𝟎𝟕- 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊

CHAPTER SIX

Fuck.

❂

THE next morning was annoyingly bright in the judgment of Aria.

From the moment her eyes peeled open, the sun casted a harsh source of light upon her face. It peeked delicately from the clouds above, basking in its own glory.

Aria ran her fingers through her hair with a long yawn. The feeling of her fluffed comforter on her naked skin was exhilarating. If there was one thing that the redhead loved, it was sleeping naked. There was no one around to scold her from being in her purest form and it was easy to slip into her bed in such state.

Sade hopped onto the end of the bed and meowed softly, rolling his body against the softness that the blanket provided.

Aria laughed and sat up, her sheet wrapped loosely around her chest, to gather the small kitten in her arms, immediately giving him morning kisses.

The kitten purred in delight as its owner granted him the early act of affection.

"Good morning cutie pie." Aria murmured into Sade's soft coat of fur.

And as if the small creature understood what was said— he meowed back.

Aria smiled and sat Sade back onto the open area of her bed, stretching her arms above her head.

After last night's events, the redhead wanted nothing more than to be in the comfort of her home.

She enjoyed the safety that it provided.

However, it was a routine that her and Parker met on Wednesdays for a joint workout session of their choice.

With a quick look at Sade to ensure that his eyes weren't on her, Aria slipped out of bed and into her bathroom to start her day.

Once the redhead had finished her skincare with glowing skin, she threw her hair up into a ponytail. She settled on a simple gym set; a white sports bra and a pair of light pink leggings.

Just as Aria reached for a pair of sneakers, she heard a thump come from the front area of her apartment.

Sade was still reveling in his own company on her bed, his eyes closed in contentment.

And as far as Aria knew, she hadn't invited anyone over. Parker and her were meeting up for their pilates class at the venue, so she was certain that her home had no reason of being anything but empty.

The redhead furrowed her eyebrows and exited her closet, reaching into her nightstand drawer to slip her bedazzled pocket knife into her hand.

With one last glance at her sleeping cat, Aria slowly walked into her living room.

It was empty. Everything was just as she had left it; lights off, couch freshly made, and her curtains closed from the previous night.

The sound of glass hitting a counter caused the redhead to jump slightly. She gripped the knife tighter and rounded a wall in order to face her kitchen.

"There she is."

Aria's eyes widened in disbelief as she took in the sight before her.

Memphis stood calmly in her kitchen, leaning up against a counter with a glass of orange juice tight within her grasp.

The taller woman shifted to settle the cup down once more before stuffing her ring-clad fingers into her pockets. She was wearing a pair of dark blue, baggy sweats that hung long below her waist, exposing a bit of her Calvin Klein boxers. The Essentials hoodie that she was wearing was baggy as well, making her vibe seem relaxed.

The problem with that? She's too relaxed.

Before either of the women could predict it, Aria pushed up against Memphis' body, the pink knife in her hand held to the taller's throat.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Aria harshly spoke, glaring daggers at the brown-skinned woman.

Memphis smirked, glancing down at the shorter woman's defensive posture, "Don't hurt yourself, chérie."

"Shut up." the redhead threatened.

"You sure you know how to use that?" Memphis pushed anyway, slightly tilting her head in playful doubt.

"Answer my fucking question." Aria's voice begun to rise in tone.

She was irritated.

Rightfully so.

Memphis tsked, "Your mouth is very vulgar, beautiful. We've got to work on that. . .

Put the knife down." she insisted with a raised eyebrow.

The two stared challengingly at the other for a while before, finally, Aria sighed heavily in frustration. She scoffed, pushing away from Memphis with a huff. There was no need for the knife now that she recognized the uninvited person in her home.

"You're a fucking weirdo. Do you know that?" Aria stated menacingly, folding the knife into its original form with her hip, "How did you even get in here? Why the fuck are you standing in my apartment with no fucking warning?"

Memphis's lips twitch at the constant use of the swear word that left the redhead's mouth. It was humorous to her. Aria almost sounded like an eleven year old boy who just recently discovered the forbidden word.

"Ta gueule." Memphis murmured with a smile on her face as if she hadn't just spoken the harsh words of shut up in her foreign language.

"Excuse me?" Aria furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"I said shut up." Memphis rolled her eyes, removing her hands out of her pockets just to cross them over her chest.

Aria chuckled in disbelief, "Oh so when you say it I'm just supposed to listen? Fuck you, asshole."

"Stop with the 'fuck'." Memphis groaned.

"Fuck. Fuckity, fucking, fuck. Fuck!" Aria childishly screamed to further show her disobedience towards Memphis' demand.

In a swift movement, Memphis had closed the path between her and Aria, her left hand enclosing around the shorter's throat.

Aria stumbled back, barely holding her balance from the harsh impact. The pocket knife that was once her strongest weapon dropped onto the floor beneath them. Memphis' grip wasn't strong enough to physically hurt the redhead, however, the rings on her fingers dug into Aria's soft skin.

Aria's breath hitched, her eyes slightly watering due to the lack of oxygen.

"There, there." Memphis mumbled in a mocking tone, "I need you to listen to me. Can you do that for me, fleur?"

As stubborn as the redhead was, Memphis now had the upper hand.

Aria nodded reluctantly, attempting to create space between the two by pushing on Memphis' lower abdomen.

It didn't do much.

The brunette had the body of a goddess and the strength of a fortress.

Memphis smiled slightly to herself— sadistically almost— before releasing her hold on Aria.

Said woman immediately began to take rough inhales as an effort to get her breathing back to normal.

Memphis seemed unfazed as she laid out a paper on top of the counter, smoothing it over as Aria continued to regain her strength. Aria was unaware of how Memphis managed to get the sleek, wrinkle-free paper inside but she didn't question it.

She didn't really want to question anything anymore.

"You're going to sign this and you're going to abide by what it says. You will only cater to me— and me only. I won't repeat myself anymore." Memphis coldly declared.

Her face was different.

She no longer seemed playful. The smirk was gone and her eyes had hardened with authority.

Aria gulped.

She genuinely felt frightened by the brunette.

With trembling fingertips, Aria looked down at the contract that sat atop her kitchen counter. It concluded everything that Memphis had stated— only in more detail. The only thing that truly made her mouth open in disbelief was the amount of money that Memphis offered to pay per dance.

Fifteen thousand.

To some that wasn't much, but to Aria, a young woman who struggled juggling two jobs at once, it was life-changing.

Exotic dancers were lucky enough to get thrown a ten dollar bill.

Had Memphis really wanted Aria all to herself that badly?

Aria let out an airy breath, "Why is this necessary? Is my word not enough?"

"Well it has to be consensual chérie. Besides. . . you're not trustworthy enough that your 'word ' holds any true value to me." Memphis admitted.

"Consensual? You're threatening me to sign this."

"No I'm not." Memphis' voice was clear as the skies above, "I'm simply offering you a job."

Aria side-eyed the taller woman with annoyance, "You just choked me."

"What, you didn't like it?" the brunette chuckled.

Aria refrained from saying anything that would cause another fight between the two by biting down on her bottom lip. Her eyes settled back onto the sheet of white paper below them.

Memphis knew that the money was getting to Aria's head, twisting her views of what she first believed to be shameful, so the smirk on her face was unwavering.

"Eight months is a pretty long time." Aria mumbled, reading over the contract once more, "I don't know how long I'd be able to put up with your stupid face."

"You'll get used to it." Memphis declared with a cocky grin.

"You want my attention this bad that you're making me sign a damn contact?" Aria shook her head in disbelief, "You said the wallet wasn't even that important. Why not just take it and leave me alone?"

Aria's spark of confidence was slowly firing itself back up.

She wanted answers.

Simply dancing for the brunette for a few months would be a quick and easy task. The process would, hopefully, end quickly and the two would never have to encounter each other so intensely ever again.

That's not what confused Aria though. It was the fact that Memphis had already stated that the wallet wasn't that all important and still chose to find a reason to punish Aria. The punishment wasn't very harsh either since the redhead was being paid in the process. She wanted to know why Memphis was so entertained with her presence.

Unfortunately, Memphis only hummed, rolling a black pen toward the redhead instead of answering her previous question.

Aria figured that a few months of enduring the brunette was enough to soothe her economic worries.

So with one last exhale, she signed the bottom half of the printed paper with her dramatically large signature before she could think twice about it.

Fuck, she thought to herself.

❂