Page 6 of Plucking His Daisy

She shakes her head and looks away, sadness in her eyes and dejection in the slump of her shoulders. “I need to do this,” she whispers. “I need the money.”

I don’t know why, but her confession hits me right in the gut. I knew, in my head, that some of the women here are doing it for the money. Seeing her so afraid to do this but needing to, breaks something inside of me.

Am I doing this for the wrong reasons? Are there right reasons?

Fuck.

“Why do you need the money?”

She closes her eyes, a frown covering her face. “My dad,” her voice breaks. “He’s really sick and my mom is breaking her back trying to keep everything afloat, but bills are coming in.” When her eyes open and meet mine, tears well up in my eyes at the pain I see there. “I was at college and didn’t realize how hard it was for them, but then I came home for the summer. I feel so guilty because I’ve put more strain on them with them paying for part of my college.”

“How much do you need?” It’s clear I’ve shocked her by my direct question as she blinks up at me. I shake my head and try not to be a full-on bulldozer. “I’m sorry. I know that sounded rude, but it wasn’t my intention. With how much you need to finish school and bills, do you have a number you’re hoping for tonight?”

“My dream amount right now is two hundred thousand.” She laughs self-deprecatingly and glances down my body. “I don’t think I’ll make that tonight, but maybe.”

I open my clutch and grab my phone, thankful that they allow us to keep one with us through the process. I almost snort as my phone powers up since I didn’t want to be tracked in anyway.

When I get to my bank app, I open it and start a transfer. I hand it to her and prompt her, “Enter your bank information.”

She gasps, “This says it’s for a transfer.”

I make a humming sound and push it into her body a little more. She’s the only one who has been fearful the whole night and I’ve been watching her from the moment I came in. It’s clearly more than happenstance which has her standing in line right after me.

It’s kismet and I have the ability to take away all her troubles and give her something she needs. She’s doing this for her sick dad. This is a girl who needs a break more than she needs dick.

When she hands it back to me, I don’t hesitate and double her dream amount. It’s a drop in the bucket of the account I have. Daddy had been putting money aside for me for long before I knew what it meant to spend it. When I turned 18, I got access to the account.

I thought about leaving a lot in the last six months, just pulling up stakes and hitting the road to run away from my obsession with Lorenzo. I didn’t because I didn’t want to leave my brothers. I still don’t.

When everything goes through, I power my phone off and grin at her. “You don’t need to do this now if you don’t want to.” I grab her hand and give it a squeeze, whispering, “Go home and take care of your family and then go and kick ass at school.”

A few tears escape her eyes and I know I’ve done the right thing. I’m not going to lie, there have been moments in the past when I’ve been shown just how badly people can use others. I’ve learned to see a scam from a mile away and I know this woman wasn’t trying to jam me up.

Seeing the relief in her eyes confirms my gut was right this time.

Just like it’s right about Lorenzo never being mine. The realization steels my own resolve and my nerves dissipate. I might not like the man who buys me tonight, but I don’t need to like him. It’ll probably be easier if I don’t.

When the woman hugs me, I laugh slightly since we’re pressed together with only scraps of sheer fabric and lace between us. She pulls back, embarrassed, as if she’s realized the same thing. “Thank you,” she breathes out. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

I wink at her. “You just did. Seriously, get out of here. No one should do this if they don’t want to.”

She thanks me again and then goes to collect her stuff and back out of the auction. This whole thing might be underground because it’s not exactly legal, but it’s not as sinister as it could be. Not by a long shot. I’m sure there’s some warehouse in the city right now where girls are being trafficked. So yeah, it could be a whole lot worse.

When I’m called next, I realize the woman in front of me was called and sold without me even realizing it. I guess I was kind of busy changing someone’s life.

Nerves swoop through me, but settle quickly, like a plane coming in for a landing. Doing new things has always been exciting for me. Maybe this is simply an adventure I get to enjoy.

I fucking hope so.

I pull my shoulders back and walk to where there’s a door leading into the next area. I see stairs leading up to the back of a stage and a man waiting to hold open the curtains for me. To his credit, he doesn’t leer at me. Small favors, huh?

When I walk up the stairs, he holds out a hand, offering to steady me if I need it. I’m no fucking amateur when it comes to the stilettos I have on, so I’m good and give him a small nod in recognition even as I don’t take his proffered hand. I take a deep breath as the curtain opens and I walk through.

I’m instantly blinded by lights, which I knew were going to be there because, why wouldn’t they be? You need to make the merchandise shine or something. Right?

I blink a few times and then remember the instructions about walking to the mark on the stage. I don’t put on airs and sway my hips because these people are seeing plenty of me as it is. I don’t need to sweeten the deal and it was never about money.

The spiel the auctioneer gives is canned, including my name, but the tension in the room goes up when he mentions my virgin status and how it’s on the table. I swear I hear a growl from the audience, but with the lights on me the way they are, I can’t see shit. I force myself to stand tall and proud even as I realize how the lights are also making the lingerie I’m wearing look.

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