This is Chapter 2 of Jake's Journey Onward. Hope you enjoy it!
Jake stirred early the next morning in thanks to the wet sensation he felt on his face. He opened one eye to see Max's long tongue retreating from his face. He groaned and started to get out of bed. He looked at Max, shook his head, and said, "Seriously, dog. You couldn't wait for another hour?" But, he knew that the sooner he got on the road, the better. He had at least another 14 to 15 hours to get to South Haven, and he really didn't want to stay in another hotel tonight.
He took Max out so he could take care of his business. Once he got back in the room, he took a quick shower, fed Max, grabbed some food for himself, and was out the door and on the road. He knew it would be a long day, plus he'd have to fight the traffic just outside of Chicago. It was one of the reasons he wanted to make it to Omaha last night, but it just didn't work that way.
So, he would just have to make do with the way things were. It was sort of his outlook on life these days in general. He was anxious to get to Michigan. He had been able to find a nice house just a couple of blocks from Lake Michigan. The rent was surprisingly reasonable, but it did help that the owner of the place was a good friend of his aunt and uncle.
He liked the idea of starting over, and felt it was what he needed in his life right now. A new job, a new location, and at some point a new partner. He thought about staying in Colorado, but it was just full of too many old memories. As he looked around, he realized that he yearned to be back near the big water of his childhood in Michigan. The economy there hadn't been the greatest in recent years, but he was able to find a good job and was excited for the new start.
He hadn't been back to Michigan for a few years. The last time was his grandfather's funeral. He knew that it would be a challenge to get established in a new place, but it was for the best. Plus, it was in a part of the country he knew well and loved.
He and Kate had big plans for the future before she got sick. They had talked about quitting their IT jobs and opening a coffee shop somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, or buying an RV and traveling around the US working at various campgrounds until they were ready to move onto the next place, or even opening a bed and breakfast up in the Colorado mountains. But, those dreams came crashing down when she finally succumbed to the disease. He would have to come up with new dreams that didn't involve her.
He looked through the windshield and discovered he was already coming up to Omaha. He was making good time, but a quick peek at the gas gauge indicated that the car needed some more gas if he were to keep making good time. He looked in the back seat, and Max was starting to stir some, too. He was sure that a stretch of the legs and a bathroom break for the pooch would be a good idea as well.
Jake decided to get through Omaha and to the other side of the Missouri River and into Iowa before making that stop. A little less than half an hour later, and he was pulling into a gas station just inside Iowa and filled the car up and got some snacks for himself. There was an empty field across the street, so he let Max loose for a few minutes so he could take care of his business and get some exercise before getting back into the car to continue the journey.
The rolling terrain of Iowa went streaming by the windows as he kept driving eastward. The closer Jake got to his destination, the more hope he felt that he could start a new life. He loved Kate, and always would, but he was still relatively young at 44 and she had told him that she wanted him to find happiness once she was gone. At first, he was very resistant to that idea, but he realized that to close off his heart for the next 30 plus years as a tribute to his late wife would only breed more loneliness and sadness. It would be a disservice to the love that they shared. As usual, Kate was right and he was starting to come around. It had been nearly a year since she had passed, and those that had been through this had said the first year was the toughest, but that many times things were better after that year. He had doubted that at first, but was beginning to see that was true. Not to say that there weren't moments where he was hit with an overwhelming sense of grief, but those times were becoming less frequent and of shorter duration and intensity.
His hope was that he could find someone as adventurous as Kate. That applied both in and out of the bedroom. He had been a bit timid when it came to taking chances in life, but she had helped him out of that shell. That's not to say that he was ever as daring as she was, but he was more daring now than he ever used to be. Picking up and moving halfway across the country was an example of that.
Jake had always been sexual, but that became even more true as he started his relationship with Kate. She was the adventurous one, and she often pushed Jake to what he thought were his limits and beyond.
He started to drift back to one of the first times that this had happened. They had been talking about fantasies and some of the boldest things they had done. Jake had vivid fantasies, but his actual experiences were a bit mild. He recalled that perhaps his wildest sexual experience had been having sex in college with a girl in the middle of a road at 3:00 in the morning. She had laughed, and said that sounded like fun, but that one of the things that had turned her on the most was going to a swinger's party a few years before.
Jake had always wondered about those sorts of things, but never had the opportunity to do it. He wasn't sure if he would have actually been able to do it without chickening out. He mentioned that to Kate, and she said that there was a motel on the east side of Denver that catered to swingers. She had never been herself, but she had heard about it and would be willing to check it out together.
Jake thought that sounded like a good time, and was game to go and see what it was about. They talked about what to expect and how to react, and they felt that they would go in with open minds, and if it felt right, to give it a try. Jake was nervous, too. He was very turned on by the idea of seeing other people engaging in sexual activity, but he wasn't sure how he would react if others watched him. In the end, though, he told himself to relax and have a good time.
The motel was in kind of a rundown part of town, but it was secured with a gate that only guests had access to. People could get either a room or a pool pass to visit, and if you were a single man, you would only be able to get in if you were to get a room for the night. It wasn't the Ritz, but it was a decent place to hang out with like-minded adults for a fun time.
Jake and Kate decided to get a room. They went with one of the less fancy rooms, but it still came equipped with endless porn running on the TV, a good sized tub, and an attachment for a sex swing hanging from the ceiling, not to mention the mirrors that covered the walls. Some of the more deluxe rooms had a "sex machine" bench in a room off the bedroom, whirlpool tubs, and bigger beds. All things that sounded like fun for another time, perhaps.
They arrived fairly early in the evening. From what they had heard, the pool area really didn't get rolling until 10:00 or so. They figured they would get there and be able to get a feel for the place, perhaps have a couple of drinks and relax before things got too crazy.
They checked into their room, and Jake chuckled a bit at the décor with the mirrors covering the walls and the ceiling. "Looks like the set of a 70's porno in here."
"What's wrong with that," asked Kate.
"Nothing at all. Just pointing it out is all. It is actually a bit of a turn-on."
"Okay, now you are just talking crazy. Next thing you'll say is that you want to redecorate the bedroom like this."
