CHAPTER ONE

SOFIA

Moving to the United States was hard. Moving to a small town was even harder. Everyone knew she wasn’t American when she went to the store to grab something or when she got gas.

People were nice in Springfield, Missouri, but no one wanted to be her friend. Sofia thought it would have been easier to make friends, but she quickly learned how very wrong she was.

It had been two months since she moved to Springfield from Santiago, Chile. Sofia went to work, home to sleep and eat, and that was all. She tried to get out and meet new people, but everyone tended to keep to themselves.

Well, unless the person was born and raised in Springfield. It seemed like a lot of people that moved to Springfield had a hard time making friends until they had lived here a while or knew someone here before.

These things did not work in her favor.

She had only been here two months, and she didn’t know anyone.

Sofia had found a job at the local club, Behind the Scene, as a bartender and she loved it. When she was in Chile, Sofia had worked several jobs to earn enough money to move to the UnitedStates. When she was a little girl, her uncle had told her about the U.S. Ever since hearing all of his stories, she dreamed of moving here.

The interview had been weird. She knew it was a club that catered towards kinky people, specifically Littles, Middles, Mommies, and Daddies. It was like the club was made just for her. Back in Chile, Sofia had dipped her toe into the lifestyle with some Daddies and she loved every minute she experienced.

“How long is your shift tonight?” Juliet asked.

Sofia looked at her, placing down the cup she was drying. “I close tonight.” She didn’t mind closing, but it did get dangerous at night when she walked from the club to her apartment. Having no car was proving to be difficult, but she had to make do with what she had. Right now she was saving up for a car, that was the first thing on her list.

“Good luck, girl. I don’t envy you,” Juliet said.

“I honestly don’t mind working until close,” she replied.

“But? There’s a but in there.”

“But it gets dangerous walking home. There are drunks out and I’m small with not a lot of muscle.”

“That’s why I asked to have the earlier shift when they asked for my preference. I didn’t want to walk home alone when my boyfriend took my car. Thankfully, I got a couple dollars from my boyfriend to get a cab.”

Sofia cringed at the mention of Juliet's boyfriend. She had only met him once, but she never wanted to meet him again. He gave off a bad vibe, and she didn’t want to be around that.

Juliet lived in the same building as her. It was nice, but at the same time it wasn’t. They weren’t friends by any means, more like acquaintances. Sofia had tried to befriend her, but Juliet was hot and cold. At the club she was all buddy buddy with Sofia but when they saw each other at the apartment complex, it was like she didn’t exist.

Several times Sofia had wondered if it was because of her boyfriend but she couldn’t be too sure and she didn't want to ask. She didn’t want Juliet’s boyfriend to hear about it if he was the reason she acted that way. He knew where she lived and that could be dangerous.

“Jaxson had asked if I could work the later shift and I said yes. I need the money and I don’t have anything else to do,” Sofia replied. “He did ask me if I had reliable transportation and I said yes.”

Juliet snorted. “You don’t have a car.”

“But I have my feet. They are reliable for transportation. Walking.” She hadn’t specified what type of transportation she had to Jaxson and he hadn't asked. She just hoped he didn’t find out.

Jaxson was intimidating but there was also something about him that turned her on. There was a connection between them, or she felt like there was one. She had no clue if he felt the same pull she did, but she felt like he might. Other than her, he didn't really interact with a lot of people in the club. Why would he do that if he wasn't interested in her or didn't feel something?

Sofia knew nothing romantic could happen between them. He was her boss, and she knew that was something most companies didn’t allow. It was forbidden. She needed to remember that because, several times, she had found herself daydreaming about him. She dreamed about what it would be like for him to be her Daddy.

But daydreaming wasn't that bad, right? As long as she didn't act on it, there was no harm. Or that's how she looked at it right now. Someone else might tell her she's not even allowed to have those thoughts.

“If he finds out you lied to him, it's not going to end well,” Juliet said. “Does he know that you're a Little?”

Sofia shook her head. “I don't know. He asked me if I knew what kind of club this was, and I told him I did. I explained what I knew about BTS, to show my knowledge, but I don't know if he knows that I am a Little.”

“There are some Littles who work here that, if they lie or have an infraction, they'll get spanked. Obviously with their consent and they signed on with the understanding they were allowing one of the owners to punish them. Just wanted to know if you signed off on that because you might want to tell him now if you did.”

Sofia looked at Juliet in shock. Really? She hadn't heard anything about that.