She smiled at him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, dear. Now, don’t be scared. It’s only dinner.”
“But some of the girls … you know … have sex, don’t they?” she asked.
“Yes, but that’s not you. Let’s get started before you shake to death.”
She giggled and nodded. The breath left her lungs when the lights in the room brightened, and she looked out into the audience and saw at least thirty men staring at her.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered. She suddenly felt faint.
“Don’t look at them,” Stanley said and quickly diverted her attention. “Look over at Thomas behind the bar.”
She nodded, inhaled, and turned her head. Then she smiled and waved when the bartender waved at her. For some reason, it helped settle her.
Stanley put the microphone to his mouth. “Good evening, gentlemen. This here is Alexa. This is her first time, and as you can imagine, she’s very nervous.”
Several men murmured words, but she didn’t understand them over the pounding of her heart. She was pretty sure the organ was going to jump out of her chest at any moment.
“She’s twenty-three and as sweet as can be.”
She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
Stanley held a hand over the microphone. “It’s the truth.” He turned back to the audience. “She loves animals with a passion and likes to volunteer at the local animal shelters. She also likes long walks, movies in theatres, and baking. Her brownies are to die for.”
The audience laughed.
She yanked on his shirt sleeve. “Hey, I thought we were only going for dinner,” she whispered.
“You are. Settle down. They just like knowing a little about you before they bid. It also gives me a chance to tell them about the women who will … put out. If you know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
He rolled his eyes. “I know.”
Someone from the audience yelled, “One hundred dollars.”
“Who said that?” She squinted and shielded her eyes to see who it was but couldn’t.
Stanley grunted. “Holy cow, I haven’t even finished with my spiel, and they’re bidding. This has never happened before.”
“One hundred and ten,” another voice yelled.
Stanley patted her back. “Oh wow, this is amazing, girl. There’s already a bidding fight going on.”
“For what,” she asked.
“For you.”
Her eyes widened. “Me?”
Stanley grinned and nodded before he turned back to the audience and started dealing with the bidders. The bid was up to six hundred within a minute, and she couldn’t believe it. Men really wanted her that much? She looked off to the side to see her uncle rubbing his hands together with a huge smile on his face.
“One thousand dollars,” a deep voice rang out, making the room suddenly silent.
She felt Stanley stiffen.
“Do I have one thousand and twenty-five?” Stanley yelled out.