ALTHEA
Back safely in my own bed, none of it seems real. Like an intense fever dream, Gavin was there one minute and gone the next. My feet carried me away from him, but I fear I left part of my heart behind. It's a strange thing to feel given what transpired between us.
In truth, I had nearly forgotten about him before he showed up at my work. His grand entrance was so unexpected that I couldn't process it as anything but something bad. When he took me back to his place, things only got worst. But then, somehow, the tides shifted. For all of his alpha male dominance, I was able to take back some control.
He's definitely not a man who is used to compromising, I think as I stare up at the ceiling.
My clit pulses as I replay our coupling in my mind. It was way hotter than I could have imagined. His words. His body. And now I'm no longer a virgin, and I'm sore. I squeeze my thighs together, but my muscles ache from being pried apart with his hips pressed between them.
“What happens now?” I whisper into the darkness.
My mother wasn't home when I arrived, which was a blessing. No doubt, she would have worried about where I was. I'm not sure how she's going to handle the news that I'm moving in with Gavin, especially when I've never mentioned him before. All the way home, I did my best to conjure up a believable story, but everything fell flat. I haven't been working long enough to have received a paycheck, and I'm still in training, so I haven't earned my own tips yet. It would be more realistic if I told her I was moving in with him after I had a few paychecks under my belt, but I know he won't wait that long.
So what do I tell her? The truth? That some handsome billionaire decided to buy me. She'd be upset and disappointed in me. Not that I'm not already a disappointment. Thankfully, she has never made me feel that way, but I could see it in her eyes every time I got a report card, and she knew I wasn't doing well enough in anything to earn a scholarship for college. I think she's started to accept that I'm a reflection of her. She should be happy that I found a way to better my life, even if it is unconventional.
When I wake the next day, my mom is fast asleep. Briefly, I think about stirring her to tell her about Gavin, but I know she worked a double shift and will probably have another one today. Her sleep is more important than anything I have going on in my life right now. Whether he likes it or not, Gavin is just going to have to wait for me to move in with him until my mom and I cross paths and have time for the conversation. I tell him as much via text, and I can feel his distrust radiating through the phone. He thinks I ran away from him. Knowing that hurts to a certain degree. I can't help but wonder if he's had several bad relationships that have made him this way. I want to show him that I'm not like all the others that came before me. That I'm here for him. Only him. But we have to jump over this hurdle first.
I go to work, feeling a bit stressed out and depressed. A dozen unpleasant thoughts run through my mind. What if Gavin gets tired of waiting for me and decides to cancel our contract? Will I still get the money for my virginity? Was everything he said about wanting more than just sex a lie? I want to bombard him with questions to ease my doubts, but I know he'd likely just ignore them. Besides, I don't want to sound clingy and desperate.
Robert, the guy who has been training me, is kind of a creeper. He's two years older than me but has the pox-marked face of a teenager. Two days ago, he asked if I wanted to hang out with him after work. I politely declined. He hasn't seemed to get the hint, insisting that we should hang out on Friday after work instead since we both conveniently have Saturday off.
It's Friday, and I had hoped he would have forgotten, but that's not the case. After we close up, he follows me outside, staying on my heels.
“Althea. Hey, wait up!” he calls to me as I try to walk away.
My entire body tenses from his voice, but I still stop. I know what's coming, and I really don't want to have to deal with it. I was hopeful when he hadn't mentioned anything all throughout our shift together. But I had noticed that he was getting way too close to me. We were practically touching as he stood by my side while I took customer's orders. He was making it look like he was micromanaging me, but I'm pretty sure he was just trying to peek down the front of my blouse.
“What's up?” I turn to him with obvious disinterest.
“I thought we were going to hang out tonight.” He rakes his fingers through his slick black hair. It looks oily, like tar on the street. I expect his hand to be greasy after touching it.
My eyes fall to his fingers for a fraction of a second before shooting back up to his face. “Yeah, I'm not really...feeling it tonight.”
“Oh, come on. A girl has to have fun sometimes.” He bumps his shoulder against mine flirtatiously. The invasion of my personal space makes bile shoot up my throat.
I'm about to lie and tell him that I have a boyfriend when I hear tires screeching not far away. The sound of an engine revving makes both of us jerk in the direction it's coming from. A white Porsche speeds up the street and cuts into the parking lot so tightly I worry it might flip. My heart thunders in my chest as it charges straight for us, swerving just enough to miss Robert. The tires scream in my ears, and the smell of burning rubber fills the air as it comes to a halt right beside us.
The door flies open, nearly hitting Robert, and Gavin steps out of the car looking all kinds of pissed off and menacing. It takes a few seconds for me to figure out what's going on. He was watching me from down the street. And he probably thinks...
“Get in the car,” he growls at me.
I have to defuse the situation before Gavin beats Robert's ass and I end up losing my job over it. I quickly obey, running around to the passenger's side. I point at Gavin awkwardly before opening the door to get in, speaking directly to Robert. “Sorry. I forgot that my boyfriend was coming to pick me up. You have fun doing whatever it is you're going to do tonight,” I say before slipping inside the car and praying to God I said enough to keep Gavin from lunging at him.
Gavin looks Robert up and down like he's no better than the dirt on his shoes. Then he snorts and gets back in the car. All the while, Robert is left standing there bewildered.
We peel out of the parking lot, and fear seeps into my gut as I watch Gavin wring his hands around the steering wheel.
“Who was that guy?” he demands, practically shouting.
“Calm down. He's just the guy who has been training me.”
“He tried to touch you,” he barks at me.
“He didn't try to touch me.” I lean away from him, trying to escape his booming voice which is nearly impossible in such a small space.
“I saw everything,” Gavin says as if he just witnessed me committing a crime.
“Well, I guess you didn't hear everything, because I clearly told him that you're my boyfriend.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Why were you watching me anyway?”
“Because you are mine. It's my right to keep track of what is mine,” he insists.
“So you were stalking me because you didn't think I would come back to you.” I spell out what's really going on.
“I wasn't stalking you.” He rolls his eyes.
“When someone sits outside of your work and watches you without you knowing about it, that's stalking.” I clarify the definition for him.
And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. After everything I've done to show Gavin that I want to be loyal to our contract, he still doesn't trust me at all.