Arizona Heat

chapter one - alcohol, sex, and flavored nicotine

  ~The ground was sparkled in glitter. Muffled sounds of hip-hop could be heard in the other room. I could feel the cold, hard machine on my temple and a leather glove against my neck. My ear was wet with condensation from the voice pressed against the side of my head. I couldn't breathe from the tight hold on my waist and the dreadful thought that one of my ribs might be broken. I could see him across the room. Rick. He was sprawled across the floor in a pool of blood.

  I was woken up by the bright light peeking past my curtains and flooding into my bedroom. As my body starts to wake up I feel chills go all down my body from the fan blowing in my face. The burning taste of alcohol still burns my throat from the night before. I sit up and put my face in the palm of my hands. The dreaded headache from a long night creeps its way to the back of my eyes. I pull my weak body around and put my feet on the soft rug that I had placed over the cold, hardwood floor. I lean back and hoist myself to stand on my feet. I lose balance but steady myself and stand still looking around my room... well.. bedroom, kitchen, and living room.
  I live in a one room apartment. Luckily, the bathroom is separated. This apartment was the only affordable in town. The walls are thin so I can hear every argument the couple in the room next to me have. I can also hear the dog in the room across the hall. It's not perfect but I tell myself... this is better than a hard bench at a bus stop.
As I look around I see pieces of clothing scattered around the floor as well as empty bottles of alcohol.
  My apartment smells of alcohol, sex, and flavored nicotine. As I take a deep breath I inhale the aftermath of the night before. Alcohol, sex, and flavored nicotine.
I walk over to the fridge and grab a bottle of water. The cold condensation from the outside of the bottle sends chills down my back as I open the cap and take a sip. The cool water breaks through my dry throat and I feel replenished. Renewed.
After I drink the refreshing bottle of water, I walk to the bathroom to get ready for class. Being in college full-time and having a full-time job is a little harder than it looks.
I look into the mirror. My collar bones and thighs are covered in glitter and my mascara from the night before has made its way around my eyes. My hair is in a bun that must've been put up last night. I turn on the faucet and lean down to run my face under the water. As I look back up in the mirror, I see my true self. I see the girl who never grew up rich. My father could never afford fancy clothes or even clothes that looked similar to what the other girls at school wore. As I grew old enough to get a job, I got one to help my father but the money wasn't enough. My father couldn't even pay for me to go to college but he wanted me to go. I promised him I would get a job during college to pay for it. So that's what I did.
That's where things change. I've tried a few jobs. I worked at Starbucks for a week but I was fired when I yelled at a customer. I also worked at several clothing stores but the money wasn't enough.

That was, until I met Mr.Carter.

Mr.Carter is a strange man in the most normal way possible. His hair is always slicked back and he wears a black suit with a black tie and shoes that seem to be mirrors from the shine. He wears his Rolex on his left wrist and a chain that is made of pure gold. Carter is rich but is never too flashy about it. I think that's because he doesn't want anyone to know his line of work...

Pornography

Mr.Carter has been filming, directing, and selling porn for many years. He runs of the most successful businesses in the world but nobody will ever know. In person, he's kind and very polite.

No ma'am. Yes ma'am. No sir. Yes sir. Let me get that door for you.

When Carter is behind the camera... he's like the devil in director form.

I met Carter around six months ago at a bar across the street from my University. When he first lashed eyes on me he couldn't keep his gaze off of me. At the time, I was a little tipsy so I walked over him.