Auctioned to Him 9_Wait

by Charlotte Byrd

“How is life?”

  “Okay.”

  “Just okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m kind of broke. And I haven’t been getting any work freelancing.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad, sweetie. You can always follow in your mom’s footsteps.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Sit around and use my money. Join the family business.” I laughed and my mom smacked him away.

  “Shut it, Roger. Tell your daughter she has to go to the wedding.”

  “You have to go, April.”

  “But why?”

  “Because they are our friends and they are nice people. I know it is hard to see Tom, especially after everything. Doesn’t it make you happy enough to know that he is happy?”

  “No. It makes me miserable.”

  “Aw.” Both my parents sighed. My dad left the frame and left my mom to help, which wasn’t any help at all.

  “Wouldn’t we all be happier if we just stopped being friends with that family all together?”

  “Probably.”

  “Great! Then that’s the plan.” My mom shook her head and sighed.

  “No way. We share the same social group. I know that Denise would use her little blabber mouth to spread rumors about what I have said about them.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t complain about them to her.”

  “Well, it’s too late for that. And these are my friends too. She can’t just steal them like she stole my spot for the garden party.”

  “I don’t even have a date.”

  “You don’t need a date, you have your dad and I.”

  “I can’t show up to my ex-fiancés wedding alone.”

  “Sure you can.”

  “Would you?” She got silent again and then left the room, going into her reading room.

  “No, I probably wouldn’t.”

  “Then why should I?”

  “Because I’m your mother and I said so.”

  “I’m twenty-seven.”

  “And you’re going. And that’s that.”

  “Your logic is unparalleled, mom.”

  I missed my mom, as much as she helped me feel bad about myself. We had a lot in common. She had also been left by someone. He was the man just before my father. She claimed she didn’t love him, that he didn’t really mean that much to her. It was someone that she had known since childhood. Their parents had paired them together. Supposedly they were inseparable as kids. My grandma said that they grew more and more distant the older they became. After the engagement he decided that he wanted to follow his dream of moving to Europe. My mom was against this idea but was willing to travel if it meant following him. Then he decided he wanted to go to Africa, and when my mom kept offering to follow him he decided to tell her that they were through and that he had met someone else. My mom hates talking about it. My grandma said she was sick for months after it, unable to eat or sleep. I knew just what she had been going through.

  “If you don’t go we will be very disappointed.” I assumed my mom might have had some sympathy on me, since she had been through the same thing.

  “Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you, sweetie. We can send you some money to help you through this month. I’ll see if I can help find you a job.”

  “Thanks, mom. But I’m not happy about this.”

  “You’ll forgive me.”

  “I guess.”

  “We will have a good time.”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Well, I’m going to get going before you can change your mind. I’ll talk to you again soon.”

  “Bye mom.”

  “Bye, sweetie.” My phone clicked off and I stared at my wall for a while. I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to go to the wedding. The less I did the slower time moved. It seemed I had run out of options. I was either going to have to find a magic lamp to rub in the next few days or I was going to have to talk Travis’ hooker.

  I can’t believe I was stooping this low. I feel so pathetic. This is nowhere near where I thought I was going to be at this time in my life. I could tell my parents were disappointed too. If any of my professors had found out, they would probably be nice but also doubtful of a future for me. I didn’t have any connections to work off of. I didn’t have as much as I did when I was in school. I was fat, single, and broke, the three least desirable traits a person can have.

  I never thought in my life I would come in contact with a sex worker, let alone hire one. Meditating on this for a while I knew I had no other options. Maybe I could Facebook an old boyfriend from high school, or maybe I could fake my own death and run away to another state, or maybe another planet. I could become a hermit and demand squatters rights and panhandle for trade.

  My phone felt hot in my hands. I typed out the message. “If I have to go to this wedding, I’m not going to go alone.” I sorted through my dresses in my closet. Hopefully my parents would send me enough money that I could buy a new one. My fat clothes didn’t fit me as well, and my skinny clothes would probably never fit me again. Even my shoes felt weird on my feet. I was another person trying to squeeze into the shell of someone else, the past me, a much smaller and happier person.

  7

  April

  Why do I have a body to take care of? I can’t afford the food it needs to survive or the gym equipment it takes to make it look decent. Lucky for me, Travis has one of those deluxe gym packages, which means he gets to bring one friend with him. Normally he just texts me pictures of all the hotties working out here, but now I was going to be able to feast my eyes while fasting my body.

  I wasn’t very excited about being so lonely I had to hire a prostitute as a date. I couldn’t help the present circumstances, and I didn’t want to be cut off from my family. At least I could feel better about my body if I was the one that was shaping it. Travis showed me his routine, which was something impossible for my body to endure. Instead he wrote down a light workout for me, since this was my first time.

  “So this is what I have to do this week?” The paper was front and back, and there were some terms on here that I didn’t understand. I would need to get drawings too. Maybe a diagram.

  “That’s for today.”

  “Are you trying to kill me so you can use my room as a closet?”

  “You know how I feel about closets. If I liked them, I wouldn’t have come out of the one I was in.” I was unable to laugh looking at this impossible list of deeds. I wouldn’t have been this worried if he had handed me a ransom note and my mom’s pinky toe.

  “So how much of this is English?”

  “Oh! Hold that thought. I just saw a hunk walk into the sauna.” Travis left me. I figured I might as well start with what I knew. I hopped on the elliptical and searched my phone for games to use. Maybe this would be a good time to get acquainted with my most expensive date.

  Hi. Is this Grant? I texted.

  I started kicking forward. For whatever reason I felt more awkward now talking to him than I had ever felt talking to a crush or boyfriend. Maybe it was because we were strangers or maybe it was my brain screaming at me for dating a hooker. In high school I was voted most likely to succeed, and if I told this story at my next reunion I doubted I would live it down.

  Yep. Who is this? He wrote back almost immediately. April. Travis gave me your number. I’m the girl looking for a wedding.

  Ah, yes. Hello, April. Tell me about yourself. He wrote.

  I huffed as I ran. My eye stayed glued to my phone screen. I didn’t want any of these people to look at me. What they saw was a fat girl trying to get into shape but what was really happening was a broke fat girl trying to get hot for a fiancé who had dumped her and hiring an escort to make him jealous. As if I couldn’t go any lower in the public’s eyes.

  Can we can do that when we meet in person?

  Of course.

  Where do sex workers do business? A coffee shop like normal people? Maybe a bar? I should probably just treat this like a date. Our first d
ate of few to follow.

  Where do you live? He texted.

  I finished a mile. Only a billion more to go. The calorie burning count wasn’t nearly as high as I felt it should be. This was going to be a lot more work than I intended.

  Pasadena, I texted.

  I’m from Vegas. The city of sin.

  Go figure, I thought.

  That’s a little far away, I wrote.

  But I’m in Santa Monica right now for a few days. On business.

  My heart started to thump and all the blood drained from my face. Oh my God. This is actually becoming real. And then suddenly, something occurred to me. What if I had to pay for his travel expenses. Shit.

  I can’t really afford to pay you anything beyond the date, I texted.

  No worries. Just meet me in Santa Monica and don’t worry about any billing.

  I kept running and had a new found motivation. I wanted to be at a point in my life where I didn’t have to hire someone to hang out with me. I wanted to be able to sit at a restaurant with a man that wasn’t gay who genuinely found me attractive and funny. Maybe I would have to give it up and become homosexual myself, but until we got to that bridge my biggest hope was to date excellence and shove it in Tom’s face. My phone vibrated again.

  How about surfing? He texted.

  It’s okay, I guess, I wrote. I didn’t really have any opinions about it one way or another.

  No, I mean, do you want to go surfing?

  My heart skipped a beat. Of course I didn’t want to go surfing. Not with this body. Everyone would think I was a beached whale and try to roll me back in the ocean. Maybe I would actually prefer that. I really didn’t want to go out though. I only had bikinis from the thinner days.

  I don’t think that’s the best idea, I wrote desperately trying to come up with a plausible explanation as to why not that was not the truth.

  I have an allergic reaction to salt water, I finally texted. Is salt water allergy even a real thing?

  Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.

  Yeah, it makes me all red and puffy, I added.

  Great. Now I looked like a big nerd too. There should be an app that texts for you or at least prevents you from being incredibly awkward and off putting.

  It’s a skin condition, I explained further even though any explanation would’ve been enough.

  How long had it been since I had a first date? I couldn’t remember the last time I was single and in the dating pool. I was so young; it was just before college. I wasted all my years with Tom, and so now I have no experience. How do you flirt? Does he pay if he is my hooker? Do they have discount cards? I was already going to have to pay 200 dollars a night for a few days. This wedding was the lowest I would be. I should just call my mom and ask her if she would rather me come to the wedding with a hooker as my date or if she would rather me not go at all. Which would really be more embarrassing for her?

  I entertained the idea of calling it all off again. I couldn’t stand the idea of everyone seeing me flounder. I didn’t want college to be when I piqued. I didn’t want to pique. I wanted to have a successful job, or just a job in general. I wanted to be able to walk into that reception and show everyone that I kept the boobs and butt but slimmed down my stomach. I wanted to wear a dress that gave Tom a boner and made him wonder why he ever dumped me. Who dumps a car crash victim? Losers who lose great girlfriends.

  I felt sort of bad for hating Tom’s new fiancée. She might have been nice and maybe she didn’t mean to murder my heart. Maybe she didn’t know she was a home-wrecker until they were into each other. The thought made me sad. What didn’t I have that she had? Other than a job and a body. I had more time with him than her. That should have been enough to secure our relationship for life. I stopped feeling bad for her. She was the reason I was single. She was the reason I had to hire someone to go to her dumb wedding. I would be nice to her, but I would not like her. My mom couldn’t even make me do that.

  Thinking about all this pushed me faster and farther on the elliptical. I was running at a very fast pace and my heart rate monitor was skyrocketing. Maybe I could do this every day. I did the math in my head. If I ran 5 miles every day I would lose about a pound each week. There wasn’t enough time to get me back to my start body, but it wasn’t too late to give some effort. I would have to eat healthy and go on a huge diet. This was going to be the turning point. No more feeling sorry for myself. No more asking for pity. I would go out there, find a job, a boyfriend, and I would get hot. This would be a new and improved April. Positive thoughts only.

  So, how about lunch at one? Grant texted.

  I waited and thought out my text before I replied to him. I switched to a weight machine and worked my abs. How many crunches would it take to get me a hot body by the time I have to go on this date?

  It was currently 10 AM. I had enough time to finish this work out, spruce up, and get over to Santa Monica in time for a lunch date. I was glad I still had enough make up. I would have to contour the shit out of my face before I saw this man. I’m sure he already thought I was probably hideous. What 27-year-old needs to hire someone as a date? This 27-year-old. I flipped through a Cosmo as I waited for Travis to be done. I needed flirting and dating tips to really rub it in Tom’s face. He would fall for the facade of my new glamorous life. If I tried hard enough maybe I would too.

  Sounds good, I finally texted back.

  8

  Grant

  There is nothing I would like to do more than jump into that crystal blue water. It was calling my name. I missed this when I was away in Vegas. I wish I had more clients in California just for this sunshine and beach. I could happily be homeless living here.

  I have to admit I was disappointed that April didn’t want to surf. I loved to surf, and it would be my favorite hobby if I could regularly do it. I had enough time here that I could get some surfing in, but not as much as I liked. It’s never enough for me. When I was at USC I would spend all of my free time on the waves. There was a simple pleasure about feeling the wake on your board. The smell of the water was divine. Riding a wave would take me out of my element. It almost didn’t matter if I stayed on the board or not, to be tossed in was still just as fun. It was a marvel to see the inside of a wave breaking. It sent a rush through me like no other.

  It was hard to experience adrenaline like that now. When I was out working I was always feeling a little guilty towards my parents, thinking they wasted their money on a failure as a kid. When I was away from work I was actually a little lonely. Hobbies like surfing would keep that off my mind. I would cure it if I could, but very few respectable women want to be serious with someone who is an escort full time. I tried not to think about it. I had plenty of company from both clients and friends. Sometimes people just yearn for a little more than that. I’ve been feeling that yearning a lot recently.

  I pushed it out of my head. It was no use thinking about. April wasn’t very familiar with coffee shops in the area, so I chose one that I knew catered to my diet. I had to eat light today since I was taking someone to an awards show tonight. I’m not disclosed to say who, but she recently got out of a relationship.

  She wasn’t ready to start dating again, even though she is attractive and friendly and could have had anyone. I was glad she chose to do business with me. It isn’t a totally radical idea for someone wanting to use my services just for dating. Odds were, though, that it ended with something a little more than just a kiss goodbye. Having known this client for enough time before, I would say that my chances of getting lucky tonight were high. If I were in Vegas I would raise the bet. Luckily for me there is no opponents, only a dealer. Either way I was leaving with a heavier pocket.

  When April walked in I was a little surprised. She had told me that she would be wearing a black maxi dress, one of the most popular items on the beach today, but I knew this was her. She had a sun hat and sunglasses that she took off when she stepped in. Something told me about the way she carried herself she wasn�
�t very confident. I had no idea why. A curvy girl like that could get tail around her any night. I would even sleep with her for free. I pretty much was. I waved to her and she came and sat across from me. She took very elegant strides when she walked. Travis had told me her family was stuck up, I was only hoping that she wasn’t. With the way she walked with a classy step, something told me she might be.

  “Hi.” Maybe I was wrong, though.

  “Let me get your chair for you.” I stood up and pulled out the seat. I was in the business of wooing women, but something about this girl was wooing me. I almost wished we had said dinner instead of lunch. Even just drinks would have been better. Her pearly whites beamed. I’m sure the allure of being around someone my own age was all that this attraction was, but it was real. My primal instincts were yelling, telling me that her eggs were still fertile. My silly balls and their desire to have a baby against my will.

  “Thank you.” She sipped her water and refused to make eye contact. I could understand that. Meeting a date for a first time was hard enough. I had grown too used to this business, and I could tell I was probably going to do most of the talking. Surfing was still on my mind.

  “It’s too bad we couldn’t enjoy the ocean. You should really get a medicine or something. Today’s weather would have been perfect.” She coughed while swallowing her water. Did I say something wrong?

  “Yeah, sorry about that. We can sit outside if you want.”

  “No, we can just walk later. Maybe grab a drink.” The waitress brought our coffees and I was eating my words.

  “Okay. So should we talk terms?” She pulled out a notebook and wrote “Wedding Business” at the top of the page. She made a list called “Expenses” and wrote my name down.

  “It will be $200 a night. Sex will be extra.” She wrote that down and kept her eyes on the page.

  “That won’t be a problem.” She wrote down another checklist for a dress and shoes.

  “We will just see about that.” I said that, mostly joking. But who was to stop me from coming on to her. If I had to act the part, I could do a very convincing job. It might even help convince her family. She stopped writing and put her pen on the table.