Beyond The Sea: Chapter 1
| Chapter 1 |
Jensen Ackles took a deep breath as he stood on the cliff edge. He held tightly to the letter in his hand and looked down at the rolling waves beneath him. He felt empty. He had nothing left; no home, no job, no life. He stepped closer to the edge, the ground crumbling and small pieces of dirt skittering down the cliff face as they fell into the ocean. He closed his eyes and let the salty air swirl around him. He felt peaceful, although slightly drunk, like all his problems were being blown away on the breeze. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at the water below him. He was thirty years old and he had nothing to show for it.
Jensen took another step; his toes had nothing beneath them but air. He raised the creased sheet of paper in his hand and slowly opened it. He read the words again; the Bank was taking the house, his parents’ house. He bit lightly on his lip and considered how stupid he’d been. Too trusting, he’d been told. He’d missed the payments on the mortgage, there was no more money, and then he’d lost his job. ‘Sorry, Mr Ackles, but we’ll have to let you go.’ ‘You knew the position was only temporary.’ ‘Don’t forget to clear your desk as you leave.’
“Fuck you,” Jensen shouted, his voice carried away on the breeze as he screwed the paper up tightly in his fist. He held out his hand and uncurled his fingers, the paper falling from his hand and turning over and over as it fell through the air. Jensen looked out at the grey water, grey clouds touching its horizon miles off in the distance as night rolled in. “Fuck you,” he said again, a whisper. He wiped at his face. What would his parents think of him? He breathed in deeply, his lips pressed together as he decided he was glad they were no longer around to see what a mess he’d made of everything.
He looked back at the water, watching the swirls of white foam as the waves hit the rocks below. Silently he lifted his head, his eyes focusing on the horizon as he let everything go. He wanted some peace, and so he stepped forward. He closed his eyes as he started to fall, his arms open wide as he turned in the air. It felt like an eternity, air rushing past him as he fell, and then as his body impacted the water, all he felt was cold.
Jensen opened his eyes, water bubbling up from his chest as he rolled onto his side, coughing loudly as he gasped for air. He caught his breath, a grunt as he wiped at his mouth. He frowned and stared up at the dull sky, his fingers pressing into wet sand. What had happened? Slowly he pushed against the sand and sat himself up. He looked ahead of him, water rolling up onto the beach. He turned his head slightly, a soft sigh as he looked at the cliff he’d stood on some moments before.
Jensen ran a hand through his short hair, sand catching in the damp locks. He turned around, startled as there was a scuffled sound from behind him on the beach. He looked at a group of rocks, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of something moving behind them. “Hello?” he said and leaned forwards, a sharp cough as he cleared his throat. “Is someone there?” Jensen smiled as a head suddenly appeared from behind the rock, large hazel eyes meeting his from beneath a mop of dark, damp curls. “Hey,” he said. “Don’t suppose you…” He watched as the head turned into a neck, broad shoulders and a bare chest. He quickly turned his face away as a naked man appeared on the rocks.
“Hey,” the man said, causing Jensen to turn and look at him. He smiled and stepped down off the rocks, crouching in the sand beside them. “Hey,” he said again.
Jensen raised an eyebrow, aware that the man was slowly creeping towards him. “Er, yeah, hey. You know you’re not wearing any clothes, right?”
“Right,” the man said and stopped a couple of feet away from Jensen.
Jensen felt uncomfortable, the man looking him up and down with interest. “So, you live round here?” he asked, trying to ignore the fact the man in front of him was completely naked.
The man leaned his head to one side, a bright smile as he repeated Jensen’s words. “Live round here.”
Jensen sighed and let himself fall back against the sand. He felt like crap.
“Jensen.”
Jensen lifted his head slightly and met the man’s warm eyes. “What?” he asked curiously.
“Jensen,” the man said and turned over the sandy driver’s license in his hand.
Jensen sat back up and reached forward, grabbing the laminated card from the other man’s hand. “Where’d you get this?” he asked and quickly reached down to his jeans’ pockets. He frowned as he found his wallet and keys were missing. “Did you take this?” he asked and waved the license in the man’s direction.
“Jensen,” the man simply said.
“Yes, that’s me. Where’d you get it?”
“Driver’s license. 24 Drake Street.”
Jensen looked down at his license and reminded himself that it was indeed his address. “Great,” he sighed and tucked the license in his pocket. He looked at the man again; something was a little weird about him. He slowly got to his feet, a hand to his chest as he took deep breaths of fresh air. He turned and looked up at the cliff, a feeling of failure hanging around him. “See ya,” he said to the man and started a slow walk up the beach, his clothes heavy and covered in sand. He didn’t get far before he realised he was being followed. He stopped and turned around, a curious look as he found the man crouching down in the sand behind him, a big smile on his face.
Jensen looked around, there was no one else nearby, and the night was slowly creeping in and casting dark shadows across the beach. He stepped forward, a sound behind him as he turned to find the man had edged forward slightly as well. “You can’t come with me,” he said as he looked down at the man. He was similar in age to Jensen, maybe in his late-twenties, tanned skin and bright eyes. Jensen kept his eyes on the man and took slow steps back, the man didn’t follow. With a smile, Jensen turned around, a sigh as he heard a familiar sound behind him. “Dude, what…” He spun around, stopping as he found himself face to face with the man, well almost.
Jensen looked up slightly, suddenly aware of how tall the other man was. He opened his mouth, surprised as salty lips covered his. He blinked, his hands coming up to rest on the other man’s chest, a gentle push as he stepped back. “Okay,” he said slowly, licking lightly at his lip, the taste of ocean lingering. “That was…unexpected.” He cleared his throat. “Who…?”
“Jared,” the man said. “Jared.” He stepped forward, his hand reaching out and taking Jensen’s in his.
Jensen looked at Jared curiously, uneasy at the rather sudden attachment. “I have to go,” he managed, pulling his hand from Jared’s. “So, nice meeting you, but, yeah...” He turned around and started walking quickly from the beach, a fleeting look over his shoulder as he found, with relief, that Jared was still standing in the place he’d left him.
Jensen sighed as he leaned his forehead against the pane of glass in the front door of his house. He banged his head gently against the solid material before wiping a hand over his face. He didn’t have his keys. “Crap,” he moaned and turned around, resting his back against the door as he slid down to the ground. He pulled his legs up to his chest and leaned his head forward, a gentle sigh as he closed his eyes. Today sucked.
“Jensen.”
Jensen lifted his head, surprised when he found the still very naked Jared standing in front of him. “You followed me?”
Jared smiled and held out his curled hand. “Yours.”
Jensen struggled to his feet and stared at the bunch of keys in Jared’s hand.
“They were on the sand,” Jared said clearly as he handed them to Jensen. “You left.”
Jensen nodded and turned the keys over in his hand. It wasn’t like they would be his keys for much longer anyway. “Erm, you want to come in? You’re still kinda missing your clothes.”
Jared smiled. “Clothes?” he asked.
Jensen pursed his lips and looked up and down the street. “Just, yeah…” He turned and unlocked the door, indicating for Jared to follow him inside. As he stepped inside, he felt a sudden lightness about him, the house comforting him for a short moment. He waited for Jared to move inside, before quietly pushing the door closed. He stood for a moment and looked the other guy up and down. Yeah, he was still naked. “Erm,” he started as he scratched nervously behind his ear. “You want a shower or something?” He wafted a hand in the direction of the back of the house.
Jared looked around the room, a soft sigh as he met Jensen’s curious green eyes. “Do you have a bathtub?”
Jensen nodded. “Sure. You want a bath?”
“Maybe later,” Jared said and stepped toward Jensen. He smiled, leaned forward and tried to kiss Jensen again, giving a frown as the other man ducked to one side, and stepped out of the way. “What’s wrong?”
Jensen cleared his throat, a hand held out as he put a little bit of distance between him and Jared. “I don’t even know you,” he said as some kind of explanation.
Jared smiled. “I’m Jared.”
Jensen rolled his eyes. “Okay. Look, seriously, just wait here,” Jensen managed. He doubted he could hold a sensible conversation at the moment. “Let me get you a shirt.” he sighed, and walked through to the back of the house, lights turned on as he went. It didn’t take long before he was back in the front room with Jared, a t-shirt and a pair of shorts in his hand. “Just put these on would you,” he said as he slung the clothes at Jared. He rubbed tiredly at his eyes before dropping down on the couch.
Jared looked at the clothes in his hands, and turned them over. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expected to do with them. “Put them on?”
Jensen lifted his head off the back of the couch. “Yeah. Clothes. You know, a tee?” he said and pulled at the material of the t-shirt he was wearing.
Jared nodded. “Tee,” he said and picked out the grey t-shirt from the clothes. He pulled it up and over his head, eventually getting his arms through the correct holes and pulling it down over his chest. He wriggled slightly, the t-shirt snug over his large chest. He then looked down at the shorts, his eyes sneaking a look at the way Jensen was dressed and deciding they were definitely for the lower half of his body.
“Do you want something to eat?” Jensen asked as he looked at Jared, a puzzled frown as he watched Jared hop around as he tried to pull the shorts up over his long legs. With a sniffed laugh, he smiled and raised a hand to his mouth. “You got that?” he asked, giving a chuckle as Jared fell to the floor.
“Tricky,” Jared said. He huffed a breath as he finally got the shorts up to his waist.
Jensen rolled his eyes upward to the ceiling. “Yeah, I find that all the time.” He looked back at Jared, watching as the other man got to his feet and came to sit beside him on the couch. “Jared,” he started. “On the beach, why were you there?” he asked, turning to meet those warm hazel eyes.
Jared curled his legs underneath himself, as he rested his arm on the back of the couch, his fingertips a mere inch from Jensen’s head. “You called me,” he said, as if that was some kind of explanation.
Jensen shook his head. He’d had no one to call. “I didn’t call anybody. I don’t know you.”
Jared leaned closer. “In the water. I heard you.”
Jensen sniffed a laugh. “I don’t think so,” he said, a sigh as he rested his head in his hand. He hadn’t wanted anyone. He hadn’t even wanted himself.
“You were sad,” Jared said innocently. “I took you to the beach.”
Jensen lifted his head, and looked at Jared accusingly. “You pulled me out?” he asked, a sharp edge to his voice.
Jared smiled. “Of course I did. You can’t swim.”
Jensen’s eyes went wide. Who the hell was this guy? “Okay, you really should go now,” he decided as he got to his feet. “It was all kinda cute to start with but…how the hell do you know that?”
Jared looked up at Jensen with large eyes. “That’s why you went up there, remember? You can’t swim. You thought it would be easy.”
Jensen looked at Jared, shocked by Jared’s insight. “How?”
“But then it was cold, and you just wanted to go home.”
Jensen raised a hand to his forehead and gently applied pressure to his temple as he tried to rub away his confusion. Maybe he’d drunk more than he’d realised.
“Who’s Evan?”
Jensen slowly lowered his hand. He’d just been thinking about that name. “How did you…?”
“He left five months ago. These are his clothes.” Jared looked down at the grey t-shirt. “He broke your heart.”
Jensen swallowed uncomfortably. “He skipped town with five grand of my money. I’m losing the fucking house.”
Jared looked up at Jensen, a small smile. “Don’t be sad. Things will work out. You’ll see.”
Jensen looked into Jared’s eyes, a strange feeling in his chest as, for some reason, he believed him.
Jensen slowly opened his eyes, and stared at the man lying beside him. It was early, the morning sun shining through the gap in the pulled drapes. He wasn’t sure what had come over him. Jared was strange, and yet something about him was incredibly comforting. Jensen lay for a while, watching the other man sleep. He looked over Jared’s face, boyish innocence behind shaggy bangs, sharp features and full lips. He smiled and gently raised a hand to brush back Jared’s hair. He felt like he was under some spell. What the hell had he been thinking, letting this man sleep in his bed? He pondered the question, realising the answer was less likely to do with him letting anything happen, and more to do with that he was pretty sure he’d passed out on the couch last night.
“I was going to leave you. You looked cute,” Jared said as he opened his eyes, bathing Jensen in their warmth. “But uncomfortable.”
Jensen pulled his hand away. “I…” He could feel heat rising to his cheeks. “How do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?” Jared asked.
“Know what I’m thinking?”
Jared pursed his lips as he considered the question. It wasn’t the right time. “Just lucky.”
Jensen laughed. “Yeah, lucky,” he said, an edge of suspicion to his voice.
Jared smiled, a moment before he tried to change the conversation. “Today? What will you do?”
Jensen shrugged and rolled onto his back. “I don’t know,” he said. He wasn’t sure what to do. He’d already tried speaking to someone at the bank on several occasions; there were going to be no more extensions.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Jensen shook his head and looked up at the bare ceiling. There was nothing anyone could do now.
“Yesterday, you wanted help. Today, I’m here.”
Jensen didn’t say anything. Yesterday he’d planned to kill himself. Hell, he could still feel the bitterness of the vodka he’d drunk lingering in the back of his throat. There wasn’t supposed to be a today. Jensen turned his head as he felt Jared’s lips on his cheek. He caught his breath, Jared’s mouth now covering his, a gentle kiss.
“I’m here,” Jared whispered against Jensen’s skin, a nudge of his nose against Jensen’s.
Jensen closed his eyes, deciding he was more than just a little out of his mind. He swallowed hard, soft breaths as he felt Jared brushing warm lips over his cheek. He didn’t know this man, and yet something inside him was telling him he did, an old feeling pounding in his chest. Jensen sighed as the phone started to ring. “I should get that,” he said distractedly, and pushed himself to sit up, his legs rolling from beneath the covers as he got to his feet. He cast a fleeting glance at the man he was leaving in his bed, and made his way toward the hall.
“Hello?” he said as he picked up the phone, and rubbed tiredly at his eyes. “Speaking,” he confirmed. “What?” Jensen stood and listened to the female voice on the other end of the line. “He what?” He raised an eyebrow. “How much?” he exclaimed.
Jensen suddenly felt dizzy. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. “Twenty six thousand? But…” He listened. “Why would he…? Yeah, okay, noon. I’ll be there.” He hung up the phone and slowly made his way back to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he met Jared’s eyes. “That was a lawyer on the phone.” He watched as Jared smiled, and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. “I just…” He laughed and raised his hands to his mouth excitedly. “I’m going to go shower. Help yourself to breakfast.”
Jared smiled to himself as he watched Jensen disappear from the bedroom door. He sighed as he leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. Just one day, he thought to himself, would that even be enough?
Jensen took a steadying breath as he looked down at the cheque he held in his hand. He wasn’t sure if he was dreaming as he read the hand written number.
“Mr Franklin would like to express his apologies for not attending this meeting, but as always, your godfather is a very busy man,” the female lawyer told him.
Jensen slowly lifted his head and looked at the lawyer, painted red lips pouted in his direction as she crossed her legs and swung in her chair. “Miss Delaney, I’m not sure I understand.”
Kathryn Delaney leaned forward, her elbows resting on the edge of her large, wooden desk. “What’s to understand? Your godfather invested this a long time ago on your behalf. A gift.”
“I haven’t seen him in…” Jensen sighed, he couldn’t even remember when.
Kathryn leaned back and picked up the letter from the desk. She’d read it out once already. “Thirty years ago Mr Franklin started the fund on your behalf. After your parents’ death, he continued to make deposits until it matured last month. Due to his being out of the country, he only recently found the time to contact you. He wishes you all the best and sends further apologies for not attending your parents’ funeral.”
Jensen lowered his head and stared at the money. “That was three years ago.”
Kathryn shrugged and gave a small smile. “I’m sorry I can’t offer more than what’s been said in this letter,” she said, a hint of sympathy in her voice. “So, do you have any plans for the money?” she asked in an attempt to lighten the moment.
Jensen lifted his head and met her blue eyes, a softer edge to them than before. He watched as she curled a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, a feigned interest in what he might say. “I have a few ideas,” he said.
Kathryn sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Good day, Mr Ackles.”
Jensen smiled and held the cheque tightly in his hand, as he said, “Yeah, it might actually be that.”
Jensen looked across the diner table at Jared, his arms folded on the cool surface of the table top as he considered the other man. “Where do you live?” he asked, and glanced down at the half eaten plate of pasta in front of Jared.
Jared shrugged. “Around,” he said and nudged his fork against a tube of pasta.
“You often turn up on beaches naked?” Jensen asked with a grin.
Jared shook his head. “Just yesterday,” he informed Jensen as he tried to balance some of his meal on the fork he held.
“Right,” Jensen said, and sniffed a laugh as he lifted the mug of coffee he’d ordered to his mouth. “Because that’s totally normal,” he sighed and took a sip of the now cooled liquid.
Jared held his fork steady and leaned forwards, a frown as the pasta slid sideways and dropped back on his plate. “Normal is just normal to you,” he said, his eyes meeting Jensen’s. “Some things that seem different might be normal too.”
Jensen cleared his throat and considered Jared’s logic. Jared had a point, or at least Jensen thought he did. “I guess,” he decided. “But you are definitely different.”
Jared smiled. “Different can be good.”
“Sure, sometimes.”
Jared nodded and lowered the fork to the table. “It was very nice,” he said of the half eaten meal, another smile as he took a sip of the diet soda Jensen had gotten for him.
Jensen sighed and got out his wallet. “Do you want me to get you a taxi home?” he asked. “I have enough, I think.” He looked at the few bills he had in the wallet.
Jared simply smiled.
“Home?”
“With you,” Jared stated.
Jensen opened his mouth, not really sure what to say. “No, I mean your place. A house, apartment, or a beach hut, or something?” he laughed.
“None of those,” Jared said.
“Motel?”
Jared shook his head.
“You must have a home,” Jensen said. “Family?”
Jared nodded. “Yes, family.”
Jensen sat and waited for an elaboration that never came. He sighed as he scratched a hand back through his hair, a small groan as he stretched out his neck. He should really be looking for a job, not sitting around having lunch with a guy he didn’t know. “I need to head back soon,” he told Jared. “You going to be okay?”
Jared looked at Jensen, the familiar innocent look on his face. “Okay? Of course I’m okay. You’re happy.”
Jensen opened his mouth and sighed, pretty sure Jared didn’t understand the hint that he should leave. “You any plans for the rest of the day?” he tried.
Jared simply smiled.
“Seeing friends? Shopping?” Jensen looked at Jared, hoping that he had something to do with his day, other than just following him around.
Jared continued to smile.
Jensen rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder, raising his hand in the direction of one of the diner employees. “Can I have the check please?” He turned back to Jared and looked the man up and down. “Do you want to come back to my place? Maybe take that bath you were so keen on yesterday?” he sighed as he finally gave in. He watched as Jared’s smile widened, the smile so infectious that he couldn’t help but smile himself. There was something kind of charming about the Jared’s apparent sweetness.
“Mr Ackles, right?” Jensen looked up to meet the crooked mouthed employee. “Your bill.”
Jensen nodded and took the bill, a frown as he looked at the total. “There must be a mistake. How much is it?”
The teenage boy tilted his head to one side. “You’re our fiftieth customer today. Special promotion. Meals are free.”
Jensen looked back at the bill. “Free?”
The teenager yawned and nodded. “Free. You sure you don’t want dessert?”
Jensen sniffed a laugh. “We’re fine.” He waited until the boy had gone, and tossed the bill onto the table. He met Jared’s eyes, a smile as he soaked in their warmth. “You ready to go?” he asked.
Jared nodded and simply said, “Yes.”
| Chapter 2 |