Chapter 4

I waited for him to make a move. To touch me or say something dirty. But surprisingly, he stayed quiet.

Then I heard a click and my hands were free. I wanted to throw away the blindfold too, but I waited for his order. What if I removed it and he got angry again?

Suddenly there was music in the room. I didn't know the song, but it was soothing, with beautiful lyrics.

“Do you know how to dance?” I heard a whisper in my ear.

“What?” I asked, too surprised. He definitely knew how to throw a girl off guard.

“I asked, do you know how to dance?” He repeated.

“Um, I think so.” I whispered back.

“Okay. Come on!” He said taking my hand and helping me get up.

I wanted to ask him if I could remove the blindfold, but it seemed like the words wouldn't form in my mouth.

As I stood up, I realized I just had a towel wrapped around my body. What if it slid off? I immediately grabbed the hem of it, securing it over my chest.

His hand held my other hand, and he motioned me to the floor. He slid his fingers between mine, and as he placed his hand on my waist, I couldn't help but gasp. He then swayed me with his body, leading me in the dance. I could feel his body and his face, too close to mine, and I fought the urge to touch and feel his face.

We danced to that music, and everything that had been welling up in my chest—the fear, the guilt, the anxiety—seemed to float out of me into nothing. I lost myself in the music, because the music was like the spring wind, taking away all your thoughts, leaving only its music in your ears, and strangely, you know everything's going to be alright. At that moment, dancing with that weird yet seemingly sexy stranger, I felt everything was going to be alright.

But then a thought struck me like a bolt of lightning. I was enjoying this! I was enjoying being naked with just a towel wrapped around me with a complete stranger! How could I enjoy such a thing? Was I one of those whores who enjoyed being with strange men? Was I already turning into a Firecracker? No. No. No.

“Is this your idea of foreplay?” I asked to distract myself from that pleasurable feeling. I didn't want such pleasure, it brought guilt. Pleasure shouldn't bring guilt.

He lifted my other hand over his shoulder and locked both of his around my waist.

“You can't even imagine what my idea of foreplay is,” he said rather chirpily.

“Well? How hard could it be? Kissing? Dirty talk? Oral?” I guessed.

“Tell me, are you becoming too desperate to have sex?” He asked.

Desperate? The only thing I am afraid of right now is sex!

I didn't reply.

He then touched my lips and brushed his thumb against them. Uh-oh. He literally thought I wanted sex.

But then, strangely, he left me on the floor, and I heard his footsteps receding.

Then, without any warning, he swept me off my feet and held me in his arms before dropping me on the bed rather harshly. I held my towel to keep it from falling off.

“When I say 'now,' take off your towel and throw it to the ground,” he said.

Then I felt his lips against mine. His lips were soft and kissed mine as if kissing something very special to him. I must have been imagining that. But then his lips left mine, and again, I heard footsteps going in the opposite direction.

Damn, he was a great kisser.

“Now.” I heard the man's voice, and I thought I heard the click of the door after that. But without thinking much about it, I removed the towel and threw it away.

I had to do this.

I squeezed my eyes shut, even though I couldn't see anything in the first place, and grabbed the sheets under me.

I had to do this.

*****

Five minutes later, which felt like a really long time, full of silence and suspense, I heard a female's shrill voice call, 'Oh!'

I removed the blindfold and saw Millie in the room. There was no trace of any male.

Her eyes were welling up, but she seemed to compose herself.

“Seems like both of you had a great time. Keep up the good work,” she said in a very stiff and cold voice before turning and leaving, shutting the door behind her.

I frowned and looked around. On my left, the white cotton towel lay on the floor. The sheets I sat on were all disheveled and the pillows were displaced too, some on the floor, some spread across the bed. I doubted that I had created such a mess. There was what seemed like a used condom lying on the floor near the bed. I got off the bed and walked across to the vanity. I looked at myself in the mirror and spotted the smudged lipstick on my face, but I remembered how flawlessly Millie had put it on.

And at that moment, I realized what had really happened.

The guy staged the room as if we had had sex when he didn't touch me that way at all. He had probably kissed me to get some lipstick on his lips to make it look to those outside like he had had a great time.

But why?

There was no way he knew I didn't want anything to happen between us. Rather, with my stupid actions, I had made him think I was desperate for it.

You are the first on the list, the most expensive, the one that makes men like me interested.

That was what he had said. Was I not good enough for him? Did he expect something else from the Firecracker at the top? I did mock him once or twice. But I didn't think he was so sensitive that he would get offended and not touch me.

Oh no. What if he complains about me!? Shit! What if that's why he didn't touch me, because he wanted something else and I repelled him? What if he asks for his money back?

Oh no. Oh no. Please, Universe, no. Rosa shouldn't be punished because of me and my fate. She must not be punished because of my mistake.

******

The next morning, I went to the dining room for my breakfast. There was a separate room reserved for the Firecrackers' meals, away from the hotel's restaurant. I looked around at the other girls. Some were cheerful, some looked like they had just been crying, and some just looked tired.

I went to the buffet and served myself some rice and milk. Apparently, it was compulsory for the Firecrackers to drink milk, to gain the strength to get fucked.

I looked across the tables that stood in the middle of the room, where the other girls sat, in an attempt to find myself an appropriate seat. Then I spotted an Indian girl with green eyes and silky blonde hair sitting with a bunch of girls who seemed American. I walked across the floor, taking in the delicious smell of the room, noticing the yellow paint and the illustrations of food drawn on one wall. On the opposite wall, there was a bulletin board with posters on it. One poster displayed the sixty-nine sex positions, and I wondered if I would be able to swallow my food. Many of the girls were in shorts; some were just in their nightshirts and panties. Only I wore pajamas, which were quite cute and so much more comfortable.

Before I could reach the targeted table, Rover stopped in front of me. Looking at him, fear gripped me. Did he come to tell me that I had messed up, that he was going to get Rosa, my dear sister, into this? Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!

“Rumor has it that your customer really enjoyed last night,” he said, surprising me. “I knew you'd do anything for Rosa, but such a performance! Wow!”

Okay, what? All I remembered doing last night was mock him.

“You see the bulletin board out there? It contains the star ratings given to you by your customers. Go check it out.” He said and then took my hand and dragged me to the board.

At the very top was my name. Well, not exactly my name, but the name with that Rover uses to sell me on the menu: The Spicy Feisty Treat. It had five stars next to of it. I noticed no other girl had that many.

“And impressing Roy is a bigger achievement!” He cheered.

“Roy?” I asked, speaking for the first time.

“Yeah, the guy who came to you last night. He is one of our regular customers, and he never gives anyone five stars. The men who come here are all very rich and arrogant, and they are all too egoistical to give good grades to our sexy Firecrackers. Very rarely does anyone get five stars. Seems like my decision to put you at the top is the best I ever made!”

I wanted to punch him so very much at that particular moment. I curled my fingers and reminded myself again and again not to do anything stupid. Though, of course, punching him was the best thing I could do there.

“I remember the night when we did it. You were a natural, but not extraordinary. So what did you do with this guy?” He asked so curiously that I almost blurted out 'nothing.'

“I'd like to go to the table and eat my food.” That was all I said.

“Sure.” He said, but I would bet he had a load of other things he wanted to say to me.

As I sat next to the Indian girl, the American girls eyed me as if they wanted to bite me and walked away sneering.

I turned to the Indian girl.

“Why do they hate me? Do you hate me too?” I asked her.

“Well, I don't know. The entire journey, you showed how much you wanted to get away from this place, how you loathed everything here. But you are at the top of the menu, which must mean you are fantastic, and you are one of the few who slept with Rover. And on the first night, you gain five stars! If you are so good, then why so much drama?”

“Please trust me, you are getting me all wrong.” I begged her.

“Then correct me! You know, Feisty, we get paid for this, and being on top and gaining five stars gets you the highest rate here. There are girls who belong to such poor backgrounds that they willingly signed up for this just to get the pay!”

“Okay, one minute, Feisty?” I asked.

“Yeah, that's what you are labelled as on the menu.” She replied in an obvious tone.

“So you call each other by your Firecracker menu name?” I asked in disbelief.

“Pretty much yeah.”

“Please, call me Scarlet.” I said. “And I would love to know your real name.”

“Kareena.” She replied looking away.

“Okay listen, Kareena. I don't know if you will believe me or not, but last night I swear nothing happened. I came here loathing this place, and I still do. No matter what, no one should be forced to sell their body. That guy, Roy, he just came, sat for a while, danced with me a little—which was weird—and left! He literally didn't touch me that way. Rather, he staged the room to make it look like we had a great time, but I swear nothing happened.” I explained to her, risking everything. I didn't know why, but of all the people, I didn't want her to think ill of me.

“What? I've slept with Roy, a ton of the girls here have, and he is a real impatient one. He definitely doesn’t believe in foreplay, but he is really amazing in bed. The highest he's ever starred anyone was for me, well, it was me till last night, which was three point five.” She said. “And you say he did nothing with you but still gave you five stars?”

“What? But, really, he didn't do anything with me.”

“Well I am sorry, but that sounds unbelievable.” She replied honestly. “But okay, I am ready to take your word.”

I exhaled.

“Thank you.”