My Home From Home (ManxMan)

Chapter 7

    Henry's spine tensed instinctually as he felt the indelible sensation of eyes on him; shifting his gaze to the side towards the direction he could feel the sensation coming form. He turned his head casually to the side only to catch the stranger staring at him; a very handsome stranger, Henry might add. He had these deep yet alluring brown eyes that felt like they were looking through Henry rather than at him, his hair a dark blond and neatly parted down the side. His face was handsome and manly, with a strong jawline and chiseled features; and his muscular body appearing clearly athletic though shrouded in his scarlet uniform with gilded buttons, some sort of insignia and badges that Henry didn't know much about, and a brown leather chest strap, brass buckled belt, and a dark brown brimmed hat tucked under his arm.

    Henry felt a panic arise within him though he didn't dare show it outwardly, watching as the handsome scarlet clad stranger walk up towards him. He stopped dead in his tracks staring at the man whose deep amber brown eyes appeared blankly transfixed onto Henry. It the man wasn't so devastatingly handsome, Henry would likely find it unnerving how blatantly he'd been stared at him; almost as though he knew Henry from somewhere though granted the context he eliminated that idea clear out of his mind; where could the man possibly know him from when he was new to the area.

"Erm.. Hello?" Said Henry, his eyes darting confusedly to the side as the devastatingly gorgeous blond man in uniform stood dumbfounded before him. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Uhhh...." Drawled the handsome blond man as he felt his mind go completely blank.

"Oh, erm. Français?" Henry furrowed his brows in confusion; he'd been under the impression that Alberta was predominantly English speaking, but if his research was correct, there were still pockets of Francophone communities in the province.

"No! No No, Anglais. I mean, um. English." Stammered the uniformed man awkwardly.

"Oh! I see, are you the railway porter?" Henry's eyes brightened, batting his eyelashes as he scanned the man up and down.

"A porter...?" The handsome red-clad man cocked an eyebrow at him, partially in amusement with a slight tinge of disbelief and just the faintest hint of offence.

"Thank God!" Henry smiled, breathing out a sigh of relief as he handed two cases off to the handsome blond. "These are jolly heavy and an utter nightmare to handle. I was beginning to think I'd no sooner die of exhaustion trying to manage them.  Anyway thank you...? Sorry you didn't mention your name?"

"T-thomas..." Thomas frowned at Henry confusedly; he didn't know why he'd introduced himself by his Christian name and not as Constable Wilson as he was meant to, but he clearly wasn't thinking. To be frank he wasn't entirely sure what was going on in that moment though he wasn't exactly questioning it. He was talking to the handsome dark haired boy, despite the fact that deep inside he knew well that  he was meant to be in search for the new town doctor.

"How d'you do, Thomas." Henry smiled up at Thomas politely, this look in his warm blue eyes melting an otherwise slightly offended Thomas' cold brown glare. "I must say you're rather smartly dressed for a railway station porter. The porters back home often looked rather unfortunate now that I think back on it, but I'm not sure it really matters how they're dressed so long as they do their jobs efficiently." Henry rambled on nervously, walking off towards the station exit as Thomas mindlessly followed him with a numb look of utter perplexity in his warm brown eyes. He hadn't a clue why he was talking so much, perhaps it was nerves from being around such a handsome stranger though he'd never had an issue being calm, cool, and collected with handsome strangers bene. Then again, there was something different about this stranger. "We really must be off now, I'm meant to meet someone who's taking me to Fir Creek though I haven't a clue where I'd find them. I don't suppose you've heard of it, Fir Creek? From what I've been told it seems rather a small hamlet of sorts so I shan't be terribly surprised if you hadn't done..."