Doing Hard Time: Untold Stories

[arogersb]

Doing Hard Time: Untold Stories​

Author’s Note: This story is part of the “Doing Hard Time” saga. As those who’ve read the saga fully on these forums will know, the character of Caleb Fisher makes only two, brief appearances as a supporting character after Harrison leaves prison. During republication of the saga on Nifty, many readers wrote in to ask what happened to Caleb in prison following Harrison’s release. In the light of so many enquiries, I decided to write the prison subplot I’d originally intended, and then discarded, back into the story. The following narratives, from Caleb’s perspective, fit neatly into the existing chapters of the saga, although there are some points of difference in the epilogue. However, I realize that, for readers on these forums, it would be very inconvenient to go back through the whole story just for this subplot. Since the subplot moves pretty independently of the others, I’ve decided to compile the narratives here as the “untold stories”. I hope you’ll find them as enjoyable as the original saga.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons (alive or dead) or locales is purely coincidental. The prison procedures in this story are not meant to be indicative of real penitentiaries. And finally, for the first time ever in one of my stories, the characters have unprotected sex. While I feel this is realistic given the prison setting, in real life it’s always advisable to use condoms unless you’re reasonably confident of your partner.

Summary: Caleb finds his new cellmate more than he can handle.

Read the original saga here: http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145871

Untold Stories​

Chapter 1​

“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 as eager to be fucked as 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 climbing on top of 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 the hell was my own cock so stiff?

* * *​

In the showers later that day, Julian stripped off without a care in the world. Revealing that slim, boyish body – although I did notice a few wisps of faint blond hair on his chest – so casually in a room full of horny, naked inmates was always an invitation for trouble. I watched through narrowed eyes, waiting for an inmate to pounce on him, and wondered whether I should have to rescue someone who seemed so eager to be fucked.

But I was in for a surprise. Mitch, the resident prison villain who wasn’t known for introducing new inmates gently into prison life, noticed me looking at Julian and held up his hands in surrender. “Hey man, no worries. We all know he’s your bitch. Hands off, I promise.”

Another inmate called out, “But damn, Big C, how’d you get all the pretty ones?”

Julian, who’d been listening in on the exchange as he soaped up his lithe young body, gave me a cheeky wink, which didn’t go unnoticed by Mitch. He roared with laughter. “You’ve got a feisty one this time, Caleb.”

Julian was lucky that he wasn’t within reach, and that we were surrounded by other inmates, or there might have been damage to that pretty face he was so worried about.

* * *​

“And what exactly do you think you’re doing?” I asked, after watching Julian strip down to his underwear after the guard had declared lights out. Now he had his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his boxers, about to slip them off as well.

“What’s it look like? Getting ready for bed.” He cracked another of his goofy grins. “Don’t tell me you’ve never slept in the buff before.”

“You’re going to be cold,” I observed.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m used to it. My cellmates before this tended to keep me naked 24/7. Besides, it’ll be easier for both of us if you don’t have to rip my clothes off me in the middle of the night.”

“Christ!” I exclaimed. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going to fuck you? I’m not keen on fucking boys, alright?”

The young upstart actually smirked at me. “Then explain that,” he said, nodding towards my crotch.

I looked down, and was mortified to find my pants tenting lewdly. I felt the blood rush to my face. I’ll admit, since my experiences with Harry over the last few months, I’d been viewing the young male body in a new light. And Julian certainly was a fine specimen of that. But that didn’t mean I was going to bend my rules for him.

“It’s a perfectly natural reaction when someone parades themselves naked in front of you,” I said stiffly. “Now, for fuck’s sake, go to bed or play with yourself or whatever, just don’t disturb me.”

Julian gave a shrug, as if to say, ‘have it your way’. “But I’m not staying up for you to change your mind,” he said aloud, as he lay down on his bunk and pulled the blanket over his nude body.

“I won’t,” I muttered, climbing into my own bunk and trying to get some sleep.

True to his word, the sound of gentle snoring soon came from his bunk. I was just about to drift off to sleep myself, when he started mumbling, “Ten bucks for a blowjob.”

“What?” I turned over in my bed to stare at him.

He didn’t seem to hear me. He continued mumbling, “I’ll suck you real good, I promise.”

I realized he was talking in his sleep. “Julian!” I hissed across the short space separating our bunks.

He was silent for a few seconds. Then, in response to a voice only he could hear, he replied in a resigned tone, “Alright, you can fuck me too.”

I might not be an expert in that psychological shit, but even I can tell desperation when I hear it. What had this kid been through, to allow himself to be fucked for ten dollars? I got off my bed and shook him gently by the shoulder. “Julian! Wake up.”

His blue eyes shot open, and for a split second, I saw pain and vulnerability in them. Then, almost instantly, his usual grin was back in place. “Knew you’d change your mind,” he said with obvious satisfaction at being proven right (in his mind, at least).

I quickly set him to rights. “For fuck’s sake! I only woke you because you were talking in your sleep. You thought you were still hustling on the streets.”

There was another brief flash of pain in his eyes. “Kind of hard to forget it sometimes.” Then he shook his head, as if to clear it of unpleasant thoughts from the past, and grinned. “But you’re here now, so we might as well take care of the business at hand.” As he said this his hand brushed lightly against my crotch.

“Julian, don’t –” My protest was cut off as his hand slipped into my pants, and wrapped around the shaft of my hard cock. I let out a guttural groan; I couldn’t deny that it felt good to have a hand other than my own around my cock.

Before I knew what was happening, he was on his knees and had my boxers down around my ankles.

I was sufficiently clear-headed to be concerned about him kneeling on the cold, hard concrete floor. “Sure you don’t want to put some clothes on? It can’t be comfortable being on your bare knees on that floor.”

He made a sound that was a cross between a laugh and a sob. “I remember this one guy, right? He insisted I strip naked before getting down on my knees to suck him off in a back alley. Every thrust had me scraping my knees on the asphalt. And he didn’t even pay me well for it.”

“Jesus Christ! Get up, Julian,” I ordered. “Get off the floor.”

He looked puzzled as he staggered to his feet. “What’d I do wrong?”

“I don’t know what it is you’re trying to achieve here. One moment you’re falling over yourself for me to fuck you, and the next you totally kill any sex drive I might’ve had by telling a story like that.”

He looked curiously at me. “You’re way too nice to be in prison. What the fuck did you do to end up here anyway?”

“I killed a man,” I said curtly.

“Jesus,” breathed Julian. “I can't believe you'd do something like that. Why did you?”

“I caught my wife cheating with him and tried to throw him out of the house. But then he grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter and that was it. Fifteen years for manslaughter, eligible for parole in ten. That’s two years from now.”

“That’s funny,” remarked Julian, seeming to have gotten over the details of my crime. “I get out in two years as well.” He gave me a sideways glance. “A wife, huh?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t go thinking you’re going to be my first. I’ve had another guy in here before you. Though I never went so far as fucking him.”

“Bet you I can give a better blowjob.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I bet you can.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said, looking wounded. “Guys used to pay me to suck them off!”

“I’ve heard,” I muttered under my breath.

“Look, I’ll show you, like I was going to before you got all concerned for my knees.”

I sighed. “You aren’t getting back on the floor.”

He shook his head. “Lie down, and I’ll do it right here on the bunk.”

I raised my eyebrows. It was going to be a pretty tight squeeze on the narrow bunk. But my cock was amazingly still hard, and Julian was gazing pleadingly at me.

“Alright,” I said, laying on my back. Julian clambered over me and knelt on either side of my legs.

His good humor was restored, and he winked at me. “Prepare to be amazed.”

My retort died on my lips as he wrapped his lips around my cock. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was good. Harry had improved vastly since his first blowjob, but even his best effort paled in comparison to Julian’s. I could see why people would pay money for one of his blowjobs. Although, the way he was deep-throating my cock, I wouldn’t pay ten dollars for him – I’d fork out a hundred!

His throat muscles expertly massaged my cock to an orgasm. I came with a loud groan, shooting what must have been a rather large load considering my recent deprivation, down his throat. He swallowed it all without gagging or spilling a drop, and sat back on his haunches licking his lips like an extremely contented cat.

“Told you I was good, didn’t I?” he smirked.

I had to agree. “It was fucking amazing.”

“Alright then, we’re ready for the main course.”

I realized he was referring to anal sex, and quickly put a hand out to stop him. “Hold on there a minute. I don’t have a condom or lube.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about lube,” he replied, fondling my shaft which was still slick with his saliva. “As for condoms ... well, I’m clean; are you?”

“I’m clean,” I confirmed. I looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Are you sure you are?” I asked, feeling quite justified in asking given his history.

He looked hurt at being questioned this way. “My boyfriend made me get tested, alright? I know it was stupid to not use condoms those first few times, but I guess someone up there likes me: the test was negative.”

I interrupted. “You have a boyfriend?” My surprise was evident in my tone.

“Had,” he corrected. “He dumped me for ‘being self-destructive’ – that’s what he called it. Although I guess I proved him right by stealing that car and landing in here.”

“You stole a car?” I asked in astonishment.

He said defensively, “I know it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I had to get away, go somewhere and start over. I wasn’t thinking straight. Eric had just broken up with me.” He sniffed, and his eyes looked suspiciously wet in the dim light from the corridor.

I acted impulsively and wrapped my arms around him. Julian started, and then relaxed in my arms. I held him for a few moments before releasing him.

Julian rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, looking sheepish. “So about that fuck –” he started to say.

I shook my head. “Not tonight, okay? I think you need to get some rest.” I put my finger to his lips to muffle his protests. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later,” I added. “Now go to bed.”

Looking reassured, he nodded and lay down on the bunk in the narrow space between me and the wall. As I made to leave his arm snaked around me and pulled me back. “Stay,” he whispered. “It is kind of cold.”

I stifled the urge to snort and stayed where I was. Soon he was fast asleep, his arm still around me. Sleep, however, didn’t come as easily to me. What in the world had I let myself in for?

To be continued ...​

I had quite a bit of fun writing this one. I couldn't help thinking "poor Caleb" - Julian really is a bit of a handful! Now, astute readers will have noticed I gave Caleb's new cellmate the name Greg in the epilogue to DHT. 'Greg' is indeed Julian - I just decided the latter name fit him better. The circumstances of Caleb's meeting with him were also slightly tweaked from what Caleb tells Josh and Harry in the epilogue. (Oh come on, it's a soap - retcons are to be expected! ) Anyway, there's not much I can do about that now, but a corrected version of the epilogue will eventually be published on Nifty.

Anyway, do let me know if you've enjoyed this 'untold' story. There'll be more to come, although obviously it's going to be only another couple of chapters or so. Feedback is always appreciated!

 

[harry113]

Justin Thanks. Wonderfully written, as usual.
Please continue
Harry

 

[arogersb]

I know it's been a while, but between exams and sorting out my summer internship I haven't had much time to write. This chapter was actually complete more than a month ago, but for some reason I didn't get to post it before exams became all-consuming. Anyway, here it is, better late than never, and you'll be pleased to know that I'm putting the finishing touches on the next chapter as I write this. As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Chapter 2​

It seemed I shouldn’t have worried about Julian getting enough rest; he was up bright and early the next morning, waking me up as he climbed over me.

I growled drowsily and closed my eyes again. My uneasy thoughts the previous night had left me sleep-deprived and therefore not in the best of moods. Hanging off the edge of the narrow bunk bed which wasn’t meant for more than a single occupant certainly hadn’t helped either.

I was jerked awake again by the sound of bare feet slapping against the concrete floor.

“What the –?” I rolled over to find Julian, still as naked as the day he was born, performing jumping jacks in the space between the two bunks. He was tall enough that his hands almost touched the ceiling. I burst into laughter; he made such a ridiculous sight with his cock and balls flopping around with every jump.

Managing to control my laughter, I asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Exercise,” he replied, panting from the exertion. Between jumping jacks, he mischievously added, “You should try it some time.”

“If I wanted to be scrawny like you,” I retorted. Looping my arm around his waist, I pulled him towards me. A playful struggle ended with him seated on my lap. My morning erection, which had just begun to subside, quickly regained its stiffness as it nestled in the crevice between his buttcheeks.

“If you were planning to impale me on that thing,” he commented, “you didn’t quite succeed.”

“No,” I said sternly, catching both his hands in mine as he tried to maneuver into position to be fucked. “I just had my relief less than ten hours ago; I don’t need it again so soon.”

Julian looked a little put out. “I just don’t understand you sometimes.”

“Good. I prefer we keep it that way.” I ruffled his blond hair, smiling. “Now get some clothes on, unless you want to go down to breakfast in your birthday suit.”

Julian grinned but seemed to agree with my suggestion as he reached for his clothes.

* * *​

To be honest, I was wondering how long I could put off having sex – full-on, penetrative sex – with Julian. It wasn’t so much that I worried about his ability to handle it; indeed, if anything, he seemed more than adequately prepared to handle it.

No, what I was worried about was whether I could handle it. Let me put this simply: I’d lived the past 44 years of my life as a full-blooded heterosexual. I’d had my fair share of girlfriends, even married two of them. In prison, I’d managed to stay aloof of the trend of acquiring ‘bitches’ for sexual satisfaction. That is, until the day I’d met Harrison Ridgeway. He’d certainly changed my perspective. Of course, throughout his stay in my cell I’d been dogged by a lingering guilt. Harry was, after all, my nephew’s one true love. Which was why I had abstained from doing anything more with him than an occasional blowjob.

Julian, though, was a different case altogether. Not only was he unconnected to Joshua, he was clearly experienced in the joys of gay sex and would be a very willing participant in it. But I did wonder how much of his apparent enthusiasm was real – was he merely servicing me with the intention of obtaining protection from other inmates like Mitch? In having sex with him, would I be in fact using him?

However, the decision was to be taken out of my hands that night. After an uneventful day – Julian’s body had been given several longing glances by inmates in the showers, but no one had so much as laid a finger on him with me in the nearby vicinity – it was finally time to turn in for the night.

Julian surprised no one by stripping naked like he had the night before; once again I found myself hard at the sight of naked virile youth. I cursed my lack of control, which amused Julian to no end. He gave a patented smirk as he knelt between my legs.

I’d been practising a speech in my head about how it wasn’t necessary for him to sexually service me in order for my protection, but it was difficult to deliver it with his lips wrapped around my cock.

“Julian – we need to talk,” I managed to get in between gasps. I either hadn’t had enough good blowjobs in the past, or the boy was an expert cocksucker. It was probably the latter.

He paused momentarily to look at me. “Okay – once we’re done here.”

“No, not once – fuck!” He’d just run his tongue under my balls to that very sensitive area around my asshole. The blowjob was quickly turning into a rimjob. I saw the devilish twinkle in his eye and gave up. It was evident he didn’t plan on letting me speak until his task was complete.

Having given me a proper rimming, he returned his attention to my cock which, thanks to his ministrations, was sticking out at right angles to my body. I grabbed fistfuls of his fair hair as he swallowed it whole, and skillfully milked another load out of me.

“And now,” he proclaimed with all the grandeur and solemnity of an archbishop at a coronation, “we fuck.”

This was where I had to step in. “No, first we need to talk.”

“What’s the matter?” asked Julian. “Unless you’re not up for a second orgasm tonight?” he added slyly.

“Of course not!” I exploded.

We were both startled by a voice from the cell across the corridor. “Caleb, give it to him if that's what he wants!”

I’d completely forgotten about Mitch in the opposite cell and his voyeuristic tendencies.

“You can’t back out now,” whispered Julian.

I was trapped, and we both knew it. “Get on your back,” I growled. “I like to see what I’m fucking.”

Julian was more than happy to oblige. As we exchanged positions on my bunk, I took the opportunity to whisper in his ear. “Tell me if I’m doing it wrong.”

He gave me a quizzical look, but nodded his acceptance. Lying on the bed beneath me, he spread his legs and raised his hips, giving me better access to his hole. I gazed at the tightly-puckered pink hole, with its circle of fine, blond hairs. Other than that, his milky-white butt was perfectly smooth.

I privately thought there was no way that small a hole could accommodate my cock with substantial pain to him. But with Mitch staring down my back, there was no avenue out. And let's face it - by this point I wanted to do it. That didn't mean, though, that I wasn't glad my cock was lubricated with Julian’s saliva and my own cum. Hopefully, it would make entry into his tight hole easier and less painful for him.

“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, and pressed my cockhead to the puckered hole. Julian relaxed his sphincter muscles enough to let it in. As gently as I could without making it obvious to Mitch, I eased my eight inches into Julian’s incredibly tight orifice. He grunted as the last two inches slipped in, but other than that he made no sound, no sharp cry of pain like I’d expected.

I had planned on giving him time to adjust to my cock, but he had other plans. “Pump it,” he murmured.

Aware of the eyes on my back I did just that. I drew out and thrust back into him with long, even strokes. He put aside any concerns that I might’ve had about causing him pain by pushing his ass forward to meet my thrusts. I had just shot a load barely minutes before, but the amazing sensation of Julian’s sphincter tightening around my cock gave me no doubt I would be releasing a second one that night, and soon.

“Give it to him hard!” called Mitch, startling me, for I’d forgotten about my audience in the intense pleasure of the fuck.

“Yeah,” agreed Julian softly, “is that all you’ve got?”

His words had their calculated effect. Pulling out, I rammed back into him with a force that stunned even me, and elicited a yelp from him. I was concerned, until I saw a smile crease the corners of his mouth. “That’s much better,” he sighed.

Shaking my head at his preference for hard fucks, I continued fucking him with similarly powerful thrusts. Julian slicked his hand with spit, and wrapped his fingers around his own hard cock. He pumped it furiously as I felt the pressure building in my balls.

“I’m going to cum,” I warned. “Do you want me to cum inside you or –”

“Pull out,” he gasped, “I wanna see you cum this time.”

I obeyed and pulled out of him just as I was about to climax. If there’s one thing to be said about Julian, it’s that he has marvelous timing. The arcs of our individual loads met in mid-air and spattered onto his bare chest. I just sat there on my haunches, staring at our mingled cum pooling on his stomach, at a total loss for words after one of the most mind-blowing orgasms of my life.

“Well, that was ... extraordinary, to say the least,” I said at last.

“I know,” replied Julian, with more than a trace of smugness in his tone. He’d provided such an amazing fucking experience that I decided to let that one slide.

Instead I turned to the watching Mitch. “Hot enough for you?” I asked, turning my gaze briefly towards his crotch.

The brutish inmate actually turned red, aware that the front of his trousers was bulging noticeably. He retreated further into his cell, doubtless to take care of necessary business.

I turned back to Julian, who was licking cum residue off his hand. “So what was it you wanted to talk about earlier?” he asked casually.

I sighed and lay down beside him. “It’s too late now. I wanted to make sure you weren’t offering to serve me sexually in exchange for protection. Because if that was it, you really don’t need to. I don’t require sexual favors to keep you safe from the other guys in here.”

Julian glanced sideways at me. “It never occurred to you that I might just be attracted to hot, older men?”

I blinked. “No. Are you?”

He laughed. “Not particularly.”

I glared at him. “Then what was the point of that statement?”

“I don’t have a particular type when it comes to looks or age. From the guard’s comments, I guess you do though.”

“And pray tell, what type might that be?”

His grin was as wide as a Cheshire cat’s. “Young and pretty.”

“For your information,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster, “you’re only the second young and pretty guy to share my cell. Prior to him, I’d never indulged in gay sex. Even with Harry we never get so far as fucking.”

Julian’s eyes opened impossibly wide. “Wow. Are you saying that, until just now, you were a virgin?”

“What! Of course not –”

“But you just said you never had gay sex.”

“Yes, but –”

“That makes you a virgin.”

If looks could kill, Julian would have dropped dead.

“Relax, I was just pulling your leg,” he said. “So what if most people lose their virginity in their teens and you wait till you’re in your forties?”

“I can’t help it if I wasn’t inclined to take advantage of the helpless young men who come into this prison,” I growled and turned away from him.

But I was surprised to feel the touch of his hand on my shoulder. Rolling over to face him again, I saw him smiling at me. Not a self-satisfied smirk, not a cheeky grin, but a genuine, warm smile.

“I was right; you are just my type,” he whispered. Then, without warning, he moved in and kissed me.

At the risk of sounding like a giddy schoolgirl I shall confess that my heart beat at a mile a minute.

When our lips parted I managed to stammer, rather hoarsely, “I – I thought you didn’t have a type.”

“No, I said I didn’t have one as far as looks and age went. There are other criteria.”

“And what –?”

Julian didn’t give me a chance to finish my question before pressing his lips against mine for the second time that night. As he pulled away his eyes gazed deeply into mine and he cupped my chin. “You’ll find out as we go along,” was his enigmatic reply.

With that, he turned away from me, shifting his body into a more comfortable position on the cramped bunk. “Goodnight,” he murmured.

I could just hear the smile in his voice, even if I couldn’t see his face. The thing was, I was certain it wasn’t one of his arrogant smirks or cheeky grins. No, it sounded like a contented and happy smile. Now what the fuck was he so contented and happy about? Seducing a man old enough to be his father?

He might claim not to get me, but he was the one I couldn’t get. I gazed at Julian’s back and found myself wondering what unfathomable thoughts were swirling in that golden-haired head.

Oh what the hell, I thought. He wanted to have sex, I wasn’t averse to the idea – it made for a perfect coupling. I cringed; had I really thought of it as a coupling? I meant symbiosis, of course. That’s what it was. That’s all it was.

With that thought firmly entrenched in my mind, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

To be continued ...​

 

[Autolycus]

Excellent continuation!

 

[harry113]

Great chapter Justin, thank you
Harry

 

[Craiger]

Justin,

What a wonderful surprise! I am so pleased to have another one of your stories. Caleb sounds like a genuinely great guy and I look forward to reading more about him and Julian. Will Harry and Josh be brought into the story as well?

Just a few chapters? Oh well, you always make it worth it no matter how long the story. Thanks.

Craiger

 

[daid63]

i liked the story and i did enjoy reading it hope there will more to read thanks

 

[arogersb]

Chapter 3​

A Note on the Timeline: The events of this chapter occur approximately a fortnight after the last one, and immediately after Josh visits his uncle in prison to confront him about having sexual relations with Harrison (The Narrative of Caleb Fisher, in Chapter 28 of “Doing Hard Time”). A very brief recap of that narrative is provided within this chapter itself, so that you shouldn’t need to read that story again to recall what happened.

I walked back to my cell after my nephew, Joshua’s visit, feeling extremely upset with myself. I thought of the crisis I’d so narrowly avoided. I’d always known it was stupid to let myself get physically involved with the boy who my nephew loved so completely. Yet I had allowed myself to think with my cock instead of with my head, and it had almost cost me my only family.

Why was it so hard to get some sexual relief without all the drama? I furiously slammed my fist into the open palm of my other hand.

“You need to work off some of that anger, buddy,” said Max, startling out of my reverie.

I’d been so deep in contemplation I hadn’t realized we were outside my cell. To Max I mumbled a reply, “Yeah, probably.”

He grinned sympathetically and held the cell door open for me. “Shouldn’t be that difficult,” he added.

“Huh?”

Max nodded towards the other occupant of my cell, who was currently sprawled on his bed, reading a book. The summer heat was making its way into the cell, and Julian had his shirt off. His blond hair fairly sparkled in the sunlight from the cell’s single, barred window. I’d always thought him to be a good-looking kid, but at that instant he looked good enough to eat. The seed Max had planted in my mind took root immediately.

After all, why not? Julian was more than willing to put out for me; he’d said as much when he first came into my cell, and he’d been living up to that promise every night after lights out. He was one person didn’t expect me to be anything – not a good uncle, nor a noble protector. He had no expectations whatsoever of me, and that was precisely what I needed so desperately at that moment.

I pounced on him before Max was even done locking the cell door. I heard the guard chuckling but I ignored him as I was too busy fumbling with the drawstring of Julian’s pants.

Julian stared at me in surprise – and with good reason. In all this time we’d only had sex under the cover of darkness; certainly never in the middle of the day. Then he started to giggle. “You’re certainly frisky today.”

“I need you out of these pants,” I stated, as my over-eager fingers only succeeded in making a mess of the drawstring knot.

Julian set aside his book and gently took over the task from me. His nimble fingers made quick work of the knot. As he slipped off his pants, followed by his boxers, I pulled my own cock from my pants and spat into my hand, using it to lubricate my cock.

Julian was observing my preparations with calm amusement. “I take it your nephew’s visit went well then?”

“What?” I jerked my head up from between his legs to gaze at his enquiring face.

He smiled and repeated his words. “I said, it must have been a good visit.”

I hid my grimace. “As a matter of fact –quite the opposite.”

A puzzled expression crossed his face. “Oh, why –”

I let my breath out in a loud hiss. “What is this, an interrogation? I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

He shrugged. “Okay.” I could see from his face, though, that he still had questions.

I wasn’t planning on answering them, however. “Great, now if you don’t mind ...”

I hoisted his legs onto my shoulders in order to provide easier access to his ass. The next few minutes passed in silence, except for the sound of my balls slapping against the smooth cheeks of his butt as I thrust into him. The tightness of his ass, especially the way the muscles seemed to grip my cock snugly, was working wonders to dispel the knot of anger and disappointment in my stomach.

Suddenly he broke the silence. “Uh, Caleb?”

“Uhuh?” I asked, not letting up in the velocity of my thrusts.

“I know I might’ve said I liked it rough, but –”

I finally came down from my euphoric high to see that he was wincing; I must've been pounding his ass really hard.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry,” I began to apologize.

He waved aside my apology. “S’okay. You’d think I should be immune to it.” He watched my face closely and tentatively brushed his hand against mine. “Sure you don’t wanna talk about what happened back there with your nephew?”

I looked first at his face, and then at his hand on mine. I sighed and sat back on my haunches. “You remember I told you about the guy who was in here before you?”

He nodded. “Sure, cute redhead who used to give you blowjobs.”

I frowned. “I don’t remember telling you his hair color.” (I was pretty sure that, even if I had, I would've described it as brown.)

Julian shrugged. “If it wasn’t you, it must have been someone else around these parts.” He laughed at the look on my face. “What, you didn’t expect someone to tell your current squeeze about the previous one? Hello, this is a prison!”

I winced at his use of the word ‘squeeze’, but had to admit that he was right. One can’t exactly expect privacy to be the prevailing concept in a prison setting.

“Well,” I continued, “I don’t suppose they told you he was more than just my ‘squeeze’, as you put it. I was supposed to look after him, keep him safe ... y’know.”

Julian looked intrigued. “Who for? And why?”

I took a deep breath and admitted, “My nephew. Harrison was – is – the love of his life.”

Julian’s eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into his blond fringe. “Holy shit!” he exclaimed.

In any other situation I’d have laughed at his sheer astonishment. But under the circumstances I couldn’t even muster a smile.

“I suppose it goes without saying that your nephew didn’t take it well,” said Julian sympathetically.

I shook my head. “'Didn’t take it well' would be putting it lightly. He was so mad, I thought he’d never speak to me again.”

“But surely he has to understand that this sort of thing happens all the time in here.”

“Yeah, that’s what I told him too. He thawed after a while.”

“That’s good. So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is ... I still feel guilty,” I confessed. “Joshua might’ve forgiven me, but I’m not sure I can forgive myself. I should’ve known better.”

“Caleb ... you couldn’t help it. You can’t blame yourself for developing feelings for your cellmate. An uncle and nephew with the same taste in men isn’t –”

I know he was trying to be helpful, consoling even, but his words hit a raw nerve. I jumped up furiously. “Who told you I developed feelings for Harrison? I didn’t! And I don’t have the same taste in men as Joshua. I don’t have any taste in men at all.”

Julian kept silent.

“Well?” I said dangerously, daring him to speak.

“Caleb,” he said finally, “you don’t have to deny it, you know. I’ve been with plenty of guys before, and I know when they’re in it just for the sex, and when they’re looking for something more. And you –”

“Don’t even go there,” I warned.

Julian plodded on determinedly. “You’re one of the latter.” He gave me what he must have thought was an encouraging smile, but it only served to rile me further.

“I’ll have you know I’ve been in relationships with women all of my life. I even married two of them!”

He gave a wry grin. “If I had a dime for every time I heard something along those lines ...”

Deep down I knew he wasn’t trying to be condescending, but that’s what it sounded like to my rage-addled mind. I exploded. “You think you know everything? Well, you don’t, even if you have all the worldly experience of a low-rent hooker!”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth I knew I’d gone too far. Julian looked like he’d been slapped in the face – hard.

I hastily tried to backpedal. “Julian ...”

But he wasn’t having any of that. He pulled himself off my cock and started to get off the bunk. “Where’re you going?” I said, “I wasn’t done yet!”

He looked at me coldly. “Well, I’m done.” A tinge of regret showed through the icy facade for a second – “I thought you were different” – then the emotionless mask was back: “but you were just like the others.”

“I didn’t ask for this; you did! I only took what you were offering. If I’d wished, I could’ve had you, willing or otherwise.”

Julian started to turn away from me, but not before I caught him rolling his eyes.

My temper, which had always been my downfall, got the best of me. “DON’T YOU DARE TURN YOUR BACK WHEN I’M TALKING TO YOU!” I shouted.

He ignored me. The next few seconds passed in a blur. I tried to grab him around the waist, he tried to avoid me, and somehow or other, my fist ended up connecting with his side. The next thing I knew, he was crumpled on the floor, clutching his side and writhing in agony.

“What the –” The initial shock wore off, and I scrambled to crouch down beside him. “Julian, are you –”

He shoved me aside roughly and made a beeline for the washbasin. I could only watch in dismay as he threw up. “I didn’t even hit you that hard,” I said weakly.

He couldn’t reply because he was rinsing out his mouth. When he began to walk feebly back to his bunk, I tried to touch his arm in a gesture of comfort, but he shrugged me off. “Just leave me alone,” he said as he climbed into his bunk.

Staring at his naked form curled up on the bed, it hit me just how young and vulnerable he looked. I wanted to apologize for my harsh words, but the earlier commotion had drawn onlookers and I decided that apologizing in front of them wouldn’t do my tough-guy reputation in these parts any good.

So I just got into my own bunk and tried to figure out how I could make it up to him later that night, when we were alone. Little did I realize that I wouldn’t get the chance to.

* * *​

Julian had declined to come down for dinner that night. I was worried, because although he might’ve been trying to hide his whimpers of pain, he wasn’t doing the best job of it.

As for me, I was still searching for the right words for my apology. How does one apologize for using such a lowly insult when he had only been trying to help, and then hitting him till he threw up? I still didn’t get how the latter happened. His attempts at consoling had hit on a subject I wasn't very comfortable with, but that was no excuse for my behavior.

“Lights out!” the guard on duty yelled out, and most of the lamps in the cellblock went out accordingly.

“Julian!” I whispered across the space between our bunks.

He just groaned softly. I got out of my bed and covered the short distance between our bunks quietly.

“Look, Julian, there’s something I’ve got to say.”

“I don’t think now’s the best time,” he mumbled.

I put my hand on his bare shoulder and was stunned to find it, like the rest of his body, burning hot and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. I pressed my hand to his forehead; he tried to brush it off, but not before I was able to make my diagnosis: he was running a fever, and a bad one at that.

“Julian, you’re not well,” I stated, trying to remain calm.

“I’m fine,” he protested faintly. Then he grimaced and clutched his abdomen as another wave of pain hit him.

I was horrified at how much pain he seemed to be in – and how it had started after I had, albeit accidentally, hit him. “I’m gonna call the guard to take you down to the infirmary.”

“No!”

“This is not the time for stubbornness,” I told him. “You need medical help.”

He shut his eyes and swallowed. “Okay ...” he conceded.

I hurried over to the cell door and yelled out into the corridor, “Guard! My cellmate’s sick!”

As soon as I heard the sound of approaching footsteps I returned to Julian’s bedside and grasped his clammy hand. “You’re gonna be okay.”

All animosity was forgotten; he gripped my hand back, tightly. I heard the door swing open behind me. The guard on duty took a quick look at Julian and came to the same conclusion as I had.

“Rob! Some help back here,” he yelled out to his colleague. “We gotta take this guy over to the infirmary.”

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked anxiously.

The guard gave me a look. “Do I appear like a doctor to you?” To Julian he asked, “Can you walk?” Julian nodded in reply.

Just then Rob arrived, and the first guard asked him to lock up the cell behind him as he supported Julian out into the corridor.

“You’ll tell me how he’s doing, right?” I called after him.

He didn’t reply, but Rob did. “I’m sure you can ask Max about it in the morning,” said Rob, knowing of the friendship I’d struck up with his other, older colleague. He swung the door shut and locked it before walking off.

I was left alone in my cell, with only my burgeoning guilt for company.

To be continued ...​

Thanks for all the comments so far; keep them coming!

 

[Craiger]

Sounds like Julian might have appendicitis. Poor Caleb now has the guilt of this along with the guilt about Harrison. Very interesting chapter, Justin, and I hope things turn out better for them all. Can't wait for Max to give us the full story.

Craiger

 

[nnnyke]

nice story

 

[harry113]

Great continuation. Thanks Justin.
Did the blow to his side cause internal damage ? or was he already sick??
Look forward to the next
Harry

 

[arogersb]

Any chance of an update of this or Tyler Calloway Investigates anytime soon?

My apologies to you, Matt, and everyone else who's been waiting for an update to these stories. Life has been a real bitch lately, and I haven't had as much time to write. I also ran into a gaping plothole with TCI; until I find a way to resolve it, that story's on hold.

However, I do have a new chapter of Caleb and Julian's tale, which will follow in my next post. Hopefully it will be of some consolation!

 

[arogersb]

Chapter 4​

After spending a sleepless night and picking at my breakfast the next morning, there were no words to describe the relief I felt when I finally spotted Max patrolling the corridors.

“Max!” I called out.

He sighed and walked over to my cell door. “Rob warned me you’d be looking for me this morning. I came prepared with news of the kid.”

“How is he?” I asked urgently.

“Well, they’ve transferred him to the county hospital. The infirmary doesn’t exactly have the equipment for surgery –”

“Surgery?” I echoed, feeling sick to the pit of my stomach as all sorts of awful images flashed before my eyes. “I didn’t hit him that hard!”

Max gave me a weird look. “This wasn’t anything to do with you or anyone else hitting him. He had appendicitis.”

“Oh,” was the only reply I could muster. Suddenly everything seemed to add up. I guess that in my stressed out state I had missed the obvious. My sole comfort now was the knowledge that I couldn’t possibly have caused Julian’s appendicitis, although – and I winced at the memory of him curled up in pain – I probably hadn’t helped matters either by dealing him that accidental blow to his gut.

“So he’s going to be okay?” I sought confirmation.

“Yeah, the hospital sent word this morning that he was out of danger, although they’ll be keeping him there for a couple of days to make sure no infection develops. He’ll probably have to stay in the infirmary for a while longer when he returns, before being released back into general population.”

I bowed my head and mumbled a thank you under my breath. Looking up, I found Max eyeing my curiously. “You’ll let me know if you get any other news about Julian, won’t you?” I asked hurriedly.

Max shrugged. “If there’s any news, yeah.”

“Thanks, Max.”

“No problem, Cal.”

I watched him go before collapsing backwards onto my bunk. Worrying can be quite exhausting. Of course, Julian being on the road to recovery wasn’t the end of my worries. There was still the problem of how I could make up it to him for my bad-tempered tirade, but I knew it would come to me, in time. And based on what Max had said about Julian’s expected recovery period, time was something I had only too much of.

* * *​

It was several days later that Max got my attention by rapping on the bars of my cell.

“Your guy’s just been transferred back in from the County Hospital; he’s been assigned a bed in the infirmary till he’s fully recovered.” With that announcement he turned to go.

“Hey, hold up, Max!”

The guard paused in his tracks. “Yes, what is it this time, Caleb?” he asked wearily.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but ... do you think you could get me in to see him?”

Max stared at me as though I’d uttered something absolutely preposterous. He leaned closer to the bars and hissed, “Are you trying to make me lose my job or something? You know it’s against the rules for one inmate to visit another in the infirmary. He’ll be out in a week or so, you can tell him then.”

I sighed with frustration. “I know, Max, it’s just that ... what I have to tell him can’t wait that long! As it is, I’ve wasted enough time. Come on, Max, when have I ever asked you for anything?”

I knew that last sentence had been a bad addition. Max pretended to think: “Hmm, let’s see. Back in February you wanted me to –”

I interrupted before he had the chance to remind me how I’d asked him to help me out by guaranteeing that a certain new inmate got transferred into my cell. “Okay, okay. There was that one time. But other than that, I’ve never asked for any favors, have I?” Max had to nod his agreement.

I knew I had to move in quickly to win this argument. “It’d mean a lot to me, and to Julian. Just this once, Max – in the name of our friendship.” I felt a little bad for using such a dirty move, bringing up the camaraderie we’d forged over the years. When I’d first entered the penitentiary eight years ago, Max – a junior guard back then – had been similarly new to the establishment. I fixed my best pleading look on him, which was no easy feat considering how rarely I felt the need to grovel. Yet strangely enough this was the second time in less than a week.

Max looked at me for a few seconds, and then sighed loudly as he reached for his bunch of keys. “How do I let you talk me into these things ...” he grumbled under his breath.

I was so delighted I could’ve kissed him. (Obviously I didn’t, but based on the vibes I’d gotten off Max in the past, I don’t think he would’ve minded particularly if I had.)

“You won’t regret this,” I promised.

“I sure as hell hope not!” he muttered, swinging my cell door open.

* * *​

For someone who worked in a profession that involved the enforcement of rules, Max certainly seemed to know a lot about ways to get around them. It took a while, and a good deal of haggling with the nurse on duty at the infirmary, but eventually he managed to get me into the ward that was Julian’s temporary home.

“She said he had the last ward to himself,” mumbled Max, stopping short at the end of the corridor, “so this must be it”. He sneaked a peek through the glass panel set into the door. I was about to attempt a peek myself when he turned back around.

“Yup, it’s your boy alright. Now, you’ve got ten minutes – no more.”

“That’s more than I could’ve hoped for,” I said gratefully. “Thanks a lot, Max.”

He grunted, looking a little embarrassed, and gestured for me to enter the room. I obeyed and found myself in a surprisingly bright room. There were three beds against the walls on either side, with a walkway in the middle that led up to a bank of windows on the wall directly opposite me. The windows were barred, of course, but they let in plenty of natural light – something one is otherwise hard-pressed to find in a prison.

Five of the beds were unoccupied, but in one of the end ones there was a tousled blond head sticking out from underneath the covers. As I approached I saw that Julian was asleep; he looked so angelic and peaceful it seemed like a shame to wake him. Then I remembered the time crunch I was in and forced myself to shake him awake by the shoulder.

His eyelids fluttered open and he squinted against the bright sunlight streaming in from the nearby windows. “Caleb? How’d you get in here?”

“I know some people,” I said, grinning. I looked around for a chair but there was none, so I sat on the edge of the bed instead. “How’re you feeling?”

“I'll live,” he smiled, stretching and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Although the doctor did say I’d be out of commission for a couple of weeks. So how’ve you been?” He gave a cheeky grin. “I hope you haven’t been spending your days all by your lonesome.”

I couldn’t believe it. I had insulted him, lost my temper when he rightfully protested, and then proceeded to aggravate the symptoms of his appendicitis by hitting him. Yet here he was acting all lighthearted and flirty.

I just went right ahead and said it. “Julian, I’m sorry. I should never have called you –”

He interrupted “S’okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. You were just trying to help, and I – I lashed out at you. Please accept my apology.”

Julian sighed. “Well, if you insist ... apology accepted. To tell the truth, I don’t know why I reacted that way. I mean, I’ve been called a lot worse before. And now that I’ve had time to think about it ... I don’t really blame you. It wasn’t my place to say those things –”

“But you were right,” I said quietly.

Julian blinked, evidently unsure that he’d heard me correctly.

“You were right,” I repeated. “You hit a little too close to home. That’s why I reacted the way I did. And I had no right –”

“Caleb,” Julian interjected gently, realization registering in his eyes, “you don’t have to –”

I held up my hand to silence him. “Just ... let me finish.” I didn’t think I could go through with it twice. I turned and looked out the window, thankful that the ward was empty except for the two of us, for what I had to say was extremely personal.

“The first time I ever did anything with another man was with Harrison Ridgeway. It was wrong from the word go, and I knew it. I had a nephew who was closer in age to him, and who had spent most of his teenage years in love with him. At first I told myself it was just a way of getting sexual relief, I was helping Harry explore his gay side while remaining completely heterosexual myself.” I gave a crooked grin. “I was lying to myself. Something in me had changed. And I tried to hide it. I lied to Harry that there was nothing between us, and the weird part was – he accepted it. So easily! And there I was struggling to accept it myself.”

“But then he got released, and I went back to being alone in my cell. It was so simple to tell myself that I’d just had my long-overdue adolescent hormonal phase, and the confusion had passed. And who should turn up to unsettle the precarious balance I had built up but you. You made me face truths that I would rather not have ...”

He was looking intently at me, head cocked slightly to one side, an indescribably tender expression on his features.

“... And I took it out on you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Julian shook his head. “Caleb, I had appendicitis. You can’t blame yourself for that. If anything, it was my own stubborn mule-headedness in not seeking medical attention as soon as I knew something wasn’t right –”

“Why didn’t you?” I interrupted.

He gave a crooked smile. “Would you believe it’s because I’m terrified of hospitals?”

I stared at him. Fear of medical institutions is something I can understand in octogenarians, but a twenty-something-year-old guy ...

“I grew up in small-town Texas,” he said by way of explanation. (I thought I’d detected a slight Texas accent.) “We never went to the hospital unless it was absolutely necessary. And after I came to L.A. ... well, let’s just say hospital visits didn’t bode very well for guys in my, uh, line of work.” He looked down at his interlinked fingers as he said the last words, and for the first time I saw how deeply ashamed he was of what he’d had to do for a living. Of what he’d doubtless have to go back to doing when he was released from prison. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t the job of his choice, or whether he even liked it – I was starting to feel he didn’t, that it was all part of the brave facade that he put up – but it was the only way he knew of to earn a living. And in that instant I made my decision.

“You’re not going back there,” I said. “When you get out of here ... you’re not going back to the streets. You’re coming to live with me.”

There was a pause. Then he laughed, nervously. “You’re kidding, right?” The laughter died as he saw the serious expression on my face. “Right?” he asked again, weakly.

I shook my head firmly. “Look, we’re getting released within weeks of each other. I’ll be out first, and I’ll wait for you. I know there won’t be a lot of money, and the first couple of months or so might be rough, but I do have some savings, and then there’s my nephew, I know he’ll help out ...” I was babbling in my keenness to reassure him, but it seemed to have the opposite effect on him; he looked thoroughly miserable.

Finally he choked out a “Don’t!”

I stopped mid-sentence, feeling confused and a little alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

He had his eyes clenched shut. “Please don’t, Caleb. Don’t do this to me. Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep.”

“I do intend to keep them!” I protested.

“Not to me you don’t. Who am I to you, Caleb? Just some guy you share your cell with and feel sorry for. That’s not a reason to put him up in your home.”

“It isn’t,” I agreed. “But it is when you care about him. And I do. I care about you. I’m not sure if I – I love you, but I definitely care about you.” The words took me by surprise, but as I said them I knew that they were true.

And from the look on Julian’s face, he knew it too. And it surprised him, because he hadn’t thought anyone was capable of caring about him. I could see it in his eyes, and it practically wrenched my heart out of my chest. His tears spilled over, and I reacted instinctively, wrapping my arms around him. He melted into my embrace, crying silently. I wanted to say something, whisper comforting words in his ear, but they weren’t needed.

“You’re a good man, Caleb,” he whispered. I opened my mouth to protest, but he silenced me with a finger to my lips. He gave a crooked smile. “I’m telling you – and I’ve met a lot of men.” There was no pride in his voice at this ‘accomplishment’. “There were men who just wanted a quick fix. There were men who had a wife and kids waiting at home. And there were men like Eric ...”

“One day you’ll tell me about him,” I said.

There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes, surprise that someone should care, before he realized he should no longer be stunned by that. “Maybe some day,” he nodded, “but not now.”

“No,” I agreed, “we don’t have the time.”

Almost on cue, I heard someone clearing their throat at the other end of the ward. Both Julian and I looked in that direction to see Max; he held up his watch-encircled wrist and tapped the quartz face.

“I have to go,” I told Julian. I knew it had been well over ten minutes, and I wondered how long Max had been waiting there; I hadn’t heard him come into the ward. How much had he overheard? Did it even matter?

I decided that it didn’t. A week ago I would have balked at a public display of affection, but those painful moments when Julian had been writhing in agony on his bunk had taught me a valuable lesson. I got up and kissed Julian on the forehead. “Get well quickly, Jules.” A smile touched the corners of his mouth at the nickname.

“I will,” he promised. “You take care of yourself.”

I gave his hand a final, tight squeeze before letting it go and walking towards Max.

* * *​

“You know, I can probably get the kid his own cell by using this illness as a reason.”

I stared at Max. We were almost at my cell door. He went on innocently, “I mean, you do still want your cell to yourself, right?”

“You know very well I don’t!” I growled.

Max smirked. “I thought not. Well, here you are” – he swung the door open and stood aside for me to pass through – “You can thank me later.”

I gave him a quizzical glance.

Max clicked his tongue impatiently. “Come on, who put the pretty boy in your cell to begin with, huh?”

I sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated. “Thanks, Max. You’re a real pal.”

He chuckled as he locked the door. “And don’t you forget it!”

I watched him stride off down the corridor and couldn’t help smiling. How could I forget, when I would soon have Julian’s bubbly, golden-haired presence as a constant reminder of the circumstances of our first, fateful meeting?

To be continued ...​

As always, your feedback is crucial and much appreciated!

 

[Craiger]

Well worth the wait, Justin. A delightful and touching chapter. As Matt said, it's good to now Julian is OK and that things are OK between the two of them. Looking forward to the continued installments.

Craiger

 

[gay boy 123]

great story! straight guys should experiment having gay sex

 

[cocktacular]

Great story!!! Is there more to it? I'm fixed and want to know what's next.