PREFACE: This is an auto-fiction, meaning an alternate life story. Jericho is me at sixteen to eighteen. Stupid, feral, and already in love with the idea of dying beautiful, with every cock and snatch, every needle and snorted baggie, every bad decision that could have happened along the way. The kid who overdosed in Tompkins Square Park never got to grow up, whereas I did. This book is their eulogy, not yours. If that’s not your thing, then you’re better off closing this and touching grass, maybe touch something else while you’re at it. The ghost of who I could've been doesn’t consent to your feelings. As for the rest of you: welcome to the ride. It ends in the park. You’ve been warned. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 14th, 2015, 2:40 PM
Jericho's throat wrapped around Ed like a snake coiling around its prey. He had never done this before, and was just copying what he saw in the various videos he'd watched, rehearsing a moment like this one in his head. They made plans earlier that day to meet up at Queens Center Mall but not to end up back at Ed's cozy spot in Jackson Heights. Surrounding the bed they were laying on was a cat and some lit incense, its smoke beckoning towards a small plant thriving by an open window. None of that mattered in this moment, however. As far as he was concerned, this moment was purely about them. Jericho’s pulse thrummed with a hunger he’d only imagined until today. Soft nothings had led to texting, to graphic images sent. Fantasies. You can figure out the rest from there.
This was also, in fact, Jericho's first ever time playing hooky. He was a usual subservient goody-two-shoes, but said subservience came in handy today in a different way. On his knees, his mind had wandered to to his early exposure to kink through Nine Inch Nails and Hellraiser, leading to some online rabbit holes and realizations only he could find himself in as Ed continually thrust his hip into Jer’s mouth, his fingers twisting into his hair like he was scared the kid would vanish mid-suck. A few thrusts and licks later, Ed had finally cum, eyes glazed while a loud moan emanated for a quick second before he covered his mouth, giving way to hard breaths from that pretty nose of his. The salt on Jericho’s tongue was a taste he came to savor, gulping like his life depended on it. The afterglow washed over him, giving way to a euphoric feeling that this is what he was missing from his life for so long. Eyes locked, his mouth moved away from Ed’s crotch, kissing along the trail of dark hair on Ed’s stomach until it reached that pretty, panting mouth.
Jericho’s smile grew wider into a lightly manic grin as he whispered in Ed’s ear, “This feels like the start of the rest of my life.” Cackling like a wicked little sex gremlin, he came to another realization: He wanted more, and had just had his first hit in what would be a long series of fuck-ups, nod-offs, and heartbreaks. Gone was being safe and soft. He wanted to be the kid who snuck out at night and ended up in Tompkins Square Park with strangers who knew exactly how far he was willing to go. Ed blinked at him, dazed and fond, thumb brushing Jericho’s swollen bottom lip. “You’re kinda scary when you smile like that.”
“Good,” Jericho said, voice still hoarse from taking it so deep. He leaned in, biting Ed’s earlobe just hard enough to make him hiss. “Because I’m just getting started.”