Money Can't Buy Love

Chapter five

He eagerly awaits my response as his white teeth shine through, having proposed his idea. "Would you be up for that? Be a part of a TV show for me?" He says, waiting for a response from me.

Not for the first time today, I find myself at a loss for words, only managing to utter, "Um." Come on! Answer him! I can feel my anxiety levels rise. Taking a deep breath, I order myself to speak up and say, "Sorry, but can I clarify something?"

"Ask away," His enthusiastic tone is gone, but his smile remains, probably not because he doesn't want to answer any of my questions but because he will take my question seriously. I don't know which one it is and, truthfully, I don't know which one's worse. He sits up with his mug on his lap, holding it with both hands, steam still coming out of it - his tea is still hot.

"Okay," I start, still trying to find words to describe what I want to say. "Why?"

"Because you're very pretty, and I feel like if I gathered more girls who are as, or maybe not as, pretty as you, and all together we raised money for charity and entertained a large audience, that would be really nice!" He smiles. His words come in swift succession as if he's thought about this the moment he saw me. That would be slightly creepy, but I also, to some extent, take it as a compliment. Is that what he meant and the correct way I should be feeling? I don't know. I also noticed that he said girls who are as, or maybe not as, pretty as me. I really like that. I shiver and smile in return. I try to hide my shiver as I scooch a little on the couch.

Feeling a little flustered, I take a sip from my mug and continue to smile. "Thanks," I try to maintain eye contact, my cheeks turning pink. I look away. I don't know what to say!!!

Michael's PoV:

It feels like time has passed by so quickly that I yearn to go back and experience the moment of meeting her again. Is it weird to think that? I have learned a lot about her in the little time we have spent together. I reciprocated the information-giving, even though she could have read most of it from the web since there is plenty of information about me online. Like, seriously. There is an entire website dedicated to places I visit. The internet then rates and ranks those places based on their opinion. Admittedly, it is weird, but that's just the curse, so to speak, that my dad has put on me from birth.

She lives with her sisters and her carers. I didn't ask why she didn't mention the word parents when referring to her carers. I assume that was done intentionally, and I have no problem with that. She, evidently, loves her sisters very much, the way she talks about them. We ended up drinking two more pairs of hot drinks just for chatting. We then go to my room with our hot drinks in hand. This time, she wanted to try out the hot chocolate, and so did I. I don't know why I trust her so much as to let her see or even go into my room, but I do. She seems pure. Innocent. It is super cute! So, I guess that's why. I don't know.

As I reach the entrance to my room, Hannah following my lead, I pause and contemplate. Despite my current enjoyment, something feels off about this situation. It raises the question of whether I will need to repeat this same process with every girl on the Ricketts show, allowing them to enter my room and whatnot. I need to check with Jack and Jay about how they picked the girls for the Ricketts show. I know their team picked some, but they also chose some girls to be in it. I am pretty sure the girls they ended up with, in the end, were not the girls they picked anyway, but the point still stands.

"I wanted to ask," I begin after facing her before we go into my room, "are you okay with this? Does this feel like harassment in any way to you?" My question is valid because what if she did feel like it was. I don't know why I am asking it now after I have done and said so much. Hannah might be following along out of a false sense of obligation.