Chalk Butterfly: Part One (First Time Erotic Romance) (19 page)

He heard her muttering and moving things
around.

He had wanted to stand up for himself, he
truly did.

It was obvious that he was going through a
tough spot with his hands, but he doubted the blisters originated
from work stress. He felt the most comfortable at work and actually
felt that he contributed to society in some small way, instead of
staying hauled up in his flat like a hermit.

‘Stop feeling sorry for yourself,’ he
thought, and squirmed out of his jacket.

It was amazing how easily his day could be
upset. He’d been having a lovely time with his mother, and then a
little doctor’s visit had completely turned the tide of his
emotions. But what had he expected?

Visits from Natalie were hardly relaxing
times. She usually had a motive for showing up.

She was a rather controlling type, though
Alexander was thankful for her care of him. He could never repay
her for all of the time she put into him when he was younger. Of
course, she’d have a difficult time letting go of him now that he
was out on his own.

But that didn’t mean he had to like it. He’d
moved out to be independent.

He frowned, and allowed Cat to crawl up onto
his lap.

At first he’d loved the new attention she
had laid upon him. He had been young and desperate for her to
approve of his every move.

But after awhile of living with his disease,
the attention got old. She was a worried mother, and while she had
reason to be, some thought her to be overcautious. Dr. Holmes had
even mentioned her letting up a bit on Alexander, even though he
himself was rather strict.

Alexander frowned and thought back to the
first years he’d lived in America. It had been difficult making
friends, as he was home schooled and wasn’t allowed to participate
in sports.

But he had the library.

His love of books grew from hiding away in
that special place.

A sour memory came to him. He’d wanted to be
involved in one of the plays the library put on, but his mother had
become near hysterical over the idea. It involved a bit of physical
exertion, and Alexander had fought long and hard for her permission
to join.

She hadn’t let up and Alexander missed
out.

It only got worse from there. He wasn’t
allowed to join the scouts or go to sleepovers. The small group of
friends he did have dwindled, and he became the quiet boy with the
funny accent.

His only real friends were made at the
special camps he went to each summer. There he met many other
children with EB and other conditions. There he felt included, not
singled out in the least.

But even then, his mother was around. She
volunteered as a counselor and made certain Alexander didn’t get
too involved with certain activities.

Alexander cleared his mind, refusing to
think on it any longer. It was over with and she’d be gone soon.
He’d miss her, of course, but the time alone would actually be
welcome, even if he usually disliked it.

He found himself dozing as his mother
bustled about the kitchen, and before he knew it, she was waking
him up. Her hair was wrapped up in a scarf and she had her jacket
buttoned.

“Darling,” she greeted sweetly. He smiled
sleepily as she pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Don’t sleep
out here tonight; you’ll be sore in the morning.”

Alexander murmured a slurred, “Yes, Mum,”
before sitting up and blinking his eyes open.

“Don’t be upset with me,” she said,
crouching low to embrace him strongly. “I love you and I want you
to be happy.”

“I love you too,” he whispered, returning
the hug. “Drive safe.”

“Trying to kick me out?” she asked, pulling
back with a smile on her face. “Take your vitamins, wrap your hands
and eat dinner,” she added.

“Okay, out with you,” Alexander said,
standing shakily. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

At the door, she kissed him once more. “Most
importantly of all,” she said, standing halfway out the door.
“Don’t get your heart broken.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get over Elijah,”
Alexander laughed, the sound out of place with the mood in the
room. Natalie shook her head.

“I d
idn’t mean him,” she said slyly,
and slipped out the door. Alexander let out a long breath. “And
don’t forget to feed your cat!” he heard her cry once more before
she made it down the stairs.

“Goodbye, Mum!”

***

Daniel washed the last paint brush off with
meticulous. The cleanup had taken longer than he'd planned, and by
time the living room was straightened out again, the sun dipped
slowly below the horizon.

'What a day,' he thought, satisfied.

And then his cellphone rang.

***

Alexander walked back into the kitchen and
noticed his answering machine was blinking.

He pressed the button and went about finding
the cat food. Cat wound impatiently around his legs as the first
message beeped on.

“Alex, it’s Elijah. Yeah. Well, I just want
to apologize again for being such an ass at work and forgetting
about your date and... yeah. Well. Um. Tell your mom I say hi. And
set up your voicemail! I feel like it's 1997 or something when I
leave a message on your machine.”

Alexander smiled at Elijah’s ramblings and
dug around the cabinets for the cat food. His mother had rearranged
everything and he couldn’t find the canned foods for the life of
him.

He opened the pantry and smiled wider as
Elizabeth came on the machine.

“I hope Elijah called. I told him that he
better,” she said, and Alexander could hear someone else talking in
the background. “Not now honey, I’m on the phone. Alex, Liam says
hello. Not that kind of hello. Liam... Liam!” There were the sounds
of a giddy struggle. “Um... see you on Monday, Alex.”

Alexander laughed at that, even though he
was certain it’d kill Elijah to know how well Elizabeth and Liam,
her boyfriend, got on.

“Poor Eli,” he muttered, finding the can of
cat food and trying to fit it into the electronic opener.

“Alexander,” the voice that came from the
machine was low and husky. Alexander nearly dropped the can. “Just
wanted to know if you survived the weekend. If you’re there, Mrs.
Price, my apologies. You have a lovely son.”

Alexander was astounded as to how his skin
immediately flushed at the sound of Daniel’s voice.

“Remember tomorrow,” Daniel finished, and
the machine beeped off.

Alexander couldn’t stop the smile that crept
onto his face and with a click, the can popped into place.

“So, that’s how it works,” he mumbled,
scooping the food into Cat’s dish. Cat immediately nudged
Alexander’s hand away and went after the food ravenously. Alexander
stared down at the floor stupidly, the silly smile still adorning
his face.

Before he could really stop himself, he
picked up his phone.

***

It was Alexander.

“Alexander,” he answered immediately,
smiling as the younger man let out a small laughing sound.

“Hey, Daniel,” Alexander replied. Daniel
could hear him shuffling about.

“Got my message, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alexander said quickly.
“Listen.”

“To what?”

Alexander snorted.

“To me,” Alexander said, a tone of
incredulous humor in his voice.

“I am listening to you,” was Daniel’s
response and a soft giggle carried over the line. Daniel wanted to
smack himself at the smile the sound induced.

“Don’t be a git,” Alexander said, not
unkindly. “Come for a walk with me.”

Daniel grinned at his good fortune and at
Alexander’s good nature. “Really?”

“I mean, if you... um, want to,” Alexander
mumbled. “I didn’t mean to demand you come or, if you’re busy
and--”

“I’d love to,” Daniel interrupted. “Where
to?”

“I didn’t get that far in my planning,”
Alexander said sheepishly. “I just...”

“Hey, we can decide when I get there,
okay?”

Alexander was quiet for a moment, and then
Daniel heard a very tiny hiccup.

“You okay, Alexander?”

Alexander hiccupped again. “Yeah, fine,” he
said, taking a deep breath. “I hiccup when I’m nervous...
sometimes.”

“Drink some water?”

“Do you think I’m weird?” Alexander asked
quickly, ignoring Daniel’s suggestion. “I’ll just hold my breath
while you answer.”

Daniel laughed. “What if I told you I like
weird?”

Alexander didn’t respond.

“Holding your breath?”

No response.

“I’m coming over.”

There was a strangled noise and then
Alexander, panting, said, “Wait.” Another small hiccup followed. “I
don’t know where you’ll park.”

“I’ll take the subway,” Daniel said, already
pulling on his shoes and jacket. “Okay?”

Alexander hiccupped again. “Um, yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” Alexander said.

Daniel tugged on a hat and pulled open the
door. “I’ll see you in thirty, then.”

Alexander hiccupped his goodbye and Daniel
grinned.

***

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Alexander muttered,
gently pulling on his mittens. He’d taken care of his hiccups,
finally resorting to drinking nearly a half gallon of water. “Why
am I so stupid?”

Cat looked at him warily, perched lazily on
the arm of the sofa, and yawned before easily drifting into
sleep.

“You’re no help,” Alexander said with a
groan and winced visibly as a soft knock was heard at his door. 'I
could hide,' he thought, the idea warming to him.

But he found himself walking to the door
anyway.

He couldn’t explain why he’d asked Daniel to
come over; it wasn’t anything he'd planned. His only plan had been
to return Daniel’s call and possibly chat a bit.

He’d been in a strange mood with his
mother’s visit and Daniel’s affections.

‘Encouraging him will get you nowhere,‘
Alexander thought. ‘Reconsider hiding.’

Alexander opened the door.

“Hey,” Daniel greeted and already Alexander
found himself blushing.

“Hi,” Alexander murmured. “So... walk?” The
last thing he wanted was to let Daniel into his flat. He needed to
put as much space between them as possible or he’d do something
stupid.

Daniel nodded and they were soon outside the
building, standing beneath a tall streetlamp.

“I didn’t notice how dark it was,” Alexander
said shyly, looking past Daniel to the street.

“It’s alright,” Daniel said, touching
Alexander’s arm gently. “Any particular route in mind?”

“We could just hop around the block,”
Alexander suggested. “I need to stretch my legs out.”

“Been cooped up all weekend?”

Alexander turned toward Daniel and smiled
small. “My mum,” he replied.

“I see, so you wanna blow off some
steam.”

“Sorta. You sure you don’t mind?” Alexander
found Daniel’s hand on his arm as the older man shook his head.

“I’m glad you asked me.”

“I don’t know why I did,” Alexander
admitted. “Sorry, but I feel like kind of an arse.”

Daniel knitted his brows together and
Alexander sighed.

“I told you no and then yes and now I’m
calling you over here and...” Alexander trailed off and looked down
at his shoes. A beat of silence hung between them. “Do you really
like weird?” Alexander finally asked. Daniel’s hands tightened on
his arms and Alexander gasped quietly.

“I like you,” Daniel said. Alexander leaned
forward an inch and felt a bit woozy.

“Why?”

Daniel laughed and moved his hands up to
Alexander’s shoulders. “You’re kind,” he said, the words sending
warmth through Alexander’s belly. “You’re smart.”

“You don’t know that,” Alexander retorted
with little effort. Daniel’s hands turned up to his neck, and
Alexander’s knees quaked as he felt a strong thumb press sweetly
along his collarbone.

“I can tell,” Daniel said. “I like smart,
kind weirdos.” His voice lowered then, the words coming out husky
and deep.

“Oh,” Alexander replied, rocking on his
feet. Daniel’s thumb moved in a slow circle. “Oh.”

Daniel grinned, watching Alexander’s eyes
fall shut for half a moment before flickering wide open again. A
soft sigh escaped Alexander’s lips and Daniel slipped a hand up the
back of the soft neck. His large hand cradled Alexander’s skull and
he felt the extreme need to kiss the younger man. Yeah, he was
about to officially have it bad for Alexander.

Alexander could sense the movement and
pulled back slightly, though not enough to leave Daniel’s intimate
embrace.