“Whoa.”
“Yeah,” she agrees.
“Well, I don’t have a super sexy, rich boss secretly in love with me,” I point out.
“I know, but there will be super-rich guys at the auction.”
“How do you know that?”
“I may have looked,” she admits. “Anyone who goes to bid is thoroughly vetted and must have a bank account to bid big. It’s like super elite level people. Billionaires, with a B!”
I purse my lips, thinking it over. “What if no one bids on me? I mean, look at me. Who’s going to want a chubby virgin?”
“Plenty of people! You’re hot! You’ll have a ton of people bidding on you,” she assures me.
“And then what?”
“Then, you spend the night with him.”
“One night? And I walk away with the money?”
“I’m sure the auction takes a cut, but yeah, basically.”
My mind races with the possibilities. Even if I only get a few thousand, it would keep me afloat for a bit. I’ll be able to pay off some of the bills and get back on my feet.
I can’t believe I’m even thinking about doing this.I mean, I never thought I would do something so drastic, but I’m out of options. No bank will give me a loan, I can’t find a full-time job, and my substitute teacher salary isn’t helping much.
Do I really want to do this, though? Is this how I want to lose my virginity? What would my grandparents think if they knew?
I look around the house and realize it doesn’t matter. I can’t lose this place. It’s all I have left of them. I’ll do whatever it takes to save it.
“Okay. I’ll do it,” I announce.
Jem blinks.
“I mean, it’s just one dinner and one night of pretending. I can do that,” I ramble.
“Totally!” Jem agrees. “It won’t be so bad. Maybe the guy will be a sex god!”
I laugh. “I doubt it, or he wouldn’t be at an auction.”
“You never know,” she says, trying to cheer me up. “Maybe you’ll meet your very own Prince Charming.”
“Maybe,” I mumble, but I doubt it.
Jem grabs my laptop and pulls up the website. We read through the rules and sign me up.
Once it’s done, I lean back in my chair, the pit in my stomach growing bigger by the second.
“For your grandparents,” Jem whispers.
Just one night,I think, as we clean up the bills.One night, and I’ll have breathing room to figure out a new plan.
TWO
Heath
How the helldid I get here?I think as I take my seat at a table in the back of the dimly lit room.
