Chapter 3

I walked downstairs the next morning. Things were going to be awkward. I knew things were going to be awkward even before I got down the steps. The night before I had caught Jalen watching gay porn. He was jerking off to it. Besides the fact that it turned me on so much that I came on myself, there was an awkward vibe between us.

I hadn't said anything after I heard the men on the porn and he knew I saw what I saw. I had just turned around and gone back to sleep at that moment. It was like I was completely ignoring it.

By the time I actually saw Jalen and Brolic sitting there. There was another female. She gave me a sharp look when she saw me. She was pretty. I had to admit. She was another light bright as well. Did they have a sister or something? No. She didn't look exactly like them except for her light skin tone.

“Hey, you must be other cousin,” she stated.

“Cousin?”

I looked at her confused.

Jalen winked at me all of a sudden, “Yeah cousin, Djimon. I just found out my dad had African in him and my distant cousins came to visit. Isn't that right Djimon?”

I looked over at Brolic. He wasn't even saying anything. For some reason they were pretending I was a cousin in front of this girl and I had no idea.

I could care less.

“And you are?”

“I'm Jalen's girlfriend, Leslie.”

She reached her hand out to shake it. I didn't shake hands with commoners. I just stared at her hand as if it was attached to some sort of disease. There was an Ebola outbreak going on in Africa right now. I knew better than to touch people. She seemed like she got her little feelings hurt when I didn't shake her hand. I smiled though. That was the least I could do with the early morning comedy she was entertaining me with.

“Girlfriend?”

I looked at Jalen. He looked away. Wow. He had a girlfriend but he was watching gay porn. How interesting was this? I was actually kind of shocked by it. His girlfriend was actually kind of pretty too.

“Yeah, girlfriend.”

I was confused, “I just had no idea that my cousin had a girlfriend. Just yesterday I was pretty sure that he didn't.”

Leslie looked confused, “What happened yesterday?”

“Can I talk to you in private Djimon?” Jalen stated.

Jalen pulled me over with him. We walked into the living room. The look on his face made me think that he was still clearly embarrassed from what I saw yesterday. He had reason to be. He didn't cheat on his girlfriend or anything like that but I strongly doubt that his girlfriend knew that he watched gay porn. If she did she definitely was the freaky type. These American girls must not have had any boundaries.

By the way he was whispering though I knew that she had no idea.

“You aren't going to say anything are you?” he asked.

“About last night you mean...”

“Look...she doesn't know. I'm in the closet. I plan on telling her. It's just not the right time. You should know.”

“I should know?”

“I mean with you and Marcus.”

I was confused. I thought there was going to be a punchline behind what Jalen was saying but there was none. He was seriously looking at me. He didn't even finish his thought. He couldn't have been insinuating that me and Marcus were...were...

“Are you asking me if me and Marcus are together...”

“Um...clearly. It's kind of obvious.”

“Obvious?”

I was shocked. My mouth was open. Jalen had known Marcus and I for about a day and he had already started to make insinuations like that. I was shocked really. These commoners definitely were brave.

“I mean the way you guys hold hands and the way he pampers to you. The only thing relationship I've ever seen like that are lovers.”

He thought Marcus was my lover.

I started to laugh.

“Wow.”

“What's so funny?”

“Everything. You. This. My circumstance. Everything.”

“I mean if it ain't true. My bad.”

My bad?

His bad?

“I'm sorry you are so confused,” I replied with a sharper tone than I usually had, “Marcus is my servant. Do you understand that? He serves me. Do they teach vocabulary in your peasant schools? I'm sorry I don't speak Ebonics. Yo , yo! He mah' homie who do what I want...'n shit...for real, YO. Is that better?”

“Yo, you being disrespectful now. I said it was my bad if I got that wrong. I didn't mean to imply anything.”

“He is my servant. I am the crown prince of---”

“I know what you are the prince of,” he stated at that moment, “What I am trying to understand is if there is nothing going on between the two of you, then why are you so upset?”

He just walked away at that point. I couldn't get used to it. I couldn't get used to people being so disrespectful to me. My mother was feared in my country. She ruled the country with an iron fist. They called her the Steel Lady. She wouldn't have had people disrespect me like this. Never in my life had mother let people just walk away from me before I finished making my point. It was happening over and over in this house. I couldn't deal.

I walked back to the table to join them. I wasn't going to tell his girlfriend who he really was. I wasn't petty like that even if I wanted to be.

Just at that moment I realized that we were being served...by Marcus.

“What is this?” Brolic stated, “Rich people food?”

“Eggs Benedict,” I stated amused.

Marcus smiled at me, “I know it's your favorite breakfast meal. I decided to go shopping for food early this morning. I bought a lot of food. A lot of organic things that you like as well Pri---I mean, Djimon.”

He wasn't even calling me my title now. I looked at the food. It wasn't about the food. I was starving. It was about the fact that he had been disrespectful to me.

“I'm not hungry.”

“Please, don't do this to me...” he stated, “I apologized. What do you need me to do? Get on one knee...”

Brolic pretended like he was hurling, “Oh god. I'm on an episode of Young and the Restless. Excuse me. I can only take so much. I'm out. I'll catch y'all later.”

Brolic walked out of the house. I watched Jalen chasing after him. I had no doubt he was off to gang bang or sell drugs or do something else crazy. I wasn't worried about that. I was worried about what he said. Did everyone think that Marcus and I were in a relationship or something? We had always been like this.

“You two are cute...” she stated, “You two aren't related are you?”

We were cute. There it went again. People insinuating things. What the fuck was that all about?

Jalen walked back in, “No they are just friends. Somehow they are both my cousins though. I don't know how that works it just does.”

Leslie smiled at that moment, “Oh...interesting.”

I looked at Marcus.

He was looking back at me.

I didn't understand why I was confused about what our relationship was. Marcus had always been my servant. Did I find him attractive? Of course. You would have to be blind not to find Marcus attractive. I mean he defined attraction in the dictionary. It's not like someone could say, oh, Marcus isn't my type. That would be dumb. SEXY as hell was everyone's type.

But he was below me. He was my servant. My protector.

“How much money did you spend?” I asked Marcus.

“Just 500.”

“Take the rest and go buy me some clothes. Now.”

“Yes sir.”

Marcus walked out of the house at that moment. I could tell from his facial expression that he still thought I was mad at him. He was kind of right actually but it was for another reason. It was because people were looking at us like we were something else. It had to be his fault. It couldn't have been mine. I was kind of glad he did walk out so I can eat the breakfast he made without him knowing.

“Oh OK, damn it's like that,” Leslie stated looking a little confused, “Excuse the hell out of me...”

She seemed confused. I wasn't though. I needed to get away from Marcus. I needed to clear my head. I had other things to worry about besides how my relationship with my servant was being perceived by others. It was a little stressful and I didn't have time to be stressed out. I desperately needed my Uncle to contact me and give me good news.

I needed him to contact me and tell me that my throne was ready for the sitting.

Jalen had been staring at me without me noticing at that point, “Did you just send him away? I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here alone. My mom's case worker took her for checkups so no one's going to be home.”

“I'm not going to be alone. Are you crazy? What if someone tried to rob this place? Who would protect me?”

Leslie looked over at Jalen. She seemed confused. Jalen just shook his head. I don't know why he thought I would be good at this double life bullshit. I was who I was.

“Djimon, there's here of value. You said it all day yesterday.”

“Nothing. Nothing? Excuse me,” I said pointing up and down, “I am valuable...”

I was the epitome of value. I was the prototype of fucking value. I was the blueprint of motherfucking value. A couple hundred million worth of value. Thank you very much. Even if I didn't have the money. The legacy was worth everything. True monarchies in Africa were a dying breed.

It was Leslie who offered, “Why don't you come with us?”

“Come where?”

“We work for a non-profit. Project Life.”

“Wait what? You work for the projects?”

“Not like project buildings,” Jalen stated before shaking his head, “Leslie. This isn't his thing. He won't find it fun. My cousin is a little...used to high maintenance kind of things.”

“It'll be fun, plus you are helping people out,” Leslie stated, “Everyday we get together and give back to the community. Jalen is on the board. He can hire you now. We get paid for it. It's not much. Hell its barely nothing but it's worth it.”

“He doesn't need the money,” Jalen stated, “And he doesn't help people.”

“The hell I don't. Do you know who I am?” I interrupted, “I'll help people. That's what I do all day. I give back.”

“You asked for it...”

Two hours had passed.

“Oh...hell...no...”

My voice echoed throughout the place. These Project Life people were cleaning up parks and shit. I felt so out of place. I never really had friends and seeing Jalen interact with his friends kind of made me jealous to be honest with you. We were only three blocks away from the house and I strongly thought about going back. The sun was beating down on me. It was just cold last night and all of a sudden it was hot. I could feel myself getting blacker by the minute.

“Jalen come over,” one of his boys stated.

Jalen wasn't budging. He was standing right in front of me. He ignored his homeboy at that moment who clearly wanted Jalen to do something.

“Can you move over to the left just about two inches. I need your shadow to block me from the sun.”

He looked at me like I was crazy. I wasn't crazy. I was sweating.

I was fucking sweating and honestly I felt that was worse.

“You said you would help,” Jalen stated.

“You can go ahead,” I replied, “You're doing a better job than I ever would.”

I honestly didn't mind watching Jalen walk around with a hose in his hand. He was sexy as fuck with no shirt on. His girlfriend was on the other side of the park picking up trash. He was washing off benches.

“You didn't even try. You didn't even attempt to meet any of my friends. You didn't life a finger. You came and you sat and you complained for two hours.”

“I didn't know it'd be so hot...”

“You're live in Africa!”

“I live in an 80 room, well conditioned PALACE in Africa,” I stated shaking my head, “I don't know what you heard about Africa but the peasants do shit like this. I'm a royal.”

“So a royal is too good to give back to the community?”

God. This was getting annoying. Jalen was too sexy to be talking. I wished he could just get back to work and help distract me from the sun. I just wanted to see that those bulging muscles. I just wanted to see the sweat dripping off his sexy biceps and down his washboard abs. I wanted to how the cuts in the upper parts of his body just filled out his pants.

“I order you to get back to work.”

“I don't WORK for you, Prince. Do you get that? I'm not Marcus. You can't just be ordering me around and shit.”

“How much are you guys getting paid?”

“7.50 an hour.”

“That is some sort of joke, Jalen. Like y'all got comedians making your laws. You need to get with your government. That can't be legal. That is like...oh god. No. It's making me lightheaded just thinking about it. Everything is making me lightheaded right now.”

“You are really acting like a little princess...man the FUCK up,” Jalen stated.

My eyebrow lifted up at that moment and I realized my legs were crossed. I quickly uncrossed them.

I was pissed, “I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Marcus wouldn't like you speaking to me like that at all...”

“Marcus thinks the same thing.”

“Excuse me.”

“Look at you. You're too afraid to get dirty. You too good to clean? How you expect to rule a country if you don't know what the people of your country do on a daily basis. I'm sure there are poor people in your country. Have you ever gone out to see what they do on a daily basis? Have you? Exactly. That's why you probably don't have friends and you never will. All you have is servants...and it's fucking sad.”

I felt cornered.

I hadn't.

“What do you know about Aladdin?”

“Aladdin? You trying to crack on me now Princess Jasmine?”

He needed to stop with this Princess shit. I was sick of it.

“Yeah. You know. Street rat. What did Jafar say? You were born a street rat. You'll die a street rat and only your FLEAs will mourn you.”

“Get up.”

“No.”

“Get up off the bench at least. I want to wash it. I've been trying to spray down this bench for an hour and you haven't budged your fat ass...”

“I'm glad you notice my ass was fat. Is that your thing? Judging from the porn you were watching last night you like em...”

That was when it happened.

Jalen sprayed me. He sprayed me with that water.

It wasn't just a little bit either. He drenched me in water! He COMPLETELY drenched me in it. My mouth was open. It went in my mouth. I started to choke on it. I wanted to throw up.

This did not just happen to me. This did not just happen to ME!

“You just sprayed me with SEWER water. There is Czars in that water!””

“Oh god. You are so dramatic. It's just water.”

“Give me your phone. Give me someone's phone if you don't have one! I'm calling Marcus. I will have you whipped for this.”

“This isn't Swaziland. This isn't the Nubian line of whatever whatever. Jackass. This is America. And I don't have to do shit.”

I got up at that moment.

I couldn't take this shit anymore. I couldn't take this. I had never been so disrespected in my life. I started to walk away at that moment. Jalen had gone over the line. He had seen the line, glittered in royal purple and he had completely crossed it.

“Fuck you.”

I had expected him to chase after me. I had expected him to chase after me and stop me like Marcus would have. He didn't though. He just let me walk away. I couldn't fucking believe it and I was so pissed and way too proud to turn back at this point.

Before I knew it I was in the belly of the beast. I was completely by myself in this area. The city seemed so odd. There were bums and thugs everywhere. I crossed my arms at this moment. I watched as these girls who looked like prostitutes walked across the street. One of them spotted me looking over at her. She had huge titties and bumps on her limps.

“$20 dollars daddy. You want to party?”

“I respectfully decline.”

“Fag.”

Her words tore through me. I continued to walk. I was shivering. I was an attractive guy. I had the look of the Nubian kings. We all were brown skin with extremely sharp features. We had long pointed noses and we had thinner lips. A lot of people thought I was handsome. I wasn't Marcus by any means. I wasn't a show stopper. I definitely didn't have a body or swag like Jalen or wasn't even as attractive as Brolic to be honest with you.

I was OK...but some people didn't care.

I was way too small. I was way too skinny. People could honestly take advantage of me if they wanted to.

I wasn't too far from the house at this point. I kept walking at that moment. I kept going trying to get to my destination when suddenly I saw a bunch of guys on the street corner. They were looking at me up and down. As I got closer I realized one of them was Brolic.

Brolic was standing with the guys. He noticed me but he didn't look up. He just kept looking down at that moment.

“Yo...them shoes are fly...”

I looked at the guy who was talking to me. He was a heavy set guy. The other guys around him were a little smaller but they all looked like rough kind of guys. I was actually surprised that they gave me a compliment in the way that they did. It was actually really surprising.

“You like them? They are Galliano...2016. No one has them yet but my mother knows him personally. He helped design her third wedding dress.”

They were laughing. I didn't get it. All of them were laughing except Brolic. He was still standing in the back. He was acting as if he didn't know who I was or something. I was confused. All his friends were being friendly except for him. He was still such a dickhead.

“Y'all hear this kid?” the big guy said, “We got a fashionista over here.”

I smiled. That was kind of nice of him. The other guys were laughing. I don't know what was so funny but for some reason they found it funny.

I was kind of happy. All I had to do was walk in the neighborhood with nice shoes and I was already making friends. Jalen said I would never have friends. He was wrong.

“I can introduce you to him one day. He could give you a nice little discount on the shoes...”

“Oh yeah. How much they retail for?”

“Just $3,500. Aren't these a steal? I swear. Listen. We will get you together. I promise. What are those things. Timberland's? Oh. Well, I don't know about those. But I know Galliano has some amazing shoes coming out----”

“I like those,” he stated.

Brolic wasn't far behind the boys now, “Big Jody, really? We got better shit we should be doing but fucking around with this little faggot...”

Big Jody smiled, “What? We being friendly. Ain't that right kid. What's your name?”

“Djimon,” I smiled back.

“So we were talking about those shoes you rocking Djimon? What size are those?”

“These are a 10. Why you ask?”

“Damn too small for me. Aye, Shaun. You wear a 10?”

This other guy with a toothless grin walked over. He was looking at me and he was laughing at that moment, “Yeah son. I wear a 10.”

I was confused.

Big Jody took a step closer to me, “Why don't you run them, shorty?”

“Why don't I what?” I stated confused, “I'm sorry. I don't understand the local dialect. Why don't I run my shoes? Like did you mean why don't I run in them? Because uh...they are kind of expensive. I don't run in expensive shoes. Be honest with you I don't run period...”

“You fucking with me?” Big Jody asked.

“I don't know what you mean...”

“You serious. Ha. That's hilarious. Yo. Let me break this down for you. This is a stick up. Bitch. Take your shoes off and give them to Shaun.”

Oh my god.

Oh my god. I was being robbed.

“No...are you serious?” I stated, “Brolic what is wrong with your friends?”

“Brolic you know this dude?”

Brolic looked back at me. He looked back at me and then he did the shadiest thing I could ever imagine. He shook his head and he started to take steps back at that moment. He was walking away. He was fucking leaving me with these goons.

“Naw I don't know him.”

Brolic turned and he left. He straight up just left me there.

At that moment one of them pushed me. Then another one pushed me. I was defenseless. I could feel the tears filling my eyes. I didn't do anything to these people. I was trying to make friends. And now... I was...I was being robbed.

I wasn't even defending myself. That was the messed up part of it. They could have just taken the shoes. I didn't need them that badly. They didn't mean anything to me.

I wasn't defending myself but they beat me. They beat me so bad. At first I thought they were doing it for the shoes but after they got the shoes off of me they kept going. I was on the floor and they kept going. They were stomping me out at this point. They were kicking me. They were punching me and they were calling me every gay slur in the book.

And for the first time in my life there was no one there to save me.

It wasn't until a little later that I heard someone screaming my name. I looked up. It was Jalen. Just like the first time that he had seen me he was here again.

“Oh my god,” I heard Leslie's voice screaming.

I couldn't say anything. I didn't know how long I had been out there lying bloody on the street corner. I didn't know and I guess it didn't matter. The rain had started too as if my day could have gotten any worse.

Jalen took me back to the house at that moment. Just as we walked through the door I realized that Marcus saw us.

“Oh my god! What the fuck happened?” Marcus was going off as he walked over to me.

“He was jumped...and robbed...”

“He was alone?” Marcus stated.

Jalen was just looking at me at that moment, “I...was...I ….we got into an argument. Things got heated...I...”

“Wait so you were with him but you left him alone?”

“I'm sorry,” Jalen stated with a panicked tone, “I don't know who did this. I promise I don't know. I was just so mad.”

“Everyone calm down. Everyone calm down!” Leslie was screaming.

There was madness around me but I couldn't even focus. I was in so much pain. Maybe the pain was more than physical. Maybe there was some psychological pain. I had never been attacked physically before like this. I had never even gotten into a fight in my life. I wasn't that type of person. All of a sudden I just felt bad for myself again. I was just so useless. I was just so defenseless.

I had been sheltered my entire life and this was the outcome. I hadn't even known those boys were about to rob me.

Jalen was apologizing at that moment, “Man I'm sorry. You have a right to be mad. Djimon, can you hear me? Djimon. I'm sorry. Djimon.”

A face. An angel.

Blackness.

Then I heard Marcus scream out, “Get the fuck away from him!”

Leslie was still screaming the same thing.

“Everyone calm down!”

Something was breaking. I wasn't sure what was going on but it sounded like Marcus was going crazy. He had lost his cool.

“You LEFT HIM ALONE!”

Marcus went after Jalen. I wasn't sure what happened. I wasn't paying attention. I think Marcus managed to hit Jalen. I think a scuffle happened afterward. Maybe I just made that up. Maybe Marcus just tried to hit Jalen and Leslie had gotten in between it. There was something physical that happened but I was too out of it to really understand what was going on.

I heard Jalen coming over to me and trying to ask if I was OK.

I don't remember answering.

Blackness.

I heard Marcus coming over to me and telling me everything would be OK.

Blackness.

Then I remembered being upstairs. I remembered being given pills.

Blackness.

I woke up to no pain but definitely a numbness. The numbness was in my body and my mind. I was sleeping alone on my bed. I looked around. No Marcus. I felt out of it. It must have been the pills that were given to me. They must have been pain pills but I felt high as a kid.

I opened the door to see Marcus there. He was laying in the cold hallway. This time he hadn't gone downstairs. He was guarding my door. For some reason seeing him guarding my door just meant so much. He wasn't going to let anything happen to me while he was around and all of a sudden I felt so safe all over gain.

Marcus. My protector. My

“Marcus...” I said.

“Prince. Are you OK? Do you need more pills?”

“I don't want to be alone...”

“I went out looking for the guys who did this to you. I couldn't find them. I'll find them. I swear to God they will pay. I put that on my life---”

“Marcus. Come lay down with me...”

He paused for a minute.

“Is that...um...appropriate?”

I wasn't sure what was appropriate anymore. It wasn't appropriate for him to have screamed at me the other day but he still did it.

“We used to lay together all the time when we were kids, remember?”

After we had hit puberty all that had come to a stop. I wasn't sure if it was him who stopped it or if it was my mother's orders to stop. I just remembered hating to lay down alone.

“Yeah but...”

“So please. Come lay down with me.”

He was reluctant. I could see that he was. Still he did what I said. He walked into the room and closed the door behind me. Marcus was fucking everything. I always knew that he was. His skin so dark and chocolate. He didn't have a flaw in sight on his face. In all the years I had known him it looked like he got a fresh haircut from the best barber every single morning. Everything was crisp with Marcus. Everything was perfect.

He was on the side of the bed now...far away from me.

Had he done that on purpose?

I found myself going up behind him. I put my hand on his back. He didn't move when I did. He was breathing deeply. He was acting like he was asleep but I knew he wasn't. I pressed on the side of his back. My hand slowly outlined his body. I touched his arms. I touched his biceps. I touched the back of his neck.

I moved in closer. I smelled him. Egyptian musk. It was manly, classic and refined.

Then I did it. I kissed him on the back of his neck gently.

He exhaled deeply, “Prince...”

He had been holding his breath.

“Do I disgust you?”

He didn't move. He wasn't facing me. I couldn't see his expression.

“No...God no.”

“Do I make you nervous?”

He was breathing deeply. His breathing was flowing. He had always been my servant. He had always been my protector. He had been nothing more...but I always found him SO fucking attractive.

I was smelling on the back of his neck. He still didn't move. It was almost like he didn't know how to react.

“Yes.”

“How nervous?”

My hand was slowly making his way down to the side of his stomach. I went underneath his plain white shirt. I could feel his tight abs on the front.

“You make me really nervous Prince...”

I moved closer pressing against backside. He knew what I wanted. Maybe that is why he had turned it away from me, but I felt it anyway.

“Your body is amazing...”

That wasn't surprising. Being that he was a guardian of mine he had been put through intense physical workout routine. He was supposed to look the way he did.

“Thank you, your majesty.”

I had made my ways the V-section in his abdomen. I pressed against it. He was moaning. It was a deep...loud moan. I had made my way lower to his dick.

Yes. There it was. Hard.

BRICK hard.

My hands were resting on it, resting on the hard dick at a that moment. He had a thick dick that tilted slightly to the left. It was smooth. It had bulbous head to it and it had made a tent in his shorts.

Marcus removed my hand and flipped over at that moment so quick that I was shocked and excited all at the same time. He had somehow managed to be on TOP of me now. His eyes were looking at my eyes. He was close to me. His face was set over mine.

His crotch was in between my legs.

I could feel how hard I made him. I could feel even now as it pressed into my crotch how hard his dick was.

“Marcus...I want you.”

He was so close to me. His face was so close to my face that when I spoke my lips flickered against his lips. And Marcus seemed to inhale my breath at that moment. He seemed to want to draw in my breath into his mouth when I spoke.

I could see something in his eyes.

But all of a sudden he pulled off of me.

He just pulled off of me and stood in the middle of the room. His dick was still hard. It was so hard that he had to take a pillow and hold it over his crotch as though to block me from how much he was showing.

“You are the crown prince and rightful heir to the throne of Nubian lines of Swaziland Kings. I have been completely inappropriate and as soon as we return home I will face trial and be formally punished.”

With that he walked out.

The sad thing was I had no doubt he would admit to something he didn't even do when we got home. I had no doubt he would tell them about all the inappropriateness. He could have been jailed for a serious amount of time for that kind of offense.

Right now I didn't think about any of that. I just thought about how much I wanted...no. How much I needed Marcus...

To read the next chapter please go to www.crushedcrown.com