Page 153 of Santa Daddies

“Looks like I missed some.” He reaches around her, and just like nothing, swipes the drip that slid between her breasts.

I can’t breathe just watching this. How will I handle having sex with the winner of the auction? And if the auction goes the way it has in the past, more than one guy will win me. That’s what I want. But until this moment, I had no framework for how that might make me feel.

“Stop it, Cullen.” Starla’s tone makes it clear that’s the last thing she wants, and also that she knows him. How has she kept him a secret from us?

Even amongst besties, this is getting awkward. Needing somewhere else to put my gaze, I shift my attention to Jolene, whose eyes are as wide as mine feel. She seems frozen as her arms are extended to either side.

The seamstress is tugging at the fabric, unaware of what's happening behind her. “Okay, that does it. Ready, Bellamie?”

Relieved, but also a little disappointed to lose my front row seat, I push away from the counter. Starla blurts out, “I should go next.”

Too dumbfounded to find words, I relent, making a mental note to ask Starla about Cullen later.

“Would you like some french toast casserole?” I can’t think of any other way to fill the awkwardness when Starla leaves the room. Is she trying to avoid Cullen or did she realize that got a little hot and heavy?

Cullen helps himself to the casserole and loves it, but nearly chokes when Starla returns in her dress. I catch her looking to him for approval.

Go Starla! But this is weird… unless, she somehow found this guy and he’s going to buy her in the auction Friday–a detail she most certainly should have shared.

A cough draws my attention to Cullen, who gives a simple nod.

And as much as I want to curse myself for checking out Starla’s… whatever he is, my gaze drifts down his body. Oh! Judging by the swell in his pants, he’s very attracted to her–in aboyfriendway. If she hid him from us, would she also hide if she had sex? Is she going to be able to be in the auction?

“What are you wearing, young lady?” The loud exclamation from the front door comes from Starla’s dad who just walked in. “I thought you were entering the eggnog contest, not the…” He waves his hands.

“It's not for tonight,” Starla defends.

Her stepbrother, Ryker, walks in behind their dad. Both stare, wide-eyed, but the tones behind their expressions are completely different. Her dad is clearly horrified. But it’s Ryker’s expression that surprises me. He wants her–the way Cullen does.

If we’ve misunderstood her stepbrother all this time, is there hope for Loren and me? My heart does a highly inappropriate flip given the circumstance.

“Where do you plan on wearing it?” Her dad isn’t as impressed as Cullen or Ryker.

“It’s for a Christmas thing.”

Her dad won’t let up, and when it finally comes out that the dress is for a virgin auction, Dad isn’t the only one who’s upset. The man who I thought might be buying her in the auction says, “There’s no way my best friend’s daughter is going to sell her virginity.”

Is this why the contract for the auction said we’re not supposed to tell anyone we’re in it? I thought the organizers just wanted to keep secret who the virgins were so people would have to show up to find out.

Personally, I’d been relieved by the secrecy because my parents would freak out if they knew I was participating. But the auction is going to wrap up all of my problems, which include a lie to my parents that I’m attending college.

“It’s not a big deal, and it’s for charity.” Starla tries to downplay it, but there’s no going back from her reveal.

I hope this doesn’t ruin it for all of us.

“Having sex with the highest bidder, whoever that stranger might be, is definitely a big deal. You need to wait until–”

“That’s Puritanical bullshit!” Starla stands her ground, far braver than I’ve ever been. Maybe I’m not as ready for the auction as I thought.

“It’s about your safety.” Cullen has covered the ground between them and towers in front of her.

Starla holds her own against the men, calling them out on their presumed sexual histories, which they can’t defend. Such an empowering moment.

“We’re all doing it,” Jolene says–and the cat is out of the bag.

That doesn’t help.

When will our families realize we're women with needs? Well, it could help if we move out of our parents’ houses, but isn't it safer for us to learn about life in small steps?