First Move

~Mia~

He took a puff and nodded before looking at me again. “What can you do, Mia?” He asked.

“I do basically anything. I can clean and cook pretty well. I used to do this at the clubhouse and my Aunt’s house. Chores don’t scare me.” I responded, and he nodded.

“Great. I guess it’s settled then. You’ll take care of the house, cook, and do all necessary things and I’ll pay you at the end of the month.” He uttered, pressing the end of his cigar on the ashtray on the mini table that separated our chairs.

“You’ll pay me?” I asked in awe, and he nodded.

“Of course, I would. I wouldn’t let you work for free.”

“But… but you bought me already. Why did you buy me if you would still pay me for what I’ll do?” I asked in confusion, and he let out a deep breath.

“Listen, Mia. I don’t see you as some commodity or asset, I see you as a human. I paid that money because I was scared you would fall into the wrong hands. You seemed so innocent and scared when you were up there, I couldn’t take any chances.” He explained, and I gulped hard and nodded.

“Thank you so much, Mr Cross. I don’t know how to thank you.” I responded, and he shook his head.

“You don’t have to.” He responded, and an awkward silence set in after.

It all seemed too good to be true. ‘What if he is just trying to make me comfortable so he can get access to my body? No man that visits my Aunt's bar is this gentle. What else does he have in mind?’

This fear haunted me regardless of how nice he was to me. I couldn’t just shake off the feeling that he wanted more than he told me.

‘What do you really want, Mr Cross?’ I thought.

“I bet you’re tired now. You should rest now. It’s been a long day.” He uttered, standing up and I followed suit.

He made his way into the house again and I followed behind him.

“So, which of these rooms are you picking?” He asked, taking a halt and burying his hands inside his pockets.

“I’ll take the first one, sir.” I pointed to the first room in the hallway.

“Great. Check it out. I believe it has everything you’d need for tonight.” He responded, and I took slow steps forward, pulling the hem of my gown again.

I looked back at him and I saw his gaze was fixed on me. Opening the door, I saw the most beautifully arranged room ever. It was painted white and almost everything in the room was in white and ash.

Still lost in the beauty and serenity of the room, I heard his voice close to my ears.

“You like this one?” He asked, causing me to slightly jolt. I looked at him from above my shoulder and realized he was just a few inches away from me.

“Yes, I do. Thank you, sir.”

“Great. I guess that will be all for tonight.” He responded, turning to leave. But then, he abruptly stopped and looked at me again. “Have you eaten? I can order something.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m not hungry. Are you hungry? I can prepare…”

“No, I’m full too.” He answered, and I nodded.

“My room is at the end of the hallway if you need anything. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Sir,” I answered as I watched him majestically walk down the hallway.

I breathed out deeply and walked into the room, shutting the door, I rested my back on it. My eyes scanned the room again.

It was like a dream. Having my room, bathroom, mirror?! It was a fucking dream!

I ran toward the bed and jumped on it, landing on my back. Just like I expected, it felt so comfortable. I smiled widely and sat up, relieving the event of the night again.

I never thought I’d laugh and smile this hard when I was asked to go on that stage, dressed like a prostitute. I bet my Aunt also had no idea that she was selling me off to a nice man, who would treat me so nicely like she never did.

But…

‘What if Mr Cross wants more? It’s impossible to believe that he’s doing all this because he’s a nice person.’ He didn’t look at me with lustful eyes for once. That has never happened before.

All men look at me like they want to get In between my legs.

‘Or maybe he believes I know why I’m here and I should make the first move. What else would he want from me if not my body?’ I thought, raising my brows.

‘That must be it. He wants me to make the first move. If I do it, maybe he’ll become even nicer to me.’

I sprang to my feet and headed towards the full mirror. I stood in front of it and looked at my body. Right there, I could see why men always looked at me twice everywhere I went.

My curves were very evident and sometimes, I wished they weren’t like that. I pulled my gown over my head and packed my black curly hair in a rough bun.

I removed my underwear and headed into the bathroom. I couldn’t wait to wash all the makeup off my face once and for all.

After bathing, I found some new towels in the drawer. I wrapped myself with one and used another to dry my hair. The towel was so small that it stopped right underneath my ass.

But I believed that was good. ‘If I want to make the first move, then I need to give it my all.’ I thought, nodding in agreement with my thoughts.

Once my hair was fully dry, I headed out of my room and walked down the hallway to his room. My heart was beating rapidly against my chest but I kept going.

I was determined to do anything that would make him happy and to repay his kindness.

I got to the end of the hallway and I easily figured out which was his room because I could hear solemn music from the back of his door.

I let out a deep sigh and lifted my hand to knock, but just before I could hit his door, the door opened, catching me off guard. He was wearing only shorts and that was when I noticed he had tattoos on his chest and arms.

“Mia.” “Mr Cross.” We called at the same time. His gaze fell on my body and I saw his brows furrow.

“What… what do you need?” He asked, and without hesitation, I loosened my towel and made it slip off my body.

I slowly raised my head to look at his face and finally, I saw that familiar look. The thirsty one. He seemed shocked and speechless as his gaze locked with mine.

“Is this what you what, sir?” I asked softly, keeping my stare locked with us.

“Fuck, Mia. Why would you think that?” He uttered in a low tone and completely looked away. He grabbed his head in his hands and tightened his jaws. “This isn’t why I brought you here.” He added, still looking away.

“But…”

“Pick up the towel, Mia.” He butted in, and I nodded obediently, reaching for it. He seemed angry and this made me sad. I didn’t mean to piss him off, I just thought I was doing the right thing.

Tears heated my eyes as I covered my body with the towel, feeling embarrassed and disgusted at myself.

His Adam’s Apple moved up and down as he swallowed and let out a loud sigh.

“Mia, I am not like the other men that come to your Aunt’s club. In fact, tonight was my first time there. I knew nothing about the Auction until it started.” He uttered, finally looking at me.

“I told you that I don’t see you as a commodity to be used. You are human and you have your feelings too. You don’t have to do this. This isn’t what I want.” He added, and I broke into tears.

“I’m sorry.” I shook my head in regret. “I thought you wanted me to make the first move.”

“No, I don’t want any of that. Please stop crying, okay?” He responded, and I nodded, cleaning my tears with my hand.

“Please don’t do that again, Mia.” He added softly.

“I won’t,” I mumbled as I kept my head lowered in shame.

“Go back to your room.” He said, and as if I waited for him to say that, I ran as fast as I could to my room. I slammed the door shut behind me, breathing very hard.

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

‘What was I thinking?’