Chapter 1: Can't Sleep

Plot Synopsis:

A male nurse working in a busy hospital by day, Douglas aspires to advance his skills to become a certified nurse practitioner by night through online coursework. His stressful life is upended as he falls for two attractive men simultaneously. Torn between his two lovers, opposites, can he choose just one of them?

Chapter 1: Can't Sleep

Thunder rumbled outside his apartment and rain lashed at the windows as Douglas rolled in his bed sheets.

He was having that dream again. The one he always had when he was stressed. This week was no exception.

In his dream, he was aboard a train. It was one of those old-fashioned ones, and everything was black and white. The train was going at breakneck speed along a single track. Douglas never knew where the train was heading, but he always felt anxious as the terrain outside his window kept changing. Sometimes the train went under water. Other times, he was on top of the world, mountains below him like tiny little stalagmites.

Douglas awoke with a start, like he always did. Right before the train went into the tunnel and everything faded to black. Sitting bolt upright, he took in the familiar sight of his room. The small bed, the tiny dresser drawer near the door. The tacky artwork on the wall of a nature scene he’d liked and picked up at a garage sale.

His attention was drawn to the storm that was brewing outside. Glancing at his alarm clock, which read 2:12am, he sighed and knew it was no use going back to sleep. But he had to try. The small apartment bedroom felt stuffy, and Douglas untangled himself from his bed sheets, which were wrapped around his legs and torso. He uncoiled himself and noted they were damp with his sweat.

His nightshirt clung to his body, and he peeled it away and cast it aside, not caring now where it landed. Tomorrow, er today, was laundry day anyway.

He twisted his body and felt his feet on the cheap carpet. He wiggled his toes and lifted himself out of bed. His back twinged and he put a hand to it, kneading the aching muscles that had been overworked these past few days.

He took a few steps and felt the heaviness of his body, which matched his energy level. He had put on weight. About twenty pounds within the last few months. He had been careful, oh so careful though. The stress of his day job as an OR nurse in a prestigious hospital by day, combined with his online classes at night to help advance his career were taking their toll.

He needed the extra money and so no overnight shift was passed up. Eight-hour shifts were like a break to him now, compared to the 16 hour shifts he was primarily working. The vending machines and delivery services became his new friends now. E4 for Snickers. B3 for a bag of Lays potato chips.

His back easing, Douglas ran a hand surreptitiously across his belly to scratch an itch. He looked down and noted the teardrop of a Buddha belly and a deepening navel. His love handles had grown, creasing at the sides of his waist and now spilt over pajama bottoms that were a little constrictive. He rolled them down an inch and noted little red synch marks where the cotton-polyester blend bit into his soft flesh. He reached a hand across his backside and felt that it, too, had expanded. He made a mental note to buy the next size up with his next online order.

Douglas took a sip of water from the cup next to his alarm clock. It read 2:22 now.
Still noting the stuffiness of the room, he approached the window and noted the silhouette of the skyline that was small town Manhattan. The rain and stormy clouds made the horizon look derelict, dirty. Douglas bent low to open the window, feeling the weight of his belly and softer chest shift as he struggled to open it.

Finally, after a moment of struggle and a few choice words, the window was eased up and Douglas felt that cool, damp air mixed with a breeze play across his belly and rush into the room. He crouched down on his knees, feeling the joints click with mild discomfort and put his forearms on the windowsill and peered out at the never-sleeping cityscape. The reds and white of the evening cars and a smattering of little black circles that were umbrellas peppered the streets and sidewalks below.

Douglas shivered as a gust of wind hit the side of his building, forcing its way into his room. Like the hands of a lover, he felt the wind envelop him and he inhaled sharply as he felt the two pinpricks that were his nipples blossom and harden with desire. He glanced down at his softer chest and brought a hand to each breast and cupped them, feeling their heaviness and noting that each areola looked wider, rounder. His chest was beginning to widen as quickly as his thickening waistline.

He stared out the window once again, seeing and yet not seeing. His hands continued to hold his breasts and he found himself rolling his nipples between thumb and forefinger like one trying to find the right radio station for a jazz program.

The effect was a calming one and Douglas yawned. The trick had worked. It usually did. He slid the window down so that now it was only open a crack and he crawled back into bed. He moved himself to the other side of the twin mattress where he had not soiled the sheets with his perspiration. He noted the clock on his cheap and battered bedside table it read 2:43am. He closed his eyes and was instantly back asleep.

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