Winning Her Heart

I was doing up the last of the elf dresses when a familiar knock came on the bedroom door.

“Come in, Emma,”

“Hey,” she said, sticking her head in. Her princess costume had a built-in corset and didn’t need tying.

“Do you know how to tie a corset by any chance?”

“Sure.”

My own costume needed to go on too, but thankfully Emma was there to do me up. There was something off about her as she did me up. It felt weird to think of it as ‘energy,’ but that really was what it was like. Whatever it was, I knew something was bothering her. Emma’s typical sweet, upbeat personality was there but somehow muted.

“What’s wrong?”

“Jay told me not to tell you.”

“Well now, that just makes me more curious,” I said, turning to face her.

She looked away, trying not to meet my eye, which made me even more worried. What was Jayden planning?

“There’s an auction,” Emma said, looking at the floor.

“What’s so strange about that? Don’t fundraisers usually have an auction?”

“I-It’s not that kind of auction.

“Emma, you’re scaring me, what is going on?”

“They’re selling girls, Krystal,” Emma said. “Kisses, dates, virginity, anything goes.”

I remembered that Lorelai had been in such an event. She’d said she’d only sold a date and a kiss but there was something about her afterward that made me think maybe things had gone further. And then suddenly, she’d been involved…then married. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, but if it was done among consenting adults that was really up to them.

“That’s pretty gross,” I said.

“He wants you to be in it. I think he is planning to buy you for – you know.”

Emma blushed, unable to actually say the word ‘sex.’ I could only imagine how she would have reacted if she knew I was a virgin.

The floor came up to meet my knees, though I could barely feel it. The shock was almost too much for me to bear. I could almost feel my heart crushing in my chest as I gasped for breath, the hyperventilating coming back with vengeance. I could feel Emma kneeling down next to me, getting down closer to my level.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-I was starting to really like him, but now I’m not sure if he just wanted to buy me.”

I wasn’t even aware of the tears at first, not until they actually started flowing down my cheeks. Emma hugged me in my distress, trying to comfort me.

“You don’t have to do it. Jayden might think that he runs everything, but he doesn’t. You can just do the job you agreed to, the costumes look great, by the way, and leave. If Jayden has a problem, I’ll convince him your debt is paid. The money from the party will more than pay for the damage to the truck and the costumes are more than worth what he paid for them.”

“I would have done them for free,” I blushed.

“And Jay thinks I’m sweet,” Emma grinned.

That last bit got me thinking. The costumes I’d made were some of my best. The fact that I was being paid for them was at least part of the reason. I’d made money before, but never from a commission. I’d even made my first pitch which had gone down like gangbusters. I couldn’t help but notice again that things seemed to be building up to a successful business. I remembered what Tina had said in her little shop and couldn’t help but wonder if maybe there was something to it. She had said my business would start after the costume ball.

“When is the auction going to be?”

“After the ball. It’s meant to be a kind of finale, why?”

I straightened up my back and dried my eyes, plucking up every last scrap of courage I could.

“I-I think I want to be in the auction. I’m a virgin and could probably get all the money I need for my business.”

Emma wasn’t happy. I could actually feel her flinch as she was taken aback, but she tried to be supportive of my decision. It was a bold decision, and I wasn’t happy about losing my virginity that way, but the benefits were many. It would show Jayden that he didn’t own me in a palpable way, especially if I was bought by someone else, and it would give me the startup money for my dream.

Chapter Twelve - Jayden

It was a dilemma. I was torn between going to find Emma and leaving her alone and letting her cool down. There was a good chance she was still going to tell Krystal about the auction. Emma had a moral compass that always pointed due north and there was no way to divert her from the righteous path once she had set out on it. I really admired that in a way. She could be a serious problem for my plan. She wouldn’t let anything hurt her new friend, which was a lot more than could be said about me. I’d been so focused on my own success for so long, I never really paid much attention to what was going on with other people. It wasn’t the first time I’d been humbled by my baby sister.