Kou rolled gracefully out of a yoga pose. Yoga was his caffeine-free way of waking up in the mornings, and helped him center his mind, his body, and his spirit. After he completed his yoga routine, he then went on to practise his hour-and-a-half martial arts routine. Both routines took great concentration and great strength, and he managed to find an inner peace during them. It was always a fleeting inner peace, for when reality returned, memories returned, and once again he would use sarcasm, wit, charm, evasiveness -- whatever it took -- to keep the outside world from sensing the turmoil within. Breathing deeply, sweat tracing tickling paths down his bare back, he began to move.
Later, his workout completed, he hopped into the shower in his small bathroom. As the first of the hot, steaming water sprays hit his face, his hard-won relaxation began to desert him, and his mind turned to other topics.
He winced at the twinge of pain from his split lip, and Keera Scott came to mind. He wondered how her face felt this morning, with a pang of guilt. Accident or no, Kou Leifoh didn't believe in hitting women, especially women that were a lot smaller than him.
A quick shower, then a quick towel off. Wearing nothing but boxer shorts, he padded barefoot to his tiny kitchen...hell, everything in this apartment was tiny. But it was his, he thought, with satisfaction. Paid for with money that he had earned, not money that...
No. He refused to allow those thoughts.
It was an old battle, one that he was sure he would never win. But the past was the past, and had no place in the present, in his new life of freedom and independence.
It wasn't until he had a bowl of fruit and a glass of milk and was sitting by the window seat, looking out at the city below, when his thoughts returned to Keera.
She was a nice girl, he thought. Not really his type -- his type ran more to girls that he could describe only as "hot". But she was nice. The kind of girl a guy could be friends with. He hoped he'd see her again.
He started, briefly, at the feeling of warm fur against his calf.
"Hello, Buford," he said, stroking the cat's warm fur. Buford was about a year old, give or take. He'd found the starving kitten on his way home from his first night of work at the Fate Bar. Not an animal lover, Kou had nonetheless been affected by the sight of the tiny, hungry creature that limped towards him. It was a chilly, rainy night, and he, in an uncharacteristic burst of kindness, had scooped up the little animal and brought it home with him. He'd planned to bring it to the animal shelter the next morning, but, when he awoke, the kitten had curled up in bed with him, purring loudly.
Even after he'd given the little fellow some canned tuna, the kitten had remained wrapped around his ankle, purring, ignoring the food. It was the first time in years that he had been the recipient of unconditional love, and it touched his heart deeply. There were no more thoughts of the animal shelter after that.
Today, Buford was a twelve-pound bundle of silky gray fur and a heart full of love. He and Kou were best of friends.
Mumbling nonsense words, Kou cuddled Buford, soothed by his purrs. He was startled when the peace was shattered by the ringing of the phone.
"Down, buddy. Down." He eased Buford off his lap, and padded over to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Kou?"
He sighed inwardly as he recognized the voice of his ex-girlfriend, Dianne. "Yes, Dianne."
"How are you?"
"Fine." Other than the fact that I'm talking to you, he thought.
He'd thought things were going fine with him and Dianne. They'd been dating for almost a year, when he'd come home early from the Bar a few months ago, and caught her with her *supposedly* gay friend, Eric. He hadn't said anything to her. No need to. He packed his bags, and walked out. He'd slept at the Bar that night, then found this tiny apartment the very next day.
Other than the occasional bouts of loneliness, of wondering if there were something wrong with him, he'd been fairly content. There'd been a few women since then, but nothing serious. And he'd been happy that way.
Until a few days ago, oddly enough. He'd felt an odd yearning for an actual relationship, something based on more than sex. His musings were interrupted by her voice.
"That's good. Uh..."
"What do you want, Dianne?"
"Well...uh...want to go out sometime?"
A small sigh. "No." He hung up on her. The phone began ringing within the next few seconds.
With another sigh, he went to his bedroom to get dressed, to go into work early. Better than spending the day dodging her phone calls.
***
Emerging from his somewhat-dingy apartment building, Kou turned down the street he normally took to work, then stopped.
He was early, anyway. Why not take a walk by Keera's place? The extra few blocks wouldn't hurt him, and he was wondering how she was doing.
His feet were taking him there even as he rationalised his decision to himself; then, standing in front of her building, he wondered which apartment was hers. He started to go up the steps, when he noticed the picture window of the apartment to his right...there were four cats dozing on the windowsill. Cute.
As he resumed walking, he noticed Keera come up behind the cats, and look out the window...she seemed surprised to see Kou on the steps, then smiled at him, and gestured to him to "wait a moment."
Sure enough, moments later, the front door opened, and he entered the building.
"Nice place," he said, looking around at the cozy apartment. He'd miscounted -- there were six cats.
"Thanks...what are you doing here?"
"Oh," he said, kicking off his shoes. "I was going in to work early, and decided to stop by and see how you were doing, after getting beat up by some idiot bouncer last night."
"Not bad," she said, tilting her face to him. "Little bit sore, but nothing I can't live with."
His heart sank as he noticed the bruises, however. Dark purple and swollen, she looked terrible. "Oh, damn...Keera, I'm so sorry..."
"It was an accident, Kou. I know." She gestured towards a comfortable looking couch. "Want something to drink?"
"Ummm...sure...water, if you've got it?"
"I've got it." She headed for the kitchen.
He noticed her computer was on, with text on the screen, and realized that perhaps she'd been working. "Uh...Keera?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I interrupting anything?"
"Not really, no." She returned, with two glasses and a jug of spring water. "My hero and heroine just had a fight, and I'm trying to think up an original, and funny, way for them to get back together."
He took a long drink of the cold water, then asked, "But aren't those kind of books formulaic? I mean, aren't they basically all the same?"
"No. Don't be condescending, either. It's a pretty good way to make a living."
"Oh, I know it."
"Do you?" She was watching him keenly.
"Next question."
She laughed. "What is your problem?"
"My past is no one's business. That's it. No problem." He took another drink of water, aware that she was watching him closely.
"No problem, then. I love a good mystery."
He sighed. "I mean it."
She stared at him a moment longer, then shrugged. "Fine. So...you like sports?"
***
Damn, he thought, heading out the door. He'd only meant to visit, to see how she was doing, and ended up spending the entire afternoon there, as well as staying for supper. Now, he was going to be late for his shift -- he'd called ahead, and Volt had taken the call. Unsympathetic as usual, Volt snapped at him to hurry his ass up.
He liked his fellow bouncers. He was no idiot -- he knew Volt considered him a flighty, airheaded moron. That was fine. He liked it that way. He also knew that Volt was a decent, honourable guy, who would be there for him if he ever needed it. After his breakup with Dianne, Volt had taken him out drinking on his night off, and had introduced him to a couple of girls he knew. Sion, he knew, saw a little deeper than Volt did, but he also sensed that Sion lived with pain of his own, so he was gentler with the youngster. He was no stranger to living with pain.
"What the hell took you so long?" A small grin on his face, Volt stood by the door.
"Slept in."
"Caller id on the phone showed the name Keera Scott."
For some reason, Kou flushed. "I stopped to see how she was doing. That's what took me so long...I forgot it was a few blocks out of my way."
"How is she doing?"
Kou averted his eyes, still feeling guilty. "Fine. Bruised up, but fine." Volt said nothing, but Kou could feel those fake-red eyes boring into his back, as he trotted up the stairs to get ready for his shift.
*****
To Be Continued!
Later, his workout completed, he hopped into the shower in his small bathroom. As the first of the hot, steaming water sprays hit his face, his hard-won relaxation began to desert him, and his mind turned to other topics.
He winced at the twinge of pain from his split lip, and Keera Scott came to mind. He wondered how her face felt this morning, with a pang of guilt. Accident or no, Kou Leifoh didn't believe in hitting women, especially women that were a lot smaller than him.
A quick shower, then a quick towel off. Wearing nothing but boxer shorts, he padded barefoot to his tiny kitchen...hell, everything in this apartment was tiny. But it was his, he thought, with satisfaction. Paid for with money that he had earned, not money that...
No. He refused to allow those thoughts.
It was an old battle, one that he was sure he would never win. But the past was the past, and had no place in the present, in his new life of freedom and independence.
It wasn't until he had a bowl of fruit and a glass of milk and was sitting by the window seat, looking out at the city below, when his thoughts returned to Keera.
She was a nice girl, he thought. Not really his type -- his type ran more to girls that he could describe only as "hot". But she was nice. The kind of girl a guy could be friends with. He hoped he'd see her again.
He started, briefly, at the feeling of warm fur against his calf.
"Hello, Buford," he said, stroking the cat's warm fur. Buford was about a year old, give or take. He'd found the starving kitten on his way home from his first night of work at the Fate Bar. Not an animal lover, Kou had nonetheless been affected by the sight of the tiny, hungry creature that limped towards him. It was a chilly, rainy night, and he, in an uncharacteristic burst of kindness, had scooped up the little animal and brought it home with him. He'd planned to bring it to the animal shelter the next morning, but, when he awoke, the kitten had curled up in bed with him, purring loudly.
Even after he'd given the little fellow some canned tuna, the kitten had remained wrapped around his ankle, purring, ignoring the food. It was the first time in years that he had been the recipient of unconditional love, and it touched his heart deeply. There were no more thoughts of the animal shelter after that.
Today, Buford was a twelve-pound bundle of silky gray fur and a heart full of love. He and Kou were best of friends.
Mumbling nonsense words, Kou cuddled Buford, soothed by his purrs. He was startled when the peace was shattered by the ringing of the phone.
"Down, buddy. Down." He eased Buford off his lap, and padded over to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Kou?"
He sighed inwardly as he recognized the voice of his ex-girlfriend, Dianne. "Yes, Dianne."
"How are you?"
"Fine." Other than the fact that I'm talking to you, he thought.
He'd thought things were going fine with him and Dianne. They'd been dating for almost a year, when he'd come home early from the Bar a few months ago, and caught her with her *supposedly* gay friend, Eric. He hadn't said anything to her. No need to. He packed his bags, and walked out. He'd slept at the Bar that night, then found this tiny apartment the very next day.
Other than the occasional bouts of loneliness, of wondering if there were something wrong with him, he'd been fairly content. There'd been a few women since then, but nothing serious. And he'd been happy that way.
Until a few days ago, oddly enough. He'd felt an odd yearning for an actual relationship, something based on more than sex. His musings were interrupted by her voice.
"That's good. Uh..."
"What do you want, Dianne?"
"Well...uh...want to go out sometime?"
A small sigh. "No." He hung up on her. The phone began ringing within the next few seconds.
With another sigh, he went to his bedroom to get dressed, to go into work early. Better than spending the day dodging her phone calls.
***
Emerging from his somewhat-dingy apartment building, Kou turned down the street he normally took to work, then stopped.
He was early, anyway. Why not take a walk by Keera's place? The extra few blocks wouldn't hurt him, and he was wondering how she was doing.
His feet were taking him there even as he rationalised his decision to himself; then, standing in front of her building, he wondered which apartment was hers. He started to go up the steps, when he noticed the picture window of the apartment to his right...there were four cats dozing on the windowsill. Cute.
As he resumed walking, he noticed Keera come up behind the cats, and look out the window...she seemed surprised to see Kou on the steps, then smiled at him, and gestured to him to "wait a moment."
Sure enough, moments later, the front door opened, and he entered the building.
"Nice place," he said, looking around at the cozy apartment. He'd miscounted -- there were six cats.
"Thanks...what are you doing here?"
"Oh," he said, kicking off his shoes. "I was going in to work early, and decided to stop by and see how you were doing, after getting beat up by some idiot bouncer last night."
"Not bad," she said, tilting her face to him. "Little bit sore, but nothing I can't live with."
His heart sank as he noticed the bruises, however. Dark purple and swollen, she looked terrible. "Oh, damn...Keera, I'm so sorry..."
"It was an accident, Kou. I know." She gestured towards a comfortable looking couch. "Want something to drink?"
"Ummm...sure...water, if you've got it?"
"I've got it." She headed for the kitchen.
He noticed her computer was on, with text on the screen, and realized that perhaps she'd been working. "Uh...Keera?"
"Yeah?"
"Am I interrupting anything?"
"Not really, no." She returned, with two glasses and a jug of spring water. "My hero and heroine just had a fight, and I'm trying to think up an original, and funny, way for them to get back together."
He took a long drink of the cold water, then asked, "But aren't those kind of books formulaic? I mean, aren't they basically all the same?"
"No. Don't be condescending, either. It's a pretty good way to make a living."
"Oh, I know it."
"Do you?" She was watching him keenly.
"Next question."
She laughed. "What is your problem?"
"My past is no one's business. That's it. No problem." He took another drink of water, aware that she was watching him closely.
"No problem, then. I love a good mystery."
He sighed. "I mean it."
She stared at him a moment longer, then shrugged. "Fine. So...you like sports?"
***
Damn, he thought, heading out the door. He'd only meant to visit, to see how she was doing, and ended up spending the entire afternoon there, as well as staying for supper. Now, he was going to be late for his shift -- he'd called ahead, and Volt had taken the call. Unsympathetic as usual, Volt snapped at him to hurry his ass up.
He liked his fellow bouncers. He was no idiot -- he knew Volt considered him a flighty, airheaded moron. That was fine. He liked it that way. He also knew that Volt was a decent, honourable guy, who would be there for him if he ever needed it. After his breakup with Dianne, Volt had taken him out drinking on his night off, and had introduced him to a couple of girls he knew. Sion, he knew, saw a little deeper than Volt did, but he also sensed that Sion lived with pain of his own, so he was gentler with the youngster. He was no stranger to living with pain.
"What the hell took you so long?" A small grin on his face, Volt stood by the door.
"Slept in."
"Caller id on the phone showed the name Keera Scott."
For some reason, Kou flushed. "I stopped to see how she was doing. That's what took me so long...I forgot it was a few blocks out of my way."
"How is she doing?"
Kou averted his eyes, still feeling guilty. "Fine. Bruised up, but fine." Volt said nothing, but Kou could feel those fake-red eyes boring into his back, as he trotted up the stairs to get ready for his shift.
*****
To Be Continued!