Anton was nearly shaking with excitement by the time he reached Evan's room. He gripped the magazine page in his left hand so tightly that his sweat dampened the page. Anton couldn't wait to show Evan the ad he had just seen. He knocked on the door to Evan's room, shifting his lanky frame from one foot to the other.
Presently, the door swung open. Even though they had been a couple for over a month, Anton's heart still sped up a notch every time he saw Evan. Anton's eyes scanned Evan's boyishly handsome face, his well-built chest and arms, and finally the thin, lifeless legs that lay motionless in the confines of Evan's wheelchair. As much as Anton hated to admit it, it was Evan's legs that he was most attracted to. It gave him a thrill just to touch them.
Evan backed up his wheelchair. "What's up, Anton?" he asked with a grin.
"I have some great news," Anton said. "But first…" Anton closed the door behind him. He bent down so that his head was level with Evan's, and then kissed him full on the mouth. Anton felt Evan's gray sweatpants brushing against his own leg and he started to get hard. Anton had never dated anyone who turned him on as much as Evan did.
Evan was also erect by the time their lips separated. Before Anton, Evan had believed that his sex life was over, but Anton had shown him that wasn't true. Evan had erections all the time now, and he almost always came when Anton sucked him off. "Is that what you came for?" Evan asked with a grin.
"Not quite," Anton replied. He handed Evan the page from the magazine, and rested his hand on his knee as he read.
Evan's smile faded as he read the ad. "Oh, is that it?"
"Is that it?" Anton repeated. "Are you kidding? It says if you're a paraplegic, this guy can get you walking in under a month. Isn't that great news?"
"Sure," Evan agreed. "If it'll work. I mean, I've learned not to get my hopes up about this kind of thing."
Evan was paralyzed from the mid-chest down in a car accident back before high school. Now he was a college student and living with his injury for nearly six years. He confided to Anton that when he was first paralyzed, he always held the hope that there would be a miracle cure. But now he had resigned himself to never walking again. He knew that even if there were some operation that might somehow reattach his spinal cord, his legs had grown far too brittle to support him.
Anton thought Evan was wrong to give up hope. Before Anton, Evan had lost hope of having sex again, and he had been dead wrong about that. Anton preferred Evan in a wheelchair, and wasn't sure if he'd find him as attractive if he could walk. But Anton was in love with Evan, and if Evan wanted to walk, Anton would do anything he could to help.
"I have a feeling about this," Anton said. "I mean, the guy gives a money-back guarantee. And there's no surgery involved."
"You think it's some kind of weird voodoo medicine?" Evan asked. "Or maybe a spiritual healer?"
Anton shrugged. "Hey, don't knock that stuff. I had a great-aunt who said she was cured of blindness by a spiritual healer."
"You believe that?"
"Not really," Anton admitted. "But what have you got to lose?"
Evan rubbed his legs self-consciously. "Yeah, I…I guess so."
Anton slid his hand up Evan's leg to his crotch. He felt the tubing of Evan's catheter through his pants. The first time Anton had seen the catheter, he had been shaken, but now he was used to it and even found that it turned him on sometimes. Anton tugged down Evan's pants so that his mushroom-shaped head sprung out from his underwear. With practiced gentleness, Anton removed the catheter so that he could give Evan head from his wheelchair. The first time Anton had done it, Evan had been afraid that he would piss all over, but Anton had reassured him and it had never happened. Anton lowered his head and greedily sucked on Evan's penis, knowing it could be one of the last times he could give head to Evan while he was in a wheelchair.
Evan sat in his chair, studying the man who was supposed to teach him how to walk again. The man's name was Richard Weiss-he was a slim, attractive man in his forties. He was speaking to his secretary in an animated voice as he held up a finger to Evan, indicating that he should wait. Evan clutched Anton's hand and tried not to show how nervous he really was. Anton seemed just as nervous as Evan was, which was evidenced by the way he kept tapping his feet.
Finally, Richard Weiss looked up, "Evan Chambers?"
Evan nodded, a little too eagerly.
"Call me Richard," he said, holding out his hand to Evan.
Evan nodded, his mouth too dry to speak.
"I'm Anton," Anton spoke up. He raised an eyebrow at Richard.
"Hello, Anton," Richard said. "I can allow you into the therapy room, but you'll have to keep your distance. I can't have the patients being distracted."
"No problem," Anton agreed.
Richard seized the handles of Evan's chair and pushed him in to the therapy room. This was a small gym with parallel bars, high bars, long tables, and weights. Anton took a seat in a chair against the wall, and Richard led Evan to one of the long tables. With strength that was surprising for a man of his size, Richard scooped Evan into his arms and lifted him onto the table so that he was lying flat on his back. Richard straightened out Evan's lower limbs on the table.
"Where is your injury?" Richard asked.
"T6," Evan answered. He held a hand to his mid-chest to show where the feeling stopped. Evan's injury was high enough that he could not have sat up from the table on his own.
"That's pretty high," Richard replied. "But don't worry. I once got a T2 walking again, so I can certainly get you walking. Tell me, Evan: how do you feel about braces?"
"Braces?" Evan asked. He had seen people with lower injuries walking away with braces, but he had always thought that wasn't a possibility for himself. "The doctors said I can't use braces."
"You believe everything the doctors say?" Richard asked with a grin.
Evan smiled back. "Okay, let's give it a try."
Richard brought out some intimidating-looking metal braces. Evan had to suppress a gasp when he saw all the metal that was going to be attached to his body. Richard took off Evan's shoes and slipped on the orthopedic shoes attached to the leg braces. Evan watched as Richard secured the metal braces so that they held his legs tightly in place. Even if Evan had not been paralyzed, he wouldn't have been able to move his legs. Then Richard brought out a metal back brace, which he strapped on to Evan's lower back. When it was on securely, it nearly went up to Evan's armpits.
"Not quite flesh and bone anymore," Richard said with a wink.
Evan laughed a little nervously. In truth, he didn't know how all this metal was going to help him walk.
"Okay, so sit up," Richard instructed.
Evan lifted his head off the table. He tried to tighten his stomach muscles, like in the old days before he was paralyzed, but they didn't respond. He couldn't sit up. "I can't," Evan replied.
"Well, you're going to have to use your arms," Richard told him. "What's all that muscle for, anyway?"
Richard provided some support with his own arms as Evan struggled to push the weight of his upper body into the air. After a great deal of straining, Evan was in an upright position without any support from Richard. The brace held his flaccid stomach muscles steady. It was the first time Evan had sat up without being strapped in to a chair in six years, and his face broke into a grin. "This is great," Evan said.
"Okay, now get off the table and walk," Richard instructed.
Evan stared at him. The floor was a good three feet away and his legs were not going to obey his command, even with all this supportive metal. "I…I can't…"
"Listen," Richard said, "the braces are locked. That means that your legs are like metal rods. They will support you. But you have to get them on the floor with your hands. And you'll need these." Richard pulled out a pair of metal forearm crutches. "Here, I'll help you."
Evan took one leg and pushed it off the table so that it stuck straight into the air, supported by the braces. The back brace prevented him from being able to bend over, but he managed to get both legs off the table. Richard supported him as he pushed his weight off the table, onto the ground. Immediately, Evan felt his weight collapsing beneath him. "I can't stand up!" he cried.
"You have to lock the braces," Richard said. He locked the back brace into the leg braces, so that Evan's body became completely rigid, supported by the metal frame that encased him. "See? You're standing."
Evan took a deep breath. He was, indeed, standing up for the first time in six years. He saw the room from a new perspective, he saw Anton grinning at him from across the room, and he saw the tears forming in his eyes. "Okay, so how do I walk?"
"Now you're talking," Richard said. He handed Evan the forearm crutches and helped him slide them on. Evan supported his weight on the crutches. "The idea is that these crutches are your new legs. Use them like you would your old legs."
Evan moved one of the crutches forward on the floor one foot, then moved the other. He looked up at Richard for confirmation and Richard nodded. Evan's body tilted forward slightly. He went another foot with one crutch. He moved the other crutch to follow the first, but this time his body followed. His lifeless torso and legs were dragged along by the motion of the crutches. Evan took a few more steps, marveling at how his body followed along behind him. "I'm walking," he said, blinking away tears. "I'm really walking."
The braces provided some support, but Evan knew that most of his weight was being supported by his arms. He quickly grew tired. "I think I need my chair," Evan said.
Richard obliged. He brought out the wheelchair and helped Evan unlock the braces and sit down again. Evan's arms ached terribly, but he immediately missed the sensation of standing up. He wished he were back on his feet again, instead of in this chair.
"I think you should hang on to the braces," Richard said. "You can wear them sometimes during the day to get used to them. But be very careful of sores, and if you practice, make sure someone is around to help you."
Evan nodded, "Okay."
Richard turned to Anton. "His arms are going to be pretty sore for a while. He may need some help. Will you be accompanying him home?"
"I sure am," Anton replied. "Do you need help, Evan?"
"I wouldn't mind if you pushed me a while," Evan said. He knew that Anton liked pushing his wheelchair, but usually wouldn't let him. "Let's go home. I'm exhausted."
Anton and Evan couldn't stop talking about the braces on the way home. Anton was happy that Evan had finally walked again after so many years, but he was also excited by the prospect of Evan's braces. In the cab ride back, Anton kept glancing down at Evan's metal-bound legs and felt that familiar thickening in his underwear. Somehow the braces were even more of a turn-on than the wheelchair.
When they got back to Evan's room, Evan's arms were feeling better and he wheeled himself to his bedroom. "Want to try out the braces again?" Evan asked. "I can support myself on the bed, but I need your help to stand up."
Anton nodded. He placed his hands on Evan's torso and held on, as Evan pulled himself up while grabbing on the bed. Anton bent down to lock the braces on his legs, then the one on his back. When Anton rose to his feet, he saw that Evan's arms were trembling with the effort of keeping himself upright. Evan was facing the bed, and Anton rubbed his erection against the back of Evan's trembling thighs. "You're so fucking hot, Evan," Anton whispered in his ear.
Evan grinned as Anton's warm breath tingled against his neck. "If I'm so hot, how come you're not fucking me?"
A slow smile spread across Anton's face. He caressed the front of Evan's chest with his hands until Evan groaned with pleasure. Anton unzipped himself and gently rubbed the head of his penis against the metal of Evan's braces. He pulled down Evan's sweatpants and grabbed pieces of metal as he pushed himself inside Evan. Evan bit his lip as looked down and saw the pre-cum that was dripping from his rock hard penis. Anton held tightly to Evan's rigid body as the two of them dissolved into simultaneous orgasm.