Nate leaned himself against the couch as she suggested he could move in there after their trip. It did make sense.. he would be there most of the time anyway now. Plus, as much as he didn't mind staying with his friends, he'd much prefer staying with her. He bit the inside of his cheek lightly and shrugged. "Yeah, that could work." he spoke, turning his head to look at her again. He figured it was probably the easiest living situation for him. He would have all of his stuff and her in the same place. It wasn't like his roommates necessarily needed the extra money. They were simply doing him a favor until he could find his own place. 

Nate laughed at her comment on snoring, shaking his head and tapped her leg a few times. "I don't think I snore so you're safe there." he chuckled. 

He looked down at her leg as she pointed it out. "Yeah, that's pretty cool." he commented. Her reasoning behind it made his eyes snap to her. "Jesus.." he laughed a little and looked it over once again. At that point, he had to wonder what he would get. 

As if she was reading his mind, he leaned back against the couch again and looked down at the glass he held in his hand, tilting his head as he thought about it. "Hm.." he mumbled. "I haven't really put much thought into it. I want it to be visible. I know that.. and if I'm going to get it done it might as well be a decent size. As for what to do?" he mumbled, trying to think of things he enjoyed that would look good in tattoo form. "I don't know.. should it mean something to me or should I put something completely random on myself?" he laughed a little, taking a sip of his drink. He couldn't pin point one thing that he would specifically get put on his body permanently. "You're drawing it for me?" he smiled, looking over at her. "Maybe something representing Australia. It was probably one of the best times of my life." he suggested. "I guess I'll have to think on it a little more before we make a plan to go."

Tarren smirked when he reacted about her snake tattoo. “Nate, you’re gonna have to deal with a lot more than people just called me a snake.  I get called worse on the daily.  You already know I’m not the easiest person for people to accept.” she spoke, before taking his hand and letting her fingers lace with his.   “You’ve kind of been the exception to the rule so far.” she spoke softly, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand.  

Tarren listened to his explanation of what he wanted for his tattoo, nodding her head along as she thought of things he could do.  This was her favorite part of getting tattooed, was planning and designing it.  When he asked if she was drawing it, she shrugged.  “I will if you want me too.  You mentioned me tattooing you but I thought putting the gun in my hand would be too much.  But I can draw you something if you want.” she smirked.  Tattooing had been something she thought about but never really dove into it.  She had never shown her drawings to anyone before Nathan, but his encouragement made her want to possibly try.

When she heard him speak of Australia, she smirked.  “You’re still gonna take me sometime, right?  It seems like you are most like me over there.  I’d love to see you be your true wild self.  And your friends seem like they are fun too.” she teased, before downing her drink he made her.  “I’m gonna make another drink, want one? I’m sobering up too quickly.  Oh, and I have another joint in my room.  Wanna get high?” she asked, disappearing into the kitchen to make the drinks.  

Coming back with the drinks made, she reached into her room to grab the joint. “I know you're not a smoker but this is way easier, I think.” she asked, sitting on his lap.  “I think I look pretty hot when I smoke.” she teased, heading to the balcony.

Nate nodded as she explained how ‘snake’ wasn't the worst thing she's been called. Sure she wasn't easy, but people could be so messed up. His eyes lowered to their hands as hers moved into his. He let his fingers tighten around her hand as she brought it up to her lips . “I know but.. Still..” he muttered. He couldn't say much more than that. If people knew Tarren.. she wasn't all bad. A little rough around the edges but not all that bad. She did purposely give off that impression, though and she was completely aware of it. 

“Yeah? You'd draw it for me?” He perked up a little at her agreement of drawing it. He liked the idea of having one of her drawings on him forever. It felt intimate in a way they hadn't been yet. “I can try and give you ideas and we could do a few rough drafts.” he shrugged. The idea excited him the more he thought about it. “I'll be your… canvas.” He laughed a little. 

“Of course. Australia is pretty sweet. I think it'll be a good time for us. And, you won't have to worry about too many people having such a negative opinion of you. Especially not my friends. They'd be honored to have such a rambunctious person join them. They'd probably want to adopt you.” he chuckled. “And yes, I've been known to get a little crazier down there. It's probably the air..” He laughed. As she moved away from him to grab a drink, he nodded. “Yeah, I'll take another." He agreed before she mentioned the joint. He tossed the idea around a little and exhaled softly. “Uh… sure why not?”

Nate looked up as she came back with their drinks, reaching out to grab the one she made for him. As she spoke then moved to the balcony, Nate stood up and followed her outside. “I think you look hot whatever you do so I might be a little biased.” he grinned, taking a drink before settling himself against the railing. 

Tarren smiled as he joined her out of the balcony, she held up her own drink, clinking it against his.  “You’re right, I’m hot when I do anything.” she spoke before basically downing her whole drink, before leaning against him as she stared out over the town.  “I truly never thought I’d see you again…or that when I did, you’d be married to Jamie or something with a kid.” she spoke, lighting up the joint in her hand, taking a long drag.  “And now, you’re all mine.” she teased, before leaning up and pressing a kiss against his.  As she pulled away, she offered him the joint between her fingers, as they let the rest of the night pass them by. 

Tarren and Nate spent the next week shopping and getting ready for the business trip she needed to go on.  She was nervous for Nathan to see this new side of her she didn’t know if he’d like.  She enjoyed that they could now live their lives the way they wanted without Jamie ruining their time together.  They were able to get herself a couple of dresses for the extensive cocktail parties, as well as a suit and some nice dress clothes for Nathan.  It was going to be interesting, she was always offered a plus one but never had someone to take.  She hoped it would go over well with Jackson, the one person she usually would hook up with while on these trips.  Hopefully it wouldn’t be too much of an issue.  

“Nathan!  Are you ready?”  Tarren called out, as she closed her suitcase in her bedroom.  Nathan had stayed at her place, and they had been planning to move him in fully once they came back.  She carried out her suitcase, along with her garment bag full of her nice dresses as well.  She carried everything she had to the entryway, before going to find Nathan. 

“You ready to go, or do you need some help?  I got all my stuff to the front.”

The next week seemed to fly by being around Tarren almost constantly. He had stayed at her place for most of it except when they had to work and the two got along so well. She had taken him shopping for whatever he needed on their trip and he was thankful she was there to guide him on what he should wear. He would have had no idea otherwise. He wasn't big on the suits or fancy dress clothes but for her, he would wear them. This was her event and he had to make sure he made a good impression. He was basically just an extension of her during this and he didn't want to disappoint her. 

Nathan heard her call out to him and looked around, shoving some more clothes into his suitcase along with some other items. “Yeah, I'm ready." he called back, looking around to make sure he had everything he needed. He pushed the top of his suitcase closed and zipped it up, making mental notes on everything he packed to make sure he didn't overlook something. He listed off the necessities, figuring if he did miss anything it could be bought elsewhere anyway. “I don't think I missed anything.” he assured himself as he looked over at Tarren once she emerged. Honestly, Nathan was a bit more nervous about this than he led on. He didn't want to do anything to embarrass her and he knew this was kind of a big deal for her. She had been so excited that he had accepted the offer to go with her. He was actually looking forward to seeing another side of her and learning more about her. She wasn't just a crazy party girl who spoke her mind and he was interested to see what her ‘professional’ side was like. It was a good opportunity to keep getting to know the girl. 

Nate nodded and grabbed his suitcase, bringing it over to where her stuff was and set it down. “I think I'm good, finally." Nate smiled, turning around to look over at her. 

Tarren smiled as he entered the living room with all his things.  She went to her phone, making sure she already had their plane tickets and everything all set.  They were plenty early and had priority through the checkpoints, so it would be easy going through TSA.  “Good, I was worried you got lost in there.” she smirked, before adding a bit of lip gloss to her lips.  She was dressed comfortably, sweatpants and a crop top, a little more casual and covered up then her usual outfits.  “Let’s get to the airport, the Uber is out front.”

The two arrived at the airport, Tarren basically knowing her way there like clockwork, but checked behind her every so often to make sure Nathan was still behind her.  At one point, she just took his hand so she would make sure he would walk through the groups like she would, and not worry about the occasional bump into people. Once at the gate, the woman checked them both in, checked their bags and headed them off to the TSA line.  The line moved quickly, mostly because they were there early, and in a priority line.  The company who organized the trip had the money to spend on their workers, so they made sure to flaunt it.  

Once they had been checked, they were led to a VIP lounge to wait for their flight.  A buffet of food was set up, and a full open bar was available.  “Guess you never thought the girl working in the city bar would be VIP anywhere but the club, huh?” Tarren asked, before ordering a drink from the waitress who came around, before turning to Nathan to get his order as well. “Honestly, the company does this to show off, and I like to take advantage.  Wait till you see the first class seats, the chairs basically turn into beds.” she smirked, taking his hand in hers.  

“So, what are you most excited for?  I mean, you know a little of what you are in for, but anything in particular?” Tarren asked, taking her mimosa in her hand before taking a sip.  “I felt like my usual whiskey sour was too much for like 11 am.” Tarren teased, taking another sip on her drink before placing it down in front of her.

Nathan followed Tarren closely through the airport. She seemed quite comfortable weaving through the bodies that went every which way. He couldn't help but chuckle as she grabbed his hand in hopes of keeping him close and not getting lost. “You do this far too often, I'm guessing?” he joked a little. He figured they had these types of retreats occasionally. It seemed her company had a lot of money to spend on their workers. It was nice to see they weren't treated unfairly. He followed her through the crowds until they got to the VIP lounge, taking a quick look around to examine everything. He had never been to anything like this and was a bit jealous but happy he could experience it at least once. As she spoke, he let his eyes land on her before raising an eyebrow. “It is a bit surprising. I'd never expect this is what we would be doing. Thanks for letting me tag along.” he grinned, watching her order her drink with the waitress before ordering one as well. It was early, but what the hell. He might as well join her in an early morning drink. He turned towards her as she spoke again and nodded his head. “Well, if they have the money to spend.. might as well go all out.” he shrugged, a smile glued to his face at the experience of it all. 

Once they got their drinks, Nathan looked towards Tarren as she asked him what he was excited for. He wasn't entirely sure if he could pin point anything in particular. He was excited about everything. He'd never flown first class or got treated in such a way by a rich company before. Plus, he was excited to experience a whole different Tarren and see how she was outside of the club setting. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he was interested to see how she acted, if it was at all different. He wondered if she was still the same sharp tongued woman that he had seen in the bars and clubs or if she was a completely different person. He figured she'd have to maintain some sort of professionalism with a company like this. “I'm not sure if I can say just one thing I'm excited for.” he answered honestly. “I'm intrigued to see how you are with a place like this.” he smirked, letting his head tilt slightly to the side. He had to figure she was still as hard headed as she usually was, but he was excited to find out. “Also, I've never seen a company go all out for their employees. This is extremely interesting.” Nathan spoke, letting his eyes wander around once again. He looked down at the drink she placed in front of her and nodded. He grabbed his own drink and took a sip of it before setting it down as well. He, too, didn't want to overdo anything. Especially at the beginning of their getaway. “Yeah.. I think it's a good idea to take it easy. At least until we get there." he laughed. 

Tarren smirked as Nate asked her if she had done this often.  “Is it obvious that I do this often?” she laughed, “Maybe like twice a month or so.  It is really a way to flaunt their money to investors.  I’m surprised I got invited to so many.  I do all their graphic design ads as an independent contractor so I’m not even technically part of their company but they like me so much I get to come to all the events.”

“Oh, about me?  I guess I am a little more professional than I am at the bar, but I don’t change too much.  And I dress a little nicer, but you’ll get the full picture later.  Just be lucky you are the one with me at the end of the night.” Tarren teased as she leaned into his ear, pressing a kiss to his cheek.  “Again, it’s mostly for show.  A lot of the people who work for this company are like six figure salary 40 year old men.  They expect this kind of stuff.  Me?  They offer it so I take the perks.  There aren’t too many people my age at these things.” she sighed, taking a sip of her drink.  She knew it was a lot for a company to do.  She didn’t even really like going to these events, they usually were boring and she ended up alone in a corner most of the time.  She was happy to have a plus one this time; but she also knew a man she had slept with a couple of times would be there, and hoped that wouldn’t be too awkward.  

After an hour or two, they began boarding the plane for first class.  The two got through the line quickly before finding seats.  The seats were much larger than economy, and they were far back enough to be beds.  They had a personal waitress to get anything they needed through the flight, and they could close a curtain to get a bit more privacy if they wanted.  “Have you ever flown first class?  Honestly, I think it’s so worth it after doing it once.  Especially on long flights.  Just wait till you see the Hotel.  It’s pretty overkill for what they do.  I mean, the first night is a gala so it does make sense.”

Tarren knew this was a lot to take in, especially when he met her as the wild bartender.  This was the exact opposite of what she was usually known as.  But sometimes, it was nice to do a bit of a 180 and get special treatment; and that’s what this job provided for her.  A ton of extra money for not too much work in her opinion.  She could live off of the graphic designs alone but enjoyed the bartending too much to call it quits.  She would have never met Nathan if it wasn’t for the bar.