Flame and Leah

“Leah, Michael said you were pretty, but he wasn’t kidding. Look at you!” Flame’s mother took Leah’s hands in her own and smiled. She was an attractive woman, with blond hair and the same bright blue eyes as Flame.

“Thank you,” Leah answered, blushing. They had just arrived at the house, and after she had embraced her son, Flame’s mother had immediately turned a dazzling smile on Leah. They both looked over as Flame and Rick shared a slightly embarrassed handshake/arm-grab/back-pat guy greeting. “Hi,” Leah said to Rick.

“Hi Leah,” Rick greeted her warmly. “Here, let me grab your bag and show you where you’ll be staying.”

As Flame had predicted, his mother had them sleeping in separate rooms. “Libby can stay in our bed this weekend, and you can have her room,” she told Leah. “And Michael, you’ll stay in your old room. I’ve put a sewing machine in there, but otherwise it’s basically as you left it.”

Leah followed the family as they headed two doors down the hallway to Flame’s old room. She had to stop herself from giggling every time Flame’s mother called him Michael. She had known that was his name, but it still sounded strange. Leah entered the room and smiled at the posters on the wall. “Star Wars sheets?” she asked Flame with a grin as he put his bag on the bed.

“Shut up,” he replied with a smirk. “Those are from when I was, like, ten. I guess I took all my sheets when I moved.”

“Come on, now, I’ll put on some coffee and we can chat,” Flame’s mother told them, pushing them out of the room.

“Can I see Libby first?” Flame asked, the excitement evident in his voice.

“Of course,” his mother replied with a smile. “But be quiet. She’s sleeping.”

They all moved quietly into Flame’s mother’s room and she turned on the light. Flame gasped at the sight of the small girl sleeping on her back, surrounded by pillows. “She’s so big,” he finally whispered, sounding sad.

“Yeah, they do that,” his mother replied, looking at Flame endearingly. She turned off the light and they went into the kitchen to talk.

-----

“Well, will you look who it is,” a heavy-set middle-aged woman with heavily hairsprayed hair greeted Flame as they entered a small diner near his parents’ house.

“Doris,” Flame smiled, greeting the waitress back. “You look great.”

“Still a flirt, I see,” she said disapprovingly, but smiled. She grabbed two menus and let the couple to a booth. “It’s good to see you,” she told them as they sat.

“This was my home away from home in high school,” Flame explained to Leah as they opened their menus. They had decided that they were too tired to go out, but they would grab a bite to eat.

“Well, I love it,” Leah said honestly. The tiny greasy spoon had a warm, charming, homey feel.

“Yeah,” Flame was glowing as he looked around. “This place will never change. It’s a historical landmark,” he told her with pride.

Leah just smiled at her boyfriend across the table. He seemed so happy. “Well, eat up. It seems like your mom has a big day planned for us tomorrow.”

-----

Flame’s mother woke them up early to take them downtown. “You have to see the Monument,” she told Leah after she emerged from the shower. “And the Vietnam Memorial. And we’ll have lunch on the Mall…”

“Mom,” Flame said, entering the kitchen. “We only have one day. Maybe you can take it easy on Leah-” But he was interrupted by a small voice coming from behind him.

“Ike?” a tiny blond girl asked softly, looking up at Flame. She had obviously just gotten out of bed, her hair messy and still in her pajamas.

Flame’s eyes were shining as he turned around. “Libby!” he exclaimed, dropping to his knees and opening his arms wide.

“Ike!” the little girl yelled as she ran to him. Leah felt her chest tighten as she watched Flame pick up his baby sister and embrace her.

“Oh, I missed you,” he said, kissing her head softly. “Look how big you are!” He smiled, resting her on his hip. “Libby, I want you to meet my friend, Leah.”

“Hi Libby,” Leah smiled at the girl.

“Hi,” Libby responded shyly, tucking her head into Flame’s shoulder.

“She’s always shy with new people,” Flame’s mother explained with a smile. “Give her half an hour, she’ll be all over you.”

But Leah didn’t mind the shyness. She just loved watching the way Flame glowed as he held his sister. He was talking to her, asking her questions and laughing at her broken responses. Leah honestly couldn’t remember seeing Flame so happy.

-----

“Thank you so much,” Leah said to Flame’s mother as they returned to the house later that afternoon. “I had such a great day.”

“Me too,” she responded. She smiled genuinely at Leah. This was the type of girl she was happy to see her son with – smart, sweet, kind. As she had predicted, Libby had taken to Leah quickly, and Leah had spent much of the day holding the toddler, letting her point out buildings and babble incoherently. “Well, I know somebody that needs a nap,” she said as Flame carried Libby into the house. She was slumped over his shoulder and could barely keep her eyes open.

“Can I put her down?” Flame asked hopefully. Leah smiled at this.

“Of course,” his mother told him. “Put her in my bed.”

Flame smiled at Leah as he walked past her towards the hallway.

Leah and Flame’s mother went into the kitchen. “It’s a shame Rick had to work today,” she told Leah. “But we can all have lunch together tomorrow before you two head back.”

“That sounds terrific,” Leah replied as Flame’s mother pulled a can of coffee from the cupboard. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to use the bathroom.”

She walked down the hall, but paused outside of Flame’s parents’ room. She bit her lip and leaned against the wall as she heard Flame’s voice drifting into the hall. She was so unused to him doing much more than screaming when he sang, she was taken aback at how soft and lovely his voice actually was. She listened as he sang Libby to sleep.

“Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight? Are you sorry we drifted apart?” Leah choked up as she heard the emotion in his voice. “Does your memory stray to a bright sunny day when I kissed you and called you sweetheart? Do the chairs in your parlor seem empty and bare? Do you gaze at your doorstep and picture me there?” Leah felt a tear drift down her cheek. “Is your heart filled with pain? Shall I come back again?
Tell me dear, are you lonesome tonight?”

Wiping her tear away, Leah stood there until Flame came into the hallway, closing the door behind him. As soon as he saw her, he blushed. “Did you hear that?” he asked, embarrassed.

“Yeah,” Leah admitted softly. “It was beautiful.”

Flame grinned. “Well, the label has me training with a voice coach, to learn how to sing without ripping up my throat. And when I had to choose a song to practice, I didn’t want them to make me sing the Backstreet Boys or some crap, so I chose Elvis.” He smiled at her. “So you liked it?”

Nodding, Leah leaned over and kissed Flame softly on the lips. “You amaze me more every day,” she told him.

-----

It had taken them almost half an hour to find parking. Leah was very happy that she wasn’t driving. DC streets seemed confusing, and the drivers were very aggressive. Flame finally found a spot in a small alley just a couple blocks from the club they were going to.

“Lock up,” Flame instructed Leah. “A car will be stolen in this area if it’s not locked.”

Climbing out of the car and locking the door behind her, Leah smiled at Flame. He was looking around at run-down area they were in like he was Charlie and DC was the Chocolate Factory. “What’s that smell?” Leah finally asked, wrinkling up her nose.

“Um, you probably don’t want to know,” Flame laughed, walking over to the sidewalk and taking her hand. “Come on,” he encouraged her excitedly.

As they approached the door, Leah felt her heart beating hard in her chest. Chuck had gotten Leah an ID that said she was 21. It belonged to Chuck’s sister, who’d given it to him after she thought she had lost it and had gotten a replacement. Leah had studied the picture, which did look enough like her, and the stats. But she’d never used a fake ID before and was afraid they’d be turned away, ruining Flame’s night. But as the approached the bouncer, Leah knew they were fine.

“Flame! What the fuck is up, man?” the bouncer got up from the stool and threw his arms around Flame. “Where the fuck have you been?” He had a shaved head and was the same height as Flame, but much beefier. The pissed-off expression that had been on his face a few moments earlier had immediately been dismissed when he saw Flame, and Leah just watched.

“I moved, dipshit,” Flame laughed in response. “Remember? North Carolina… band… getting the hell out of Dodge? Any of this ringing a bell, Steve?”

“Nope,” Steve answered honestly. “So who’s this?” he said, eyeing Leah.

“Oh, this is my girlfriend, Leah. It’s her first time to DC, so of course I have to bring her to this place.”

Leah smiled at the large man nervously. Her ID said her name was Christina. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to show it to him now. “Hi,” Leah finally answered.

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” he smiled back, relaxing Leah a little. He turned back to Flame. “The place is packed tonight, and there’s a show going on in the back room, but I should probably warn you that Jodi’s in there.”

Feeling her stomach flip, Leah studied Flame to gauge his reaction to this news. She saw his shoulders tense slightly, but his expression didn’t change. “That’s fine – it’s all in the past,” he said in a controlled voice that Leah didn’t especially like.

“So, why don’t you guys head in? I’ll catch up with you later.”

Steve quickly grabbed a stamp off a chair and stamped Flame’s outstretched hand. Leah nervously held out her hand for him and was relieved when he stamped it. Steve then held the door for them, and Leah smiled at him. “It was nice to meet you,” she told him.

“You, too. And watch out for this one,” he jerked his head towards Flame, who was looking more relaxed again. “He’s a real dickhead.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Leah laughed, following Flame into the dark crowded club.

-----

Flame took Leah’s hand and started leading her through the club, pushing his way through crowds of people to his left and right. His heart was beating hard in his chest. “Fuck,” he thought to himself. “Why’d she have to be here tonight?” All he’d wanted to do was go out, see a few of his friends and show Leah around. Now he had to deal with Jodi. Looking back towards Leah, Flame felt a wave of guilt wash over him. She was looking interestedly at the people around her. Flame led her toward the bar and pulled out his wallet. “So what can I get you?” he asked Leah, giving her a smile.

“Beer’s fine,” she said. “Thanks.” Flame nodded as Leah looked around at the crowd. There were at least two hundred people pressed into the small room. There were punks, rockabilly kids, mods and plenty of regular looking people as well. Eighties music was being played and people were bouncing lightly to it, unable to really dance in the small space.

“Well, the prodigal son returns,” the bartender said when he spotted Flame. “How the fuck have you been, man?” the tall black man asked, putting out his hand out to greet Flame. Leah couldn’t help but notice just how attractive he was. He looked like a model.

“I’m great, Ty. How are you doing?” Flame replied.

“Can’t complain,” he said with a smile, completely oblivious to the crowd at the bar looking annoyed as they waited for drinks.

“This is Leah,” Flame told him, putting his arm across Leah’s shoulders. “Leah, this is Ty.”

Smiling, Leah greeted him. “Hey,” she said, feeling stupid for not having more to say.

Looking at her for a moment before giving her an approving smile, Ty finally spoke. “Hi, Leah. So what can I get you guys?”

“Two Buds,” Flame replied and turned towards Leah. “So what do you think?” he asked her with a smile. She looked especially pretty tonight, Flame noticed. He knew she had been nervous about meeting his friends, so she had taken special care in her appearance. She was wearing a pair of red pants low on her hips with a small studded belt and a black tank top. Her hair, now nearly to her chin, fell softly around her face. She had even outlined her green eyes with a black line, making them seem bigger and brighter than usual. She looked beautiful.

“This place is great,” Leah responded enthusiastically. “And there are so many people here-” but she was cut off as a small guy in thick Buddy Holly-style glasses threw his arms around Flame from behind in a bear hug, leaning back and picking him up off the floor.

Flame started laughing and turned around as soon as his feet were back on the ground. “Boo!” he smiled with enthusiasm. “It’s fucking great to see you!”

“I know,” Boo replied with a huge grin. “It’s always fucking great to see me.”

Flame chuckled and turned to the brunette next to Boo. “Lisa,” he said warmly, wrapping his arms around her. “It’s really great to see you. You look beautiful. What the hell are you still doing with this loser?”

Lisa smiled affectionately back at Flame and shrugged her shoulders. “You know me,” she told him. “I’m no good with change. I’ll stick with this one out of convenience.”

Laughing, Leah could already tell how much Flame cared about these people. He was looking at Lisa the same way he had looked at Libby that afternoon. She felt a little knot in her stomach, feeling bad that Flame had to live so far from these friends.

“Oh, hey, sorry. Leah, this is Boo and Lisa. This is my girlfriend, Leah.”

“Hi,” Leah greeted them and they replied in kind.

“Girlfriend, hey?” Lisa smiled at Flame. “Finally settled down, have we? They’ll be a lot of girls crying in this city tonight…”

“Enough,” Flame quipped good-naturedly. “Leah doesn’t have to know my whole sordid past right away, does she?”

Lisa’s expression changed from soft and happy to hard and annoyed as she looked over Flame’s shoulder. “Speaking of your sordid past…” Leah turned around just in time to see a tiny light-haired girl approaching. She stopped in her tracks as Flame turned around. Leah knew immediately that this was Jodi.

Jodi had dirty blond hair to her shoulders, and she wore bangs Betty Page-style. She was dressed simply in a black band t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans cuffed at the bottom. Leah could see that she had a large and colorful tattoo on her upper right arm, taking over all the space to her elbow. She was striking to look at, and Leah could taste acid in the back of her throat.

“Flame?” Jodi said disbelievingly, her light brown eyes wide in shock. “Oh my God,” she added, moving towards him and putting her arms around his neck. Flame just stiffened as she embraced him, so Jodi slowly pulled away and looked up at him. “I didn’t know… I thought you were…”

“I am,” Flame replied quickly. “I live in North Carolina. I was just visiting my mom. With my girlfriend, Leah,” he added, putting his arm around Leah’s shoulder. “This is Leah,” he repeated coldly.

Not even attempting to feign manners, Jodi crossed her arms as she looked at Leah. She ran her eyes from Leah’s head, down to her toes, and back up again, and then rolled her eyes and looked at Flame. “Why didn’t you let me know you were coming to town?” she asked him, without greeting Leah at all.

“Because I didn’t want to see you,” Flame said quietly and firmly. Lisa, standing behind Flame and Leah, stifled a laugh.

But Jodi didn’t seem bothered by Flame’s demeanor. “Oh, don’t be like that, Flame,” she said, giving him a smile. “We can be friends, can’t we?”

Leah felt Flame tighten his grip on her shoulder. She was looking at the floor, unsure what role she was supposed to be playing right now. Finally she looked up at Flame. His stare was fixed on Jodi, cold and hard, but as he glanced over to Leah, it immediately softened and he gave her a small smile.

“You know what, Jodi,” Flame said, his eyes still on Leah. “What the hell,” he told her, turning his softened expression onto his ex-girlfriend. “Let’s be friends.” Jodi smiled widely at him, but Flame continued before she could say anything. “And as my friend, maybe you can actually say hello to my girlfriend instead of giving her the Bitch Stare.”

Jodi’s expression froze, and she turned to Leah, giving her an obviously fake smile. “I’m sorry. Hi, I’m Jodi, Flame’s ex-girlfriend. I’m the one who took his virginity, broke his heart, and who he begged to come back to him for months. I’m fairly sure I’m the one he’s still in love with, too.”

Her mouth open in disbelief, Leah didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t have to say anything. Flame was livid. “God, you are still such a bitch,” Flame told her frostily. “I don’t know how I ever wanted to be with you. And please, get over yourself. I am one-hundred percent NOT in love with you.”

“Whatever you say, Flame. No need to get so upset,” Jodi replied calmly. “Listen, I’ll catch you later.” With that, she turned and headed back into the crowd.

Standing there in silence for a moment to let the scene that had just unfolded in front of them sink in, Leah finally spoke. “So that was your ex-girlfriend? No wonder you like me so much.”

Flame looked at Leah and started laughing. He was joined by Boo and Lisa, and Leah started to relax. Leaning down to kiss her softly, Flame was thankful that Leah was so good-natured about an extremely aggravating and potentially embarrassing scene.

-----

The evening went uphill after the incident with Jodi. Flame saw several friends, Leah connected with Lisa and Ty kept serving up drinks on the house. Flame, Leah, Boo and Lisa all headed into the back room of the club to watch the band play. As it turned out, Flame was friends with a couple members of the band, too. Leah reveled in watching his cheerful expression as he ran into old acquaintances and embraced friends he had not seen in a while.

But Leah could see Jodi at the side of the room, leaning against a bar and drinking beer. She was staring at Flame, ignoring the two girls who were with her having an animated conversation. She had a stony expression on her face. She suddenly moved her eyes to Leah, shook her head and gave her a smirk. Leah didn’t like this girl at all.

“Hey, where are the bathrooms?” Leah asked Flame.

“Here, I’ll show you,” he said, taking her hand and leading her towards the side of the stage. A hallway was back there, with a few people milling around, a couple making out heavily against a wall and another couple having a quiet but obviously heated conversation. “I’ll wait here,” Flame said, pulling a cigarette out and leaning against the wall. “The girls’ room’s right there.”

Leah leaned up and kissed Flame lightly on the cheek. “Thanks,” she said and headed into the bathroom.

Leaning his head back against the wall, Flame lit his cigarette and took a deep drag.

“There you are,” he heard Jodi’s voice say. Flame looked over stone-faced, and Jodi walked over to him. “Listen, don’t yell at me. I just wanted to apologize.” Her eyes were wide and she looked up sincerely at him.

Feeling his shoulders relax a little, Flame looked at Jodi for a moment. Finally, he spoke. “Yeah?” he asked, hating the hopeful sound in his voice. Jodi had been such a big part of his life for so long, he wished that they could be friends.

“Yeah,” Jodi replied, leaning against the wall next to him. She looked at the floor for a moment before glancing up over her shoulder and continuing. “I’m sorry about how I acted. I just… I was so surprised to see you tonight. And then, to hear you describe that girl as your girlfriend…”

“That’s what she is,” Flame told her flatly.

“I know. It’s just, since we broke up, you haven’t had a girlfriend. I mean, you fucked a lot of girls,” she smirked and Flame had a hard time not smiling back. “But you never had one girl… I guess I was jealous. You can understand that, right? I mean, we have so much history…”

Flame shook his head. “Of course I can understand jealousy,” he said with some bitterness in his voice. “I was jealous when I found out you were cheating on me with Marcus. I was jealous when I found you having sex with that Eric guy in MY car. I was jealous when you dumped me to go fuck that guitarist-”

“Stop,” Jodi insisted, tears in her eyes. “I know, I was horrible. But we were SO young. I mean, we’re still young, but we were so young then. But if it’s worth anything, I am really sorry that I hurt you.”

Hating how he was softening, Flame couldn’t help but give her a small smile. “Well, I guess that’s worth something,” he told her softly.

“Thanks,” Jodi replied with a small smile. “I’ve felt so guilty about that stuff for so long…”

“Well, it’s in the past. That’s where it should stay,” Flame told her generously.

Jodi smiled at him and reached up to give him a hug. Flame gently hugged her back, feeling good that they had made amends. But suddenly Jodi pressed her small body up against him and turned her face to his, kissing him softly. Flame immediately pushed her back. “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded.

“Oh, come on,” Jodi said, her voice no longer sweet and apologetic. “You know you wanted that. We have chemistry-”

“WE have nothing,” Flame told her, his voice hard again. “God, I can’t believe I fell for that again. You are the most manipulative person I’ve ever met.”

Looking up at him, Jodi shook her head, an expression of control on her face. “No, Flame. We belong together. That girl… please, there is no way you can try to tell me that you feel the same way about her as you did about me-”

“No, I don’t,” Flame retorted. “I feel a whole lot more for her. And I also feel good about ME when I’m with her. You have no idea what it takes to really love someone, but Leah does.”

“Yeah, right,” Jodi replied sarcastically. “Jesus, Flame, you and I have heat. We have passion. I know you remember what it used to be like,” she said as she took a step closer to him and his body stiffened. “We could never keep our hands off each other. Remember fucking in the school stairwell? Me, pressed up against the wall. Or how about the time I blew you in the movie theater? I couldn’t wait to get your cock in my mouth…” Jodi placed a hand on Flame’s chest, but he pushed it away immediately.

“Don’t touch me again, Jodi,” Flame replied in a low threatening voice.

“Or what?” Jodi challenged him. “Because if you’ve forgotten, I like it rough.”

Flame just continued giving Jodi an angry glare.

“Fine,” Jodi said, her voice getting chipper. “You have your fun with your little girlfriend. But when you’re ready for something real, give me a call.”

“Jodi, I didn’t know what real was until I met Leah. You’re nothing but lies and empty promises. I hope you enjoyed that kiss, because it’s the last time that will ever happen.”

Honestly surprised with Flame’s resolve, Jodi tried not to let off how taken aback she was. “I don’t believe you,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “But, whatever. You’ll be back. Deep down, you know you will.” With that, she turned and headed back towards the inside of the club.

Flame shook his head, his blood still boiling. He threw his cigarette on the floor and stomped it out with his boot. Looking over towards the bathrooms, he saw Leah standing there, looking at him.

“Hey,” he said nervously. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Since just after she kissed you, I guess,” Leah told him in a soft voice.

Walking over to her quickly, Flame’s stomach was in knots. “Oh, God, Leah, I didn’t… please don’t think…”

“Shh,” Leah said, putting a finger to his lips. “No, I heard you. I heard you say all those wonderful things about me.” She reached down for his hand and looked back up into his bright blue eyes, which were filled with fear. “Let’s just say, any worries I had about if you love me as much as you loved her are gone.” She rose on her tip-toes and kissed Flame. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her back intensely and then pulling her into a warm hug.

“You are my everything,” he whispered into Leah’s hair. “I will always love you.”

-----

Hey. If anyone is intersted in me continuing, please leave a review. I\'m very interested in everyone\'s comments (thank you especially Monkey Lady!) I have two versions of chapter 18 started, but I don\'t know which one I want to post. If anyone is interested in me continuing this story, please let me know. Thanks to all that have commented so far.