Page 8 of The Wrong Man

My stomach balled into a knot of nerves, but the liquid courage was making me desperate to try something new. “I kissed Stephen Messer sophomore year during Homecoming. It wasn’t very good... Sure, kiss me and let me see if it was a problem with my technique or his.”

Piper crawled to me on her elbows. Slowly, she leaned her face over mine and sucked my lips between hers. Her mouth was so soft and delicate, not like Stephen’s at all, from what I could remember. Gently, she slicked her tongue between my lips, then teased the tip of mine with hers. She tasted sweet, like our Zinfandel. Pulling back, she checked to see what my reaction would be. The kiss was pleasant, but all I wished was that it had been with Eli.

“Sorry. I think I’m straight, or I’m just a really bad kisser.” Raking a thumb over my bottom lip, I gathered up some saliva there and held my breath, nervous about if I had offended her.

“You’re fine. I’m just drunk and flirty.” She chuckled, then blushed heavily. “And you’re really hot.” Shoving her shoulder, I let the giggle bubbling in my belly free and we both lost it, rolling to our backs and laughing until we couldn’t breathe.

After spending the next hour talking about boys, books, and booze, she ended up spending the night in my guest room once we finished the second bottle of wine.

The next morning, I woke up with what I would assume to be my first hangover. My head pounded like my heart had migrated into my brain. Any movement made me want to hurry to the toilet to vomit. A fitful night of sleep left me tired and sluggish. Laying in my soft bed, I surfed the internet on my crappy laptop for way too long before attempting to start my day.

Before I did, I received an email that I had an offer on the website where I had advertised my virginity for sale. Sitting up straight in bed, my heart raced. This could be it! I could get my debts paid off!

When I logged into my account, a business was attempting to buy out other bids. Internal Affairs was offering a whopping three hundred thousand dollars for my virginity if I performed in a video for their production company. The offer would increase to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars if I had sex on camera without a condom. That kind of money would pay for my college tuition for four years, household bills,andpay off my mother’s medical debt.

My belly tightened thinking of Eli and what he would say. If only he would be the one to do this with me, my life would be perfect. All I wanted was him, but I also wanted to be free from the burden of these debts. Knowing he was out there in this very city made me intoxicated on hope. Was there a chance we would run into each other? If so, could I convince him to help me out with this?

When I came downstairs, Piper was banging through my kitchen cabinets. “You have no coffee, Essa! What is wrong with you?”

Dazed, I stood in the doorframe, watching her buzz through all the drawers. “I’m sorry. I’ve never drank it before.”

She froze, and a big, knowing smile crept over her face. “Well, you’re about to start. Get dressed. We’re going to the bookstore.”

Piper drove me to the town’s coffee shop located inside Rainy Day Books. Handing me a hot paper cup with a plastic lid, she said, “Drink up!”

“What is this?”

“A vanilla latte. It’s sweet. You’ll like it.”

Sipping on the delicious goodness, we browsed books together, showing off our favorites to each other, then sat to finish our coffees.

“You know when you’re with a guy, and he starts pumping like a jackhammer, and you want him to stop because it’s not doing anything for you, but he’s also so bad you want it to just be over?”

I laughed, not knowing what to say. Swallowing a big gulp of the hot coffee, I took my time to reply. “Piper, I’m a virgin.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” One eye narrowed as she raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, we need to rectify that.”

Taking a deep breath in, I considered if I should tell Piper my plans. She’d been so open and comforting. Friends share, so I decided to test the subject. Scrunching my face, I asked, “Have you ever heard of people selling their virginity?”

Her dark blue eyes sparkled. “Sure! I wish I still had mine to sell. I was thinking of becoming a surrogate or selling my eggs at one point. Why? Is innocent Miss Minsky thinking of selling her virginity to some creepy old foreign man?”

“Maybe. Hopefully, not creepy.” Pulling my bottom lip under my front teeth, I paused before continuing. “My mother’s medical bills have been weighing me down. All she wanted was for me to go to college, but I just can’t see taking on loans when I owe so much. Last year, when I was getting my hair trimmed, the hairdresser told me about her cousin paying off all her debts by using this online virginity auction service. It got me thinking, and I started researching the companies, trying to find reputable ones, and asking some girls on their forums about their experiences. My virginity never really meant much to me…”

Taking a sip of the coffee, I kept quiet about it only mattering if I could give it to one man. It didn’t matter anyway. Ifhecouldn’t, may as well sell it for some good.

Changing the subject before my embarrassment caused my cheeks to fully inflame, I said, “Speaking of creepy and old, I forgot to tell you about my neighbor.” I informed Piper about my interaction with Eddie on the first day and how he often stood out in his backyard “gardening” in just athletic shorts and no shirt. Sometimes he rubbed his hairy belly while looking at my windows.

“Ew!” Piper’s jaw hung open in disgust.

After an hour, Piper had to leave to feed her plants and cat. She dropped me off at my house, and I made my way up the driveway, noticing Eddie near my side door. I looked where his eyes were staring at my large trash bin that someone moved underneath the kitchen window. The screen door on the side entrance was standing open.

“Looks like a burglar tried to enter,” Eddie said as I ran up to examine it. My pulse racing, I took inventory of everything that had been moved. The window was firmly shut, and the door to the kitchen had not budged; it was still locked and bolted. After a deep breath, some of the tension in my shoulders eased.

“Did you see anyone?”

“No. Just came out here to work out back and noticed your can had been moved. Trash day is Thursday, though. Thought you should know.”

It was a good thing Eddie had been there to see it. Maybe he wasn’t all that bad. Perhaps he could be a safe resource for me in case I needed someone nearby. “Thank you.”

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