Chapter 4
Nicole
I was taken to a cheap hotel in the area to stay until the auction. I guess if I stayed at home they worried I might run, and they’d lose their profits. I wanted to, but I kept telling myself this would be worth it to get Noelle and me ahead. There was another girl with me, and we knew the door was being watched at all times, so we just stayed inside. My phone was taken from me at the club so I couldn’t reach out to anybody, and the phone cord in the hotel room was cut.
I was scared. So far, we’d been left alone. We didn’t talk much, but I sensed she was scared as well. Our day consisted of watching television on the small set and eating the fast food provided for us for dinner. We were told that tomorrow night we would be taken to the club, dolled up for the auction, and then would leave with our buyers. It sounded creepy to me. I just kept trying to think that I’d end up with someone hot and kind who would take care of me. I didn’t want a man that would be rough with me, but these were probably rich men who were purchasing the virginity of girls. How much hope did I have here?
I slept fitfully, agreeing to leave the television on for background noise. We still hadn’t been disturbed by our guards or Ricky, but neither of us was willing to risk leaving the room. We didn’t know what the consequences would be.
We both woke up early and started to talk about how we ended up here. Penelope explained that she met Ricky in a chat like I did through a dating app, and he was the same way with her. He listened to her and got her to tell him everything about her. Once he knew our weaknesses and that we were both virgins, he arranged to meet us. We both ended up in the club held down by his men as he offered his suggestion to us, which was more like an order.
She was a sweet blonde girl, just twenty-three, and had moved here from Georgia. She was trying to make it as a dancer, and Ricky told her he’d help her with that as well. After telling her story, she cried as she admitted how stupid she felt.
We were given another fast food breakfast, then driven from the hotel back over to the club in the afternoon. There, we met two other women that were in the tiny dressing room and got to talking to them. Sarah was a brunette from Idaho and had met Ricky on an app. Wendy was local and had done this twice before.
I stared at her, wondering why she would do that.
“How? Doesn’t he recognize you?” I asked her as she shook her bright red hair. She smiled as she glanced at the door.
“I just change my hair and use a different name. Ricky wants the money, so he believes me. It’s not like the men know the difference, and I make five thousand dollars every time.” She smiled proudly.
I considered all the pain that came with losing your virginity.
“Isn’t it obvious when you’re a virgin?” Penelope asked.
Wendy shrugged. “Not really. If you’ve messed around, everything is gone, and they don’t have a clue. I just pretend for the guys now. It’s not so bad,” she assured us as we all stared at each other. “I haven’t had awful guys.”
It wasn’t reassuring to me. I hadn’t done much more than kiss a guy, and nobody had ever touched me down there let alone get my clothes off.
What had I done?
A girl rolled in a cart with a lot of cosmetics and a few pieces of lingerie on the bottom. She did our faces one-by-one, making our eyes dark and smoky. She worked with our hair too, picking the best style for each of us. I watched in the mirror as she worked on mine. She looked resigned and glanced at me with dull brown eyes as I pressed my lips together.
“Did you do this in the beginning too?” I asked her as she stared at me for a moment.
She nodded quietly as she kept working with my waves, giving me big curls. “Yeah. Now I get to do this for you guys.”
“Was it awful?” I whispered as she smirked at me for a long moment. “Can you leave if you want?”
“I get a good cut for doing this,” she told me as I felt tears welling in my eyes. The woman finished me and moved onto Penelope, giving her a doll look as I looked on with a worried gaze.
There was a knock at the door, and Ricky walked in, carrying an armful of metal contraptions in his arms. He dropped them on a table and looked at the woman doing our hair.
“The keys are in there. Mark them with the numbers of the girls and give them to me once you’re finished,” he instructed the woman sharply as she nodded.
I kept looking at the woman as she worked. Then she told us to undress. I blushed as I did and was handed a bright red push up bra and told to put it on. I did and looked in the mirror with wide eyes, surprised at how big my chest looked in it. She handed me a matching thong, and once we were all dressed, she went over and grabbed one of the metal things and slipped one on each of us as I gasped. It was a real chastity belt, and as soon as they were on, she jotted something down on paper and attached it to a ring.
“They’ll be in to get you in a while,” she said before leaving.
We all struggled to sit down in the strange outfits, perched on the edge of the seats as we talked. Wendy told us the money was good and this time, she’d be able to get into a better apartment and enroll in school. The others talked about why they moved to Vegas and what their dreams were. Not so different from my reason. We just wanted a fresh start and had our own sad stories about family and Ricky took advantage of all of us, apart from Wendy. Her first time was like ours, but the last two were voluntary.
I still couldn’t understand this.
That’s all this was about. Money. I was doing this for both my sister and myself, and it would give us the push we needed. This couldn’t be that bad if Wendy came back multiple times and sounded so optimistic about her future.
I thought about my parents as we waited. They were absent for most of our lives, and other family took care of the two of us, though not well. We never experienced love like our friends growing up had and just kept quiet about the situation at home. We had each other and clung to that, moving to a small place in Scottsdale as soon as I was eighteen and working. I took care of us, but as Noelle got older she fell in love with choreographing and started talking about Las Vegas.
I agreed to move once I saved money from my job at a grocery store. We packed the car and drove here with stars in our eyes. Now I was sitting here in a chastity belt. When did things go so wrong? I listened to the others talk, all of us hearing the music getting louder, knowing that men were out there waiting for us.
Someone unlocked the door and gave us another bag of food. I sighed. I wanted real food at my apartment with my sister. I missed her and knew how worried she must be about me right now. I couldn’t wait to get out of here and call her.
The wait seemed like a long time as I tried to get comfortable. The food I ate felt like a lump in my stomach as I looked at the others in silence. Wendy was still chattering about the money she had made and how much better off we’d all be after tonight. It sounded like her nerves were getting to her a bit as she babbled on. I looked in the mirror at the stranger staring back at me. My makeup was heavy and thick, and it might have made my eyes pop if they were green. But they weren’t. They were only green when I was feeling happy, but tonight I felt scared and nervous, making them a dull hazel. I might appreciate my new look in any other situation, but tonight I just felt slutty. I felt cheap even though I was likely making enough money to get my sister ahead.
I vowed to quit dating apps after this and focus on working. I never wanted to trust a man again with my future. If it wasn’t my father disappointing me, then it was someone that I was trying to date like Ricky. It happened when I was trusting someone else with my happiness. They always failed me. It also ended up failing my sister, and I reminded myself I was doing this for her.
I was doing this for her.
Ricky came to ask us if we wanted anything to drink to ease our minds, and we all ordered something. I needed a little liquid energy for this and winced as I downed the sweet cocktail. I was never a big drinker thanks to my parents, but tonight, I’d try it. I felt it go down my throat, start warming my insides, and I asked for another one. I drank that down as well.
I felt buzzed once Ricky came back in and told us that we needed to get ready for the auction. The alcohol was moving through my veins, and I felt like I was ready as I stood up, following Penelope out the door. I heard the music pounding through the short hallway and wondered how many men were out there. How many of them would be staring at me in this slutty outfit and ridiculous belt?
How many of them were decent men?
We stood beside the stage and listened as the music played and voices filled the room just in front of us. It sounded crowded, and I glanced at the other girls. As Ricky prepared to walk up the stairs and announce us my heart raced. I looked down the hallway at the door that would lead to my escape and sighed heavily at the massive body blocking the door. There was no leaving now. I crossed my arms and stared forward as the music thumped and lights flashed, picturing my sister’s beautiful smile in my mind. I’d go back home with money so we could get ahead for once. It just wasn’t an easy way, and I saw everything go black in front of me as I gulped.
My mouth was dry, and I felt like I had to pee. I instantly regretted drinking earlier. I’d have to beg my bidder to go to the bathroom first thing now, and the thought made me want to cry. It wasn’t like I was going to find a way for this not to be awkward. I didn’t know how I was going to make this work.
I tried to numb my mind as I watched Ricky step onto the stage in a bright spotlight, announcing the start of the auction to a cheering crowd. It sounded like they were all men but what else did I expect? I blocked out all my feelings as I listened to him talk about us as we reached for each other’s hands, squeezing tightly.