It was Saturday, and one of the few mornings the sun rose in that cold place, when Samir told us there would be a party in celebration of Jeffrey’s twenty-seventh birthday and we should make ourselves beautiful that evening, ready to serve the guests in the way we were taught to serve. Samir told me in private that the master ordered me to stay in the room if I wanted, but I was determined never to miss the chance of seeing him again. After all, I had spent weeks thinking of that man. I wouldn’t have sex with the guests, like the other girls, but I’d help serve the food and beverages, just to be closer to Jared.

We spent the entire day preparing for the party. We waxed, washed our hair and bodies, painted our nails, and chose our clothes. I thought about wearing a tunic and the niqab to avoid other men from trying something with me, but I wanted to be pretty for Jared. I wanted him to desire me as much as I desired him, so I chose one of the party dresses in the closet, a marbled silk dress with silver details. It was low cut, with a belt, and a skirt that reached to the ankles with a slit to the thigh. It was sexy, maybe too sexy, showing a lot of cleavage, but it was also elegant and not vulgar. I brushed my hair, letting it fall over my shoulders and asked Afaf to help me with a discreet makeup. I was ready.

It was already evening and, unbelievably, not raining. There were expensive cars parked in front of the house and a helicopter on the helipad when Samir told us we should go downstairs. All the girls wore belly dance costumes, which were panties and bras with veil decorations and jewels. Under Samir’s direction, we followed in an organized line to the backyard near the pool, where the reception was taking place.

The place was more illuminated than usual, decorated with coconut trees leaves and tables with chairs occupied by a dozen guests, all men of different ages, some quite old. Waiters in uniforms carried plates among the guests. on the far side, there was a sophisticated sound equipment operated by a DJ. The music was exciting and the volume was comfortable. Across the pool, there was a big buffet where the plates were filled again. I went there quickly while the other girls stayed side by side before the tables and were introduced to the men, just like products to buyers. It seemed degrading to me.

The music stopped, so Samir could do the presentations and describe every women’s skills one by one, just as he did when the master saw us for the first time.

From where I was, I noticed that Jeffrey helped him talk about them. Although I couldn’t hear it from where I stood, I could see by his gestures that he was telling them what everyone did in bed. It just showed how base he was.

I also noticed that Jared wasn’t among the bunch of idiots who virtually drooled over the presentation without blinking, examining each girl like they were choosing the one they would take to bed later. I looked for him and found him standing beside the wall, isolated from the rest. He was handsome, like a mirage, wearing a black shirt and jeans, holding a glass of champagne. Although I was some distance away, I could tell he was sad, tired and seemed unaware of all the commotion around him.

Following an uncontrollable urge, I left the plate one of the waiters gave to me and walked in his direction, without knowing what to say or why I was going.

‘Inaya, don’t be crazy. Go back while you still can!’ I told myself, but obedience to my inner voice wasn’t one of my proficiencies.

As I approached him, I thought about asking about his welfare and if he had recovered from the incident in the parking lot, but I remembered he didn’t like to discuss the subject.

“You forgot to bring napkins, so your guests could wipe their mouths.” That’s what came out of my mouth.

He turned to face me and he was surprised at how close I was. He was serious, and suddenly gave me the most beautiful smile, not just because his teeth were white and perfect, but because it illuminated his face and brightened his eyes.

It wasn’t just that. Jared was totally handsome, every part of him was incredibly attractive to me. His height, his broad shoulders, his dark and messed hair, which fell on his forehead, the masculine chin and the shadow of his beard. I wanted to bite that chin and feel his beard on my skin.

Jared looked at my body and slowly examined me, giving special attention to my cleavage. Then, he looked back at my face and remained serious, with a wrinkle in the middle of his forehead.

“I thought I told you to stay in your room,” he said.

“You did but I wanted to help with the tables. I don’t want to be useless.”

“You should have obeyed. The waiters are here to serve the tables.”

Fuck! It looked like he wanted to get rid of me.

“I’m not a prisoner to be locked inside a room on a party day. If you don’t want me around, you should let me leave.”

“It’s not about that. You said you can’t have intercourse and those guys will try to drag you to bed any way they can,” he said harshly.

“I can speak English. I’ll explain I’m here only to serve the tables and they will understand it. Besides, there are plenty of available women.” I pointed to the guests and Jared looked that way.

The men looked ready to attack the girls while Samir presented them.

“Those guys embarrass me. They act like they never saw a belly dancer before,” he said.

“Maybe they’ve seen one, but not five at the same time.”

His expression relaxed and his lips curved in a shy smile.

“And you women really know how to provoke a man. You seem to like what you do.” His voice was unsympathetic. It seemed like he was judging, and it upset me.

“And we really do. We were taught to like it before we were taught to read and write. Don’t judge us and don’t you dare say you don’t like it, because you really liked what you did with the three women at the same time that night.”

He put his weight in his other foot.

“Yes, I enjoyed it. You really know how to please a man.”

I gulped. Why did everything he says matters so much?

“We really do. Soon everyone will jump in the pool naked, just to please you.”

“That will be a real spectacle. At least, you were beautiful swimming naked in my pool.”

I processed his words and my face burned. Holy shit! I had nearly forgotten about that episode, when he found me completely naked in his swimming pool. I had been excited, thinking of him, and almost masturbating. On that occasion, I didn’t know what I was doing, but when I told Afaf about how I felt, the urge to touch my intimacy, she explained I was trying to masturbate. She told me this was completely normal for men and women and taught me how to do it to find pleasure. After I learned it, I did it many times thinking of the man who was in front of me now.

I’m glad we weren’t in Morocco, otherwise my behavior would earn me many lashes.

“The difference is that your pool is heated. This one will freeze everyone.” I said, trying to mask my discomfort.

“It’s not that cold. It will harden the girls’ nipples to the max, and men love it.

His comment made me even more ashamed. It was easy to talk about sex so openly with the girls, but with a man, it was uncomfortable.

“Your breeze is cold to us. We’re used to the scalding sun of Morocco.” I tried to exit the previous subject gracefully.

“This is true. Your country is very hot.”

“How do you know that? Have you been in Morocco?

“Yes, once. I had business with the Minister who presented you and the others as a gift to me.”

I gulped when he mentioned the brother of my fiancé.

“What did you think of it there?”

“Unbearably hot. I didn’t understand why people wear so many clothes in such a warm place, or why women are forced to marry whoever their parents decide, or why things are so extreme there. I’m glad I was born in America.”

“Lucky you. I don’t like our culture either. After I met your world through the internet, I dreamed about being part of it. I dreamed about being free to have my own apartment, wear jeans, drive a car, study at college, and go out with my friends on weekends. I wished to live a live just like the girls of my age here.

I could see a different and undecipherable spark in his gaze while he drank a little of his champagne, without looking away.

“These are very simple dreams. You already took the first step, you’re here.”

“But I’m not free to do any of it.” I shrugged, sad. I felt a pair of manly hands holding my shoulders and I almost screamed.

It was Jeffrey.

“Why are you both hiding here?” He asked, and just then, I noticed the music was back on and the girls were belly dancing for the stupid men, ready to jump on them.

I broke contact with Jeffrey, which had upset me, and I knew Jared studied my gestures very closely.

“Hi, Jeffrey.” I was cold.

“You are beautiful!” He said, looking me from head to feet with greedy eyes, lingering a long time on my cleavage. “I didn’t know you were participating to the party.” I noticed the elation in his voice.

“I’ll not. At least, not like the others. I’ll help with the tables.” I was angry because he ruined my moment with Jared.

“I’m not sure these guys will let you only serve the tables.”

“That’s what I told her, but Inaya has a hard time obeying orders.” Jared said while excusing himself and walking away. It was obvious he wanted to give his brother some space, thinking that something would happen between us, but it wouldn’t. Jeffrey wasn’t the one I wanted.

“Will you have a drink with me?” Jeffrey asked.

“I can’t. I promised I would help with the tables. The waiter is waiting for me.”

He frowned, visibly upset. “You know I can tell him to dismiss you, right?”

‘Of course I do, you moron. As well as I know you understand that when I said “I can’t”, what I really meant was “I don’t want to.’

“I know. I’d really like to, but I can’t drink while I’m pregnant and I think you’ll have more fun with the other girls, because they will deny you nothing.”

“I’ll let them go if I can simply enjoy your company, as far as you can accept it.”

“I’ll not ruin your fun or theirs.” I saw the frustration in his eyes and I could understand, because I felt the same way with Jared. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thanks. It’s a shame you don’t want to be with me.”

“I just want you to have fun.” I turned and walked away.

I went back to the buffet and started serving the guests beverages and delicious snacks. I soon regretted I hadn’t put on the tunic or the niqab to go to the party because the harassing I had to endure was unbearable. Every man I went by with the plate said something embarrassing, and my cleavage was the center of their attention. The more they drank, the worse it got. I lost track of how often I needed to repeat I was just serving snacks and beverages.

And it wasn’t just that. The more they drank, the more they went to the bedrooms with the women. Sometimes it was only a couple, or a man and two women, and other times, two men and one woman. Mostly, it was more than two men with the same women, because there were too few of the girls to attend the number of guests. Some were gone for hours upstairs, while others returned downstairs quickly, just to change partners. There were those who started foreplay downstairs, almost having sex in front of everyone, like it was the most natural thing to do.

Jeffrey was one of the men who went up and down all time, exchanging partners, sometimes with one, others with two or three. One time, he went up with two other couples and I had the impression they were all going to the same room.

Jared was the only one who hadn’t gone upstairs yet, but I had the impression it wouldn’t last long, because Samira wouldn’t leave his side as they occupied one of the tables. She rubbed her body against him, sat on his lap, and was doing everything to arouse him and convince him to accompany her. After all, she was the one the king favored most, and Jared was the king there.

Although I tried not to pay attention, I couldn’t stop watching them, trying to guess the moment he would give up and take her to the room, simply because he was a man and men are weak. Besides, they had already been together on the night he went to the room with the three girls. Considering how much they complimented his performance in bed, I was surprised she was the only one hitting on him.

At one point, I saw they were kissing and my blood boiled with anger. Deep down, I was jealous of Samira. I wanted to be in her place and I almost went there and took her away from Jared to tell him how much I wanted to be his. However, if I did that I would be expected to service everyone in the garden, who, certainly, after tonight, would start frequenting the house looking for sex, and going to bed with any of one or more of them. That seemed terrible to me. My body wanted only Jared and no one else.

As the hours passed and everyone got too drunk to care about what they did or said, the harassment increased and the jokes grew even dirtier. I tried not to answer, because if I opened my mouth, nothing good would come out of it. However, one of them had the audacity of grabbing my butt while I passed by with the plates and I grabbed a glass of champagne and threw the liquid in his face. I was pleased to see him complaining and desperately rubbing the burning alcohol from his eyes.

“That’s so you to learn to respect a woman when she says she’s not available!” I said unsympathetically before leaving the plate on his table and running inside the house, deciding I wouldn’t stay there while those jerks remained.

I had crossed the kitchen and the dining room before I realized that damned fool in whose face I threw the champagne was following me. I hurried to the stairs, and saw he was following. I went upstairs to the door to my bedroom. Before I could open it, he reached me, took me by the hair and spun me around to face him. He pressed me against the wall, his skinny body rubbing against mine.

“Who do you think I am? Your bitch?” he demanded, bathing my face with that terrible breath of whisky and cigarettes. His hand went down my entire body, making me sick. “Why won’t you give this pussy to anyone? Is it golden? Aren’t you used to having sex with anyone, just like the others? Why are you playing good girl, since everyone knows what you did in Morocco?”

I was frightened and my blood ran cold. My heartbeat was fast and I tried to punch him while he held my wrists, trying to free myself. Although the man was skinny, he was very strong and I didn’t have any chance against him.

“Let go of me or I’ll scream,” I menaced him.

“Scream all you want. Nobody will hear you downstairs and nobody upstairs will leave a pussy to help you.” I opened my mouth to scream, but he was faster and made me face the wall while covering my mouth with his hand. He pressed me harder while trying to open the door to y room with his other hand. When he found it was locked, he held my waist very close to his body and dragged me to the next door.

Holy shit! If he could open one of those doors, I’d be screwed. I’d be raped and no one would help me.

He was so determined to hurt me that he didn’t care if I tried to escape or hit him. Desperate tears toweled up in my eyes.

He was almost to the door for the next room when Jared appeared in the end of the hall, coming from downstairs.

“Let her go, Tom!” he shouted and came in our direction. I was suddenly more worried about him when I thought about how he felt in the parking lot, after that burst of physical effort.

Before Jared could get to us, the man let me go and backed away. He raised both his hands in Jared’s direction to show he was unarmed.

“I didn’t do anything, dude. She wanted to give it.” He lied.

Jared didn’t stop to listen. He went at the man like a violent beast and punched him in the face. I’m glad Tom didn’t fight back, or the fight would require even more effort, increasing the chances of making Jared feel bad again.

“Get out of my house, right now!” Jared said, tired, but still furiously facing the man.

“Come on, Jared. We’re friends. She’s just a whore who doesn’t matter.”

“Correction: we ‘were’ friends. I saw what you tried to do. I’m not friends with rapists.”

“Don’t say that, man. I’m not a rapist. You’ve known me for years, you know I’m not that.” He looked desperate.

“Get out of here, now!” Jared shouted this time.

Tom looked at him angrily before disappearing down the hallway.