His eyes light up, and he’s bolting out of the door before I even have the truck in park.
“Woah, slow down.” I say, hopping out of my truck and leaving the door open.
“Where is it?” He claps his hands excitedly in front of him as he bounces on the tips of his toes.
“I’ll grab it, you go sit in the passenger seat. You’re in charge of handing me tools while I work.”
It took way longer than I expected, mostly because Raiden didn’t know what tools I was requesting and kept handing me random ones until he got it right. That was fine by me though, it was worth seeing him be happy over finally getting it right. If it was anyone else doing it, I would have bitten their head off and demanded I be left alone to work, but just having Raiden in my vicinity made doing easy fixes like this one entertaining.
We spent the rest of the night in his bedroom, me with my legs spread and my back resting against his wall as he replayed the same video over and over again until I could do the routine in my sleep. But Raiden will stop at nothing short of perfection. Sweat lines his face, giving him a radiant glow and his smile as he turns back towards me has me returning a smile of my own.
His pants are tight as he turns back around and starts again from the top, practically molded to his body and I can see the outline of every defined muscle underneath the material. The flowy shirt he has on falls halfway off his shoulder. He used it as a showpiece while he was rotating his hips to the beat, adding an extra flare of dramatics that works in his favor.
The sharp curve of his jawline as he lifted his chin and dropped his eyes made him a siren… deadly. Luring men into his trap and ensnaring them before they realized it’s too late to escape. And I am the fisherman in this story, falling headfirst into the water and hoping he will make my demise quick.
7
JERICHO
SENIOR YEAR PART TWO
The roar of the crowd is loud as I walk across the stage, my neck weighed down with the medals I was presented with and the colorful stoles wrapped around my neck. The Superintendent shakes my hand, offering me a rolled up piece of paper in place of my diploma, which will be coming in the mail in a few weeks.
My footsteps are heavy as I cross the metal platform, each step is a siren blaring to let me know the future is upon me. And I’m still not ready.
Raiden is called not too long after I’m back in my seat, and I stand up andwhooploudly for him. His face blushes under the makeup he has on, I can see it starting to spread down his chest through the small open gap of his graduation gown. I can hear our parents in the crowd, both sets screaming at the tops of their lungs in excitement. This is it, what we’ve been waiting for since we started freshman year. Graduation.
The rest of the ceremony passes by slowly, each distinguished speaker taking their time and wasting their words. None of us are listening, we’re all too keyed up about the future to listen to them tell us what we should do and how we shoulddo it. That’s the joy of becoming an adult, you can make your own choices and decisions. Fuck up along the way and learn from every mistake made.
We’re told to throw our caps in the air and to celebrate ourselves for our accomplishments. Chaos ensues as my classmates hoot and holler, running and barreling into their friends. Tears are shed and hugs are shared. I navigate my way through the plethora of people, looking for one person. My person.
There he is, standing shorter than most of the graduating class even in the heeled shoes he picked out specially for today. His smile is wide as he sees me, and I’m hyper aware of the rise in my pulse as I make my way closer to him. A string connecting us and never letting me stray too far from him, all I have to do is follow it and it will lead me right back to him.
“Hi,” he says, the eyeliner that was strategically lined before we left my house is now smudged at the corners, emphasizing his dark, blown irises. Happiness radiates from every pore of him, washing me in his light. Cleansing me in his own special version of a storm. Something only he can do and something only I can experience. It’s a religious experience, feeling his emotions in this way. He is my deity and I will spend every moment blessed that he has bestowed this upon me.
“Hi,” I whisper back. Overwhelmed with all of the emotions running through me.
He tips his head up, extending his jaw and showing off the tight muscles of his neck. I want to bend down and bite him, suck his supple skin in my mouth until I leave my mark behind so he knows he’s mine. And so everyone else will know he’s mine.
I’m bending before I realize it, and our lips touch. The soft breath of his exhale smells like the cotton candy gum he was chewing on as we exited my parents car. His lips are soft against mine, the lip gloss he’s wearing is sticky.
I don’t know what I’m doing, but I don’t want to pull away.And I don’t want him to pull away. We sit there, with our lips pressed together as the world keeps spinning around us.
He moves, and I grab his small waist in my hands keeping him close to me. I never want to let him out of my sight. Raiden doesn’t try to step back though, instead he cocks his head a little to the side, rubbing his nose against the side of my nose.
His tongue sneaks out, and rubs against my lips. The same way I’ve watched him do countless times before but I’ve never experienced for myself. I gasp, the gentle touch causes a physical reaction from me and I need him closer to me. I want to consume him, to always be able to have him however I want him.
My mouth parts, and his tongue rubs against the inside of my lips, taking my DNA and mixing it with his in a heady concoction. I groan deep in my chest. This,thisis the feeling the other guys on the football team were chasing when they told me they needed something to help themfeel.That’s what Raiden is doing for me, especially right now.
Raiden makes me feel more than I ever thought possible. In all aspects. From the first day I met him.
I nibble on his lip, drawing the sensitive skin into my mouth and pull the blood to the surface. The dark clouds above us open up with a peal of thunder, the loud sound masking the beginning of the rain starting to fall in thick droplets. One hits me in the forehead, trailing down my skin and cooling off the overheated skin.
Too soon, people start scattering around us and we’re left in our own little bubble. His mouth against mine until I hear the unmistakable gasp of my mother.
I don’t want to move. I don’t want to move and break this gentle moment between us.
Raiden has more strength than I do, and he pulls away. His eyes are wide as he stares at me with pink flushed cheeks and his lips are red from our kissing. He looks perfect all the time,but with his makeup running and his face showing signs of our desire, I’ve never seen him look more beautiful.
