Polio fiction
So, this is a bit of a first draft from a new LGBTQ contemporary novel which includes a lead character with polio - he's in his 30's. Should I keep writing?
In his wildest dreams, the college student would join the professor in the pool. He imagined them both swimming Olympian lengths, the professor with his powerful arms and slow, two-handed strokes, the student with his own ardent but clumsy efforts. He envisioned the professor's braces - the steel and leather contraption on his leg from childhood polio - and the Canadian crutches he sometimes used to move about, now abandoned at the edge of the pool.
The student could see the professor's crippled legs in the water - a sensation he could only dream of in his fantasies. He imagined the current of the water, the way it brushed against his skin and the professor's, like a secret embrace. He wished the professor would reach out to him, but the student held back, knowing his feelings were all one-sided.
Still, the student was transfixed by the professor's movements. The professor moved slowly through the water, his arms outstretched, as if conducting some kind of invisible orchestra. And the student, watching and yearning, felt a strange elation, as if by being in the professor's presence, he was also lifted up.
The student remained in the pool long after the professor had finished his laps and crawled his way back to his crutches. The student kept swimming, his mind lost in a kind of reverie. He imagined himself joining the professor on dry land, or maybe even in the air, the two of them soaring above the pool and the world like birds.
The student's reverie was broken when he realized the professor was standing at the edge of the pool, watching him. The professor didn't say anything, but the student could still feel his presence. He felt like he was standing on the edge of something he could only dream of - coming out to the professor and feeling his crippled legs in the water.
Dan, the student, followed Prof. Davis into the locker room, Their lockers were next to each other. Dan was entranced by the flaccid limbs of the professor with the powerful upper body. He watched as Prof. Davis dried his crippled limbs. They chatted about college sports. Davis seemed interested in keeping up the conversation. Dan saw his opening when the prof said, "Of course, I never played sports because of these," grabbing each paralyzed limb in turn and dropping it as it flopped.
Dan saw his opportunity.
"Don't want to be nosy, but what happened to your legs?", asked Dan.
Davis raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback.
"I'm sorry," Dan said quickly. "It's just...I've always been fascinated by them. It looks like polio, but you're too young for polio."
Davis looked at Dan for a long moment, his expression unreadable. The older man swallowed and said, "Very perceptive. You're partially right. I should be too old for polio. But my parents were living in Peru when I was born and I got a damaged polio vaccine, thus this," pointing at his legs.
"I'm sorry," stammered Dan, "it's none of my business. It's just I've always been curious."
After a long pause, Davis chuckled , "Do you want to touch them?"
Dan reddened, but before he could speak, Davis held up his hand..."Not fair..I'm sorry, that was uncalled for! Sometimes I have a weird sense of humor," he chuckled as he returned to drying his thin legs.
Dan's heart leapt into his throat. He had dreamed of this moment, but never thought it could actually happen. "Yes," he wanted to answer. Yet, not knowing how to respond now, he simply smiled awkwardly.
As the two men returned to dressing, Davis quietly said, "but seriously, if you're really interested, I'm happy to share...just not here," he said with a wink.
Davis nodded and lifted one of his legs, teasingly showing it to Dan.
"Yeah, that would be cool, if you're serious."
Chapter 2
So a few weeks later, Dan showed up at Davis' condo as agreed, rang the doorbell and entered the prof's home. After showing Dan a seat in the living room and returning with a couple of beers, unlocking the brace on his almost completely paralyzed left leg, Chase sat down next to Dan. As they had quickly dressed weeks ago at the pool, Dan had watched as the older man took a heavy, old fashioned steel and leather brace out of the locker and deftly strapped it to his shortened left leg.The right leg was just strong enough that with the combination of his braced left leg and the crutches, it could hold his weight. As they left the pool, Dan followed the crippled man and marveled at how his movements were almost athletic - balletic even.
Dan couldn't believe he had somehow followed his dream to his home! Chase was wearing shorts and a tank top, showing off both his powerful arms, shoulders and chest, as well as his crippled legs.
"You know what I bet you'd like?" asked the prof. "How 'bout if you help me with this," as he touched his brace.
Davis took the young man's hand and moved it to the drop lock.
"Pull this," he directed as the knee lock unlocked and the brace freed.
The two men sat down.
"Here...undo the buckles."
First the knee and then the thigh.
Dan's hand trembled as he touched the professor’s paralyzed limb, feeling the warmth of Davis' skin beneath his fingers. "Grab my leg and lift it out of the brace," Davis instructed.
Gently, Dan wrapped both hands around the professor's thigh, feeling the flaccid muscle beneath his fingertips. He began to massage slowly and carefully, noticing how soft Davis' limbs were under his touch.
"What do you think?" Davis asked, a knowing twinkle in his eye. His chest was broad and smooth and his arms were thick with strength. His shorts rode up slightly on one side, hinting at two different legs below - one completely paralyzed and the other thin and weak but with some muscle.
"It's sort of what I imagined," Dan breathed, transfixed by this image that seemed almost too perfect to be real.
Davis smiled knowingly. "I've seen you looking at them," he said in a soft voice. "I happen to like being appreciated."
Trembling, Dan reached out and touched the limp flesh. It was warm and soft and somehow electric, sending shivers down Dan's spine. He touched it gingerly, barely touching the crippled leg. And then backed quickly away.
"It won't bite," chuckled the prof taking the student's hand and returning it to his small left leg. Davis held Dan's hand on his flaccid thigh. Dan gently squeezed as he felt the soft flesh,the thigh bone barely beneath the skin. It was as Dan expected...soft, tender, smooth, so very thin, without muscle, but a rigid bone under he soft skin.
"You like that?" asked Davis, his voice low and husky.
Dan looked up at Davis and found something in his eyes that he had never seen before - a kind of raw hunger mixed with tenderness, and something else that he couldn't quite identify.
"It's amazing," he said softly. "I've never felt anything like it before."
Davis smiled at him, a small, knowing smile. He took Dan's hand again and guided it up his thigh, all the way to his hip. The student felt his body shiver with excitement as he felt the bulge of Davis' cock beneath his shorts. He looked up at Davis, who was now staring at him intently.
