by D. J. Manly
“You’ll be Diego’s all right,” one of them sneered. “You won’t be able to sit tomorrow.”
I went up to the line and got my lunch, a mess of Chinese macaroni and salad. I didn’t see Diego so I went to sit with Kimbo and two older men who seemed to be his friends.
They were talking about some football game they’d seen and I listened politely as I scanned the room for Diego. “Kimbo,” I said when the other two left, “do you know where Diego is?”
“He had a bit of trouble with Duncan’s boys.”
I panicked. “He’s not in solitary, is he?”
“No, I don’t think so. Think he was called to the warden’s office.”
“Shit. He can’t go to solitary.”
“He almost lived there when he first came in.” Kimbo chuckled.
“Really?”
“Sure. Everyone wanted to challenge him. Everyone who challenged him, lost. Eventually they stopped and he became less … I don’t know … he just stuck to himself, didn’t take the bait.”
“Then what happened today?”
“I don’t know. I heard two guys jumped him. One of them is in the infirmary. The other guy is with Mendez and the warden. They’re trying to figure it out. Someone is going to solitary.” Kimbo stood.
“The guy in the infirmary, was he hurt badly?”
“I hear he’s being shipped out to the hospital. You don’t jump Mendez and get off easy,” he said.
After lunch I went back to the books but I was nervous all day. Tomorrow was visiting day, and that stressed me as well. I was going to call my brother tonight to remind him to bring the money.
I finished studying and went back to my cell. On the way, it felt as if my stomach was in knots. I found Diego lying on the bottom bunk with a book in his hand. I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God,” I said.
He glanced at me. “What’s the prayer for?”
“You’re not in solitary.”
“Oh. No, I’m not.” He went back to reading.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“A guy is in the hospital.”
“No, he’s still here. They decided the wound wasn’t serious enough. He’s a big exaggerator.”
“The other Nazi, is he in solitary?”
“Yep.”
“Diego?”
He looked at me again. “Are you going to talk all the time?”
I smiled. “Sorry. I’m just stressed out, that’s all.”
“Perfectly normal.”
“I admire you.”
“Oh yeah? Me, or my cock?” He didn’t look up when he said that but he was smirking again.
“Get serious. You’ve really turned your life around.”
“Not yet.”
“You will.”
“Yes, I will,” he said.
“The top is okay for me,” I replied, indicating the bunk.
“Glad to hear it,” he said, but I knew it wouldn’t have mattered if it was or not.
I laughed. “You are full of it,” I said, then realized that was a brave thing to say to Diego Mendez.
He didn’t comment.
“I’m going to phone my brother.”
“Be sure to be back by eight, dear.”
“Yeah, right.” I grinned at him and left the cell, going down the steps to the pay phones. I had to wait in line for a few minutes and I noticed that Duncan was watching me from where he sat in front of the large screen television. I could only imagine what he was plotting.
The phone at home rang and rang but no one picked up. I slammed it down in frustration, gave the phone to the next guy and then went back in line. Alvaro wasn’t going to just ignore me.
The second time, the phone picked up on the third ring. “Alvaro,” I said. “It’s Yan. You got the money?”
“I got half of it.”
“Half isn’t good enough.”
“It’s not easy. I’ll see what I can do tonight. I want to meet him.”
“Meet who?”
“Mendez. I want to meet him, shake his hand. He’s a legend.”
“He’s not into that gang stuff anymore.”
“Come on, Bro. Ask him. I told all the guys I was going to see him tomorrow.”
“I’ll do my best but I doubt it. Just bring the money,” I said, and hung up.
When the cells were sealed and the lights went out, I was really stressed out, more stressed out than if I’d been in that cell with Duncan himself.
It didn’t hit me until I was settled into my bunk above Diego. We were totally alone for the first time, in the dark, and my cock came alive and took on a mind of its own. I was hurting, and my imagination was in overdrive.
I wanted Diego to crawl up onto my bunk, strip off my shorts, and make me satisfy his every need, but a few minutes after the lights went out, I heard his breathing grow shallow and I knew he was asleep. I was both relieved and disappointed and left with a hard-on. Sometime during the night I tried to relieve that hard-on as quietly as I could, muffling the sounds in my pillow.
Chapter Three
When the wake-up call came and the lights went on, Diego was sitting on the bottom bunk, hands in his hair.
“Have trouble waking up?” I grinned at him as I hopped down from the top.
He looked up at me. “Trouble sleeping.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “You should try warm milk before you go to bed.”
“Warm milk?” He gawked at me. “Where am I going to get warm milk in here?”
“Doc could give you something.” I pulled on my T-shirt.
“Torres, you woke me up at three in the morning beating off.”
I must have turned three shades of red. “I wasn’t … I mean…”
He stood. “Look, I know what beating off sounds like, okay.”
The cell opened and everyone went out into the hallway for head count. It was Saturday, which meant visiting day and scheduled leisure activities like basketball games and such.
We went to breakfast, and I avoided Diego for a while, hoping he’d forget about what I was doing last night. Visiting hours started at one o’clock, and I prayed my brother didn’t let me down. It wouldn’t be the first time.
I lost track of Diego then found him in the laundry room doing his laundry. I was hesitant to ask him if he’d be willing to meet my brother. When I got it out, he looked at me and asked, “What for?”
“He says you’re a legend and he kind of told his friends that…”
“Well, he can kind of un-tell his friends.”
“It’s just that my brother’s gang admires you.”
“I’m the last person he should be admiring.”
“He’s in a gang, part of a street gang called the 48th Street Conquerors. He says you’re one of them.”
“One of them?” he scoffed. “I never heard of them. These little gangs don’t mean shit to the big boys, except as a way to get under-aged morons to run drugs for them. Following your brother was the stupidest thing you ever did.”
“I didn’t follow him. I didn’t do anything,” I protested.
“Yeah right, we’re all innocent in here, falsely accused.”
“I am. I took the rap for him. He would have gone to prison. He said I wouldn’t see time. I did it for my mother.”
Diego looked at me suddenly, really looked at me. For a long time, he didn’t say anything.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Maybe.” He seemed hesitant. “But I still don’t get it.”
“He’s my brother. I really believed I wouldn’t go to prison and he would.”
“Guess you were wrong.” He took his clothes out of the washing machine and began to load the dryer. He shut the door on the dryer and walked out of the laundry room.
I stood there shaking. Those words finally sank in. What had I done? Why in hell didn’t I just let Alvaro go down? I was thinking of my mother, thinking of what the other gang members would do if I didn’
t obey Alvaro. What a mess. What a damn mess.
When visiting hours came around, I impatiently paced in the waiting room. When two o’clock came and I didn’t see my brother, I decided he wasn’t coming. I almost left the room and then just as I was at the door, I saw him sauntering down the corridor, one of his friends with him, a mean fucker named Juan.
“Hey, Bro,” Alvaro said, coming to hug me, but I hung back.
“You got the cash?” I asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, yeah, over here,” he said, escorting me to a table in the corner. “Not easy getting in here.”
“Getting out neither,” Juan joked.
“You know Juan,” Alvaro said.
I nodded at Juan. “Where is it?” I asked Alvaro.
“I got half.”
“Half?”
“Where’s Mendez?”
“Not interested. What am I going to do with half?”
“Give him half. We’ll bring more later on. He really going to protect you, man?”
“Yes. I’m in his cell but he wants to be paid.”
Alvaro slapped Juan on the back. “Hear that, my little bro is bunking with Diego Mendez!”
They carried on for a bit while I sat back, really pissed off that Alvaro had only brought me half the money. He slipped it to me and I put it into my pants. “I want the rest,” I told him between clenched teeth.
“We’ll get it,” he said, “but I want to meet him.”
“I’ll work on him. How’s Mama?”
“Okay; don’t worry. And I’m saving up for a good lawyer.”
“Right.” I knew it was bullshit. I fingered the money as I watched him leave.
I found Diego in the gym, throwing a ball around. “Hey,” I said, walking over to him.
He stopped and looked at me.
“I got half.”
“Half?”
“Yeah, he’ll have the other half soon but he wants to meet you.”
He bounced the ball a few times and walked away.
Great.
I kept the money on me and hoped no one jumped me. I ate supper with Kimbo. Diego ate alone as he usually did but I noticed he was watching me.
Later I found him on the bed reading, a different book this time. “You sure read a lot.”
“Catching up,” he said.
“You didn’t read as a kid?”
“You kidding?”
“I have your money.”
“You have half my money.”
“Okay, but I said—”
“Don’t worry,” he replied. “I said I’d watch your ass; I’ll watch it.”
“Thanks. Will you meet my brother?”
“He doesn’t want to meet me.”
“Yes, he does.”
“He’ll regret it.”
“Does that mean you’ll meet with him?”
“If he brings the money and just him, not all his friends.”
“I’ll tell him. Kimbo asked me to play cards. Want to play?”
“No thanks,” he said.
I gave him the package. He took it and returned to his reading.
* * * *
Duncan and his boys sat nearby as I played gin rummy with Kimbo. One of them had his arm in a cast. His face was black and blue and I smiled to myself. I knew who had done that.
“Where’s your sweetheart?” Duncan had walked over suddenly.
I tensed as he dragged a chair up close to me and placed a hand on my thigh.
Kimbo also looked nervous as the banged-up guy came over with two others. They all pulled up chairs.
“Take your hands off me. Diego won’t like it.”
“Diego isn’t here,” Duncan sneered. “You were made to be a whore, skin not quite white with your girlie looks. Feel this.” Duncan grabbed my hand and placed it on his crotch. I tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let me.
I didn’t even see Diego approach and neither did Duncan. Diego grabbed Duncan’s head and yanked it back. He leaned down, his mouth near Duncan’s ear, one hand firmly holding Duncan’s bald head in place. “How are you doing, Duncan?”
The guy with the cast on his arm jumped back so fast he knocked his chair over. This created a diversion and gave Diego enough time to reach down and grab Duncan’s arm. He twisted, causing Duncan to wince in pain. “Now,” Diego said with a smile, “don’t touch my bitch or I’ll make you regret it.”
The guard was there suddenly but Diego was already standing up straight, with what appeared to be a casual hand on Duncan’s shoulder.
“What’s going on here?”
The injured guy straightened up his chair.
“Nothing,” Diego said, “just a friendly game of cards. Right, Dunc?”
“Right,” Duncan said with a grin. “No problem here.”
The guard nodded and walked off.
“Now, may I suggest you go and find your own game,” Diego told him.
Duncan and his friends got up quietly and left the table.
To say that I greatly admired his strength of character was an understatement. As the days went on and the weeks passed, I felt completely safe, even when he wasn’t even there in the same room. He seemed to know everything and I suspected that he had other people keeping an eye out for him as well.
To say also that I was falling for him big-time would have been another understatement. I put it down to the fact that we shared a cell, that he was gorgeous, that it was natural in this situation. But it was more than that. Although he wasn’t always the most communicative man, he had his moments and I imagined that we were growing closer.
He never laid a hand on me. Of course I wanted him to, but I had to admire him for his restraint. Any other prisoner would have immediately made me his sexual plaything. But not Diego.
My brother hadn’t come again and I couldn’t reach him at home. My mother didn’t answer either, probably because Alvaro had told her not to. She believed anything he told her, and he had a knack for scaring her, especially when it came to the authorities. She didn’t speak much English, and of course that kept her vulnerable and dependent on him.
Diego didn’t say anything when I told him my brother hadn’t come. He had kept his word and had my back. I trusted him completely, but I was anxious to give him his money.
My studies were going well and I stayed close to Diego, thinking maybe I might just make it out of this place.
I was becoming resigned to the fact that Diego and I were never going to get much closer than we were. He wasn’t going to be my lover or my friend, simply my protector.
Then one night everything changed.
First it was super hot and the air conditioning was on the fritz. When the cell sealed and the lights went out, it was hard to sleep.
Diego stood at the front of the cell, his two palms on the wall. His shoulders and chest gleamed with sweat and his drawstring cotton pants hung low on his hips.
I imagined taking off those pants. He was a sight and even with this heat, I was dying to pull his body close to mine.
Diego was restless. I watched him from the top bunk and I wanted to ask him if something was wrong but he was in one of his “don’t talk to me” moods.
He lowered his head and pounded his fist on the wall once. He didn’t make any noise. It was like some kind of silent scream.
“You all right?” I braved.
“Go to sleep, Torres.”
“Call me Yan, okay?”
“Just go to sleep.”
I hopped down off the bed. “It helps sometimes to talk about it.”
“Don’t you get it?” He turned and looked at me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You keep everything inside and—”
He grabbed me so fast I didn’t see it coming. I was pinned against the wall. We were both breathing hard and fast, and I wasn’t sure it was exactly for the same reason.
His dark eyes were alive with something and all I could think of was how close he was. I wasn’t even thinking about the
fact that he could have killed me right then and there if he’d wanted. I only wanted him.
He released me and stepped back. His chest heaved; his dark eyes looked shiny. His mouth trembled when he spoke. “My brother,” he said softly, “he died last night.”
“Oh God, Diego, I’m sorry. How?”
He walked over and looked out on the semi-lit corridor. “He was knifed to death in a barroom by another biker.”
“Was your brother with the Matadors too?”
He nodded. “They won’t let me go to the funeral. They say it could set off another biker war.” He pounded the wall again. “I can’t even say good-bye.”
I walked over and wound my arms around him, laid my head on his back. He didn’t fight me. He stood there, allowing this intimacy for a long time.
When he straightened, I moved away. I figured I’d gone far enough. I prepared to go back to my bunk.
“No,” he said softly in the darkness of that cell, “stay with me, Yan. Please.”
I turned around, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Make love to me,” he whispered. “Take away the pain.”
I nodded. “Yes. Oh God, yes, Diego.” I moved into his arms. He stroked back my hair and looked down into my eyes for a second. He tightened his hold on me and lowered his mouth to mine. He took it, made it his, dancing his tongue around mine and pulling down my shorts. His hand tightened around my cock as he continued to kiss me.
I put my hands in his hair and moved with him onto the bottom bunk.
He laid me down gently and straddled my hips. His mouth and hands strayed everywhere and I struggled to touch him as well, but he knew what he wanted and I wanted exactly the same thing.
When he lifted my legs and placed his tongue inside me I moaned.
He lifted the sheet to my mouth and I got the message quickly. If I made too much noise, it would bring the guards. I bit down on the sheet to muffle my cries.
His cock was hard and leaking. I felt the pre-cum on the edge of his penis as he lubed my ass with a combination of saliva and pre-cum.