It turned out that Larry and the girl’s boyfriend were rivals from the streets and there was tension between them anyhow. They exchanged words on several occasions, but it rarely went beyond dirty looks. One night the both of them were in the bar getting hammered and ended up getting into a shit-talking contest. The kid said some real fucked-up shit about Larry and his hustle game, but the finishing blow was delivered by Larry. He made an offhanded comment about a tattoo the girl had gotten a week prior. It was a heart located just above her pussy so the kid knew there was only one way Larry could’ve seen it. Larry and the kid ended up having a nasty brawl in which Larry got cut right before he knocked the kid out. When the kid went home he proceeded to kick the shit out of his girl and tossed her into the streets with nothing but the clothes on her back. When Isabel and her friend approached Paul and Larry about the incident, Larry fell over laughing. Ever since then, the girl had despised the ground that Larry walked on.

“Hey, that was on y’all. I’m the one that said not to hook them up.” Paul laughed. “So what up with you? You and your crew tearing it up as usual?”

“Please believe it.” Isabel gave Paul a high five. “You only live once.”

“Don’t live too much.”

“Never that, just enough to keep me happy,” she shot back, about to reenter the crowd.

Paul grabbed her hand gently and halted her departure. “Damn, I ain’t seen you in how long and you’re dipping off on me like this?”

Isabel smiled. “Paul, we’ve known each other too long not to keep it real. I know you’ve got a girl, and I ain’t trying to come between that.”

Paul was momentarily shocked. He hadn’t seen Isabel in quite some time, so he was a little curious as to how she found out about his girl. He thought about lying, but knew Isabel would see right through it. “Yeah, I got a girl,” he admitted, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang out on some cool shit. It’s a party, right?”

Isabel thought on it for a minute. Seeing Paul brought back a lot of memories and for an instant she could almost feel him inside her again. No, she had to stick to her guns. Paul had issues and at this point in her life, her space was too small for unnecessary baggage. For as much as she would’ve loved to have said, “Fuck your girl!” and take him in the bathroom and let Paul pound her out, she knew it would only complicate things further.