Flame and Leah

HELLO! FIRST OF ALL, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WROTE REVIEWS. IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME TO GET FEEDBACK ON MY WRITING. I FINALLY GREW SOME BALLS WRITING THIS CHAPTER, AND I AM A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT HOW READERS WILL TAKE IT. I WANT TO GIVE SPECIAL THANKS TO JEANETTE -- CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS THE BEST. PLEASE KEEP LETTING ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS. AND HERE GOES...

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“What the hell just happened?” Lisa asked, a perplexed expression on her face. “Jodi just came ripping through here like a bat out of hell.”

Flame had his arm around Leah’s shoulder and just shook his head. “Nothing important,” he said, glancing at Leah and giving her a small smile, which she returned. “Just putting some stuff to rest, finally.”

“About fucking time,” Lisa retorted. Then she looked a little bashful. “Sorry. If you can’t tell, Leah, I’m not Jodi’s biggest fan.”

Grinning, Leah nodded. “Yeah, I think I got that vibe from you.”

The foursome then turned back to the stage to listen to the band play. As a song ended, the singer started talking to the audience. “Tonight’s been weird,” he told them, eliciting a few hoots from the people crowding in front of the stage. “Yeah, I ran into a good friend I haven’t seen in while. Turns out the prick just got signed to a record deal. Sellout.” Flame laughed at this, and Leah smiled. “Anyway,” the singer continued. “I decided that, since he’s likely to turn into some big-label loser soon, I’d invite him up hear to sing with us one last time.” He paused, wiping sweat off his face. “Flame, where the fuck are you? Get your ass up here!”

Looking at Leah for support, a huge smile broke across Flame’s face when he saw her nod at him encouragingly. He pushed his way through the crowd and got up on the stage. He embraced the singer quickly and took the microphone from him.

“So, this is my first time back in DC in a while, and I’ve got to tell you - this place is still a shit hole.” The crowd broke into laughter, and Flame continued. “You know I’m just fucking with you. Anyway, let’s hear it for Jesse and all of Sour!” The crowd went wild, and Leah felt herself swell with pride. He really knew how to control the audience. “Ok, guys,” he said, facing the band. “Everyone down with a little NOFX? Last time I sang with you, we did ‘Release the Hostages’. Let’s see if I remember the words.”

The band started playing as Lisa glanced over at Leah and gave her a warm smile. Flame had begun singing, jumping around the stage, being joined by Jesse here and there. As he finished, the crowd shouted their approval, and Flame handed the microphone back to Jesse, shaking his hand quickly and climbing off the stage. When he returned to Leah, he was already covered in sweat, and his eyes were dancing.

“Have fun?” Leah asked him. Flame just nodded, a smile across his face.

“That rocked, dude,” Boo told him, slapping him on the arm. “Let me buy you a shot.”

“I’ve never said no to that offer,” Flame answered.

“As I remember, you rarely said no to ANY offer,” Lisa teased him as the boys headed towards the bar. Flame gave her a smirk over his shoulder.

“He seems so happy here,” Leah told Lisa. “It’s so weird that he left. I mean, he’s got great friends in North Carolina, too, but he seems to miss it here so badly.”

Giving her a sympathetic look, Lisa shook her head. “He had to get out of here. This was all there was for him – if he hadn’t gone, he wouldn’t have a recording deal. Or you. Plus, he just had to get away from Jodi. She’s like a leech; she just holds on and sucks the blood from Flame.” Lisa laughed and shook her head again. “I never got what he saw in her. I mean, I guess physically, yeah. But he let her treat him like shit for years – well after they broke up. I’m just so glad he’s with you. You guys seem so good together, and he is so much happier than he ever was before.”

Leah appreciated Lisa’s praise. Despite the scene she had seen take place between Flame and Jodi outside the bathrooms, Leah still felt a little nervousness in her stomach. But hearing a close friend of Flame’s telling her that they were good together helped alleviate a lot of the fears.

“Four shots, on the house,” Boo interrupted Leah’s thoughts. “Payment for Flame’s performance.” Both Flame and Boo were holding two shots in one hand and two beers in the other. Leah maneuvered a shot glass and one of the beer bottles from Flame’s hands.

“So it’s definitely okay with your mom that we stay with Boo and Lisa tonight?” Leah whispered, looking at the alcohol she was holding. Boo and Lisa lived in the city, and had offered to have Flame and Leah spend the night so they wouldn’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

“Yeah, right before we left she pulled me aside and told me to get a hotel if we were both drinking,” Flame explained to her. “This is just cheaper than a hotel. And we’ll take a cab to get the car in the morning. It’ll be fine.”

Leah smiled and nodded. “Well then, I suppose we should toast something.”

As everyone raised their shot glasses, Boo spoke. “To awesome girls who don’t know they’re too good for us,” he said, glancing affectionately towards Lisa before jokingly adding, “and to the hope that they’ll soon bring home a girl for a threesome!”

Lisa elbowed Boo in the stomach quickly, and they all laughed. “Cheers!” they all said, swallowing their shots and chasing them with a swig of beer.

-----

Nervously, Leah kept looking around the club, expecting to see Jodi at any moment. But after an hour, she finally began to relax. She couldn’t help it, really. She was fairly drunk. Between Ty’s free rounds and Boo bringing them shots every fifteen minutes, Leah was feeling lightheaded.

“Oh, no more for me for a while, thanks,” she told Boo as he tried to hand her another Jack Daniel’s shot.

“Me, too,” Lisa said supportively. She saw that Leah obviously wasn’t used to drinking like this, and didn’t want her to feel like she was alone. “Actually, guys, once you two finish those, maybe we’ll head out. We have a pizza place that delivers until three, and we have beer at home.”

“That sounds great,” Flame said, quite a bit of intoxication showing in his voice. “Just let me say goodbye to a couple people.”

“Yeah, I’m going to use the girls’ room, anyway. Leah, do you want to come with me?” Lisa invited her, and Leah nodded.

“We’ll meet you outside?” Lisa asked Boo, kissing him lightly on the lips. While they weren’t the type of couple that pawed at each other constantly, it was obvious that they had great admiration and love for each other.

Leah followed Lisa through the still-packed club towards the bathroom, smiling at some people she had met earlier. Her head was fuzzy, though, and she didn’t remember many names. She was happy that nobody stopped her to speak.

“Listen, this is going to sound terrible,” Lisa said once they arrived in the hallway where the bathrooms were. “But do you have a cigarette? Boo and I both quit at New Year’s, but I’ve been dying all night for one.”

Laughing, Leah pulled a pack out of her bag and offered it to Lisa. “I’m so glad I met you,” she said honestly.

“Me, too,” Lisa said genuinely as she took a cigarette and the lighter that Leah offered. “I’ve known Flame for a really long time, and I love him a lot – like a brother. I’m just so glad to see him in a good place, you know? You’re really good for him.”

Taking in the praise with a grin, Leah lit her own cigarette. She heard some voices coming from the direction of the bathroom and looked up. “Don’t touch me,” she heard a drunken voice say. Leah was surprised to see Jodi emerging with her two friends behind her. She hadn’t seen her in the club for a while.

Jodi’s steps were stumbled, and she had obviously been crying. Her stunning face was tearstained and blotchy. Her bloodshot eyes, surrounded by swelling, looked up and saw Leah looking at her. “Great,” she said sarcastically, but there was no edge to her voice this time. In fact, her cheeks blushed, and she gave Leah a small self-deprecating smile. “Hi,” she said as she arrived in front of Leah. Looking over at Lisa, she just bit her lip in embarrassment. “Hey, Lisa,” she finally forced out.

“Hi, Jodi,” Lisa replied in a light but untrusting voice.

“Listen,” she said, crossing her arms and looking at Leah. “You have every right to hate me. I don’t know what came over me earlier-”

“You were being a bitch?” Lisa offered.

Grunting a small laugh, Jodi nodded. “Yeah, I was. Like Lisa can tell you, I’m generally used to getting my way. But this time… I guess I fucked up just a little too much this time. I just have to apologize – for how I treated you, for kissing Flame-”

“You kissed him?” Lisa exclaimed. “Tonight?”

“Just for a second. And he didn’t kiss me back,” Jodi quickly added. “I just realized tonight how stupid I was to treat him so badly in the past. But the more I think about it, the more I understand now that in order to make any strides towards ever being his friend again, I need to put Flame’s happiness first for a change. That’s really why I’m apologizing, because you seem to make him very happy. And that’s good.” She smiled a little at Leah before adding, “Just, you know, don’t take him for granted. He really is one in a million.”

“I won’t,” Leah replied softly. “And thanks for the apology.”

Jodi looked tired. “I think I’m going to go throw up now and go home.”

Letting out a little laugh, Lisa smiled at Jodi. “That was cool, Jodi. Really.”

A small grin of appreciation spread across Jodi’s face. “Approval from the girl who hates me most in the world,” she chuckled. “Hell must be freezing over…”

“If you remember,” Lisa said with some sadness in her voice, “there was a time when we were friends.”

“Before I really started becoming a psycho bitch to Flame. I remember.” She waved and started to walk off, being followed closely by her friends, who had confused looks on their faces.

Lisa didn’t say anything to Leah for a minute. She just smiled a small smile at her and threw her cigarette on the ground. “Come on,” she finally responded, putting an arm around Leah’s shoulder. “Let’s use the bathroom and then go find our men. They’re so drunk, they’ve probably already gotten themselves in some kind of trouble.”

-----

The cool night air hadn’t exactly hit Flame the way he had hoped. “I might puke,” he warned Boo.

“Dude, if you’ve got to, you’ve got to. But why don’t you go behind the club? I’ll wait here for the girls.”

Nodding appreciatively, Flame stumbled to the side of the building. Squatting down and taking a few deep breaths, he began to feel better, although the alleyway was still spinning slightly in front of him.

“Hey,” he heard a feminine voice say and he looked up.

“Oh,” Flame responded coldly. “It’s you.”

Taking a seat beside him, Jodi looked at him. “Yeah, it’s me. Not feeling so good, huh? Me neither.”

“Just go, Jodi,” Flame told her, breathing evenly to try to stop the fuzziness in his head.

“She’s very pretty,” Jodi replied quietly. Flame looked over at her slowly. “Leah?” Jodi confirmed. “She’s beautiful. I can see why you’re attracted to her.”

“I’m more than attracted to her,” Flame said. “I’m in love with her.”

Nodding sadly, Jodi hugged her knees. “Yeah, I think I can see that now.” She looked up at Flame with glassy red-rimmed eyes. “And… and I want you to be happy. I guess I was just sad that you weren’t happy with me.” When Flame didn’t respond, Jodi continued. “I was awful to you,” she told him plainly. “But…”

Breathing in deeply and then letting it out, Flame prodded her gently. “But what?”

“Well,” Jodi said, looking back down at her knees before looking up again. “But was it all bad? I mean, I know you’re happy now, but then… when we were together… was it all bad?”

Closing his eyes, Flame couldn’t help but let his thoughts fade back to when he had first met Jodi. She had been unlike any girl he’d ever met. He had just moved to Virginia, and he was sneaking a cigarette behind a tree at lunch.

-----

“Hey, can I get one of those?” a voice said. Flame looked up and saw what was possibly the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. He handed her a cigarette silently. “So,” Jodi continued, not seeming to notice that he hadn’t spoken. “You’re the new kid.” She lit the cigarette and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply before continuing. “Well, I’m Jodi. From the looks of you, I think we’re going to be friends.”

From that day on, Flame had it bad for Jodi. She took him to shows with her, begging him to sneak out of his house late at night. She got him grounded at home for coming home drunk and suspended at school for ditching classes to hang out doing nothing on nice days. This tiny package of a person was the most fearless, electrifying, adventurous person Flame had ever known. And Jodi teased him for months, flirting but never seeming to offer more. He watched her date guys regularly, mostly people from DC and mostly older guys.

Then, one night at a party, she told him she needed to talk to him. Flame had been pretty drunk and willingly followed her up the stairs of the house they were in as she led him to an unoccupied bedroom. She had closed the door behind her and leaned back against it, her hands pressed behind her lower back.

“So,” she said with a smirk. “You’re pretty patient. Most guys try to get with me the first night they meet me. But you… what, are you shy? Or do you just not think I’m pretty?”

“No,” Flame had responded, shocked. “I mean, yeah. I mean, I think you’re beautiful.”

Blinking a few times before letting her full lips shape into a smile, Jodi finally bit her lip and looked at him. “So, do you want to kiss me?”

Flame’s heart was pounding in his chest. “I do,” he said quietly.

“Then come here,” Jodi instructed. Flame moved towards her, and stopped when he was standing directly in front of her. She looked up at him and smiled. Nervously, Flame placed his hands on her shoulders.

“That’s it,” she coaxed him as he leaned down slowly. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth was soft and warm. She parted her lips, slipping her tongue into his mouth and gently massaging his. She placed her hands on his chest, rubbing gently and then slipping her arms around his neck. She started pressing her mouth deeper against his and slid her knee between his thighs. Flame groaned into her mouth involuntarily as she began rubbing against him. He was quickly growing hard.

“Sorry,” Flame whispered, blushing. His erection was pressed hard into Jodi’s thigh.

“Sorry for what?” Jodi replied with a smirk. She kissed him again, pressing him back and towards the bed. As he felt the mattress hit the back of his legs, Flame paused.

“Is there a problem?” Jodi asked, a slight sound of annoyance in her voice. “Just lay down.”

Flame did as he was told, and he felt Jodi climb on top of him, settling herself between his legs. She began kissing him again, this time pressing herself hard against him. Flame got lost in the moment, rubbing his hands over her back and pressing himself up against her. He felt Jodi kissing his neck and rubbing his shoulders. She sat up and pulled her shirt over her head. She hadn’t been wearing a bra, so her small, firm breasts were immediately in Flame’s view.

“So, do you have a condom?” she asked him casually. She was pushing up his shirt and rubbing his chest, pulling gently on his nipples.

“Oh,” Flame blushed. “Actually, no…”

“Oh my God,” Jodi exclaimed with a smirk. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”

Feeling his cheeks grow even warmer, Flame looked away from her stare. “No,” he insisted. “No, of course not.”

“Yes,” Jodi said with a smile. “You are.” Flame’s face was now bright red, but he still wasn’t meeting her eyes. Jodi reached down and put her finger under his chin, forcing his gaze on her face. “I wouldn’t have guessed it in a million years,” she said with a smirk. “Well, I’m on the pill, and since you’re a virgin, I guess there’s no problem.”

“But I’m not,” Flame tried to argue, but as soon as he felt Jodi reach down for his pants, he breathed in deeply. “Ok, technically, maybe…”

Laughing, Jodi unbuttoned Flame’s pants. “Well, then,” she told him. “Then tonight’s going to mean a little more than I thought…”

Jodi undressed Flame slowly, kissing his shoulders, his chest, his stomach, his thighs. She stood to slide herself out of her jeans and looked at Flame lying in the bed. His length was straining with desire, and his face was flushed.

“Well, I’ve never been with a virgin,” she told him as she climbed on top of him and straddled his thighs. “But this should be fun.” She reached down between her thighs and took him into her hand, stroking him slowly and deliberately. Flame was breathing heavy, his eyes closed, causing Jodi to chuckle. At the sound of her laugh, he immediately blushed again and opened his eyes. As soon as their gazes locked, Jodi led Flame to herself. His mouth opened slightly at the sensation of her warmth, wet and inviting. Sliding down slowly, Jodi watched Flame’s expression as she slid completely around him.

“Oh, God,” he moaned.

“And we’re just getting started,” Jodi said with a smirk, leaning down to kiss him. Moving at what seemed to Flame like an excruciatingly slow pace, Jodi began riding him.

“If you want me to go faster,” Jodi breathed into Flame’s ear, “then you have to move me.”

Flame nodded slightly and took Jodi’s tiny hips in his grip. He started leading her on top of him, pulling up and then pressing her body down on him. He’d never felt anything like this before. Jodi was sucking on his neck, grinding down against him hard. “You’re going to cum,” she told him.

“I’m sorry,” Flame flushed. He knew he hadn’t lasted very long.

“Shhh…” she told him, sitting up. Jodi reached for her breasts, rubbing them. She closed her eyes and leaned back slightly. She was riding him hard, raising her body and then pushing down on him. Flame just watched in awe, his hands resting lightly on her thighs, as one of Jodi’s hands slid from her breasts to between her legs. He watched as she expertly began massaging herself while she rode him. She was moaning as she began increasing her pace, pounding down on him hard with her whole body weight as she played with herself. Flame felt himself pulsing; he became lightheaded. As Jodi started calling out his name, Flame began to feel waves of heat and pleasure, finally feeling himself explode inside her. Jodi kept pressing down on him hard, moaning. “God, fuck, yes,” she yelled, pressing down on him repeatedly until he felt her muscles contract around his already swollen cock. Flame was covered with sweat, although he’d barely done anything. Jodi just sunk down onto him, letting her body collapse on his chest. They both lay there silently for several minutes before Jodi leaned up and looked him in the eyes.

“So what’d you think?” she asked with a smirk.

“I think… I liked that,” Flame grinned back.

-----

“No,” Flame told Jodi. “There were definitely good times.”

Jodi nodded sadly. “Yeah, there were. And I fucked them up.” She looked up into his eyes. “I just wish… fuck, I don’t know, I wish we had met now instead of then. I’m not the person I used to be.”

Smiling a little, Flame nudged her with his elbow. “Come on, you weren’t so bad then. You would have been great if you could have kept your pants on more often...”

“Fuck you,” Jodi laughed back, swatting his arm, but quickly she became serious again. “I guess… I mean, I know… I was… a slut. I mean, come on, I fucked you, your first time. I didn’t even do anything to make it special…”

“It was special,” Flame told her gently. His gaze locked with hers, and Jodi bit her lip.

“I know you’re in a different space now, but do you think, you know, if you’d met me now for the first time, and you were single…?” She let her words fade out.

“Possibly,” Flame said, his head still spinning from the alcohol. He looked at Jodi, and could still see the feisty, loud, fun sixteen year old he had met almost four years ago. “Probably,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and didn’t think. He just leaned forward and felt Jodi’s lips meet his. Her kiss was warm and familiar, like everything else had been that night. Jodi kissed him back with urgency, putting her hand on his cheek. Flame felt himself put his hand on hers, kissing her deeply.

“Flame,” he heard a cold voice say, snapping him out of his daze. “Boo and Leah are getting a cab. We’re leaving.”

Flame’s mouth dropped open slightly at the expression on Lisa’s face. She stormed back towards the front of the club, and Flame looked slowly over towards Jodi.

“I have to go,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion. Jodi just nodded as he stood up and began to walk away. Looking over his shoulder, he gave her a small smile. “Take care of yourself,” he told her.

“You, too,” Jodi replied softly as she watched him walk away.