The weeks passed quickly. All I could think of were the job I applied for and Preston. I had visited him more frequently and every time I did, he snuck in a check for a few thousand dollars into my purse. It was sweet but I didn’t really need the cash. To be completely honest, I didn’t even want the money. I just wanted him.

Tonight, however, I wanted to just relax and have fun with my friends. I hadn’t seen Karen, Mikaela and Jennifer in a while. They wanted to hang out at a new club and I figured I owed a fun night out.

We were at a nice, round table with high stools close to the dance floor when Mikaela brought up the billionaire’s auction.

“So, I heard you went,” she said out loud, a little too loud for my comfort. “Who bought your virginity?”

I blushed but I was fortunate enough to have friends who didn’t judge me. Karen just laughed and Jen seemed genuinely intrigued about the whole deal. It wasn’t until much later that I learned she too sold her virginity at a similar auction event for her twenty-first birthday.

“Well, tell us all the juicy details,” Karen said before she gulped down on her beer.

I bit down on my lip and looked at them one-by-one, anticipating how they would react. “Okay,” I relented. “I did go. First off, they bought me for fifteen thousand dollars.”

All three of my friends looked at me with their jaws dropped and their eyes wide open in shock.

“Holy shit, that’s a lot of money,” Jen said. She shook her head in disbelief. “I figured girls at the auction earned only up to ten thousand or so.”

“That’s not all though,” I teased them further. “Guess who won the bidding? Guess who paid the most to get a taste of my pussy.”

My friends laughed. They’d all heard me talk dirty before but back then it was innocent fun. I was a virgin back then. This time, however, I actually meant what I said.

“If you mean Richard Blaine, I’ll lose my freaking mind,” Karen said. “Richard’s been my dream boy for years but he’d never buy me at an auction like that. He only likes redheads and I’m as blonde as they come.”

I giggled and shook my head, “Nope. Actually, my buyer was Preston Maxwell.”

Everyone cheered and as they started babbling off about how it was fate that I met him in that hospital room months ago, I noticed my phone buzzed. Someone had texted me. I took my phone and opened the message, only to see it was Preston and he was asking if we could meet tonight.

“Speak of the devil,” I whispered. I quickly replied, “I can’t tonight. I’m out with some friends at the Riverside Club. I can go visit you though when we’re done here.”

He didn’t reply afterwards but I didn’t want to think about it right now. All I wanted to do was get drunk and dance the night away. Mikaela even congratulated me for taking that bold step and she promised not to say another word to my father about the ordeal. She even apologized for letting that detail slip when she saw him at the grocery store.

I didn’t mind and we all had a good time. By midnight I was already feeling a little wasted, more than usual in fact, and figured it was time I headed home. I could take a nap in my car for a bit until I was sober enough to drive.

However, just as I was preparing to leave, I saw Preston walk into the club and he waved at me, motioning for me to come out with him.

“Oh my God, he’s here,” Jen stated when she saw him waving at me.

I wanted to feel warm and fuzzy inside but oddly I felt nothing but frustration. I bid my friends good-bye and stormed out the club. Preston quickly followed me to the parking lot and walked right beside me as I made a beeline for my car.

“Hey,” he tried to call me.

I turned around and shoved my finger at his face, “Why are you here? Didn’t I already tell you I just wanted to hang out with my friends and then I’d come over?”

“You were ignoring my calls,” he told me. “You were ignoring me.”

I opened my purse and checked my phone. It turned out he did call me but I was too busy chatting with my friends to notice.

“I wasn’t ignoring you, Pres,” I reasoned with him. “I was just busy with my friends. Don’t read too much into it, okay? I was drunk – I still am drunk – and I was busy dancing around and that’s why I didn’t see your calls.”

“Is it money?” he suddenly asked me and that just made my heart sink. “Come on, come home with me right now. If you do, I’ll pay off the remaining debt your dad owes for his mortgage. I’ll buy you a damn house and a better car. Just name your price for one more night with me, please.”

For a moment, time just seemed to stop for me and all I could do was process everything he just said. He really thought I was sleeping with him just for the money.

“Preston Maxwell, you’re a fucking idiot!” I screamed at him, my wrath howling out of me like a caged animal gone free. “I’m not seeing you for the money anymore. I’m already way past that. I’m way fucking past that. Don’t you get it? I’d sleep with you even if you never gave me another cent! I’d sleep with you because I want to, because I want you!”

He remained silent and I knew I struck a chord. I didn’t stop though, “Look… just leave me alone tonight. I wanted to just spend time with my friends and you just had to come along and fuck it up.”

“There’s no way I’m just going to let you walk out of my life like this,” Preston argued.

“Really? Is it because you’ve already spent so much money on me? Am I going to become a wasted asset for you?” The words just spilled out of my mouth and I didn’t even know where I was going with my ranting. “Look, it was fun. I needed money and I sold my fucking virginity to you… but damn it, Preston, can’t you see I’m not seeing you anymore for the money? You can take it all back if you want.”

Preston just looked at me with hurt eyes and said, “I don’t understand what you’re saying. All I’ve known my whole life is that girls only come to me for the money and you did too. That’s why I keep giving you cash each time you come over to have sex with me.”

“I’m not your prostitute,” I pressed on. Tears were flowing down my cheeks and I knew my makeup was totally ruined. “Maybe I was once but there’s something more now. I want something more than just money from you Preston. If you can’t figure that out, you’re a fucking moron, and I’ve wasted my goddamn time trying to let you know how I feel.”

I didn’t waste another second and, without looking back, got into my car and drove away.