The duo stumbles into their apartment together. They were nowhere drunk, just tired.
After the job acceptance and Tony leaving, Natalie had to hang around and watch desperate girls grind on sugar daddies while she sips slowly on her cocktail. The sight was eye-pluck worthy, but what could she do? It was either that or staring at the floor all through the night.
Kally had made her night worthwhile. She stopped by once in a while to speak with Natalie concerning what conditioner she could use or what eyeliner would go with her skin tone. Natalie was a little lost but she enjoyed the temporary attention.
Polly flips the light switch but not after she stumbles on a 6-inch stiletto she might have worn in the course of the week.
"Shit!" She grumbles and she loses her balance and goes face first on the rug.
Natalie scoffs in laughter as she throws her purse on the couch.
"I'm so happy you're enjoying this," Her eyes narrow down to glare, and Natalie's laughter dies down immediately.
Natalie runs up to the small guest room where she's been occupying and pulls off the dress. A relief sigh escapes her when she's finally in her birthday suit.
Avoiding the full body mirror beside the sink, she pulls off wet wipes from the small cupboard above her. She places the wipes on the sink and ties her curly hair into a tight bun.
She begins to wipe off the chemicals on her face, changing wipes once in a while. When she finishes, she splashes water on her face turns to walk away.
She stops in her tracks and looks at the mirror. Her face scrunches up in disgust.
New stretch marks were appearing.
Her love handles now had more tiger marks that weren't there three days ago.
*Maybe this was the reason...*
She stares back at her wide grey eyes, she flashes herself a pitiful smile and walks out of the bathroom.
She throws on a thick sweatshirt and sweats and heads downstairs, to the kitchen to be exact. She finds Polly flipping bacon and she bobs her head rhythmically.
"You're making bacon?" Natalie shakes her head, "It's like two in the morning."
Polly turns back and rolls her eyes, "I am hungry, okay? And besides, there's no rule that says we shouldn't eat by a particular time," she shrugs and turns back to the sizzling pan.
Natalie hums, "I'm pretty sure there i-"
"Are you going to lecture me or do you want a plate?"
"Yes please."
Polly kisses her teeth before narrowing her eyes at Natalie, "Hypocrite."
Natalie giggles and plays with the hand of her sweatshirt.
"Oh, I forgot to...um... Thank you."
"Why the hell are you thanking me?"
"For getting me the job at LowiSe." Natalie beams a smile at Polly who'd shut off the gas and had started to dish the bacon into plates.
Polly scrunches up her nose, she shuts her eyes and groans, "Ugh! I think I'm hungover, I didn't hear you, can you repeat that?"
Grabbing a fork from the small cutlery bowl in the middle of the dining table, Natalie clears her throat, "Thank you for getting me the job, Polly."
"What job?"
Natalie shoots her a frustrated look.
"What? Don't look at me like that. I told you I'm hungover so I might have done shit that I don't remember." Polly shrugs and stabs her fork into a strip of bacon.
"LowiSe, that club we just came back from, offered me a job and I accepted. So thanks for telling them about me."
"First, it's not pronounced 'Lo-is' it's "Lo-eyes' and second, what do you mean by you accepted a job?"
"Polly, what is wrong with you? Just accept my appreciation." Natalie frowns, frustrated.
"Why would I accept an appreciation for shit I didn't do?" Polly raises her voice, "Wait! Who offered you the job?"
"He said his name is Tony..." Natalie trailed off when she notices Polly's livid look.
"YOU SPOKE TO TONY?!" Polly screeches as she slams the fork on the table.
Natalie flinches as she drops the fork on her plate. Her fingers sought after the hem of her shirt. She never really does well with yelling. She exhales sharply before shrugging.
"Nat— oh my God! Don't... don't tell— Oh, shit..." Polly groans before shoving her hands through her hair. She runs her hand continuously while muttering her whole vocabulary.
Natalie stares at the lone half-bitten bacon on the dish. Her appetite is definitely out the window now.
"Well..." She sighs, "There's nothing to do now since you've accepted the job. Did he tell you when to start?"
"Not really, he just said something about someone showing me the ropes on Saturday,"
Polly narrows her eyes sharply, "God, so dumb." She murmurs under her breath.
Natalie purses her lip. Her excitement of getting a new job follows the same route as her appetite; out the window.
Seven minutes ago, sharing the 'good' news wasn't such a bad idea. But it is inevitable, one way or the other.
Shoving the strip of meat into her mouth, Natalie heads to the sink and washes off her plate before drying her hands. Polly is now on her phone, currently on Instagram with what Natalie could see.
She taps on the screen intently before letting out an interested giggle. Natalie side glances at her before softly padding over to the stairs. Staying one more minute is like signing free tickets to learn Erotica 101.
Natalie shudders dramatically once she reaches the guest room she is occupying. She switches off the light and then turns on her nightlight instantly. Tiny stars in purple clothing surround the room warmly.
Nightlights are the closest thing she has to Joel. Though 'un-boyfriendish', Joel never leaves her to sleep alone in the room at night, even though he gets home by five o'clock in the morning and Natalie has to work the morning shift by 8:30 pm.
A refreshed sigh escapes her as her head hits the pillow. She adjusts in the heap of two extra blankets, her unbound waves bouncing around while she seeks to find her comfort spot.
With a victorious sigh, she just... Sleep.