Monoped Muse Ch. 01

[i]Every longer story needs an ouverture, and “Black Ice” forms the upbeat for this one. Please read it as such; I’ve only allowed scoring after chapter 3, feeling you should read the whole thing before giving any scores.

I’m much indebted to Damppanties and Alex- The_bragis for commenting on earlier drafts of this story. Hope you enjoy!

PaulX35[/i]

[b]I. Black Ice[/b]

- “Fucking hell,” she said to herself.

The view out the window wasn’t promising. From a slate grey sky the fine rain drizzled down on the campus, freezing instantly as it hit the ground. Pretty as the coating of crystalline shimmering black ice looked, it wasn’t making life easy for those attempting to walk out there. Ellen Sanders hated ice rain.

She turned to place her crutches against the wall and slid her bag off her back. She opened the small red and blue zipper that gave access to the side-pocket where she kept her cell phone.

Ellen leaned against the wall and looked up a number - her friend’s.

The phone rang.

It took ten seconds for the voice mail to respond. Not what she wanted to hear.

‘Shit, it’s Thursday. She’s working,’ she thought.

Ellen sighed, then reached into the front pocket of her jeans, looking at what came out.

- “Oh great.”

Four lousy dollars and some small change. So much for a taxi.

This was not her day.

Not sure of what to do now, she packed her things again and walked back into the campus library. Coffee would not solve any of her problems, but she needed one anyway.

A small group of fellow students were standing in the entrance hall. Jason Lewis was one of them. He was the tallest of the group, and the only one looking to see Ellen turn right and approach the coffee machine. His eyes followed the motion of the woman on crutches. He found her beautiful to watch.

Underneath a bright red ski coat the cut off left leg of her jeans was carefully tailored around a stump that ended about ten inches below the hip. With every step she took, the legless side of her body titled with an elegance.

It was not the first time Jason had observed this woman with only one leg. Actually, he would watch her every time he had the chance.

Jason had also seen today’s weather conditions. They were not what a fellow leg amputee student would wish for. He made a decision.

- “I’ll be right back,” Jason rather suddenly said to his friends.

- “I err...forgot something.”

They looked at him with some surprise, but didn’t pay much further attention. Jason walked off into the corridor.

A little further up, he saw her standing by the machine. His heart raced as he walked closer. She glanced up at him, seeing him reach for a quarter.

Jason smiled as he went to stand beside her.

- “Quite a day eh?,” he said, pointing out the window. It felt like a clumsy try to start some sort of conversation.

Ellen took her coffee out, then turned back to look at him. She gave him a vague smile as she observed him. About six foot three, jet black hair and drop looking steel blue eyes. And he knew how to use them. His look was piercing, in a pleasant way.

- “Yeah, don’t tell me. I’ve been trying to find a way to get home. No walking outside for me, not unless I’d want to break my neck,” she said.

Jason looked at her, nodding with sympathy. His eyes simply had to wander down. Only shortly, though. He didn’t want to raise suspicion. - “I saw you standing at the entrance earlier, heard you swear too,” Jason told her. “Looks to me you could maybe use some help? I mean, this doesn’t look like your type of weather.”

Ellen smiled. “You’re observant. I was trying to phone a friend, but she was not at home. And then I found out I’m pretty much out of cash.”

- “And you haven’t got a car?,” he asked.

- “Oh I have one, but I elected today to have it serviced.”

She grinned sheepishly.

- “Don’t tell me. Lousy planning, I knew the weather might turn bad,” she added.

Jason chuckled. “Not perfect, no. Far from, even.”

Ellen nodded, looking a bit sad. Then she realized he’d want coffee too, so she moved aside, giving him an apologizing look.

- “Sorry, go ahead.”

Jason smiled and gave her a “Thanks”. He inserted the quarter and pushed ‘Cappuccino’. The machine produced a gargling sound when it put the foam topping on the coffee. He pulled the cup out and took a sip.

- “Is that as lousy as my regular coffee?” she inquired.

Jason grinned.

- “Close call, but I’d guess this stuff can make a real Italian faint.”

Ellen laughed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

He gave her a closer look. She didn’t seem shy to talk at all. Her face had an attractive sort of openness, without being classically beautiful. But she had lovely long brown hair, and twinkling almond eyes that were accentuated by a strong jaw line and sharp defined brown eyebrows. Her ski-coat hid much of her figure, but Jason could tell she had a good looking ass. Not very slim, but she seemed well proportioned.

- “So, if you could use a ride home? I’d be happy to drop you off.”

That sounded like manna from heaven. Ellen smiled, grateful.

- “Oh yes, that would be really great.”

Jason smiled back. “Sure, no problem, err...?”

- “Ellen,” she responded quickly, “Ellen Sanders, I’m a psychology major here.”

- “Jason Lewis. Math major.”

Ellen observed him a little more as he stood before her, relaxed and pleasantly curious. Tight jeans stressed an almost defiant stance, and with his sweater hugging nicely around his torso he looked pretty satisfactory from a female point of view. Not totally a hunk maybe, but his self-confidence gave him an appeal she liked. For a moment, she wondered what would have brought him to offer her a ride.

- “Math? Hmm, you don’t look very nerdy.” She said it with a teasing, inquisitive look. It couldn’t hurt to throw out a small bite.

- “You don’t look that shrinky yourself, Ellen.”

Together they chuckled. She loved his astuteness. A short spark dropped in their chuckles. They were both aware of it.

- “So, when are you classes finished then?,” she asked him.

He looked at her. “When are yours?”

- “I’m done actually,” Ellen replied. “But I could wait...”

- “No, no, we can go if you want. Was planning to skip stupid Vector Analysis anyway.”

- “Vector Analysis, hmm, now you’ve really impressed me.”

She looked up at him with a proper degree of mockery, watching him lift an eyebrow of interest. Another spark exchanged. Jason looked straight into her eyes, playing the game.

- “Are you that easily impressed, Ellen?”

- “It depends. Not as a habit, but I make exceptions.” She replied with a touch of mystery in her smile.

- “I like exceptions,” Jason replied. Ellen noted the subtle wink he added.

He was a good five inches taller. About what she considered ideal for a man. His eyes were scanning her, a pleasure she allowed him without comment. It was pretty hard not to notice her missing leg, so she assumed it wasn’t bothering his obvious flirting. That felt good. Ellen broke the silence by throwing the rest of her coffee into the trash can next to the coffee machine. He responded immediately. - “Listen, I have to go fetch my coat and some stuff, but I’ll be ready for you in a minute, ok?”

She nodded.

- “You want me to wait somewhere? I mean, I don’t know where you parked your car…”

- “I’ll drive it over to the back entrance, ok? It’ll be a few steps to the car from that exit.”

- “You’re a gentleman,” she said.

- “I used to be with the Boy Scouts,” he replied.

As Ellen watched him walk away, she realized she liked him. Jason fancied her too. And he also found this might be his lucky day.

His car was a bit of a wreck, actually. But at this moment it did every bit as fine as a brand new Corvette. He stopped it right before the back door entrance and gallantly swung the right door open. Ellen giggled for a moment as she saw him. Carefully, she started placing her crutches on the icy pavement.

- “Need a hand?,” Jason shouted from the car. “Hang on, let me give you a hand.”

It was still very slippery. She felt dependant on the help of others. That was why she hated this weather so much. It made her feel like a cripple.

- “Just keep a close eye if you will, please. I’ll try by myself then.”

Jason did, moving over to walk right behind her. As he did, he remembered how he would always call her his “one-legged beauty”, in an impersonal way. This flirty chat had however shown him that she was a witty, smart, attractive woman too. Not drop dead gorgeous in the way the guys discussed girls over a beer. But she sure as hell wasn’t unattractive at all.

Right now she was also trying her damn hardest not to slip and fall. ‘Not all grace and beauty. Fuck, this can’t be fun,’ he thought while watching her make it to the car.

Despite almost falling a few times, she made. He closed the door for her and jumped in at the driver’s side.

- “Phew, am I glad I’m in this car!,” she exclaimed, giving him a genuine look of gratitude. “I really appreciate this,” she added.

She zipped her ski-coat open, unconscious of the view it offered at her figure.

- “It’s nothing, really,” Jason replied, noting her coat slide open. He glanced at her jeans and a brown sweater curving over the swell of her breasts.

- “It is for me, Jason, thanks a bunch.”

He nodded. “Can imagine this must suck.”

- “Yeah, believe me it does.” replied she. “Much as I appreciate your help, of course, it really pisses me off to be so immobile. I hate it.”

- “You seemed experienced with it though, at least to me you are.”

He smiled at her, putting the car in “D”. It took off slowly and turned, the wheels spinning already.

- “It comes with practice,” she replied.

- “Can imagine yes. How long have you had the chance to practice then, if I may ask?”

His curiosity was obvious, but she kind of enjoyed it.

- “I was fifteen when I had the amputation,” she replied.

- “So, that makes how many years of practice?”

‘Ah, he’s finding out my age too,’ she thought, smiling.

- “That makes eight years of practice,” she smiled. “And how old are you?”

Jason laughed. “Twenty-four.”

As he drove off the university parking lot he looked at her.

- “So, where do I drop you off then, Ellen?”

- “I live at Chalmers, third block. I guess you know where that is?”

- “Yup, I do,” he replied, “used to live there actually.”

- “Really?”

The car wheels spun so easily that it was impossible to go faster than a few miles. Jason seemed in control though. She observed his firm hands at the steering wheel, his strong arms stretched. His leaned back driving also offered a view at his tight jeans, subtly bulging in the crotch.

- “Just moved last year. It was a cool block when I lived there,” Jason continued.

- “Yeah, it’s not bad,” she replied. “Though I just came to live there. I used to study at Ithaca, but I switched last August.”

- “I see,” said Jason. “That explains.”

She smiled curiously. “Explains what?”

- “Nothing important. It’s just that I don’t recall ever having seen you at the campus, until after summer. And you didn’t look like a first-year to me then.”

Ellen smiled again. “Then?”

Jason looked at her, his eyes moving to her lower body, intently.

- “Well, you hardly go unnoticed, do you?”

His directness made Ellen grin. ‘Was this just curiosity?’

- “It’s pretty hard to hide yes. That’s why I don’t,” she replied.

- “Yeah, I noticed that too,” he replied. “I like the way you don’t hide it. It shows courage, and it looks good.”

The tone of his voice remained almost challenging. This sure didn’t sound like average curiosity.

- “Well thank you, Jason. I’m flattered,” she smiled, noticing another subtle wink of his as he took the left into Chalmers.

Instead of the usual five, the drive took more than fifteen minutes. He eventually made it though, and parked the car right in front of the entrance.

- “I sure hope it’s not too slippery here,” Ellen said as she was about to get out.

Jason got out as well, just to see if she’d need any more help. But she was ok. The entrance to the flat had an awning, that sagged from the weight of frozen rain but had left the pavement free of ice. Ellen turned to face him, her hands leaning on her crutches.

- “Thanks again, Jason.”

- “Really, it was my pleasure, Ellen.”

He stood right in front of her, stance widened a little, hands in his pockets now. His jet black hair was wet from the rain. Steel blue eyes were watching her from underneath brushy eyebrows. They determined his facial expression in a way that was strong and interesting. She could sense his confidence about how he looked.

- “What you did was very sweet, Jason. I was thinking of a way to err... maybe return the favour?”

- “I could think of a few ways I would enjoy,” he replied instantly.

His eyes twinkled. She was almost sure he was planning to ask her out too, but was simply enjoying to see if she would make the first move herself. Aware of the game, she allowed him his bit of fun.

- “Ever went out with a girl with one leg before?”

Her voice now sounded provocative. Jason lifted an eyebrow as he chuckled. She could see him slowly shake his head.

- “Nope, but I could be persuaded to make an… exception.”

She laughed out loud.

- “I could live with an exception,” she replied coyly. “Any plans for tomorrow night?”

- “Not yet, no.”

- “Good, then I guess you just got yourself a date, Mister Lewis.”

- “I never thought it’d be so easy, Miss Sanders,” he replied, giving her yet another wink. “Nine-ish?”

She paused for a moment.

- “Can you make it seven thirty? I’ll make you dinner first then. If you like?”

- “Can I trust your cooking?,” he teased in reply. Ellen laughed again.

- “One way to find out, I guess.”

- “True,” he said, grinning. “Ok, seven thirty it’ll be then.”

- “It’s number 59, fifth floor,” she added.

- “I don’t think I’ll need to write that down.”

Their eyes met one more time as they both had a few thoughts. Then they said goodbye.

As Ellen stepped out the elevator, she saw his car disappear in the drizzly winter sunset.

###

[continued in Monoped Muse, Ch II: Lasagna Confessions]