Five days pass without a single text or call from Taylor. Karlie is sure that the singer realized that she could and should do better than her. After the third day, Karlie still feels the sting of rejection and loneliness again, but eventually melts back into her routine. She goes out after work with the rest of the girls and gets wasted off her ass, trying to erase the sliver of happiness she felt from Taylor. She takes on extra shifts at the club, something she soon comes to regret, but it keeps her out of her house and busy. Karlie is just about moved past on the fifth day, having regained her natural rhythm. She's out getting groceries when she's knocked back to square one.
The stripper is walking up and down the aisles, a red plastic basket full of groceries for the night poised on her arm, when lights start flashing in the corner of her eye. She looks over and sees a handful of men with cameras aiming through the window at someone and her heart seizes. Karlie dismisses the sense of fear, telling herself it must be some Hollywood stud buying some cereal or something, but this doesn't last long.
"K!" A voice whispers urgently, and Karlie recognizes it immediately. She turns slowly, her knuckles gripping her basket so tight that they're a pale white. Taylor frantically waves her hand from behind a potato chip desplay, beckoning Karlie over. The younger girl rolls her eyes and makes her way over. Karlie is about to ask what the singer wants when the older woman falls into a fit of coughing. A tissue is procured out of Taylor's jacket and she quickly sneezes into it, scrunching it into a ball to go back in her pocket.
"I'm so, so, so sorry I haven't talked to you. I tried to call you but some guy named Rick answered, and I was going to come back to the club but then I got some sort of super-hybrid of a cold and a flu. I'm like, ninety percent sure I'm dying." Taylor exaggerates, sniffling for dramatics. Karlie is overwhelmed with a sense of guilt; she was just about ready to pretend Taylor never existed, and even harbored some hatred towards the girl for "abandoning" her, but now she knew the real reason why. Poor Taylor, Karlie thinks, frowning at the singer. Little does Karlie know that Taylor is feeling nearly the exact same regret with how their communication fell short, especially after what Taylor learned of at the club.
"It's fine, Taylor. It was just a misunderstanding, sometimes my two's look like five's." Karlie gives a shrug. She doesn't intend to come off as so noncommital, but now that she knows that it truly was just one giant error, Karlie doesn't mind, and it's like they left off where they were five nights ago while walking. Taylor raises a brow, surprised that the younger girl let her off the hook so easily.
"Well, if you want, I'd like for you to come over tonight." Taylor says firmly, gauging Karlie's reaction. The younger girl seems to be contemplating the idea, and then nods shortly.
"Sure, why not. What's your address?" Karlie asks, and Taylor pulls a pad of post-it notes from her bag. She scribbles down her address, extra sure to make her numbers and letters legible in hopes of avoiding a similar situation like the phone number.
"Great! Come over around like, seven or eight o'clock." Taylor leaves her no time to respond and quickly darts off, avoiding the flashes of cameras as best as she could.
/ / /
Karlie gulps as she stands a distance away from Taylor's apartment. There's a gaggle of paparazzi yet again, and Karlie can't help but feel like a dying animal surrounded by vultures. They seemed to be ever-present and she wondered how Taylor ever tolerated it. Recalling Taylor's directions from the first time they ever hung out, Karlie pulled up the hood of her jacket and kept her head low as she darted between paparazzi. They ignored her, thinking she was some other resident of the building, clearly only interested in the superstar. When Karlie is inside, she's greeted by a man with an earpiece who quietly whispers something into his tech. He looks at Karlie for a moment, looking her up and down, and Karlie almost feels grossed out until she over hears him say "Yep, she matches that description. I'll let her up."
She heads up the flights of stairs rather than the elevator, wanting to work her legs a bit. The top floor is finally met and Karlie raises her fist to knock before the large wooden door is swung wide open. Karlie can't help but smile at the singer's appearance.
Taylor stands in the doorway in a red and brown onesie. She has a beanie snug on her head and her shoes are adorned with puffy pink slippers. It's clear that the girl likes to live comfortably.
Karlie walks into her apartment and once again she's bombarded with the reality of just how wealthy Taylor is. She's sure that her ratty studio apartment could fit into Taylor's bathroom probably.
"Well, this is my place!" Taylor says matter-of-factly, sweeping her hands out. She leads Karlie around and is surprised to find that the stripper has stopped dead in her tracks as they enter the kitchen. Karlie's jaw is wide open and her eyes are wide and child-like.
"Holy shit, this place is beautiful. Is that a Kitchen-aid mixer?" Karlie asks in wonderment, pointing to a red contraption in the corner. Taylor crosses her arms in interest and nods.
"Yeah, it is. Do you like to bake?" Taylor inquires. Karlie nods excitedly, rushing past Taylor to examine everything in the singer's kitchen.
"I love to. I don't get to very much at my place because there isn't enough counterspace and I never really have enough to buy the materials." Taylor's brows knit at this and she wonders what it's like to live so bare like that.
"Well, let's bake something then!" Taylor suggests cheerfully.
"Shit, really?" Karlie questions, her face splitting in half with a toothy grin. She seems like a kid in a candy store and Taylor is genuinely happy that she's seeing this side of Karlie rather than the one she came across in the bathroom at the club.
"I don't see why not. I'll let you take the reigns, make whatever you want."
"Let's go with chocolate chip cookies... can't go wrong with that," Karlie offers, bustling around and shuffling through drawers to find ingredients as Taylor watches with amusement. The singer sits back and lets Karlie enjoy her culinary freedom.
/ / /
"Fuck, K, these are great." Taylor moans as she bites into the cookie, melted chocolate smearing across her lips. She licks at the chocolate and takes another bite as Karlie giggles.
"Thanks, I've been using that recipe since I was a kid." Karlie is breaking a cookie in half as she speaks, and her eyes seem to be distant.
"Well, they're fantastic. You have to write the recipe for these down for me." Taylor pleads and Karlie smiles. The two women both are sitting on opposite chairs facing each other. Karlie is leaned back in one with her feet propped up on the table and Taylor is curled tight in another. Taylor is reaching for another cookie when Karlie gasps. She looks up in concern and looks at Karlie grinning at her pair of cats trotting into the room to investigate the new smells. Meredith keeps her distance and observes the newcomer while Olivia wobbles forward and quickly tries to leap into Karlie's lap. The kitten's paws are too short to get a good grip on the chair so Karlie leans forward and pulls the cat close. The younger girl starts cooing and stroking Olivia's fur.
"This is quite possibly one of the cutest cats I've ever seen." Karlie whispers as if she's afraid she'll scare off Olivia. Taylor is lovingly smiling at the two and calls Meredith over, who quickly darts to one of the few people she trusts.
"What's its name? And that one?" Karlie questions, nodding her chin to the bigger version of Olivia settling between Taylor's legs.
"This one is Meredith," Meredith's ears perk up at the sound of her name and she looks at Taylor inquisitively. "and that one is Olivia."
"Hello, Olivia." Karlie greets, smiling down at the kitten rolling absently in her lap.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Taylor asks. Karlie's lips thin in thought.
"What have you got?"
"Water, some soda, wine, various alcohol..." Taylor trails off with a shrug.
"Wine sounds fine." Karlie tells her, following Taylor with her eyes as the singer walked to a pretty well stocked wine rack. The blonde seemed to be thinking about something as she stood in front of the bottles, her finger tapping her lips mindlessly, until she reaches on her toes to get down two bottles of her favorite wine. She grabs two glasses from the cupboard and goes back to Karlie. Soon both girls are cradling a healthy glass of red in their hands, sharing stories and jokes and talking through the night.
/ / /
Neither can really remember when or why they decided to peruse through Taylor's surprisingly extensive collection of boardgames, but all they know is that they're in the middle of a very heated round of Monopoly. It's a spectacle to watch as both girls stumble their way through a game. Rules have gone out the window and Taylor's pretty sure Karlie just swiped a handful of the 500 dollar bills while she wasn't looking.
"I want to buy Park Place," Karlie drawls, slapping down all of her money. Taylor starts laughing, her nose scrunching up.
"K, you already own that."
"Fuck, I do." Karlie has this most incredulous look on her face and Taylor can't help but fall back to laugh loudly. Karlie pouts and puts her arms on her hips.
"Stop it! I am not the smartest when drunk." Karlie defends, furrowing her brows at Taylor. The singer takes a deep breath and nods, promising she'll stop laughing, but Karlie can tell the older woman is on the verge of cracking up again for the next few minutes. "But I am competitive. I am so gonna win this game." Karlie grins and glares down Taylor playfully.
"No way! I never lose games of Monopoly. This is my field, miss!" Taylor argues back, rolling the dice. She moves a few spots up.
"Well, I'm here to break that streak." Karlie moves forward, getting in Taylor's face.
"Oh yeah?" Taylor questions, moving side to side in a mockingly intimidating way.
"Yeah!" Karlie moves closer and Taylor thinks she has the greenest eyes she's ever seen.
"Then prove it." Taylor whispers now that they're in close proximity. Both girls' eyes are scanning each others faces, stopping at each other's lips. Suddenly Taylor lurches forward and takes Karlie's face in her hands. She inhales sharply before connecting her lips with the younger girls. She can taste the slightest trace of wine and it's the best thing she's ever tasted. Her head is spinning and consists purely of white noise at the moment, and she's not really sure of her movements, but she knows she's enjoying this. Karlie signals that she feels the same when a light groan rumbles up from her throat and she manuevers around the table so her palms aren't uncomfortably digging into the metal and plastic pieces of the board.
Taylor shifts forward and they pause for a minute to find their bearings and the older woman moves into Karlie's lap so their fronts press together. Taylor feels something pressing at her lips so she parts them slightly and Karlie's tongue slips into her mouth. A guttural moan pours out of Taylor's lips and tumbles into Karlie's mouth. The singer's hands drift down Karlie's sides, dragging her fingernails over the fabric of her shirt, pausing at her waist. Karlie bites down lightly on Taylor's bottom lip and Taylor's fingers tighten in surprise and Karlie lets out a surprised shriek and flies out of Taylor's arms.
It's only when the situation fizzles down do both girls realize what just happened. Taylor feels regret and guilt almost immediately as she watches Karlie lift the hem of her shirt to examine the bruises left by a customer the night before, and when she quickly drops the material to look at Taylor she sees the singer giving her a sad look mixed with shock at what they've both just done. The stripper scrambles to get to her feet quickly and her mouth opens as if to speak but no words come out. Her eyes are wild and terrified and she's moving in many directions to pick up her things. Taylor takes a minute to register what the younger girl is doing.
"K, don't go, it was a mistake!" Taylor begs, trying to get to her feet but failing under the influence of the wine they had been drinking. She grips the edge of the table and the Monopoly board tilts and sends pieces flying over her carpet floor, but she manages to steady herself.
"Exactly Taylor, it was a mistake. I have to go." Karlie says shortly, stumbling through the furniture. Her hip bumps into the chair as she walks and she lets out a small whimper, her face screwing together, but she continues on her quick path out of the apartment. Taylor tries to chase after her but she gets caught up in a blanket she had dragged to the floor. She kicks her feet frantically, letting out a frustrated shout, and as she finally gets free she hears her front door slam.
/ / /
A/N: I'm not feeling too amazing about this chapter but I don't know how the rest of you will feel.
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