One
Mia
I sat on the couch in my sweatpants and t-shirt, careful to look as unappealing as possible.
But that didn’t seem to make a difference when Carter walked around in just his sweatpants all the time. I tried to seem as unattractive as I could, but since he showed off his godly figure all the time, it was impossible for me not to think of him in that way.
He had a bottle of scotch on the table and helped himself to it all night while he watched the evening news.
I couldn’t understand a word of it, so I lay there under the blanket and tried to pick up on the language. Small luxuries like TV weren’t important to me anymore because I’d lived without it for so long. Egor kept me in a dark room constantly. I wasn’t even left at liberty to pee.
Carter picked up the remote and changed the channel. “I have a few American channels. You like comedies?”
“I like English.”
He turned on a popular sitcom in America, a show I used to watch growing up. The second I heard English, I felt a little better, a little closer to him.
He tossed the remote on the table and returned to drinking. The large window behind him showed the grounds around his house, all cast in darkness with the exception of the evening lights that made the yard visible from the inside.
He hadn’t tried to make a move on me since that moment in the kitchen. The second I said no, he listened, which was surprising since he accused me of lying about what I really wanted. But I still had power in this situation.
Power to say no.
It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world, to say something and actually be heard. I missed my former life. I missed everything about how perfect it was. I missed the small freedoms I once had.
All those things had been taken from me.
But Carter gave some of them back.
If I really tried to escape, I was taking a gamble. If I just left it alone, I could have a comfortable life here. I was a prisoner, but at least I had some liberty. If I crossed him, he would make good on his threats and change the dynamic. I wouldn’t have the same power I did before. As long as I remained cooperative, my life could be bearable.
I would settle for it if I could…but that wasn’t possible.
“Would you like something to drink?” He picked up the bottle for me to see.
“No thanks.” I’d never been into hard alcohol. A glass of wine with dinner was nice, but nothing more than that. Carter drank all the time, starting after lunchtime. I’d noticed he hadn’t left the house much, seeming to do all of his work from home.
He refilled his glass and kept drinking.
“You drink a lot but never seem drunk.”
He set his glass down and looked at the TV. “Because I’m always drunk. You’ve never seen me sober.”
“Is it healthy to drink that much?”
He shrugged. “Is it healthy to worry?”
I could be quiet and watch TV, but I found him more interesting. He was an enigma, his motives unclear. He wanted to fuck me, but he wouldn’t actually go through with it until I gave my consent…unless I broke his rules. He allowed me to visit most of the house, to eat whenever I wanted, and enjoy his pool. Never did he speak down to me or raise a hand to me. He seemed like a very sexy roommate. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
He turned back to me, his right eyebrow arched so high it nearly jumped off his face. “No. If I did, I wouldn’t be pressing my dick into your ass.”
“So, you don’t have a girlfriend right now.”
“I’ve never had a girlfriend. Do I strike you as the romantic type?” His eyes bored into mine, like he was offended by the question. “My sex life is one meaningless lay after another. Good sex with beautiful women is my game. Nothing more.”
“So you’re just like every other handsome man out there?”
“Meaning?”
“The good ones never settle until the last minute. They have too many options, so they can’t make up their minds. But once they turn a certain age and their looks fade away, they find someone they like and finally settle down.”
“Close,” he said. “But I genuinely have no interest in settling down.”
“Not ever?”
“No.” His eyes moved back to the TV. “I have a sister who will have children, so my family line will continue. My cousin carries my last name, and he has a kid on the way, so my surname will outlive me. I don’t need to have children.”
“You don’t like children?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to hear the answer.
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that. I just don’t want any of my own. My cousin is about to have his first child, so I’ll be an uncle. That’s enough for me.”