The River Leith by Leta Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

in?
     
    ZACH
     
Sure.
     
    He whispers to the camera.
     
Apologies, my loves, for the emotional breakdown. Goodnight.
     

Chapter Four
    “So, I was going to college at CUNY,” Leith repeated slowly around his bite of sandwich. Ham and swiss with all the fixings. He wasn’t sure where Arthur had bought it because it’d been wrapped in standard shiny foil without a logo, but he felt sure that if Zach had come to visit him, the sandwich he’d have brought would’ve tasted better.
    Not that Zach’s come to visit me lately.
    It had been a few days — four, actually — and Leith felt hurt one minute and relieved the next. He needed to get his head on straight before he saw Zach again. He huffed out a laugh. Get my head on straight. So to speak.
    “What?” Arthur asked. “Why is that funny? You’d always planned to go to college before…”
    “Before I landed in prison fresh out of high school because I’m an idiot? Anyway, I was going to CUNY.”
    Arthur nodded, picking the pickles off his hoagie. He shifted in the chair beside Leith’s bed, crossing his legs. “Queens College for physical education. I never quite understood if you wanted to be a boxing instructor or teach gym to kids. I admit I never really listened when you talked about it.”
    Leith snorted.
    “So which was it?” Arthur asked.
    “I don’t remember, asshole.”
    Arthur grinned, reaching over and taking a big bite out of Leith’s sandwich and moaning like it was delicious. Leith wrinkled his nose. He was certain he’d had better — he just didn’t know where.
    “You should ask Zach if you really want to know,” Arthur said. “He listened to you talk about your hopes and dreams all the time. I don’t know why, because they were always so pedestrian. But he seemed to enjoy it.”
    Leith flipped Arthur off until he’d chewed and swallowed again. “Oh, and your dreams are epic?”
    “Well. You know me.”
    “Yes, what admirable dreams you have. Aspiring to spend even more time between even more women’s thighs?” Leith wiped at one eye. “I’m so proud.”
    “Hey now. I’ll have you know that my numerous sexual encounters with humans of the female kind are because I’m possessed of a deeply romantic, loving nature, thank you very much.” He paused and couldn’t hold back a grin. “And because God, I love sex.”
    Laughing, Leith took another bite of sandwich, and his mind went to that soft looking skin on Zach’s neck, the brightness of his eyes, and the pink of his mouth. He took a big gulp of water. As he swallowed, an image of Zach’s ass in those zipper-pocket jeans came to mind, and he had to take another sip to cool the heat that flared inside him.
    How long had the Leith from before known he might be gay or bi or whatever these weird feelings meant? And what about Zach? He’d seemed a little feminine at times, but that didn’t mean he was gay. It all made Leith want to scoot down in his bed and pull the covers over his head.
    “But seriously,” Arthur said. “CUNY’s been amazing about all of this. They agreed to hold your place so you can rejoin the program again when you’re well.” He smirked. “Of course you’ll have to start from scratch since you went and forgot everything you learned.”
    He rolled his eyes. “Who needs brains when you’ve got brawn and beauty?”
    The truth was Leith was plenty smart — or he had been. He still had no idea what the injury might have done to his IQ. Of course he knew that just because he could write a decent essay or appreciate poetry didn’t mean he made smart life choices. Knowing the proper declension of Latin verbs, as he had in high school, hadn’t led him to a life lacking in impulsive, bone-headed moves.
    In fact, as far as Leith was concerned the ways in which he was smart had always been completely useless. Sure, he’d achieved top scores in school, but he’d still fucked up his life. Boxing was the only thing he’d ever been smart at in a way