Jail's Bait: Parole's Victim (Book 4)

‘Good morning, Seattle!!! I’m your meterologist Jill Swill with your local Hott Traxx forecast; right now we have clear skies and a strong sunrise from the east; the current temperature is 72 degrees, with today's high a whopping 87, with a north-northwest wind of 15-20 knots; we'll be cooling down in the evening to 75 degrees, 73 in the higher altitudes. You'll see a full moon for the earlier part of the evening, yet as the night goes on there will be increasing cloud covers from the approaching front coming from the north, providing low visibility. A fast-approaching severe weather pattern from the Artic Circle will be here by late tonight- bringing strong wind gusts, continuing all day Saturday and lasting until the early morning hours of Sunday, as it travels through the Rockies on towards Denver. This is serious, folks; there is a code orange storm warning from 11pm until 2 am for all of Seattle metro and the upper districts, extending to the Bolo Grounds; this includes the entire Mt. Rainier vicinity- so any overnight mountain campers are advised to have alternative means of shelter until tomorrow morning after most of the storm blows through here; it is being officially labeling the wind velocity on a Category 2 tornado scale, so please be careful out there tonight.

‘And now back to thirty more minutes of today's hottest hip-hop and r&b, here on 97.1, Seattle’s Hott Traxx FM..!!’

"Guess we'll have to move the party indoors for the rest of the night," Marquis thought to himself as he reached over to shut the radio off. He had programmed it to be his alarm clock, timing it to turn on at 7:24 a.m., when his favorite radio station's daily weather segment came on.

Marquis lay across his king-sized, rosewood sleigh bed in his wife-beater and boxers, letting the significance of the day sink in... he was graduating from high school this afternoon..! Finally, a high school graduate- and then off to college in the fall. He mentally reviewed his entire life over in his head, and realized in all of his earliest memories, his best friend Kap was right there nest to him- first in day care, then in grade school, then middle school- that's when he almost lost Kap, when he inherited his share of the Hill fortune and moved across to the good side of town. He remembered begging his cousin Joop over and over to make it so Kap could move too, so that they could still go to the same school- and cousin Joop actually helped him. This was one of the many reasons Marquis was happy that someone like Malik was like a real daddy to him, since his own was gone... because of Joop, Marquis had his best friend back. And so on they went, lil’ Marquis and lil’ Michael, a.k.a. Markie and Mikey, a.k.a. Kap-n-Key, a.k.a. the Dynamic Duo, a.k.a. Frik-n-Frak, a.k.a. the Siamese Twinz, together side by side- first hanging with the poor folk, then the rich and famous.

But would Kap continue to hang out with him after what happened two days ago..?

That made Marquis sit up in his bed, fully awake. For two full days he and Kap had avoided each other, each one spending alone time with his girl- so much time on Marquis's part that Carmen had begged off last night, explaining she needed some girl time with Angelina. He understood that, best friends needed to hang out almost as much as a couple in a relationship did. With that insight came the realization that he missed Kap and their easy-going friendship… but he also knew that he didn’t have the same easy-going feelings now for Kap like before- but was it more now, or was it less?… His heart began to ache from the terrible confusion, making his eyes redden.

There was a knock on the bedroom door. Quickly he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his satin sheets. “Come in, Peterson,” he mumbled, throwing the covers over his face as his bedroom door opened.

The smell of eggs, caramel and hazelnut coffee filled the room. Footsteps came to the bed and with a tug, the covers were pulled down. Marquis looked up to see Lamar standing over him, breakfast tray in hand, smiling. “I told Peterson I’d bring in the tray,” he said then; “your valet is going to have enough on his hands, helping you get ready for the graduation.”

“…And you’re SURE that I can’t bring Pete with me to UC Berkeley..? He could hang out in the dorm hallway,” Marquis wheedled.

“YOU wanted to stay in the dorms like normal kids; normal kids don’t bring their valets with them,” Lamar said, frowning slightly as he stared at Marquis. “You didn’t let Malik get that beachfront condo 15 minutes away from campus; Peterson could have stayed there.”

Marquis gave a half-grin that refused to hide his melancholy. “Put an iron in MY hand and you’ll wish Peterson had followed me to school… what are you frowning at..?”

“I’m trying to figure out why you are trying to hide that you’re hurt about something,” Lamar replied seriously, setting the tray down on the nearby nightstand and sitting down on the bed next to Marquis. “What is it..?”

Marquis stared at Lamar, and then his hazel eyes filled with tears. “You don’t know what’s happened,” he began.

“Let me guess,” Lamar interjected; “does this have anything to do with you and Michael not being joined at the hip for the past two days..?”

Marquis started. “What do you mean,” he asked defensively. “Nothin’s wrong with me and Kap!!!”

Lamar continued to stare at him like he was under a microscope.

Marquis knew the jig was up. “I just gave it away, didn’t I,” he admitted in defeat, bowing his head and hiding his face in his hands.

Lamar said quietly, “How long have you and Michael-”

“Just once,” Marquis hurriedly answered, raising up to stare at Lamar. “Only the one time. And I-I-” and tears rushed back to fill his eyes again. “I think I’ve lost my best friend…” and he fell back on his pillows, a lone tear falling free down the side of his face.

“You know,” Lamar said after some time had passed, “I was just like you, at your age- I had gotten too deep with MY best friend, and for five minutes I thought we had broken what we had since we were tiny tots, broken it forever… but I was wrong, and we’re still best friends to this day, my lover and me.”

“But that was YOU, Uncle Mar,” Marquis replied sullenly. “You and Pop knew five minutes after y’all hooked up that y’all were meant to be; I don’t know if I feel like that for Kap- and who knows HOW he feels about me now. I haven’t even been able to face him.”

“Well, in a few hours you’re going to be marching down to get your H.S. diploma,” Lamar reminded him. “Today of all days is supposed to be all about endings and beginnings; the end of your high school life and the beginning of your adulthood. So today, will you only say goodbye to your boyhood friendship- and not say hello to a newer, better, more adult connection with Michael?”

Marquis laughed ruefully then. “By the way, Uncle Mar, I was just remembering y’all calling us ‘Markie and Mikey’ and stuff when we were running behind you and Pop… we wanted to grow up and be just like you two.”

“That’s what worries me, you two looking at us as your male role models,” Lamar said seriously. “We didn’t… my relationship with Malik didn’t… I mean-” and he looked at Marquis helplessly.

Marquis stared at him, confused- and then comprehension dawned on him. “NO,” Marquis said then; “you and Pop didn’t turn me and Kap into… y’all didn’t make us feel anything we didn’t want to feel. We both would tell you that one, it was all on us, uncle Mar,” he said. Lamar still looked dubious.

Marquis went on. “If anything, I’m proud that I can say I grew up to be just like Pop and you, I love y’all both more than anything, and Kap has the best of respect for y’all,” he tried to reassure. “The problem is, Kap and I are best friends- a different kind of best friends than you and Pop are,” he added hastily, catching the look on Lamar’s face. “I’m not sure our friendship can survive this.”

“I’m sure you guys will work it out,” he said, reaching over and patting Marquis on the shoulder. “You’ve been best friends with Michael since you were in kindergarten. If your friendship will break over anything, then you guys aren’tbest friends.”

“But this is major, Uncle Mar,” Marquis said, throwing himself back onto his pillow with a tragic expression. “What if it’s already too late..?”

“Do you love Michael..?”

Marquis was startled by the question. “Wha- o-of course I do-” he started to stammer- and then he realized what Lamar really meant, what he, himself REALLY meant… the truth hit him like a ton of bricks.

He did love Kap- he really loved him, the head-over-heels in love-type love.

It was like a flood of understanding filled Marquis like a beacon. Michael ‘Kap’ DonaTello was, is, and would always be… the love of his life.

Lamar saw the truth shining out of his eyes, and nodded with encouragement. “Go tell him, Marquis,” he said then, smiling as he reached out and drew Marquis into an embrace.

“I will, Uncle Mar,” Marquis said then after a moment, smiling at him and wiping his eyes.

“Eat your breakfast,” Lamar indicated to the tray as he got up from the bed and headed for the door. “It’s almost 8 now; we’ll be ready to leave at 10:30.”

“Hey, Uncle Mar,” Marquis called back as he pulled the breakfast tray close; “thanks for talking with me.”

“Can I tell Malik about our talk..?” Lamar asked as he opened the door to the hallway.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Marquis said amicably. “I would never ask you to keep a secret from him.”

“Thanks,” Lamar said then, smiling again. “10:30,” he reminded as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Marquis smiled to himself as he was suddenly hungry for everything on his plate- sausages, scrambled eggs and cheese, toast and his gourmet hazelnut caramel coffee, all served on his personalized monogrammed bone china. Reaching for the 18K gold flatware, he began to dive into it- and then there came a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Marquis said, cutting into a piece of sausage.

The door opened and Marquis looked up- then put his utensils back down on the tray. Standing in the doorway was Kap, dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt, an unreadable look on his sexy-ass face.

“…You’re not dressed for graduation yet,” Marquis mentioned quietly to Kap.

“I’ve got time,” Kap replied somberly; “You’re not out of bed yet…”

“I’ve… got time,” Marquis repeated Kap's statement in a whisper.

He got to his feet as Kap came into the room, closing the door behind him. Silently they stood there looking at each other. Then as one they came together and embraced. A wave of emotion ran through Marquis, holding Kap close in his arms, and he squeezed tighter. And then they were kissing, lips locked together as their tongues wrestled and caressed as one.

Marquis pulled back, breaking the kiss. “What-what’re you doin here,” he breathed in wonder. “I thought- well, I thought that-”

“…Well, I was thinkin that we couldn’t be the friends we used to be,” Kap supplied; “not that way anymore.”

Marquis nodded in acceptance. “I understand-”

“Nawww, I don’t think you do,” Kap said then. “We can’t go back to the way it was- but I can’t live without you, either… I realized last night that I got into it with you the other day because…” Kap sighed then, looking directly at Marquis. “Because- I’m in love with you, ‘Key; I think I always have been.”

Shock etched its way across Marquis's features as his heart began to race with excitement. “Damn, really? I’m in love with you, too, yo…”

It was Kap's turn to read shock over his face. “SERIOUSLY???” he said then, his eyes lighting up with a surge of desperate hope.

“Hellz yeah,” Marquis said then, hugging Kap happily- and then he pulled back again, his hands lightly touching his best friend’s arms. “Yo Kap, I didn’t realize how I felt until this morning- with uncle Mar's help, that is,” Marquis confessed. “He saw how I was feelin before I did.”

“Well, to tell you the truth Uncle Malik got to me last night,” Kap said. “I had come over to see the baby and he cornered me in the nursery, made me see some things that I didn’t see for myself.”

“Wow,” Marquis said. “They both figured out that we were in love wit each other- I guess they knew what signs to look for…”

“Yeah, and I’m not scared or anything about it,” Kap replied then. “I knew I could either be happy wit you or unhappier witout you, and I choose happy.”

“Me too,” Marquis said, re-tightening his embrace. “Damn, this day is fukkin awesome- we’re graduatin, we’re in love wit each other, it looks like we got parental approval- and we both want this, so we don’t have anything else to worry about, not forever...”

“Yeah,” Kap said, reaching up to kiss Marquis again. “We’re together now, an no one can come between us.” And their lips met again with crushing force- just as the door flew open.

“Well, what da FUCK is this..?” a voice thundered, making the boys jump back in fright; they looked towards the door- and both stomachs dropped in horror.

Standing there in the doorway, eyes flashing and a surprised look on their faces, stood both Carmen and Angelina- the look on their faces indistinguishable.

“Awww, shyt,” both Marquis and Kap moaned.