Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 2) by Ariana Hawkes Read Free Book Online Page B

“His name’s Peter – do you know him?”
    “No.” Josie shook her head firmly. “Doesn’t ring any bells.” She dropped her head to her food and Isabel continued to stare at her a few moments longer. This was the first time that Josie had seemed anything other than open and playful, and she had no idea what had just happened.
    “Did he say why he didn’t want to go all the way the first time?” Josie said after a silence.
    “No. I’m none the wiser,” Isabel replied. She wasn’t ready to tell Josie that they’d actually met through a kinky website and that she’d made a verbal contract with him not to question anything.
    Josie stuffed the last couple of bites of burger into her mouth.
    “Isabel, I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go – I need to get back to work.” She was already standing up and dropping her half of the check onto the table.
    “No, that’s ok. Let’s catch up another time,” Isabel said. Josie air kissed her and walked quickly out of the restaurant. Isabel puffed out her cheeks and released the air slowly. That had been beyond confusing. Josie had been acting a bit like, well, a bitter ex, she realized. But Josie didn’t even know Peter, and there’s no way they’d been together, because she was with Rob. She finished her cheesesteak. There’d been a couple of neurotic friends early in her college days, always full of some drama or another, but Josie didn’t seem anything like that. Maybe it actually had nothing to do with the conversation they’d been having. She’d call her later and check she was ok, she decided. And in the meantime, nothing was going to ruin her mood.
    Isabel paid the bill and left. The streets of Silver City were busier than usual. It was Saturday, she reminded herself. There was a farmers’ market in the main street and people were buzzing around, buying produce and eating out of cartons. It looked buzzy and fun. And she just didn’t feel like working today. Instead of heading home, she parked the car and wandered over. She strolled around the stalls, chatting to the stallholders and customers. Everyone wanted to know about her, how long she’d been in Silver City, and what kind of artist she was. It was a real community, Isabel thought, with a burst of happiness. She stopped for a beer at a quaint old bar with windows that opened wide onto the street, and before long, she’d been making new friends. Since the evening was drawing in, she might as well stay for a few more beers, she reasoned. She got involved in raucous games of pool with a couple of guys, until it got pretty late and she ended up leaving her car behind and taking a taxi back home.
    *
    Isabel woke the next morning to Skype bleeping from her laptop. She must’ve been drunker than she’d realized when she arrived home last night and had forgotten to close it. Her head was hurting too. As she dragged herself out of bed and went to get her MacBook, she ran through the number of beers she’d had, and when she got to five, it all made sense. She hit the green button on Skype and immediately Kara’s grinning face filled the screen.
    “Hi, Chica!” she yelled.
    “Could you get any closer?” Isabel yelled back.
    “I haven’t seen you for so long that I wanted to make sure you remembered what I look like!” Isabel winced at Kara’s deafening tone.
    “I’m not in much danger of forgetting!” she said, looking at the time in the corner of the screen. It was almost noon. She’d slept the whole morning away.
    “Hey, you didn’t reply to my last message!” Kara said, her wide blue eyes narrowing and her high forehead crumpling into a comical scowl.
    “Oh, I didn’t see it. I haven’t been home much the past couple of days. What did it say?”
    “Just something about you being stranded at second base. Anyway – ” Kara interrupted herself as she often did, words tumbling out on top of one another. “What’s been keeping you away from home?”
    “In a word, The Wolf,”