The Block

Many weeks had passed since the fated night that Rico and I made love in the shower. In that time Diego grew more and more distant, it was obvious the shine of his new toy was fading. However, Rico and I continued to play our parts. I knew that my life depended on my willingness to continue letting Diego fuck me when and where he wanted, and Rico had to continue the charade as the dutiful chief of security. 

Cracks began to show more clearly though, at first it was little things. Diego took me to the cafe he took me to that first day, where he’d lay me back on the table and fucked me not caring who saw. The look on the girl’s face told me that wasn’t the last time he’d done that in the cafe, and that I wasn’t the only one. She knew as well as I did that survival meant doing things we didn’t want to, making alliances to stay alive was all you had in the block, but the pity in her eyes when she looked at me burned. 

There was a moment when Diego stepped out to make a call, and she rushed to the table, having found the courage to speak up. 

I mustered the kindest look I could, and simply said, “I know…but thank you…” 

She nodded and said with a wry smile, “I’m sorry…”

“Me too,” I said softly, before glancing up at her. 

When Diego came back to the table, she acted as if nothing had happened. As if she and I hadn’t just shared the moment we’d shared. It was a risk on her part, a daring risk to speak up. This woman was brave. 

As we were leaving, I glanced back at her and nodded. 

“Thank you!” I said. 

I knew that she would understand the meaning was deeper than Diego would ever understand. 

“Maise, my name is Maisey” she said giving me a soft smile. 

“Thank you Maisey.” I smiled. 

Diego barely glanced back at her, before the pressure on the small of my back told me he was ready to go. He guided me to the elevators, Rico and two other guards following closely. 

“Rico - take Mike upstairs, I have something that I need to do,” Diego said, dryly before pecking me on the cheek and slapping my ass. 

“Sure boss!” Rico said, stepping into the elevator with me. 

As the doors to the elevator were closing, I happened to catch the screen on Diego’s phone. There on that screen was a picture of an upturned ass, and I knew what he needed to take care of. As stated before though, I’m no fool. This is survival, it’s never been love. 

Rico turned to me and hissed, “I hate him for doing this to you.” 

“Rico, we’ve talked about this. We have to be smart, and play our parts.” I said to him, as warmly as I could. 

“You deserve so much more than this though Mikey.” He grunted. 

I desperately wanted to kiss him, but I knew that one of the places in the block that was constantly monitored by cameras was the elevators, so I stayed put. However, with my eyes, I told him what he needed to know. The warmth I felt for him, after the time we’d spent together over the past several weeks, I was falling for him and I knew that he was falling for me. 

Once up at the apartment, I pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around his waist. Kissing him and resting my head on his shoulder. 

“I always dreamed that one day I would fall in love with a man who made me feel safe, who would take on the world with me Rico…but, dreams in this place, they don’t come true,” I said, quietly, ruefully. 

“What if they could?” He asked, with a longing in his voice.

“Thinking that way is dangerous…” I said, lifting my head and looking him in the eye. 

“It doesn’t have to be Mikey. What if we could make it real, what if we could make the future we both dreamed of?” He asked pleadingly. 

I kissed him, deeply. I don’t know if the kiss was aimed at changing the subject or stopping me from dreaming anymore about an impossible future. I’d been feeling more trapped than ever lately. I was starting to wonder what happened to the men that Diego chose and then ultimately tired of. I was afraid to ask Rico because I wasn’t sure that he was going to tell me the truth. Not that wasn’t trustworthy, but because I knew he’d want to spare me to pain of knowing. 

He held me that way for a long time. The love and compassion he felt for me radiating off his body like he was an electric blanket. I did feel safe with him. I could see, in a different world or a different place, him being the man that I would build that dream life with. This wasn’t that place though. We couldn’t have those dreams. 

When Diego returned hours later, he smelled like cheap cologne. It wasn’t the expensive, imported scents that he kept, this was the scent of someone else who’d rubbed off on him. Or, rubbed him off, which was more likely. 

He didn’t linger long, just went into the bathroom and showered. He knew what he smelled like, and a part of me understood that he was simply letting me know my place in this relationship. He wanted me to know that while I was a kept man, he was free to do as he pleased. After all, he ran this block. 

That night, and the realization of his disregard, was the first crack in my resignation from this situation. It was then, laying next to him still faintly smelling whatever cheap whore he’d fucked on his skin despite his shower, that I knew what I wanted. That I needed to be the harbinger of my freedom. I need to be a part of the change. 

When I woke the next morning, Diego was gone. A note left on the bed said he would be gone for several days, traveling to another block on business. I knew that he had business dealings with some of the other blocks, and there was a trade network between them. This was the first time that he’d mentioned it. Dropping the note to the bed, I wondered if Rico had gone with him. 

“Good morning Mikey…” I heard as the door opened. 

Turning I see Rico standing there. He wasn’t dressed in his typical security attire but was wearing a pair of shorts and a cut-off shirt. 

“I thought perhaps we could run the stairs today.” He continued with a smirk. 

“Let me get dressed,” I said to him, smirking back. 

As I pulled out a pair of shorts and a cut-off shirt, we were silent. I’m sure he realized that I’d just woken up, he was always observant about those kinds of things. It was one of the things that made my heart swell around him. His gruff, hardened exterior hid a warm, soft heart. That morning, he was particularly quiet, almost as if something was gnawing at him.

Finally, we’d reached the 4th set of stairs, in a particularly quiet section of the block, and I grabbed his arm. 

“Why are you so quiet today Rico? What’s wrong?” I ask, panting from our running. 

Bent at the waist and holding his knees, breathing deeply, Rico looked up at me. His eyes filled with a resolute sadness. He knew something, something terrible. I could feel my stomach drop out. 

“What is it?” I asked desperately.

My voice raised higher than I wanted it to. 

“I don’t know what happened, but he wants to replace you already. He’s never done this so fast…I don’t know what’s going on?” Rico blurted out with despair in his voice. 

“What the fuck does that mean?” I asked, suddenly terrified. 

Rico looked at me softly, I could see the pain in his eyes. My heart suddenly was in my throat. I couldn’t swallow. 

“OH FUCK…the men they find at the bottom of the stairs, the jumpers…those are his former…” I couldn’t finish the sentence. 

“He doesn’t like anyone else to have them when he’s done with them,” Rico said dryly. 

“When? When is this supposed to happen?” I asked, speaking too fast, my voice suddenly shaking in fear. 

“He told me to take care of it before he gets back from his business trip,” Rico said. 

I looked at Rico, I’m sure he could see the fear in my eyes. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, as tears stung my eyes. I started walking in small circles, my breath catching in my throat. When the tears broke free of my eyes, I didn’t even fight them. I knew this was a possibility. The block isn’t a place of forgiveness or dreams. I knew, deep down, that this day would come. 

“I’m obviously not going to go through with this Mikey…I couldn’t. I could never hurt you on purpose.” Rico said, before wrapping me in his arms. 

He kissed away my tears and held me as I cried. My body shook us both as he held me. I now understood why he’d asked me on that run this morning. Usually, I was the one who goaded him into this. 

“What are we going to do?” I finally said, finding my voice, once the choked sobbing subsided in me. 

“We’re going to fight, we’re going to fight this…we’re going to fight for the dream…” He said a resolve in his voice that made me feel stronger. 

As we made our way back to the apartment, we didn’t run the stairs anymore. Anyone who might have seen us would have simply seen two sweaty, exhausted men. They didn’t need to know that exhaustion was because the weight of the world was resting on our shoulders. Or, that the budding feelings we felt for each other were going to be tested. 

Entering the apartment, we made our way into the bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed, head in my hands. Rico crouched before me. 

“I’m not going to allow him to hurt you, Mikey. Ever!” He said. 

He leaned forward, again kissing away my tears. His kisses moved lower, and our lips met. I needed this, I needed him to love me in this moment. I needed to feel like I wasn’t disposable. 

He was gentle, his kisses burning with hunger, but not demanding or forceful. He was kissing me as though we had all the time in the world as if nothing would stop us. 

Pushing me back, he lay on top of me. Our cocks, grinding together. Out of instinct, I wrapped my legs around his waist. His hands softly, but deftly moved up and down my thighs. My skin broke out in goosebumps for the soft touch. 

The stubble of his beard felt hot on my cheek as our kissing deepened. 

“When did he slip off his shirt?” I thought to myself as I looked up at Rico’s naked torso above me. 

I ran my hands down his stomach, and then up his sides. He broke the kiss to moan softly, and he too broke out in goosebumps from the sensation. As the moan escaped his lips, his hands were undoing my shorts, and he was pulling them off of me. Naked from the waist down, I never felt exposed around him. Even now there was security to Rico that I couldn’t explain. 

I reached down and undid his shorts, then watched as he pushed them down. His hard cock slapped up against his stomach as he did. Once his shorts were off, he resumed his position on top of me, and I once again tightened my legs around his waist. 

“Make love to me Rico…” I said, looking into his eyes. 

“I’d love nothing more Mikey,” he said, before leaning forward and kissing me softly. 

Once he broke the kiss, he leaned back and positioned himself against me. Pushing forward, my body willingly accepted the intrusion. We gasped in unison, as he slowly sank inside me. 

“OH FUCK” I groaned loudly, as the fullness of his cock stretched me. 

“OH Mikey, I love you…” He said with tightly shut eyes. 

As soon as the words escaped his lips, his eyes shot open. Clearly, he’d not intended to say that out loud. I reached up and stroked his face. 

“I love you too Rico,” I said softly, my eyes once again welling up. 

He collapsed on top of me, kissing me deeply. His hips slowly, and deeply grinding their way forward. I had never felt so full. I’ve never had a guy make love to me like this, ever. Before Diego, I was no virgin by any means, but I’ve never really dated. I was satisfied with quick flings and one-night stands. You don’t get too attached as a gay man in the block. This felt right though, I loved Rico. 

We’d never had the time to take our time before, and we explored each other's bodies. I took this opportunity to feel every inch of him, inside me and on top of me. I loved how slick our bodies grew, as our sweat from the exertion began to accumulate. 

Rico’s rhythm began to increase, while the thrusts became more jagged. 

“FUCK, I’m going to cum Mikey.” He growled. 

I felt his hand wrap around my cock, and our sweat provided enough lubricant for him to slowly stroke me. 

“RICO!” I cried, as his thumb swiped over the head of my cock. 

“I’m going to cum…MIKEY” He cried. 

“FUCK, ME TOO” I cried out with him. 

As he twitched and pulsated inside, I rocketed a heavy load of cum between us. His hand still wrapped around my wilting cock, the friction of it going soft still in his grasp sent shivers up my spine. As I slipped from his hand, he slipped from my ass, but we didn’t move. He stayed on top of me, and I held him. His weight at that moment was a security blanket. 

After a few moments, I hauled myself up and grabbed him by the hand, dragging him into the shower. As we washed each other, he looked at me. 

“I meant what I said before, we’re going to fight!” He said, kissing me. 

“How?” I said, more meekly than I intended. 

“The resistance Mikey, they’re working in this block. They have been for some time. As security chief, it’s my job to know about their activity. A few weeks ago, I made contact. It took a while for them to understand that I wasn’t trying to take them down.” Rico said quickly. 

My eyes were surely wide as saucers, talk of the resistance had always meant trouble. 

“They have a place for us. A place we can hide.” He said a hopeful look on my face. 

“Do you trust them?” I asked, uncertainty bubbling up. 

“I do baby, I trust them…” He said.

“I trust you Rico…I love you.” I said, resting my head on his chest. 

“I love you, Mikey.” He said back, holding me. 

We stayed in the shower until the water ran cold. We had two more days before Diego returned. That wasn’t a lot of time to plan, but this could work…couldn’t it? My dream of a life, a man I felt safe with, someone to come home to, to love - it was possible, it was possible with Rico. 

We could fight.