Chapter 10

 

 

Stone had fallen into a dead sleep after such a long day. Sometime during the early morning hours, Abbas sneaked into his cell. Stone awoke to warmth behind him, Abbas’s arm pulling him close. It felt so nice to be held, especially after all that had happened that day.

It was comforting until Stone realized he was crying. He turned over and gazed at Abbas, their faces close enough to touch. Stone saw the tears streaming from the Arab’s beautiful blue eyes.

“There was nothing you could have done, Abbas,” Stone said as he stroked his thick black hair, understanding why he was upset.

“How can you do that?” Abbas choked out. “How can you offer me comfort when it was you and Benoit who were subjected to such horrid acts?”

“I’m only doing what I have to do to survive,” Stone stated flatly. “It’s what I need to do, have to do, to keep us alive. To get Benny back to his family if I can.”

Abbas nodded. He dug into his pocket, producing the toothbrush and a small foil packet of toothpaste.

Hurriedly Stone got up and brushed his teeth vigorously in the bucket of water. He brushed several times, trying to eradicate not only all the semen that was forced into his mouth, but the memory of the act that put it there. It didn’t entirely work, but he did feel better afterwards.

Lying back down, Stone faced Abbas again. He kissed him gently on his perfect lips, then his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, ending on his lips again. Abbas’s thick, heavy beard scratched against Stone’s own unshaven face.

“Abbas?” Stone asked calmly.

“Yes?”

“Abbas, can you take me to see Benoit?” Stone knew his request would raise concerns, not only for Abbas’s safety, but also on a personal level. Somehow, Stone knew Abbas was more than a little jealous of Benny.

“You do not know what you ask of me, Samuel.” Abbas’s body stiffened, his voice tight. “The risk is great.”

“I only want to make sure he is all right, Abbas,” Stone pleaded. “He is my friend, and I am concerned about his well-being.”

“You know that if we are caught, it will mean certain death to us all, don’t you?” Abbas explained.

“Please, Abbas?”

Abbas sighed heavily, then moved to stand up. “Come. We will try.”

He carefully opened the door, looking out into the hallway. He motioned for Stone to wait as he pulled the door almost closed, then darted across the hall, unlocking the hasp on Benoit’s door before opening and stepping inside. After a moment the door opened, and Abbas motioned for Stone to come across the hall, reminding him to close and lock his own cell door behind himself.

Benoit’s cell was darker than Stone’s. Stone could barely make out Benoit’s form lying on the same type of thin mattress as his own, and with the same type of rough woolen blanket. Stone slowly approached him, calling his name quietly.

“Benoit? Benny, it’s me…Sam,” Stone whispered.

Benny turned. The only way Stone knew his eyes were open was from the reflection of the faint light that invaded the small room. His eyes blinked several times, not trusting what he saw.

“It’s me, Benny.”

That was all it took. Benoit was up in a flash, and Stone was in his arms instantly. A hard, deep sob erupted from Stone’s very depths. Benoit’s head on his shoulder, Stone could feel the wetness coming from his friend’s weeping. The big blond Marine held his buddy, stroking his back, his head, then his back again, cooing into Benoit’s ear that it was going to be all right. He whispered that things were going to work out, anything he could think of that would soothe the other Marine’s tired soul.

Stone felt his own tears spill over, feeling Benoit’s pain. He knew the torment Benoit felt, even more so than he. They stood there until they were both cried out. Looking at each other without saying a word, they understood each other as they always had.

“I’m sorry, Benny, so sorry.”

“Sammy, there is nothing for you to be sorry about,” Benny said bitterly. “It was something we both had to do to survive. It’s just survival, survival of the fittest.”

They both looked as one towards Abbas, the glistening on his cheeks a testimonial of his own tears. Opening their arms, they welcomed Abbas, sharing their grief for the situation they all found themselves in, not just Benny and Stone.

Abbas was stiff at first, but Benny made the extra effort to make him feel a part of them, rubbing his back. Then Benoit surprised Stone by kissing Abbas’s cheek.

“Thank you, my friend,” Benny said to Abbas. “Thank you for all that you have done, but especially for this.”

Abbas nodded, understanding how close Benny and Stone were, and the bond that they shared.

The three men stood that way, their arms wrapped around each other. After a while, it felt a bit odd to Stone that while Benny and he were both standing there naked, Abbas was still dressed in his pressed pants, shirt, and sweater. Odd at first, and then it struck him as being funny.

Both Benny and Abbas looked at Stone strangely, questioning him silently as to why he was laughing.

“It just strikes me as funny, Benoit and I standing here buck-ass naked, and you looking so prim and proper.” Stone chuckled.

Benoit and Abbas also laughed softly at the absurdity of it all, agreeing.

Moments later, Abbas said that they needed to break this up, and that he needed to get Stone back to his own cell. Reluctantly, they agreed, but not before Stone hugged Benny close to him. Even as bizarre as the situation was, Stone was still able to notice their genitals rubbing against each other during the hug.

Leaving Benny’s cell and entering Stone’s own, Abbas came in with him.

“I cannot risk staying any longer, Samuel,” he announced as he closed the door behind them.

“I understand, Abbas,” Stone said quietly. He knew Abbas had to leave, but it didn’t make it any easier to see him go. “You know I wish that you didn’t have to, don’t you?”

“You do not wish me to leave?” Abbas seemed surprised.

To answer Abbas’s question, Stone stepped close to him. Looking into his eyes, he then pulled Abbas’s head to his own, kissing him. It was not the sweet, gentle kiss that they had shared in their brief past, but a full-on, passionate kiss.

Pulling Abbas tightly to him, Stone put everything he had into that kiss. Stone wanted him to understand, more than anything, how much he meant to him, and how much Stone desired him as a man.

Stone must have succeeded, because it wasn’t long before he could feel Abbas’s hardness trapped inside his clothing. Stone broke the kiss, but only so he could nibble behind Abbas’s ear, moving south, licking and sucking gently as he went. Stone must have been doing something right. Abbas moaned and threw his head back, allowing Stone full access, as he pushed his groin into Stone’s own now fully-erect cock.

Pulling back from him, Stone asked, “Does that prove to you how much I’d like for you to stay?” He smiled.

“I don’t understand, Sam,” Abbas replied, his face puzzled. “You have been raped, abused in the worst way, but you can…” His voice trailed off.

“How I can find you sexy, handsome, and desirable?” The big Marine grinned broadly at him.

“Yes, I don’t understand.” Abbas’s arms were still around him.

Stone frowned as he tried to explain it to him. “It’s like I leave myself behind when they are doing those things to me. They are touching my body, but my mind is somehow detached, like they aren’t really touching me at all.” Stone looked to see if Abbas got what he was trying to say.

“I think I understand.” Abbas smiled slightly. He placed his palm flat against Stone’s chest. “They can’t touch you in here.”

“Yes, that’s it exactly.” Stone nodded, his eyes glued to Abbas’s. “They may have my body, but they can never touch my heart, Abbas. That is reserved for someone special.”

Abbas looked away. “Do you think that I could ever be that someone special, Samuel?” His voice was so low that if Stone weren’t standing so close to him, he would never have been able to hear it.

Stone lifted his chin with his hand. “Abbas, you are already that someone special. No matter what happens, you will always have a place in my heart.” Stone watched him closely to see how he would react to that. “My hope is that our future will be one where we can see how special it can be.”

The look in Abbas’s eyes was as if someone had just turned on a light inside of him. For the first time, Stone saw a cute, silly grin lift his face. It was adorable.

“But for now, my handsome Arabian Prince, I think you need to go before I try and keep you here all night.” Stone pushed him backwards, towards the door.

“You are right, although I now wish I didn’t have to go.” He quickly gave Stone a sloppy wet kiss, and then as always, he was gone.

For the first time in as long as Stone could remember, he felt a flame ignited within himself. He knew that flame, that hot heat that was slow to consume. With enough fuel, it could turn into a full, blazing fire, a fire of love.