Do not read further if you are not of legal age. All the usual disclaimers and copyright laws apply. This story is the second volume in the "Doing Hard Time" saga.
LOVE IS ALL THAT MATTERS ~ Chapter 17 ~
From the Narrative of Caleb Fisher:
"New boy for you, Caleb," came the prison guard's voice, interrupting my thoughts. I'd been wondering what Harry and my nephew were up to at this very moment. Had they found each other and worked things out the way Josh had hoped?
Now I looked towards the cell door to find Max with a new inmate by his side. The young man, who could not have been more than twenty-six or twenty-seven at the most, had dirty blond hair, mischievous blue eyes and bizarrely, considering the circumstances, a cheery grin on his boyishly good- looking features.
I stared in astonishment as Max opened the door and gave the newcomer a shove through it. "Get in, kid. Your new home beckons!" he said with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.
The boy stumbled over the threshold but didn't lose the grin on his face. He gave me a salute and gestured towards the empty bunk opposite me. "Howdy partner! I guess this bunk's mine then?"
I swear my jaw dropped open. Managing to get over the initial surprise, I rushed over to the bars before Max could lock up and leave.
"What the fuck's all this?" I hissed, keeping my voice low so that the new inmate couldn't hear.
Max shrugged. "Pretty boy checked into the place and I know how you like `em so I let you have first digs."
I groaned. "That other kid was a one-off thing. I don't want a cellmate, pretty or not."
Max raised a quizzical eyebrow at me. "I thought you were getting into the whole protector-daddy role."
"You thought wrong then," I growled. "Now get the kid out of here!"
He shook his head. "Sorry Caleb, no can do. The admission papers have already been processed, and the warden hates these sort of changes after that." He looked past me at my new cellmate, who was clearly there to stay no matter how much I complained about it. "Besides," added Max, "you shouldn't turn down a sweet deal like that." He licked his lips appreciatively before turning away and walking down the corridor.
I growled in frustration. Turning around I saw what Max had meant. Max had a penchant for outfitting the cuter young inmates in prison garb that was a couple sizes too small. The new boy's pert bubble butt was showcased in his tight trousers as he bent over to place his few belongings in the bunkside cabinet.
Sensing my gaze on his rear end my new cellmate turned around and gave me another of his cheeky grins. Then he flung himself backwards onto the bunk and crossed his arms behind his head. "Okay, so what do you want first?" he asked.
I blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, I've been in the system before, although this is my first time in max security. So I know how it works in here: fuck or be fucked." I could see some definition in his chest through the tight-fitting shirt, but with my more muscular bulk, his guess that I could beat him in a fight was probably quite valid.
"What the hell did you do to end up in prison before?" I asked grudgingly, because my curiosity had gotten the better of me.
He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, minor stuff: pick- pocketing and hustling, etcetera." In response to the look on my face he said defensively, "A guy's gotta survive on the streets, alright? Anyway, at first they kept giving me short stints in small prisons, till the judge finally got tired of me turning up in his dock and had me shipped me here."
Seemingly bored of the line of questioning, he said, "Enough about me; so do you want me to blow you, rim you, or do you want to skip the foreplay and get straight to the fucking?"
Jesus, this guy certainly didn't mince words. "I don't want to fuck you or do any of those other things," I stated. "I don't even know your name!"
He brushed the exclamation aside casually. "It's Julian. And you're Caleb. I heard. You aren't serious about the no-sex thing, right?"
"I was serious," I replied coldly.
Julian looked puzzled. "I don't get it." Then he seemed to come to a realization. "Oh, I understand. You don't like it for your bitches to be voluntary; you prefer taking `em rough and raw. That's it, right? Look, I'm willing to pretend to struggle when you take me but please, no damage to the face, okay?" He grinned. "The boys are quite fond of my face."
I stared. In all my years I've seen men begging and screaming as they're fucked. I've seen those who take it quietly, resigned to their fate. But I've never met anyone like Julian. Through gritted teeth I repeated, "I don't want to fuck you. If you want it `rough and raw', you can get it from Mitch. He'll fuck you rough and raw. And you'll only have yourself to blame if you can't sit down for days afterward. But I ain't doing it."
The look of astonishment on Julian's face was laughable. "You're weird," he mumbled. Then he shrugged and remarked cheerfully, "You'll change your mind. They always do. I won't be surprised to find you on me in the middle of the night. Now, you'll have to excuse me -" He pulled down his trousers and boxers in one quick swipe.
I jumped up. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I asked.
He grinned, "A boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do." As his hand moved towards his cock, I realized he was referring to jerking off. Grunting my disgust, I turned away from him - although not before I caught a glimpse of his slim, circumcised cock nestled in a golden pubic bush. Evidently, the boy was a natural blond.
Shortly the cell was filled with the sound of his low groans as he stroked his cock to a climax. I tried to block the sounds from my ears and concentrate on my thoughts, but it wasn't easy. The new boy was going to be a handful, I could see that. And why was my own cock so stiff?
From the Narrative of Joshua Spencer:
"Are you sure you don't want to enjoy your last few days of unemployment?" I joked. I added, "I mean, you could hang out on the beach instead of here at the cafe."
Harry smiled and replied, "Nah, I think I'll just stay here and spend some time with my boyfriend. I might not get to do this that much once I'm working."
I felt a twinge of worry. What if the congressman did manage to prevent Harry from getting the job?
"Besides," he continued, "There are always plenty of baked goodies to sample when Mom's around. He tried to dip his finger into the bowl of chocolate frosting Marcia was spooning over freshly-baked cupcakes. Without even looking, she rapped his knuckles with the wooden spoon. He yelped.
"It was just a little taste!" he grumbled, putting on a suitably heart-melting expression of woe.
"I know your `little' tastes, Harrison. There won't be enough frosting left to cover half these cupcakes," Marcia retorted sternly. Then she smiled. "I kept aside a small amount of frosting in the refrigerator for you."
Harry grinned, which is always a beautiful sight to behold. Maybe I'm just prejudiced because he's my boyfriend. But still, he was absolutely endearing in his boyish enthusiasm as he got his fingers all messy with the gooey chocolate. "You're the best, Mom," he mumbled as he licked his fingers.
Marcia shook her head. "I don't know how you remain so thin, in spite of all the sugary snacks that you crave."
"Youthful metabolism," declared Harry. He held out a chocolate-coated finger to me. "Want a taste?"
"Huh?" I'd been too busy just looking at him. There was no way anyone would ever want to hurt him. For the congressman to have actually beaten him . . . it was inhuman.
"I said, do you want some?" he repeated.
"Yeah, sure." I looked into his beautiful blue eyes as I licked his finger. He giggled.
"Okay, stop it now. You're both so cute together, it's disgusting," Reid interrupted. He looked pointedly at me. "I thought you had some errands to run?"
I knew what he was referring to. "Oh yeah, I'll get right on it."
"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Harry.
"No!" I blurted out, rather loudly. He looked hurt. I quickly calmed down. "No, it's just that I thought you could stay here and fill in for me? There are a lot of surfers who want to hit the waves in the morning and they come in here afterward." I looked pleadingly at him. "Please? For me?"
Harry's hurt expression melted into a smile. "Sure."
I let out a barely noticeable sigh of relief. I would have loved him to accompany me on any other day, but not this particular errand. Fortunately Reid was there to back me up. "Hey, Harrison, I could use your help over here!" he called.
"Okay!" he yelled back. He gave me a kiss before turning to Reid. I bid goodbye to Marcia as well before leaving the cafe.
It was a very short drive to the offices of Fernley &
Ashmore on Commerce Square. I'd contemplated every possible
course of action the previous night. I could have gone to
the congressman's office and begged him to leave Harry
alone. But I didn't believe he would listen to the pleas of
his gay son's boyfriend. And there was also the risk that I
might give in to my urges and punch him for what he'd done
to Harry. Landing myself in prison for assaulting a United
States congressman would not help Harry in the least.
So I would have to work from the other end. Mr. Fernley
sounded like a fair-minded man and an excellent judge of character. I might have more luck persuading him not to give
in to any of the congressman's threats. Or did all of the
town's rich guys stick together? I guess I would find out
soon enough.
I pushed open the glass doors engraved with F&A on them. The
receptionist looked up immediately and smiled politely.
"Yes, can I help you?"
"I, uh, need to see Mr. Fernley."
"Is he expecting you?" she asked, looking disbelieving. I
guess I was out of place in the sleek office wearing my t-
shirt and jeans.
"Um, no, but it's quite important. I really need to see
him," I said, with a hint of desperation in my voice.
"Okay." She picked up the phone. "I'll ask if he will see
you. What shall I tell him this is about?"
"A job applicant - Harrison Ridgeway," I said.
When I mentioned Harry's name, I saw her eyes flicker in
recognition. It probably wasn't the first time that day
she'd heard the name. Of course Harry has been there just
the day before for his interview, but I had the sinking
feeling this had something to do with the congressman.
"Mr. Fernley?" she said into the phone. "There's a young man
here to see you -" She looked at me. "Your name?"
"Josh Spencer," I replied quickly.
She repeated my name into the phone. "He says it has
something to do with the job applicant named Harrison
Ridgeway . . . Yes, okay, I'll send him in." She put down the phone. "Mr. Fernley will see you. This way, please." She
led me to an office door, marked `Adrian Fernley, Senior
Partner'. I felt incredibly nervous as she knocked on the
door.
A voice called "Come in." The receptionist opened the door
and shooed me in, closing it behind me. I recognized Adrian
Fernley immediately from Harry's description of him.
He looked up from the papers on his desk and gestured to the
seat in front of him. "Please sit down, Mr. Spencer."
"Thank you." My throat was suddenly dry.
"I understand you wish to impart some important information
to me with regard to Harrison Ridgeway."
"Um, yes, sir." I didn't quite know where to begin.
Fortunately Mr. Fernley himself gave me the opening I
needed.
"I must say, I am most intrigued by the case of young Mr.
Ridgeway. Never have I come across a job application quite as complicated as his. He performed unexpectedly well in the interview, considering it was arranged at such short notice.
But then again I did not expect any less from a Harvard
grad. What I am surprised at is the amount of interference
there has been in the processing of this application." He
looked sharply at me. "Are you here for or against Mr.
Ridgeway?"
I was thrown by the question, but managed to quickly say,
"For him, sir."
"Well then, go ahead. I've already been forced to hear the
case against, so I suppose it won't hurt to hear the other
side of the story."
That confirmed that the congressman had already contacted
him.
"Mr. Fernley, Harry - I mean, Harrison -" I stumbled.
He waved his hand at me. "No, please call him by whatever
name you're comfortable with."
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "Harry hasn't done anything wrong. It's not his fault that Dean Winters ended up in a coma. And it certainly isn't his fault that he's had to hide his sexuality for so long. I know Congressman Ridgeway has probably threatened you not to hire Harry, but you can't just give in to him because of his powerful status. I mean, you already said Harry did well in the interview. That's all that matters, right? That's what should tell you whether or not to hire him. Not the threats of a congressman."
I was silent after I'd finished talking. Mr. Fernley put his fingers together and appeared to be deep in thought. He hadn't looked at me once throughout my little speech, but I got the feeling that he'd been paying close attention to it anyway.
Suddenly he said, "You were right about the congressman; I got a call from him this morning. He stated, in very clear terms, that I should not offer a job to his son." Mr. Fernley now fixed his gaze at me. "I don't have any children of my own; the closest I have to a son is my nephew. But I was appalled at the congressman's behavior nonetheless. I remember reading the statement he issued when his son was convicted of a hate crime - I believe his exact words were solidarity with the gay community. Yet he is obviously against the gay community, even when it includes his own son."
"Especially when it includes his son," I corrected.
Mr. Fernley nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe you may be right. In any case, I do not allow my decisions to be influenced by homophobic congressmen who do not practice what they preach."
"You mean - you'll hire Harry?" I asked him, unable to keep the delight out of my voice.
"I resolved to stand by my original decision even before you came along, Mr. Spencer." He added seriously, "Perhaps it is particularly telling that I have never voted for the Republican party."
I caught the twinkle in his blue-gray eyes and realized he was joking. Alistair Ridgeway was the Republican candidate for the congressional seat. I grinned.
"In fact," he continued, "I was just about to call Mr. Ridgeway and tell him that he was hired."
"Could you wait, please? I want to see his face when he finds out. He'll be really excited."
Mr. Fernley smiled. "Alright, I will call him in - twenty minutes? Is it far?"
"No, sir, just the Surf `n' Sand Cafe on Marina Drive. Twenty minutes should be fine."
"Hmm . . . where have I heard the name before?" He shook his head. "Never mind. I suppose your visit here should not be mentioned?"
"Preferably not, sir. Harry is very eager to do this all by himself. Anyway it's not as if I influenced your decision. You'd already made up your mind, based on his merits."
"Yes, that's true. Very well, I trust you can see yourself out?"
"Yes sir. Thank you."
He nodded. "No problem."
I got up to leave. Suddenly Mr. Fernley called, "You didn't mention your relationship with Mr. Ridgeway."
I turned around. "What? Oh."
He smiled. "You don't have to say anything; I'd say that it's pretty obvious. Good day."
As I left the office, I couldn't help being impressed by Adrian Fernley. Many other men would have quickly bent to the will of the congressman. He'd certainly make an ideal boss for Harry, I thought. Now I couldn't wait to see Harry's face when he got that phone call.
From the Narrative of Harrison Ridgeway IV:
"Really?" I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly.
"Yes, really." Mr. Fernley sounded amused over the phone.
"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Fernley! You didn't have to call me yourself."
"Well, I thought I might as well since I handled your interview personally. So when can I expect you to start?"
"Um, how about Monday?"
"That's what I was also thinking. Monday is the start of the month, too. Alright then, I'll see to your contract."
"Thanks so much again, sir."
"Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday." He had barely put the down the phone when I jumped up in joy and punched my fist in the air, earning puzzled looks from the customers in the cafe. Josh and Reid, who were intently listening in, smiled to see my obvious excitement.
"I actually got the job," I told them, not quite believing my own words.
"I think we gathered that from the way you were hopping around," drawled Reid.
"Oh, right," I said in embarrassment.
Then he grinned and congratulated me with a thump on the back.
"I'm going to miss having you around all day," said Josh.
"You never had me around all day to begin with," I pointed out. "Well, not for long anyway."
"It feels like it's been forever," he whispered in my ear as he hugged me from behind.
"Want to go somewhere and celebrate?" I whispered back.
"That depends. Will it involve a copious amount of sex?" he asked playfully.
I was about to reply when my phone rang. I took it out of my pocket.
"Someone is very much in demand today," noted Josh. I stared at the display before flipping open the phone. It was an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Harrison, it's me - Dean. I've actually got a free weekend and I was wondering if you were still free for that dinner date you promised."
My heart sank. I could sense his eagerness and realized that the conditions under which I'd made that promise had changed since I'd talked to him. I wasn't sure what to tell him.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
"Yeah . . . it's just that - I don't really know how to put it -" I fumbled for words.
Dean caught on immediately. "You've found someone else, huh?" The disappointment was evident in his voice.
I couldn't deny it. "Yeah. Look, I'm really sorry -"
"Nah, don't sweat it. It always happens to me anyway," he said in the tone of someone used to rejection.
"No, it's not that," I hurried to explain, with Josh watching me closely. "It's just this guy I was best friends with in high school. He had this crush on me and I had one on him too, and then when we met up again -"
"You don't have to explain further. Repressed passion comes to the fore." He sighed longingly. "I'm just glad you found someone, too." He was obviously making an effort to be chivalrous and it only made me feel even worse. Truth be told, I'd completely forgotten about him in all the drama that had unfolded over the past week.
"We can still get dinner tomorrow night, though, right?" I asked, trying to make amends.
"Um, well, yeah . . . you can bring your boyfriend if you want. I'd like to meet him."
I could sense that he didn't really want to meet Josh. Then my eyes fell on Reid, who was busy delivering a customer's coffee, and something clicked in my mind. Two single gay guys looking for love . . . I made a quick calculation of the possibilities.
"Would you mind if it was a double date?" I asked Dean.
"A double date?" he asked curiously. "But I don't have a date."
"Not at the moment, no, but there's this very nice guy I know, who's also single. He's a bit older than us - 26 - but that isn't a big deal. He's really nice once you get to know him. And very good-looking, too."
"Are you trying to set me up?" he asked incredulously.
"Er . . . yeah, I guess I am."
"This is not some ogre you're trying to palm off on me, is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"No," I laughed. "He's seriously hot. Blond hair, blue eyes, a body to die for -"
"This sounds too good to be true," he said suspiciously. "Why would this veritable Greek god want to have a date with me?"
It was at this point that I realized that I'd been so carried away with my own ingenuity in suggesting this, that I hadn't asked Reid's opinion. But he wouldn't be upset, would he? I guessed I'd find out later. At least this way he wouldn't have a chance to back out. "He just went through a break-up, too," I explained to Dean. "Besides, you shouldn't look down on yourself. Just because one jerk left you doesn't make you undesirable or anything of that sort."
He was silent for a while. "Okay, I guess there's no harm in trying. So where's this dinner going to be?"
I was delighted that everything was working out so well. "Do you like Italian?"
Upon hearing his agreement, I suggested an Italian restaurant on Marina Drive for dinner the following night at seven. After he'd put down the phone, I turned to see Josh staring intently at me.
"Okay, what were you just up to?" he questioned.
"Um, do you think Reid will mind terribly that I set him up on a double date?" I asked him anxiously.
"You did what?!" came Reid's voice from behind us. He sounded extremely annoyed. I slowly turned around.
My words came out in a rush. "Dean's a very likeable guy, cute, perhaps a little nerdy, but really nice personality."
Reid stared at me. "Is this the same Dean -" His voice trailed off.
"Yeah, but we made up. That's how I know he's a nice guy. Come on, you can give it a try. You won't regret it." I looked at him earnestly. "Please say you'll come; I already told Dean you would."
Reid turned to glare at Josh. "You really need to keep your boyfriend under control," he said. My heart sank. Then he added to me, "But I'll forgive you this one time. Next time, don't make such decisions without asking me!"
"You'll come?" I asked in disbelief.
He rolled his eyes. "That's what I just said. I suppose I have to make a start somewhere."
"Oh, thank you!" I impulsively hugged him. He looked surprised, but pleasantly so.
"That makes it worth it," he joked. He went off to take the order of a customer who was waving at him, leaving me alone with Josh.
"So?" I asked him. "You haven't said anything."
He grinned. "You are such a naughty boy." He kissed me on the forehead. "I certainly hope it works out between Dean and Reid. I don't like seeing Reid depressed all the time."
"Yeah, me too." Then I teased, "You're coming along for the free food, right?"
"Finally! You actually thought of asking me whether I agreed to come. Like I said earlier, it all depends -"
I finished his sentence for him. "On whether it involves copious amounts of sex afterward." I grinned at him. "What do you think?"
To be continued . . .
I love hearing from you guys, so don't forget to send your comments, positive or negative, to justinr_88@yahoo.com. Thanks for all the feedback so far, and the next chapter should follow soon. I'm sure everyone's eager to know what happened between Caleb and Julian, right? ;)