Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 3) (3 page)

“Oh, yeah, I forgot; he’s some kind of wild man, with a whole campsite set up?”

“It’s kind of cool, actually.”

“And I
never
thought I’d hear you say that!” Kara exclaimed, her voice rising just below a shout. “All these years I’ve been trying to get you to come camping or hiking with me, and you’ve been like,
I’m just not an outdoorsy person
!” she slapped Isabel’s thigh, hard enough to make her jump.

“Hey! Let’s just say Peter offered a bigger incentive than you ever did!” Kara cackled.

“Fair enough. You’re also the last person I expected to be having sex outdoors. So, how is it?”

“It’s amazing,” Isabel replied. “I almost wish it wasn’t though, because then I wouldn’t have got myself involved in this weird situation.”

“It’s always the hottest ones that give you the most trouble. It’s probably because their general hotness means they don’t need to make an effort, and the sex is so great that you don’t notice that their personalities suck!”

“I don’t know. Peter’s not really like that. It’s not like he’s arrogant, or doesn’t care how he treats me or anything.” Isabel paused, thinking. “He’s just really unusual and communicates in different ways from the average person. He always takes care of me when we’re together. And I feel like that’s just the way he is. And we haven’t been in close contact, but I still feel that him disappearing like this is out of character.”

“Hmmm. So maybe he knows Josie through the forest, or maybe they’re drinking buddies. We’ve got no way of knowing right now. God only knows what she was doing at his place, but at least that’s assuaged your worries that he’s lying in a heap in his house, too sick to crawl to his phone.”

“True.”

“How about this: let’s forget about him tonight, and go out and have fun! This is the first time – maybe ever, actually – that my best friend and I have both been single at the same time!”

“Absolutely! And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be a downer. I didn’t even mean to bring up Peter when you’d only just arrived.”

“You’re not being a downer, babe, not at all.” Isabel glanced at Kara with gratitude. “You’ve got to talk about stuff. I just want to make sure that the man of the woods doesn’t ruin our crazy weekend!”

“Cheers to that! God, I can’t wait for a beer!”

“That’s my girl!” Kara said and gave her shoulder a shake.

*

A retro-lounge pop singer’s dusky voice was playing loud from the speaker dock in Isabel’s bedroom, and the two friends had a closet mirror each.

“How the hell do you do that eyeliner thing?” Kara groaned, scrubbing at her eyelids with a cotton ball.

“Years of practice and infinite patience,” Isabel replied cheerfully. Her eyeliner flicks were done and she was applying a sparkly blue powder shadow underneath her lower lash line, which made her eyes look greener than ever. “If you hold on a second, I’ll do them for you.”

“Thanks, babe. So, beers in a dive bar first, and then?” Isabel laughed.

“Silver City doesn’t exactly have dive bars. There’s a shabby old bar with saloon doors though – I hope that’ll be a good enough substitute?” She paused and put a light dusting of blush on her cheeks. “And after that, I’ve got a surprise for you!”

“Great! Kara said, her expression impish, expecting it to be something silly. Isabel put on black skinny jeans and an olive green tank top, cut in a low V at the front, and teamed them with black, kitten-heeled pumps. Kara put on a Boho floral dress and battered cowboy boots.

“Looking good, girlfriend,” Isabel drawled, grinning at her.

“I brought the boots especially,” Kara replied, doing a high kick that almost smashed into the mirror. “Ready for a night of line dancing… yee ha!”

“You’re such a dork,” Isabel said, shaking her head.

It was twilight when they hit Silver City’s main street. White globe lanterns illuminated the sidewalk and the colorful shopfronts, and lights were beginning to twinkle from houses in the hills nearby.

“This is really charming,” Kara said, with none of her usual snarkiness. They had dinner at a delicious Tex-Mex place, lit by candles stuck in wine bottles, before moving on to the bar that Isabel had been drinking at days before.

“Hey, Bella!” the bartender called as soon as they walked in. Isabel walked over the bar.

“Wow, if you know my name, I must’ve been drunker than I’d thought!” she said.

“No, not so much.” He winked. “I just like to get to know my new customers. Anyway, pleased to meet you, I’m Dan.” He extended his hand for a jokey handshake.

“And this is Kara.” Kara shook his hand and said a flirty
hi
. Isabel smirked. It was fast work, even by her standards. They ordered beers, and three shots of Tuaca also appeared on the bar top, courtesy of Dan. They toasted
to new friends
, and knocked them back.

“Hey, the pool table’s free. Ready for me to whup your ass?” Kara called, already walking over to it.

As soon as they started to play, men wanted to join them, and, before long, they were playing doubles with Tyler and David, and then Jim and Andrew. Isabel was better than most people expected her to be from her size and femininity, while Kara was a real pool shark, and together they embarrassed a couple of the guys. Another round of shots arrived, and a couple of beer chasers, and then it was time to move on.

“Where we going?” Kara demanded, her eyes bright from winning the last game with Jim and Andrew, as well as the Tuaca shot she’d just drunk. Isabel grinned at her, pool cue still in hand.

“When you mentioned line dancing earlier, you weren’t so far off the mark!” she yelled, above the lite rock pounding from the speakers.

“Yeah? Awesome!” Kara yelled back. Isabel stared at her in confusion.

“That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting!”

“Hey, I’m ready for anything now, baby!” Kara’s happy grin was plastered across her face, where it was likely to stay for the rest of the night.

“Come on, let’s go then!” Isabel yelled, eager to pull Kara out of the bar before she thought about doing any more high kicks. They said their goodbyes to the disappointed-looking men and headed towards the exit. As they passed the bar, Kara broke free and hurtled over to Dan, pulling her phone out of her pocket at the same time. Isabel watched the exchange of numbers, impressed as always by her confidence.

“How are you even going to meet him?” she asked when Kara returned, hooking her arm around Isabel’s elbow.

“I dunno, babe,” she said. “But I couldn’t let a cute one like that get away without my number!”

“You’re amazing,” Isabel said with affection.

They walked to the end of the main street.

“The dance hall should be right about here,” Isabel said, casting her eyes around.

“Here!” Kara said, too emphatically, pointing out a building on the opposite side of the street. It was an old brick structure, in the highly-decorative Victorian style that was popular in the town. A colorful banner advertised ‘Silver City Hoedown’. “Is this for real?”

“I’m hoping there’s at least a dash of irony in there!” Isabel replied. They paid five dollars each and went in. It was a barn-like space, with wooden rafters and off-white walls. There was a stage, hung with glitzy silver curtains, and the floor was covered in straw.

“Hey, this reminds me of school dances!” Kara said. “I hope they’re not just serving cola and kool aid though!”

“Nope. Over here!” Isabel said, spotting the drinks area. She took Kara’s hand and dragged her over to it. They ordered beers from a cheerful woman serving at a long, low table covered with a blue checkered cloth. In one corner of the room was a group of 40-somethings in full cowboy regalia, practicing a square dancing-routine. At the other side of the room was a mixed group of teenagers and twenty and thirty-somethings. Dolly Parton was on the sound system, lamenting office hours, and couples were spinning each other across the floor, in a semi-ironic way, but their faces were glowing with happiness.

They walked over to the stage and Kara pulled herself up onto it and crossed her bare legs.

“This is really neat,” she said. “I haven’t felt so wholesome since, like, I was at my junior prom!”

“Was that before or after you sneaked your dad’s hip flask in, tipped the entire thing into your cola and hurled all over the guy you had the hots for?” Isabel said, laughing.

“Uh, yeah, I think that was what you might call the turning point!” Isabel leaned back against the stage, her expression wistful.

“I’m kind of wishing we’d got into the spirit of things and brought cowboy hats,” she said.

“Doesn’t seem so silly now, does it?” Kara replied, kicking her leg out to display her cowboy boots.

“And I could’ve worn my cute red checkered shirt, tied up in the middle.”

“Ok. After these, we’re going to go over there and get our freak on, and we won’t give a crap what we’re wearing!” Kara clinked her beer bottle against Isabel’s.

“Yee-ha to that!” Isabel said. The music switched to a Shania Twain song and Kara jumped down from the stage.

“Ok, this is it!” she said, grasping Isabel by the arm and pulling her towards the energetically-dancing crowd. Their arms were flailing around and the air was full of shouts and whoops. Isabel looked at them with trepidation.

“Wait up!” she called. “Maybe we need one more shot before we hit the dancefloor.” She pulled away from Kara and started to walk over to the bar.

“Uh, ok,” Kara, replied, standing stock still, hands on hips, staring at her like she was being weird.

As Isabel turned, she collided with someone. Her face brushed against a man’s broad chest, and she raised her head to find herself looking at the bright blue eyes and easy-going smile of Jed. He was wearing a cowboy hat and a leather vest, teamed with the faded jeans he’d had on before, and a blue, button-down shirt.

“Well, if it isn’t little miss accident prone!” he said, his grin widening as he looked down at her.

“Hey!” Isabel said. Her heart gave a little flutter, but she recovered fast. “That’s not fair. The first time wasn’t my fault at all; the second – ok, I did do something pretty dumb. And, right now, well – you clearly bumped into me!”

“That’s right, I totally wasn’t looking where I was going!” Jed said, his smile widening even more, his eyes gently teasing. They stared at each other for a moment too long. Isabel was suddenly tongue-tied. Jed looked great, and the look he was giving her indicated that he had a similar opinion of her too. She breathed in the scent of him, of the aftershave, the washing powder, and his own masculine smell. Her nipples stiffened beneath the black satin brassiere she was wearing and she felt a little dizzy.

“I had a feeling I’d see you here tonight,” he said.

“You did?” she replied softly. Just then, Kara bounded over.

“Hey there, I’m Kara, Bella’s partner in crime,” she said, extending her hand.

“Jed. Good to meet you,” he replied, shaking it firmly. Isabel saw an opportunity to escape and compose herself.

“I’m just going to the restroom. I’ll be back in a second,” she called, already stumbling her way through the crowd. She burst into the ladies’ bathroom. There didn’t look to be anyone else in there. The window was open wide, and she leaned against the wall in between the cubicles and looked out at the black New Mexican night. The coolness of the room was refreshing. She hadn’t noticed how hot it had been in the dancehall.

“Whew!” she said out loud. Only days ago, she’d been full of nervous excitement at the thought of seeing Peter, and now she was getting hot and bothered about Jed.
What was going on?
She conjured up an image of Peter in her mind. He was walking towards her, where she was waiting by the fire on her hands and knees, and he was naked, his desire for her evident. The image shot a bolt of heat through her clit and deep inside her. But her desire was mingled with anger at the way he’d left her, without any explanation. He seemed far away; already a memory. She forced him out of her mind and thought about Jed; about how safe he’d made her feel; about the nice, easy way he chatted and flirted with her, and her heart buzzed with electricity. She pushed herself off the wall. As she washed her hands in the basin, she recalled Kara’s favorite slogan.

“Ever onward and upward!” she said to the mirror. It had been Kara’s high school motto, but she generally applied it to her dating habits these days.

Isabel went back into the dance hall and found Kara and Jed dancing together. They were doing a jive that fitted bizarrely well with the country pop that was playing. Kara was an adept dancer, the product of years of lessons, and Jed was doing a good job of keeping up with her. Isabel had a pang of jealousy watching them. They looked good together, both tall and lithe, with blond hair and wide, white-toothed grins. At last, Kara caught sight of Isabel and disentangled herself from Jed’s grasp as he span her around, so she hurtled into Isabel. Isabel braced herself so she didn’t fall over backwards.

“You think I’m a crash barrier, or something?”

“Sorry,” Kara said, looking anything but. She was panting from her exertions. “Jed’s awesome! He’s a really cool guy!”

“Yeah, he is,” Isabel replied. Kara stared at her hard.