Chalk Butterfly: Part One (First Time Erotic Romance) Read Online Free Page A

Daniel’s hand
dropped, and Alexander slipped out of sight.
     
    “Wait,” came Daniel’s searching voice.
Alexander turned back against the flow of the moving mass of
people. “You’ve dropped something!” Alexander swallowed, struggling
to step forward, closer to Daniel. A large man, clutching at a
heavy black briefcase, bumped Alexander on the shoulder, and the
younger man jolted uneasily to the left.
     
    “Hey, watch it,” Daniel said. He frowned at
the scowling man, and swiftly removed Alexander from the center of
the crowd. He pulled the younger man to the side of the platform,
behind a set of worn iron benches.
     
    “I… what?” Alexander asked, wincing
     
    “Here,” Daniel said. He raised his hand
slowly, carefully as if not to startle, and held up something that
was paper thin, tucked between two fingers. Alexander could only
nod, extending his covered hand when much to his surprise, Daniel’s
own hand turned palm up, and his calloused thumb pressed across the
younger man’s cheek. “Just a second…” he mumbled, and Alexander’s
eyes continued staring downward, unable to meet Daniel’s. Alexander
felt Daniel’s warm hand wipe away a fat tear from his cheek.
“Wind’s a bitch this morning,” Daniel said, and Alexander nodded
again.
     
    For a moment Alexander forgot about the
stinging pain in his hand, and the fresh tear running down his
cheek. He could only concentrate on Daniel’s thumb, caressing him
so gently.
     
    Alexander could smell Daniel in the close
proximity, more so than on the train, and he gave off a rich, musky
scent. The older man was, Alexander decided, very attractive. There
was something rough about him, earthy and potent-- though it was
mostly concealed, hidden beneath a polished exterior. Alexander
barely knew the man, and even he could see that. He wanted to lean
in closer, press into Daniel’s warm neck and inhale.
     
    The thought shook Alexander awake, back to
reality in which his hand throbbed and he had cried in front of a
stranger on the subway.
     
    “Excuse me,” Alexander croaked, pulling
back. Daniel’s hand dropped to his side, and Alexander was
immediately sorry for it. “Loo. I’m… I’ll only be a moment, and
I’ll…”
     
    “Take this,” Daniel said, opening his
hand once more to reveal a slightly crumpled bookmark. Alexander
immediately recognized it; it’d been a gift from one of the younger
children in his library reading group. It was bright orange, with a
small blue tassel at the top, featuring several characters
from Winnie the Pooh . “You
dropped it on the platform, I’m afraid it’s a bit bent.”
     
    “Thanks.” He took the bookmark and nearly
dropped it again before shoving it deeply into his jacket pocket.
“I’ll…”
     
    “Meet me near the Starbucks?” Daniel
suggested. Alexander nodded affirmative and pressed through the
crowd as quickly as he could, needing the distance, needing the
solitude.
     
    He slipped into the dingy restroom with a
sigh of relief, finding it empty. Leaning against the sink, his
elbows against the porcelain basin, he let the tears come. His hand
had stopped throbbing, but the situation made him emotional.
     
    It had been over a year since he’d fallen
apart in public, mostly due to the fact that he rarely left his
house anymore-- only to go to work and shop weekly, and that was in
the company of Elijah.
     
    “Oh, god, this is getting pathetic,” he
groaned, taking a few deep breaths and shaking out his hands.
     
    He removed the mitten on his right hand, and
inspected the gauze, finding the off white color not deepened by
moisture from any broken blisters. His hands would sting the most
after breaking a blister. A flash of relief crashed through him and
he slipped his mitten back on, breathing even steadier.
     
    He looked up into the mirror and brushed at
the drying tears, smiling as he recalled Daniel doing the very same
only minutes prior.
     
    “Oh, you’re daft,” he told his