AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Apologies, gents, it appears I had a technical difficulty. Brown, one fifty. East, one seventy-five, Marker, two hundred.”
Two hundred? Wow!
“Chocolate, two twenty-five. Ambergris, two thirty.”
Okay, I’m hovering. But this is one hell of a haul for a night, and my loans would be almost totally paid off. It’ll take another year before I can start my business, but I can work with that.
“Timber, two forty-five.”
This is so weird. But I think I like it. I get the appeal now. Camille is right—this is fun. Awkward as fuck, but it’s fun to know what men think of me. How much of their fortune they are willing to part with just for a single night of my company? That’s a turn-on. It’s not like being at a bar where you’re comparing yourself to every woman around, thinking of them as the enemy. This takes all of that out of the equation. It’s brutal, but honest, and I can respect that.
“Roswell, two fifty.”
Okay, yeah. Looks like I’m staying at a quarter of a million. Oh my god, some guy wants to pay a quarter of a million to sleep with me. This is the strangest night of my life.
“East, are you sure?” He pauses. “Very well. East, three fifty.”
“What the fuck?” I bark.
A few of the bidders laugh at my shock.
The auctioneer ignores me and quickly says, “Timber, three sixty. Roswell, three seventy, East, three eighty.” He pauses. “Timber, three eighty-five. East, three ninety.”
Oh, my god. What the hell is going on? I’m stuck in the middle of the stage, still too shocked to wrap my brain around what’s happening. How did I go from a quarter of a million to three ninety in a matter of seconds?
He waits again, before declaring, “East, you are the winner.” He knocks the gavel, and the auction is over.
I’m numb and walking with a numb body is even more awkward than walking with a sweaty one. But Cesar whispers, “Six,” and I know where I’m supposed to go. I wobble my way back there, and I’m swallowed up by the curtain and back in the hallway.
Camille pulls me in for a hug, and vaguely, my body registers that it’s a little painful. Her ribs dig into my softness. “I’m so happy for you. That was amazing. Clearly East saw something he wanted.”
“To make a hundred thousand dollar jump?” Callie asks rhetorically. “Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Come along, ladies.” Cesar gently corrals us back to the library. Once the bookshelf closes, he asks, “How are you, Six?”
“I’m really not sure. Kinda numb.”
“Perfectly normal,” Camille declares. “I was too on my first night.”
“Really?”
She nods. “It’s nerve-wracking to be out there the first time. You never know what to expect. But girl, you killed it.”
Callie grins at me. “I am so fucking happy for you.”
It’s still hitting me in waves. Numb, then nervous, then numb again. “I’ll be done with … with everything I hate about my life. My school loans. My job.” I turn to Camille. “Thank you for getting me involved in this.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You haven’t met your bidder.”
“Do you think he’s gross? Have you met East?”
Cesar says, “They choose a new name every year. She wouldn’t know if she’s met him.”
“Oh.”
Callie, ever the girl scout, asks, “What are the next steps? I presume they use condoms?—"
“Of course,” he says with a nod. “No one wants any unfortunate outcomes. All other details are listed in a letter in a folder in your room. Six, you have the presidential suite for the evening. We like all our first timers to have the best room for their experience. If?—"
