𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸 𝙶𝙾 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝙲𝙷𝙾𝙾𝙻 𝙵𝙾𝚁 ,, xo kitty

001 | everybody wants to rule the world

001

Everybody Wants To Rule The World

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SOMETHING ABOUT EIGHTIES MUSIC ALWAYS PUT BONNIE FINNERTY IN A ROMANTIC MOOD. PERHAPS IT WAS THE FACT THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND SHARED THEIR FIRST DANCE TO 'I'VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE' FROM THE DIRTY DANCING SOUNDTRACK.

She hummed along to the record playing in the background, her patio door wedged open with her surfboard as the Australian summer heat wafted into her home office, call center headphones around her neck just in case her supervisor called.

Bonnie hated her job, but it paid the bills. Working at the local property assessment office was draining work, but it paid well. Her eyes kept wandering to the clock in the corner of the laptop screen, counting down until five pm.

"Hey guys, I know you wanted to have a coffee chat tonight, but I'll have to take a rain check." Bonnie smiled into the headset microphone, clumsily placing the padded over-ear headphones on over her tangled blonde bun. "Alex and I are going out for dinner tonight. Like old times."

"Ooooh, anywhere special?" Phoebe Keller asked, her camera flipping on to reveal the young intern sitting at her desk, tabby cat on her lap.

Bonnie laughed, looking at her coworkers on the Teams call as she switched off her company VPN and closed all the tabs she was messing with. She hated work from home days, but the office was a bitch to get to, and she was counting on being home for dinner.

It had been far too long since she and Alex went out and did something together.

Too long since he had touched her in that needy, primal way of his.

"Probably just the marina. It's where we had our first date. Coming up on three years strong, I just want to make sure the love is still there, you know? I feel like we've been drifting apart these last few weeks, too caught up in our own lives."

And it was true. She and Alex were out of sync with each other. Four years ago, he had been a dockworker at the marina, and she had been stood up by a blind date that her brother Lachlan had arranged. Alex was filling in at the marina's restaurant, and stepped in when he realized that her date was a no-show. They had never looked back. But now, they were hardly ever home at the same time. She worked from seven in the morning until five at night, and Alex kept all sorts of odd hours at the local Catholic high school, opening office hours to tutor students who needed the extra help.

She missed him like crazy, even though they saw each other every day. They were just too tired to do much, opting to stay in and watch Netflix on the couch.

"I think it's great that you're trying to rekindle the fire, Bonnie."

"Thank you, Phoebe." Bonnie chuckled. "We've never been 'go out and do things' people, but it's really going to be nice to have dinner somewhere other than my living room for once."

"Go on. We won't keep you from your hot date. See you Monday, Bonnie." Her supervisor, Karen Symes, smiled. Karen was an older woman from Fiji, twice divorced and living her dream life on the water with two dogs. Karen had been the one who hired Bonnie when she was eighteen and had encouraged her to stay.

That was before Bonnie hated her job.

She logged off, shutting down her computer and turning off the record player before crossing to the master bedroom, the pale pink accent wall lighting up the entire space. On top of the dresser, a small five-by-seven frame held a picture of her and Alex from their engagement shoot. The entire affair had been 'Dirty Dancing' themed, with the two masquerading as Baby and Johnny. She wore a dusty pink dress, he was in all black, recreating the pose that Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray took on the original theatrical poster.