Chapter 6
Nicole
I was confused as my auction suddenly ended, and I was led from the stage and returned to the backstage room. Wendy was gone as well, and I assumed that she was off to her buyer’s house, wondering for a moment if they cared that she had lied.
Of course not. They wanted sex, and if I ever met a girl willing to go great lengths to provide it, it would be Wendy. Her client would be happy either way.
As I was pushed into the room and the door was locked, I stared down at the clunky chastity belt with a frown. I wanted this off, and since I didn’t appear to have a buyer when would that be?
I thought about the way the man came up to talk to Ricky before my auction started. He was a little hard to see in the dark, but I did catch blonde hair and a handsome, rugged face. Was he my buyer? That might not be so bad, and I blushed at the thought. I suppose if it had to be someone, a man like that would be bearable. Why didn’t he go through the normal process though?
I grabbed a blanket from the worn couch in the room, trying not to let myself wonder how filthy it was. I was cold and sick of this damn bra, but the woman had taken our robes earlier when she left.
I sighed and thought about Noelle, hoping that I’d at least be able to talk to her soon. It was safe to say that I wasn’t going home tonight, but I also still didn’t have my phone. Who knows where that was now?
I rested back on the couch as comfortably as I could and closed my eyes, trying to ignore Ricky’s voice as it bounced through the building. It was shrill and annoying, and the exhaustion from the last couple of days took over as I drifted off to sleep.
I woke up and shifted, feeling someone’s eyes on me as I blinked and looked around. Ricky was looking at me with a pleased smile as I pulled the blanket tighter around me.
“You just made history in my club, Nicole. I don’t know what to do with you for the next few days, though.” He crossed his arms and walked toward me.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “Why am I still here?”
“You’ve been bought to be a bride.”
“That wasn’t our deal at all. We signed a contract.” I said raising my voice.
“Ha!” he said. “The contract was only so you wouldn’t back out. It didn’t give any specifics on exactly what would happen to you. It only verified that you would complete a transaction.”
My eyes widened as I shrank back against the couch.
“It’s more than I’ve ever made on a girl here, and he’s bringing me the fifty grand within the week. He seemed serious, too. There is no way you are getting out of this. What is it about you?” He looked me over and shook his head.
“What happens now?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“We’ll take you back to the hotel room. Same deal as before.” Ricky brought his eyes back to my face instead of staring at my breasts. He gave me a warning look. “Clean up and get some rest because you’re going to a whole new life soon.”
“Who was the buyer?” I asked.
He scratched his scruffy chin for a moment and shrugged.
“No idea. He was some new guy, but he’s giving me a lot of money for you.” That smile crossed his face again.
“What’s my cut?” I asked, feeling sick.
He narrowed his beady eyes. “Five grand, just like I said.” There was no kindness in his voice.
“You got more than the usual amount!” I frowned.
“You’re walking away with a few thousand dollars and a man that is willing to pay a lot for you. I think you’ll be just fine, Nicole.” He glanced at his watch. “I’m going to have Mac take you to the hotel. He’ll have the key and be watching you the entire time. There’s no fucking way I’m losing that money. You’ll get your cut when he comes to collect you.” With that, Ricky turned to leave the room and pulled the door closed.
I sighed. Asshole. I deserved more than five grand. However, I didn’t seem to have a choice. It would still help Noelle and me. We could figure out the rest later.
The club was quiet when we left. I was dressed in a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt since Ricky told me he’d put the belt back on me later to go home with my new husband. I stared down at the ground as I was pushed into a car and the door was locked before we drove to the same hotel as before. Mac was huge and silent as he handed me a bag of food and shoved me inside of a room, locking the door as he slammed it closed.
It was just me tonight. I didn’t so much as get to say goodbye to the other girls tonight. Tears slid down my cheeks as I pictured them in my mind. I hoped they were safe. I forced myself to eat the fast food down as I sat in the quiet room. I showered when I was finished, using the meager supplies they had given us to share and dried my hair with the thread bare towel. I put the shirt on and turned on the television, trying to lose myself in the show that was on instead of obsessing about my situation.
I slept fitfully in the uncomfortable bed, nervous and unable to relax. I left the television on for background noise as we had before and woke up in the morning to another bag of greasy food that was shoved at me. Mac was charming if that was who kept giving this shit to me. I laughed bitterly as I wondered if my new husband could cook.
I didn’t want a husband. I just wanted some cash to give my sister and me the boost we needed. I hoped there was some way I could convince the buyer to let me go home and just live my life. I didn’t know how to be a wife. I didn’t even know how to be a girlfriend. I was a mess, and he’d find out and wouldn’t want me.
But he seemed to want me now.
I kept the television on and watched it every now and then as my mind raced. Everything was so uncertain in our lives, but a man claimed that he wanted me forever. What did that mean?
I didn’t want to leave Noelle behind by herself in this frightening city, even if she was the driven one out of the two of us. She was working hard on her small show and barely making anything. The director told her that she was too new to make real money yet, but Noelle persisted, working long hours. She was my hero. All I’d done was a little writing and then sell my virginity only to end up possibly married.
What the fuck? I dropped back onto the pillow and groaned at the ache in my back from the awful mattress. I wanted real food and a comfortable bed. Scratch that. I wanted to be with my sister again. I wish they trusted me to just go home, but Noelle might drag me out of Nevada herself once she found out what I’d done.
I slept off and on and ate what they brought me, wishing I could ask for something different. I was starting to hate this hotel room and wished I at least had a phone or even my laptop so I could get some writing done. I hated just sitting here with my own thoughts. There were limited channels on the TV, so I just left it on HBO and watched whatever was on. We never had cable of any sort growing up or even now, so this was a bit of a treat. I saw some of the new movies and special series and marveled at what they were coming up with these days.
I also obsessed about what was going to happen to me. The guy looked attractive enough from what I saw but what if he had a basement that he planned to tie me up in? No normal man went to a club to purchase a woman’s virginity and then decided to marry her. I did watch a lot of true crime and listen to podcasts about it enough to know it wasn’t normal.
I never believed in love at first sight. I never saw my parents or anyone else in my family happy. I’d spent years pushing men away and just focusing on my baby sister and me. I didn’t know what would happen now, but I missed her badly. Frustrated, I turned to my other side on the bed and rested against a thin pillow.
There was a point where I wondered what would happen if the man changed his mind. Would Ricky put me right back on the stage the following weekend? It was a lot of money to pay for a bride, and he might come to his senses if he was a normal man. My mind conjured up a lot of stories in all my free time, and some were terrifying. None of them had a happy conclusion since I wasn’t used to those to begin with.
It was sometime Sunday evening when the door opened, and I looked to see the woman that did our makeup entering the room, her head turned as she spoke to someone. She came in and looked me over, sprawled out on the bed as she set some bags down. “I see they still use the good rooms for this.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked as she sat down at the table.
“I heard about what happened and figured you might need some stuff. I brought some clothes, shower stuff and some real food. I am guessing they’ve been giving you fast food all this time?”
I nodded. She pulled a container out of one of the bags and handed it to me with a fork as I sat up and stretched.
I opened it, seeing turkey and mashed potatoes with some vegetables. “This looks amazing.”
“It’s from the diner on the corner. It’s my comfort food, and it beats the shit out of the drive thru around here that Ricky favors.” She watched me eat for a moment as I moaned over the delicious bites of real food. “Marriage, huh?” she said and smiled.
I looked at her. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know what to make of it.”
“It’s not the norm. Most of those guys are pigs looking for a fun night, maybe more.” She offered.
“How did you get out of it?” I asked as I looked her over.
She shrugged. “I wasn’t a virgin anymore so didn’t qualify any longer. And I’m not sick like Wendy. She’s asking for trouble and just needs to take the money and make her life better.” Another shrug.
“Why do you still work for Ricky?” I asked as I stabbed a carrot with my fork.
“I guess I just want to make sure that everyone is okay. I know I can’t do much for them once the night is over, but I like to help the girls. I like to know what they look like.”
I heard the tone in her voice as I looked at her, pausing in mid-bite. I raised my eyebrows as I realized what she was implying.
“I haven’t seen any of them on the news but with this operation going? Who knows?” she said with a tormented look on her face.
“Why don’t you walk away?” I asked her.
“I got through my night, and I just want the others to do the same. I ended up marrying my buyer a few months after the auction. We have some things in common, and he’s a decent man. I can only hope the same for you,” she offered as she held up her left hand with a diamond ring on it.
“I might not go through with it,” I whispered. “How do I marry a stranger? I have a sister to take care of.”
She nodded. “They’re not all bad, though”
I wanted to believe her as I took another bite of food.