Page 16 of The Toy Maker (The Pink Cherrie #1)
FOURTEEN
My alarm pierced the air, and I buried my head underneath a pillow and prayed for the screeching to stop. By the time I gave up on getting any more sleep, I barely had enough time left to strip out of my pajamas and get dressed.
Walking without stopping to almost throw up every five minutes challenged me. A pair of sunglasses shielded me from the sun, but nothing could protect me from the bustling in the dressing rooms at Pink Cherrie.
Three Cherries rammed into me as they tried to get ready for the biggest night of the month. My main goal entailed getting through the next few minutes without spilling my guts on the carpet. My vanity on the opposite side of the room couldn’t be further away to my hungover mind.
Thongs and bras were tossed over me as I attempted to hobble my way to safety. Finally, someone took pity on me and led me the rest of the way.
“Drink this,” Wendy said, handing me a cup filled with liquid that was the same shade of red as her hair.
Her green eyes were piercing but softened by the curve of her lips. She wore a delicate, sheer lingerie set in an emerald green that contrasted with her hair. The lace fabric clung to her figure, accentuating her curves yet leaving just enough to the imagination.
“What is it?” I glanced up at her with bloodshot eyes.
“Tomato juice,” she answered with a comforting smile. “It’s good for hangovers.”
“Why do you have tomato juice?” Prepared and ready for the poor schmuck who’d drink it, probably.
She laughed, “You think you’re the only one who drinks before the show?” Right, stupid question.
I sniffed the juice in front of me and figured I couldn’t feel any worse; the watery ketchup swirled over my tongue, and I forced myself to swallow. Once I finished, the girl took the cup. “How long until I feel better?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I haven’t drank since high school.”
Despite all the energy in my body being drained, I still felt the desire to stare her down until the blood in her veins boiled. I pinched my eyes shut and tried not to vomit; tasting the tomato juice all over again quickly became my worst nightmare.
I cradled my head and attempted to look on the dimly lit side of things: for the first time in hours, Jason couldn’t have been further from my mind.
“Apparently, Jason is letting one of us take a spin on his newest toy,” said one of the ‘perkier’ Cherries who directed the conversation to her friend.
And lo and behold, Jason was back at the forefront of my thoughts.
“I wish I could go for a spin on him.” The girl who responded resembled the Cherry who had the highest orgasm count on my first night.
The taste of vomit came back into my throat. Jason, Jason, Jason.
Her friend giggled, “He is so cute. Did you see him at the last induction?”
Just when I assumed my day couldn’t get worse, they took turns giving descriptions of how they wanted him to fuck them. When they agreed on having a threesome if the opportunity arose, I decided I’d heard more than enough.
I grabbed my outfit and set out to wriggle myself into a slim-fitting brasier while experiencing the worst headache of my life.
Wobbling back to the dressing rooms, I slid the curtain shut. The golden lace top sparkled under the fluorescent lights. I pulled up the matching panties and realized the crotch disappeared.
A tag hung off the back with Jade’s handwriting, ‘You can’t soak these.’
Despite being the embodiment of a functioning zombie, I found it in me to smile. When I finished hiding the circles under my eyes and adding healthy coloration to my face, I wandered around and attempted to mentally prepare myself to be a stranger’s doll.
Jade graced me with her presence a few hours before the show. After asking if she was well enough to be standing on two feet, and earning a grim nod in response, I waited until she regained her ability to speak.
“What happened to you last night?” I asked.
Jade hiccupped and flinched at the noise. “I got my pipes cleaned.”
I stared at the shell of a girl sitting in front of me. Her raven-black hair sat in a tangled bun on the top of her head, and streaks of elaborate makeup covered her face. “You ditched us at the bar to get your pipes cleaned? What, was the homeowner’s association on your back or something?”
She couldn’t have meant it literally. Right?
Jade only groaned and rubbed her head. “I almost forgot.”
“Forgot what?” I asked.
“That you have the innocence of a child.” I was new to their world, but that didn’t make me innocent. Who the fuck calls their vagina pipes?
She should have seen me strapped on the bed at Jason’s mercy… “What really happened?” I pressed.
“I fucked around with a guy for a bit,” she explained, waving her hand dismissively. “Do you have a mint or something?”
I dug around the drawer in my vanity and offered her a piece of gum. She handed it back because chewing hurt too much.
“Who?” I tilted my head curiously.
She whimpered as she pulled down her hair. “A friend.”
I watched her try to act like a functioning adult who didn’t drink vodka out of a stranger’s navel and wondered whether I’d looked as miserable as her when I wandered in.
I took the thermos and cup off the redheaded Cherry’s vanity to fix Jade the same remedy I suffered through, handing her the tomato juice. “It’ll make you feel better.”
Jade started chugging the juice right before Sarah and Kitty walked in.
The first thing they heard from our side of the room was Jade calling me a liar and threatening to have me killed in Spanish. I only understood the basics of what she yelled, and it wasn’t friendly.
Kitty bounced over and practically jumped on my back. “Hey, stranger, where’d you go last night?” she beamed. How could she always be so peppy?
“I went out for some more tacos but somewhere along the way, I ended up at home.” The night remained blurry at best. Sarah leaned against the wall for support.
“Why do we always do this?” she whined. “I’ll pay someone to shoot me.”
Jade agreed, “I need something to do so I won’t get so fucked up every Friday.”
“Why don’t you just do your friend?” I suggested, waggling my eyebrows.
Kitty and Sarah snapped their attention to Jade. A series of invasive questions spewed from their mouths as they cornered Jade in her chair.
“You let him use the back door, didn’t you?” Kitty laughed.
Sarah’s eyes widened at Jade’s blank expression. “Oh my God, you did.”
I watched the dramatic scene unfold until Sarah and Kitty gave up on squeezing any more information from Jade. When they finished, I was certain they were considering waterboarding as a method of extracting details.
“While we’re on the topic of fucking,” Kitty steered the conversation, “Jason is releasing a new toy tonight.” Her eyes rolled. For someone who spent an awful amount of time with him, she always seemed rather annoyed by his antics.
“I heard about that!” Sarah started stripping out of her clothes and changing in front of us. I tried not to pay attention when her unnaturally perky breasts popped out over her shirt.
“What’s the big deal?” I asked. All eyes were suddenly on me.
Jade scoffed, “Jason is picking a Cherry to be the first one to test his creation.”
“One of our richest customers commissioned Jason to build this ultimate fuck machine,” Kitty explained wryly.
Sarah adjusted her light blonde hair into a loose bun. “Maybe your name will be drawn.”
I looked between them and fought down a sudden panic attack. “Doubt it,” I said, swallowing hard. “Jason doesn’t even pay attention to me.” And if my name was called, would he admit I was a toy tester in front of everyone?
“He does the whole thing Hunger Games style. Except for no volunteering,” Sarah said before she sprayed her freshly fixed hair into place.
Awesome, more of a reason to panic. The slim chance of being Jason’s showgirl of the century made me regret ever stepping foot inside Pink Cherrie. I forced myself to ignore the dull throbbing between my legs when I thought about the last time I was… helping him.
I glanced around the room and rationalized that the odds weren’t in my favor.