The cool bed was almost a relief. Isaac pulled the sheets up to his waist and flipped over, resting his bruised cheek against the softness of his feather pillow.
What had possessed him to get in a fight with his best friend outside of a 711?
He wasn't entirely sure, but he thought it might have had something to do with the six pack of Miller Light he had drank and having his pride hurt in front of an attractive woman.
The woman was the reason for the fight, really. It was traditional for Isaac and his friends to sit on the hoods of their cars outside of 711, the one on the edge of town. They were usually drinking and always making obnoxious comments about the women passing by. What else were bored nineteen-year-olds to do in a "family community" like Tulsa?
Most women ignored their onery remarks or laughed it off or got pissed. But she was different. Every word seemed to wound her, push the knife in a little deeper and twist it a little further. He could picture her face in detail, as she unsteadily tucked some hair behind her ear and pretended not to hear, but couldn't suppress the tears that filled her eyes.
She was beautiful, even in her so-called 711 uniform, with her hair in a loose ponytail and no makeup on. She couldn't have been more than thirty, but her face was deep with lines, her hair had several random silver streaks and her figure was beginning to go.
When Will called her an ugly old hag, Isaac couldn't help but get angry. She was beautiful, damn it, and she had obviously been through a lot. So Isaac had tried to defend her honor. Not the best idea, considering that Will was a head taller and forty pounds heavier than him. Still, she had to give him credit for trying.
On Will's part, he had given a fair fight, and he didn't want to hurt his friend.The blow that had temporarily ruined Isaac's face was merely a reflex. He was the one who had driven Isaac home, made sure he got in, apologized.
But Isaac wasn't thinking about the bruise, or about the pain, or about Will and their friendship. He was thinking about her, whose name he didn't even know. And he was going out there in the morning, to see her and be seen by her.
