Isolated Love Ch. 04 Pt. 2

Courtney decided to play a little. "Listen babe, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm sorry if you're still upset over us breaking up, but using this as an excuse to talk to me is just pathetic. I'm trying to have..."

"Talk to you? You spoke first, you arrogant little... You know what, let's go." He gestured to Kidd they left without another word. He knew she'd done it, and the conversation was going nowhere. He probably shouldn't have done it in public, but he couldn't stop himself.

Alex was glad that they were out of there. He couldn't watch his friend continue to torture himself by talking to that ice queen. He'd never really liked Courtney, but put up with her for the sake of his friend. But keying his car? Completely fucked up and unnecessary. He was sure that Grayson wasn't going to let it go, he could only hope that it wouldn't get in the way of what he had going with Arabeth. Focusing too much on the past could potentially destroy the present... and even worse, the future.

**

"? Un soberbio rendido! Sin su amor ya yo no puedo continuar! ,Ahora entiendo que el amor no tiene precio! Con fama y mi dinero si quisiera no la puedo comprar!?" Armando was singing loudly with the music playing in his car. He always did this. Whenever he drove he felt the need to blast Bachata. Arabeth and Ina never complained because a lot of the music was catchy, it was just that they didn't understand any of it. Sometimes they'd make a game out of trying to catch words they knew, and this would eventually cause Manny to turn it off and put on something that was on the radio. Tonight wasn't any different as Manny quickly cut the music and turned on the radio. "You hoes... ugh," he complained. Arabeth and Ina laughed.

They had been driving for the past 45 minutes and had no idea where they actually were. Thank God for GPS, or they'd probably never find their way back. Still, it was nice to get away, and they all made it clear that there were no cellphones to be involved unless it was family calling. Arabeth wasn't even allowed to text Grayson back. She hoped he wasn't mad at her for not answering him.

"Ay dios mio... Just fucking text him," Manny blurted out, noticing how Arabeth had been glancing at her phone every five minutes.

"What? I'm not... okay." She smiled, not even trying to hide the fact that she was happy to be given permission to text him. She opened her messages and read them. She quickly replied, and Ina, who was in the backseat, rolled her eyes. They could hear the speedy clicking of her buttons as she messaged him back, and Manny made a gagging noise. "Shut up!"

"Seriously, you were just waiting on one of us to say it was okay, hmm?" Ina quipped from the back. Arabeth ignored them both and sent her reply.

"I just wanted to let him know that I was out with you guys and not to worry if I didn't text him back! Give me a break, huh?"

They continued driving, the girls singing to the radio while Manny let the windows down and smoked his cigarette. They were enjoying this quality time. With their work schedules, they almost never had an opportunity where all three of them could get together.

? Ain't it fun

Livin' in the real world

Ain't it good

Being all alone?

"Livinnn' in the real worrrrld!" the girls sang in unison. Manny was always amazed at the way they seemed to harmonize so well and even suggested to them that they join some of the organizations that focused on singing and music. Though they never took him up on his suggestion, they still sang almost everywhere they went.

"Hey chicas, look!" he said and they immediately ceased singing and looked out the windows. They noticed a lone building sitting in a lot that wasn't too terribly packed, but contained a decent number of cars. "I think it's a club..." Manny said more to himself than them.

"Well.. let's check it out! Duh!" Ina shouted excitedly. She was ready get the night started, especially since she didn't have to work until later the next day. Arabeth and Manny gave each other a sideways glance before he made a sharp turn onto the road that would lead them to the lot. What the hell, they were young and had nothing better to do. What was life without a little trouble to get in to?! Once they'd arrived, Manny quickly found a parking space that was away from most of the cars and then shut the car off. No one made a move to get out.

"Well?" Ina said, but even she could hear the nervousness in her voice. They'd never been to this location and it'd seemed pretty secluded... They all knew why they were being so hesitant.

This wasn't the most LGBT-friendly place on earth and they weren't sure how anyone inside would react once they found out that Manny was gay.

"I-um..." Manny started.

"Me either." Arabeth chimed in. They were both thinking the same thing. They weren't sure about this. "What if they don't take to newcomers? I mean.. not only do we have a gay man with us but, we're away from campus and this is a predominantly white area... Not that there's anything wrong with that but you remember me telling you about my cousin? The one who went to school here a couple of years ago? And how they.. well, you know." she fidgeted nervously in her seat. Not just for herself, but for Manny.

"Maybe we should..."

But Manny was suddenly cut off by a movement in the distance. His eyes cut between the girls and the outside figure... make that, figures.

"What is that?" Ina questioned, her eyes trying desperately to roam through the darkness. The three of them continued to stare, Manny's hand resting on his keys ready to turn them in case they needed to make a quick getaway. When the figures moved closer, Arabeth let out a loud shriek of delight as she quickly opened the door and jumped out of the car. "Arabeth!!"

"Wait!!"

But she wasn't listening. She'd run up to one of the figures and threw her arms around them. Manny and Ina looked at each other quizzically before slowly following her.

"I'm so sorry! I'm just so glad it's you and not a bunch of creepy people!" Arabeth was rambling. It turned out that the figures that were making their way towards the car were people she knew, well one person she knew. It was Halley! Arabeth didn't mean to bombard her with a brutal hug but she couldn't help it. Her nerves inside the car were terrible and she was just glad that they wouldn't have to put up a fight.

Halley smiled and began explaining, "It's quite alright, hon. We were just coming back to see who this car belonged to. We were standing at the front when Clara noticed you guys pull in but nobody got out, we thought you might have been here looking for someone or to cause trouble so we were gonna come on over to see what was happening. But, turned out to be you guys!" she beamed and Arabeth nodded in understanding. It did take them a little while to get out of the car, so she couldn't blame them. "Guys, this is that girl I was telling you about, Arabeth. Arabeth this is Luna, Clara, Pete and Chyanne." she introduced them in the order they were standing in. Arabeth nodded her head and greeted them.

"Oh, these are my friends Armando and Catina." she introduced and Manny stuck his hand out.

"Manny. Nice to meet you." he said, relieved that they had a mutual connection. He was so worried that they would have to fight for their lives for a second.

"Hi, please don't call me Catina or I'll never speak to you..." Ina joked as she too stuck her hand out. They all laughed as they finished their greetings. "So, what type of place is this?"

Luna spoke first, "My daddy's place. It's a bar. I bring my friends here all the time 'cause we can get free drinks. Y'all comin' in?"

"Ohhh pleaseeee..." Halley whined as she grabbed Arabeth's hand and started to pull her towards the entrance. "We'd love y'all in here!!"

"Where the hell did that country accent come from?" Arabeth asked as she let out a cackle, this wasn't the Halley that she'd met.

"Honey, you'd be surprised at how much crap I get talkin' like this.. in Kentucky of all places. Naw, I just tend to keep my country roots at bay when I meet new people. But ya ain't new no more, so let's hit it!" Halley screamed and they all made their way to the front. Manny locked his car and gave Ina a knowing look. Just because they'd made a couple of acquaintances didn't meant they were off the hook that easily.

**

The inside of the building was nicer than they'd expected. There was a bar of course, but it was huge and covered the entire wall with expensive looking stools seated in front of it. A couple of people were sitting in them, but it wasn't too full because mostly everyone was either on the dance floor or sitting in the booths surrounding the place. Arabeth noticed that there were more women than men there and that made her feel a little more comfortable. The bar decorations were simple, but very suitable. She noted that there was a DJ who was wearing a cowboy hat, he seemed right at home.

"Drinks?!" Halley yelled over the music as they made their way to the bar. Manny declined, as he was driving, but everyone else was on board.

"Actually, no thanks," Ina declined, "I've got work tomorrow." Halley nodded and looked to Arabeth expectantly.

"Uhh, well if they're not drinking... I guess I won't either. I mean, I don't wanna be the only one of my friends, ya know?" she smiled apologetically at Halley and turned towards her friends. They were giving her a look of affirmation.

"Well if you guys aren't gonna drink, might as well dance!" Pete shouted unexpectedly and everyone agreed. They quickly made their was to the center of the dance floor while the DJ was playing 'My Cowboy' by Jessie James. Ina and Manny had never heard the song before but Arabeth had and it didn't take long before she was moving to the beat of the song with Halley behind her doing the same. Everyone was crowded in a small ground and having a great time. Eventually, Manny and Ina paired up and started to move to the music, causing Arabeth to shout and holler words of encouragement. They were moving, grinding and having the time of their lives. Arabeth couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a fun night out with her friends, even with people she'd just met but they seemed like a pretty exciting bunch of people and for that, Arabeth was thankful. Drama free was the way to be.

Should have told yourself that before...

But she shook it off. She was living in the now, in this moment and it was wonderful! She was having such a good time, that she'd missed the six calls coming through on her phone.