Cliffs Edge [Kaylor]

two

"Okay." Karlie takes a pen out of one of the little pockets on her apron, and starts to scribble on her notepad. When she's finished, she rips the paper off of the notepad and bites her lip as she hands it to Taylor.

No way.

Taylor takes it, her eyes wide and disbelieving as she gazes at the ten digits. Karlie has even written her name on it, as if Taylor would forget who the number belonged to. As if Taylor wouldn't remember those jade green eyes and those incredible cheekbones for the rest of her life.

"Just try not to lose that while you're here. The guys around here are pretty dedicated when it comes to asking me out, I'd have to shut off my phone." Karlie looks so nonchalant, and it actually unnerves Taylor a little.

Karlie leaves after that, needing to get back to her job. Taylor sits there and stares down at the paper while Selena and Cara congratulate themselves on a job well done.

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"I tell you to go right, you go left. I say go up, and you go down." Derek is fuming, pacing while he speaks. "What the fuck were you thinkin' Karls? Wait, never mind! You weren't thinking! If you had been thinking, you would've stayed a hundred feet away from Taylor Swift!"

Karlie rolls her eyes at his dramatics and continues to wipe down the bar with the rag in her hand. She doesn't think she did anything bad. It could've been a lot worst. It's not like she had bent Taylor over a table or something. Derek has no idea how agonizing it was to just give the girl her number and walk away. It's like putting a bag of heroin in front of an addict, giving him a little taste, and then taking it away from him.

"Her friends were just trying to get her out of her shell, she's not going to call me."

"It's not even about that! I gave you an order and you went against it."

Jourdan suddenly distances herself from the bar, shuffling away awkwardly with the broom in her hand as Karlie sets blazing green eyes on her boss.

"I don't take orders from anyone, Derek. If I wanted to be treated like a child I'd have stayed with my family. Nothing happened."

Derek continues to silently fume but says nothing. Karlie goes back to cleaning but now she's angry and it shows on her face. She's so sick of everyone treating her like some kind of porcelain doll. Her parents, Doctor Bennett, Derek. Only Jourdan understands. She treats her like she's a normal human being, and not some sex craved deviant. Everyone else tries to control her, tries to put her in a box that she'll never fit in.

"I didn't mean to flip out, Karls." Derek says slowly, breaking the awkward and tense silence.

"Whatever. I don't know what the big deal is, anyway. Taylor Swift is the poster girl for heteronormativity. Her friends were just fucking with her."

Derek nods but there's still a cloud of uncertainty weighing down his shoulders. He goes into the back, probably to gather his things for the drive home, and Karlie sighs as she rests her forehead against the bar. Jourdan rests a hand on her head, giving her a sympathetic pat.

"He's an asshole sometimes. I'm proud of you for resisting, babe. I know it was hard."

Karlie's heart warms a little. That's all she's ever wanted in life, for her friends and family to look at her and say 'I'm proud of you for trying'. Jourdan's the only one who says that. She's the only one who gets it.

"Thanks Jour."

After closing up the bar for the night, Karlie and Jourdan walk home together. They share a small two bedroom apartment not too far from the bar. It's ridiculously expensive, like everything else in the city, but they get by. Jourdan works a second job during the day at a nice restaurant in lower Manhattan and Karlie gets monetary assistance from her family in exchange for putting up with therapy. Between the two of them, they manage to scrape together the rent and have just enough left over for food, electricity, and a shared Netflix subscription. It's not easy but anything's better than the hell Karlie escaped from.