Betrayal Down Memory Lane

24 Hours Before the Call (1)

3 Years Later

"Your cocktail ma'am." The waiter placed my drink down onto our table. I smiled politely and thanked him.

Leo lightly smiled at me. "Cocktails and pizza, what an interesting combination." He teased. He looked up at the waiter. "I'll have the same one she has."

The waiter nodded and walked away. I laughed and rose an eyebrow at him. "Seriously? Why don't you be original and pick your own drink loser."

Leo pretended to look shocked. "Well, I'm sorry. I just wanna be like my girlfriend!" He raised his voice loud enough to bring attention to us.

I playfully pushed his shoulder. "Shut up."

I wasn't a fan of attention.

We laughed, and he put his arm around me, bringing me closer to him. "Sir?" We both looked up, noticing the waiter had returned. "Oh, thanks." Leo took the straw out of the cocktail and took a rather large mouthful of the drink before coughing it up onto the ground.

I pushed my chair away from him for a moment, before reaching out to help him. "Hey, hey are you okay?" I placed a hand on his back as he continued to retch. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay." He sat up. "Shit." He looked at me in disbelief. "How do you drink that? It's so sweet."

I couldn't help but laugh. I had completely forgot that Leo Mansefield was a man with a palate for bitter alcohol. He stayed away from the mixes of fruit juices. I sighed. "Maybe you shouldn't try to be like me."

His eyes met mine and he chuckled. "You are unbelievable. I could have died."

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "But the thing is, you didn't." Leo smiled and leaned closer to my face. "Like I said, unbelievable."

We packed our pizzas away to take back to his place, and I left the waiter a decent tip for his hospitality and the marvelous drink. Leo didn't finish his obviously, so that was a waste.

He took hold of my hand, and we took a stroll through the parking lot to his car. I was 24 years old now, better off than how I was three years ago.

Leo wasn't just the guy I met at the bar one November night. He was my best friend who helped me realize that life goes on, and it gets better. He was living proof of that, and I loved him dearly.

He wasn't perfect, coming from a rough childhood and slight alcoholism from his father's influences, but he was special, to me. And that was more than enough.