Flame and Leah

Forty minutes later, Leah, Dylan and Callie arrived at the front door of the band’s house. Callie was visibly drunk by now, having consumed another mini whiskey bottle on the way to the party. She knocked hard on the front door, and Chuck answered.

“Hey, Cal,” he said, looking pleased to see her. “Hey guys, come in, grab a beer.” Leah and Dylan followed Callie and Chuck into the kitchen, which was filled with a massive collection of beer bottles and bodies.

“Thanks,” Leah said, taking a beer from Chuck.

Dylan held up his hand and shook his head. “No thanks, dude,” he said. “I’m driving tonight.”

“That’s cool,” Chuck said, but he wasn’t really paying attention to Dylan anymore. Callie was giving him a flirtatious look and motioning towards another room.

“We’ll be inside if anyone needs us,” Callie told Leah. “So nobody should need us for at least an hour, ok?” She followed Chuck out of the room without so much as another glance their way.

“That guy Surge is over there,” Dylan motioned. “I think I’ll go talk to him. Have fun, okay?”

Leah nodded and bit her lip. She looked around the kitchen, sipping her beer. She recognized a lot of the people, but she couldn’t find the one person she wanted to see. Deciding to give up for the meantime and go outside to have a cigarette, she walked out of the kitchen and back the way she came in.

Leaning against the house, Leah lit her cigarette. She heard the front door open and looked over.

“There you are,” Flame said with a smile. “I was looking all over for you.” He had obviously just gotten out of the shower. His hair was still soaked and he had put on a pair of cargo shorts and a pullover hoodie. His feet were bare, and he had a beer in his hand.

“We just got here a few minutes ago,” Leah explained. “Callie and Chuck went off to… be alone, so I came out here.”

Nodding, Flame finished nearly half his beer with one swig. “And your friend, the guy…?”

“Dylan?” Leah asked, surprised Flame had noticed. “He’s like my best friend since elementary school. He’s inside talking to some people.”

Visibly relaxing after finding out who Dylan was, Flame brought Leah around the side of the house and into the backyard where there were seats for them to sit in.

“So how old are you?” Flame asked nervously.

“Seventeen,” Leah admitted.

Pulling out his own pack of cigarettes, Flame smiled. “Oh, good,” he said as he lit a match and raised it to the cigarette hanging from his mouth. “I was afraid you’d be fifteen or something. Too many young girls these days look much older.” He shook out the flame on the match. “I’m nineteen, by the way. Of course, my ID says I’m twenty-two, but then again, it also says I’m named Hector Diaz.”

Leah laughed. She was glad to find that Flame was funny and easygoing. She was also relieved that he seemed genuinely interested in her. “So how long has the band been together? I’m surprised I haven’t seen you guys play before.”

“Actually, we were together in high school, but my family moved junior year to Virginia.” The way Flame looked at Leah made her blush a little. “I moved back here last month, and we’ve only had a couple gigs since then.”

Nodding, Leah put her cigarette out in an ashtray on the table between them. “Well, you guys sounded good. And the crowd loved you.” Wanting to know more about each other, Leah and Flame began asking tons of questions.

-----

They had been outside talking for over an hour when Dylan found them sitting at the picnic table in the darkened backyard. “Hey,” he said awkwardly.

“Oh, Dylan, this is Flame,” Leah said. “Flame, this is one of my best friends in the whole world.”

Standing up, Flame put out his hand to Dylan. “Good to meet you, bro,” he said sincerely. “Sorry for stealing Leah away from you.”

Dylan cringed at Flame’s unintentional mischoice of words. “Yeah, you guys were awesome,” he said. “Uh, Lee, I hate to say it, but I’ve got to get home soon. Callie’s planning on crashing here, but do you want a ride?”

“You could crash, too, if you want,” Flame said, looking at Leah. He’d already had four or five beers, and Leah could tell there was a little bit of desire and urge included in his invitation.

“Nah,” she said, and she heard Dylan sigh under his breath in relief. “My parents would freak.” She looked over at Dylan, silently asking him for a moment alone with Flame.

“Well, I’ll see you out front then,” Dylan said, taking the hint. “Good to meet you,” he told Flame.

“Absolutely,” Flame replied. “Feel free to stop by any time.”

When Dylan had left the backyard, Flame turned back to Leah, who had stood up and put her cigarettes back in her sweatshirt pocket. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Was that out of line, to ask you to stay?”

Shaking her head, Leah gave him a small smile. “No, it was okay,” she replied. “I had a lot of fun talking to you.”

“Me, too,” Flame said, putting his hands in his pockets nervously. “Am I going to get to see you again?” For the first time all evening, Flame looked visibly insecure and vulnerable, worried about what her answer would be.

“Yeah, I think that could be arranged,” she smiled. “You can get my number from Callie.”

Flame nodded and bit his bottom lip, and they stood awkwardly in silence for a moment. “So,” he said.

“So,” Leah repeated. “I should probably go meet Dylan.” She smiled at him and started walking towards the gate.

“Wait,” Flame said a little loudly. Leah turned around and found him right behind her. “Um, would it be okay if I kissed you?”

Blushing deeply this time, Leah nodded. “Yeah,” she said softly as Flame pulled his hands from his pockets. He reached gently for her face, cradling it delicately. Leah closed her eyes and tilted her head as Flame moved toward her. She felt his lips touch hers softly. The kiss was tender and sweet at first, and then it became more intense. Leah reached out and placed her palm on Flame’s chest softly, putting her other hand on his hip. After several minutes, they finally pulled apart.

“Sure you can’t stay?” Flame asked breathlessly.

Leah smiled. “I’m sure,” she said. “G’night.”

“Night,” Flame called after her as she walked out the gate and into the front yard, where Dylan was waiting patiently for her in his car in the driveway.

-----

“Well?” Flame’s friend, Rich, asked when he came back into the kitchen. “Where is she? Don’t tell me she left already.”

Grabbing another beer from the fridge, Flame nodded disappointedly. “’Fraid so. She had to go; she’s in high school still.”

Rich shook his head. “After you said all that shit up on stage, you’re not even gonna get laid? Dude, sorry.”

Flame rolled his eyes. “I could have gotten laid without that kind of effort,” he said truthfully. “There were a few chicks at the show that would have come back here if I just asked. But this one is different.”

“You sound like a fag,” Rich told him in a friendly way.

“Fuck off,” Flame joked back, and he headed upstairs and away from the party. He felt good about how things had gone with Leah, even though he would have liked for her to spend the night, and he didn’t feel like letting his buddies stupid jokes and crude comments ruin the good mood he was in.