Page 12 of The Boy Next Door
Chapter Six
Emma
The auction ended at noon.
My fate has been sold and sealed. I’d been trying to convince myself this was just a dating auction, but after listening to the other girls whisper about who won their bid, I’m afraid there really is more to it than I was willing to believe.
How was I supposed to know it was a legitimate virginity auction? I thought those things were illegal. And what kind of girl literally auctions off her virginity to a stranger?Evidently a girl like me.
I stop pacing and shake my head. “No,” I say aloud. “They can’t make me sleep with the guy. I mean, they can’t?”
Momentarily satisfied, I nod my head.
Surely the guy will understand. Right? I guess it depends on what kind of guy he is.What kind of guy buys a virgin?
I pace my room, tearing at my cuticles until they bleed. What in the hell have I gotten myself into?
First things first. I need to find out who won my bid. Taking a deep breath, I pull out the chair to my desk and take a seat. My hand trembles a little when I type in the password to my email.
There are three messages in my inbox: one from my biology teacher, one about sorority dues, and then one with the subject:Auction Winner.My heart bangs like a trapped bird trying to be freed from a cage.Click.The message opens. “Oh, shit!” I shout, shoving the keyboard away from me.
A wave of nausea washes over me.Of course he would...
Dragging my hands down my face, I stare at Winston’s name wishing I had listened to Evan.Oh, God. Evan!I can’t tellhimWinston won. He’d kill me, then he’d kill Winston. Talk about a shitshow.
The longer I think about it, the damper my palms grow.
With a sigh, I rest my head in my hands and literally cry. I’m not sure if the tears are ones of frustration, of anger, or just despair, but they are tears nonetheless. I allow myself a minute to wallow, then force myself to snap out of it. Crying does no good and, besides, I got myself into this mess.
This is something I desperately want—no, scratch that—something Ineedadvice on, but I sure as hell can’t call Evan and ask him. I can’t ask any of the sorority sisters if I can jump ship. And that leaves me one choice: my older sister Lindsey. She’s scatterbrained and slightly manic, and she gives terrible advice, which means I always do the exact opposite of her recommendation. It’s better than nothing.
I pull up Skype and wait while the annoying ring chimes from the computer speakers.
The little circle with her picture fades away and her heavily made-up face comes into focus. All I can think is that she has on way too much eyeliner. “Hey babe!” she says with a smile.
“Hey,” I say. She grabs a tube of lipstick and uses the camera as a mirror while she applies the bright pink gloss. “You going somewhere?”
“Yeah. On a date.”
“Oh...”
She smirks before rolling her lip under her teeth. “He’s a guitarist for this band, Brutal Remedy. So hot, but I’ve got a minute before he’ll be here. What’s up?”
“So, I may have done something really stupid, and am now having second thoughts.”
“Okay...what was the stupid thing you did?”
“I may have kind of signed up for a virginity auction—”
“I’m sorry, a virginity auction?” she snort-laughs. “Wow, that hard up for dick, huh?”
“Lindsey...”
“I mean, I get wanting to get rid of it, and honestly, getting some money for it is a little genius—totally slutty, but genius nonetheless.”
“Look, it’s for charity.”And at this point, that doesn’t make it sound any better.
The proud grin she’s wearing fades and she rolls her eyes. “Onlyyouwould auction your virginity off for a good cause.”
