Chapter 2 - Eating Out
Nathan groaned and turned tirelessly on the bed while gradually waking up to the ninth sounding of the alarm, all thanks to the endless snoozing he kept hitting.
Finally, he gave in and opened his eyes completely, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds while rethinking his life during this time.
Nathan heaved a loud sigh and held his head with his hand, groaning in pain as the effect of the alcohol he took the night before came to haunt him.
"Fuck! My head…" he whined under his breath. "Feels like a thousand drums sounding all at once."
It was painful, gradually subsiding with time but never completing resolving as Nathan managed to get himself up and out of bed.
Nathan sat for a minute or so before trying to get up and be useful for the day when he suddenly halted in his tracks.
"Where am I?"
He had not realized it until now but he was in an unfamiliar setting.
A room painted in a color that he was familiar with heavily feminine designs plastered all over. From celebrity crushes to album covers of romance songs and quite a lot of playthings.
Nathan remained standing, looking and observing the room for yet another minute.
He had never been here.
How did he even get here in the first place?
"Hello!" he called out, making his way to the door in front of him.
"Who's here? Hello!"
He received no response still even as he climbed down the stairs and made his way to what looked like a living room.
"Hel—"
He paused, the corners of his eyes twitching repeatedly as he saw someone.
"Huh? What are you doing here?"
"You are in my house, dumb dumb," Dahlia fired back at him as she stared at the confused Nathan.
Nathan looked around and it dawned on him in that moment that he was really not at his place and neither was he dreaming.
He was at Dahlia's.
"How did I get here?" he asked, his hand on his forearm while slowly massaging it to calm the ache he felt.
Dahlia shook her head and laughed.
She didn't answer Nathan. Instead, she continued setting the breakfast she was doing prior to Nathan coming to interrupt her.
"Sit down, Nate," she said, "Let's have breakfast."
Not arguing and seeing that Dahlia was also not in the mood for that either, Nathan went to the dining table where Dahlia had set two plates of pancakes and two glasses of orange juice.
He sat then, waiting for her to return.
"You haven't started eating?" she asked, returning a few minutes later to find that Nathan had not even touched a single pancake.
Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Bad manners. Come on, sit."
As they ate, Dahlia and Nathan discussed the events of the previous night—moving through the events of his interview down to how he had caught his girlfriend cheating on him.
"You mean you flunked the interview, Nate?" Dahlia asked with an expression of concern on her face.
"You know how hard we worked to get you that slot."
Nathan paused eating for a few seconds and sighed. "I know, Dee."
He looked at her, obviously disappointed with himself because Dahlia played a huge role in helping him secure that interview opportunity.
"But I was just messed up in here to even compose myself yesterday," Nathan said, pointing to the side of his head. "I'm sorry. I know what you had to do to get me that interview and I fucked up."
Dahlia was disappointed quite alright but she also understood that whatever happened had gone beyond Nathan's control.
To meet your girlfriend cheating on you with one of your potential bosses was definitely something that he would never have been prepared to experience no matter what.
"…And Caroline?" Dahlia asked.
Nathan chuckled and shook his head, continuing to eat his pancakes.
A couple of minutes passed and he finally spoke. "She doesn't know that I know yet."
"So what are you going to do? Break up with her?"
That was a tough question to answer.
Nathan knew one thing for sure—he wanted to give Caroline a taste of her own medicine.
However, he was yet to decide whether he wanted to keep her around or end things with her completely. By
"Enough of Caroline, Dee," Nathan answered. "It's almost noon. Let's get lunch outside."
Dahlia looked at the pancakes she made and her face crumpled. "And what about these?"
"Forget it. Let's go. I just want to make up for yesterday," Nathan responded. "Moreover, this won't get me filled, you know. Haha!"
It took a little bit more convincing to get Dahlia to agree to eat out with him and after that, they left and made their way to the nearest cafe in the area.
****
[Kofi's Cafe]
That was the name on the sign that sat comfortably atop the cafe in front of them.
"Come on," Nathan gestured with his head and walked towards the place, Dahlia following right behind.
They went in and found a spot.
The cafe was minimalist yet with aesthetics that were pleasing to the eyes. It was flashy but it was not bad either.
Kofi's Cafe was just appropriate.
As they sat and had their casual chat, a young lady stepped up to attend to them, handing over their menu to Dahlia and Nathan who took time to pick what they wanted.
This cafe wasn't high end, so Nathan was comfortable. Moreover, Dahlia was a lady he felt no need to over-exert his pockets to impress. They were cool like that.
Raising his hand, Nathan called back the waitress who attended to them earlier.
"I will have this and this," he said as he pointed at his request and so did Dahlia too.
"You know we don't really have to come here," Dahlia suggested again. "You can always take me out when you get a job and start earning again. Maybe even get me a car if you are so generous, hehe."
Nathan also laughed. "Chill. I don't believe appreciation has to wait for me to be a billionaire. If I can't be thankful now, then I don't know when I can."
Dahlia couldn't help but smile, her face slightly flushing.
Her gaze on Nathan lingered more than usual like she was captivated by his words albeit briefly.
"What? Why are you staring so much?" Nathan caught her, snapping her back to reality.
"I-It's nothing," Dahlia stuttered, quickly changing their topic of discussion. "About the interview… I will make some calls and see what I can do before it's too late."
Nathan placed his hand on hers, both staring at their hands and then at each other.
Nathan then smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Dahlia."