Now for something completely different. Between working on Sunshine and Rainbows and Weather Patterns (which is still in the works), I've had some spells where I have worked on other things. Some of these distractions have been stories involving Auggie's one-night-stands.
No idea how many of these there may be, but today I give you Auggies first blind-night-stand.
August Anderson had never lacked confidence.
In high school, he was a god among nerds, and an athlete demanding respect. His broad range of friends gave him enough perspective to be kind enough, but there was no denying that he was cocky as hell. He was one of the rare few that deserved to be cocky. There was never a moment that he had reason to doubt himself.
This confidence grew as his education and training increased through college. His wrestling expertise led to interest in other hand to hand combat methods, which led to his interest in the military.
In the military, he knew as well as his superiors that he was going to be one of the elite. There was no surprise when he was recruited to the Special Forces, and from there disappeared into Delta Force operations. He was the best.
Now, while returning home from a rehabilitation center in the outskirts of Washington D.C., August Anderson was adjusting to more than a disability. He was adjusting to a lack of confidence. He was making more mistakes than he had ever made in his life. Of course, he was always one to make mistakes, it was the best way to learn, but he had never made the same mistake twice. The feeling was quickly eating away at his spirit.
In the rehabilitation center, he was surrounded by assistance. He found a balance between accepting the help, and struggling on his own. This was his first compromise.
Each person he worked with had their own description in his mind. He learned to catalogue their scents, the feel of their arms as they guided him, and their voices. He came up with his own descriptions of the people.
Stella was an old lady that he couldn't help but think of as being like his grandmother. She was shorter than the rest, but strong. She would help Auggie, but she was also the first to tell him the truth in a way that he needed to hear things. This was why she was one of his favorites.
There was Dan, a male nurse that barely said anything, who's only responsibility was to occasionally help Auggie get to the correct room for his sessions. He wore a lotion that reminded Auggie of winters in Illinois, when the air was dry and everybody's skin began to crack. Auggie wondered if Dan was as uncomfortable around all of the other patients as he seemed with him.
Donna, the occupational therapist, thought she was funnier than she really was. It was a slightly endearing quality that Auggie could admire.
There was a man in the cafeteria who's name Auggie didn't know who always patiently listed the food that was available. Auggie knew he had to do it for everybody, yet he never rushed or seemed aggravated by the inconvenience.
But now Auggie was in the real world, where people were less-than-patient and he didn't know what names went with the voices. It was only a weekend at home, a trial run on his own. He needed to prove to himself that he could do this.
Around his home, he was as good as he could hope. He could move around confidently without his cane, he was able to cook some eggs, identify various condiments, and clean up when it was over. At least, he hoped that he had cleaned up.
Now, he was stir-crazy. He had paced the width, length, and perimeter of his apartment. He had felt through his newly labeled clothes, trying to associate the images he remembered to the textures beneath his fingers. He had run his fingers over picture albums that were now worthless, put them in a box, and pushed them deep under his bed. Finally, he walked to the table by the door where he stored his cane, wallet, and keys, and reviewed the money in his wallet one last time. He took a deep breath and walked out the door.
It was two blocks from Auggie's house to the bar. He remembered it as a quiet place with small crowds. After accidentally walking into the Laundromat - a mistake that he quickly recognized when he opened the door - he successfully found the bar and made his way to a seat. From there, it was easy enough. He didn't need to be able to see in order to be able to sit at a bar and drink a pint of beer.
... or three.
The harsh reality of sitting at a bar drinking beer was that he was going to have to learn to make his way to the restroom, as well.
"You want another?" The bartender asked.
Auggie paused a moment, in case somebody else was supposed to respond, then shook his head. "Probably not a great idea. I'm going to cash out. What do I owe?"
"Ten fifty."
Auggie wished that he had some five or ten dollar bills in his wallet as he pulled out the twenty. "If you could just give me a five back." He said as he handed over the bill.
The bartender sat a bill in his hand. "It's a five. I promise."
"I'll take your word for it." Auggie replied. "Are the restrooms still over there?" He asked, pointing to the back corner of the room.
"Yeah. Men's room is on the right."
"Thanks." Auggie replied as he unfolded his cane. He stood up, and had to keep his hand on the bar while he oriented himself. Three beers wouldn't have been much for Captain Anderson, but Auggie hadn't had any alcohol since his accident and his tolerance was lower than he expected.
The rehabilitation center hadn't given him lessons on being drunk and blind.
Slowly, he tapped his cane from side to side to make his way to the back corner. Along the way, he could tell that conversations paused to watch him. When he finally got on the other side of the restroom door, he leaned against the wall and sighed. After a moment of re-orienting himself, he did his business, took another deep breath, and stepped out the door. At this point, he just wanted to get home.
He had taken three careful steps out of the bathroom when his cane hit something that let out a quiet "Eep."
"Sorry." Auggie said, then moved a few inches in the opposite direction.
"Oh. Uh. It's ok. I just didn't see... I... Are you ok?" It was a pleasant voice, if Auggie ignored the tone of pity.
"Yep," he replied. "Just peachy."
A hand landed on his arm, and Auggie twitched under the touch. "You look pee chee." Her hand moved along his arm as she talked, which awakened something in Auggie that he hadn't expected.
"Actually," He hoped he was making something close to eye contact. "Could you maybe help me get out of here?" he asked with a grin.
"Sure," she replied. She grabbed the arm that she was touching.
Auggie stopped and pulled his arm free "Nope, like this." He stated as he ran his hand up her arm. It was thin, and her skin was smooth. He gripped at her elbow and moved closer than necessary. She smelled good, and was slightly shorter than him. In a moment, they were outside the door of the bar.
"Do you need help with a cab?"
"No, thank you. I'm just going a couple of blocks. It's much easier when there are no barstools in the way." He should have let go of her arm at this point.
"I... I don't have to stay here." She said, the words coming quickly.
Auggie pulled his eyebrows together trying to make sure he was interpreting her signals correctly. "Would you like to walk home with me?"
"I would feel bad leaving you on the curb like this."
Pity. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" She said in a more seductive tone.
He turned to face her and ran his hand up her arm, behind her neck, and through her hair. It all felt good in his buzzed state. "Okay," He replied. He moved his hand back to her elbow. "It's this way."
It probably was best that he had an arm to guide him for the walk. Even with her there, he was less than steady. When they reached his building, he let go of her to pull out his keys. When he opened the door he turned toward her. "Coming up?"
She didn't audibly answer, but he felt her body brush past him. He led her up the stairs to his apartment, feeling more confident with every step. As they entered his place, he folded up his cane and put out his hand. "I didn't catch your name. I'm Auggie."
She weakly took his hand. "I'm Tammy." She replied.
Auggie moved his other hand to her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He moved his other hand to her face and kissed her. She moved closer, so he took that as a sign to keep going. It felt good to have a woman in his arms. His body was feeling alive in ways he had forgotten.
"Since you so kindly led me home, shall I lead you to the bedroom?" Auggie asked when he pulled away.
It was silent for a moment, then she quietly said "Sure."
Auggie smiled and held her hand as he led her up to his bedroom. Once there, he worked to unbutton her shirt, his fingers moving with the faux-dexterity of inebriation. He pulled it off of her and held it for a moment. "What color is this?" He asked, gently.
"Black," She lied.
Auggie dropped the shirt on the ground and ran his hands over her bra straps. "This too?"
"Do you want it to be?"
He blinked a few times as he ran his hands behind her back, feeling every inch of her skin as he unfastened the bra. "If you aren't going to describe things, I will have to explore them myself."
"I'm ok with that." She replied as she pulled his shirt up. "As long as you take this off, for me."
Auggie complied, and enjoyed the sound of her surprised gasp when he removed his shirt. Deciding that it was as good of a time as any to give her a view, he walked around the bed to his night stand and opened the drawer. He had to feel around a moment because this drawer hadn't been organized since his accident, but eventually he found a little plastic packet that he placed on the table.
Tammy walked around to join him, fascinated by watching him navigate. "I see we have the same idea." She stated.
Auggie turned and pushed her onto the bed.
Auggie laid on his back with the weight of her head on his chest. There wasn't anything that he had to re-learn to accomplish what he had accomplished in the past hour, but his new circumstances had made it a totally new experience. He noticed every sound she made, every muscle that twitched, and even the smell of her arousal. If you had used the words "Smell of her arousal" around August Anderson six months earlier, he would have laughed hysterically. But in his new world, it made perfect sense.
His problem now was that he didn't know if she was awake, and he really didn't want her to see him fumbling around his apartment in the morning. He decided that it was best to be direct. "Hey," He said in a light tone.
"Mmmmm. Hey." She responded. Her voice sounded as though she were interested in another round, and for a moment Auggie thought he could be, too. But the longer she stayed, the harder it would be to ask her to leave.
"Can I walk you back to your car?" Auggie asked. Perhaps it wasn't direct, but it got the point across.
Her head raised up. "You need me to go?" She sounded hurt.
"This was great," Auggie said with honesty. "And I don't want you to get the wrong idea, but..."
"Okay." She responded as she raised herself from the bed. He could hear her gathering up clothes, and wondered where his were. He rolled over and felt beside the bed, where he miraculously found his pants. Not bothering with underwear, he pulled the pants on and sat on his bed.
"I'm ready." She said.
He got up and walked to the door. Before opening it, he turned toward her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Thank you." He said, tenderly.
"It was a pleasure." She replied.
He opened the door, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned forward and felt a light kiss on his cheek. "Good night." He said.
Her footsteps went through the door and down the hallway. when he could no longer hear her, he closed the door and locked the deadbolt. There were many things that he worried about, in regards to his new life, and now he could check one item off that list.
Now, he needed to figure out how to find the rest of his clothes.