Page 8

Vivian

The dressing room at Velvet Underground was a flurry of activity when I walked in. Beautiful women in various stages of getting ready—some wielded curling irons or lipstick tubes, while others were busy adjusting tit tape or fluffing their hair. The scents of perfume and hairspray hung in the air.

The energy and smells felt a lot like the dressing room at Club Allure, and I welcomed the familiarity.

There were marked differences from the strip club, however.

The couches around the room were plush and inviting instead of being stained, threadbare petri dishes no one wanted to touch.

The mirrors lining the back of the room were all sparkling clean and flake-free, and the light bulbs in the mirrors at the makeup stations all worked.

I hung the wardrobe bag with my auction outfit on a rolling garment rack, and dropped my other one, packed for the weekend, onto the floor.

Macy had been clear: I wouldn’t be going home until Sunday.

Hopefully, I’d come back with my dignity intact and not full of regret I couldn’t scrub off in the shower.

A few of the women looked like they belonged in magazines.

One raven-haired beauty lay inverted on a couch while scrolling through her phone.

She was clad in a purple silk robe and black thigh-high nylons; her legs stuck in the air like she hadn’t a care in the world.

Another dark-haired woman hummed while she applied lip gloss, while a siren with auburn hair was doing a tree pose in her bra and panties next to her makeup table.

They all seemed so calm, so used to this.

Me? I was still deciding if my outfit said elegant and fuckable or goodwill and desperate .

I unzipped the bag and pulled out the red dress Kit had helped me pick out earlier. With a deep breath, I thought, “Here goes nothing.”

~~~~

I stood in front of the mirror to inspect my appearance and nervously tugged at the hem of the clingy fabric on my dress.

It hugged my waist and hips and revealed enough cleavage to be considered scandalous in any other setting than a sex club.

Kit had said the thigh slit made the dress, “Elegantly slutty.”

“Is that a nice way to say trashy?”

“Absolutely not. That dress is going to make a statement.”

“What? That I’m trying to ball on a budget?”

“Sweets, the way you’re going to look in that dress, the only balls those men will be thinking about are theirs as you drain them.”

I’d let out a sigh and hung the dress in the garment bag before putting a pair of red come-fuck-me shoes I wore at work in the bottom. “Yeah.”

“Don’t get in your head about this. It’s not like you haven’t hooked up with randos before, but bonus, you’re getting paid to do it this time. And maybe you’ll get a few orgasms out of the deal, too.”

Which was more than I could say for the last guy I’d gone home with from the bar.

“You’re right. I can do this. Hell, I shake my tits onstage on a regular basis.”

But I’d never taken money for actual sex. I’d worried that once I crossed the line, it’d be easy to do it again. Which was why I’d resisted doing it, even when my rent had been overdue.

But this was different. This was my family’s safety. And I’d cross the line for them.

The gorgeous woman who’d been doing the tree pose earlier glanced over at me with a warm smile. “You clean up nice, Blondie.”

“Thanks. First time,” I admitted.

“Welcome to the circus.” She held out a manicured hand. “I’m Cherry.”

“Shit, was I supposed to give a stage name?”

I hadn’t thought about that, and Macy hadn’t mentioned it.

Even Cherry’s laugh was sexy.

“No, believe it or not, that’s my real name. I think my parents were sealing my fate from the get-go.”

“Did you get teased a lot growing up?”

“Not too bad in elementary and middle, but by the time high school came around and I developed tits and guys only thought with their dicks…” She got a far-off look in her eyes and murmured, “Yeah, that was tough.”

She was quiet for a beat, then like the spell was broken, she looked back at me with a smile. “And now I manipulate men with sex and make six figures doing it.”

“That’s a great way to look at it.”

It was the same attitude I took at the club when guys were peeling off fifties and hundreds so I’d come talk to them and sit on their laps.

She touched my arm. “You’re going to be fine. The members here are kinky fucks, some more than others, but at least at the end of the day, you don’t have to worry you’re going to be cut up in little pieces and dumped in the ocean. Instead, you’re going to have a fat stack of cash.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

She gave me a wink. “Aren’t we all, honey.”

~~~~

I zipped my overnight bag and slid it under the dressing bench just as Kit walked in.

“Damn, look at you.” She gave me an approving nod. “Total smoke show. I knew that dress was the one. You’re going to knock ‘em dead.”

I smiled, although I wasn’t as convinced. The women here were super nice, but they were way out of my league. “I’m glad you think so.” I made a point of looking around. “I’m worried they’re going to take one look at me and wonder who allowed the discount date in the lineup.”

Kit rolled her eyes. “Stop it, you’re gorgeous,” then pulled a travel-size bottle of vodka from her purse and handed it to me, saying, “You obviously could use a little liquid courage.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” I quipped as I unscrewed the top and took a swig.

Macy appeared in the doorway wearing an all-cream pantsuit that fit her like a glove with matching pointy-toed pumps. It was understated but conveyed she was not only beautiful but also in charge.

“You ladies look amazing! Are you ready?” she asked, glancing down at the tablet in her hand.

There was a chorus of, “Yes” and a few, “Almost,” while last-minute touches to their makeup and hair were made.

I let out a cleansing breath with a hand on my stomach and murmured, “Yeah,” even though I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Macy gave me a once-over. “You look great. They’re going to love you,” she said, then pointed to the woman who’d had her legs in the air just an hour earlier. “Nadia—we’re starting in five, and you’re up first.”

Nadia, who looked like she could walk the Red Carpet in her black evening gown and stilettos, fluffed her hair in the mirror as she assured Macy, “I’m ready.”

Macy then glanced at her tablet and rattled off the order the ten women in the room would appear onstage. I was third.

At least I’d get it over with instead of pacing in the dressing room.

Nadia followed Macy out, and a few minutes later, a man’s muffled voice made it backstage.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to October’s vendue.

We have ten stunning women offering packages that I think will satisfy all of you kinky bastards.

” The man chuckled, then followed up with, “Well, most of you, anyway,” which garnered laughter from the crowd before he continued, “So without further ado, I’ll turn the microphone over to tonight’s emcee, Velvet Underground’s very own Macy Chambers. ”

Macy’s voice was strong over the speakers when she introduced Nadia, and seconds later, a woman with a headset, dressed in black yoga pants and black t-shirt, appeared in the doorway of the dressing room and called out, “Sidney, you’re on deck!”

A blonde bombshell in a teal dress that was cut down to her navel stood up and strutted out.

I swallowed hard and turned back to the mirror for one last look. Kit gave my hand a squeeze.

“You’ve got this. It’s just like you’re going onstage at the club.”

Yeah, except instead of sitting on a man’s lap and bouncing my tits in his face when my dance was through, I’d be spreading my legs in his house or at a hotel, depending on if he was married or not.

Macy’s voice over the speakers exclaimed, “We have a winning bid!” That made what I was about to do even more real, and I realized there was no turning back.

I hope I earned enough tonight to make this worth it.