Isolated Love Ch. 04 Pt. 2

Alright peeps, let me let this be known.. YES, Arabeth is an idiot. She's so naïve, she's so gullible and it makes me sick... but THAT is her character. And the more you guys complain about how stupid she is and how much you hate the story because it, the more agitated I become. Honestly, I'm not writing this to purposefully piss people off but there are some people who actually think the way she does. To the people who are sticking with the story, thank you guys so much for your constant support. I'm definitely not through with this story, and if you stick with me, you will watch Arabeth grow. Much love♥

Thanks to all my pre-readers and my editors Les & Alea. Much obliged, guys.

xx

-ERC

**

Grayson had made it back to the apartment safely and, after calling Arabeth to make sure she'd made it in safely, he decided to get ready for bed since work would be coming early morning.

♪ I say high, you say low

You say why, and I say I don't know, oh no

You say goodbye and I say hello...♪

Just as he was settling into bed, his phone went off and he grabbed it from the bedside table. Not even bothering to check the I.D., he answered. "Grayson."

"Hi, it's me... Can we talk? I miss you... so much."

**

"Sooo..." Ina urged, waiting for Arabeth to spill the juicy details. Arabeth giggled and proceeded to disrobe, amused by the mild inquisition of her friend. She'd only been in the house for about 15 minutes before Ina decided that she could no longer stand being left in the dark. Trying her best to keep the smile on her face hidden, she turned her back to her friend and pulled her hair into a high ponytail.

"So, what?" Arabeth replied innocently. Ina, slightly annoyed by her friends coyness, decided she'd had enough of this 'don't kiss and tell' nonsense. Without a word she charged at Arabeth with a low growl, and before Arabeth had enough time to process what was going on they were both laughing and screaming on the floor. Ina had begun viciously tickling Arabeth until she caved. "I give! I-oh my god I'm gonna pee! I give!" she screamed in between fits of laughter.

Ina wasn't through. "You what?" she yelled back, a victorious smile creeping upon her face. "What'd you say, you little shit?"

Arabeth was near tears as she screamed out again, "I give! I give up!" She hollered, and finally Ina fell onto her back beside her friend. Their breathing was heavy and they were both trying to control their laughter.

"That - wasn't even... fair!" Arabeth managed to get out. Ina chuckled triumphantly as she slowly sat up and fixed herself into an Indian style sitting position.

"Fair? Dunno what that is... So, spill it," Ina pushed.

For the next hour, the girls discussed Arabeth's dates, some good and some awkward. But the good generally overshadowed the awkward and they fell into a comfortable conversation. Ina sat enamored in the conversation, an occasional grin appearing on her face. She was happy for her friend, and she was extremely glad that she didn't have to put up with the melodramatic bullshit that was Benji. "So are you guys going on a second date?" she blurted out, as Arabeth bit her lip knowingly. Ina wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and Arabeth nodded. Ina squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "That's so fucking awesome, I'm so happy! For you, of course," she cheered. After she'd officially smothered Arabeth in hugs, Ina hopped up from the floor and walked over to her bed, plopping down flat on it. She took this time to stare at the ceiling. Arabeth, observing her, moved from the floor to her own bed and sat with her feet hanging off the edge. She stared at her friend curiously.

Arabeth took this opportunity to question her friend on certain male companion that had been over a lot lately. "What's going on with you and Alex?" she inquired.

Ina let out a soft groan before she sat up on her side, head resting in the palm of her hand as she stared blankly at the wall behind Arabeth. "Honestly? No fucking clue.. I mean, the guy is literally... so perfect! I-well obviously no one's perfect but you get it. Anyway, he's super smart, his sense of humor is amazing and he always smells like peppermint...". She was speaking as if she were reciting a poem about a magnificent loved one. "He's always dressed so like.. ugh, and his face.. UGH. I just...". She sighed in annoyance at herself and rolled her eyes. "He's being really nice to me and all I want is for him to like me for me-..."

"I get the sense he already does Ina..." Arabeth interjected.

"Yeah but, I don't know. I feel like.. because all we do is have sex... there's no REAL connection. Like, at the party? I was stuck to his side the entire time... by the way, sorry I didn't spend more time with you... but anyway, I was stuck to his side the entire time, right? And these... bitches kept coming up to him, talking to him. I could literally feel myself getting jealous but I had to remember that he's not my man...". Ina trailed off, her thoughts reeling her in.

Arabeth nodded in understanding. She knew what this feeling was. Though, the difference between them was that Kidd seemed to be really into Ina, even if Ina couldn't tell. "Well, don't worry about not spending time with me... And.. I don't know, I'm pretty sure he likes you?" Ina shrugged it off and began getting herself ready for bed. "Come on, Catina!" Arabeth whined and smiled impishly as Ina shot her a death glare. Using her full name always got her to pay attention. "You guys are cute together, ya know?" Ina went back to what she was doing and Arabeth sighed. So much for that. Oh well, she'd see it eventually...

**

"That's not funny, you fucking prick!" Grayson yelled into the phone. His heart was racing and he was sweating. He'd thought Courtney, his ex-girlfriend, was calling and he immediately went in to panic mode. Though, when he heard Kidd's faint chuckle in the background, he was both relieved and frustrated. He didn't know if he would be able to handle talking to her right now, not after the night he'd just had. He was still on a high from that kiss and he didn't want anything or anyone to bring him down. Kidd had taken the phone from what Grayson assumed was either his sister or their friend Magnolia. 'Asshole...'

Kidd was still laughing as he started to speak, "I'm sorry man.. I-am... Hah-aha, I am so sorry dude. That was probably a terrible thing for me to do-..."

"Probably?" Grayson fumed. He loved Kidd like a brother, but he picked the absolute worst times to be funny. If only he knew how close Grayson was to hanging up.

"Okay, alright...I'm sorry," he finally apologized. "I was actually calling to see how your date went."

Grayson felt a smile slowly creep upon his face as he remembered the way Arabeth's lips felt on his, the way her body was so soft and how she tasted so sweet. "It went well, thanks for asking. Now I've gotta go."

"Aww, c'mon man... You've gotta give me more than that. Tell me... Did you kiss her? Did you?" Kidd sounded like... well, a kid. His enthusiasm was giving Grayson a headache.

"I've got work in the morning, but we can grab dinner or something, cool?" he offered, hoping Kidd would take the hint. He did.

Kidd exhaled deeply before he gave in. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, then," and he hung up. Grayson chuckled before placing his phone back on the table. His thoughts were racing as he settled back into bed, imaging what Arabeth was doing at this moment. From what he could guess, she was probably telling her roommate about their date and he had hoped that he'd left a good impression on her. He was glad that he and Kidd would be able to talk about the date, but he was secretly hoping that he'd be able to take to Arabeth again tomorrow. He couldn't believe it, but he was missing her already. She was affecting him like no other girl had ever... Except...

Don't think about it... just go to sleep.

Grayson nodded and turned on his side, slowly letting his thoughts of Arabeth lull him to sleep.

**

The following morning, Grayson was busy getting ready for work. He'd woken up and went through his morning routine, finishing off with a breakfast consisting of leftovers his older sister had brought down when she was there a week ago. He scarfed down the leftover baked chicken, macaroni and cheese, and string beans. Even though he had 30 minutes until he actually had to be to work, he'd wanted to leave early so that he could just relax in the parking lot at work. Ready to go, he grabbed his keys, phone, and wallet and headed out the front door. When he reached his car his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. His car was completely covered in pink silly string and toilet paper. He walked around his car, his face red from anger and frustration as he began pulling off the trash from every inch of the vehicle. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me..." he muttered. He didn't have time for this shit. Once he'd removed all the toilet paper and silly string he checked to make sure that there was no further garbage hanging from his car. When he didn't see any he moved around to the driver's side, and before he could open the door his eyes caught sight of key marks on the side of his door. They weren't hard to miss, but he hadn't seen them under all the crap. He bent down to further inspect them and noticed that they spelled out, 'loser' and 'downgraded'. "Fucking Christ!!" he growled. Courtney.

**

knock, knock, knock...

"Coming!" Ina screamed. As they both had the day off, the girls were watching T.V. in the small living area. They were getting lost in episodes of 'Lie To Me' on Netflix when they heard the intrusion of a guest. "Did you invite someone over?" Ina questioned. Arabeth turned to look at her and shook her head. "Oh don't worry, I'll get it. I know how tired you must be after carrying that 30 ton rock on your back all day." the sarcasm rolled off her tongue and Arabeth threw a chip at her, giggling lightly. Ina pushed herself from the couch.

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"I said I'm coming, dammit!" she called again. When she reached the door, Ina quickly unlocked it and flung it open.

"Pues, if you'd moved faster," Armando dragged and received a playful punch to the arm. "Invite me in, duh," he drawled lazily. When he saw Ina smirk, he brushed past her and made his way over to the couch. Ina rolled her eyes and closed the door, resuming her spot on the couch. "What are you even doing here?" she asked.

Armando greeted them each with a kiss on their cheeks and sat down on the couch opposite theirs. "I'm off too, and my man candy is working the late shift at Walmart tonight. So... You bitches are stuck with me!" he declared giddily. "What's this? Ooh, this is my show.. you bitches knew I was coming over!" he squealed, and Arabeth laughed. Manny easily made himself comfortable as he kicked of his shoes and focused on the screen. "Tim Roth is such a hot old man," he gushed. Both Ina and Arabeth agreed. "So, what are you hoes doing tonight? This?"

"Pretty much, unless something better happens," Arabeth answered. Truthfully, she was hoping that, by Manny making his arrival, he'd have something for them to do since all of them had the day off.

"Arabeth had a date last night," Ina blurted out, and she laughed when Arabeth shot her a look of agitation. It wasn't that she didn't want Manny to know, but he was so nosy and she knew he wouldn't stop asking questions. He and Ina were almost similar when it came to getting information out of her. Arabeth's face turned red when she heard the expected gasp coming from a surprised Manny.

"And you were just gonna lemme sit here? You little slut... dime! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" he pressured. Arabeth let out a groan and Ina paused the show. For the next 15 minutes Arabeth gave him the shortened version of the date, leaving out the kiss. She knew that as soon as she told him about the kiss he would be pushing for more detail, and she just didn't wanna talk about that with him. She loved him dearly, but he always made things seem bigger than they were... even though the kiss was better than any kiss she'd ever had.

"Di que... he took you out to dinner, which was nice. Let you pick the station, even better, si? And then you guys sat on a bench?" he asked, laughing a little at the last part. He knew it was more than just sitting on a bench, but being in each other's company. When Arabeth told him to shut up he laughed harder. "I'm sorry, mami, but you know I had to get one in. He seems nice, way better than that baboso." Ina lifted her hand, and without saying a word they both reached over Arabeth and highfived each other. This caused Arabeth to roll her eyes and smile at their silent approval. "We should celebrate!" he suggested suddenly and this pulled a string of relieved 'thank god' and 'about times'. "Oh, so you were just waiting on me, huh? Okay, I wanna go out!"

"Duh, but where?" shot Ina. Manny gave a look of disbelief at her snarky attitude. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanna get out of here!"

Manny thought this over and decided on a plan of action that would benefit them all. "Well, how about we get in my car, drive and see where the road takes us?" It didn't take long before they all screamed with excitement and began getting ready. Arabeth was especially excited because she hadn't done a mini road-trip with her friends since the beginning of last semester. Whenever they got together for a mini road-trip one of them would drive and they would take the main road off campus. and from there they'd keep going straight until they couldn't go any further or until they were ready to turn back around. The last trip they'd gone on, they ended up in the deep part of Florence, KY, and they found a cool little hole-in-the-wall bar. Their discovery of the place brought forth a few new friends, some good bar food and a few drinks for whoever wasn't driving, which at the time happened to be Manny and Ina. This time, they'd take the opposite road and see where it lead to.

"I'm driving, just in case you guys decide to turn up a little... but not too much, cool? I don't want either of you bitches throwing up in my car. I just got it cleaned," he warned, and they both agreed. "Let's see, it's only... 6:07 right now. That gives you both, like, 53 minutes to get ready. Vamos!!"

**

Grayson and Kidd were seated in a booth at O'Charley's, casually eating their food. They were talking about random things, with sparse information on the date here and there. "Yeah," Kidd started, "so the date went well, that's cool. You kissed her, even cooler," he said, and they both snickered like little children. "But what's the deal? You really like this girl. or - I'm just asking because you haven't been out of a relationship for that long..."

"I know, Kidd..."

"And you haven't really known her that long," he kept going. "Plus, that thing happened with your car, which I'm sorry about by the way. I feel like I should've seen her coming since I came in late last night."

Grayson shook his apology off and told him it wasn't his fault. "The thing with my car can be fixed, and even then I still don't know if it was her. I mean, I think it was. But..."

They stared at each other for a second before Alex decided to change the subject. "So, I was wondering... what do you know about Catina Aitken?" he questioned, wondering if he'd heard anything bad about his latest lover.

Grayson smiled genuinely, and without answering the question he flipped the script. "You like her, huh?"

Alex shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's cool, dude. Even if you don't say it, I'll know it," Grayson teased, and Alex's smile grew wide.

"I don't know. She's cool. Very beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls on campus actually, smart, funny, her attitude is so tough. I like that. She's got a great smile, super intelligent and not to mention she's fucking great in bed," he replied shamelessly. Grayson nodded in understanding. When it's true, it's true.

"Well, I don't really know anything about her. I mean, I figure if there's anybody to talk to about her, it'd be Arabeth," he suggested. "But even then they're best friends, so of course she'll do nothing but brag about her. Maybe you should ask her out on a date, get to know her a little."

Alex thought it over for a minute. "Nah, I don't date. You know that."

"I do, but you just asked me what I knew about a girl I haven't even really met. Obviously, you wanna know her some more, so why not?" Grayson replied. He wasn't going to push his friend into something that he didn't want to do, but he wasn't going to become some sort of detective for him either. If he wanted to know more about Catina, he'd have to figure it out on his own. Grayson had his mind on his own woman...

Your woman?

As they fell into a comfortable silence, Grayson felt himself replaying what he'd just said in his head. His woman? He hadn't meant to put a claim on her so quickly, but he couldn't help it. He felt a connection with her that was completely unexplainable and he didn't want to think about any other man standing in his way. He couldn't picture her with anyone besides him, and vice versa. He knew it was probably silly, and that she possibly didn't see him as anything more than a guy she'd just went on a date with, but then again they did share a kiss that was anything but 'silly', and the thought only reassured what he was feeling. Just thinking about her lips against his was causing a fire to grow deep in his loins . He'd almost forgot that he was out to dinner when he saw Alex snapping his fingers in front of his face. "W-what? What?" he shouted, but then lowered his voice as he received several stares from other people in the restaurant.

"I said... look who's here." He mumbled just loud enough for Grayson to catch. Grayson followed his eyes to the members of the table that was two spaces away and he swallowed hard, his eyes narrowing to slits. She was here. Before she could catch him staring he turned to look at Kidd who was doing his own glaring that way. Grayson didn't want to wait for her to notice him and Kidd was in the same boat. "Let's go," he said darkly, and Grayson nodded. The bill had already been paid for, so they quickly gathered themselves and headed towards the exit. Not before Courtney spotted them.

"Well, well, look who it is," she sneered, and Grayson immediately went on the defense. His feet halted even as Kidd urged him to keep walking, but he wasn't going to let this go. He had questions, and the only person that could answer them was sitting right in front of him along with her air-headed friends. "How're you, Grayson?" she asked sweetly, but Grayson wasn't buying it. This girl was a lot of things, but sweet wasn't one of them.

"Cut the bullshit, Courtney! What'd you do to my fucking car?" he hissed. He was becoming aggravated just by her sitting there with that smug look on her face. Oh, she'd done it alright. He could tell just by the way her friends were laughing.

Courtney's smile disappeared and was replaced with unconvincing hurt. She was never a good actress. "Why, Grayson! I have absolutely no id-..."

"Will you please cut the fucking act? I know it was you.. you're the only one psycho enough to key a man's car... after you broke up with him. You crazy bitch, if you ever come near me or what's mine again... It'll be the last time you ever get to see straight. Got me?" he warned. His tone was menacingly brutal, and it left the table wide-eyed. All except Courtney. She was busy eyeballing a pissed off Grayson with an arrogant smile on her face. If he knew, why'd he have to ask?