Black Rules

by Charlotte Byrd

  What is all this mystery about?

  I mean, why the hell does he want me to do the auction again?

  But she turns on her heels and walks away. I follow, but she raises her hand in the air and waves me off.

  When I get back to the room, Caroline has already opened the boxes and scattered the contents on the bed.

  Black lingerie - lace panties and bra. Four-inch black heels. The two pieces are identical except for the size of the heels.

  “Is this what you wore last time?” Caroline asks.

  I shake my head no. “I wore my normal clothes last time,” I say.

  It takes her a moment to decide before she starts to strip off her dress and change into the lingerie.

  I stare at her.

  “Aren’t you going to change?”

  “No.” I shake my head.

  “Oh, c’mon, you have to.”

  I hold the bra and panties up to the light. They are definitely made from quality, expensive material.

  The problem is that this is lingerie. Something about this whole thing seems off.

  Does Aiden really want me to participate in this?

  And what if I don't want to.

  No, I have to talk to him.

  “Don’t I look hot?” Caroline asks, twirling her perfect body in front of me.

  She’s at least three inches taller than I am, and that’s being conservative.

  So, the way her body fills out this outfit is accentuating in every way.

  “Yes, you do.”

  “C’mon, just put it on. Don’t think about it so much, okay? I want to see you in this.”

  I take a deep breath.

  There’s no way that this is going to look good at all. I’m pretty certain of that as I change.

  But when I look into the mirror, I’m pleasantly surprised that I actually look amazing.

  The panties aren’t too tight, and the bra is a perfect fit. It elevates my breasts and pushes them up and together unlike any other bra I’ve owned.

  And the heels.

  Well, let’s just say that they are the most comfortable heels I’ve ever worn and that’s the biggest compliment I can give them.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Caroline grabs my hand.

  “No, I’m not going.”

  “You look amazing, Ellie. Like jaw-dropping amazing. Aiden wants to see you like this. He wants to bid on you. That’s why he invited you here in the first place. He wants other men to want you and then he wants to take you home. Don’t you see that?”

  That is definitely a possibility, of course.

  “And what if he doesn’t?”

  “Don’t even think like that,” Caroline says, pushing me out of the door. “But if, for some reason he doesn’t, then I’m sure you can just back out. I mean these people aren’t monsters. This is just a game, right?”

  Chapter 4 - Ellie

  When I decide to go through with it…

  Just like last time, Lizbeth meets us in the hallway right before we enter and shuttles us out to another room.

  This is the waiting area with refreshments in the far corner.

  I pour myself a glass of water to quench my thirst. There are fifteen girls in the room - more than there were last time. Every single one is dressed in a bra and panties and black heels.

  We’re all wearing black. I’m one of the shortest, and the only one without a blowout. Everyone is sitting around chatting.

  There’s a definite aura of excitement about the whole thing.

  “Have you ever done this before?” Caroline turns to the girls at the nearby table.

  They all shake their heads no. I look over the girls’ faces more carefully and, suddenly, it hits me.

  They’re all new.

  Not a single one is a repeat from last time.

  Except me.

  “Has anyone else done this before?” Caroline asks a bit louder.

  All the girls in the room shake their heads.

  “Oh my God, you’re the only repeat, Ellie,” she whispers to me. “You must’ve made an impression.”

  The stage is right in front of us. Lizbeth stands behind the podium in the front of the spotlight.

  Just like last time, she’s the auctioneer.

  Just like last time, I peek out into the room to get a glimpse of the men.

  But much to my surprise, there’s no one there.

  “There were men there last time,” I say to Caroline. “They were filling all the seats.”

  She comes up and looks for herself. Then she points to the mirror dividing the room.

  “They must be behind that mirrored partition. It must be some sort of two-way mirror.”

  I nod in agreement. The mirrored partition gives me some pause.

  Why is everything so different from last time?

  I was really expecting this to be the same and now I find myself all thrown off.

  Lizbeth introduces herself and goes over the rules. She addresses the audience as if they are right there, so they must be.

  She tells them that they have to be quiet and press the button when they want to make a bid. She motions to her ear, implying that she can hear them through a hearing device. Lizbeth then says that she will call out the price three times and if no one goes any higher, the girl will go to the highest bidder.

  They are then expected to make out a check, money order, or wire transfer to the account of the girl’s choice before they’re allowed to take her to their cabin.

  I pray silently that I’m not called first.

  As much as I want to get this over with, I just can’t bear to go first. A few minutes later, it starts. Lizbeth calls out the first name. Caroline. My eyes grow wide and I turn to face my friend.

  What are the chances?

  I expect to see a terrified look on her face, but instead that familiar excited twinkle is in her eyes. She practically leaps out of her seat and prances to the stage in her four-inch heels.

  She inhales deeply before stepping onstage. The spotlight focuses on her and she basks in it.

  All eyes are on her, just like they are meant to be forever. Lizbeth introduces her by name and states her height. She then starts the bidding at ten thousand dollars.

  Unlike last time, I can’t see the paddles. There’s no one else in the room, but Lizbeth announces the bids as they come in.

  Caroline smiles when the bidding reaches fifty thousand, but tries to contain her excitement.

  By the time the bidding reaches one hundred thousand, she can’t contain her smile much longer. But the bids continue to climb even higher.

  There’s a slight pause at one hundred and twenty and Lizbeth says that price twice before someone else bids one hundred and thirty.

  It stays there for three counts.

  “Sold for one hundred and thirty thousand,” Lizbeth announces.

  Caroline gives a little curtsy as a thank you and leaves the stage.

  “Oh my God, Ellie! One hundred and thirty thousand! What kind of money is that? For one night?”

  I give her a warm hug of congratulations.

  “I mean, it’s nowhere close to what Mr. Black paid, of course,” she says. “But still.”

  “That was a fluke,” I say, shrugging it off. “It’s awesome to get thirty grand over one hundred thousand. I mean, it is one night.”

  I try to make her feel better, but I know exactly how competitive Caroline is when it comes to looks, money, and men.

  And I also know that the fact that Aiden paid more for me will gnaw at her.

  “So, what do you think he looks like?” Caroline asks.

  “I have no idea,” I say. “Last time, we could see their faces. Plus, we didn’t all have to wear the same thing. I guess they’re changing things up.”

  Caroline’s eyes sparkle at the prospect. “That’s exciting!”

  The auction starts again.

  One girl goes for ninety thousand and another goes for one hundred and fifty. Caroline stares daggers at
her, probably wondering what she has on her.

  “Listen, you never know when a particular guy has a particular type. Or maybe he just wants to spend more money than the others to show them up. It doesn’t mean that she’s better, or hotter, or anything like that.”

  A familiar meek little man with glasses and a briefcase comes over to our table.

  “How would you like your money, ma’am?” he asks, sitting down next to us. Caroline stares at him.

  “You can get it as a check, money order, or cash,” he clarifies. “Or we can wire it to a numbered account of your choice.”

  “I have an account in the Cayman Islands,” Caroline says. Wow, I did not know that.

  “My grandmother set it up when I was little. She was a big tax evader,” she explains. “It doesn’t have much in it, but I guess that’s a good place to put the money if I don't want to pay taxes on it.”

  I haven't even considered any of the tax implications of all this. Hmm, perhaps it is something to think about it.

  I just had the money deposited right into my bank account, but maybe that wasn’t the best thing.

  So, what should I do now?

  I can’t very well walk out of here with a money order for all that cash, let alone cash itself.

  What if I lose it?

  Or get mugged?

  I mean, New York City is a much safer city now than it used to be, but it would just be my luck to get mugged the one day I was carrying around one hundred grand in my purse.

  “Ellie?” Caroline breaks my concentration.

  “What?”

  “She called your name.”

  Chapter 5 - Ellie

  When it’s my turn…

  My heart immediately jumps into my chest. Oh my God. No, this isn’t happening.

  “C’mon, get out there.” She pushes me out of my chair. Before I get a chance to even gather my thoughts, I find myself on stage with a big spotlight in my face.

  When Lizbeth introduces me, I stare straight ahead and silently threaten Aiden.

  You better bid on me, I say to myself.

  You’re the only reason I’m fucking here.

  If you don’t bid on me…I don't know what I’m going to do.

  Slightly out of earshot, I hear Lizbeth say something into her Bluetooth, covering her microphone with her hand.

  “Are you sure we can start? But what about…”

  I can’t quite make out what she says at the end, but something is off. She is clearly reluctant to begin.

  “Is everything okay?” I mouth to her.

  She gathers her thoughts and nods in my direction.

  The bidding begins at ten thousand.

  The numbers slowly climb to seventy, ninety, one hundred.

  But they suddenly stop at one hundred and ten.

  Lizbeth counts to three and then says, “Sold for one hundred and ten thousand.”

  I nod and walk off the stage.

  “Wow, that was a lot less than last time,” Caroline jokes.

  “I guess Aiden knows that I’m a sure thing,” I say.

  On the surface, I’m exuding confidence.

  It’s Aiden.

  Of course, it’s Aiden who bid on me.

  Who else could it be?

  But beneath the surface, I’m not so sure.

  My hands feel clammy as I sign the paperwork and give them my bank account number.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I have an uneasy feeling about this.

  Why didn’t Lizbeth want to start the auction?

  Why did she have that hesitation in her voice?

  I got a good price, but it wasn’t that high.

  Does that mean that Aiden just didn’t want to pay too much or maybe it wasn’t Aiden at all who bid on me?

  As soon as the money transfer is complete, another woman comes up to me. She is the same one who escorted me last time.

  “I will show you both to your rooms,” she says. “Please follow me.”

  Caroline looks her up and down, winking at the way her breasts are spilling over the top of her corset.

  “Where are we going?” Caroline asks, but the woman doesn’t reply. She doesn’t strike me as the type for idle chitchat.

  As I follow behind the woman and Caroline, I get that familiar numb feeling all over my body.

  Even though I should be feeling better about everything, I’m not.

  Last time, I had no idea what I was in store for. But this time, things aren’t exactly crystal clear either.

  The woman shows us to the other end of the yacht.

  As we make our way there, the rooms get more and more ostentatious and opulent. Again, we pass that large library, filled floor to ceiling with leather-bound books. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they were first editions. Again, I have an insatiable urge to run in there and hide.

  This is my second time here, and yet I haven’t visited the library once. Something about that is very off. Libraries and bookstores are my happy places.

  They were always the places I went growing up when I needed to get away from the world. Whenever anything got too hard to handle and I just needed a break, I always found myself in a little cloistered nook surrounded on all sides by books and stories.

  The woman shows Caroline to one of the last doors on the right and me to the door right across from her.

  This isn’t the same room I had before.

  I know because it’s a single door instead of a gorgeous French double door.

  But once she shows me inside, I see that this room is just as opulent and large as our old suite.

  Again, there’s a large king-size bed on the far end, a separate sitting area, and large windows looking out onto the blackness of the ocean.

  “Your buyer will be here shortly,” the woman says. “But first, I have to get you ready.”

  I try to recollect if that’s exactly what I heard before. It is, but it’s not.

  No, last time, she used his name.

  She said, Mr. Black will be here shortly, not your buyer.

  But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, does it?

  I have no idea.

  I don’t know if I’m just trying to read into it something that’s not there or if I’m actually on to something.

  “Do I have to change?” I ask.

  She looks me up and down and shakes her head. “No, you’re dressed just as he wants you,” she says. “But he does want you to wear this.”

  She pulls a night mask from her pocket and dangles it in front of me. I stare at her. Then she goes over to the desk and pulls out a pair of black furry handcuffs.

  “Please stand next to the bed post and put your hands behind it.”

  I hesitate for a moment, but then do as she says. The bed post feels cold against my bare back, but the handcuffs are pretty comfortable.

  Once she secures my hands behind the back of the post, she raises her hands to put the mask over my eyes.

  “Is this really necessary?” I ask.

  “This is what he wants,” she says.

  Just like last time, with the mask on my face, I become keenly aware of all sound.

  I listen to the woman’s heavy footsteps as she exits the room and the way that the yacht creaks slightly with each wave. Somewhere around the room, there is a quiet, disturbing noise that the furniture makes as it settles into the room.

  Again, I’m perturbed by the cacophony of sounds that surround me - the same ones that I was completely oblivious to only a few moments ago.

  As I lose myself in the moment, my racing mind finally settles down. I had to wear a mask last time as well. I was also tied up last time.

  The person who bid on me is Aiden.

  I shouldn’t have been making myself crazy with all that second-guessing.

  Of course, it’s Aiden.

  Who else would it be?

  A loud knock on the door breaks my concentration.

  “Aiden?” I ask.

  But the person doesn’t reply
.

  The door closes and loud, heavy footsteps approach me.

  This must be a game, I decide.

  He isn’t Aiden now.

  “Mr. Black?” I try again.

  But the person doesn’t reply.

  He slowly walks around me.

  His footsteps are heavy and deliberate.

  My heartbeat goes through the room, the longer he takes to speak.

  I feel his eyes all over me, and I’m keenly aware of how my breasts are moving up and down with each rushed breath.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he finally whispers.

  I let out a little sigh.

  His voice sounds familiar. Not exactly like Aiden’s but not completely foreign either.

  A moment later, I feel his touch.

  He runs his fingertips over my collarbone and the top of my breasts.

  Then he runs them up my neck, sending shivers down my body.

  “Does that feel good?” he whispers. “Mmm-mmm,” I moan, nodding and losing myself in the moment.

  “I want to see your eyes.”

  Slowly, he tugs at my mask and pulls it off my face. Even though the lights in the room are dim, the light still blinds me and it takes me a moment to focus.

  When I finally look at the man before me, my body falls into a cold sweat.

  “Blake?”

  He nods.

  “But…what are you…doing here?” I don't know exactly what I’m saying because my mind is running in circles.

  What the hell is Blake Garrison doing here?

  “I bid on you,” he says proudly, running his finger over my lips. I move my head away abruptly.

  “But why?”

  “Because I want you. I’ve wanted you since I saw you at the last auction. But unfortunately, Aiden outbid me that time.”

  “Where is Aiden?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Is it really important?”

  Yes, of course, I want to shout on the top of my lungs.

  But I’m still stunned by the whole thing.

  Why isn’t Aiden here?

  He has to be here.

  He’s the one who invited me.

  Unless, he wanted me to….spend the night with someone else.

  No, the thought of that is unbearable.

  “I need to talk to Aiden.”

  Blake takes a step forward.