'Evelyn Behind Bars' by Loren Davis

Blurb:

Evelyn’s sex life is nonexistent, until she secures her spot in a federal penitentiary. Incarceration affords her some much needed time to sort out her issues with her body and self-image, in addition to satisfying certain carnal urges. Between the ensemble of hungry prison guards and her circle of lesbian friends she’s got no shortage of distraction, but will life behind bars lead her down the path to redemption or darkness?

Read an excerpt:

Chapter 4

THANKFULLY LIFE in a medium security women's prison doesn't always feel like prison. In addition to the frequent sexual encounters I was having with the guards, usually two to three times a week, there was my job. As much as you'd like to just sit and around and stew they make you work, and for me that meant teaching. For three hours a week I assisted the teacher, another inmate named Dawn, in teaching basic accounting and finances to a revolving group of women. She read the lesson plans, I printed the materials and did the grading, pretty easy stuff. Everyone has to have a job, whether it's working in the kitchen, the laundry, the library, or teaching. And everyone is allowed an hour a day of instruction, if they want it. All the teachers are inmates, so the system is self-sustaining, but the quality of the instruction often uneven. 

Dawn was friendly but distant. I had seen her hanging around the lesbian crowd so I assumed she was one too. The line between heterosexuals and homosexuals wasn't severe, but it was there. People in prison, like people on the outside, tended to stick to their own. But we're women so we're much more accepting. I never detected a sense of hostility towards the lesbians as a group, that came on the individual level. Some people just don't do different. 

She was very pretty, and there was something very natural about her beauty. It came from her eyes and her smile. She must have been about forty years old. She had brittle pale blonde hair that was cut halfway down her neck. She kept it pulled back against her head so that it flared out at the back and surrounded her head with a kind of dense straw cape. Her lips were thin, her skin dry and clear. She had soft green eyes. 

I was sitting alone in the lunchroom one day when she sat down across from me. We had a window of about an hour and a half when we could eat, not everyone was crammed into the room at the same time. It had been almost two weeks since my so-called friends gave up on me. I looked up and gave her a pleasant smile, expecting she had something work related to tell me. But I was wrong. 

"Prefer to be alone?" she asked. 

"No, it's ok." I tried to think of a reason why I was alone but I couldn't. 

"You've been here about five months?" 

"And two days. Does everybody keep track?" 

"Depends. Do you play poker?" 

"I don't know how." 

"Me and some friends play in the afternoons, the booths in the back of the library." 

"I've seen you. I'm in there a lot." 

"You should come and play with us sometime. It's just for fun, everybody's at a different level. You can just watch at first if you want." 

"I like card games, I used to at least, been a long time since I played." 

"Come by sometime." 

"Thanks for the offer."

"Ok." 

She lingered for a moment then smiled and left.

I wasn't too surprised by Dawn's offer. I had been ostracized, I knew it, and everyone else did too. But I was proud, so I didn't want to appear too eager. I may have been acting without regard to my situation, namely that I shouldn't piss off the other girls lest they think I was getting special privileges, but I couldn't help it. I had never had much attention from men, so it felt nice. And I was proud. One thing my parents instilled in me, a powerful sense of self. I went after what I wanted, I served my self. I grew up on the poor end of middle class, and my parents worked hard to get that far. I wanted success, comfort. I guess I'm a fighter. 

Did I think that Dawn was making a pass at me by inviting me into her group? No. I figured she felt sorry for me. I had no idea how she would end up affecting my life.

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Author Bio:

Loren Davis has a recurring dream about being in the ocean with a hungry shark. He'd like to think that dream sharks aren't pure evil and that he's got a chance, but only time will tell.

Aside from writing he likes to daydream, cook (and eat) BBQ, and read poetry. The best things in life, he believes, take time to digest. He hails from the American South. His new favorite musical group is Sara and Tegan.