Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 13:36:19 -0500 From: Eric W. Subject: Dreams and Satin Sheets: Chapter 1- The Set Up Dreams and Satin Sheets By: Eric W. Disclaimer: This story is a work of pure fiction created by my imagination. Certain parts of this story will contain sex between consenting adult male partners. This story is homosexual in nature and should only be viewed by those over the required age in your area. If you are reading this story and are not of that age then I do not want to know so please don't tell me. Author's Note: Hello, If you are reading this then that probably means you were intrigued by the title and decided to check it out. This is my first attempt at writing a story to be placed on the archives and would like some feedback on what I need to work on. I have no idea how far this story will progress but I am going to try and dedicate ample time to work on it. I am in college and the strain of midterms and finals will no doubt hinder my writing but never the less I will try so please bear with me. So with no further adieu here is Chapter One. Oh one more thing, everyone show some love for the archivists. We all know how hard they work. Thanks guys!! Chapter 1: The Set Up The smoke spiraled upward towards the ceiling as cigarette burned between his fingers. The room was quiet and warm with the air coming in off of the ocean through the French doors. The last bit of light was drifting in the windows as the sun bade farewell to another day and dipped below the horizon. The wine bottle sat empty on the counter and the glass was still mostly full. He sat quietly smoking his cigarette as the music of Mahler drifted throughout the room. The wine had stained his lips and the many nights without sleep had darkened his eyes. His eyes sat unwaveringly focused on a single point but not really seeing anything. The day passed into night and night into early morning but still he sat not moving. This had been another long day, but it didn't matter. One day seemed to run into the next without end. Every time the sun came up he was awake to see it, three hours of sleep per night was almost too much to ask anymore. He rose from his seat and crossed to the large picture window that framed the ocean in the distance. Draining the last of the burgundy from the glass he sighed for what must have been the hundredth in the past hour. Taking one last glance out at the rolling water illuminated by the full moon, he took his glass to the kitchen and placed it in the sink. He looked around and wondered how he had become so lucky yet so unhappy. He thought back over his life and realized that he was not lucky, he had worked diligently for all that he possessed. There was only one thing missing in his life, someone to share it with. Since his adolescence he had always wanted a family. Someone to love and to grow old with. He laughed at the cliche of his dream but he also wanted someone to care for. To know that someone depended on him in order to survive. He wanted to be called Daddy. Once again he sighed and ascended the stairs to make an attempt at sleeping. Entering his room he smiled, he loved this room. Although most might see it as plain he thought it was wonderful. The room reminded someone of a hospital room, done almost entirely in white. The queen size bed had a white down comforter and white satin sheets. The French doors and windows on either side comprised one entire wall of the room, and were covered with white silk curtains. The doors opened to the balcony which overlooked the beach and it seemed as if the water stretched on forever. The ceilings were cathedral style and the portion above the bed was made of glass. The bathroom door was right beside the walk in closet. The bathroom was large enough to put a bed in had there not been other things in the way. There was a large whirlpool tub located in one corner surrounded by glass tiles. The thickness of the tiles prevented anyone from seeing inside. Directly in front of the tub was the double vanity which only one side of was ever used. To the left of the tub was the glass shower stall, it had two shower heads and could accommodate two people comfortably. He slowly walked to the stereo located on the built in bookcase and turned on one of his depressed CDs as he had dubbed them. He adjusted the volume to an appropriate level and then began to undress. The music filled the room and he began to involuntarily sway to the beat. When the song ended he returned the stereo volume to a lower setting and sank in between the satin sheets. * * * * * * * The next day when he awoke he was surprised to see he had slept through the night and it was now five AM. He stretched and went to the shower to begin his day. After bathing and dressing in the ceil blue scrubs he would be wearing for the day he grabbed his wallet and lab coat and went downstairs. The coffee maker held the brown liquid that puts the bounce in everyone's step. He began meticulously putting in his cream and sugar and sat at the breakfast bar to enjoy a pop-tart and his coffee for breakfast. He finished his breakfast and started for his car. He loved his Mercedes convertible, which was silver and made him the envy of other employees where he worked. He set the alarm beside the garage door and backed out of the driveway. He turned on the stereo and began the twenty minute drive to the hospital. As he walked in he saw the hustle and bustle that was known as the life of a medical professional. He quickly swiped his time card and made his way to the Laboratory. He walked in and took his position at the computer terminal and after quick good mornings to his coworkers he began to run the patients. He loved his job as a clinical chemist and never dreaded going to work. He hummed softly as the machine began to work on analyzing his patients samples. The machine was quick and efficient and he listened to the sounds it made. The machine was fairly new and he had never had any problems thus far but today was different. He noticed the sounds it was making and immediately knew it was not right. He sighed and began the procedure for bringing up the backup machine and called for assistance while he troubleshooted the malfunctioning instrument. As he was performing the repairs he noticed that the line that brought in the deionized water had become detached. After reconnecting the line and performing a startup everything worked as it should. Three hours later his phone rang and he was asked to come to the emergency room. I had someone watch my station and proceeded to the first floor ER. I asked Leslie at the nurses station what they needed and she told me to go to exam 1. When I entered the room I saw the doctor and nurses running around working on the patient in the bed. I asked the doctor what his request was and he began to inform that he needed two units of ab negative blood typed and crossed. I told him that he could have told the person working Immunohematology that. He told me that he wanted me to do them and to not ask why. I said ok and left. The doctor had sent the request to the fourth floor lab and it was waiting on me when I got there. I thought nothing of the request because Dr. Richard Evans and I had been friends for quite sometime and he was always asking favors of me, and vice versa. So I began the time consuming work of a cross match. About 45 minutes later I had completed the work and was taking the results back to the doctor along with a cup of coffee in hand. As I stood there holding the slips of paper, a cup of coffee and two units of blood I watched as Dr. Evans noticed I was back and came over. "Hey back already," he asked me. "Well I don't mess around when I work," I replied with a grin "I know that's why I ask for you to do my work whenever you are available", He said and proceeded to have the nurse start the blood, while he wrote on the chart. I waited patiently sipping my coffee and just enjoying the break I was now on. I watched as he finished writing and told the charge nurse he was going on a break. He motioned for me to follow him as we went to his lounge and he took off his white lab coat and I followed suit. He grabbed a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter and we exited the building. Sitting outside on this beautiful day I lit a cigarette and he did the same. Nothing was said for the first few moments as we enjoyed our beverages and cigarettes. I was the first to break the silence. "Soooo, would you mind telling me why I was taken away from my chemistry to do a crossmatch for a certain patient." "I already told you why" he said avoiding my eyes. "yeah, and that's a bullshit answer I wanna know the real reason" I told him staring holes through him. "Alright I guess I will have to level with ya huh?" he said, "Being that you are too smart for your own good" "Yes you will now spill it" "Ok ok ok, the reason I asked you to do that is because I think you will really like this person. And he is hot as hell too." Now Rick had known that I was gay since college and I knew the same was true for him but we had never tried going out. We knew that it wouldn't work because we are definitely not each other's type. Now I knew Rick's taste in men, it was the same as mine, and I had saw some of his former lovers and I knew that he has excellent taste. So when he told me this I was definitely intrigued. "Ok but how does me doing a crossmatch for this guy help me land him. And I'm not even sure if I wanna even attempt it yet I mean I haven't even saw him yet." I said all in one breath. "Well I am almost positive you will wanna go out with him cause he is fine, but the reason I had you do the work is cause I spoke with Dr. Williams who is his regular physician, it seems that he is a very grateful person, and loves to meet people. So he is actively involved with his own healthcare. He always requests to know the people who help him in anyway. So I figured that this is the best way for you and him to meet and be introduced." He said smiling deviously and taking a long drag from his cigarette. I sat processing this information and stepped on the finished cigarette before saying. "Ok but no funny business, now we gotta get back cause our break is almost over." After walking the doctor back to his lounge and picking up my lab coat I returned to the lab and began to catch up on the work I had waiting on me in Chemistry. The rest of the day was uneventful and before I knew it was time for me to go. I quickly gave the next shift the information they needed to know about the machines and picked up my stuff to leave. As I was walking to the time clock I heard Rick call my name and I stopped to wait on him. When he caught up to me we talked briefly about the rest of our day then started on the more pressing matter. "Ok" he said, "so when do you want to meet your man?" I shrugged my shoulders as I unlocked my car and put my things inside. "How about I bring him by for dinner tonight, you don't have anything planned do ya"? "just a glass of wine and a soak in the tub" "ok shall we say 7:30" he asked with his eyes twinkling "sure, bring me some good wine too I think I drank the last bottle last night" I said grinning. "Ok what are you fixing?" "Well I thought I would make something Italian, you know they say that pasta gives you energy" I said and climbed into my car. "ok see ya then" he said laughing. With that I started the car, put the top down, and drove off. Luckily the traffic was not too as of yet so I had no trouble getting from the hospital to the market near my house. I went inside, picked up a basket and walked up and down the aisles picking up things for tonight and just things that I needed in general. I paid the cashier and walked back to my car. I made it home in a few minutes and took the groceries to the kitchen. I set them on the counter and went up to the room to change. I swear scrubs are the most comfortable things ever to work in but they don't exactly breath very well and it was going to be getting hot in the kitchen soon. I changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and went back downstairs. I tried to decide what I was going to make for dinner and then settled on one of my favorite dishes. Lasagna, garlic bread, salad, wine, and for dessert a made from scratch strawberry short-cake. I walked into the living room and turned on the stereo, I set it to play on my favorite local station and went back to the kitchen and finished preparing the sauce so it could cook for about an hour and 45 minutes. About a half an hour later the sauce was simmering and I was sitting outside by the pool and watching the sunset. I had my glass of iced tea from the pitcher I had just made and it was sitting on the table. I went back into the house to finish preparing the meal and dessert. I decided that I had also better change right after I put the food in the oven and everything was prepared. I went upstairs and took a quick shower to rid myself of the antiseptic smell that a hospital has and quickly donned a dressy casual outfit consisting of khaki pants, black shoes and an maroon silk shirt. I quickly gelled my hair and went back down to finish the preparations for my guests. I think it was around 7:15 and I was putting the finishing touches on the cake. I had the table set out on the patio and the food was ready to be served. I jumped when I heard the doorbell ring cause I had turned off the stereo earlier. When I opened the door, I saw Rick and a man that had his back turned to me. When Rick greeted me he turned around and my breath caught in my throat. I saw a beautiful man with spiky blonde hair, green eyes, and a smile that would melt ice. I must have stared a little long cause Rick cleared his throat and said. "Josh I would like you meet Scott, Scott this is Josh" I jarred myself from the staring I was doing and extended my hand to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you" I stumbled out. "Likewise" he said smiling "Won't you come in" I asked and moved from standing in the doorway. They came inside and I showed them to the living room. Rick handed me the bottle of wine, and I went to the kitchen to pour us a glass. I was standing there at the island in the kitchen when I heard someone coming into the room. I was standing towards the door and I saw Josh walking towards me. He smiled and came over to me. "Need any help?" he asked kindly. "Yeah could you get me three glasses from the cabinet above the bar" I told him. "Sure, no prob" I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and uncorked the bottle. He turned around and set the glasses in front of me and his arm brushed against mine. "Thanks," I said smiling while I began pouring the wine. We picked up the glasses and the bottle and returned to the living room. We found Rick lounging on the overstuffed cream-colored sofa. He smiled when we came into the room and took the glass of wine I offered. We sat chatting about random things just killing time until it was time to eat. After we had finished the first glass of wine I decided it was time to get dinner underway. "Well how about we move to patio and get some food?" I asked while standing from the comfort of my chair. They followed me and when I walked out to the patio, I was glad I had chosen that time to begin eating. I loved being out here this late in the evening; the sun was casting its last rays of gold across the sky and the clouds looked like they had been dipped in liquid gold. The sound of the ocean could be heard in the distance and the smell of the fresh sea air teased your nose. This was the reason that I had bought this house and I could tell by the expressions on Rick's and Josh's faces that they were also impressed. I directed them to sit down at the table and I went to get the salad. "Damn Scott you are a great cook," Rick said, "I am stuffed" "Thanks, but I hope you both left room for dessert" "Depends on what you made" Josh said smiling at me over his water glass. "Home made strawberry short-cake" I said grinning at him "mmmmm, sounds good" he said still smiling at me "I'll be right back" I said excusing myself and went to get the cake. Dinner had went well, we had sat chatting in between bites of food and drinks of wine. Josh was sooo easy to talk to and more than once I had wished that Rick wasn't there. I had to remind myself to thank him later. As I cut the cake and put it onto plates I had a wicked thought but dismissed it as soon as I had it. I laughed when I thought about paging Rick and putting in the hospital's number. He wouldn't be all that mad and I am sure he would understand. I decided better of the idea and grabbed the can of whipped cream from the fridge. The lights surrounding the pool and hot tub had come on sometime during dinner, and they cast their soft light on the area and the water in the pool sparkled with each little ripple that the wind caused. I gave everyone their dessert and offered the whipped cream to them. I decided to have a little fun with my guests. I sprayed a little onto my cake making sure that I got at least a little bit of the puffy white substance on my finger. Then sitting down my chair I looked over to Josh and seductively licked the cream from my finger, then grinned. We continued eating and aside from the occasional comment about the cake or the weather, the conversation was light. After dessert was finished we decided to move this little party back into the living room. I had the lights lower than usual but not too dim to suggest anything promiscuous. I had contemplated putting the stereo on but decided against it. We sat down and began to talk quietly. A half an hour and a bottle of wine later Rick stood and said it was time for him to go. "Are you sure you have to go I mean the night?" I asked although not entirely sincere. "Yeah I have an early shift tomorrow at the hospital and I gotta go home and get some sleep. You should do the same Scott" he said as we walked to the door. "You know that I sleep all that I can but it isn't much," I said as I noticed Josh had not joined us at the front door. Rick looked around and smiled from ear to ear. Then he said, "tomorrow I want details" then opened the door. I pulled him into a hug and said, "If there are any details to tell you will hear them, and thanks for introducing me." Then he walked to his car and left. I walked back into the living room and saw Josh sorting through my CD collection and he smiled when I entered the room. I heard my favorite CD start to softly play and he smiled even wider. I was starting to blush slightly because every person I had ever known had thought it strange that a 28 year old man could like a boy band but I didn't care. I simply liked the music produced by the backstreet boys. As the music slowly filled the room I noticed it was my favorite song of theirs. "Show me the meaning of being lonely" was playing softly and I noticed that Josh was staring at me. I then realized that I had not said anything for a few seconds and he had apparently asked me a question. "I'm sorry what did you say, I think I spaced out there for a second." I said "That's perfectly alright," he said moving closer to me, "I asked you if you would like some more wine" I smiled my best smile and replied, "I have to work in the morning and I think I reached my limit about 15 minutes ago, but feel free to help yourself." "Nah," he said, "Its no fun to drink alone" His words hit home. I had been drinking alone quite a bit lately but hadn't noticed until that precise moment. I made a vow then to make a conscious effort to control my drinking. We sat with the soft music playing and the wine having loosened our tongue we talked into the night. Laughing at a joke Josh had told, I noticed the time. "Ohh my would you look at the time, I haven't been paying attention to it and it has slipped away from me" I said noticing that it was after 1:30 a.m. "Neither have I, but I sure have enjoyed this evening. I can't remember when I've had such a good time," Josh said while standing and beginning to walk slowly toward the foyer. "I hope to do this again soon. I can give you my number if you would like." I said while nervously shifting my weight from side to side. "I would like that very much," he said as he fished around in his pockets then handed me a business card. I had simply found a piece of an envelope and scribbled down my name and number at home and my cell number. We exchanged the numbers and then stood around the door not speaking and suddenly finding the tile floor very interesting. Josh was the first to break the silence, "I really enjoyed tonight Scott, and I look forward to seeing you again soon." I was rendered almost speechless at the emotion that had suddenly filled his words. I soon recovered, "yes I would like that very much Josh, I am glad that you are overly concerned with the people that are involved with your healthcare." He seemed puzzled by my statement and asked, "what are you talking about?" Ok I was thoroughly confused now but I quickly decided what had happened after stuttering out a few "I thought" and "but he said" then I recovered. "Let me explain, Rick and I have known one another for a while now, and we have been friends for that long. He thinks I spend too much time alone so he finds creative ways to set me up with men. This is his most creative yet and I assure you he will be repaid amply." He laughed showing off his sparkling white teeth and then surprised me. Before I had realized what was happening his soft supple lips were pressing against mine. I was swept away with the sensations I was feeling, I could taste the wine from dinner and the strawberries from the cake on his lips and it tasted amazing. My head was spinning when he pulled back from the kiss and then said "well I am glad he got us to meet, and I will be sure to offer him my gratitude as well". I was still lost in his kiss, and then he leaned over and pecked me softly and slowly on the cheek, and bade me a good night. I watched him to his car, which was parked in my driveway that I had not noticed earlier, and then watched his tail lights until they dropped out of sight. I turned and closed and locked the door. I went through the house locking doors and turning out lights, then ascended the stairs to my bedroom. I flipped on the light and walked over and turned down the bed. I quickly disrobed and look at my reflection smiling back at me from the mirror. I brushed my teeth and turned out the lights. As I crawled between my sheets I wondered in which direction my life was heading now. Wherever it may be, I hoped Josh would be along for the ride. To Be Continued... So there it is. Did ya like it?? Did ya hate it?? Should I never touch a keyboard again?? Well let me know PLEASE!!! E-Mail: Storymaker19@hotmail.com Songs 1. "Show me the meaning of being lonely" by the Backstreet Boys Jive Records c1999 Zomba Recording corporation.