I Am Not Your Maid! (On Hold)

Chapter 4 - Trouble

Chapter 4

Trouble

After the morning classes ended for lunch, he was waiting for me outside the classroom.  I didn’t even notice him until he stopped me with an outstretched arm to block my path.

I stared at his arm at first in confusion.  His biceps were stretched out firmly from his light blue T-shirt and I could see the sinewy tendons ripple slightly.  His skin was bronze from a summer outdoors in the sunshine. 

I swallowed as I lifted my gaze to his lips, unable to look him in his deep blue eyes, afraid of what I might find in those unyielding orbs.

“I thought you looked familiar,” he declared just loud enough for me to hear, his lips curving up in a slight sneer.

I swallowed again.  What do I say?  What do I say?  “I-I’m sorry for bumping into you the other day.  Really, I’m very sorry about that.”

I lowered my gaze to my feet, hoping that embarrassment would conceal the fear building up inside.  I prayed that he didn’t recognize me from the café—anything but that!

He yanked the books from my tightly bound arms, nearly throwing myself to the floor with the unexpected force.  I raised my eyes up at him in horror.  What the heck was his problem?

I found myself craning my neck.  Damn he was tall!  He towered over me by at least half a foot, if not more.

“Let me carry these so that doesn’t happen again,” he declared, tucking the books under his other arm, where any girl would love to find herself.

Oh.  Okay.  But there was still something flickering in his eyes.  Something sinister…  Something that set the hairs on the back of my neck up on end.

I gave him a small, grateful smile that fluttered in dread.  “Th-Thank you.”

“But while we’re on the topic of you, and your inability to see two feet in front of you,” he continued, almost without pausing as he moved to pin me again the wall with his free arm, “I know very well that you also recognize me from someplace else.”

I swallowed again, still unable to tear my eyes away from his.

“Shall we say, a certain maid café downtown, hm?”

Oh no!  This is not good!  Definitely not good!

He grinned as my worst fears began to draw themselves on my face, pulling my eyebrows up and my mouth to fall open slightly.  He knew he had me and he knew from the look in my eyes that secrecy of my job was of utmost importance. 

He drew himself closer as the hallway began to thin with the students all entering the cafeteria for lunch.

“But here’s the question.  What kind of a girl works at a maid café, hm?  An easy girl looking for attention?” he asked in a husky voice against my ear, causing me to shiver and about to protest when he continued.  “Or the opposite, a quiet girl just trying to work a job and keep her position a secret?  Which is it now?”

My heart fluttered and I tried to think of a way to get out, but his body pressed lewdly against mine, and my brain began to ferment into a sticky soybean mess.  “I—I don’t know what you’re talking abou—“

“I’m not an idiot,” he spat indignantly. 

He looked around quickly before he continued, lowering his voice a notch.  “You wear the black outfit and put your hair up in two little buns.  You’ve been avoiding me since you recognized me at the café because you don’t want anyone to know you work there.  I’ll tell you what you are.”

He leaned in closer so that his lips brushed against my hair.  “You’re the latter.  You’re the quiet girl who is embarrassed about her job and you don’t want your secret out, am I right?”

He leaned back a little and I looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes. 

He grabbed my defiant chin with his fingertips and turned my gaze back on him. 

He didn’t need me to answer.  He knew he was right; he still wanted to hear it though.  I could tell he would persist until he could squeeze what he wanted out of me. 

I lowered my gaze to his collarbone outlined under his t-shirt.  

Oh lord, he did have a super-model body under there!  

“Un,” I murmured with a slight nod as I tried not to stare at the outline of his chiselled body against the blue fabric.  Don’t look, don’t look…

He dropped my chin and pulled away. 

I gasped, not realizing that I had been holding my breath since he initially grabbed it.  Nevertheless, I kept my eyes glued to his chest instead of looking up into his eyes like everyone else did. 

He still had my textbooks in his hand.  How long was he planning on holding onto them? 

Awkwardly, I reached forward for my books, but he pulled them away.  I lowered my arms to my sides and squeezed my eyes shut. 

“What,” I hesitated, chewing on my bottom lip, “what do you want from me?”

I was almost afraid of what he might say, but there was no way out of this situation now.  He had me cornered like a predator getting ready to take down his prey.  The hopelessness of the situation made me give in.

It seemed to be exactly what he wanted to hear from me.  The look on his face when I glanced up at him made me recoil with fear.

What had I done?

He leaned in and played with a loose strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger intently.  

I noticed just how large his hands were and the kind of weapons they could turn into if someone crossed him. 

His breath was hot on my face—or was that my face just growing hot?  Oh lord, I’m having a hot flash!  

“In exchange for my silence and to keep your secret,” he whispered, his lips fluttering with the twirling of my hair, “I want you to do whatever I ask.  Anything I ask.  Whenever I ask.”