The River Leith by Leta Blake Read Free Book Online

and put it aside. “She’s not your type.”
    Leith laughed a little. “Why? She’s cute, she’s nice, and she’s available, right? How is that not my type?”
    Rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, Zach let out a slow breath. “Because she’s your friend. That’s all.”
    “Are you sure?” He picked up the photo again. “I’m practically feeling her up here.”
    Zach’s eyes flashed as he hopped off the bed. “There are names on the back of the photos, so you should be able to figure out who’s in them without my help.”
    “But I won’t know who they were to me…” Leith said, trailing off as Zach turned his back.
    “I’m sorry, but I totally forgot about this thing I have to do. I really should go.”
    Leith watched in confusion as Zach bustled around putting on his shoes and grabbing his coat. There was something else that Leith was missing. He reviewed the last bit of their conversation. He’d said something wrong again, and it was about Ava, but not about Ava. It was about Ava being his type.
    “Wait!” Leith climbed out of the bed and blocked the door. “Is Ava your type? Is that why I didn’t date her?”
    Zach shook his head, obviously bewildered. “No, Leith. Where is this coming from? Ava and I are friends, and you and Ava are friends, and nothing would have changed that. Marian and Ava, though? Are not friends. They’re lovers.”
    “Really?” Leith pondered it. “We live with lesbians?”
    Zach looked flustered again. With his hands waving around, he said, “Exactly. You and Ava are like brother and sister, and that’s all there is to it.” He was almost shouting.
    “How was I supposed to know that?” His jaw clenching, Leith snapped, “Why didn’t you just tell me? I don’t fucking remember! Remember?”
    Zach opened his mouth, eyes blazing, and then pressed his lips together, his shoulders slumping. He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
    Leith sighed. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be an asshole. I just…I feel like something’s missing. I don’t know how to explain it. But I know the most important part of understanding myself is right there out of reach, and I keep thinking that any second now it’s all going to fall into place. But it doesn’t.”
    Zach’s face softened, and he stepped forward, putting his hand against Leith’s cheek. It was big and warm, and Leith closed his eyes and leaned into it.
    “Hey, hey,” Zach murmured. “It’s all right, Leith. I’m sorry — I should have just answered your questions instead of making you guess. Listen, even if you never get your memories of the last few years back, I have no doubt that the man you are inside is more than enough to build a beautiful life — with whomever you want, and however you want.”
    Leith wanted to press his forehead to Zach’s and breathe in the smell of his cologne again. Instead he forced himself to step back and release Zach’s arm. “Thank you. I just feel…really alone right now.”
    Zach draped his jacket on the chair, kicked off his shoes, and climbed back up onto the bed, patting the spot across from him.
    “I thought you had somewhere to be?” Leith asked, scooting onto the bed too. It was good to sit again.
    “It can wait. Everything else can wait.”
    Zach opened the box of photos again, and his hand looked incredibly strong and steady to Leith when he pulled out the next photo.
    “This is you and me the day after I got back from a trip to Kentucky to see my mother,” Zach said.
    Leith took the photo. He and Zach stood together in an unfamiliar kitchen, both in T-shirts and sweatpants. Zach looked so much younger; so much happier, like there were no worries at all in his life. As for himself, he looked incredibly relaxed.
    His stomach flip-flopped as he stared at the picture. There was something about the way he was looking at Zach. The itching in his mind intensified, and he breathed shallowly. He thought about his body’s reaction to being close to Zach. How