Chapter 23

L-Man with the Right Hook…

NOW

(Leith)

My right hand touched her hip. The black pants and the black shirt were slowly killing me. Her black hair pulled back, the way she turned her head away, showing me her neck, that was too much for anyone to take.

As my lips grazed her neck, she let out a sigh.

I loved when she grabbed the sides of my shirt, like she didn't know what to do next. Fighting what she wanted and what was right.

My tongue tasted the sweetness of her skin and I kissed a line to her lips.

We kissed.

And kissed.

I made a fist with my left hand and pressed it against the building.

Beth nibbled at my bottom lip as she pulled away.

"I hate you for this," she whispered.

"What? Showing up where you work to kiss you?"

"I don't want to go back in there now."

"Then don't. Quit. Come with me."

She laughed. "You're cute, Leith."

"Just cute?"

"You'll always be cute to me."

I snuck another kiss from her. "You'll always been more than anything you could ever understand to me."

"I'm not sure what you just said," Beth whispered.

"Me either," I said with a grin.

"I like you, Leith," she said. "You know, I don't just make out with anyone on my break."

"Oh? That's good to know."

"Only special guys."

"Guys?"

"What? Does that make you jealous? I mean, to be fair, the last guy who kissed me out here was brave enough to push me up against the building…"

"You're trying to fuck with me."

"Am I?" Beth asked.

That was always the one thing about Beth. You never knew if she was telling the truth or trying to get you worked up. And it always worked on me. Always.

I then had both hands to her hips and pushed her against the building.

"Too late," she said.

She put her hands to my chest and shoved me away.

"It's never too late, angel," I said.

"If you say so."

She walked toward the door.

"Hey," I said. "I'll come in and sit there all night until you're done."

"That's up to you," she said. "See you later, Leith."

She licked her bottom lip and disappeared.

I put my head back and took a deep breath.

This was beyond crazy.

Beth had me standing out back of a bar, desperate to kiss her. I could have been and maybe should have been at home, working on lesson plans or thinking of fun projects for class, but it wasn't even really a thought in my mind at that point. My only thought was the next moment with Beth. The next kiss. The next chance to have more than just a kiss.

I walked around to the front of the bar.

It was a quiet and sleek looking place.

It was dark and relaxing, everyone inside dressed up.

When I sat at the bar and Beth spotted me, she quickly shook her head.

The person working with her I recognized from that first night I saw Beth. In some messed up way that even felt like a lifetime ago. And to think because of that night, or since that night, how much things had changed.

Amy was back in New York. Her pictures were all over social media. It was good to see her smiling. I wasn't sure if the smiles were real or not though. She chose her dream job and posted a selfie of herself standing under the sign to the school with her eyes looking up, a confident grin on her face. That was the Amy I knew from day one. The Amy that I liked and even loved.

But the moment my eyes saw Beth walking toward me, it was more than enough to know that there were different kinds of love to feel. And not just the kind you would have for a parent, a pet or a friend. It was deeper. And even that deeper kind of love could go even deeper. That sense of endlessness.

That's what Beth always had to offer.

"You're not serious, are you?" she asked me.

"What? I can't have a drink and flirt with the pretty bartender?"

"I'm not so sure Maria is your type," Beth said.

I smiled. "You never know. I'll have to find out for myself."

"That's not exactly funny, Leith."

"You brought it up."

"What do you want to drink?"

"You know me," I said. "I'm a simple guy."

"And you're scaring the hell out of everyone here," Beth whispered.

I wasn't exactly dressed for the part in a fancy bar like this one. Everyone looking like they just came from the office after a long day of work. And I was in jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt.

"You look like a bouncer," Beth said. "Or like you're going to rob someone."

"I have to wear semi-nice clothes all week," I said. "I'm just relaxing. Is there a dress code here?"

"Might be. I might have to ask you to leave."

"Is that why you're in all black?" I asked. "That's your uniform?"

"Uniform," Beth said. "I'll say it again… you're cute, Leith."

I curled my lip.

That damn word again. And she knew it went through me.

"Are you allowed to wear jewelry?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said. "This isn't like going to a school where you're told what to wear. It's a job. And black works."

"For obvious reasons," I flirted.

"Exactly," she said. "So leave a big tip."

"That I will. Hey, something that just popped into my mind."

"Ut-oh."

"Do you remember that necklace I got you?"

Beth's eyes widened. "Yeah…"

"You know I stole that, right?"

"You did?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And then I went back and paid for it. I didn't want my first piece of jewelry for you to be stolen."

"Well… now that you mention it…"

"What?"

"You're not going to believe this, but of all the things that happened between me and Joel, that necklace was a big deal."

"A big deal how?"

"He kept it."

"Who kept it?"

"Joel."

"Wait a second," I said. "He kept the necklace I gave to you?"

"Yeah," Beth said.

"Why?"

"He was always jealous of you," Beth said. "We fought about it so many times. He denies he has it. But I know he does. It's his way of really getting back at me. He always planned on getting married just once and having that be forever."

I felt like someone had stuck a knife in my gut. I hated thinking about Beth being married. And it wasn't just Joel. It was anyone. But because it had been Joel, that made it worse.

"Did you take anything from him?" I asked.

"No," she said. "I just wanted to be done with everything."

"And he still has the necklace?"

"I assume so. Maybe he threw it out a long time ago and didn't want to tell me. It bothers me though. I never wanted anything to happen to that. I know how much it meant to you to give to me."

I touched my jaw and slowly stood up. "That guy's always been a stupid prick."

"Leith…"

"You know what? I'll be back later. Or maybe I can meet you at your place. What time do you get done here?"

"No," Beth said. "Whatever you're thinking, just no."

"Don't tell me no, angel. I'm going to get your necklace back."

"Are you crazy?"

"Maybe I am."

"Leith. We're adults. It's over. I really don't-"

"Yes, you do," I said. "And so do I. He's not going to take that from you. I have no idea what happened in your marriage. Why you married him. Why you divorced him. It's burned inside me for a long time, Beth. So I'm going to get the answers I want. And your necklace."

Beth sighed and ran a hand across her forehead. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

"No."

"Shit."

I pointed down the bar. "Looks like you have some people waiting for drinks. I'll give you a shout later."

"Leith…"

"It's okay. I'll find him. I'll figure it out."

Beth put her thumb to her mouth and bit at it.

I really had no idea what I was doing. In the back of my mind all I could think about was seeing her with him. At her father's funeral. Long before that too. Knowing that she ended up with him. And they were never good together. He was never good to her. He took her dream and desire to sing. And now he had the necklace I bought for Beth?

Tonight I was going to settle another part of our wild past.

It wasn't hard to find Joel.

Not that he was trying to hide or anything.

He lived thirty minutes away in another town. That thirty minutes should have been enough time alone with myself to get rid of this crazy idea I had.

But it didn't.

I never liked Joel. He knew what he was doing when he first put his arm around Beth's shoulder. He was the rebound. But that rebound went way too far. I wasn't sure what he knew of me and Beth. Because it wasn't just some cut and dry young love story that burned out.

A squeak from the wooden porch chased away the memories.

They didn't mean anything now.

Which was hypocritical as I stood on the porch to get back a memory.

When Joel opened the door and saw me standing there, he laughed. Almost as if he had been waiting for me.

"I must be dreaming," he said. "Or maybe I got too drunk and fell and hit my head."

"Good to see you, Joel," I said.

"Yeah, fuck yourself, Leith," he said.

"Good. Just making sure we know where we stand."

"Stand? What are you doing here? I'm not married to her anymore. You got what you wanted."

"What I wanted, huh?"

"Come on," Joel said. "What is this?"

"Call me what you want, Joel, but I'm here to get her necklace back."

Joel gripped the side of the door tight. His knuckles were white.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" he asked.

"No."

"She sent you here."

"No."

"Yes, she did. Fucking… How perfect. I always wondered how long it would take before you two were back together."

"Then why'd you marry her?"

"Thought she loved me," Joel said.

"You were a rebound. You knew it."

"Yeah, but that sad slutty thing she had going on… fuck…"

"Watch yourself, Joel," I warned.

"So you're coming to my house to threaten me? To demand back some junk necklace? You know she and I had coffee not long ago? I checked up on her. She was a fucking mess. Still is, probably. She'll always be a mess. Some people just can't be fixed. Or they're not worth fixing."

"This is about Beth," I said. "Just give me the necklace."

"Why?"

"I bought it for her. It means something to me."

"That's sweet," Joel said. "Tell you what. Get the fuck off my porch and out of here. If you do that, nothing else will happen."

"Are you threatening me now?" I asked.

Joel opened the door the rest of the way and stepped out onto the porch.

I didn't move an inch.

We were almost eye to eye. I had a small height advantage over him.

"This is how we're going to settle this?" he asked.

"It's been building for a long time," I said. "You went after my girl."

"You broke her heart. So I fixed it."

"She left you."

"I didn't want her anymore. She was used up. And you really fucked her up, Leith. What kind of man leaves a woman when she's pregnant?"

That was the line of all lines for me.

That meant Beth had confided in Joel. That she really married him. Which may have seemed strange, but it showed that she did care about Joel.

My hands gripped tight to Joel's button-down shirt.

I slammed him against his own house.

He had been waiting for me to do that.

My eyes blurred from the intense, sudden anger.

I debated on what to do to him and that gave Joel enough time to swing.

His fist came up and knocked me so hard in the jaw I stumbled back.

He came right at me, throwing another punch, hitting my right cheek.

I felt and heard a pop sound inside my cheek and mouth.

Stars danced in front of my eyes for a couple seconds.

Joel tried to drive me off the front porch but I set my feet.

I was ready to fight.

My hands slammed off his chest, driving him back, and it was my turn for a right punch. When I hit him, I hit him harder than he hit me. He turned and reached for anything to grab onto. There was nothing.

I drove forward with my shoulder and smashed him against his own house again.

He turned and hit me in the stomach. I jumped up with the punch and groaned as I lost my air. I brought down an elbow to the side of his head.

I wasn't in the mood to fight fair either.

This was about going until someone quit.

I lifted my right knee into his chest and Joel finally went down to the porch.

As I dropped down, throwing a punch that would break his damn nose, he kicked my arm and I fell to my left side.

He moved and I quickly swung the back of my right hand and got him in the face one more time.

His head snapped back and he cupped his face.

I scrambled to my feet, shaking.

I looked down at him as blood ran from his nose.

"You feel good now?" he asked.

"You don't know a thing about me. Or her. Or us."

He smiled, his teeth stained with his own blood.

My cheek was so swollen I could see it from the corner of my eye.

Joel pulled himself to his feet. "You sure about this, Leith?"

"Don't worry about me. Or her." I touched my cheek and saw blood on my hand.

"Was it worth it?" Joel asked.

"Yeah," I said. "She's worth it a hundred times over."

Joel walked into his house. But he didn't shut the door.

Standing there was probably a dumb thing to do. For all I knew he was going to get a weapon. But in that moment I was no longer Leith. Or Mr. Leith, the teacher. Or Mr. Keith, the cool and funny teacher. Or L-Man as a couple of the faculty called me for whatever reason.

I was beginning to be the real Leith.

Myself.

The guy who wrote stories for fun.

The guy who would do anything for Beth.

The guy not afraid to throw a punch or two.

Joel would never get the best of me.

And when he emerged from the house again, he threw something into the air.

I caught it.

It was the necklace I had bought for Beth.

"Cheap shit," he said. "Not even real diamonds."

"Nope," I said.

"She fucking hounded me for that thing."

"So I heard."

"Now you win, huh?"

I held the necklace tight. "It's over, Joel. All over. It never was anything anyway."

"She was always meant to be with you."

"You knew that all along," I said.

"Get the fuck out of here," Joel said.

He went back inside and slammed the door.

I looked down at the necklace and started to laugh.

I just fought some guy for a necklace made up of fake diamonds that I stole from a store to impress Beth.

My face throbbed.

I had a hell of a story to tell.

But all I wanted to do was give Beth her necklace back.