CHAPTER TWO

Emery

“You did it.” Mollie told me as she sat across from me at the deli. “You signed up for the auction!”

“Yeah,” I told her, tucking a loose honey colored curl behind my ear. “Did I do the right thing?”

“Of course. It is a great cause, Em.” Her smile was bright and assured me of my choice and I blushed. I was the only twenty-two-year-old woman that was still a virgin in New York, if not the world. I knew that in part that was because my only serious boyfriend had been an abusive asshole that tried to force me into that choice. I wasn’t ready, and we were only four months into the relationship. I fought him off and told him to leave me the fuck alone. That was six months ago, and I was ready to be free of my virginity and when Mollie mentioned the auction, it struck home with me. It was a cause for battered women and children and I’d rather give it up for that then for some guy that I met in a bar. “It will be okay. These guys are trillionaires and probably gorgeous. You don’t technically have to have sex, you know that. I am sure they’ll take you out for a good dinner and maybe dancing. How often does any of the guys that we meet here do that? It will be fun.”

“Yeah, sure. The auction advertises virgins in vague terms, Mollie.” I smiled ruefully and reached for my diet coke. I was struggling with twenty pounds that I could not get rid of, give or take. I knew the drink helped but the fries that I’d ordered with my cheeseburger probably didn’t. “Do you think anyone will want me?”

“Fuck Ned for making you think that you’re not enough. You are gorgeous, Emery.” Her blue eyes narrowed angrily as I rested my chin in my hands. “Not everyone is stick thin and they’re not meant to be. If a guy wants that, he’s an asshole.”

“They will see me before they choose. There is that.” The auction was providing us with large masquerade masks in colors matching our dresses to give the bidders an idea of what we were like without revealing our faces right away. We were all going to be a number until it came time to meet the bachelor, at which point it was up to me to tell him what I wanted. I wasn’t too worried because New York was a huge city and I was moving to Massachusetts in a couple of weeks.

“They will all want you. You’ll bring in the most money of all the ten girls and the rich boy will rock your world. Just wait.” Mollie reached for a fry, chewing it as she watched me closely. I knew that she was telling me to eat the cooling food with that strong look and I gave in. “Eat. We’ll go to yoga this week and you’ll feel better.”

I knew that I needed a violet dress for the auction. They got pictures of all of us and decided what complimented us the most. It was my decision how skimpy it was, but they strongly suggested that it be a sexy frock. Mollie was looking forward to going with me and we left the diner and headed to some stores with my credit card in hand. I didn’t go to the most expensive stores because I was trying to save money until I started my job in two weeks. I hit some department stores and didn’t find anything, but Mollie suggested a store that specialized in vintage clothing and we stepped inside to the sound of Amy Winehouse singing about going black. I hummed along as I glanced around and searched for my assigned color.

“Is violet only that one shade or does purple count?” I mused aloud as I saw something in the back. “They can’t be giving us similar colors, can they?”

“I wouldn’t think so.” Mollie replied as she headed right to the dress that I was looking at. The store was filled with gorgeous clothes and I looked around as I followed her, wondering if I could pull off this style. I worked in physical therapy right now and mostly wore leggings and random shirts. I knew that my style was stale. “Look at this.” Mollie held up the dress, and I took in the thin straps and fitted bodice that ended with a flirty skirt that would swing around my thick thighs.

“What size is it?” I asked softly, not wanting to love it yet. Mollie glanced at the tag in the back and grinned as she held it out to me. I squealed and hurried to the dressing room to slip it on, padding out barefoot to show Mollie. It was tight but in a good way, showing off my curves as I spun around and looked in the mirror.

“That is so hot. It fits so well and the skirt dances around your legs. It’s so violet, too.” She clapped her hands and smiled at me. “We need shoes. Accessories. I am going to book Linda for hair and makeup because she’s the best.”

“They’re doing all that,” I reminded Mollie shook her head, and I turned to change into my street clothes. I held the dress over my arm as I walked out into the store and asked if I could look around. Mollie carried the dress to the counter where the associate held it for me. I searched through racks, having a great time as I held onto some other clothes to try on. I shouldn’t do a big shopping trip and this place was far from thrifty, but I could make it up with my new job.

I left with a bag of clothes; including the dress, some shirts, and skirts. I was excited to wear them out once I figured that I’d go out with Mollie before I moved a few times and I’d settle into my new life within a few weeks. I would be okay.

We went to buy some shoes, and I chose some heels that had straps around the ankles. They were sleek and matched the fun dress to perfection. Mollie told me that she had a lot of jewelry at home that I could look at. She was a model and often got to keep a lot of the stuff from shoots on tops of the gifts that companies and fans sent her. We took a car to her Brooklyn apartment and went inside with some take out from the local Thai restaurant.

I sat down at her bistro table and opened the bag. Mollie dropped her cell to the table and went to get some waters for us before settling across from me. “So, we won’t know who the bidders are until the deal is made. Just like they won’t know who I am.” I said as I picked up my fork to stab a piece of chicken.

“Nope. It is anonymous until you decide how much you want to reveal. You’ll see one another and talk but just give him the info you want. You might just go right to a hotel.” I laughed and reached for my water.

“I doubt that. I have never done it to begin with, not to mention that it would have been a while if I had. It would be nice to want to erase the memory of Ned with some hot guy, but I think I’ll be too nervous.” I pressed my lips together and glanced at the bag of clothes with the dress bag draped over it.

“Just take it for what it is. Nothing needs to happen that you don’t want.”

“Yes.” I took another bite of my chicken and chewed slowly. I had a place around the corner near my current job, but I’d been friends with Mollie since elementary school. I slept over here more than I did my own place and we stayed up talking and watching movies. I hated the thought of moving but I wanted to be closer to my mom. She’d left the city for good and since losing my dad ten years ago, I needed her. “I am going to miss you so much, Mol.”

“It’s not that far. We’ll travel back and forth and make the next few weeks count. I could always model there as well.” She smiled as we cleaned up and moved to the couch.

“You’d do that?” I asked as she shrugged.

“Models travel. It isn’t like I’d be moving to a small town.”

“Awww,” I said as I reached over to hug her. We made our way to the couch and turned on Hope Floats. Despite being city girls, we loved a cheesy small-town romance. We drank wine and talked about the auction, laughing about the crazy scenarios that could happen. We wondered about the other women and how there were possibly nine other women that were virgins. “Maybe they’re just saying that to get a rich guy. Is that possible? They don’t check or anything.” I sat up and stared at my blonde best friend, who was laughing into her hand.

“Do you want the full exam? I doubt it! Who cares if they are faking it? It all goes to a great cause.” She defended my statement, and I sank back into the cushions as I gripped my glass.

“You’re right. I’m just over thinking things. I suppose that’s normal.” I smiled as Sandra and Harry danced together, wishing it was all that simple. My mom found love, but he wasn’t my father. He was kind and had the cash to treat her like a queen, but I wasn’t as willing to take that. I was taking a job at one of his clinics, so I could be closer to mom. I was taking a small amount of cash from the auction since it was required but I wasn’t doing it for the money and they could never know. Mom would kill me, and Blake would be disgusted by it. I just needed this part of my life to be over, so I could move on.

The week at the clinic flew by and soon it was Friday night. I was with Mollie at a club, wearing one of my new skirts and a shirt. The auction was tomorrow night, and she was going to be there to support me and check out some of the hot men. She’d paid for the ticket to attend and I was glad that I would know somebody there. She had set up an appointment at a salon for me on her dime and I thanked her again as we stood at the bar.

I looked around, noting a couple of guys at the corner of the bar. They screamed money, and both were gorgeous, but I was drawn to tall, dark, and handsome. He sipped a bottle and laughed at something the other man said as I watched, holding my drink in my hand. He was stunning, and I licked my lips as he looked around as if to find the person staring at him. His eyes locked on mine and I blushed as he took me in with a heated gaze, looking away. I had no shot with a man like this and looked away, trying to focus on the following night. That was when I was going to give myself to someone and he probably wouldn’t be anything like the man that I’d been staring at like a teenager.

We moved on to another club and I put the man out of my mind. I was moving, and I’d never see him again. I was going to meet a guy tomorrow and with any luck, we’d hit it off.

I looked into the mirror just before placing my mask on to go on the stage. My soft hazel eyes popped with the shadow that Linda used with the dark liner and mascara and whatever she used on my skin made me look flawless. My pale skin was shimmery in all the right places and my pink lipstick completed the look. My hair was hanging in loose curls around my shoulders and I smiled at the image, never wanting to forget this. I stood when someone came to get us, sliding my mask into place before I followed the other women to the stage.