CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Bonded

Now that I'm back in the real world, I finish my business and head outta here. I get home, walk through the door, and stopped - - cold. I wondered what it was, I couldn't move, and then I snapped my fingers and poined, "of course!" This is the first time I been back here since I got popped. I'm lookin' at things I thought I'd never see again, lyin' on that floor the other night. Eddie walks out, wearin' a white crew neck tee-shirt that pretty much danced with his body as it moved. He was holding a shirt, "whatcha doin' with this? It's all ripped up and bloody." I took the shirt in my hand, Eddie started to let go, but I said, "no, you hold it, too. This is us, kid. You and me." "Huh?" "It's bloody 'cuz you jammed this in my chest so I wouldn't bleed to death. It's ripped up 'cuz you caught a couple of slugs so I wouldn't get blasted off. You didn't give a damn about your own life when you saw I was up against it. You stood there and all but asked for your turn after I hit the floor. I was waitin' for ya, hopin' your trip wasn't as bumpy as mine. Then ya stopped my bleedin'. " Then I grabbed him by his upper arms, touching his tee-shirt sleeves. Feelin' that soft cotton in my hands, I rubbed them a little, brushin' his beautiful, battle-scarred bi-ceps, that soft, silky, strong skin. "You really are a man who'd give a guy the shirt off his back. This all says to me that this boy loves you more than his own life." We gave each other a long, penetratin' gaze. Our lips moved toward each others', and I half-whispered, "more than his own life". Eddie gave out a quiet moan and we began kissin'. I stepped in to keep my balance, one leg sliding in between both of his. It's all him and me, now. We always made a good team, him and me, but with our blood mixed together on his shirt, we're bonded for life. Through locked lips, Eddie muttered, "I won't let no one take you away from me - no one".