Douglas's delimma: preview

Chapter 1 - Plot Synopsis and Chapters Preview

Dearest reader,

Have you ever found yourself too preoccupied to notice things? Perhaps, missing out on some of life's little moments?

Moments that, once they've passed by, can never be recreated ever again?

Or, maybe you choose to ignore that sixth sense we all have, the one that tells us to 'look up', or 'pay attention, now!'.

What if I told you that these moments happen all around us, every day and that if we choose to give life that extra bit of awareness, that's where the magic in life lies?

Wouldn't you like to dance between life's raindrops instead of getting soaking wet?

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Douglas, our resident hospital nurse has been working for years in a facility that is not really going where he had hoped it would. The hours are lousy, stressful and nobody seems to be pulling their weight.

But what can he do?

Aspiring to climb to a higher purchase, Douglas has enrolled in online courses concurrent with his job so that he can elevate his title to that of nurse practitioner--affording him more opportunities and less hospital stress.


However, with the added responsibility comes added stress. Douglas, though young, is not as young as he used to be. He's a few years out from nursing school, has his own apartment and his own life. But his fitness and nutrition habits have gone the way that all nurses seem to go: regular rounds to the vending machine, poor lunch choices and far, far too little sleep.

These life choices have begun to expand Douglas's waistline, while his mind has been expanded with his advanced online education, but is the tradeoff worth it?

One day, while at work, fortune intervenes and Douglas meets a man, Chris, who helps distract Douglas from his academic challenges, but does he change Douglas's life for the better?

And, a twist of fate brings another man into Douglas's life, Derek, who also provides distractions for our beloved Douglas.

But, in small-town Manhattan, how can Douglas balance his distracted love lives? Must he choose? Or, will he be chosen?


Excerpt:

"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. "

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"Douglas was at the nursing station, and it was just before lunch. He was off to one side and the receptionist had left her seat to use the bathroom. She always seemed to do this when it was busiest on their floor.

“Um, excuse me. Sir?” Said a voice.

Douglas looked up. A man in delivery clothes, blue black shorts with the same-colored button up short sleeved shirt addressed him. He was holding a packet that looked like the medical order that was supposed to have been delivered yesterday. “Yes?” Said Douglas coming over.

“Do you think you can sign for this? I’m double-parked downstairs.” He looked to be about the same age as Douglas was himself, mid-late thirties. He was well muscled and had black hair that was swept back in a devil may care sort of way. He had blue-black stubble and a strong jaw. He gazed at Douglas with blue eyes like ice chips. His name badge said “Chris”.

“Not really, no. Can’t you wait until the receptionist gets back?” Asked Douglas, holding his digital pad out to emphasize his own busyness.

The delivery man, Chris, leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “between you and me, we both know that chick is in there either buying her Amazon shopping list or filling out job applications on the can.”

His abruptness forced a laugh out of Douglas, and he put a hand to his mouth. God, he hadn’t laughed like that in a hell of a long time.

The man, Chris, held out the package and clicked out the nib of his pen, “Here, just the once. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee if you sign. It’ll be our little secret.”

He smiled and thought for a moment. Then he reached out for the pen and scribbled his name.

“Excellent, you saved my bacon.” He said, tearing off the detachable label to keep for himself and handing over the package. As he did so, Douglas inhaled a mixture of cologne and maleness that could only have come from the delivery man. It was not unpleasant, but a rather inviting smell.

Douglas took the package and tucked it under one arm so that it wouldn’t pinch against his side and that of his stethoscope, which was near his left breast.

The delivery man nodded a farewell and turned on his heel. Douglas was midway about to put the package on top of the secretary’s desk when the man turned around and said, “and hey, I was serious about that cup of java, you know. A fella’s gotta stay caffeinated and so do I.” He smiled and Douglas found himself smiling back.

“I’ll take you up on that, dude —the coffee around sucks ass!” Douglas said.

“Chris. My name’s Chris, not ‘dude’. See you ‘round, Douglas.” His tone was corrective, but polite.

When Douglas looked perplexed as to how the man already knew his name, he pointed to his own chest where his name badge was sown onto his uniform. He then pointed at Douglas, who glanced down at his own chest and saw that his nursing badge, name included with photo ID was staring back at him, upside-down. Douglas feigned smacking his forehead, realizing his blunder. Of course.

But Chris simply smiled once more, turned the corner and was out of sight."

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"Douglas let himself into his apartment a little while later and put the kettle on. While he waited, he kicked off his Chelsea boots and rubbed his aching feet. He had been wired awake from the evening and decided to get ahead on some of his upcoming assignments. Time with Chris was certainly amazing, but it was cutting into his online academics, and he was beginning to fall behind.

He grabbed his laptop and set it on the kitchen counter near the edge where he’d set up his mug of tea and coursebooks. He booted up the laptop and it showed a ‘low battery’ icon on the main screen.

“Oh, shit. Where’s the cord?” He groaned as he began searching room after room. He’d found it tucked between the cushions of his couch and put one end into the laptop and was now searching for a free outlet plug.

On hands and knees, he reached out, cord in hand, prong poised to meet the wall, when instinct told him to stop. His reaction time was slow, and he was greeted with a painful crash, followed by a second crash as the laptop, which teetered on the edge of the table above his lost its purchase and fell. The corner of the electronic had hit him hard on the shoulder blade and he howled in surprise and pain as it continued, its momentum unchecked and toppled to the floor in a final crunch.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he bellowed into the empty room.

Reaching out, he knew it was bad already. The computer had fallen face down and he dreaded what lay on the other side. Turning his laptop over he noted the screen was not cracked, but the lid was separating from the screen. The hinge that held the screen and keyboard together was half-way parted, but to his horror, the screen was completely blank.

Not wanting to panic, he calmly plugged it in and waited a few minutes. Maybe it was completely drained of battery?

He gave it five minutes as he paced around his apartment. He was already fearing the worst and was thumbing through his phone for any computer repair companies that were close by, knowing that by the lateness of the hour that nobody would even be open.

After the time was up, he went to his computer and hit the Power Button. Nothing.

He tried again, giving it another five minutes. Still nothing.

Cursing himself, Douglas resisted the urge to slam the lid of the damaged laptop for fear of making it worse. He took several deep breaths and called the first number he’d found on his phone.

He was preparing to leave a voicemail and was rehearsing what to say as he waited for the call to connect. It took several rings before, astonishingly, a man answered on the other end.

“Manhattan Computer and Electronic Repair. This is Derek speaking, how can I assist you?”

He exhaled with relief and glanced at his watch. It was 1:46 in the morning. Bless this man for picking up.

“Hi!” Douglas breathed into the phone before checking himself. He began to explain what had happened. The man, Derek, had asked him several questions, each one seemed to calm his down slightly as he listened.

“Well, when can you fix it?” Douglas had asked after they had negotiated pricing.

“Um, well, I know it’s an odd time of the day, but I am at the shop right now. Would it make sense for you to drop it off today?”

“You mean like right now, today?” Douglas asked.

“Sure. You said you live only a few blocks from our store. Ring the second buzzer from the top, I will let you up.”

Douglas thanked him and hung up. He gathered up his laptop and power cord and threw them into his tote bag and was still wearing his clothing from the evening with Chris, put his boots back on, grabbed his wallet, apartment keys and set off.

...

Douglas made the few blocks in a short time and buzzed the door. It looked like a reputable building and the website did not seem dodgy and had dozens of 5-star reviews. The intercom clicked and the door buzzed. He opened it and entered.

The hallway was clean and well-lit as he walked up to the second floor and buzzed the outer door. A sign read Manhattan Computer and Electronic Repair LLC and had all the Bonafede’s of being a legitimate looking business.

A moment later, a man in his mid-twenties with short-cropped hair and glasses opened the door.

“Doug?” He asked, looking him up and down.

“It’s Douglas, actually.” He said, reshouldering the tote bag.

“Oh, sorry. Come in, Douglas.” The man nodded and he was admitted.

The place was small and littered with shelves of computers in various stages of repair. Large and small, new and old. The man offered for Douglas to sit on the small couch off to the side while he looked at the damage.

Douglas passed the bag to the man, and he gently lifted the battered computer out of his tote bag and began to delicately examine it. He was dressed plainly in faded jeans and a black t-shirt of a band he did not recognize. He was clean shaven and did not smell as he’d expected him to: that of body odor and fast food. He adjusted his glasses.

“Looks like you’ve popped a hinge over here,” he said turning it over. “And over here, there is separation of the main housing from the screen, but it looks like the wiring is mostly if not completely intact.” He was speaking more to himself at this point and Douglas nodded in agreement.

He reached for a small flashlight and peered inside the crack and nodded and muttered. He reached for a post-it pad and a pen and jotted a few things down in surprisingly neat handwriting from what Douglas could make out.

Douglas folded his hands and watched the man as he reached for a small screwdriver and separated his keyboard from the base and peered inside. After a moment he spoke.

“It looks like the connection between the power and this port here broke off. All it needs is some soldering and it should work perfectly again. You got lucky.” He said, pointing to the broken component for Douglas to see.

“I am so, so thankful for you seeing me today. It means the world to me.” Douglas said with great appreciation.

He nodded and got to work.

While he worked, Derek and Douglas began to converse. It turned out that Derek had a dual degree in computer sciences and health sciences and had worked for a few years as a nurse himself, before he found that his real passion was for computers.

“While I enjoyed the health care field, I found that the bureaucracy was insane, and the administration was all about profit and not about patient-focused care.”

“I know. It’s why I am upgrading my skillset. I think I can really make a difference when I get this new position under my belt.” Said Douglas, running a hand down the side of his neck.

“Well, just make sure that when you are working on your assignments, that you keep the computer on a safe and stable surface.” He said, now beginning to repair the laptop.
Derek smiled and Douglas felt himself smiling back.

Douglas watched with interest as Derek busied himself, rarely looking up other than to grab another component, or to push his glasses back up his nose. He admired his attention to detail and how he carried himself. He felt safe in his small office and—was it the earliness of the hour, or the way the light of the room cast a shadow; but he was beginning to look at Derek differently? He felt a flame flicker from within him and he could not discern where it had come from.

He tried to bury the thought. To tuck it away. He tried to think of Chris, but he found his thoughts drifting inexorably towards Derek. But why? It made no sense, and he’d only just met him.

A small voice in the back of his mind began to put things into perspective: he’d been in a panic, and this kindly computer technician had been there at the first ring to save him in his most desperate hour.

He crossed his legs together and squeezed his thighs, trying to fight the temptation. The small voice in his head was growing louder, Douglas began to feel this strange urge…

“I’ve nearly got it finished.” Derek said a few minutes later. But Douglas barely heard him. He was lost in his own thoughts, trying to discover why he was transfixed with Derek, a man he’d only just met. Was it his electronic chivalry or something more? He couldn’t tell. All he knew was that there was a lack of a wedding band on the fourth finger of his left hand. Douglas bit his lip.

Ten agonizing minutes later, Derek had successfully fixed his machine. He turned it on, and Douglas saw it booting up the way it usually did.

“I’d like to let it charge for a few minutes before returning it to you, if that is okay. I want to make sure the soldered connection holds while it charges. Heat exchange of metals, that sort of thing.” He added.

Douglas got up, thanking him. He had his hand in his pocket and had fished out his wallet. He was counting out the requisite money Derek had invoiced him over the phone.

“Oh, no. Not that much. What I discovered after looking at it was a lesser charge.” Derek was pushing several 20’s back towards Douglas. Their hands touched.

Douglas was looking into his innocent eyes, reflected slightly behind his expensive lenses. He looked beyond his glasses, which he noticed had no smudges on them. He looked from his aquiline nose and then to his lips.

Douglas’ hands closed softly over Derek’s. Derek looked down and then up again at him, slightly confused. Douglas held his gaze and saw Derek’s eyes scan his entire body, lingering for a moment at his chest, before looking up towards his lips, which Douglas parted slightly. Derek’s cheeks slightly flushed red as their eyes met once more.

Douglas had glanced down at himself and realized Derek had looked at his chest. He had been wearing the same clothes—a tank top undershirt which sat underneath a check-patterned dress shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. Douglas had forgotten he’d left the top few buttons left open, incidentally showing off ample male cleavage; as well as his tight (which had only gotten tighter) designer jeans — Douglas had on when he was out with…Chris? Somehow, his name seemed so far away right now.

Derek might have mumbled an apology for staring at his chest, but Douglas had let Derek’s hands fall away from him. Instinct told him what to do next. He could feel there was something there. But what? He needed to find out. Douglas reached up and gently removed the glasses from Derek’s face and folded them.

“Wha—” began Derek as Douglas leaned in to kiss him, their lips brushed delicately.

Derek’s moment of hesitation was only a moment as his hands rested limply at his sides; Douglas cupped his jaw with his glasses-free hand. Douglas felt the flame of desire building, burning hotter from within him as he let out a moan. Derek began to respond, moaning in response. Douglas grabbed Derek’s hands and put them on his wider sides as he began to run his own hands down Derek’s shoulders and over his back.

Douglas leaned in and Derek stumbled a bit, still unsure of what was happening. Their backward momentum was checked as they gently found a solid object, a computer shelf that was just behind them. Recognizing what it was and noting its apparent sturdiness, Douglas pushed Derek against it. Douglas pushed the glasses in his hand onto whatever vacant space they found on the shelf behind him and, with two free hands, began to explore Derek’s body.

Douglas hands reached under Derek’s shirt and felt his heartbeat from behind his chest. It was rapid and Derek was breathing heavily. Douglas continued kissing him as he felt Derek’s hands begin to respond. Furtive at first, then more assured."

Author's Note:

To find out more about what Douglas and Chris, as well as Douglas and Derek get up to, check out the full story on the pay-for side of things.

The full 10-chapter story boasts all the detailed thrills and spills I'm known for, and will not disappoint and give you the feels you've been wishing for.

-runningsoft