by T V Hartwell
Shortly thereafter, Amanda promptly dumped Adam, moved back to LA, and had a ring on her finger.
Chapter 6 The Other Third of The Triangle
During Amanda’s sojourn in New York and their subsequent estrangement, Jake had been free to date whomever he wished. But while he hadn’t been a monk, Jake didn’t seriously date or pursue any new relationships as he would later admit to Amanda. Instead he nurtured an old one, a connection that had begun long before Amanda entered the picture: his longtime bromance with his best friend, Kirby Smith.
Kirby and Jake had known each other since the seventh grade when they both started attending Harvard-Westlake School. Harvard-Westlake is where many of LA’s elite send their children to middle and high school if they’re smart and demonstrate a high enough aptitude to be eventually admitted to an Ivy League or elite West Coast college like Stanford or Berkeley. Like Jake, Charles Kirby Smith, Jr. was a fourth generation Angeleno. He grew up in Beverly Hills, the only child of Joyce and Charles Kirby Smith, Sr.
Kirby’s family had long and deep roots in LA’s African-American community. His great- grandfather, Julian Smith, an eye doctor by education and training, co-founded Golden State Federal Savings Bank in 1943, which was organized to help black families and black-owned businesses obtain loans and other financial services that they were routinely denied by white institutions at the time. The Smith family had maintained a controlling ownership interest in the bank ever since.
After attending UCLA and later earning both a JD and MBA from Harvard, Kirby’s dad, Charles, was eventually named President and COO of Golden State Federal at the age of thirty-five. After orchestrating the acquisition and merger of three struggling black-owned banks on the East Coast with Golden State Federal, Charles became Chairman and CEO of the newly formed Community United Bank, now the largest black-owned bank in the United States.
Much to his father’s disappointment, Kirby had no interest in a career in banking. He attended film school at USC, and then decided to pursue a career as a screenwriter, director, and producer.
Jake and Kirby remained tight as friends even though Jake spent seven years studying in Northern California. After Jake graduated from Stanford Law in June 2009 and became an associate in the Los Angeles office of Duchovany & Brown LLP, he and Kirby moved into a renovated, two bedroom, 1930s Spanish-style bungalow in the Hollywood Hills. They had been living there together for a little more than a year. Jake and Amanda—now reunited and engaged—had talked about living together in her newly purchased, luxury, high rise condo at the Sierra Towers on Doheny Road but ultimately decided against it. Although her Roman Catholic family was not known for being particularly religious, the appearance of outright fornication by living together before marriage would have been frowned upon, especially by her grandmother, who was friendly with the Cardinal and had contributed $1 million toward the construction of the new Rafael Moneo designed cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
***
Jake and Kirby played football together in high school, and although neither of them lettered in football or any other sport in college, they were nevertheless athletic and stayed in top physical shape. On Sunday mornings, they would hike and run through Runyon Canyon, not far from their bungalow in the Hollywood Hills. Runyon Canyon is where LA’s young and beautiful convene en masse on weekends to strut their stuff in the sun while getting their heart rate up climbing the canyon’s steep trail paths. It is a tranquil nature sanctuary in the middle of LA’s urban expanse that provides inspiring views of the city and an opportunity to decompress from the stress of the daily hustle and grind. It can also be a scene for those who are looking to see and be seen, especially among the legion of aspiring actors and models for whom maintaining a hot, sexy body, and looking good while doing it is a way of life.
While Jake and Kirby weren’t looking to be a part of any scene, the fruits of their labor in the gym showed and typically attracted a lot of attention from women and men alike when they ran through the canyon. This particular Sunday morning was no different as they ran with their shirts off, their perfectly ripped upper bodies on full view and glistening with sweat as they jogged in perfect synchronicity. Six-foot-tall Jake had a lean muscular look and was just under two hundred pounds, while Kirby was even more muscular and taller, at six foot two and about two hundred and fifteen pounds. Much to Jake’s amusement, Kirby was often mistaken for the former Polo and Ralph Lauren model, Tyson Beckford, but he always corrected the star-struck fan with a brilliant smile as he pointed out that he was much younger and more handsome.
Feeling gluttonous from the wedding menu tasting with Amanda the day before, Jake felt relieved to burn some calories. After they made it back to Kirby’s car and dried the sweat from their bodies, they drove home to shower quickly before heading back out for lunch at Bossa Nova on Sunset Boulevard for Brazilian food.
“What have you been up to this weekend?” Kirby asked after he and Jake grabbed a table with their food.
“Amanda and I went to see Inception at The Grove on Friday night and last night we met up with some friends of hers from New York at Boulevard3.”
“Nice. One of my favorite spots. Was it crowded?”
“Of course. Crazy packed. But our names were on the VIP list and we had a good table. Amanda’s best friend, Lucy, hooked us up. You remember her?”
“Blonde, Paris Hilton looking chick, right?”
Jake nodded in the affirmative as he took a bite of his food.
“Yeah. She’s pretty cool. Cute too. Doesn’t she live in New York or London or something like that? I recall talking to her at your engagement party.”
“She lives in both places actually and here too. She’s back in LA for about a month to help Amanda out with wedding stuff. She’s hosting her bachelorette party and she’ll also be in the wedding. If Amanda and I hadn’t decided at the last minute to have our siblings as maid of honor and best man, then Lucy would’ve been maid of honor just like you would’ve been my best man. However, I think you’ll still be paired up with her in the wedding ceremony.”
“Cool. I like her.”
“Kirby, I hope there are no hard feelings about me asking Harry to be my best man. I feel like I really dropped the ball on that.”
“I’m hurt, but I’ll get over it,” Kirby said as he busied himself with his meal.
For months, Jake had led Kirby to believe that he would be his best man, although he never officially asked him, and he was crestfallen to realize how much he’d hurt his best friend by his tactlessness. However, Kirby looked up at Jake and started to grin. “I’m just kidding, man. You should’ve seen your face,” Kirby said as he giggled. “You gave me that sad puppy-dog look of yours.”
Jake felt somewhat relieved. “Well, I do feel bad about it. Amanda, actually her mom, wanted us to have the same—”
“Jake!” Kirby said, cutting him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m cool. Really. You know I’ve got your back regardless. Harry is your blood. I understand.”
“Thanks, bro. I appreciate you being so understanding,” Jake said before switching topics, not wanting to belabor the issue as he sensed that it might be more of a sore subject than Kirby was letting on. “So Amanda and I did the menu tasting for the wedding yesterday afternoon.”
“How’d it go?”
“We’re having petite filet mignon and sea bass.”
“Niiiice. Sounds good to me.”
“The chef is this guy named Paul Dumont. He owns a restaurant called Artisan.”
“The steakhouse in Vegas?”
“Right,” Jake replied. “He has restaurants in LA and New York as well.”
“I’ve been to the joint in Vegas. That place is the bomb. How did you guys get him?”
“The Climents can get anybody they want.”
“True,” Kirby said knowingly with a smirk.
“Actually, Amanda’s parents are investors in his restaurants and helped him expand to the West Coast.”
&nb
sp; “Really? Wow. Very cool.”
“I was thinking that we should pay a visit to the steakhouse when we go to Vegas later this month.”
“Hellll yeah. That sounds great. I’ll work on setting that up.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. He gave me his card and told me to get in touch with him. Given his relationship with Amanda’s parents, it’s probably better for me to set things up with him directly.”
“That’s cool with me. I think there’s at least a two-month wait to get into that place anyway so having a direct connection like that is what we need.”
“So what about you?” Jake said. “Did you and Laren go out last night?”
“Yeah, man. But I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”
“Do what?”
“Me and Laren,” Kirby continued. “I’m just not feeling it anymore, and with you and Amanda getting hitched, she’s been talking about wanting to get married too. And then I am getting pressure from my mom talking about wanting grandkids and shit.”
Jake initially wanted to laugh knowing how rocky Kirby and Laren’s relationship had been over the years; the idea of them getting married seeming improbable and far-fetched. But seeing that Kirby appeared to be genuinely distressed, he swallowed his mirth and listened to his friend attentively.
“I’m not sure I even want kids,” Kirby continued.
“I thought you were joking, but you seem serious about this.”
“I’m damn serious. I can’t take it anymore. For real.”
“Sorry to hear this, dude. I didn’t know, but you certainly shouldn’t be pressured into doing something you don’t want to do. If you aren’t ready for marriage, then you aren’t ready. I know you and Laren have had your problems, but she’s a sweet girl. You two have been together almost as long as me and Amanda. Are you sure you really want to end things?”
“I think so. This has been a long time coming actually. It’s time for me to face the truth and deal with my situation.”
Jake looked at Kirby a bit puzzled, not understanding what he meant, but he didn’t press him to elaborate.
“To be honest, I never really liked her all that much,” Kirby continued. “She’s smart and has a hot body and all, but she’s not who I want to be with. Something’s missing and I can’t continue to keep this charade going, man.”
“When are you going to tell Laren?” Jake asked.
“Soon. We’re supposed have dinner with my parents next Sunday to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I’ll probably wait until after that. My mom loves Laren, and I don’t want her to get all worked up and upset about us breaking up before her birthday.”
“Well, I guess the upside of not being attached anymore is that you can be a player again with the ladies. They practically drop their panties to get your attention in the club and every place else.”
Kirby grinned devilishly. “You know I’ve always been a player, Jake. Plus, I’ve got you on my jockstrap too.”
“Touché,” Jake said with a chuckle.
Chapter 7 “Checkmate, Bitch!”
The bromance between Jake and Kirby started in the ninth grade. A classmate named Lindsey had invited a few friends over to her house one Saturday afternoon to hang out by the pool. There were three guys, including Jake and Kirby, and four girls, including Lindsey. Jake and Kirby were both considered to be the two biggest studs of the ninth grade class so they were always invited to parties and small social get-togethers. The group decided to play a game of Truth or Dare and when it was Jake’s turn to answer a question, he was asked if he had ever kissed a certain girl in school. The girl in question was not present, but Lindsey, the host, was somewhat of a rival and didn’t like her much. Jake knew Lindsey had a crush on him, and he had a crush on her too; things had been heading in the right direction until this question was asked. Jake—sensing a minefield—vacillated, hemming and hawing. Lindsey, gasped loudly, slapping her hands on her exposed thighs. “Jake Doyle, I’ll kill you if you did!”
Jake quickly decided to plead the fifth and accept a dare instead. So with Lindsey’s prodding, her girlfriend who had posed the question dared him to moon the group. Even back then, Jake had a perfect bubble butt and it drove girls crazy to see him in jeans and especially in his tight-fitting football uniform. Jake had no other choice so he stood up, turned his back to the group and pulled down his trunks just enough to show his full buttocks. He flexed his ass cheeks a couple of times, making the girls scream with delight at the sight of him.
Feeling put on the spot, Jake wanted Kirby, who was up next and sitting next to him, to do something equally daring and said so. Kirby was playfully resistant at first. “Wait, don’t I get a question? Don’t I get to choose?” he pleaded, but the group started shouting back, “Dare, dare, dare…”
“Okay, okay,” Kirby relented. “What do you want me to do?”
“I showed my ass, now you’ve got to show your dick,” Jake declared.
“Whaaat?” Kirby screeched, jumping to his feet. “That’s not fair,” he whined, cursing Jake and laughing it up.
The girls started clapping and singing in unison, “We want dick, we want dick, we want dick…”
“All right, all right,” Kirby finally said with a wicked grin. He slowly unzipped his shorts and pulled them down, bending all the way to his ankles. When he rose back up the bulge in his underwear was big and could be clearly seen. The girls gasped and screamed, encouraging him on, and then covered their mouths with anticipation and glee.
A total showoff by nature, Kirby began to do a playful striptease to tantalize the girls even more. Suddenly, he was enjoying the opportunity to be an exhibitionist as he’d been in enough locker rooms to know he had the right stuff in comparison to most teenage boys his age. He pumped his pelvis provocatively a few times and then voila, he pulled his undies down to his thighs to reveal his specimen. He had not yet reached his full endowment of ten inches at that tender age, but he was on his way and the girls went wild, screaming, clapping and falling all over themselves with uncontrollable laughter and excitement. Even Jake was jumping up and down excitedly, whooping and applauding his best buddy’s bold and steamy reveal. He did his best to maintain his macho teenage boy composure, high fiving Kirby, then prancing around and flexing his muscles with him to keep the girls riled up, but secretly he too was turned on by Kirby’s raw sex appeal and cockiness.
After the pool party, things took an unexpected turn. Not only did Lindsey become more interested in Kirby than in Jake, Jake became infatuated with his best friend too. It was more than just penis envy, he began to fantasize about Kirby and dream of ways to make his fantasies come true. That opportunity presented itself after a football game when some of the guys on the team hit the showers. A towel fight broke out and guys started slapping each other with soaking wet towels. While Jake was slapping it out with another teammate, Kirby unexpectedly came up on him from behind and landed one on Jake’s ass. Jake, startled, jumped and hollered and quickly turned around to see who nailed him. When he saw that it was Kirby, he tried to hit him back, swinging wildly as Kirby ran in the opposite direction, dropping his towel in the fray. Jake kept swinging, trying to land a hard one on Kirby’s side, until Kirby grabbed hold of the towel, trying to pull it out of Jake’s hand. Jake wouldn’t let go, so they kept tussling for it until finally Kirby succeeded in pulling it away from him. But still Jake didn’t give up, so Kirby turned his back to Jake and pressed the towel into a ball, holding it tightly to his chest and leaned into the shower wall to keep Jake from taking it back. Not ready to give up, Jake lunged from behind Kirby, his flesh pressed up against his momentarily. When he realized he couldn’t pull the towel away, he leaned into Kirby and reached down around him with his left hand and yanked on his penis, hard. Kirby’s body jerked in reaction to the rather unpleasant tug as Jake pulled away and ran. “You homo,” Kirby yelled, throwing the balled up towel at Jake, hitting him in the back as he ran out of the communal shower. Ki
rby ran after him intending to do to Jake what he had just done to him. Guys were standing around laughing at the spectacle of the two running naked through the locker room, not aware of what triggered the chase, but amused nonetheless. Kirby finally caught up to Jake and tackled him, trying to wrestle him down to the floor, but Jake, still wet, was able to slip away before he ran into a row of lockers with no place to go, blocked by a cinder block wall. Jake held his hands out to resist Kirby, crouching over slightly to guard his pelvic area from Kirby’s payback. Overpowered and outmuscled, Jake’s defensive stance failed when Kirby used his body to press Jake up against the wall chest to chest, nose to nose, before reaching down to return the yank. “Checkmate, bitch,” Kirby said to Jake and then he taunted him with a quick peck on the lips.
From that day on, Kirby and Jake’s “checkmate” game became part of their routine as they would grab each other’s crotch when the other was least suspecting it. This occurred almost every day, whether at school or when out together on weekends hanging with friends. It was just between the two of them. Nobody suspected or noticed this horseplay as the two were careful not to let others in on this little secret game that had evolved between them. The risk of being discovered and found out made their sex play all the more exciting as feeling each other up in public places whenever there was an opportunity with nobody noticing—in the hallway, bathroom, looker room, classrooms, cafeteria, movie theatre, you name it—was all part of the thrill and rush.