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I’m about to call and ask Reception to put me through to his room when my phone vibrates. Checking the screen, I see Curtis’ smiling face and answer the video call.
“Hey, Elle. I’m okay. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. We had to have an extra medical exam,” he says, smiling but rolling his eyes.
“What? Why?” I pick up my mug and make my way to the sunny windowsill.
“Virgins get another medical exam. A psychologist was there to discuss tonight, to be certain that we understand what we’re going to be doing and that we won’t regret it tomorrow. Two of the girls decided to go home,” he says, his eyes darting to his left and I feel like he’s hiding something.
“Wow, that’s a cool thing to do, but babe, I can’t believe you’re actually going to, you know, doitwith another man. I know you’ve always been curious, but … just wow.” I know I am rambling, but I am nervous for him and for me. Especially if he’s going ahead as a virgin.
“We’re here for the money and securing our best future, right? So, I’m going to do everything I can to make the most of tonight,” Curtis says, his eyes filling with determination, and a slight smile graces his lips. From that look, I think he’s more excited about tonight than I am.
“I hope we get to see each other backstage at least. I miss you,” I say, and I don’t recognize the sound of my voice. I sound small and weak, both things I pride myself onnotbeing. I am independent. Strong-willed.
Fuck this shit. Curtis is right. Tonight is about our future, and we are going to have fun. Sexy fun.
“Any man will be lucky to get your spectacular ass, babe,” I tease.
“I do have a pretty fantastic derrière,” Curtis agrees. “Almost as pretty as my face.” He smirks.
There’s a knock at the door, and I get up. “Someone’s here. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Sure. It must be lunch. Talk soon,” Curtis says before hanging up.
I open the door to a guy about my age with a room-service trolley, which he positions in the middle of the room, pulling the chair from the desk to the cart. Two silver domes cover what I guess is my lunch.
“Your lunch, miss. You can leave the cart outside the door when you’re done,” the server says before promptly turning and closing the door behind him. I don't understand his standoffish behavior, but before I can think about it further, my attention is drawn to the smell of roast chicken wafting up from beneath one of the covered domes. Shrugging, I dismiss the server from my thoughts, sit down and dig in to the delicious meal.
Today feels like a weird dream. Maybe after lunch, I’ll be able to have a nap before the rehearsal.
CHAPTER3
There was no time for a nap, though.
Precisely thirty minutes after my lunch had arrived, my phone dinged with a text.
All participants must please convene in the auction room for rehearsals. A representative will meet and escort you.
I hastily pull on my sneakers and have a quick wee before grabbing my phone and room key card before dashing into the corridor to find all the other participants already waiting. Looks like I’m the last to join them—shit.
Merissa’s nasally voice rings out from a few doors up, “Just like Elle to be late. I don’t know how she got accepted to participate in this. Like anyone's gonna bid on her.”
I roll my eyes as the girl next to her laughs nervously.We’ll see who doesn’t get bid on, bitch.
I fall in line and, like good schoolchildren, we follow Triss. There are some soft whispers and murmurs, but no one is being loud or disrespectful—totally not like we are on campus.
We’re escorted to a large room like the ones hotels use for wedding receptions and conventions. It’s carpeted, with a stage set to the back, and if I didn’t know it was for auctions, I would have thought it was where live bands would set up for extravagant functions. But no, that is where we are going to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
I look around and don’t see Curtis in the crowd already assembled. The virgins aren’t here. Maybe they have their own private hall, or they practiced without us sinners? I chuckle at my own silly joke.
Triss makes us all line up, and, of course, I’m next to Merissa. Which means that I’m going to be bid on after her. Why does it have to be her? We’re both blonde, but that’s where our similarities stop. She is a perfect Barbie doll, whereas I have tits and ass and attitude.
She’s every man’s wet dream, and I’m just, well, girl-next-door pretty. Shaking my shoulders loose, I breathe deep. It doesn’t matter. Merissa doesn’t matter. This is about my future. Who cares who gets the highest bid? Okay, if I’m honest, I want to get more than her, but that’s just because she’s a bitch who calls me fat. I’m not fat—I’m just not plastic like her.
Focus, Elle! I chastise myself.
Triss walks in front of us, looking like a general motivating her troops before a battle. The fall of her high heels on the stage highlights her words of encouragement. “As you know, very influential men and women will gather here tonight. Not only will you meet your partner for the evening, but you will also be able to introduce yourself to some of the most successful businesspeople in various industries. Put your best foot forward, and you might leave here with a job opportunity as well. View tonight not as a stepping stone, but as a leap. A leap into a future few get the privilege to have.” She smiles at us, before she and Steven walk us through the evening. The rehearsal reminds me of those beauty pageants you see at malls and on reality TV.
At the end of the rehearsal, when we each got to choose an item to ‘present,’ which was fun. Triss explained that this is done for tax purposes. I think it’s so that the auctions can’t be labeled as illegal. We will be modeling our items for the bidders, not ourselves. I choose a beautiful black crystal paperweight with iridescent flakes running through it.
