SO one day I was bored and thought about things and said "Oh why the hell not?". I hope you kids enjoy this one because it could become a sequel, or two, or maybe even three. Need to thank freakynlovinit for tossing me a hand with this one. I also need to thank you the reader for taking time in reading this one. Read it, love it, vote on it, tell a guy how you feel even, and there could be more of it. Enjoy the show kids!
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Before sleep overwhelmed Leo's eyes a thought resonated in his mind. It was a simple thought, but one that rang out many times.
"How could I be so lucky?" he mumbled into the night.
It was the barest of whispers as her didn't wish to disturb the two beauties that lay curled into his body. His bleary, very fulfilled eyes looked down into the content sleeping faces and he let out a relived sigh. How he came to this time in his life was something his mind was still wondering. Luck may have played a part in it, but something told him in his mind that fate was more likely the reason for his happiness.
It was only three years earlier that Leo had graduated from college and gotten a great job at a software company. For the first eighteen months of his time he was busier than he had ever been in his life. While he dated a bit, the women he dated were nothing major in his life. A few were nice, but lacked that it factor. The rest were simple one night stands that he had no intention of getting back with.
Leo was a simple man with a lot of ambition. At five ten and a hundred seventy five pounds he was an average looking man. His green eyes and brown hair didn't really make him stand in with the crowd. The only thing that really set him apart from the pack was he took care of himself and ran daily. His diet was a harsh one of tough exercise and simple foods. He was raised poor and had to fight for every thing he had in his household of three brothers and sisters. At the middle of them he was lucky for what he got and was grateful for a while. As he grew older he wanted to get out and go higher than his family could.
In college he pushed himself hard and stayed focused in class. He worked a side job to make ends meet and scrimped and saved to get to the top of his class and get a good job offer as soon as he took off his graduation clothes. From the back end of the Bronx to the highlights of Manhattan, Leo took his place in the big world and made his mark fast. He got a good loft apartment on Nassau St and his life took quick strides into the fast lane.
His second eighteen months since graduating had really beaten him up. He met a girl that nearly killed him. She was hot and fun loving, but a complete slut. Leo really had a feeling for her after a few months dating, but in the end she ripped his heart out by dumping him for a supposed 'friend' of his named Daryl.
Daryl's lame excuse was they were drunk and one thing led to another. It was an excuse that stood for about ten hours, then Leo got a clearer focus when he found her cell phone under his bed. He found a video on the phone that abruptly changed his mind as it was them fucking on it. Neither of them were as drunk as they claimed and that was all he needed to confront his "friend". A brief exchange of words and a sucker punch from Daryl unleashed the lion that Leo was named after.
Leo kept his job even though he was almost arrested for the fight. Daryl's jaw was broken and he tried to sue, unsuccessfully. Leo, again, dated and this time he nearly lost all faith in women. The newest girlfriend was what every man claimed to want.
Tall, blond, and beautiful Penny was a welcome relief for about three months. Things were fine and then Penny's switch flipped. She went from nice to very clingy and possessive. Leo would say hi to a girl at work and Penny would freak out on him for looking at other women. The arguments of Penny's insecurities went wildly out of control and Leo finally had enough. He snapped on her one day after she harangued him for helping an employee of his out with a loan. It was so the girl could keep her heat on and she promptly paid him back the next payday.
Penny would hear none of his reasoning and railed against Leo for helping his friend. Things were so heated between the two of them to the point that she slapped him and called him all manner of vile things. Leo took the slap without a word and walked to the bedroom. Penny was shocked when he suddenly emerged with three suitcases filled with her clothes. She shouted at him to put them down, but he opened the trash chute and dropped them down it. Penny's eyes bugged out and she began freaking out. Leo calmly took her arm and walked her to the door. Penny struggled and fought him the whole way, but Leo got her out the door and locked it. He sat against the wall next to the door and listened as she carried on for over half an hour before the police came to talk her down.
Again Leo failed with the society standards of beautiful women. He had all but given up on them after Penny and for good reason. He swore that never again would he date a psychopath, but he laughed aloud when he thought of the varying degrees of psychosis in the world. It took him three weeks to be done with Penny for good, but he was free and clear. For that time and the months after Leo buried himself in work. It was on one of those fateful days he met probably the coolest dude he could have imagined. He met his friend Alan.
Alan was not the typical guy that Leo would normally had hung out with, far from it. He was a tall man whose Caribbean heritage showed in his skin and his hair. Alan wore his fashionable dreads long. They were long enough that they touched the middle of his back. More than once Leo had seen him without and the size of his Afro was one thing that made him laugh. Alan never let it out for long and kept his hair braided for sanity's sake. The two unlikely friends found each other when Alan was trying to hide from a disgruntled ex and it was only by Leo pointing the wrong directions to her at a bar that saved Alan a hard ear chewing. The whole misunderstanding was a slight one, but to the ex it was huge.
Leo and Alan's friendship grew quickly when they found out they were the same age. At twenty five they both had a love for music of most types. They played football in their spare time and both hit the gym regularly. It was after two months of hanging out that Alan began to see Leo's reservations to dating. While Alan was a ladies man of no small skill, he saw that Leo was quiet and reserved the whole time they would go out. Seeing his friend in a rut Alan began to devise a plan of action.
It was a month after they had last gone to a club that Alan decided to help his buddy out. Alan worked as a promoter in his spare time for various up and coming acts. Mainly of the rap and hip hop crowd he made a good living hosting events and parties for the rappers on the rise. Alan had a new act that was starting to blow up and decided to get his buddy to the scene. He got a good gig at a really down club that catered to an under twenty one crowd. He made sure the stock was packed and after he was sure he could do no more he called up his friend.
Leo was just on his lunch when his phone rang. He looked at the ID and saw it was Alan. Leo shook his head and answered the phone and was shocked at what he heard.
"Yo yo yo! OK Leo, I'm tired of you being boring! Your comin' out with me mon," Alan said and his Jamaican accent popped through.
"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Leo asked chuckling.
"Cuz you need to get out and see some life me brudda," Alan said laughing and his normally thin accent was gone replaced with his mother's pure tone.
"Uh huh....and when is it that you started using your Mom's accent to talk to people?" Leo asked chuckling.
"Well there's this girl I was trying to get with you see," Alan said suddenly in his normal voice.
Leo shook his head and laughed a bit as his friend explained his recent failure to pick up a girl from a Starbucks using his island charms. Leo was face down on the table when Alan explained how she 'politely' rebuffed his advances. "Politely" was a code word for she shot him down flat.
"But seriously man, I got a really big after party for a new crew that's goin' somewhere. Wanna come? I promise you'll have a good time," Alan offered.
"I got the McClellan account I gotta finish by this weekend Alan. Maybe if I can get it done I will," Leo replied.
"That's a bummer dude. Well get that shit done or I'm comin' to yours and draggin' you out!" Alan emphatically replied into the phone.
Leo chuckled at the threat and nodded his head, "Alright man. Then hang up and let me get back to work."
"Peace out my brother from another mother," Alan said in an overly upbeat tone.
"Later dude," Leo said and hung up.
Leo finished his small lunch and went back to work. What he didn't tell Alan was he was nearly done with the project, he just wasn't up to going out this weekend. Visions of lounging on his couch watching the Thunder game was a good idea to him. A few beers, maybe a pizza, and he was set for the weekend. Leo went back to his desk and began the process.
