Darius is hard to forget. Maybe it's his hulking frame, and the plethora of tattoos, but, his intimidating appearance is completely at odds with the careful disposition of the gentle giant. Over the past year Darius completely flipped his life upsid...
Trace started to rub his knee absently, while speaking slowly. "I know we don't know each other well, and I normally wait a while before telling people. But, I don't want to wait too long and you don't seem super weird."
"The weirdest thing about me is that I get nervous sometimes." I admitted quietly, worried about the sombre expression on Trace's face.
Trace turned towards me in his seat, giving me a meaningful look. "Oh, Darius, I don't care about that. You'll get used to me eventually, I don't mind waiting. It's just..." I waited for him to say whatever it was. Maybe it would be to tell me I didn't seem anything like how I looked or that he didn't see how we could date around my schedule or maybe my breath smelled.
"So, I have like half a leg." Trace leaned over in his seat, hurriedly pulling up his pant leg and extending his foot out so I could see the length of it.
Instead of a muscled calf I was expecting I saw a dark prosthetic below his knee. Even the prosthetic was black, fitting Trace's date outfit.
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"Woah," was all I could think to say. My eyes must have been popping out of my head because I said woah again. So, Trace didn't have a leg. It just felt so random and unexpected that I laughed. More so because I wasn't at all sure what kind of reaction was expected of me.
Trace pushed his pant leg down, hiding his prosthetic. It was able to stay hidden so naturally I couldn't believe I had never noticed anything amiss before. He glared at me. "You better not be one of those sick fucks who gets off on me missing a leg. Because if that's the case, this ends right here and right now."
"No," I said in a shocked voice, while waving my arms. "I am not like that."
His eyes narrowed. "And if you're disgusted this can end just as fast. I'm not pitiable or any of that. I'm just me. I just felt bad that I didn't take off my shoes at your place." He covered his face with his hands, "My Asian parents would disown me if they found out I didn't take off my shoes before going into someone else's home."
"I'm only surprised, that's all." I said, feeling like I was reacting terribly. "What's it made out of?"
Trace's usual smile was back. "Titanium. It's a 3D printed design. Prosthetics are still pretty expensive, and I need a new one every few years. The money I made through Playing A Role has me set for a bit but most of it will go towards my prosthetics for the future. I get higher quality prosthetics if I can afford it, they feel better." He exhaled deeply. "So that's my confession. Is there anything you wanted to say?" Trace said before taking a sip of water. He looked like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
This seemed like the wrong time to admit I had anxiety. "Thank you for feeling like you could tell me, Trace. That means a lot." I said instead, meaning it. "It doesn't change anything, you're still...You. And your leg looks super cool, very futuristic. I can't believe I didn't notice, I guess I just get so distracted by your face."
