Contract marriage with my professor

CHAPTER FOUR

Tessa’s phone beeped for the up tenth time, and like she had done before she turned to the phone and screamed “I’m coming, I’m coming”.

Having had enough of it all, Catherine decided to speak up.

“You know you can answer that instead of screaming at your phone right?”. She said.

Tessa smirked.

“They probably know I’m screaming at my phone, my girls”. She said.

Applying the last of her lipstick she set it down and straightened up. there was no lie, they both looked scandalous. While Tessa’s black hair matched her black outfit smoothly, Catherine’s flaming red hair contrasted sharply with the whole dark outfit and makeup. And while Tessa carried herself with an air of recklessness and confidence, Catherine carried a somewhat reluctant air.

“I’m done! I’m coming!’. Tessa screamed at her phone again.

She grabbed her little red purse and turned to Catherine, she raked her gaze over her once more and a satisfied smile curved her blood-red colored lips. Catherine looked down at herself and she couldn’t deny that she liked the way the little black dress hugged her figure, it clung to every curve and edge perfectly. And the heels she wore, they just made her hips sway scandalously with every step she took.

“Let’s go party, girl”. Tessa said.

~~

Soon enough she was in car filled with Tessa’s extremely lousy friends who screamed at the top of their voices as they sang along to the song playing loudly on the radio, they high yet but heck it seemed that way.

“I LOVE CHEAP THRILLS!!!”. They sang while Tessa hooted and cheered.

Catherine pressed herself against the door in other to be as far from them as she could, there was something weird about them, truly weird. She heard Tessa snicker.

“We get loud sometimes”. She said to her.

“Yeah”. One of her friends added. A girl with straight blonde hair and the brightest of blues. “When we’re excited and when some guy hits the perfect spot just right”.

The others cheered and laughed maniacally while Catherine just watched them as she cringed mentally.

“We’re almost there ladies!”. The one at the wheel declared.

Again they cheered.

Catherine merely sat there, her confid3ence withering with every passing second.

~~

Parties. She had been to parties before, however, she had never been to a frat party, heck she had never even dared conceive such thoughts. Yet here she was, at the entrance of a mansion where the party was happening, it wasn’t just a frat party, it was a rich and lavish frat party. She felt her guts tie themselves in knots.

It was a cool night, the moon was bright and so were the orange glows of lit cigarettes being smoked in every corner of the place, the smell of alcohol was thick in the air and so were the unstiffled moans coming from dark corners. She walked slowly, not sure exactly where she was headed, all she knew was that she was following Tessa who seemed to be having fun already.

Music blared so loudly she could feel the bars in the depths of her chest, and while Tessa and her girls swayed their hips to the beats she looked around awkwardly.

“Come on Cat, Straighten up”. Tessa said to her, her voice loud as a result of the loud music playing. “Quit acting like you’ve never been to a party before”.

“Oh I’m sorry, no one told me you were dragging me to a frat party”. She retorted.

Tessa rolled her eyes.

“A party, a frat party, They’re all parties! Just enjoy”. She said.

She grabbed her hand and dragged her up the granite steps and into the house. The very second she stepped in she felt her head go faint as thick clouds of smoke hit her hard, the music , she could literally feel every beat and bar in her chest, she could almost see it. The room was crowded with people dancing and swaying freely, she took a moment to absorb it all, to actually take it all in, they were here, and they were free, so was she, she was free for the night.

With that though in mind she let the rational part of her slip and she began to sway her hips to the rhythm of the beats, and like Tessa had said, guys could never resist a pair of nice boobs and long straight hair. Almost immediately, guys began flocking around the red-haired beauty as she swayed her hips and moved her body slowly. They watched her, she could feel their lustful gazes, she could feel them all.

And soon enough she felt strong hands go around her waist from behind, she tried not to tense, just continued dancing.

“Hey”. The owner of the hands spoke against her ear, the smell of cigarette thick on his breath.

She said nothing, just turned around to face him. He stood about a foot taller than her, his black eyes stared down at her longingly and his arms continued to snake around her waist and pull her closer. He had piercings all over, from his lips, to his brows, to his ears, she would expect that from a frat party.

He dipped lower so his face was hovering above hers.

“I’m Luke”. He said to her, his fingers digging into the lush beginnings of her backside. “I loved your dance back there”.

She tried to smile, but his hands on her, the feel of it, it was getting irritating.

“Wanna go somewhere quiet?”. He asked her.

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. She was no fool, she knew what he meant. She shook her head.

“I just got here”. She said.

His grip on her waist tightened and he began pulling her closer against himself, she struggled against him subtly at first.

“Come on, sweet”. He tried coaxing her. “We won’t be long….if that what you want”.

His hot breath fanned her face and she had to hold her breath. Shaking her head she stopped dancing and tried backing away from him, he held her still.

“Playing hard to get? I love it”. He said smirking.

She pushed against his chest.

“Let me go”. She said through gritted teeth.

He pulled her even closer, his hands slid lower to grope her plush backside. Alarm rang in her head and adrenaline pumped through her veins. She pushed against him with all the strength she had and the impact managed to get him to release her and step back, she sent him a deadly glare before turning around and walking away quickly.

She wasn’t sure where was going but she kept her head straight and just kept walking till she got to a less crowded area, in a corner was a drink stand with a pitcher of punch and countless cans of beer on it, decided she could do with a drink she walked up to it and grabbed a can of beer before she walked to a sofa and sat down.

“Come on Cat”. She said to herself quietly. “Have a drink and get back out there”.

The popped the can open and the gassy sound of it was drowned by the music, she wasted no time in raising it to her lips and taking a long sip, she felt it scorch down her throat just as she liked. Letting her gaze roam around the room she leaned into the sofa and got comfortable. A girly chuckle drew her attention to the couple making out on the couch at the far end of the room, a girl with pink colored hair sat straddled against a guy’s lap as they made out casually.

Just as she was about to look away, the girl’s head moved revealing the striking blue eyes of the guy she was making out with, his gaze met hers and she couldn’t deny that he seemed familiar, really familiar, and from the look in his eyes he was thinking the exact same thing, and then it clicked: Cam, the Frat guy from earlier today. His striking blue eyes held hers for a while before he returned his attention to the pink-head on his lap, he obviously didn’t recognize her.

Once again she cleared her throat uncomfortably and took a sip from her beer. She hadn’t intended to meet anyone she was familiar with here, she just wanted to be….fee.

Yeah right, as if she could ever be truly free. Bile rose in her throat as she recalled how the proposal had been brought to her by her mother.

‘They’ll help us honey’. Her mother had said.

Catherine may have been young but she wasn’t naive, she knew nothing went for nothing, she knew there was always a catch, she had learnt that a long time ago.

‘In exchange for what?’. She asked bluntly.

The older woman cleared her throat uncomfortably before saying:

‘Nathaniel is in need of a wife, Mrs. Houston believe you are very….suitable’.

She had expected nothing good, but she hadn’t expected this, it was rather drastic.

‘What?’. She asked shaken.

Her mother didn’t bother repeating what she had said.

‘Think about it dear, you’ll have a rich husband and we won’t have to worry about money anymore’. She said. ‘We’ll have our debt settled and we’ll be free’.

She shook her head, she wasn’t sure of all this was some kind of joke or not, it all sounded crazy.

‘You’re not serious, are you?’. She asked.

She said nothing, just averted her gaze from hers.

‘Have you any idea what you’re asking me to do?’ she said as she pranced up from the bit up couch she had been seated.

‘I’m asking you to save us, Catherine!’.

‘You’re selling me out!’. She said, disbelief thick in her voice.

She had always known her parents were demanding and cared only for money but she hadn’t though her own mother would go as far as selling her out.

‘To save us!’. Her mother said. ‘Would you rather we get humiliated, would you rather we get kicked out of our house? Would you rather we get thrown into the streets? Is that what you would prefer?’.

She had never felt more betrayed; her body shook with several emotions and tears began clouding her vision.

‘You’re asking me to become the wife of someone know nothing about!’. She said angrily.

‘He’s thirty! He’s rich and he can save us!’.

She shook her head in disbelief.

‘no’. she said.

‘Catherine please, think about all your father and I have done for you! I will not forgive you if you let this chance slip by!’. She said just as angrily.

‘He’s thirty, Mother, thirty’. She almost screamed.

‘I do not care!’.

She shook her head and her tears became even glassier with tears.

‘Did you ever love me?’. She said quietly, she needed to know.

‘Just do what you need to know, please!’. Her mother lashed out.

Dragging in a deep breath she nodded slowly.

‘I….I agree’. She conceded quietly, the first stream of tears leaving her glassy eyes. ‘I will be his wife, his tool, his w***e, I will be whatever he wants me to be’.

Relief washed over her mother’s features.

‘But I will never forgive you’.