Space, Man

Chapter 1-2

“I will not pick up another one. I will not.” Alex meant to say the words silently, but somehow they slithered out.

A woman turned her head, her gaze narrowing, a step she took to one side suggesting she felt a sudden and urgent need to put distance between them. The fierce wind should have whipped his words away, but naturally, fate decreed someone would overhear him. Alex caught her gaze, giving her a small smile that he could only hope she would take as benign. Possibly, she took his grin to be manic, for her forehead wrinkled and she squinted at him before giving him a hesitant smile and walking on—though whether from sympathy or to appease the crazy person, he couldn’t tell. Alex drew in a deep breath, hoping it would calm him. He also closed his eyes for a brief respite. When he opened them again, the vision in white remained.

Alex wasn’t the only one staring. Even in London, the young man would have engendered many a “look.” Well, maybe not in every part of London, but certainly in the areas where Alex spent his time. Here, in the little seaside resort of Padstow, on the northern coast of Cornwall, this oddball seemed like an alien, and by that, Alex didn’t mean foreign national. Ever since the break-up of his last relationship, Alex had hesitated to spend much time at his parents’ place during the summer, because he feared bumping into Bray, who would be surfing just a short distance away along the coast at Newquay, but here Alex was facing an entirely different regret. He should have stayed indoors. He probably should never have got out of bed this morning.

His parents spent the bitter months abroad so their cottage was empty, he needed a quiet place to work, and in February, most Londoners steered clear of the coast. With many shops closed owing to the lack of tourist trade, the one thing Padstow offered was peace and quiet. Alex found Cornwall a lovely place to be no matter the season—majestic in bleak weather, landscape grey and misty in a romantic way. However, today the wind bit with savage, unrelenting teeth. Now was a time to huddle behind closed doors and the cosier romance of roaring fires. What possessed Alex to come out on a day like this was the search for coffee. Somehow, he’d run out of the holy substance. In anticipation of a short drive inland and then holing up in the comparative warmth of his parents’ stone cottage, Alex had been trudging his way back to the car when a vision waylaid him.

Alex sighed. Another beach bum. Just great. With that shaggy hair bleached white and falling in a thick, tumbling wave over his face, the man could only be a drifter. No chance he was local. Alex would have said he was a surfer but this was the wrong time of year and the suit, though of a similar design, wasn’t neoprene, and definitely was the wrong colour. The white hair was one thing to arrest the attention, but the tight white outfit was quite another. It…clung. No wonder the stranger attracted odd glances.

The young man turned his head left and right, the wind whipping his hair across his face, leaving only the small, somewhat pointed jut of his chin on view. A couple of local folks giggled as they passed, and Alex could hardly blame them. Fortunately, few people were about. The small square harbour contained a number of boats bobbing on the dreary seawater, but even they looked lonely and abandoned.

The town itself, with its many winding roads, towered in ever-increasing tiers at his back. These buildings sheltered life—those sensible enough to stay indoors on a day such as this. Still, over the last few minutes, the newcomer had attracted enough stares and pointing fingers that Alex thought someone might call the police. Shaking his head, annoyed for getting involved, he sauntered over.

“Excuse me, are you lost?”

The young man kept his head lowered and mumbled something that the wind transported to Oz. His accent sounded foreign, as did his language. For all Alex knew, the man had asked to speak to the wizard. Alex stifled a curse.

“Do you need help?” he asked more slowly, hoping his tone would convey the meaning. Even through that mass of hair, the man’s face tightened in a frown. Alex caught a bright flash of colour through the dishevelled locks, which made him duplicate the stranger’s puzzled expression. The man’s eyes glinted with an odd tint.

A rumble of thunder shattered the awkward moment. The young man jerked, flinched back, one foot meeting empty air, so that he wobbled, in danger of falling off the edge of the quayside. Alex grabbed him before he took a tumble into the freezing water.

To Alex’s alarm, the movement brought them close together—much nearer than he had intended. For several seconds, a warm intimacy existed between them.

Alex coughed and leaned away, although he held on.

“Be careful.” Despite his innocent intentions and the resulting Good Samaritan act, Alex glanced around, checking to see if anyone had stopped to watch. His muscles had tensed; his heartbeat sped. He wanted to let go, back up, but couldn’t, and not entirely for the right reasons. The man had almost fallen into the water, but Alex was painfully aware he held onto a stranger clad in a very peculiar garment that not only revealed muscle definition to the eye but also to his touch. Hard and sculptured lines drew Alex’s hands to wandering as if drawn by a magnet, the pull so strong, resistance made him tremble. He managed…barely, and speaking of bare, even the briefest touch over that compact and well cut torso made Alex swell with more than anticipation. The man might as well be nude.

Alex swallowed, and turned his head to greet a stiff breeze with gratitude. Although the chill did little to cool his ardour, at least the wind whipped sense into him. The way he was close to the stranger, touching him…Alex struggled with notions he shouldn’t be entertaining so his thoughts hardly had far to leap to consider that someone might mistake his intention as improper. Fortunately, a glance around revealed any curious bystanders had left them to weather the approaching storm alone. Lightning lit up the sky, and the young man cringed. Tension thrummed through Alex’s body as if the storm electrified the very air and both men with it.

The heavens darkened just then, and the man looked up. His hair fell back a little, swept by the wind, and Alex saw his face clearly for the first time. Definitely not English, but Alex couldn’t place his nationality. Maybe he was of mixed parentage. Clouds sweeping across the sky caused shadows to chase and play over the earth. The effect made the stranger’s eyes appear grey, but Alex was certain a different colour had alarmed him a moment ago.

Alex pointed towards the car park; in reply, he received a frown and a hesitant nod. At least the newcomer fell into step without Alex having to lead him, but he gazed at Alex’s car—which was one of only three vehicles looking forlorn in an otherwise empty car park—with a frown. Quite possibly the man was having second thoughts about going off with a stranger. Alex at first took this for natural uncertainty, but the odd tilt of his head and close inspection he seemed to give the vehicles…Well, Alex didn’t know what to think. He almost expected the stranger to jump when the car gave a soft beep-beep as the central locking system released. Without waiting, Alex got in, and then blinked in surprise when the foreigner remained outside in the now falling rain. Only when Alex leaned over and opened the door did the young man get in. Still, every movement proved awkward, as though he didn’t quite understand what the car was or why he was getting into it.

He’s just nervous. You’re an unknown man picking him up off the street. How do you expect him to behave?

The clunk of the car door closing sounded just in time as the heavens truly opened and the downpour arrived. Alex wanted to be home and dry, but first he had to drop off his passenger. He turned on the heater, clearing the windscreen. “Where to?” he asked, suppressing a shiver.

Head on one side, looking out of the window, the interloper appeared to be more interested in the rain than the question. Alex needed to ask again before he gained the man’s undivided attention. He turned a resulting gasp into a cough to hide his surprise when a direct gaze revealed the newcomer’s eyes to be decidedly violet. At first, Alex thought this a simple trick of the light, but then changed his mind. Contact lenses. He was surely wearing coloured contact lenses.

When the stranger did nothing but stare, Alex sat, tapping the wheel. Several moments passed in which an internal monologue berated him as a fool. He just wanted the day to begin again. He would make do without coffee, stay indoors, and then this foreigner wouldn’t be his problem because their paths would never have crossed. Alex didn’t need this complication, couldn’t even explain his reaction when they couldn’t communicate. Here he was, wondering what kind of freak he had picked up, and he was the one acting the nutcase, angry at the new arrival because…

Because Alex was lonely and horny and trying to deny those very human feelings. He inhaled sharply and held his breath. This was not the time to reflect on the inadequacies of his life.

Alex slammed his hands against the wheel, making the other man jump. Wide, frightened eyes met his gaze. i***t. As much as the situation worried him, it could well worry this man more. “It’s fine. You’re quite safe.”

Maybe the words meant nothing, but despite the ever-present frown, the now direct gaze and hesitant slight up curve of lips that Alex received was better than the alarmed stare of a moment earlier. Going on the assumption the stranger was foreign, Alex resisted the temptation to shout. He hated people who thought saying a word louder was the equivalent of a translation. He pointed down the road, but decided to keep sign language to a minimum. He tapped the steering wheel and pointed again.

“Where to?” He indicated one of the buildings. “Where are you staying? Do you live locally?” Alex doubted it, but the question was worth asking. “Are you with friends? Family? Holiday? Working around here? Gorgeous? Fit? Healthy? Horny?” Alex muttered under his breath, making the singular words into more questions, not expecting an answer.

The white-haired outsider appeared to follow his every word by staring at Alex’s mouth—a small detail that made Alex’s heart trip in his chest as he gazed at the growing smile and twinkle in those pretty eyes. If he wasn’t foreign, the man could be dim-witted—a possibility Alex really didn’t want to entertain.

The other man shivered, likely in reaction to the heater blowing out hot air and warming him than from anything Alex said. The movement made the curling ends of his hair quiver. Trembling droplets of rain gave way and dripped. Alex followed the beads of water as they fell down slender lines to the man’s thighs. For an instant, Alex just looked.

This guy was even leaner than Bray. The white garment made him resemble a sculpture—Michelangelo’s David in Carrara marble. The contacts were ridiculous, but Alex couldn’t deny he loved the effect. The man’s cheekbones were high and perfect, his face symmetrically shaped beyond what nature should allow. His lips were ripe for kissing, his white hair longer than depicted on the famous statue, wild and untamed. Alex’s throat became dry. He needed a drink, but the idea made him think of squeezing out the strands of this unknown man’s hair and letting the cold droplets drizzle into his mouth, to trickle down his throat.

Alex had no problems breathing now. More likely, he would hyperventilate. He fought to keep his breaths steady and quiet lest he cause further alarm. If not for his coat, the stranger would be able to see the hard rise and fall of his chest.

When he began to look up the length of the other man’s leg to more forbidden places, Alex shook out of his stupor and tore his gaze away. Staring pointedly through the windscreen, he said, “If you can’t tell me where you want to go, I’m going to take you home with me. Maybe later you’ll be more talkative.”

What choice did he have? Providing shelter was the humanitarian thing to do. They couldn’t sit here all day. He couldn’t—Alex glanced over and decided to call the other man David until he pried a name out of the guy—leave David out here alone. Padstow had never harboured any murderers that Alex knew of, but a chill caught in a storm could be just as deadly. He wasn’t picking up another love interest. His intentions were good, innocent; saintly almost, considering the humanitarian thing. Besides, his parents had brought him up to help others. He could let David stay for a few hours, or better still, overnight, and then sort out other arrangements in the morning.

“Hungry?” This question initially elicited no more response than the others had, but when Alex continued to stare, he finally received a broader smile, which he returned. He was doing the right thing. Taking the…Bohemian home was all about being a Samaritan, nothing else. “My place, then?”

Either silence indicated the continued failure to communicate, or they apparently agreed.