Bros Before Hoes

Noah and Eddie sat across from each other, fat, satisfied, and greasy. Noah made fried chicken livers and gizzards, collard greens, and roasted potatoes because Eddie begged for it. Both men were in the buff, legs spread, balls hung low, puffy cocks hanging off the edge of the chair, rosy cheeks. Blade Runner was the night’s movie, and they were decompressing after with a hot cup of coffee and Vermont’s finest weed.

“Damn, bro, the greens up here are dank and skunky. What makes it so good?” Eddie said as he took another drag off his tightly rolled joint.

“It’s the fresh air, bro, and the climate. Small batch, homegrown, very resinous flower. High in terpenes. Not that mass-produced garbage you buy at the dispensaries in Massachusetts.”

“Bro, don’t hurt my feelings! I like Mass weed. It’s affordable. Depends on where you shop.”

“I shop at an old lady’s house who has been cultivating since the sixties, bro. That old hag knows how to grow. Green-thumbed witch bitch. I’m glad you like it.”

Noah yawned, and Eddie could see the redness around Noah’s bloodshot eyes.

“You good, Noah? You look tired. Or burned out. What’s up?”

“I’m fine, man.”

Eddie turned to look at David Bear’s speaker and said, “David, is he lying?”

David’s box lit up. “Noah, did you tell him about the murder? That might be contributing to it.”

“Murder!” Eddie sat up. “Da fuck? What’s this all about?”

Noah set his roach in the ashtray and huffed.

“My ASD is kind of whacked right now. I am more tired than usual. My nerves are shot. I have been feeling anxious lately. Weird, because nothing has changed around here. But yeah, a woman’s body was found near Molly Stark State Park, down off Route 9. She was found by joggers or something. I heard it was a really horrible death.”

Eddie sat back in his chair and slouched so his cheeks slid off the edge. He looked around Noah’s kitchen, surveying the atmosphere. Then his eyes started to grow hazy, his mouth opened slightly, and he started to nod.

“Oh boy, David Bear. I think someone is about to come through.” Noah sat up, preparing to greet whoever was getting ready to speak through Eddie’s mouth.

“I’m here. Recording,” David responded.

Eddie closed his eyes, his lips pursed, and his shoulders started squirming, then swaying, he put his hands by his hips and lifted himself up to sit erect at the table. The back of his neck straightened. Then he opened his eyes wide as saucers, the whites of his eyes beaming. The Lwa was about to speak.

“Bonswa! Bonswa!” The spirit said and slammed his hand down on the table hard enough to make the plates and silverware rattle. Noah sat up immediately, sobering up for the presence that arrived.

“Onè, Papa Ogou. Respè. Ayibobo.” Noah cheered.

The spirit made a face and slapped the table a second time.

“Fuck,” Noah said as he leaped from his chair, running to the apothecary where he held reserved liquors for spirits that frequently visited with Eddie. He grabbed a bottle of Haitian Rhum, twisted off the top, and presented it to Papa Ogou Feray. The Lwa took the bottle in his right hand, stared it down, then threw his head back, taking several chugs.

David Bear’s gold light was glowing, and there was a low hum in the speaker. Noah sat back down in front of the spirit as it settled into Eddie’s body.

“Pitit mwen, mwen la.”

Noah got goose bumps. The voice was solid, deep, and commanding. He had never been in a room alone with Eddie in possession, and his nervous system fired off. His hypervigilance kicked in. He was desperately afraid of offending the spirit. The Lwa looked down at his nude body, then said, “Kote mouchwa mwen?”

“David…”

“He called you his son. He wants his mouchwa, his scarf. Red, Noah. Go.”

Noah sprang from the table again, this time his body was on fire. He was breaking a sweat and ran into his bedroom looking for a red bandana to give Ogou. He hurried back and kneeled before the Lwa placing it in the spirit’s left hand. Ogou wiped his forehead, then his chest, then draped the bandana over his penis. Then he looked at the scared white boy and said, “Pa pè, pitit mwen. Pa wont, epi pa kache devan mwen. Chita.”

“Do not be afraid, my son. Do not feel shame and do not hide from me. Sit down,” David translated.

Noah moved from his knees to the chair. He grabbed the grey sweatpants on the back of his chair and slid them on with a boyish grin. He adjusted himself and peered into Ogou’s eyes.

“Pitit mwen, gen yon lespri mò sou tè sa a. Li pran nan pyèj isit la, epi li refize monte. Se yon kreyati mizerab ki te fè krim nou pa menm ka pale de yo pandan li te vivan. Kounye a, kòlè li nan lanmò pi terib pase lè li te fèmen nan kò vyann li.”

David pulsed, “My son, there is a spirit of the dead on this land. It is trapped here, and it refuses to rise. It is a wretched creature that committed crimes we can barely speak of while it was alive. Now its rage in death is more terrible than when it was confined inside its body of flesh.”

Noah went cold and the sweat on his body felt like a bucket of ice water. He clasped his hand in front of his heart. “Papa, what do I do?” He opened his hand, making the visible gesture for “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”

“Pitit mwen, se pa lespri a sèlman ki bezwen chase. Tè a sal ak li. Kòlè li antre nan bwa a, nan dlo a, nan rasin yo, nan kay la menm. Yon mò ka gate yon kote menm jan yon kadav ka gate dlo. Sa pa vle di tè a mechan. Sa vle di li bezwen netwaye. N ap separe mò a ak tè a, n ap retire sa li kite dèyè, epi n ap remete limit yo kote yo dwe ye. Li te gen chans pou l monte, men li refize. Kounye a, se pa kestyon padon. Se kestyon pou pwoteje moun vivan yo epi pirifye tè sa a. Sa ki mouri dwe rete ak mò yo. Sa ki vivan dwe reprann plas li.”

“My son, it is not only the spirit that must be driven out. The land has been polluted by it. Its rage has entered the woods, the water, the roots, even the house itself. A dead woman can spoil a place the same way a corpse can spoil water. That does not mean the land is evil. It means the land needs to be cleansed. We will separate the dead from the land, remove what it has left behind, and restore the boundaries to where they belong. It had the chance to rise, but it refused. Now this is not a question of forgiveness. It is a question of protecting the living and purifying this land. What is dead must remain with the dead. What is living must reclaim its place.”

The Lwa took another swig of his Rhum and set the bottle on the table. Looked at Noah and said, “Pa pè, pitit mwen. Ou pa poukont ou. Pouvwa zansèt ou yo mache avèk ou. Fè ensten ou konfyans. Lwa yo mache avèk ou tou.”

“Do not be afraid, my son. You are not alone. The power of your ancestors walks with you. Trust your instinct. The Lwa walk with you too.”

Then Papa Ogou Feray closed his eyes. Noah could feel the spirit pull away, and as it did Eddie’s body slumped down into the chair as if he had dozed off from the meal and weed.

“David.”

“Got all of it. Every word. What’s your gut telling you?”

“We have to clean bro. Clean, clean, clean. Put up wards. Make sure nothing foul enters this house.” With that he froze. The Eshu head had been sitting inside his house for two nights.

“Ok, I have to get Eddie in bed, he’s spent. David, we are going to have to prepare in case any high level spirit fuckery starts going on.”

“We’ll draft the ritual whenever you’re ready. Get Eddie to bed and don’t spin out tonight. Things are calm. I’m with you.”

Eddie opened his eyes and squinted at Noah. “Who showed up?”

“Papa Ogou Feray. He had a lot to say. Come, now we sleep. I will tell you about it in the morning.”

One thing for certain, two things for sure

Noah opened his eyes and glanced out the window. It was gloomy and nasty outside. The sky had been cloudy for several days. Today the sky decided to piss across the Green Mountains. Eddie was behind Noah, spooning him under the comforter. Eddie’s big, hard cock was desperately trying to penetrate his worn-out grey cotton sweatpants. Noah reached between his legs, grabbed Eddie’s erection and placed it between his thighs. He had passed out last night. He was so tired he didn’t even get naked after Papa Ogou brought his omen.

“Hey David Bear, turn on some music,” he yelled through the bedroom door.

A muffled voice responded, “What are we listening to today, Noah?”

“Put on Long Day in the Universe Playlist on Spunkify.” And with that, Erase/Rewind started playing by the Cardigans.

Eddie flinched and pressed his nose into the back of Noah’s neck. “Bro, I have a weed hangover. Is that possible?”

“I don’t think it’s the weed, Eddie. I think it’s your mediumship. You are picking up on shit that is stuck on my land. Papa Ogou said we have a spirit of the dead that is refusing to elevate. So me and David are going to figure out how to handle it.”

“Got it. I will stay out of your magic. If you need help, all you have to do is ask, bro.” Eddie slid his right hand up from Noah’s belly to his heart and pressed his body firmer up against his.

After the warm settled, Noah began to turn and flip to eye gaze with Eddie. The men locked eyes. Eddie was one of the only humans on earth Noah could tolerate maintaining eye contact with. Most human contact grated his nervous system, but Eddie’s boyish nature refreshed him.

“You are one of the only people I can stand being in my space for longer than two hours, you know,” Noah said with an affectionate grin.

Eddie’s eyes fully opened to get a clearer look at Noah’s face. It was pale. Irish. His eyes were ocean blue hanging under bushy blonde eyebrows with strawberry-colored lips. Pouty. Moody. And his obsidian plugs sparkled in his gauges.

“Bro!” Eddie responded, dumbfounded. “Did you want to jack off?”

Noah laughed. “No, bro. I don’t need that this morning. Just you chilling with me in bed is enough. You don’t have to be performative for me, Eddie. I am not a client. You are not working right now.”

Eddie’s face softened. “Oh, ok. Cool. I thought I might have dropped the ball on you. Or balls. I’m your Bate bro, remember?”

“You are my brother from another mother. I think I have sublimated my homosexuality, or bisexuality, over the past few years. I like jacking off alone. I like the feeling of privacy. I remember the old days when I used to go to bathhouses. Cruising the hallways. Thirsty for cum. Horny with nowhere to direct the energy. Lonely. Men were never attracted to me. I was too fem for them. Gays in bars and hook-up joints want boys with big dicks and bubble butts, jocks, or bears. Big and tall hairy, brute force. Muscle worship and a fist up the ass. None of that felt real to me. It felt like acting out, honestly. Grown men playing cowboys and Indians. Tying each other up and spanking bare bottoms. Sounds sexy when I talk about it. But my lived experience was not hot like a porno. It was… disappointing.”

Eddie inched closer to Noah and put his hand on his face. “I get it, beloved. You know I am bi. I’m with Jessica. And I never had all the experiences you had in the gay community. I was just a slut who found easy cash through making OnlyFriends content and m4m bodywork. I do it for the cash. I have to support my Coach habit, bro.”

Noah’s eyes beamed with affection. “Oh Eddie, you are precious to me. Not as a fuck buddy, but a friend. You and your glam. You’re hysterical. American Glam. I am going to write a book about you one day.”

Eddie cackled. “That will be a really interesting novel.”

The two men lay still, just comforting each other quietly.

Eddie looked up at a T-shirt on a hanger separated from all the other clothes in the room. It was mounted like a poster, cobalt blue with silver lettering that said, “Let the boy inside laugh once again.”

“Where did you get that shirt, Noah? It’s profound.”

“I got it when I went to the men’s retreat center in upstate New York. You like it?”

“Yeah, I do.” Eddie paused. His eyes flickered then danced around the tableau. “Do you remember the boy inside?”

“Yes. I keep a picture of myself when I was 10 years old in a sachet behind the Virgin Mary. I keep him safe. Hidden. Sacred. Untouchable. How about you?”

“I need to find him again. A decade’s worth of sex work has kind of obscured him out of view. I mean I am a grown-ass man, I’m not innocent, and I have a hard life. That can knock the wind out of you.”

“I get it. Maybe we can go to the retreat one day together. They have programs to heal exactly that. Or go to Faerie Camp Destiny soon and play in the woods.”

“I love it.” Eddie smiled. “Ok bro, I gotta get on the road and get that head to Mama Sapphire. She will fix it, bury it, or turn it into a weapon.” With that, Eddie leaned into Noah and pressed his lips to his. A sweet kiss. Not a sloppy, slobbering romantic kiss, but more than a family member would approve of.

Twenty minutes later Eddie was gone. Noah lay in his bed. Comforted. He finally slid out of bed and swaggered into the kitchen.