Stacey saw Joanna coming down the hallway from the opposite direction. As always, she found herself wishing there was a conveniently placed door she could duck into to avoid passing her -- although it was a bit too late to escape this time even if there was one, as the two of them were going down the hallway in opposite directions, and Joanna was already smiling brightly at her from 20 meters away.
Every time she saw Joanna in the hallway like this, Stacey felt the sudden and compulsive urge to move out of the apartment she otherwise loved just to get away from her too cheery neighbor. What was there to be so cheerful about any way? A crappy dead-end job at a fast food place, coupled with an even crappier retail job making for 12 hours at least every day, just to cover rent? Not like Joanna would know anything about that -- she was quite proud of the fact she didn't work, and that her "family" sent her all the money she wanted.
Sure, "family." It was Stacey's private opinion that Joanna had no such family -- if she had been a gambling woman, she would have bet that all the mysterious money came from a sugar daddy or something, some guy who was paying Joanna for sex. Joanna could probably get away with charging an exorbitant amount -- even though she always wore those tacky A-line dresses from the fifties with the stupid bright prints on them, they all hugged tight at the waist, showing off Joanna's ample tits, and showing off that she really did have a tiny waist. Not to mention that her stupid blonde hair always looked perfect -- never a strand out of place! It shouldn't have been possible. Literally no other woman on earth but Joanna could pull that off -- it just wasn't the way hair was supposed to work!
It was one of a thousand things that made Stacey curse Joanna under her breath.
Today, she was wearing a tacky pale pink A-line dress, this time with a V-neck that teased her cleavage -- she was never shy about that -- and her blonde hair was, as ever, perfectly straight, with just one clip pinning her bangs to the side of her forehead.
She was still smiling at Stacey, walking so confidently in those stupid tall brown leather heels of hers, and they were only about 5 meters away from each other now. It was too late to pretend she hadn't seen her.
"Stacey," Joanna said with that perfect bright white smile of hers as she stopped in front of her.
Stacey was standing directly in front of her own door, with Joanna in front of her door beside it on the same wall, but she was facing her, clearly expecting Stacey to stand in the hall and chat for a few minutes.
"Joanna," Stacey acknowledged with a fake smile of her own. It was a good thing Joanna was such a ditz, or she would have picked up on Stacey's resentment behind it. "I really don't have time to chat -- I just worked a long shift, and I want to have some dinner as soon as I can and turn in."
Joanna's face shifted into a too perfect look of compassion. "Oh, Stace," She said, touching Stacey's elbow in what was clearly meant to be commiseration. "Sure you don't want me to come in and help you get it done quicker?"
The mere thought of Joanna crossing into her apartment made Stacey want to throw up. She kept her face neutral though.
"No, Joanna -- that's alright. I'll see you later," She dismissed, as quickly as she could.
"Alright," Joanna said. "I'm always right next door if you need anything."
Stacey smiled a little too wide. She could feel her teeth grinding together forcefully in her mouth. "I know."
She shoved her key in the door quickly, still not entirely sure Joanna would let her get away so easily with it.
She only allowed herself to exhale when she was standing on the other side of the door with her back against it, lock turned.
******
A quick heated up canned spaghetti dinner later, and Stacey at last made it into bed. Her body felt like it was physically sighing in relief as she lay there under her sheets. She hoped she could fall asleep quickly, so she could get back up again tomorrow and do it all again.
Then she heard the moan, and that hope was rapidly destroyed.
"Not tonight," She grumbled, and pulled the pillow over her head.
Joanna's bedroom, she was pretty sure, was right on the other side of her bedroom wall -- and Joanna's favorite pass time seemed to be fucking herself.
"Got to practice for that sugar daddy of yours, don't you Joanna," Stacey grumbled. She grabbed her other pillow and added that to the one that was already pressed against her ears.
It was no use. The two combined pillows couldn't block out Joanna's orgiastic moans, and from experience, she knew Joanna would be at it for at least another hour -- maybe two. She'd sometimes even gone for a four hour stretch.
Stacey just didn't think she could take it tonight. She couldn't spend the next hour lying here and listening to this. She was exhausted, and sleep deprived, and it was only 8:00 pm. If she could only fall asleep, she could get nine hours sleep for once. She didn't want to lie here watching nine hours become eight, and eight become seven, until before you knew it, it was 5:00 in the morning and she had to get up and ready to leave for a 6:00 am 12-hour day split between two jobs.
She wasn't going to do it tonight. She'd taken it quietly for the whole year Joanna had been living next to her, but she was drawing the line now.
She got up, crossed her apartment, stepped into the hallway, and pounded on Joanna's door.
