Where Love Lives

My alarm shrieked at 4:30 am on the dot. That didn't even give me a full 3 hours of sleep. I woke up, but my body felt as if it were dead. A lot of mornings were like this. A zombie morning. Getting up so early with such little sleep led to it.

As my phone continued to make that awful, awful noise, I found the strength to pick up my hand and turn the thing off. I took a deep breath and stretched. My brain was telling me that I should stay in bed and get rest, but my job was calling my name.

Most people regret their 21st birthdays the next morning because of a wicked hangover, but I regretted it because I stayed out so late. Honestly, my night would have been better if I met Jackson earlier and got home by a somewhat reasonable hour.

Either way, now was happening, and I had to deal with it. Very slowly, I got out of bed and lifted my hands to the ceiling. A moan escaped my mouth, and I felt something crack. My eyes adjusted to the red glow in my room. That was one reason why my place was so cheap. A giant, neon sign was right across the street and kept my room lit 24/7. It was also extremely small, and I worked for the landlord.

Just half an hour later, I found myself baking bread and preparing to open the store. That was a perk of working at the bakery; I got to smell fresh goodies every morning. Another perk was that Mrs. Russo, my boss and landlord, was one of the kindest women I've ever met. Ever since I found her, she's treated me like a son. I didn't even need to cook myself breakfast because she believed that she should take care of her employees, so I got something from the store.

"Opening time!" She announced as she unlocked the door and flipped the sign. I finished filling some doughnuts and placed them in the display. Then, I grabbed a cup of freshly brewed coffee and handed it to her.

"Thank you , dear," she said and took her place behind the counter. She always had the warmest smile for me. I don't know how she did it.

"Of course," I replied, returning the smile.

All morning, customers filed in and out of our store. Most of them were regulars that I had gotten to know over the course of my time there, so we had casual conversations.

Reynold, a man in his upper 60s, always told me and Mrs. Russo about this woman down the hall that he fancied. Every morning he tells us that he's going to invite her to come get a pastry with him, and every morning, he comes in alone.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Mrs. Russo would tease.

"I got too nervous. My hands were all clammy, but tomorrow for sure!" He'd claim.

Then there was the businesswoman. I don't know her name, but she comes in every day at the exact same time. She's like clockwork. I can only assume she's a businesswoman because she's always wearing suits and talking on the phone. Even though she's never actually said a word to me, she mouths the words 'thank you.'

I studied the people and watched as the sun illuminated the street outside. There was a certain calmness to watching the day begin. I sat down as the rush passed, and the door swung open. The little bell up top dinged, and I stood up to see Charlotte walk in. She was on a mission.

"Good morning," I said.

"I am so sorry about missing your birthday last night. I feel so bad," she said in a frenzy.

"It's fine. Things happen. Trust me, I get it," I reassured her.

"No! You only turn 21 once! I have to make it up to you," she said, and I watched her think about how she wanted to do that. "Let's grab lunch. When do you get off?"

"Noon."

"Perfect! I'll be back to take you out. My treat, of course," she said as she turned around to head on to her next errand.

"See you then," I called after her with a small laugh. At least she tries to make up for it. Most people I know wouldn't have bothered even saying sorry.

"Oh. Let me get a doughnut while I'm here," she said as she turned around and looked through the glass. She pointed to one, and I rung her up. Then, she was on her way.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Mrs. Russo asked smugly after she was clear out the door. I giggled a bit; She had no clue. It's not that I didn't want to come out to her. It's just that I didn't have reason to. I knew she'd be fine with it because we had a gay couple come into the store once and she commented on how cute they were.

"No, ma'am. Just a close friend," I told her.

"She's pretty. I'm just saying...," she teased and poked my side.

~

Charlotte and I found a small cafe to have lunch. We sat at a table by the window so we had a view.

"So how was last night? Did you go out and get sloppy drunk?" Charlotte asked, sipping a mimosa.

"No. I only had a few drinks, thank you very much. I went to this gay bar," I told her, sipping my own. She smiled wide as if I had just told her a dirty secret.

"Scandalous! What would your family say?" She said, pretending to be shocked.

"Oh, who cares? I had fun. Nothing too exciting happened though," I lied.

"You mean you didn't meet a stranger and have mind-blowing, life-changing sex?" She asked dramatically. "I'm disappointed."

"Wouldn't you like to know," I shot back.

"You are a cute little button. I'm sure you were a hit," she said with a wink and booped my nose.

"You've no idea," I said, recalling the previous night's events.

"Do elaborate," she pried, and I sighed.

"Long story short; I met someone," I admitted. She gasped and clutched her chest.

"Tell me everything!" She demanded.

"His name's Jackson. We went to this cookie place, and then he walked me home. That's it."

"Tell me you got his number!"

"Yeah..."

"Text him right now. Ask this boy out on a date before he gets away! Going on a cookie date the night you meet? It's so friggin' cute!"

"Okay," I said. Honestly, I was planning on texting him later to see if he wanted to hang out again, but since she was pushing me, I guess I'd do it then.

'Hey, how's it going?' I sent to him. I set my phone down and started smiling.

"What're you guys gonna do?"

"I don't know. I've never been on a real date before," I admitted to her. There wasn't a lot of options back in Kansas. Even when I did get my first boyfriend, he only ever wanted to stay home and get high. That didn't last long.

"Well it's gotta be something cute. Not the movies. You wanna be able to have a conversation with him. What about...," she brainstormed. "The aquarium!"

"That sounds like it could be fun. I haven't been to one since I was like ten."

"Perfect!" She said. I had the feeling she was living vicariously through me, though I was okay with it.

Jackson didn't respond to me right away. There was the very real possibility that he was still sleeping. I know that I would have been if I didn't have to wake up for work. There was also the paranoia in me telling me that he could've given me a fake number. After a second, I figured that probably wasn't it considering how much fun he seemed to have.

When Charlotte and I finished our lunch, I could feel the tiniest warmth from those mimosas. It helped fight the cold of winter outside.

"You're going to tell me all about this date of yours later. Love you, Bobby," Charlotte said at the door of the restaurant.

"You know I will. Love you too, Charlotte," I responded, and we hugged before braving our walks home.

~

On my way back, I felt my phone vibrate against my leg. My heart skipped a beat, hoping it was Jackson. I pulled it out and checked. Slight disappointment overtook me when I saw that it was just some spam email. To my delight though, it buzzed again as I held it in my hand, and Jackson's name popped up.

'I'm exhausted! I just now woke up lol.'

'Lucky. I had to be up at 4:30 for work.'

'Wow. You're insane. You need a nap or something.'

'That's my plan! How's your hand?'

'It's fine. Just a little scrape. Worth it to teach some creeps a lesson.'

'My hero!'

'Just call me Superman;)'

'So I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime soon. Maybe hit up the aquarium?' My fingers were frozen already from the breeze, but they shook especially bad before hitting send on that text message. Who knew texting cute boys would be so nerve racking?

The next few moments felt like an eternity.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

'Yeah! I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to go out too.'

In reality, that probably didn't even take two minutes to receive, but it sure felt that way. When I read his text, I felt my heart start to smile, and it quickly spread to my face. I clutched my phone and jumped like a little kid overcome with joy. I know I was probably being over dramatic considering he was the one who asked me out first, but I didn't care. I deserve to feel happiness.

~

It wasn't until the next day that we met up. For Saturday, I slept and recovered. Sunday came and my heart was fluttering. All through work, I watched the clock, anxious for my date.

"So do you have a favorite fish?" Jackson asked as we began our tour through the aquarium.

"If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be an octopus," I told him.

I took in his aesthetic again. He was still wearing that leather jacket he was wearing the other night. It seemed like his jawline had been cut by the gods, and I also noticed that they worked on his arms as well.

"Mine's a stingray," he said as we inspected a sign that directed us.

"Well lucky us. It looks like they're right next to each other. And! You can pet the stingrays," I said, pointing at the sign. He gave me a side smirk as we turned.

The place was huge. People of all ages were wondering around, taking in the beauty of it all. I saw that there was a 3D movie that was offered, though it seemed more of a little kid attraction. Walking past the tanks was almost surreal. There was so much blue that it casted a tint on us.

"Where is it?" Jackson wondered aloud. He squinted his eyes and got closer to the glass to try to find the octopus inhabiting the exhibit. I took a look myself and then pointed it out.

"Right there. In the sand," I said. He leaned closer to me to see from the same angle. Or maybe he was just trying to get closer. Either way, I was okay with it.

"How could you possibly spot that? I'm looking at it right now, and I'm still not sure that it's there," he said, laughing at how good the animal's camouflage was.

"I guess I'm just observant," I said, shrugging it off. I took a deep breath, and there was that lavender cologne.

Just then, the octopus decided to get up and move. The sand around it shook loose and floated to the floor. The way it moved it's tentacles was so graceful. Every move flowed as it climbed the coral around it. I was mesmerized.

"Beautiful," I said under my breath. I caught Jackson looking at me from the corner of my eye. We exchanged smiles.

"Looks like you've scared it off," Jackson joked as the animal squeezed its way into a small hole, disappearing from sight.

"That was all you."

We backed away from the tank and continued on. We saw more and more exotic fish as we walked. One thing I loved about aquariums and museums and things like that is discovering just how much there is that I don't know.

"This fish is smiling at you," I said, nudging Jackson. My arms felt weak when I touched him. I don't know that I've ever felt that way about a guy before.

"Fish have teeth?" He said, bewildered, seeing a fish bearing its teeth. It seemed like it was looking at us before swimming off.

"Guess so... Look! There's the stingray station," I said, pointing down the hall. There was a large, open pool with a stingray sign above it. Mostly kids swarmed the sides of it, but we found a spot.

We saw all the stingrays floating around in the water. They seemed so peaceful as their wing-like fins flapped, kind of resembling grey pancakes.

Jackson sat on the side of it and took his jacket off. He was wearing a form fitting T-shirt underneath so I got a better idea of what he looked like without all of that on. I could see his pecs and a hint of abs, but I couldn't be sure. Then, my eyes fell on his arms. He clearly worked out. A lot. His muscles flexed as he dipped his fingers into the water.

"It's cold," he commented as he slowly reached in. Those arms made me shudder. I swallowed hard and forced myself to tear my eyes from them. I wouldn't want him to catch me ogling. I changed my focus to find that almost his entire arm was underwater.

"Ooh, they feel like... I don't even know what they feel like. Kinda like a wet hot dog?" He said, trying to put it into words. I laughed and took my own jacket off.

I reached in for a turn. There weren't any near me at the moment though, so I just kept my hand in the cold water.

"That's gotta be the most creative description of something that I've heard in a long time," I said, smiling at him. His only response was a shrug as we waited for another to swim by.

Something moved in the water, and my eyes darted towards the figure. A rather small stingray was making its way by; It had to be a baby. I reached out to feel its skin and it was indeed slimy. I could see where the wet hot dog description had come from. It grazed my fingers and was gone in another moment.

Right after it was gone, my hand ran into something else. It only took a moment to realize that it was Jackson's hand. Our fingers tangled together for a moment and neither of us pulled away. I looked up and we made eye contact. My heart was beating hard, and I realized how close we were. I could have easily kissed him right then and there. His lips were so pink and full. They looked delicious.

Another stingray interrupted our moment as it swam by us. It's hot dog skin rubbed our hands, and it caught me off guard. It snapped me back to reality. I pulled my hand out of the water. So did Jackson.

"Ready for my favorite part?" Jackson asked, clearing his throat.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

After we dried our hands off, we made our way to the back of the aquarium. My eyes sparkled with wonder when I saw it. There was a tunnel you could walk through where you were surrounded by the water. It practically engulfed you as you walked through. Schools of fish travelled while a shark flew above us. It was as if we were at the bottom of the sea. There was a plethora of colors in not only the sea life but in the coral reef as well. There were clown fish, rainbow fish, guppies, and dozens upon dozens more.

"Wow," was all I could manage to say as I took it all in. In the reflection of the glass, I could see him smiling.

"Pretty amazing. Isn't it?" He said as we walked ever so slowly.

"Yeah. I've never seen anything like this," I told him.

"You never travelled?" He asked as I got a closer look at the shark flying over us. It's teeth were permanently bared. Even with its menacing look, it still seemed so calm.

"No. I'd never been outside of Kansas before New York," I said, looking into his eyes. They were a beautiful mixture of blue and green.

"Well, I'm glad you're here now."

I looked away and blushed. I redirected my attention to a fish so he couldn't see my face reddening.

The next thing I knew, I had my hand submerged in a pool of cold water again. This time though, instead of petting a stingray, I was tracing my finger in the sand. I absentmindedly drew a swirl. My focus wasn't on the creatures in the exhibit. It was on how close Jackson was to me.

"Touch that one," he said, pointing to a starfish a couple feet away. I leaned and reached out. Its skin was bumpier than I had imagined.

"Now you touch that one," I said, pointing to a horseshoe crab. His eyes fell on it and went wide.

"No way. That looks dangerous," he laughed.

"I don't think they'd put a dangerous animal in the petting pool, Jackson," I said as I touched its hard shell.

"It's crazy isn't it?" Jackson said a few moments later, thinking out loud.

"What?"

"How all these creatures are from a whole other world. If it weren't for this aquarium, I would have never seen these animals in my entire life. They bring a whole new facet to life, and we're visiting their home. We're not really made to interact with them, but here we are... It's always fascinated me when two worlds collide. Doesn't matter whether it's people and the sea or culture clash or whatever. It's just fresh to see through a new perspective. Like this one. It could have lived a hard life of trying to survive before ending up here. Or maybe it was born in captivity. We'll probably never know," he contemplated. I just watched him as he thought out loud. If anyone else had said that to me, I would've dismissed them as being fake deep or pretentious, but something about him made it seem so genuine.

"Yeah... crazy," I echoed. I didn't really have any other words at the moment. I sighed deeply and leaned over to rest against the pool's railing, but instead of that, I ended up leaning into Jackson. His body heat radiated through his jacket, and my heart skipped a beat. I didn't mean to do that.

He didn't seem to mind though. In fact, he placed his arm around me and rubbed my arm. We examined the animals some more without any talking. It was nice.

"I had a lot of fun today. Hopefully we can do something like that again," I said as we approached my apartment. He had walked me home for the second time now.

"For sure. I'll show you to some of my favorite spots in the city," Jackson replied. The entire walk home, we walked close enough so that our shoulders grazed each other's.

"The place looks different in the light of day. Is this place ever open?" He jokingly asked as he examined the bakery. I laughed.

"It is. You'll just have to come by earlier to see," I replied. We stopped outside my door.

"I guess it's time to do laundry and prepare for the week," I said, dreading doing my chores.

"Gross. Have fun with that," Jackson replied.

"Text you later?" I said as I pulled out my key and unlocked the door.

"Obviously," he said with a smile. I opened the door and started to head inside. I had to do laundry, wash dishes, and it probably wouldn't hurt to clean up a bit.

"Bobby," Jackson said from behind me. I turned to face him, but before I could process anything else, Jackson's hand touched my neck and our lips met.

The sudden feeling of his lips pressed against mine just about killed me. I was shocked, but it was more than welcome. They were so soft, and I swear they tasted like honey. It was more than likely all in my head, but he tasted sweet and rich like it. I melted into him as a new kind of sensation rushed throughout me.

He was the one to pull away, and we stared into each other's eyes. My cheeks were red hot, and I think I detected a bit of redness in his as well. His mouth turned into a smile and so did mine.

I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back into me. I kissed him again, and he was eager to go along with it. No. He definitely tasted like honey. His skin was smooth to the touch, and while we were embraced, it felt like summer, even in the cold. I let go, and we locked eyes again. I started to laugh. I laughed because I'd never had a kiss that intense before. I've kissed men, but they've all been underwhelming compared to Jackson.

"I'll see you soon," Jackson said with a wink.

"I hope so," I replied and stood at my door as he began to walk away. I let myself stare at him this time. His ass was so perfect even through the jeans he was wearing.

"Jackson!" I called out, and he turned around. I simply raised my eyebrows at him, and he laughed. He kept walking, and I watched until he turned the corner.

I practically floated up the stairs and into my apartment. I hadn't ever really felt bliss this intensely for a boy before. Doing laundry didn't even tax my energy. I grabbed my phone and called Charlotte.