Isolated Love

Hello! To start, this is my very first story but I'm not new to Literotica at all. I've actually been around for a while, just never got around to writing a story. I come to this site very often and I love all the stories I read so I decided that I would try one of my own. I LOVE constructive criticism and I LIVE for feedback. I crave it. I have no idea where this story came from but I was sitting around doing nothing and opened my computer... BAM! I just started typing and this would be the beginning of my thoughts. I hope you guys enjoy it some, I'll be working on further Chapters. Also, I apologize for typing errors, I don't have an editor at the moment so just roll with me here! :)

-ERC

Sielewi- "I don't understand" (Swahili)

Nakupenda- "I love you a lot/ I love you" (Swahili)

*****

It had been going this way for months. She'd call him, he'd answer. She'd ask him to come over, he'd tell her 'after 10 pm'. She'd sulk for a moment and then think about the way his thick cock would fill her as she grabbed onto the sheets in ecstasy. They would engage in a night of passionate, mind-blowing sex and by the end of it, they would both be spent. He, however, would only lie next to her for 10 minutes before he quickly gathered himself and his things, leaving her on the bed in her after-sex bliss with only an 'I'll call you for next time' thrown over his shoulder. It would seem like she'd be tired of this by now, that she'd want something more than just a night of bliss every now and again... But she wasn't. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

"Arabeth, please stop doing this... "

'Fuck, here we go again'.

"You're damn right here we go again.", fuck, had she said that out loud?

"I'm sick of this. Sick of you letting him control you like this. You sit here almost every night, waiting for him to call you or text you or whatever it is he fucking does... "

"Ina, please... "

"Please nothing! Quit this! For your sake and for mine!" Ina had been going on about this for weeks. As her best friend, she knew that Ina was only looking out for her, but did she forget that she was 20? 20 and living the life of someone who was well past her age. She could handle it.

"I can handle it... " Arabeth stated boldly. Ina only rolled her eyes.

It was times like these when she wished that Ina wasn't so intuitive. Ina had a knack for situations like hers. Women who constantly put themselves in a position that was hard to get out of. It may have been that because of Ina's past, she was very perceptive. Arabeth had met Ina during her first semester of college and the two had immediately hit it off. It was like they were long lost sisters. Ina had initially complimented Arabeth on her outfit and told her that she wished she had as much style. Arabeth laughed and they quickly got into a conversation about stores, clothes and make-up. It'd seemed like they were being typical girls until Ina had suggested they go play video games and eat pizza all night.

From then, Arabeth had learned a lot about Ina. Her full name was Catina Ayana Aitken and she'd come from a family of wealth but she was far from what most would consider "stuck-up" or "uppity". Arabeth had to give it to her, for someone to be as beautiful as Ina, she was very humble. Her skin was the color of cinnamon with a tint of honey and her hair was naturally curly with a silky, kinky feel. She wasn't slim by any means but she was built to have all eyes, male or female, rove her body wherever she went. Her breasts were full and her hips were made to give birth to the healthiest of babies. None of this, however, matched her eyes. Her eyes were the iciest of blues, all thanks to her Scottish-American father. Full lips and somewhat thick nose were all thanks to her African mother. Arabeth was easily jealous of her, but she never let it show. Instead, she welcomed her presence and was thankful to have found a friend so quickly.

Ina sighed heavily before plopping down on the bed next to Arabeth. This was getting to be too much. "Sielewi... ", Ina began in Swahili, but quickly switched to English, "You're better than this. You're too good for him. You're way too smart, too beautiful and too outgoing to sit around at night and wait for a call that may or may not come. Nakupenda Ara, but sometimes you can be really dense."

Arabeth understood it all. She knew what kind of game she was playing and if Ina couldn't accept that, then they'd probably be on one of their cycles of not speaking for a few days.

"I'd better get ready for work." Arabeth said, interrupting the continuing lecture she would have probably received had she chose to stay any longer. Ina watched as Arabeth changed into her work clothes and chewed on her lip as she debated on whether or not to say what was on her mind. 'Fuck it.' she thought.

"He doesn't love you, ya know... "

Arabeth, who was about to slide on her pants paused and threw Ina a look that said 'if you say one more word, I swear to God I'll kill you'.

"To hell with this Ara! He doesn't love you. He'll never love you. You're nothing more than a play thing, a quickie when he needs one... for fucks sake, you're a fucking booty call! Christ! Are you so blinded by his dick between your legs that you think he'll ever want to be with you?! He loves her, not you! He'll. Never. Love. You. Ever." Ina finished by hopping up from the bed before Arabeth could even get a word out and walking out of the room.

Why couldn't he love her? She was pretty. Beautiful even. Her cappuccino complexion was smoother than most which only accentuated her expressive facial features. Her round eyes were big and doe like, which made plenty of men and women want to stare at them for hours and they were the deepest shade of brown which only added to their elusiveness. Her nose was small and on the thin side, but still had a decent shape to it which sat right above her not too big, not too small full lips. She was a little on the thicker side but filled out nicely when she wore the right clothing to fit her curves. And her hair. She'd never put any type of chemicals in it which left her all natural and eventually, her hair grew out to just above her shoulders. She hardly preferred straightening it and was mostly satisfied with leaving it in a mass of curls at her neck. It was one of the things that attracted...

'Doesn't even matter.' she thought to herself and before she realized it, Arabeth felt hot tears dripping down her face. She turned to look at her phone and noticed she hadn't received one call or text from him. This was going to be a long night.

**

"Pump 12, you can go ahead." Arabeth spoke clearly through the microphone before going back to the screen. She'd been at the gas station for only two hours but it'd felt like six. She glanced at the time on the screen, '12:37 am', "Only six more hours to go. Great." she grimaced before sitting back in her chair. Working at the gas station, especially this late, was not something she would wish on her worst enemy. It was slow, tiring and above all, the customers that came in around this time had a way of getting under your skin. They weren't all bad, but most of them were either completely drunk or just all around rude. She was glad that summer break had just started because instead of having to go to class two hours after she got home, she could just go home and sleep. 'Maybe I'll actually finish Orange is the New Black.' she pondered over this for a moment before she heard the bell bring, signaling the entrance of a customer. No, make that several customers. 'Perfect, just what I need... '

"Bennnnyyyyy... baby can't we go to another gas station?" Arabeth heard the familiar sound of a nasally voice and immediately cringed. It was her. It was them.

"Seriously Christine, just give it a rest. We'll only be in here for a moment." he countered.

"But Benny-... " she wined.

"Cool it."

"I just don't understand why we have to be at this one. She works here." the tall brunette woman finished.

"And she can hear you... " Arabeth stated calmly, even though she wanted nothing more than to rip the girl's expensive extensions out. "What do you need?" she added dryly.

Arabeth sized the woman up once before quickly averting her eyes to the man whose arm she was hanging from. Him. The reason she was always up, even on her days off, waiting for his call or text. The reason why she and Ina were not on good terms. The reason that her mind was always full of 'what ifs'. Him. Every time she laid eyes on him, she remembered the nights they spent together. Nights full of passion and bliss. She'd drifted back to those nights, forgetting that she had customers and they needed to be serviced.

"Arabeth!" his deep, baritone voice washed over her.

She quickly snapped out of her daydreaming and directed her attention to the people standing in front of her. "Yeah... I-I mean... Yes. Yes. What can I do for you?" she nervously asked. Whenever he was around with that woman, she always felt herself shrinking in.

Benji Amar Holland laughed arrogantly before digging into his wallet to pull out his visa, "A pack of L&M red shorts will do, thanks."

Arabeth rolled her eyes and quickly got herself together, retrieving his smokes from above her head. "It'll be $3.34, sir. Can I see your I.D.?" she added before noticing the smug look he was giving her.

"I.D.? Honestly?" he scoffed as he pulled out his driver's license. Arabeth quickly glanced over it before tossing his cigarettes on the counter and swiping his card. "Want your receipt?"

"No." he answered brutishly before snatching his card and cigs, leaving Arabeth to watch after him and that bitch of a girlfriend. Arabeth quickly finished ringing up and getting rid of his other friends so she could get back to doing nothing.

I hate em. I hate em. I HATE them.

**

"Quit being such a sensitive ass girl, Rash."

"Excuse me?!"

"You know what I mean... Just. Suck it up. Get over it. Honestly, it's been about... a year? A year since that girl left... "

Grayson Parker sighed as he glanced out of the car window. "You know what I'm talking about, Kidd."

Alex Kidd chuckled as he continued to drive. As long as Grayson had known Alex, which was a long time, Alex had always called him Rash, even knowing that he hated the name. He'd given it to him when they around 11 and Alex had come over one day telling him about a new word he'd learned.

"It's called rash. It means something like... not taking your time when you make decisions or something. My dad used it to describe my mom after she decided to get that tattoo on her chest. And since you're always doing things your way without thinking about it, I'll call you that." Grayson thought it was cool that his best friend had learned a word and given him a nickname, but then it became somewhat of a stigma. Whenever Grayson did something that he was sure of, Alex would be there to plant his nickname on him.

"There you go again, Rash... " or "See, this is why I tell, Rash." Over time, Grayson had mentioned to Alex about how stupid he felt the nickname was, but Alex never let up. "It's your name, deal with it." he'd tell him.

The two friends sat in silence before Grayson finally spoke. "It's not as easy as you think," he started "The thought of losing her has always killed me. You know that. And when she finally did it... she took a part of me with her."

Kidd only continued to drive. If his best friend kept this up, they'd be ending this night before it even began. He checked his tank and let out a murmured curse. "Gotta get gas." he stated simply as he pulled over to the nearest gas station. "Fuck, gas is so fucking expensive."

Grayson chuckled, "Welcome to 2014."

**

♪... At night when the stars light up my room

I sit by myself

Talking to the moon

Trying to get to you

In hopes you're on the other side

Talking to me to or am I fool?

Who sits alone

Talking to the moon... ♪

Arabeth found herself humming along with the tune as she turned the pages in her magazine. She wasn't really reading, just trying to busy herself. Some time had passed and it was now 2:56 a.m., which only left about 3 hours more. During this time, another worked had come in and they'd been chatting it up off and on. They weren't really close friends but they could stand each others company and it was nice to have someone else working with her. She'd heard the ding, signaling that it was or her to get back up. She quickly placed her magazine somewhere and stood next to the register waiting for the customer to approach her side since her co-worker was busy in the back.

"Pretty depressing music." a deep baritone voice washed over her and she looked up to meet the most gorgeous face she'd ever seen on a man. He looked familiar but she couldn't quite place him. He reminded her of Ryan Gosling, except way more attractive and with longer, darker hair. His eyes looked to be almost silver but upon further inspection, she could tell they were blue. His nose was slender and somewhat long, but it fit his well sculpted face and his mouth... "Good Lord... " she muttered under her breath. His lips were not at all thin like the expected stereotype and they were made for seduction. She could tell that he worked out on a regular basis, just by looking at the way his tight fitted shirt was clutching at his muscles. What she wouldn't give to... Woah, woah hold on... why was she thinking this way? She had a man...

'No you don't'. her conscience chided. "Yes I do."

"Excuse me?" he cleared his throat and she finally snapped out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Grayson smirked slightly at the young girl before repeating himself. "I said, that's pretty depressing music you've got playing."

Arabeth quickly gathered herself and smiled like the doting employee she was. "It's not my music. What's on is on I guess." She began ringing up his items, a Monster energy drink, a can of nuts and some chips.

"Can I have $50 on six, please?"

"Sure can." she replied almost instantly. "It'll be $56.73"

Grayson handed her his card and waited as she swiped.

"You look familiar... do you go to school around here?" she inquired. A little conversation never hurt anyone, right?

"I do, actually. NKU." he replied. "I don't stay on campus though, I'm in grad school and live in the apartments down the street from the front entrance.

Arabeth nodded and handed him his card back and began bagging his items. "I knew you looked familiar. I go to school here too. I stay on campus though. You're always with that one girl... Uhh, can't think of her name. She's super pretty though."

Grayson's demeanor immediately changed and his body stiffened. Arabeth noticed and stopped bagging. "I'm sorry, did I say something? Are you okay? Do I need to call someone?" she asked, running through a list of questions that a concerned worker would ask. She instantly felt bad, it was obvious that she'd said something wrong.

"I'm fine." he said in a tone so harsh, it sent shivers down her spine. Arabeth kept her stare on him before finishing the bagging and handing him the bag and his receipt. Grayson didn't mean to, but he could feel himself snatch the bag from her and he abruptly walked out and to the pump.

Arabeth let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before going to the screen. "Pumper number six, you can go ahead" she said and even to herself, she sounded shaky so she was sure the person in the lot heard it as well. She was all ready to calm her nerves the bell signaled again and in walked Grayson.

"I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean to... ya know. I'm just, I'm having a really hard time... bad breakup. I was just... I'm sorry." he said to her which managed to get her to smile a little. Arabeth had seen it before.

"It's totally cool. I understand. No harm, no foul." she shrugged it off, trying to play it cool even though she was burning inside just by him standing in front of her. "I take it the girl I mentioned is the bad breakup?"

Grayson only nodded and sighed heavily.

"Sorry about that. If I had known... " Arabeth could feel herself about to continue to apologize but held back.

"Still, I shouldn't have acted that way and I'm sorry. Since you live on campus, why don't I buy you Starbucks or something from the Student Union?" he offered. Arabeth's smile perked up and she quickly nodded her head.

"Okay. I'm Arabeth by the way," she said, reaching out to shake his hand in which he took her small one in to his larger one and shook it.

"Grayson. Grayson Parker."

*****