And I shook my head again. We’d been invited to this no-name disco by a bunch of guys we’d met at the hotel pool earlier this afternoon. Miles was the one Rachel had homed in on, an overly-tan muscular dude whose swim trunks left nothing to the imagination. I didn’t want to go out with them tonight, not really, but Rach was determined to see Miles again and I was just along for the ride, the best friend slash sidekick, always the voice of reason.
“Okay, this one then,” my friend said with finality. “Seriously El, lighten up, this would look fantastic on you.”
And I gasped again, but for a completely different reason. The dress she was holding in her hands was absolutely gorgeous. Size XS, yes, but still stunningly beautiful, a silky slip in gold that shimmered under the lights.
“Try it on, okay?” asked my friend, pushing it into my arms. “Come on, chop chop, we gotta go, it’ll look amazing.”
And with slow steps, I let myself into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me and gazing in the mirror. What was going on? I was boring Ellie Danes, nerd extraordinaire, who never wore things like this. I was more a jeans and a t-shirt girl, swapping out the t-shirt for a sweater when things got cold, or a velvet top when things got sexy. No way could I ever pull off a dress like this.
But never say never, and I was transfixed by the shimmering gold fabric, the material silky and glimmery in the light. Hesitantly, I pulled off my scoopneck, then squeezed out of my jeans, holding the tiny scrap of material in front of me. Did I dare put it on? Did I dare become someone other than plain old Ellie, always the wallflower? And with a sigh, I undid the zip and stepped into the shimmery fabric, sliding it up over my hips and breasts, pulling the spaghetti straps over my shoulders.
Looking in the mirror, I gasped at the sudden transformation. Oh my god, I was someone else now. Whereas before I was curvy, yes, but hidden and discreet, now everything was out in the limelight. The fabric hugged my girls just so, emphasizing their creamy fullness, the tops of my mounds revealed in the deep décolletage. And the dress skimmed my waist, showing off how narrow it was before clinging to my hips, the shimmer emphasizing every sway of my booty.
I giggled then, humping my butt up and down a bit just for fun, letting go in the privacy of the bathroom. It jiggled and jumped under the lights, the fabric sparkling and moving on my curves like liquid gold, casting a magical sheen around me, almost like a halo of sparkles surrounding my curvy form. I loved it, absolutely loved it, and opened the bathroom door.
“Oh my gawd, it’s puuurrr-fect!” squealed my friend, handing me a jacket. “Now put that on otherwise we’re going to be late meeting Miles.”
I shook my head again, draping the coat over my shoulders. It was as if a magic trick had ended, the dark material shrouding the gold, giving no hint of the dazzling splendor beneath. But Rachel was right. It was time to go, time to have a good time tonight.
“Come on,” sang my friend, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “I picked out shoes and a purse for you already, gotta roll!”
And with another sigh, I slipped my feet into the golden pumps Rachel had laid out, complete with a matching gold handbag. Oh my god, the heels were so high, I was going to have trouble balancing and sure enough, my first step was a little wobbly. Bracing myself against the wall, I took a deep breath.
But my friend was already halfway down the hall.
“Come on, last one in the elevator is a rotten egg!” she sang. And I had to laugh at that. We were still kids, even though it was our senior year in high school, even though we were in Vegas on our first unsupervised trip, without parents, siblings, or any type of chaperone. It was our last vacation before school applications started, the whole college race that was going to suck up every last minute of free time.
So this was my final opportunity to have fun, to let my hair down before the grind started, making me dutiful Ellie Danes once more. I straightened my shoulders and lifted my chin, forcing myself to walk confidently into the hall, hips swinging, sashaying like a princess.
“There you go,” nodded my friend approvingly, finger jamming the elevator button. “You’re a new you, Ellie, just for tonight. Remember.”
And I grinned as the elevator doors opened.
“Who’s the rotten egg now?” I asked, rushing into the lift.
Rachel just laughed.
“No seriously, Ellie. Just for tonight, you’re going to be a new you. Flirtatious, sassy, outgoing. You’re going to charm Miles’s friends and make them all fall in love with you. Every single one.”
And I giggled. I wasn’t into Miles’ friends, the guys by the pool today hadn’t been my type for lots of reasons, but Rachel was right. I wanted to dance, laugh, and live up a storm tonight. This was it. It was time for a new Ellie, a new me, because girls can have fun … and I didn’t want to miss out.
CHAPTER TWO
Ellie
“Hi there!” sang Rachel out the window as the car pulled up to the curb. We’d gotten an Uber to this undisclosed location and I looked out onto the dark street skeptically. There were a couple street lamps casting pools of isolated light, and it looked like we’d pulled up in front of non-descript warehouses, shuttered and empty, no one else around.
“Are you sure this is it?” I said, biting my lip, a little nervous. I knew the club was supposed to be discreet, but I’d expected at least a few people hanging out front smoking, maybe a small sign tucked away somewhere. Or music. Surely there’d be music, what kind of club didn’t play music?
But it was silent on the darkened street, the Uber grinding to a halt at the curb.
“This is it,” said the cabbie, “This is the address.”
I moved to thank him but was cut off by Rachel again.
“Of course this is the right address,” she said breezily. “There’s Miles over there!” she said, her entire head out the window now, long blonde hair fluttering as she gestured furiously to the men. “Helll-oo!”
And I sighed, getting out of the car. I had a bad feeling about this, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe once the big warehouse door opened, there’d be an amazing party inside filled with gorgeous people milling about, the ladies dressed to the nines, the guys coolly casual.
But ugh, Miles wasn’t my idea of a good-looking dude. His features were okay, but his clothing was beyond bizarre. The man had a blue velvet jacket with blue ribbon trim around the lapels that made him look like a carnival barker. I didn’t even know they made men’s clothes like this, that anyone would buy stuff so gaudy. But thinking back to Rachel’s multi-colored, LSD-inspired dress, maybe these two were perfect together. They could work in a high-end circus together as one of the curiosities, people could pay five dollars to see the zany pair. So yeah, maybe they were a match made in heaven, and Rachel was skipping over to Miles now, throwing herself into his arms, twirling in his arms, a flirtatious female to the max.
“Miles!” she exclaimed, leaning forward to give him a kiss. And kiss they did. Instead of the peck on the cheek appropriate for people who’d just met this afternoon, the two of them smooched full-on, mouth to mouth, liplocking without an inch between them. Stop it, I scolded myself, stop being judgmental and uptight! It’s a new you, remember?
So I made myself smile prettily and greet the small group of men just getting out at the curb. Our Uber zoomed off and I had a sinking feeling that my last means of escape had just disappeared as well. But that couldn’t be, I reminded myself sternly. I had my cell, and could summon Uber or Lyft with a swipe of my keypad, it was that easy. So I made myself buck up and pasted a cheery smile on my face.
“Hi,” I said throatily, hoping I sounded like a femme fatale. Haha, nice try. Immediately my throat locked and I let out a small cough.
“Oh this is Ellie from today, remember?” chattered Rachel, gesturing my way. “From the pool.” Maybe they didn’t remember me that well, my friend was like a ray of light, chatting and fun, whereas I’d been quiet at the cabana, listening while sipping my drink.
“Of course, of course, cara,” rumbled Miles, his arm around Rachel’s waist, pulling the blonde tight. “And you remember my friends Enzo and Yannis.”
I frowned a little. Although the friends weren’t as crazily dressed as Miles, still, they weren’t my cup of tea. Both of them were burly as hell, like bulldogs, the collars of their leather jackets tight around thick necks, Enzo’s bald head gleaming under the lamplight.
“Hey,” Enzo grunted, turning away. Yannis didn’t even say anything, just looking around like he was bored.
But I was supposed to be flirtatious and fun tonight, so I tried again.
“Hi,” I cooed, doing my best to purr. “I’m Ellie, nice to see you again.”
I held out my hand to shake but both men stared at it like they didn’t know what to do. Miles cut in.
“You losers, shake her hand! What the fuck is wrong with you? What do you think she’s waiting for?”
And grudgingly, Enzo took it, his big bear paw almost crushing mine, rough and greasy at once. But at least I only touched him for a second and then it was over. Yannis still wasn’t paying attention, looking off into the darkness, almost like he was scanning the neighborhood. Oh well. You just can’t win some people.
But Rachel was now beyond excited, almost jumping up and down.
“This is soooo cool!” she cooed, linking both arms around Miles’s neck, draping herself on the blue velvet blazer. “Where’s the club? I can’t wait! This is so different from the usual Vegas thing, we’re going to have so many stories to tell when we get back, it’s gonna be frickin’ amazing.”
I was a little embarrassed because what happened to playing “hard to get”? Rach was letting everything hang out, but I scolded myself again. Stop Ellie, I frowned. Just go with the flow and relax. So I pasted another smile on my face and tried to look excited.
“Can’t wait!” I chirped. “So fun!”
Miles threw his head back and laughed then.
“Cara,” he said gently, unwinding Rach’s arms from around his neck. “This is a super-discreet, top secret place that only the best people know. Trust me, you’re gonna love it. Enzo! Yannis!” he said. “Let’s show these ladies a good time.”
And sure enough, Yannis stepped up to a door that I hadn’t seen before. It almost blended in with the wall, there was nothing but a crack indicating it was there, the concrete façade smooth otherwise. And with a practiced knock, he rapped on the hard surface.
Nothing happened for a moment, although I could swear someone was looking at us. I’m not sure what made the hairs on my neck prickle, but I swear I could feel eyes on us, on me and Rachel in particular, taking everything in before the door swung silently open.
“Come on,” chuckled Miles, leading the way. “Come on, this place is fuckin’ awesome, you’re going to love it.”
And my hopes rose as we stepped through the door. Because instead of raucous party music, soft strains of something classical greeted us. And the foyer we’d entered was luxurious and dripping with elegance, set with marble floors, a beautiful colonnade leading to another hallway, sprays of flowers on either side. A woman nodded at us with a tray of drinks.
“Welcome to the Club,” she murmured, bowing slightly. Wow, the brunette was breathtakingly beautiful with her hair swept into an elegant topknot, a bodyhugging black dress on. This was their coat check girl? Suddenly I felt hot and embarrassed, face flaming, like I was crass and rude next to this woman’s understated elegance. But I made myself smile and murmur, “No thanks, I’m good.”
She merely offered the cocktails to the rest of my party, and sure enough Rachel downed one immediately, the pink liquid disappearing down her throat like water.
“Mmmm!” she said, lapping her lips a little, shooting Miles a lascivious look. “Have a sip, loverboy.”
And the swarthy man chuckled.
“I am, I am,” he remarked, although I noticed he didn’t actually drink the drink, merely holding it with one hand as Rachel balanced in the crook of his other. That seemed bad, but maybe he didn’t like girly tropical drinks, the kind filled with fruit flavors. Because that’s what this one looked like, just a step away from a pina colada with a little umbrella sticking out.
But even with the odd location and the weird drinks, I was still excited to see what lay beyond the hallway. Because the air of luxury entranced me, I admit. I was curious, excited, and wanted to let loose on this one night, I could sleep in as much as I wanted tomorrow, heck, even for the rest of the week. I could be a walking zombie for the rest of our vacation so long as I had a good time tonight, let my hair down to party.
So I turned towards the men, ready to move on, when suddenly a rough set of hands grabbed me around the neck.
“Hey!” I shrieked. “What the?”
But immediately a gag was bound around my mouth, changing my words into a muffled “mwmwmwm.” I swung my head around, desperately looking for Rachel, but saw that she was in the same predicament. My childhood friend’s eyes were rolling crazily as she struggled against her gag, Yannis swinging her up onto his shoulder like a bag of coal.
“Mwmwmwm!” she shrieked. “Mmwwwm!” she screamed again, kicking and beating at his back ineffectively.
Meanwhile, Enzo swung me up onto his shoulder, tying my hands together with a length of rope and my struggles to get free were futile.
“Mmph,” I grunted, getting a good knee to his chest, banging against his back with my bound fists.
The loser just increased his grip around my waist.
“Got a fighter here,” he growled out. “Shit, she’s no sack of flour.”
Yannis just grunted in reply.
“That’s cause she didn’t drink the drink like this princess,” he said gesturing to Rachel slung over his shoulder. Because to my horror, my friend was passed out, her body slumped like a rag doll on Yannis’s back, mouth open, a long string of spittle dangling from her lips, oozing to the floor. What the hell? That drink had been spiked? What the hell, what the hell? And where was Miles, her loverboy savior?
But Miles was right there, looking on with an evil grin, laughing to himself.
“Oh yeah, these two will fetch us a pretty penny,” he chortled, his voice ringing loud in the marble foyer. “Come on,” he grunted, and strode down the hallway, not looking back.
I gasped and struggled more, but it was no use. I was securely slung over Enzo’s shoulder, bound hand and foot, with a cloth in my mouth, unable to speak or move. Holy shit. I was in deep trouble and there could only be bad things coming my way.
CHAPTER THREE
Ellie
We walked for what seemed like forever. Or maybe it was only forever to me because I was slung over Enzo’s shoulder, with no sense of direction, a blindfold tied over my face. But it felt like hours because there were so many twists and turns, so many changes of direction as we made our way deeper and deeper into a maze.
And finally, a door creaked open and I was dumped into a small room, my rump bouncing up and down on something soft and cushy.
“Leave her there until it’s time,” came Miles’s voice coldly. The gag was ripped out of my mouth and my blindfold removed. I opened my mouth to scream but it came too late because the door shut behind me and my frightened cry was absorbed by the walls, no one hearing or caring but me. Oh god, I was alone, still bound hand and foot, with nowhere to go, no way to get myself out.
But there had to be a way, I wasn’t giving up that easily. I’d been kidnapped by three men, sure, three gross dudes whom we’d only just met, but they were hardly geniuses, I hadn’t been impressed by their intellect when we chatted earlier today by the pool. Plus, when you’re attacked you’re supposed to fight back immediately and vigorously, otherwise the chance of getting out alive only narrows. Of course, I was already deep in the trenches of some scary kidnapping scheme, but I wasn’t giving up. I couldn’t lose hope now, so breathing deep, I tested my bonds once again. There had to be a way. This was my life at stake.
>
And gathering my wits, I looked around the room. It wasn’t a dungeon, unless dungeons have velvet covered walls and luxurious furniture, gilded chairs with overstuffed cushions, couches a deep maroon color that you could sink into. In fact, the loveseat that I was on now was a plush purple velvet, like a giant marshmallow, except wine-colored and poofy. There was no artwork on the walls, just a couple recessed lights and a giant flat-screen TV. Hmm, that meant there had to be cable here, some kind of electricity that I could use to my benefit.
And as I struggled with my bonds, the flatscreen came to life, flickering on with an intensity that made me squint. Whoa. It wasn’t CNN or MSNBC on the screen. Instead, the camera zoomed onto a chamber of sorts, the lens adjusting and readjusting before finally coming into focus. There was a figure standing on a slightly raised dais, completely covered in a long, midnight-blue robe with a hood pulled down over their face. Then a spotlight flicked on, flaring bright on the shrouded form, and a woman’s voice sounded out, mild and a little bit robotic.
“Welcome,” the disembodied voice said. “Welcome to bidding on Article Twenty, our first parcel for the night. Article Twenty is twenty-two years old, from Little Rock, Arkansas. Handlers,” the voice continued, “please remove her hood.”
And I gasped because invisible hands pulled the cape from the form, and the material slid fluidly away to reveal the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Red hair curled around a face as sweet as an angel, the glossy tresses reaching almost to her butt, and big brown eyes looked around, a little fearful, biting her lip. Oh my god, this was Article Twenty? Why didn’t they use her name? What was going on?
But the disembodied female voice continued.
“As you can see, Article Twenty is young and healthy,” the woman spoke again. “The girl stands five foot nine, measures 36-24-36, with brown eyes and red hair. Article Twenty, remove your dress please,” the voice said mildly.
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