Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Restoration ❯ One ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 Alex Winters sat in a wrought iron chair on the twenty-second floor balcony of his best friend's apartment right in the heart of downtown Louisville.  From that height the inescapable noise of constant motor and pedestrian traffic was muted to a comforting background thrum.  It helped to ease the tension in Alex's body as much as the warm companionship of the woman who lived there.  Skye Givens had been his first friend in the city since he had moved there permanently a year earlier.  A traveling Registered Nurse, Alex had initially come to the River City to accept a three month assignment to work in the Oncology unit of one the area hospitals.  When his assignment was up the Nurse Manager had offered Alex a full time position.  Pleased with her endorsement and charmed by the city itself Alex had stayed.  Even as depressed as he was at the moment the sun setting over the bustling cityscape reminded Alex that he still considered Louisville home.

 “Honestly, Alex,”  Skye's voice gained his attention.  ”If you ask me, Michael was a selfish prick to begin with and I'll bet that selfishness extended into the bedroom, too.”

 Skye came through the open sliding door with their traditional heart to heart talk drinks, namely a pitcher of well made margaritas and two salt rimmed glasses.  She poured for both of them and held up her glass in a toast.

 “Here's to finding someone worthy of you.”

 Alex picked up his glass but made no move to complete the toast.  ”I'm not really ready to have someone new, Skye.  It's only been a month.”

 “And a miserable month it's been too, babe, standing on the sidelines watching that cheating bastard stomp on your heart.”  Skye clinked her glass against his anyway and took a healthy drink.  ”It was all I could do not to punch that slime the last time I saw him out clubbing with his new conquest.  Mere was holding me back.”

 Alex winced.  Conquest?  ”You're not holding your punches now.  That's for damned sure.”

 “That's because you're forcing my hand.  You've spent the last month going straight from work to hole up in your house and sulk.  It's not healthy and it's gone on too long.”

 Skye lit a cigarette from the pack on the patio table and Alex snorted in amusement, shaking his head.

 “Nasty habit for a Respiratory Therapist, you know.”

 Skye laughed and blew out a puff of smoke.  “Do as I say and not as I do, babe.  Besides, I am cutting down.  Those new city ordinances are a real bitch.  This is my last haven for vice.  If you want to smoke these days, you got to do it at home.”

 “What's Meredith say?”  Alex asked.

 “Don't even go there.  Why do you think I'm smoking outside?”

 Alex curled his lips in his first real smile in a while.  Skye's girlfriend, Meredith Allen, was an aerobics instructor and the bane of his friend's nicotine addiction.

 “Uh huh, and I bet you'll be gargling before she comes in the door, too.”

 “Bite me,”  Skye retorted and served again from the pitcher.  ”The little things we do for love, you know?  Anyway, don't change the subject.  You need to get out again, Alex.  Meet some new people.  I know of some...”

 Alex bolted upright in his chair, sloshing some of the numbing tequila from his glass.  ”No!  Oh, hell no!  Come on, Skye, no set ups, no blind dates, no accidental meetings.  I mean it.”

 Skye eyed her friend with a sulky pout.  Alex was just too stubborn for his own good, in her opinion.  She sipped her margarita and watched him toy with his.  Alex was young, gorgeous and one of the most kind and compassionate men she had ever met.  His patients all loved him.  His colleagues respected him.  Men and women both sighed over him, and the idiot was oblivious to his own attraction.  Skye never understood how Alex had gotten involved with Michael anyway, but she had had reservations about the man right from the beginning.  On top of that, Skye felt indirectly responsible for Alex's current heartbreak.  She had all but dragged Alex to the club where he had met Michael.  Alex's cool, blonde good looks had caused quite a stir that night, and Michael had insinuated himself into their party almost immediately.  Taken in by Michael's smooth attentions, Alex had started dating him.

 Skye sighed to herself.  It wasn't long before Michael started making more and more demands on Alex's time and attention, almost isolating him from his friends.  Selfish prick, she fumed.  Six months later Alex had gone to Michael's apartment unannounced to surprise him for his birthday.  Alex had planned an evening of fine dining and dancing only to find Michael already celebrating and dancing horizontally with another man.  After months of monopolizing Alex's time and affections, the cheating, bastard hypocrite had told Alex that they had never been exclusively a couple.  Skye had watched her friend retreat into a shell, only letting his real personality come to the surface while at work.

 Skye leaned forward to grasp Alex's hand.  ”Alright, babe.  I won't try to set you up with anyone if you make me a deal.  Mere and I are having a Derby party at her brother's place on River road.  Promise me that you'll come and start socializing again and I'll quit trying to be matchmaker.”

 “You're not going to let me get out of it, are you?”  Alex muttered.

 “Nope.”  Skye gave him an impish grin.

 Alex let out a genuine laugh and squeezed her fingers.  ”Fine, I'll come, but only because you asked so nicely.  It's not like you're trying to blackmail me or anything.”

 “Not a devious bone in my body,”  Skye smirked, satisfied.

 Alex stood.  ”And on that note of pure bullshit, I gotta be going.  I'm spending the weekend working on the house and I need some sleep.”  Alex kissed Skye's fingers.  ”You better go do that gargling now.  Mere's last class is almost over, isn't it?”

 “Yep.  I don't want to ruin my chance for some action tonight.”  Skye winked suggestively.  ”She's always so...pumped after class.”

 “TMI, Skye.  Thanks for the drink and the shoulder.  See you at work Monday.”

 Alex drove slowly through the darkening streets of Old Louisville.  He had in the last month closed the deal on an old brownstone house.  Definitely a fixer upper, but the house had captivated Alex from the first time he saw it.  Alex had taken Michael to see it and the other man's opinion had been less than complimentary.  Michael was a man who liked all things new and high tech, all flash and no substance.

 Stop that, Alex said to himself sternly.  That's the past.  After Michael's betrayal Alex had made a bid for the house in an act of pure impulsiveness.  Whatever his reasoning at the time, Alex was satisfied and pleased with the house.  He enjoyed doing most of the renovation work himself on his off days and the old place was starting to feel like home.  It was an outlet for all his passions and welcomed him back after working all day.

 Alex parked his car and slipped through the gate of the privacy fence that enclosed the back yard.  Like most of the older homes in the area his house faced directly on the street with only a strip of lawn in the front, but in the back was a nice expanse of yard that was once a private garden retreat for the owner.  Years of neglect had left the lawn and flower beds in a sad state.  Alex made a mental note to himself to start checking into area landscapers.  He really wanted to revive the old grandeur of the gardens.

 Entering the back kitchen door Alex dropped his keys on the cherry wood table he had found in an antique shop.  The kitchen itself was one of his happiest accomplishments.  Alex had laid the dark, mossy green tile himself and scrubbed clean the bricks of the old fireplace that took up half of one end of the room.  Polished cherry fronted all the cabinets and a large, tile topped work table centered the room.  On the whole, it was a warm and inviting place to spend hours in, but Alex was more interested at the moment in the renovated second floor master suite and it's completely modern and sybaritic bath.

 Running steaming water into the oval garden tub, Alex shed his work scrubs.  The large mirror over the vanity reflected a well-toned body with fair skin and lightly haired limbs.  Slender feet connected to almost delicate ankles, well-shaped calves and hard thighs.  Slim hips, a toned abdomen, and a strong broad chest gave evidence of both the manual labor involved in restoring the house and twice weekly rounds at the gym.  Firm arm muscles rounded out Alex's body.  Not a bit vain, Alex didn't even look twice at his own reflection.  Soft, ash blonde hair framed a face with a firm jaw, sensual full lips and wide, blue eyes that had long lashes.

 With a pleased groan, Alex stepped into the tub and sank into the hot water, turning on the jets and letting the pulses against his body lull him into a drowsy state.  His thoughts drifted.  Alex knew Skye was right.  He had grieved long enough for someone who had never really cared about him.  Relaxing further, Alex closed his eyes and called to mind the half formed vision of his dream lover.  Occasionally, in the past, he had fantasized about someone tall, tanned and strong with wild hair black as pitch and a wicked twinkle in his eyes sweeping him off his feet.  During his time with Michael Alex hadn't had the time for fantasies, but now the image of his fantasy lover danced across his closed eyes and his hand reached down between his legs to wrap around his newly awakened erection.  He imagined the hand of his lover closing lightly around his cock and started a slow stroking from base to tip, running his thumb over the slit at the top.  In his mind Alex could see the green (green?) eyes of his lover darken with lust as he worked on Alex.  Dark tendrils of midnight hair caressed his cheeks as the man fisted a handful of blonde hair to pull Alex into a burning kiss all while quickening his strokes.  The sensations were so real Alex could feel his lips tingling.  With a harsh gasp he came hard and fell back against the edge of the tub.

 Alex panted and pulled the drain, shutting off the jets.  After a quick shower in the separate glass enclosure he toweled off and got into his bed.  That was new, he mused.  He couldn't remember ever noticing the color of his fantasy lover's eyes before, but now they were distinctly a sharp, bright green.  Alex smiled to himself, decided the new addition was tequila inspired and closed his eyes.  For the first time in a month Alex Winters slept soundly.

 Saturday dawned bright and clear with a promise of good spring weather.  Alex had gotten up at six in the morning and, after downing most of a pot of strong coffee, started plastering in the largest room on the third floor.  Although the room had huge windows on both sides, Alex had spent a good chunk of money to have sky lights installed.  The result was a large, empty, airy space.  Alex really had no idea yet what he was going to do with the room, but the walls definitely needed some patching before he could paint them.  The floor was bare hardwood, dark with time.  After stripping and resealing it gleamed softly and felt satiny to touch.  Alex had brought up his portable stereo and plastered to the music of hard, industrial goth rock.  An anachronism in this house, but Alex's taste in music was wide and varied.  Right then, the harsh sound and thumping lyrics kept his adrenaline pumping for the hard work of plastering and sanding.

 He took a break at ten for a quick breakfast and flipped through the yellow pages for landscapers.  There was quite a list so Alex closed his eyes and placed a fingertip down randomly.  He opened his eyes to see his finger resting on the name “Rooted in the Soul”.  Amused by the neat pun, Alex dialed the number.  An answering machine picked up and a deep, liquid voice came over the phone line informing the caller to leave a name and number for a return call at the earliest convenience.  Damn that voice was hot!  It reverberated along Alex's nerve endings and he almost forgot the purpose of the call.  He swallowed and left his name and number, hanging up the phone to stare into space.  Alex was confused.  The voice sounded familiar, and yet, not.  Either way he felt himself blushing as he wondered what the man connected with the voice looked like.

 Get a hold of yourself, Alex told himself.  First he masturbated to an image of a fantasy lover, now he was practically drooling over a disembodied voice.  He was half tempted to call Skye and demand what the hell else had been in those margaritas besides tequila.  Alex put the thought away and spent the rest of the day working in the house.  As night fell he found himself restless and unable to settle despite the tiredness in his body.  Once again Skye's advice about socializing came to mind.  After a quick internal debate that his inner hermit lost, Alex showered and dressed to go to “Crossroads”, a favorite haunt.

 The place was hopping on a Saturday night.  Jay, the bartender, paused in his mixing to give Alex a huge grin when he squeezed into a space at the crowded bar.

 “Hey, man!  I haven't seen you in a while.  Where you been hiding?”  Jay filled a mug and slid it in front of Alex.

 “Home,”  Alex replied.  “Trying to get work done on the house.”

 Because Jay was a friend he knew about the break up, but he let the half truth slide.

  “So what brings you to me tonight?”

 “Skye threatened to set me up if I didn't get out more.”

 Jay burst out laughing.  “Damn, that woman is sneaky!  I wouldn't put it past her to gift wrap and home deliver, too, anyone she thought you might like.”

 Alex shuddered at the vision that provoked.  “So do me a favor, huh?  Tell her you saw me.”

 “Whatever you want, man”

 Alex turned around to watch the dance floor.  “Crossroads” was popular, and the dance floor was packed with couples of both sexes vying for room to move.  The DJ was spinning the hottest dance tracks and colored strobe lights painted everything with bright, garish hues.  Alex scanned the crowd and raised a hand to a few people that recognized him.  The cold beer went down easy and he was starting to relax when Jay moved up behind him to lay a hand on his shoulder.

 “Alex, asshole warning.  Michael just walked in.”  Jay curled his lip in derision.  ” What the fuck?  He's with someone else, too.”

 Alex patted his friend's hand.  “Don't worry about me, Jay.  The past stays in the past and I'm fine, okay?”

 He would have been, too, if Michael hadn't made it a point to saunter over and lounge next to Alex at the bar.  Michael curved an arm around the man with him and smirked at Alex.

 “Going solo tonight, Alex?”

 The ease of the evening bled right out of Alex's body.  He tried to take a drink but the beer tasted sour.  He didn't feel like battling with Michael's rapier tongue so he settled for crude and to the point.

 “Fuck off, Michael.”

 Michael laughed.  “I guess we aren't friends anymore, huh?  Fine with me.  You were a boring little clinger anyway.”  He turned to fondle his date.

 Alex pushed off the bar and nodded to Jay before leaving.