5 - $1 note

Nathan woke up to the rays of the sunlight that penetrated through the blinds from the window. It was almost midday. Events of last night replayed in his mind as he stared at the naked woman beside him with mixed feelings. A frown contoured his handsome features, as he made a call. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He stood up, slid into his boxer and opened the door. A man handed him a paper bag.

He went to the fridge to get a bottle of water. After placing them on the nightstand, he put on his clothes and sat on the luxurious sofa. His eyes never left her. He won't let her escape and to find him later with any unpleasant surprise. 

Mercedes woke up to her phone ringing. A nasty headache invaded her brain as she rolled her eyes from side to side in search of her phone. Her long hair was dishevelled, as she lifted herself to a sitting position. The unfamiliar luxury room gave her a panic attack, her stomach churned but not as much as the aches on her body and inside her walls.

Everywhere felt sore. She located her purse on the nightstand with a glass of water and a pill. She picked her purse, pulled out her phone and answered it. "Where are you, Mercedes?" Griffin's worried voice sounded through the phone. 

"I don't know," she responded, then recalled how he brought Penelope with him to the club and how she got her into this mess. It got her upset. "I will call you later."

"Don't hang up." Griffin waxed in his guilt. He couldn't control his libido and left the club without the assurance that his best friend was safe. How could he forgive himself after realizing that his best friend didn't come home? What if something terrible had happened to her? Nothing could replace his fear and worry. "I will find you."

Mercedes was slightly irritated and she couldn't think clearly. "How will you find me when I don't know where I am? Don't worry, I will be fine." She ended the phone.

"Take the pill on the nightstand and let's talk," a deep voice sounded behind her. She shivered a little. She hadn't noticed his presence earlier. She swirled around to meet the intense gaze of a handsome man sitting on the sofa as if he ruled the universe. She instantly recalled everything that happened last night. How she took the stupid dare and she could swear that Penelope drugged her. But wasn't it her stupidity? How could she drink something Penelope offered her?

Regardless, what she didn't understand was why this man took advantage of her. She recalled that he didn't want any woman close to him and she expected him to drive her away when she kissed him but he rather took everything so far.  "What kind of pill is it?" she maintained the irritation in her voice as she used the bed lining to cover her naked form. Pain, embarrassment, fury, all in one ground her.

"Are you so dumb? What kind of pill do you take after having unprotected sex?" Mercedes felt her heart stop. Her jaws clenched, teeth grinding together. He was so rude and arrogant, she got pissed and never in her wildest dream would she fall prey to someone drugging her.

"Don't worry, we are both adults but I can assure you that I won't carry a bastard in my womb," she lashed out through gritted teeth and began searching for her clothes which surprisingly, had been neatly arranged at the foot of the large bed.

"That isn't enough. Prove it to me. Take the pill." Nathan rose from the sofa with a deadly glare. This woman was going to find him later with some unwanted pregnancy and he wasn't going to give her the chance.

Mercedes was defiant. "I don't trust the source of the pill. It could be poison or anything."

"If you are looking for someone to blackmail with an unwanted pregnancy, don't include me."

Mercedes was burning, her rage undeniable. When she heard experiences about people waking to go beside a stranger, she never thought she was going to be one of them. She must have let her guards down because her best friend was there and she trusted him to protect her but he let her down at this moment. "I want to dress up so please excuse me," she taunted. Mercedes never accepts defeat. Despite everything, she still lifted her head with pride.

"I already saw everything so what is there to hide?" Nathan taunted back a retort. It seemed that Mercedes had met her match because neither was Nathan one to accept defeat. Besides, women feared him. Even his fellow men did. This was the first woman to give him such an attitude and he couldn't accept it.

Destitute flinging Mercedes, she dropped the lining covering her. Nathan's countenance sunk when he saw bloodstains. His eyes zeroed with confusion. Could she be as innocent as she proclaimed? He took her first time but she wanted it. She initiated everything. She seemed to have been drugged so if he hadn't, she would have gone mad. Technically, he saved her life. 

Well, he couldn't allow himself to feel any form of remorse. Experience has taught him never to trust any woman. While he wallowed in his thoughts, Mercedes had finished dressing up and ambled to the door. He moved in fast strides, "don't you think it's a little shameful playing the victim after seducing a man?" His intense gaze bored heavily into hers.

Mercedes felt like a bucket of cold water was poured over her but quickly regained herself. "Oh, I never saw it that way." Her tone was surprisingly calm. I thought it was a mutual agreement but since you have made it clear, here," she dug her hand into her purse and realized she didn't have any note except a dollar. She cursed herself in her mind before a negative plan invaded her. 

"This is the payment for your service. Well, your performance was below the average of a real man so this is what you deserve." After saying that, she threw the $1 note in his face and limped out of the door. She was so sore but she couldn't help allowing the smiling forcing its way through the corner of her lips when she saw how pale and furious Nathan was.

Nathan's agitation soared. Never in his life has he met a woman so sassy, rude and impulsive. The worst part, she insulted him. He wasn't going to let this go. He would make her pay. He took the $1 note before he realized he didn't have any information about her. Not her name or address. He called the club manager but he didn't have any information about her which only meant that she wasn't rich. 

The rich and famous were the only ones with a registered membership. Nathan gritted his teeth so hard, he bit into his tongue. No one dares to talk back at Nathan, talkless of throwing an insult in his face. He will find her, dead or alive. He made a call and gave the description. He knew that nothing or no one could be hidden from this man...

Mercedes sat in her car at the garage. Tears she had been forced to hold began to wash her face. She felt so ashamed and disrespected but at least she gave him a pint of his own medicine. Such an arrogant fellow. She drove to the pharmacy and got herself a morning-after pill, taking it immediately. She also got medication for her aching body. 

All she wanted was to go home, soak in the tub and allow it to relax her sore muscles,  get something to eat and sleep the day away. She doesn't want to think about this anymore, not anything else. Not even her sick brother. Nevertheless, when she got home, she was shocked by what she saw.