter which I will not summarize.  Suffice it to say the actions equal the emotional fever built up in Pete.  The clearly important event in the encounter is that Pete bottoms for Earn for the first time, and I should say that the writing of the experience is pretty spot to anyone who has been there themselves with such a well-endowed top (wait, did I just admit to something?).  The upshot of all the s*x is to highlight the feelings of love the boys share, and after the passion es they lie awake and continue to express that love, albeit verbally this time around.  Earn wants to remain as they are, but Pete wants Earn out of his a*s and to clean off his headboard, the former being done too quickly causing Pete to scold Earn.  Before Earn can rise from the bed, Pete stops him and pulls Earn into a romantic kiss, followed by wishing his Panda a Happy Valentine’s Day, earning a reciprocal wish from Earn to his Penguin.  Pete declares this one of the happiest moments of his life.  He rejoices in Earn being happy and is certain Earn feels the same toward him, making all the drama past and future worth it. 

As a Valentine’s Day chapter, you can’t get much more romantic.  We all strive to make holiday events momentous and happy occasions and for the most part we only partially succeed, so I think some readers may find this too perfect a day in the lives of the characters in this story (except for poor Ngaw and Pete’s a*s, of course), but I think Pete’s narration at the end brings reality back into focus by admitting that not every day is this perfect and he expects challenges ahead.  At the moment his attitude toward facing those challenges is affirming because of his confidence in the love he shares with Earn, but we will see how those situations play out as they arise.  It was a long chapter, but it was worth it.  Thank you.